June 9, 1999 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

10 452 June 9 , 1999 The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Wednesday , June 9 , 1999 , at 7 00 pm in the Commissioners ' Meeting Room , Johnston County Courthouse , Smithfield , North Carolina , with the following members Present James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman , Cookie Pope , Vice Chairman , Jerry F Wood , Eleanor N Creech , Thomas M Moore , Allen L Mims , Jr and Wade M Stewart Absent None Also Present Rick Hester , Interim County Manager , Joyce H Ennis , Clerk to the Board , Mark Payne , Attorney , John R Massey , Finance Officer Chairman Langdon called the meeting to order 1 Recreation Grants for 1999 - 2000 The Board decided to make no changes in the recreation grant program for fiscal year 1999 - 2000 2 Budget Presentations A Library Joyce Mitchell , Library director , stated she failed to include in her budget request sufficient funds for a pay increase for her employees equal to the amount recommended by the County Manager She requested 6,800 be added to her request if the Board approves a 4 increase in pay for County employees B Council on Aging Donna Creech , executive director of Council on Aging , pointed out the recommended appropriation for her agency is approximately 34,000 less than requested She stated she needed the additional funds in order for her to provide a greater contribution to insurance coverage for her employees She noted her staff provides a needed service to a growing population in Johnston County , and this added benefit would reduce the cost of insurance for her employees to a level they can afford In response to a question from Commissioner Wade M Stewart , Ms Creech stated she is unable to do an effective job in covering the entire County because of insufficient funds , however every elderly citizen can get meals , and in - home care as long as funds are available In areas where there is no hot meal home delivery service , frozen meals are available C Health Department Dr Leonard Woodall , director of the Health Department , spoke briefly about the request for an increase in environmental health fees , and an additional environmental health specialist position He noted the existing staff is no longer able to keep up with the increased work load , and the increase in fees would cover the cost of this additional employee He reviewed with the Board the following proposed fee schedule Current Fee Proposed Fee Septic Permits 75 125 Well Permits 80 100 Pool Permits 75 100 Following discussion , Commissioner Jerry F Wood moved the Board approve the proposed fee schedule for Environmental Health , effective July 1 , 1999 Commissioner Wade M Stewart seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote D Emergency Management Department Dewayne West , EMS Director , offered to answer any questions the Board might have concerning his department , and especially the new rescue program to provide quick response vehicles QRVs in the County Page453 In discussion , Mr West noted that cutting the request from four QRVs to two would not reduce the cost by one - half since certain costs would be the same regardless , and two vehicles would have to cover a larger area , requiring more cost for fuel and maintenance The cost for operating two vehicles would be approximately 400,000 or a reduction of about one - third the request In response to a question concerning the status of rescue in the County , Mr West commented the existing volunteer system is getting more and more difficult to maintain The job has become much bigger as the County has grown , and volunteers are more difficult to find E Airport Roy Dixon , Airport Manager , explained the Airport Authority is requesting additional capital outlay funds in the amount of 443,000 in order to strengthen the taxiway , build a corporate hanger and provide a fuel truck The recommended budget includes only 346,000 He noted the hanger would be paid for in seven years , after which it would provide income for the County In response to a question from Commissioner Wade M Stewart about funds left from the current budget , Mr Dixon explained that some of this money is earmarked for projects in progress Some of the funds were matching money for federal grants that the airport anticipated but were not awarded F Inspections C P Thompson , Chief Building Inspector , thanked the Board for approving the new employees in his department He noted he is proposing fee increases of approximately 20 , which would make the County's fees comparable with surrounding areas The increased fees would cover the costs of the new staff members and their training Interim County Manager , Rick Hester , noted the proposed fees were figured in the proposed budget The Board discussed the costs related to fire inspections Mr Thompson explained the law requires the County to perform fire inspections at prescribed intervals on many facilities , many of which are public buildings that do not pay for the service Also , it has been difficult to collect in some situations since facility owners do not see the need Currently two of his staff conduct fire inspections on a full time basis Mr Thompson asked the Board to approve the requested 4 salary increase to help keep good employees from leaving the County G Sheriff's Department Sheriff Steve Bizzell spoke briefly about his budget requests and noted the demands on his office increase every day The Sheriff also requested the Board approve the 4 increase for County employees Sheriff Bizzell mentioned the possibility of a garage for County vehicle maintenance and stated , in his opinion , this should be pursued H Communications Communications Director , Al Gaskill , stated his department can attest to the rapid growth in the County as over 400 phones were added to the 911 system last month and an even greater number is anticipated for the current month Mr Gaskill reminded the Board the new position in his office would be for one - half of the year only , beginning in January 2000 He too asked the Board to fund the 4 increase for employees noting over the past two years , there has been a significant improvement in turn over In response to a question from Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr about the charge now on cellular phone bills , Mr Gaskill noted the County should begin receiving some of that money before the end of the calendar year The fee goes to the state and will be allocated to public safety answeringPage454 points I Social Services Social Services Director , Earl Marett , spoke to the Board about the need for additional space for his agency He provided copies of a letter from the State Division of Social Services stating his facility is out of compliance with the provisions set out in the General Statutes A study has been done and the estimated cost to expand the current facility would be 25 million , however , Mr Marett noted he was not sure where additional parking spaces would be found State and federal funds would reimburse the County 50 to 60 of the cost He suggested the Board allow him to proceed with planning during the coming year , with the hope of being able to move forward with the project in FY 2000 - 2001 Concerning recent comments about a decrease in welfare , he pointed out the old AFDC program has decreased , however , there have been increases in medicaid , food stamps , adult care and child care programs , especially foster care Also , approximately twice as many DSS cases are going to court , which required more work and time for staff He noted that the estimate for the County's match for medicaid in the new year remains the same as FY 1998 - 99 , however , the recommended figure is 400,000 less than the state's estimate , and this may have to be increased before the year is out Commissioner Eleanor N Creech , who also serves as chairman of the Social Services Board , stated the need for additional space is serious In discussion , Mr Marett noted that his department now stays open on Monday evenings to accommodate the working clients There being no further business , Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Thomas M Moore seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote At the request of the Chairman , Commissioner Eleanor N Creech moved the Board reconvene Commissioner Jerry F Wood seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote 3 Budget Amendment Upon a motion by Commissioner Cookie Pope , seconded by Commissioner Allen L Mims , Jr and carried by unanimous vote , the Board approved the following budget amendment DEPARTMENT MOTOR VEHICLE TAX Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Expenditure Increase Decrease 55 66506010 Archer Lodge Fire District 5 80000 55 66506012 Beulah Fire District 1 30000 55 66506013 Bentonville Fire District 80000 55 66506018 Corinth Holder Fire District 1 20000 55 66506020 Elevations Fire District 1 70000 55 66506021 50 - 210 Fire District 2 80000 55 66506022 Micro Fire District 20000 55 66506024 Mclemore Fire District 5 50000 55 66506027 Oneals Fire District 1 00000 55 66506030 Shoeheel Fire District 40000 Net Expenditures 20 70000 Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Revenue Increase Decrease 55 665031201 Archer Lodge Fire District 5 80000 55 665031203 Beulah Fire District 1 30000 55 665031204 Bentonville Fire District 80000 55 665031209 Corinth Holder Fire District 1 20000 55 665031211 Elevations Fire District 1 70000 55 665031212 50 - 210 Fire District 2 80000 55 665031213 Micro Fire District 20000 55 665031215 Mclemore Fire District 5 50000 55 665031218 Oneals Fire District 1 00000 55 665031221 Shoeheel Fire District 40000 20 70000Page455 DEPARTMENT MOTOR VEHICLE TAX Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Expenditure Increase Decrease 55 66506032 Stricklands X Roads Fire Dist 70000 55 66506033 Thanksgivings Fire Dist 1 10000 55 66506034 West Johnston Fire Dist 90000 55 66506036 Wynn Fire District 4 60000 55 66506038 Whitley Heights San Dist 1 00000 55 66506039 Town of Smithfield 63 70000 55 66506040 Town of Kenly 12 50000 55 66506041 Town of Selma 24 30000 55 66506042 Town of Clayton 48 80000 55 66506043 Town of Benson 9 60000 55 66506044 Town of Four Oaks 70000 55 66506045 Town of Princeton 2 80000 55 66506046 Town of Pine Level 1 40000 55 66506047 Town of Micro 60000 55 66506050 Town of Wilsons Mills 60000 Net Expenditures 173 30000 Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Revenue Increase Decrease 55 665031223 Stricklands X Roads Fire Dist 70000 55 665031224 Thanksgiving Fire Dist 1 10000 55 665031225 West Johnston Fire Dist 90000 55 665031227 Wynn Fire Dist 4 60000 55 665031229 Whitley Heights San Dist 1 00000 55 665031338 Town of Smithfield 63 70000 55 665031333 Town of Kenly 12 50000 55 665031337 Town of Selma 24 30000 55 665031331 Town of Clayton 48 80000 55 665031330 Town of Benson 9 60000 55 665031332 Town of Four Oaks 70000 55 665031336 Town of Princeton 2 80000 55 665031335 Town of Pine Level 1 40000 55 665031334 Town of Micro 60000 55 665031342 Town of Wilsons Mills 60000 173 30000 DEPARTMENT DISTRICT TAXES Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Expenditure Increase Decrease 50 66006010 Archer Lodge Fire District 28 00000 50 66006013 Bentonville Fire District 60000 50 66006014 Blackmons X Road Fire District 65000 50 66006015 Boon Hill Fire District 3 90000 50 66006016 Brogden Fire District 1 70000 50 66006019 Meadow Fire District 4 80000 50 66006020 Elevations Fire District 1 40000 50 66006021 50 - 210 Fire District 12 30000 50 66006022 Micro Fire District 1 90000 50 66006024 Mclemore Fire District 10 50000 Net Expenditures 65 75000 Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Revenue Increase Decrease 50 660031201 Archer Lodge Fire District 28 00000 50 660031204 Bentonville Fire District 60000 50 660031205 Blackmons X Roads Fire Dist 65000 50 660031206 Boon Hill Fire District 3 90000 50 660031207 Brogden Fire District 1 70000 50 660031210 Meadow Fire District 4 80000 50 660031211 Elevations Fire District 1 40000 50 660031212 50 - 210 Fire District 12 30000 50 660031213 Micro Fire District 1 90000 50 660031215 Mclemore Fire District 10 50000 65 75000PagePage pageNumber5456 DEPARTMENT DISTRICT TAXES Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Expenditure Increase Decrease 50 66006027 Oneals Fire District 10 00000 50 66006028 Pine Level Fire District 3 80000 50 66006029 Selma Fire District 70000 50 66006030 Shoeheel Fire District 1 60000 50 66006031 Smithfield Fire District 6 00000 50 66006032 Strickland X Roads Fire Dist 1 30000 50 66006033 Thanksgiving Fire Fire Dist 6 80000 50 66006034 West Johnston Fire District 5 50000 50 66006035 Wilsons Mill Fire District 4 70000 50 66006036 Wynn Fire District 7 00000 Net Expenditures 47 40000 Fund Budget Line Item Requested Change Code Classification Revenue Increase Decrease 50 660031218 Oneals Fire District 10 00000 50 660031219 Pine Level Fire District 3 80000 50 660031220 Selma Fire District 70000 50 660031221 Shoeheel Fire District 1 60000 50 660031222 Smithfield Fire District 6 00000 50 6600 31223 Strickland X Roads Fire 1 30000 50 660031224 Thanksgiving Fire Dist 6 80000 50 660031225 West Johnston Fire District 5 50000 50 660031226 Wilsons Mills Fire District 4 70000 50 660031227 Wynn Fire District 7 00000 47 40000 There being no further business , Commissioner Wade M Stewart moved the Board adjourn Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion , which carried by unanimous vote ____________________________________ James H Langdon , Jr , Chairman ______________________________ Joyce H Ennis , ClerkPage