March 18, 1998 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Special)

March 18, 1998The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Wednesday, March 18,1998, at 700 oclock pm in the cafeteria of the Smithfield Middle School, Smithfield, North Carolina,with the following membersPresent Norman C Denning, Chairman, James W Cash, Vice Chairman, Jerry F Wood,Eleanor N Creech, Cookie Pope, Thomas M Moore, and James H Langdon, JrAbsent NoneAlso Present Richard B Self, County Manager, Joyce H Ennis, Clerk to the Board, Johnston CountyBoard of Education members, and NC Legislators, Senator Allen Wellons,Representative Leo Daughtry, and Representative Billy CreechChairman Norman C Denning called the meeting of the Board of Commissioners to orderChairman DeVan Barbour called the Board of Educations meeting to order and the following businesswas transacted1 Discussion - School FacilitiesChairman Norman Denning recognized NC legislators, Senator Allen Wellons andRepresentatives Leo Daughtry and Billy Creech He explained this meeting was not a public hearing buta joint session of the Commissioners, the Board of Education and local legislators to discuss funding ofJohnston County school facilitiesChairman Denning made an opening statement in which he noted the Commissioners, over thepast few years, have asked for the NC General Assemblys permission to hold a referendum on a 1 localoption sales use tax, a 2 land transfer tax and an impact fee to generate revenue for school capitalneeds The ongoing revenue from one or more of these sources would pay for school capital projectsoutright, or at least provide for the financing of these projects He stressed the County can not continueto provide the necessary funds from ad valorem taxes He noted that although growth in the tax base hasbeen considered by some to be the answer, this money will be needed to pay for the additional operationexpenses for the new facilities and other school related needs, as well as other services that have to growalong with the population such as law enforcement and emergency fire and rescue He stressed that theBoard of Commissioners do not want to add taxes to the citizens, but the money has to come fromsomewhere He noted the Board would welcome some other realistic suggestions on how to raise therevenueHe provided a handout showing the following information• projected revenue from the proposed sources• school construction funding requests and projections for the ten -year period from 1993-2003 at 250 million• The amount of County funds required in the current fiscal year for school operation,maintenance and on -going equipment with the note this included only existing, operatingschoolsExplanation and breakdown of the Countys Undesignated Fund Balance reported as ofJuly 1, 1997 in the annual Audit ReportSchool Board Chairman, DeVan Barbour, stated his board, in an effort to effectively plan ahead,has presented the facilities needs through 2003, based on projected growth He noted the Commissionersand General Assembly are the only ones who can find the funds to provide for this needCommissioner Thomas M Moore commented the County can be very proud of the schools weare now building Johnston County is viewed by others as a model program He voiced his appreciationfor the School Boards foresight in planning for the future by determining growth projections so theCounty will not fall behind The problem of funding the future projects is something the County must facenow It is up to the Board of Commissioners to find a way to do this that will have the least negativeimpact on the citizensCommissioner Jerry F Wood noted the County will have to have another revenue source otherthan ad valorem taxes777Commissioner James W Cash asked the legislators for their comments on the three revenueoptions the Board has proposedSenator Allen Wellons pointed out that even though the County wants growth, the problem ofproviding the services before the tax base catches up with the growth is difficult He stated the problemJohnston County faces is a voting problem and stressed the need for a bi- partisan solutionRepresentative Leo Daughtry pointed out the State has provided a great deal of assistance to theCounty in the past few years with the statewide bond issue, critical needs and low wealth funding He alsonoted the County gets sales tax revenue earmarked for schools each year also He noted he wants to helpJohnston County as well as other counties across the state find funds to help with this problem, however,in his opinion, there might be ways other than additional taxesRepresentative Billy Creech pointed out that people do not understand the need for more taxeswhen the County has surplus funds He stated he would be willing to help, but was not willing to raisetaxes He noted the people in Cabarrus County defeated a similar referendum and, in his opinion, thepeople of Johnston County would do the same thing He mentioned the County would get 80 million nextyear and considering they spent 56 million last year, there should be more money available He suggestedthe need is not immediate and recommended the County study this issue to make sure what is done willworkSchool Board member Kay Carroll commented on the need for a new high school within the nextthree years Clayton and South Johnston High Schools are seriously overcrowded He asked the CountyManager and Chairman to explain the money that is currently availableIn response Chairman Denning stated the County must maintain at least 8 in fund balance tosatisfy the Local Government Commission, and there are no excess funds to build schools He remindedeveryone the School Board has demonstrated a need for an additional 139,000,000 for schoolconstruction by the year 2003 This does not take into consideration the additional current operatingexpenses which continue to grow with the increased school population, as well as the maintenance costfor the new facilities Residential growth does not provide enough additional tax base to pay for theservices it demands He asked the County Manager to explain the fund balanceManager Richard Self gave the following explanation concerning the Fund Balance TheUndesignated Fund Balance or working Capital on July 1, 1997 totaled 12,649,406 The County isobligated by the North Carolina Department of State Treasure, Local Government Commission to setaside a MINIMUM of 8 which totals 6,063,345 and the Mental Health Fund Balance in the amountof 760,884 After this is deducted, the available undesignated amount is 5,825,177 This money wasavailable to be spent by the Board of Commissioners So far this year, 3,426,925 has been spent by aunanimous vote of the Board This is divided between two areas - Education related - including providingwater and sewer to schools - 3,279,527; and Law Enforcement - 147,398 A balance is currently leftin the amount of 2,398,279 The County does not have another source of revenue TheUnappropriated Fund Balance should increase each year through a combination of under spending andover collection - this is often referred to as Growth This past year, the Unappropriated Fund Balancegrew by 3,025,138 which represents 47 of the total budget Commissioner James H Langdon, Jr stated the important thing is to make everyone understandthe need in order to get their help with the solution He suggested that all the figures be made availableincluding the projected cost of maintenance, related infrastructure, the revenue streams we have, what theywill pay for, as well as figures showing what the financing would cost for another bond issue He stressedthe people have to understand and believe what the County has to do and it is the Countys responsibilityto provide the full picture He stated that personally he feels the growth in the County might take care ofmuch of the associated cost of maintenance, etc however the Board needs the facts and figures Once thepicture is clear, the Legislators will agree and the people will know what has to be done, and will bewilling to find a way Although the County is not in a critical situation right now, it will be We need tostay ahead of the curve He noted he is opposed to raising taxes until all the facts and figures are clearCommissioner Cookie Pope agreed and stated she is not in favor of placing additional taxes onthe citizens until she is convinced this would be the only way She noted growth may take care of mostof it She complimented the School Board for the great job they have done778It was agreed all the facts and figures need to be made available so everyone will be able to worktogether to see that the children of Johnston County have the schools they needSchool Board member Kirk Edgerton pointed out the need for a commitment so the Board ofEducation can buy land for the West Johnston High School and other schools that will have to be builtHe stressed the cost of land will continue to get higherCommissioner Eleanor N Creech stated she did not want it implied that the Board of CountyCommissioners wants to raise taxes She stressed none of the members wants to put any further burdenon the citizens, but the fact remains the needs are there and the money has to be found All the money thatRepresentatives Daughtry and Creech mentioned that has been made available to Johnston County forschools, plus additional funds, have been spent on schools and schools only The problem is that the needscontinue to ariseSchool Board member Kay Carroll stressed the County has no choice but to find answers to thisproblem Everyone says they dont want additional taxes, however if the money is not raised throughtaxes, the County needs ways to do this He suggest the Board meet again and come back with some ideasCommissioner James H Langdon, Jr stated the Board of Commissioners will have a plan, or ifnot, he himself will have a plan, but he stressed he needs to know the full figureChairman Norman Denning asked County Manager Richard Self to make all the figures andinformation available, and then he and Dr Causby schedule another meeting He stressed this is not aDemocrat problem nor a Republican problem, it is a people problemThere being no further comments, Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board adjournCommissioner Thomas M Moore seconded the motion, which carried by unanimous voteNorman C Denning, ChairmanJoyce K Ennis, ClerkDetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 22207 PMCreated3242003 21527 PMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeSpecialMinutes - Date3181998Book20