Update on NC Helping Neighbors Funds in Mecklenburg County

In February, 2006 the Board of County Commissioners received and appropriated $79, 406 in grant funds from the Governor's Office NC Helping Neighbors Fund. The money is intended to provide additional assistance to FEMA-registered Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Mecklenburg County. 

State guidelines required the County to serve as lead agency. As a result, the Department of Social Services (DSS) was designated to receive and distribute the funds. A contract with Crisis Assistance Ministry was developed to screen requests, confirm eligibility and recommend specific aid, beginning March 1. The funds were to be expended by March 31.

In total, 110 households and 330 individuals were served. All of the funding was used and Crisis Assistance added more than $8,000 of its locally raised funds to help qualified evacuees pay for expenses such as rent and utilities. Funds were provided through vouchers to qualified providers.  No cash was given to evacuees directly. The $87,479.50 in total expenditures (an average of $795.27 per household) was used as follows:

• Prescriptions/Medical Supplies - $1,600
• Rental Assistance/Mortgage - $29,695.50
• Utilities - $22,129
• Household furniture - $34,055

Although FEMA records indicate more than 2,000 evacuees were in Mecklenburg County, no exact number is known. The Salvation Army, Lutheran Family Services, and DSS have been serving several hundred clients for several months. The State has indicated that if there are unused funds reverted from other N.C. counties, it will consider distributing the balance for further local assistance. I am very pleased with the cooperation, collaboration and efficiency with which county staff and our non-profit and faith-based partners have served the Gulf Coast evacuees. 

Revised Surplus Equipment Management/Disposal Procedures

For many years, Mecklenburg County has operated a warehouse at the old Torrence Lytle School in Huntersville to store surplus furniture and obsolete electronic equipment. The expense of operating this facility included the structure, a truck to transport equipment, and two full-time positions to oversee the facility and assets. This arrangement has cost approximately $100,000 annually. To dispose of these assets, the County has held periodic public auctions. These auctions typically only netted approximately $25,000 per year. The overall result was an inefficient process costing the County approximately $75,000 annually. As a result, we have revised our surplus equipment management/disposal procedures. Rather than dedicating County facility and staff resources to warehouse surplus equipment, we are contracting this service to a private vendor. We have selected CompuTel, which is on the state convenience contract list and is a recognized leader in this field.  

CompuTel, located locally, has been providing a similar service to the County at our solid waste facility. Our experience with this vendor has been excellent. CompuTel also provides services for many of the major businesses in our area. Our annual cost with CompuTel is for a maximum of $36,000 a year. This represents a savings of $39,000 annually from our current operation. As a result, the Torrence Lytle warehouse will be closed and we will consider options for its disposition. One of the options will be to determine if the Town of Huntersville is interested in the facility, since it is adjacent to the David Waymer park and recreation center operated by the Town of Huntersville. It also frees up two full-time positions within the County's buildings and grounds operation for redeployment or elimination.

As part of its service to the County, CompuTel will collect and dispose all equipment deemed surplus.  Since there is some resale value, CompuTel and the County will share in the proceeds of sales, with the County's portion being used to reduce payments to CompuTel. Other key aspects and advantages of this approach include:

• Using a vendor for transporting and collecting electronic equipment increases the time IT staff can spend on its core business functions and needs.
• CompuTel will remove and destroy all hard drives on PCs to ensure confidentiality of customer and employee records.
• CompuTel is required to dispose of equipment in an environmentally safe manner.
• New procedures also require furniture and equipment to be offered to other departments prior to being declared surplus. Procedures also require that unsafe equipment be disposed of rather than resold.

These changes were initiated by a cross-functional staff team from IST and buildings and grounds who recognized there was a more efficient and effective way to dispose of surplus equipment.

M/W/SBE Open House

On Wednesday, April 19, the Minority, Women and Small Business Enterprise (M/W/SBE) service, in conjunction with the Charlotte Business Hub, will host an open house. The event will take place from 2 - 5 p.m. on the second floor of the new Central Piedmont Community College Professional Development building at 124 East Independence Boulevard. This facility is located at the intersection of Independence Boulevard and Elizabeth Avenue.

The Charlotte Business Hub, or BizHub Network, is a non-profit organization that operates as a one-stop resource center for small companies. If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Rhonda Jackson in the M/W/SBE office at rhonda.jackson@meckgov.org or 704-432-4504.

Mark Your Calendar

Friday, April 14, 2006:

• County Offices Closed (Holiday)

Tuesday, April 18, 2006:

• Board Dinner Meeting, 5 p.m., CH-14
• Board Regular Meeting, 6 p.m., Meeting Chamber

Wednesday, April 19, 2006:

• M/W/SBE Open House, 2 - 5 p.m., CPCC, 124 East Independence Blvd

--Harry L. Jones, Sr., County Manager