June 13, 2013 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 498 Meeting of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners June 13 , 2013 Special Meeting The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Thursday , June 13 , 2013 at 6 00 pm in the Commissioners Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present Chairman Jeffrey P Carver , Vice Chairman Tony Braswell , Cookie Pope , Allen L Mims , Jr , DeVan Barbour , Ted G Godwin , and Chad M Stewart Absent None Also Present County Manager Rick J Hester , Clerk to the Board Paula G Woodard , County Attorney David F Mills , Finance Officer and Assistant County Manager J Chad McLamb , and Paralegal Deputy Clerk to the Board Dana Cuddington Chairman Jeffrey P Carver called the meeting to order at 6 00 pm and announced the purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed Fiscal Year 2013 - 2014 County budget and related matters 1 Pine Level Volunteer Fire Department Pine Level Volunteer Fire Department Chief Stephen Holloman provided the Board with an update on the conditions that were set by the Commissioners as part of the approval for a one cent increase in the Pi - Le Fire District tax rate for Fiscal Year 2012 - 2013 from 7 cents to 8 cents Chief Holloman reported the fire department has met all the conditions that were established by the Board He stated the fire department has changed the membership of the fire district tax commission so that all three of the members are now citizens who have never served on the fire department Chief Holloman stated they have added one additional staff member during the day and now have three engines in service which provides more manpower and support He noted the changes have helped to improve their fire insurance rating ISO Rating Chief Holloman stated the fire department has also been able to increase their cash fund reserves from 10,000 to 40,000 which will help to address past cash flow problems Upon a question by Commissioner DeVan Barbour , Chief Holloman stated the Pi - Le Fire District Tax Commission has been briefed on all the improvements as well as they have reviewed the budget and are in agreement with keeping the fire tax rate at 8 cents Commissioner Tony Braswell asked about the fire department’s plans for future insurance rating improvements Commissioner Braswell also asked about the volume of first responder calls Chief Holloman stated the Department of Insurance has established new standards with regards to the insurance ratings that have just been released and he will be reviewing those standards soon He noted one of the more significant problems in the past was the lack of three engines being in service as well as the need for additional training hours Chief Holloman stated the fire department now has three engines in service and they have also increased the training hours He noted the volunteers are now meeting every Monday night for training to get more hours , but they are still having problems with obtaining all the hours recommended by the Department of Insurance Chief Holloman stated the fire department runs approximately 150 first responder calls a year He added half of the fire department is certified in first responder training and there is always someone on call for that purpose Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr asked how much the one cent increase added to the fire department’s budget Chief Holloman stated for Fiscal Year 2012 - 2013 , the one cent increase added approximately 18,000 to their budget Chief Holloman requested the Board to leave the fire district tax rate at the 8 cent level permanently 2 Thanksgiving Volunteer Fire Department Thanksgiving Volunteer Fire Department Chief Gary House provided the Board with an update on the conditions that were set by the Commissioners last year as part of the approval for a one cent increase in the Thanksgiving Fire District tax rate for Fiscal Year 2012 - 2013 from 8 cents to 9 cents Chief House stated the Thanksgiving Fire District has an insurance rating at 6 9S which means that part of the fire district has a higherPage499 June 13 , 2013 – 6 00 pm Continued rate He stated insurance rate can be lowered by adding more personnel , installing more water lines , and installing additional fire hydrants within the district Chief House stated the fire department has been working with the County to install more fire hydrants , but more are needed He noted the fire department spent 5,100 towards the installation of additional fire hydrants and it is an ongoing process Chief House stated in many instances , the sizes of the existing water lines are not large enough to handle hydrants so the fire department has to compensate for those areas Chief House stated they are petitioning some of the area Homeowners Associations that currently have private water systems to sign up for County water in the hopes of having water lines installed sufficient in size to allow for more hydrants Chief House stated the fire department has added three staff members as well as purchased equipment and radios to help with the fire insurance rating He noted the fire department is currently working with other neighboring fire departments to provide mutual aid to each other during the day to help offset personnel problems Chief House stressed that having adequate personnel is an ongoing problem and it is becoming increasingly difficult to get and retain volunteers Chief House requested the Board to leave the one cent increase from Fiscal Year 2012 - 2013 at 9 cents permanently He stated the additional one cent will provide approximately 32,000 in revenue for Fiscal Year 2013 - 2014 and the fire department has based their budget on that number Chief House stated the Thanksgiving Fire District Tax Commission is in agreement with leaving the tax rate at 9 cents Commissioner Ted G Godwin asked if subdivisions with private water systems could install hydrants Chief House reported the problem with private water systems is that many of them are based on well water systems that will not accommodate hydrants He stated some of the older subdivisions do not have adequate sized water lines to accommodate fire hydrants Fire Marshal Paul Whitehurst stated for new subdivisions being constructed , County standards now call for more six inch water lines to accommodate fire hydrants Chief House stated when hydrants are not available it requires even more personnel from the fire department to haul water during emergencies At the inquiry of Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr , Chief House stated one reason it is so difficult to get volunteers is that unlike other non - profit groups , fire departments require their volunteers to receive many hours of training and education He stated for the Thanksgiving Fire District , they are a fast growing district with many new residents moving in the area that do not wish or have time to get the training hours needed to volunteer on the fire department 3 Johnston County Schools Johnston County Board of Education Chairman Larry Strickland , Johnston County Schools Superintendent Dr Ed Croom , and Johnston County Schools Chief Business Officer Robin Little appeared before the Board Dr Croom first spoke on his appreciation for the volunteer fire departments in the County noting he has served as a volunteer in the past and he is personally aware of the challenges they face Dr Croom commended the volunteer firefighters for their time and effort Dr Croom also expressed his appreciation to the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office as well as all the fire departments in the County for their support to Johnston County Schools Dr Croom stated Johnston County Schools receives approximately 70 of their budget from the State , 10 from the Federal Government , and 20 from the County Dr Croom informed the Board that Johnston County Schools will be facing significant funding impacts with the loss of Federal stimulus money He stated Johnston County Schools will continue to monitor the General Assembly’s actions to determine what impacts they will also have Dr Croom presented an overview of the increases decreases in the current expense budget request for Fiscal Year 2013 - 2014 He noted 500,000 is included for Technology to account for the State taking away the textbook funding and requiring local school systems to move towards online testing , which Johnston County Schools has already begun He spoke on mandates involving charter schools as well as increases in employee benefit costs , unemployment insurance , and utilities Dr Croom noted Johnston County Schools has included 11 million in the budget for a 1 teacher supplement increase as well as funding for a bonus for classified staff He stated Johnston County teachers ’ salaries rank almost last in the United States and the Board of Education would like to improve this Page500 June 13 , 2013 – 6 00 pm Continued Expenses Increase Decrease Supplies Travel 7,386 Charter Schools 226,973 Benefits Social Security , Retirement , and Hospitalization 156,540 Salaries 415,157 Technology 500,000 Legal Fees 50,000 Unemployment Insurance 240,074 Property Insurance 164,932 Workers Compensation 449,726 Bus Drivers ’ Salary 500,000 1 Teacher Supplement Increase with Benefits 1,118,496 Classified Bonus with Benefits 611,200 Utilities 350,000 Total Increase 3,260,170 Dr Croom spoke on his concerns with capital outlay funding , noting they have not received any additional capital outlay funding in the last several years He stated if Johnston County Schools needed something , they approached the County with that request or moved some of their own funds to capital outlay He explained if Johnston County Schools continues to spend their capital outlay funds as they have over the last three years to keep up the maintenance on the school facilities , they could potentially end the next school year with a balance of only 150,000 remaining in capital outlay Dr Croom cautioned if this happens , they would be petitioning the Board for assistance if major repairs are needed at one of the schools Commissioner DeVan Barbour asked if Johnston County Schools has a maintenance schedule in place for the school facilities Dr Croom reported there are a lot of school facilities remaining that have flat roofs which will need replacing and while they have a maintenance plan in place , there is no money associated with the plan He stated some of the money included in the upcoming bond referendum request would be used towards operational expenses and should help with those maintenance costs Dr Croom stressed that while additional schools are needed , there is also a need to set aside funding to keep the existing facilities in good shape The Board briefly discussed the exceptional children population in Johnston County Schools and the associated funding with the program Dr Croom called the Board’s attention to the following Student Membership Growth chart Page501 June 13 , 2013 – 6 00 pm Continued Dr Croom stated Johnston County Schools is growing by approximately 700 students each year ; however , he noted from 2012 to 2013 the chart only indicates a growth of 354 students He explained the difference in the numbers is that Johnston County Schools must subtract the charter school students from that number , although they still have to pay out a one - time fee for those students He noted also the numbers in the chart are taken from Day 20 of the school year , but that enrollment continues to grow throughout the year Dr Croom stated they are again projecting to grow approximately 700 students next year Upon a question by Commissioner Cookie Pope , Dr Croom reported Johnston County Schools does not have to provide funding for homeschooled children Commissioner Tony Braswell asked how funding works for student transfers into and out of other counties Dr Croom stated Johnston County charges the county where the student resides for that student to attend Johnston County Schools and vice versa He stated the charges are based on a formula and fee schedule from the State Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr noted earlier comments that teacher salaries in Johnston County were some of the lowest in the nation , and he stated that he would rather compare the salaries statewide due to ranges in the cost of living in other parts of the United States Board of Education Chairman Larry Strickland stated Johnston County has lost its competitive edge with surrounding counties in North Carolina as far as teacher salaries and the Board of Education wants to improve this Commissioner Chad M Stewart stated he can understand the need to improve the competitiveness of the teacher salaries because Johnston County wants to retain the good teachers it already has Commissioner Mims questioned the enrollment numbers from the Student Membership Growth chart He noted in the chart , Johnston County Schools is projecting 611 new students for 2014 but only had 354 new students in 2013 Dr Croom stated the 354 new students in 2013 was the Day 20 enrollment figure He noted it does not include the charter school students or growth during the year Commissioner Mims asked if the chart could be corrected at the end of the year to reflect the actual growth numbers Dr Croom explained that Johnston County Schools would like to pick the largest enrollment day of the year to base their budget on ; however , the State requires them to take a snapshot on Day 20 He noted the State has an allotment formula and they get a projected allotment number every February to build their budget on Commissioner Mims expressed his concerns with the projections each year and their accuracy Dr Croom stated the enrollment projection is not an arbitrary number , but is a number given to them by the State He noted that estimate is also used to project the low wealth funding amount Commissioner Mims asked about Johnston County Schools ’ fund balance and how it is accumulated Dr Croom stated Johnston County Schools is projecting their undesignated fund balance at the end of June to be 48 million which is a 43 fund balance and no capital outlay Dr Croom stated a big portion of the undesignated fund balance is the low wealth funding He explained the low wealth funding from the State has more flexibility than any other funding source Commissioner Pope asked if there are any plans to look at year round schools and multi - level construction for new school facilities Dr Croom stated there are no plans for year round schools presently He stated multi - level construction for new schools is not currently in the model for Johnston County Schools The Board thanked Johnston County Schools for the information PagePage pageNumber5502 June 13 , 2013 – 6 00 pm Continued 4 Harbor of Johnston County Keri Christensen , Executive Director for Harbor , addressed the Commissioners and thanked them for their past support She introduced Harbor Board Member Janet Wilson in the audience She stated Harbor has requested 10,000 for Fiscal Year 2013 - 2014 and were awarded 3,000 in the Fiscal Year 2012 - 2013 budget Ms Christenson informed the Board that last year , Harbor assisted over 1,200 Johnston County citizens with an average stay at the center being 90 days She reported that Harbor currently has ten women and children in their shelter She stated it costs Harbor an average of 10,000 to house a family of four during a 90 day stay Ms Christenson also reported Harbor assisted approximately 2,000 people through the court system last year She noted Harbor works with many human services agencies such as the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office , Johnston County Mental Health , Johnston County Schools , and the Department of Social Services providing services for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault She stated they have a 24 - hour crisis and sexual assault response and the shelter is staffed 24 hours a day seven days a week County Manager Rick Hester reported the Board funded 3,000 for Fiscal Year 2012 - 2013 for Harbor and in keeping with the Board’s policy regarding a reduction in funding for the non - profit agencies , the proposed amount for Fiscal Year 2013 - 2014 is 1,500 Commissioner Chad M Stewart asked about Harbor’s other funding sources Ms Christensen stated Harbor receives approximately 100,000 from Federal funding sources and roughly the same from the State She noted the Pizzazz stores raise about 75,000 a year and the other local fundraising activities generate approximately 60,000 a year Upon a question by Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr , Ms Christensen stated Harbor’s Board of Directors adopted a budget for Fiscal Year 2013 - 2014 at approximately 600,000 which includes the Pizzazz stores budget of approximately 150,000 Harbor Board Member Janet Wilson stated victims come to Harbor with nothing and the shelter has to provide everything from food and clothing to counseling and assistance with court services at no charge Ms Christensen shared a success story with the Board from a domestic violence situation whereby Harbor assisted a woman after she was able to leave an abusive marriage she had been in for 20 years Ms Christensen stated in that instance , Harbor had to help the victim learn how to drive , shop , budget , find a job , find an apartment , and begin a new life Ms Christensen shared a video with the Board of Harbor’s services Commissioner Ted G Godwin mentioned the earlier success story told by Ms Christensen and asked how long Harbor assisted with that situation Ms Christensen stated in that particular situation Harbor worked with the case for approximately four months At the inquiry of Commissioner Stewart , Ms Christensen stated they have had problems from time to time with spouses looking to retaliate against their families that have sought shelter at Harbor and the staff has been threatened as well She noted Harbor has a security system in place with security cameras 5 North Carolina Forest Service Johnston County Forest Ranger Mike Winslow thanked the Board for their past support Mr Winslow reviewed the following PowerPoint Presentation with the Board PagePage pageNumber6503 June 13 , 2013 – 6 00 pm Continued Mr Winslow stated the increased funding request is needed to help replace one of their vehicles as well as some of their portable radios He noted the County in 2009 gave the local office three mobile radios for their trucks which were greatly appreciated ; however , they only had enough funding to program two of those radios to be able to communicate with 911 - Communications and Fire Services Mr Winslow stated they are continuing to try and find funding to program the remaining radio Mr Winslow also stated another large expense anticipated will involve replacing the portable radios PagePage pageNumber7504 June 13 , 2013 – 6 00 pm Continued Commissioner Cookie Pope asked if there was some way to work with the Fire Departments on a solution for the portable radios Commissioner Tony Braswell stated the County will soon be looking into new radios to address the Project 25 communications upgrade mandate He stated a Request for Proposals will need to be generated and sent out since the municipalities will be looking to piggyback off of the County The Board thanked Mr Winslow for the information and for the work by the Forest Service There being no further business , Commissioner Tony Braswell moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote The meeting adjourned at 7 20 pm Jeffrey P Carver , Chairman Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the BoardPage