Two questions

[Carol Conway]

Hello, all! 

I’ve reviewed your FY 2025-26 Annual Operating Budget (Commissioner Approved) and I am impressed with everything the county supports, as well as BOCC priorities and performance benchmarks. I hope to attend your next board meeting to make some positive suggestions on how your plans for more housing and cultural training could help our IDD (intellectual and developmental disability) community. 

Here, though, I’d like to comment a matter of transparency and accountability.

1. The county pays for all personnel in the Department of Social Services (191 FTE) at a cost of $27.5 million. Roughly how much of that money comes from county tax dollars versus pass-through funds from state and federal sources? 
2. Our county attorney, John Roberts, has been less than forthcoming with me. I asked him to identify the source of his surprising assertion that the state DHHS reviewed a case and “found no programmatic insufficiencies”. It has to do with a complaint involving our county DSS, but I am not asking for protected information. I just want to know the process by which the finding was made. The decision trail. Any challenge to the finding will be up to the complainant, not me. I am simply a citizen advocate, not party to the case. But Mr. Roberts has replied that he can’t answer my question. I understand his fear of a lawsuit, but transparency and accountability demand an answer. If, for some reason that escapes me, he genuinely can’t answer, then he needs to tell me why. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Carol Conway

[Jean Hamilton]

Dear Ms. Conway,

 

On behalf of the BOCC, I want to thank you for sharing your concerns.  Orange County DSS director Shewmaker should be able to answer your question about personnel costs.  As for your second question, I will follow up with our county attorney.

 

Sincerely,

Jean

 

Jean Hamilton, Chair

Orange County Board of Commissioners

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From: Carol Conway <carol.an...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2026 9:56 AM
To: ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>
Subject: Two questions

 

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