NC govwatch

← All meetings

HRC Monthly Meetings

Orange County · Human Relations Commission
Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Regular meeting Elections and districtsAppointments and personnelBudget and appropriationsCivil rights and nondiscriminationEnvironment and sustainabilityGrants and outside funding

Agenda document Minutes Watch Meeting recap

What was decided

  1. Approved IIIMinutes Approval - August 27, 2024 Approved unanimously

Read from the agenda's recorded outcomes. Where the board published minutes, those are the record — this is a pointer to them.

What's on this agenda

Orange County's Human Relations Commission meets monthly on fair housing, county equity work and its own subcommittees on policies and procedures, outreach and engagement, and community events. The September meeting's agenda covered county updates on the FY2025 budget and the One Orange racial history project, an executive committee report on board vacancies, and elections for chair and vice chair.

Summarized from the published agenda. Read the agenda itself before acting on it.

Meeting recap

What happened, drawn from the records published after the meeting. Minutes

Vice Chair Jenn Sykes opened the meeting in Chair Lynn McGee's absence. Commissioners elected Jemm Merritt-Feder as chair and Rhian Carraker-Ford as vice chair, both unanimously; the secretary seat stayed open until more members are present. Staff reported the county set the commission's FY2025 budget at $10,000, less than the previous two years, and said no fair housing complaints came in during the month.

Commissioners also heard that Orange County and its municipalities are reviewing the county's racialized political history through the One Orange initiative, and were asked to send in relevant records, names or sources by October 15. The executive committee reported on board vacancies, with three member evaluations due to go to the county for approval to attend the October meeting and a fourth vacancy to be discussed then. The three subcommittees, policies and procedures, outreach and engagement, and community events, had no business to report beyond a change in who serves on community events after Commissioner Michael Fath's term ends September 30.

How the votes went

All motions passed by unanimous vote: agenda approval, approval of the August 27 minutes, election of chair and vice chair, and adjournment.

From the published minutes.

Speaking at this meeting

Orange County's own rules for public comment — check them before you rely on anything here.

Agenda items (9)

Procedural · 5Staff or committee report · 3Minutes approval · 1
  1. I Call to Order
    Procedural
    Vice Chair Jenn Sykes called the meeting to order at 6:02 p.m. in Chair Lynn McGee's absence.
  2. II Agenda Approval
    Procedural
    Commissioners approved the agenda.
    Approved unanimously
  3. III Minutes Approval - August 27, 2024
    Minutes approval
    Commissioners approved the August 27, 2024 minutes.
    Approved unanimously
  4. IV County Updates
    Staff or committee report Budget and appropriationsCivil rights and nondiscriminationElections and districtsEnvironment and sustainabilityGrants and outside funding
    Staff reported the commission's FY2025 budget was finalized at $10,000, less than the previous two years, and that no fair housing complaints came in during the month. Staff also flagged access trouble with the SharePoint site and the county's climate action grant application, a request to hold the commission's retreat until after the November election, and the One Orange racialized-history review, for which members were asked to submit records, names or sources by October 15.
  5. V Executive Committee Report
    Staff or committee report Appointments and personnel
    The committee reported that three member evaluations are due to the county by September 27 for approval to attend the October meeting, with a fourth vacancy to be taken up in October for a November confirmation vote by the Board of County Commissioners. A commissioner is also set to attend an October Historic Preservation Committee meeting.
  6. VI HRC Officer Elections
    Procedural Elections and districts
    Commissioners elected Jemm Merritt-Feder as chair and Rhian Carraker-Ford as vice chair. The secretary seat was left open until more members are present.
    Merritt-Feder elected chair; Carraker-Ford elected vice chair; both unanimous
  7. VII Sub-Committee Reports
    Staff or committee report
    The policies and procedures and outreach and engagement subcommittees had no updates. On community events, Commissioner Michael Fath's term ends September 30 and Commissioner Tonya Jones will continue on that subcommittee.
  8. VIII Other Business/Announcements
    Procedural
    No announcements.
  9. IX Adjourn
    Procedural
    Commissioners adjourned the meeting at 6:58 p.m.
    Approved unanimously

Other recent meetings of this board