June 8, 2009 - 6:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 June 8 , 2009 Special Meeting The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session Monday , June 8 , 2009 at 6 00 pm in the Commissioners Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse Annex , Smithfield , North Carolina The following members were present Present Wade M Stewart , Chairman , Allen L Mims , Jr , Vice Chairman , Cookie Pope , Jeffrey P Carver , W Ray Woodall , DeVan Barbour , and Tony Braswell Absent None Also Present Rick J Hester , County Manager , Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the Board , J Mark Payne , County Attorney , J Chad McLamb , Finance Officer , and Melissa A Daughtry , Paralegal Deputy Clerk Chairman Wade M Stewart called the meeting to order and announced the purpose of the meeting is to consider the 2009 - 2010 County budget and related matters Chairman Stewart called on the County Manager to give an update on potential legislation that could affect revenues County Manager Rick Hester reported there are a few proposed bills in the General Assembly that could significantly impact the County’s revenue sources , thereby affecting the budget He stated legislation has been proposed that would require all emergency personnel to begin paying for continuing education classes as well as a bill that would enable homebuilders to defer property taxes for up to three years Mr Hester stated if the tax deferral bill for homebuilders passes , it could have an approximate impact of 900,000 to the FY 2009 – 2010 budget and it would also affect the municipalities Mr Hester explained that future lottery distributions could be at risk and he reminded everyone that the State will be withholding part of the June sales tax distribution in order to pay sales tax refunds He stated it is not yet known how the withholding of the sales tax distribution will impact the cash flow and staff is closely monitoring the situation Commissioner Tony Braswell reminded everyone that the Board has set aside June 15 and June 22 as future budget work sessions , but he questioned if the County should wait to adopt the budget until as late as June 29th to get a better idea on the revenue situation Mr Hester stated he is concerned by what may happen with the proposed legislation and how it could impact the revenue situation ; therefore , it may be better to wait as late as possible to adopt the budget Commissioner DeVan Barbour agreed that it may be best to wait to adopt the final budget until more information comes in on the revenues Commissioner Cookie Pope noted that the Board had hoped to use the Federal stimulus money to pay for green vehicles for the Sheriff’s Department as well as environmentally friendly school buses for Johnston County Schools ; however , she has learned that those may not be eligible expenses Mr Hester explained that staff has learned that the stimulus funds could only be used to reimburse the difference between an environmentally friendly vehicle and a regular vehicle and will not pay the entire cost Commissioner Braswell expressed concerns over the stimulus funds , noting there are many restrictions on how it can be spent Mr Hester stated the Landfill Gas to Energy Project could utilize the stimulus funds ; however , staff is trying to find some projects that would offset impacts to the General Fund Chairman Stewart asked if anyone wished to address the Board from the audience 1 Harbor , Inc Terry Dickens , 30 Huntington Place , Smithfield , stated she serves on the Board of Directors for Harbor Ms Dickens informed the Board that everyone is aware of the difficult situation with the budget ; however , she noted the difficulties also cause hardships for the families served by Harbor Ms Dickens reported on domestic violence in Johnston County as well as surrounding areas and asked the Board to consider their needs during the difficult times Ms Dickens introduced Keri Christensen , Executive Director for Harbor PageCommissioner Allen L Mims , Jr inquired about a grant that Harbor recently received Ms Christensen stated the grant was for 65,000 from the Governor’s Crime Prevention Program and she reported the amount awarded was 5,000 less than last year Chairman Wade M Stewart noted that Ms Dickens had mentioned Harbor also assists clients who live out - of - county and stated there are those people who would question helping those that do not live in Johnston County , with funds being as limited as they currently are Ms Dickens stated occasionally Harbor helps families that live out - of - county due to other area shelters closing or reducing their capacity due to funding restraints Ms Dickens stated when a parent and his or her children need somewhere to stay to be safe and away from a harmful domestic situation , she would defend Harbor taking out - of - county clients Chairman Stewart expressed his appreciation to Harbor , noting they provide a wonderful service for those that are in need ; however , he cautioned that all agencies are asking for more money from the County because they have had their budgets cut by the State Ms Christensen thanked the Board for their past support Ms Christensen stated Harbor has always considered Johnston County residents a priority ; however , she reported that there are new State mandates requiring Harbor to implement a Memorandum of Understanding with other agencies agreeing to take in out - of - county residents Ms Christensen pointed out that of the 2,971 clients Harbor assisted in 2008 , only a small percentage resided out - of - county She informed the Board that based on the 12,500 allocation Harbor received from the County for FY 2008 – 2009 along with the number of clients assisted , the County’s allocation equated to 640 per client The 640 per client allocation helped to provide shelter , court advocacy , transportation , support group assistance for adults and children , employment and housing assistance , support for sexual assault victims , a 24 - hour crisis line , children’s services , and other services as needed Ms Christensen stated Harbor has been advised by the State to reduce their budget by 20 , but there is always an increase in requests for services Ms Christensen requested the Board to consider appropriating the same amount Harbor received last fiscal year , at 12,500 Commissioner Mims noted that Harbor had originally asked for 25,000 Ms Christensen stated they have revised their request to reflect last year’s appropriation Commissioner Mims stated the Recreation Non - Profit Grant Committee is recommending 7,500 , subject to the final adoption of the budget Ms Christensen commented that last fiscal year’s funds from the State were held up until November and the allocation from the County combined with appropriations from the local municipalities allowed Harbor to continue their work Upon a question from Chairman Stewart , Ms Christensen stated Harbor has a maximum capacity of 14 and currently they are serving 11 clients She stated usually during the summer they are at capacity or over Ms Christensen noted most all of the municipalities allocate funding , of which they are appreciative Commissioner W Ray Woodall inquired about the mandate mentioned earlier by Ms Christensen Ms Christensen stated the North Carolina Council for Women has mandated effective July 1 , 2009 , that all agencies must have working agreements with each other which would mean Harbor could not designate a certain number of beds specific to Johnston County residents Ms Christensen noted that usually , their spots are filled by Johnston County residents and they have also sent clients to neighboring facilities for safety reasons Ms Christensen stated safety is a top priority and the shelter has received bomb threats in the past She reported that even with the mandates , there is language that states in - county residents who are in imminent danger would take precedence over those that are not , allowing for some discretion while staying within the guidelines of the new mandates At the request of the Chairman , Ms Christensen introduced those accompanying her including Board of Directors Joan Conn , Tink Morris , Harold Tharrington , and Gayle Koffer Page2 Johnston County Jail – Sheriff’s Department Commissioner Cookie Pope asked Sheriff Steve Bizzell about legislation that would affect the jail Sheriff Bizzell reported there is legislation that if approved , would require counties to house inmates for up to 6 months instead of 90 days , once they are sentenced Sheriff Bizzell stated such a mandate would cost the counties significantly He also noted that currently , the County receives 1800 per inmate per day from the time they are sentenced until they are transferred to a prison facility and the State is considering taking that allocation away He stated the information he is receiving is preliminary and he is still researching the potential impacts Sheriff Bizzell informed the Board that presently the jail is over capacity by 32 inmates Sheriff Bizzell thanked the Board for their past support to his department He noted they are still getting calls for assistance every 14 minutes and the price of fuel and other needs are increasing Sheriff Bizzell commented on the proposed legislation that would require emergency personnel to begin paying for their continuing education classes and reported it would also affect the law enforcement personnel County Manager Rick Hester clarified that the mandate regarding charges for continuing education classes is coming from the State and not the Community College Commissioner W Ray Woodall stated the Board needed to do something about mandates that keep coming to the County with no funds to support them 3 Other Discussion by the Board County Manager Rick Hester reported to the Board that all the County departments have done an excellent job at making cuts in spending which have resulted in a budget reduction of 79 Chairman Wade M Stewart questioned the proposed special appropriations for the recreation non - profit organizations for the FY 2009 – 2010 budget Mr Hester stated an overall allocation has been proposed and the Recreation Non - Profit Grant Committee would be submitting their recommendations on how to split the funds Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr stated the revenue situation is a moving target and he agreed with earlier comments that the Board should wait as long as possible to adopt the final budget Commissioner Mims reminded everyone of the need to adopt a budget while staying within the guidelines of the Financial Policies so as not to jeopardize the County’s bond rating Commissioner Jeffrey P Carver also spoke on the importance of staying within the County’s Financial Policy of adopting the budget while maintaining the fund balance at least 15 Commissioner W Ray Woodall cautioned everyone that next year may be even worse Commissioner Tony Braswell noted that when the Financial Policies were adopted , no one realized how much the economy would decline Following further discussion on how the General Fund may be affected by the adoption of the budget , Mr Hester reiterated Commissioner Mims ’ comments that the revenues are a moving target and will greatly impact the final budget Chairman Stewart inquired from the Director of Inspections , Dean Barbour , if new construction is picking up Mr Barbour reported the Inspections Department has begun to issue some permits for new residential construction as well as remodeling is also up He indicated while the numbers may be slightly up , they in no way compare to the surge in building that occurred in 2006 Mr Barbour informed the Board that the Department of Insurance has begun charging for inspectors to be tested whereas previously those costs had been free of charge Mr Barbour stated one way he is trying to offset these training costs is to hire a State certified instructor to come in and teach courses to the inspectors at a lower cost Page425 June 8 , 2009 – 6 00 pm Continued Sheriff Steve Bizzell reported he also has utilized the practice of having a certified instructor teach the law enforcement personnel in - house to save costs Mr Hester asked the Board if another work session should be scheduled after June 22nd to adopt the budget Commissioner DeVan Barbour suggested leaving the schedule as is for now and then schedule a final session on June 29th , if it is needed There being no further business , Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board adjourn Commissioner W Ray Woodall seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote The meeting adjourned at 7 05 pm Wade M Stewart , Chairman Paula G Woodard , Clerk to the BoardPage