97.9 The Hill’s Andrew Stuckey spoke with Chair of the Orange County Commissioners Renee Price on Wednesday, May 25th. She discussed the Orange County Longtime Homeowners Assistance Program, Memorial Day activities, and more. Below is a full transcript. To listen to the full interview, click here.
Andrew Stuckey:
Joining us on News on the Hill is the Chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners, Renee Price. Renee, how are you doing today?
Renee Price:
I’m fine. How are you?
Stuckey:
I’m doing pretty well considering the news that we’ve been dealing with nationally today. I did want to start by getting your reaction to the tragic news out of Texas.
Price:
Well, as you say, it is tragic and it’s unfortunate that this is becoming almost a norm. That’s really unacceptable. And we really have to do something in this country about the proliferation of guns as well as find out what is going on in the minds of our young people, 18-year-olds you know, with guns going into a classroom and shooting relatives and younger siblings, who knows. That falling on the heels of what we just witnessed last week in Buffalo, another 18-year-old. Our hearts and prayers go out to the survivors as well as the families of the victims, and those whole communities. It’s really sad.
Stuckey:
Yeah. It’s frustrating to hear the news. It’s frustrating to have to hear everybody say the same thing about the news and then feel like nothing’s happening still.
Price:
Right. And I know that there are issues in America regarding your right to carry a gun, but the proliferation of guns and firearms and them getting into the hands of people that use them irresponsibly is an issue that we need to address, at least in my mind.
Stuckey:
So what were the big takeaways from the commissioner’s meeting last night?
Price:
Well, one of the biggest issues that we talked about last night was the long-time homeowner assistance program. It was a pilot, actually, it was more of a safety net that we started last year after the reevaluation when we realized that there were some inequities in our system. Some that it’ll be hard for us to amend at the local level and may need some correction at the state level. But we do realize that the cost of living is going up, taxes are going up, and people that have been in their homes for generations and that have inherited property, we want them to be able to stay in their homes, in their communities and try to preserve some of these historic neighborhoods, whether they’re in downtown Chapel Hill or out in the rural areas.
We’re looking at how we can best serve our constituents and keep our community intact. We had a lot of public comments last night. I always love to hear public comments and hear directly from the people, particularly people that are affected or people that are working right in the trenches, as we say, so that was very uplifting for me. On June 7th, we’ll come back and staff will take those comments that they heard last night and we’ll see how we can extend this into the next year and eventually see how we can actually address both the systemic issue with property values, as well as how we help people who, for example, are on fixed incomes but still want to remain in place.
Stuckey:
So would you consider this program a success so far?
Price:
Partially. We did help 91 people, but then there are hundreds more people that probably could have used the assistance that we were providing, and we have to do a better job with outreach. The other elephant in the room is trust. People mistrust government, particularly when it’s the government that has put them in these situations. And one of the things that I had suggested was to get more ambassadors out into the community to spread the word. I know sometimes they actually pay community ambassadors, trusted people in the neighborhood, to explain to them what is going on and explain that this is a program that is designed for you, and there are no tricks involved and to please participate. That’s going to be the challenge, I believe. We could see some results and then build upon that to make it even better.
Stuckey:
And that is a program that will continue next year in the next budget.
Price:
Yes. But we’re working on how to expand it and have it reach more people and be more effective.
Stuckey:
I know you didn’t discuss the budget at last night’s meeting, but I did have a couple of quick budget questions. One is about the Street Outreach Harm Reduction and Deflection program, or SOHRAD. There seemed to be a little bit of confusion about the funding for that going into next year. Is that something that is still going to be funded at the county level?
Price:
I hope so. That is something that we’ll do in partnership with the towns. That is an issue that really doesn’t know boundaries. So I’m hoping that we can work on something else. We also have to look at what the forces are that are causing homelessness. It’s not just going to go away just because we build a few affordable homes or find places for some people. We really need to look at what is causing it and what are the forces? And the more we develop in the county, particularly wooded areas where people have been living for a while you know, we’re going to see more homelessness on the streets. I’m hoping that we can do something about it. We’ll be discussing that in our budget work sessions. We’ll see what my colleagues have to say as well as staff members and people in the community.
Stuckey:
Along the same lines, our own Aaron Keck put together a story earlier today about the interfaith council asking for funding from the town government, and the expectation is that they’ll be making the same ask of the county government. Do you know where the county commissioners stand on that right now?
Price:
No, we each have our own viewpoint, so I don’t want to speak for everyone before we have actually discussed it. I do know that this is an organization that we have supported as a board. We have supported IFC over the years and really commend them for the work that they do, as I’ve said in the past. They really are a beacon in our community for the work that they do. We were so pleased when the new building opened going forward. I’m sure that there will be support, and at what level remains to be seen.
Stuckey:
Looking ahead to the rest of the week, Monday is a holiday, it’s Memorial Day. Does the county have any special events planned?
Price:
Well, yes, we’ve got our Memorial Day program. The Veterans’ Memorial Planning Committee has been having annual events. So we will have our event at the site of the Veterans’ Memorial on Homestead Road at 9:00 on Monday morning. We will of course remember those that gave the ultimate sacrifice fighting for our freedom.
Stuckey:
All right. That sounds great. We’ve got about a minute left. Is there anything else that you wanted to touch on before we wrap up?
Price:
I just want to remind people that as you mentioned with the budget process, we will continue to listen to what our constituents have to say. We have another public hearing on June 2nd, and people can go online and see what amendments the commissioners have suggested to the manager’s recommended budget and comment on that. Also, they can see if some of their recommendations have been included. We try to be as open and transparent as possible, so please do that. And we are meeting in person so people can come and sign up to speak. If for whatever reason you cannot come, please call the clerk’s office before 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday so that we can get you the Zoom link and you can join us.
Stuckey:
All right. Thank you so much for joining us today. We’ve been joined by Orange County Commissioner Chair, Renee Price. Thanks a lot and enjoy the rest of your afternoon.
Price:
You too. Thank you.
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