June 24, 1997 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Recessed)

June 24, 1997The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in recessed regular session Tuesday, June 24,1997,at 700 oclock pm in the Commissioners Room, Johnston County Courthouse Annex, Smithfield, NorthCarolina, with the following membersPresent Norman C Denning, Chairman, James W Cash, Vice Chairman, Jerry F Wood,DDS, Eleanor N Creech, Cookie Pope, Thomas M Moore and James H Langdon, JrAbsent NoneAlso Present Richard B Self, County Manager, and Joyce H Ennis, Clerk to the BoardThe Chairman called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted1 Budget DiscussionKay Carroll, member of the Board of Education, requested an additional 500,000 for currentexpense He stated that with the additional funds, the School Board would be able to find enough moneyfrom within their budget to give a 1 increase in teacher supplementsCommissioner James W Cash asked if there was going to be an adjustment in salaries for teacheraides and office support peopleMr Carroll responded there would be some adjustments to long term non - certified employeessalariesCommissioner Jerry F Wood stated that to his knowledge the County has never singled out fundsfor teacher supplements, and questioned how the County could afford another recurring expense He notedan additional 500,000 this year would amount to close to 3 million within the next 5 years He pointedout the States mandates have put a burden on the County taxpayers, and the Board has a responsibilityto think about how this will affect the County citizensCommissioner Thomas M Moore voiced his support for the request and noted the backbone of agood school system is its teachersCommissioner Eleanor N Creech noted she has always favored education, but the Commissionershave other salaries to consider She stated if more money could be found, she would like to see more donefor the County employeesCommissioner James W Cash stated he would support the schools additional request if it couldbe done and keep the tax rate increase to no more than ten centsCommissioner Cookie Pope stated she felt the budget needed to be reworked with the revenuesadjusted upward and the expenditures cut back She commented, in her opinion, the Board could adoptthe budget without a tax increaseCommissioner James H Langdon, Jr noted that he would also like to look again at the process bywhich the base budget was figured He compared the audit report figures as of June 30, 1996, with therevenues in the proposed budget, and stated, in his opinion, the revenues are too conservative He statedhe could not support a 10 -cent increase, and recommended the budget be tightened upThe County Manager explained the process to prepare the proposed budget begins six months priorto it being presented to the Board Each department reevaluates and presents their requests for the comingyear based on anticipated expenses, revenues, and new State requirements He reviews their requests andcuts anything he feels he could not Justify A genuine effort is made by everyone to get the best value forthe dollar Concerning revenue projections, the problem is there are many unknowns The County doesnot make the assumption that there will always be a steady rate of growth It is a matter of best estimatebased on many factors572Commissioner Eleanor N Creech stated that Ms Pope and Mr Langdon appeared to have somefigures before them that she did not have She asked that they share this information with the rest of theBoardCommissioner Langdon shared with the other Board members some information showing certainspecific revenues budgeted against the actual revenues received according to the last audit report, andagain stated he did not believe the budget was as tight as it could be He stated he did not have the Budgetlong enough to thoroughly understand the figures, and noted he was especially not comfortable with theprojected revenuesAfter looking at Mr Langdons figures, the County Manager asked several Department Heads toexplain their revenues figures D S S Director, Earl Marett, Child Support Director, Jim Henderson, C PThompson, Chief Inspector, and Register of Deeds, Phyllis Wall, spoke briefly about their departmentsand the revenues they generate Each agreed, along with the County Manager, to meet with any of theCommissioners to further explainChairman Norman Denning stated that if there was additional revenue, he would favor paying forthe water and sewer to the new schools, instead of borrowing the funds Commissioner James Cash statedhe would not have any problem tightening the budget, but did not want to have problems with a short fallat the end of the yearFollowing further discussion, County Manager, Richard Self, stated he felt comfortable with theexpenditure requests, and the only change he could recommend in the revenues would be adding 210,000to sales tax He noted the interest income figure might be considered low, however, he would notpersonally recommend any change, as there is too much variation in the market and making predictionswould be too much of a risk He pointed out the budget he presented was a proposal; once it is presented,it is modified by the Board and it becomes the Boards budgetThe Board suggested Commissioners Pope and Langdon work on their recommendations and bringthem back to the Board tomorrow nightThere being no further comments, Commissioner Cookie Pope moved the Board recess until 700pm June 25, 1997 Commissioner James H Langdon, Jr seconded the motion, which carried byunanimous voteNorman C Denning, ChairmanJoyce K Ennis, ClerkDetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 15826 PMCreated3272003 124423 PMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeRecessedMinutes - Date6241997Book20