June 12, 1996 - 7:00 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Recessed)

June 12, 1996The Johnston County Board of Commissioners resumed regular session on Wednesday, June 12,1996, at 700 oclock pm, in the Commissioners Room, Johnston County Courthouse Annex, Smithfield,North Carolina, with the following membersPresent Norman C Denning, Chairman, John M Booker, Vice Chairman, James W Cash, JerryF Wood, Eleanor N Creech, Cecil M Massengill and Cookie PopeAbsent 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 SessionThe Chairman stated the Commissioners would hear from the School Board first, and due to thelarge number of people in attendance, he moved the meeting to the Superior CourtroomDr James Causby, Superintendent of Schools, spoke of the additional funding the Schools arerequesting, and explained the impact the growth in the County is having on education He thanked theBoard for their support in the past, especially with their help in getting the 50 million bond issue passed,but stressed the need for additional current expense moneyDr Causby explained there was a misunderstanding concerning the States allocation for JohnstonCounty Unfortunately, the State has not allocated 75 million in additional funds as the Department ofPublic Instructions Planning Allotment indicated He noted the formulas for determining the allotmentwere changed, and several areas of funding were added that were not in the 1995 figure When thePlanning Allotment was sent to him in March, he received backup information with full explanation,however, this information was not included when the report was sent to the County Manager The newState Planning Allotment, in reality, only increases by approximately 19 million, which accounts for75 ofthe anticipated growth in student enrollment He further explained that when the County Managernotified his office by phone, asking for confirmation of the figure, he did not get the message, andtherefore did not realize the confusion that would result He apologized for not getting this informationcorrected earlier and promised to maintain better contact with the County Manager He also stated thatcontrary to earlier remarks he had made, the low wealth money anticipated from the State would not bejeopardized if the County does not increase current expense moneyCounty Manager, Richard Self, agreed with Dr Causby that the misunderstanding could andshould have been cleared up between the two of them He noted that when he saw the 75 million figure,he was very excited that the State was finally going to increase their allocation to Johnston CountySchools He notified Dr Causbys office for confirmation, and then twice called Phillip Price at the StateDepartment of Public Instruction for further verification Mr Price assured him both times that the figurewas correct He failed to explain that the formulas for arriving at that figure had changed since last yearBased on no response from Dr Causbys office, and the confirmation from Mr Price, he used the figurein preparing his budget He, too, promised to better communicate with Dr Causby in the futureSchool Board Chairman, Kay Carroll, addressed the need to provide for the growth in enrollment,and at the same time, to expand the current level of educational programs in the County He stated thatby the year 2000, the School Board hopes to have student allocations at State averageChairman Norman C Denning thanked everyone for coming He stressed the Board of CountyCommissioners has always supported the schools and has traditionally looked at the school request, alongwith County employee salaries, as the first areas of concern in determining the budgetBoard of Education members, Wayne Stewart, Deacon Jones, Bob Dickens, and Denton Lee askedthe Commissioners to give as much consideration as possible to the School Boards request, so they mightprovide better education for the children in Johnston CountyEach of the Commissioner responded and expressed their support for the schools, but pointed outthe many demands on the Countys tax dollar They stressed the need for additional sources of revenue tobe used for schools and asked everyone present to contact our State Legislators for the help only they canprovide335Commissioner James W Cash commented on the large amount of money the State is holding ina rainy day fund He also questioned why, considering the school needs across the state, the legislatureis considering a bill to reduce sales tax that is earmarked for schools He referred to the food tax, which isconsidered by many to be a fair taxCommissioner Cookie Pope stated that she believes the revenues received by the County this yearwill probably be more than the expenses, and hopes the money can be found to meet the schools needsThe following persons from the audience spoke in support of the School Boards budget requestsAnn Koebley, Principal Brian Martin, Pam Crocker, Kim McLamb, Carol Andrews, Yvonne Lansinger,Rodney Sawrey, Hank Daniels, Dean Strickland, and Teresa MullinsThere being no further comments, the Chairman asked that the Board return to their regularmeeting room in the Courthouse Annex2 Southeastern NC Radio Reading Service - Request for FundsThomas White, Director of the Southeastern NC Radio Reading Service, Inc asked the Board toconsider an appropriation for his organization He explained the Radio Reading Service provides closed -circuit radios for persons that are visually impaired He noted there are 186 persons that are registered blindin Johnston County The organization serves 13 counties, and has asked each county for assistance Herequested funding in the amount of 3,168 from Johnston County, however, he stated the Radio ReadingService would be happy with whatever support the County can give3 County Manager Asked to Explain Unallocated FundsIn reference to Commissioner Popes earlier comments about unallocated revenue aboveexpenditures, the Chairman asked the County Manager, Richard Self, if this money is available Mr Selfexplained the unallocated funds Ms Pope referenced are either already committed by the Board for futureprojects, such as utilities to industries, water lines to schools, and debt payment, or represent the 8 ofGeneral Fund expenditures which the County is required by law to keep at all times4 County Agencies - Budget RequestsA Board of ElectionsAnn Stallings, Supervisor of Elections, asked the Board for a full -time employee to assistwith voter registration Ms Stallings explained that the growth in the County and the new laws concerningvoter registration have necessitated a third person in her office She stated she has employed a part-timeemployee at 40 hours a week for several months, and asked the Board to make this position full -timeB Department of Social ServicesEarl Marett, Director of Social Services, stated his agency is also being impacted by thegrowth in the County The number of people served by Social Services is growing daily in all areas,especially in foster care He asked the Board for an additional foster care worker to help place thesechildren He noted lately the court system has been placing more and more children under the care of D S Swho are products of difficult court battles Mr Marett also explained he believes the County is facing muchhigher contributions to Medicaid, and may have to supplement other funds if the State reduces their blockgrant fundingC Planning DepartmentCal Genereux, Acting Planning Director, explained his department, too, is short- staffeddue to the extensive development in the western portion of the County He noted no other county in thestate, except those with a major city, has added more development than Johnston County this yearCurrently the Planning Department only has two office personnel and two planners to handle all newsubdivisions as well as rezoning cases He asked for an additional plannerCommissioner Cecil M Massengill commended Mr Genereux on the good job he is doing336D Inspections DepartmentC P Thompson, Chief Inspector, asked the Board for an additional inspector He notedhis staff has also been over - burdened with all the new construction in the County The number of permitsissued has grown at an alarming rate The Inspections Department is primarily supported by user fees,however, they also conduct many inspections each year, including schools and foster care homes, for whichno fees are charges He asked for the Boards support for this position in order to be able to continueresponding to contractors in a reasonable time frameThere being no further comments, Commissioner John M Booker moved the Board recess untilMonday, June 17, 1996, at 700 pm Commissioner Cookie Pope seconded the motion, which carried byunanimous voteNorman C Denning, ChairmanJoyce K Ennis, ClerkDetailsAnnotationsEntry PropertiesModified11192013 14333 PMCreated492003 90351 AMTemplateMinutesFieldsMinutes - TypeRecessedMinutes - Date6121996Book20