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Commissioners direct staff to review county‑funded trainings and library funding amid budget planning
Summary
Commissioner Stevens asked the Alamance County Board of Commissioners to prohibit county‑paid training unrelated to employees’ job duties and urged staff to research phasing out the county’s roughly $3.5 million contribution to the county library system.
Commissioner Stevens asked the board during commissioner comments that county employees not use county time or county resources for training not directly tied to their job duties, specifically citing training offered by the Alamance County Racial Equity Committee (ACRE). Stevens said the county should prohibit "training other than related to their function" on county time and asked staff to draft employee‑handbook language and budget guidance.
Stevens described multiple 12‑week cohorts run by ACRE and said participants included senior managers who used work hours for sessions that run mornings into the afternoon. "County employees should not be taking training other than related to their function, to their job description," he said.
County Manager Heidi York said staff would investigate how the trainings are funded and whether grants or other requirements apply. York said it may be appropriate to distinguish trainings paid or required by grants from voluntary trainings using county time. Commissioners discussed whether a formal resolution is needed; the county attorney advised that board rules discourage motions during commissioner comments but do not forbid them and that staff could draft a resolution for the next agenda.
Separately, Commissioner Stevens asked county staff to study options to phase out the county's contribution to the county library system, which he said totals roughly $3.5 million and supports four libraries and two mobile units. He suggested returning library funding to municipalities via a phased approach and asked the county manager to include options in budget planning. Other commissioners cautioned that rural residents rely on county library services and that any change would shift cost and access; no formal vote was taken.
Why it matters: both items bear on the county's coming budget decisions. Commissioners asked the county manager to include reviews of training policies and library funding in the budget planning process ahead of June budget adoption.
Outcome and next steps: commissioners agreed to direct the county manager and staff to investigate funding sources, grant conditions and the extent to which county employees attend the trainings during work hours; staff will report back and the board may consider a drafted resolution at a future meeting. The county manager also will provide options regarding the library funding relationship for the board's upcoming budget work sessions.
Ending: Commissioners asked staff for careful study of both matters and signaled an intent to consider formal policy language or a resolution at a future meeting once staff reports are available.
