May 10, 1982 - 7:30 PM - County Board of Commissioners Meeting Minutes (Recessed)

May 10, 1982The Johnston County Board of Commissioners reconvened in regular session Monday, May10, 1982, at 730 pm, in the CommissYOrier`siRoom of the Johnston County Courthouse, Smithfield,North Carolina, with the following members presentNorman C Denning, Chairman, Frank B Holding, Vice - Chairman, James W Cash, John MBooker and Howard BentonMembers Absent NoneThe Chairman called the meeting to order and the following business was transacted1 Utilitv Companies Appeal - Tax AssessmentsJohnnie Stott, Tax Administrator, and Billy Britt, County Attorney, met with the boardand reported they had talked with State Ad Valorem Tax officials regarding the utility companiesrequest for a reduction in their property assessments of 100 The Tax Administrator andCounty Attorney briefed the board on the status at this point and related comments from othercompanies in similar cases as to what they were willing to do in regards to a settlement withthe utility companies f,IThe board also discussed, should a settlement be made in the countys favor, would the 1utility companies be required to pay interest on amounts due the county The board asked the county manager to check into this matterAfter discussion, the board agreed to wait and see what happens in other counties beforetaking any action2 1982 -1983 Budget Work_In opening the first budget work session, Kramer Jackson, County Manager, presented thebudget in two parts, Part One - Operating Budget Requests and Part Two - Capital Outlay andSpecial Requests The county manager and the board discussed and reviewed budget requests fromseveral departments as follows1 Schools In discussion of the school budget the county manager pointed outthat approximately 230,000 of the schools request is for salaries of county paid teachersand other employees Commissioner Howard Benton stated the reason he would like to go into theschool budget in detail was to ascertain if any vital services were being detained or curtailedNo action was taken2 Sheriffs Department and County Jail discussion of possible reduction insome areas of these budgets3 Capital Health System The board feels a duplication of services and strongemphasis on leaving this request out of the 1982 -83 budget4 Johnston County Industries Request an increase of 13,500 In discussion,the board tentatively agreed on funding the same amount as last year 3,5005 Mental Health The board and Dr Dan Searcy, Director, Mental Health, discussedapproximately 616,000 federal budget cuts and agreed that it was the States responsibilityto provide Mental Health Programs6 Airport Authority The board discussed a Capital Outlay project request of2 o match funds for extension of the air 9,5 00 t P orts runway No action was takenMay 10th Continued7 Capital Outlay - General Fund As a commentary prior to discussion of CapitalOutlay -Projects,, Commissioner Holding stated that he could see the need for some amount ofmoney to help the Town of Micro with upgrading their sewer system ;8 Rescue Squad Ambulances-, `TYie Chairman encouraged the board to consider fundingfor at, least one new ambulance, if not tvao9 Salaries The board briefly discussed salary increases for county employeesThe county manager stated to the board that he was not recommending across- the -board increasesthis year, but was proposing increases for employees on merit No action was takenIn discussion of the over -all budget requests, the board agreed they liked the idea ofkeeping the same tax rateUpon a motion by Commissioner Frank B Holding, duly seconded by Commissioner John MBooker, and carried, the board recessed to meet again Monday, May 17, 1982, at 730 pm, forthe scheduled Public Hearing on the Proposed Budgets? rNorman C Denning, ChairmanC- JEleanor N CreechClerk to the Board