June 23, 1997 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Recessed)

June 23, 1997The Johnston County Board of Commissioners met in recessed regular session Monday, June 23,1997, at 700 oclock pm in the Commissioners Room, Johnston County Courthouse Annex,Smithfield, North Carolina, 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 Rescue Squads - Proposal for Short -TermCounty Manager, Richard B Self, offered the following short term option for addressing the currentcrisis of the rescue squads1 Since there has been no request for ambulances this year, he suggested this 50,000 be used,plus an additional appropriation of 9,400, to increase the monthly allocation to the squadsfrom 450 to 10002 He suggested the County front -end the cost of ambulance billing for the first six months toallow the squads to have additional cash flow [The County usually withholds one -half of thecollections during the first six months of the year until they have collected enough to coverthe cost of operation]He noted that this would only be a short-term measure that would provide immediate assistance tothe squads and give the County up to 180 days to address a long -term solutionThe Commissioners all agreed to the proposal with the understanding a more permanent plan willbe addressed and ready for implementation within 6 monthsDale Johnson, Vice President of the Rescue Association, thanked the Board for recognizing theurgency of the needs and providing this short-term help with the promise to address a long -term solutionDewayne West, Director of Emergency Management, stated that with the Boards approval, hewould like to proceed with plans for restructuring the EMS Advisory Committee and modifying thebylaws He noted a Commissioner would need to serve on this committee Commissioner Jerry F Woodagreed to represent the Board on this committee since he already meets with the Rescue AssociationThe County Manager noted the Board would need to consider putting funds in the budget toimplement any long term solution2 Childrens Home - Hazel SorrellHazel Sorrell spoke briefly with the Board about the possibility of using her childrens home inBenson as a receiving home for the Department of Social Services foster care program She presenteda proposed receiving home budget of 125,612, which would include staff and operating costs At present,she can accommodate nine children, but plans to add additional space in the near futureEarl Marett, DSS Director, stated he has requested a foster care group home in his budget, and ifapproved, he would certainly consider Mrs Sorrells proposalBoard members congratulated Ms Sorrell on her recent recognition at the local and state level asRetired Educator of the Year, and offered their best wishes for success as she competes for the nationaltitle3 Board of EducationDeVan Barbour, Chairman ofthe Board of Education, briefly outlined the budget requests and notedthe School Board, in figuring their Capital Outlay budget, considered the actual appropriations from theCounty last year of 6,394,000, and asked for an additional 1 million Since 1991, the County has beenallocating 5 million each year in the Capital Outlay budget, with 3 million being used for debt serviceand the remaining 2 million going to the schools for maintenance of facilities For the last two years, theSchool Board has come back to the County in January for additional funds for school busses and mobileunits Last year they received the budgeted 2 million after debt service plus a later additional allocationof 1,394,059, for a total of 3,394,059 For the coming year, they are requesting that amount plus 1millionSchool Board member, Kay Carroll, pointed out they have recently added approximately 250,000sq ft of additional space that has to be maintainedConcerning the current expense request, the County Manager included in the base budget anadditional 532,305 based on projected enrollment This would keep the per pupil allocation at the samelevel Chairman Barbour requested this figure be increased by an additional 1 millionIn discussion, Commissioner James W Cash suggested the County increase the School currentexpense budget by 125 , which would be a total increase of 1,532,305 over last years allocation Herecommended an increase in the capital outlay appropriation of 1 million over last years budgeted figureof 5 millionMr Barbour and Mr Carroll asked the Board to at least match last years actual capital outlayallocation by increasing that amount to 14 million, instead of the 1 million suggested by CommissionerCashFollowing further discussion, the Board tentatively agreed to a 125 increase in current expense,which would amount to a total of 13,759,402; and an increase of 14 million in the capital outlaybudget, which would bring that total allocation of 6,607,448, which includes 207,448 that has beenadded by the County this year to cover additional debt service above the 3 million4 Revenue Proiections DiscussedBefore going over the expansion items, Commissioner James H Langdon, Jr asked for someclarification ofthe revenues which have been budgeted Based on actual revenue figures found in the auditreport for 1995 -96, he asked if projected revenues could be higherThe County Manager explained he is always conservative in projecting revenue, simply because itis a projection Also, additional unexpected revenue is often needed for unexpected expenses If there isan overage of revenue at the end of the year, it goes into the fund balance and is available for the nextyearCommissioner James W Cash stated he appreciated the conservative projection and noted he wouldprefer having money left over at the end of the year, than have bills that could not be paid ChairmanDenning agreed5 Expansion Budget Items ConsideredThe Board discussed the County Managers expansion budget items and tentatively approved theemployee retention money to provide salary adjustments for County employeesEarl Marett, DSS Director, thanked the Board for this consideration for employee salaries MrMarett noted that when he loses an employee, the replacement, in order to be certified as required, mustbe trained by a veteran employee This means the agency loses productivity from two positions He notedthat it is vital that the County keep their trained personnel and stated it is less expensive to pay goodemployees more than it is to train new ones569Sheriff Freddy Narron also thanked the Board, but pointed out that when the County gives the samepercentage increase as the State, the gap between salaries increases because the lower paid countyemployees actually get less raise He asked the Board to take into consideration the outstanding peoplethey have working for Johnston County GovernmentCommissioner Thomas M Moore stated he strongly favors approving a new policy to allowemployees unused vacation time to be rolled over into their sick leave This will keep conscientiousemployees from losing vacation time at the end of the yearThe Board also considered the 3 8 requested new positions, most of which were tentatively approvedby the majority of the BoardOther expansion items which were considered favorably included the 9,400 needed for the rescuesquads increase in monthly allocation, as well as 150,000 reserve for future plans for EMS The Boardalso showed favor for a 120,000 appropriation for the FIRESCAN operation, 10,000 for the JohnstonCounty Arts Council, 30,000 to Johnston County Industries, 14,703 as a match for the Area TransitSystem, and a 164,000 increase in the current expense allocation for Johnston Community CollegeThey tentatively agreed to finance through Certificates of Participation the water and sewer lines to theMcGees Crossroads SchoolThe Board agreed to come back on Tuesday, June 24, 1997 to further consider the budget6 Courtroom Security - Judge JenkinsJudge Knox Jenkins informed the Board he has checked with the Administrative Office of the Courtsabout the grant to write guidelines for courtroom security, which the County Manager referred to at thelast meeting He stated that if the County is one of the five chosen to be surveyed, his understanding wasthat the study would only amount to a one day observation, and the recommended guidelines would notbe published until the spring of 1998 He pointed out, in his opinion, this would not be the kind of studythat is needed for Johnston County Regarding the study done by the US Marshalls office, Judge Jenkinsrecommended against this as well He stated their requirements would be extremely expensive andprobably more than is really needed He recommended a committee be formed to work out a better wayto handle Courthouse security and suggested the committee consist of two Commissioners, the Sheriff,the District Attorney, the Clerk of Court and several judgesChairman Denning stated the Board would take this recommendation under advisement7 Budget AmendmentsA Tax Districts - To budget additional revenues collected for DistrictsUpon a motion by Commissioner Jerry F Wood, seconded by Commissioner Eleanor N Creech andcarried by unanimous vote, the Board approved the following budget amendmentExpenditure Increase50 66006015Boon Hill Fire District600050 66006016Brogden Fire District6400050 66006032Strickland Crossroads Fire District47500TOTAL1,17500Revenue Increase50 660031206Boon Hill Fire District600050 660031207Brogden Fire District6400050 660031223Strickland Crossroads Fire District47500TOTAL1,17500Expenditure Increase55 66506010Archer Lodge Fire District3,0100055 66506012Beulah Fire District300055 66506013Bentonville Fire District900055 66506016Brogden Fire District5750055 66506017Claytex Fire District2600057055 66506018Corinth Holder Fire District1700055 66506019Meadow Fire District90005566506024McLemore Fire District2300055 66506030Shoeheel Fire District2000055 66506031Smithfield Fire District6250055 66506032Strickland Crossroads Fire District400055 66506034West Johnston Fire District750055 66506039Town of Smithfield5,6500055 66506040Town of Kenly11,1000055 66506042Town of Clayton6,3000055 66506043Town of Benson1,3000055 66506044Town of Four Oaks1,4500055 66506046Town of Pine Level1000055 66506047Town of Micro20000TOTAL31,49500Revenue Increase55 665031201Archer Lodge Fire District3,0100055 665031203Beulah Fire District300055 665031204Bentonville Fire District900055 665031207Brogden Fire District5750055 665031208Claytex Fire District2600055 665031209Corinth Holder Fire District1700055 665031210Meadow Fire District900055665031215McLemore Fire District2300055 665031221Shoeheel Fire District2000055 665031222Smithfield Fire District6250055 665031223Strickland Crossroads Fire District400055 665031225West Johnston Fire District750055 665031338Town of Smithfield5,6500055 665031333Town of Kenly11,1000055 665031331Town of Clayton6,3000055 665031330Town of Benson1,3000055 665031332Town of Four Oaks1,4500055 665031335Town of Pine Level1000055 665031334Town of Micro20000TOTAL31,49500B Water Fund - transfer to water fund to cover shortage since establishedUpon a motion by Commissioner Jerry F Wood, seconded by Commissioner Thomas M Mooreand carried by unanimous vote, the Board approved the following budget amendmentExpenditure Increase67 78106100 Administrative Costs 453,38900Revenue Increase67 781039101 Transfer from General Fund 453,38900There being no further business, Commissioner James H Langdon, Jr moved the Board recess until700 pm Tuesday, June 24, 1997 Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion, which carried byunanimous voteNorman C Denning, ChairmanJoyce K Ennis, ClerkDetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 15800 PMCreated3272003 124541 PMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeRecessedMinutes - Date6231997Book20