Board of Commissioners Meeting Highlights - August 1, 2022 - 10:00 am

10 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JOHNSTON COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MEETING AUGUST 1 , 2022 - 10 00 AM Videos of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners meetings may be viewed at the following https wwwyoutubecom jocogovnc Vietnam Veterans of America 990 led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag 1 Approval Discussion of Agenda – Agenda approved 2 Consent Agenda Items – Consent agenda approved A Appointments i Industrial Facilities Pollution Control Financing Authority – 5 positions ; 6 year terms Burrell Brock and J Chad McLamb have applied for reappointment ii Johnston County Board of Adjustments – 3 positions ; 3 year terms Craig Jones and Flint Benson have applied for reappointment Mr Jones and Mr Benson would require waivers in the length of service policy iii Library Board of Trustees – 1 position to fill an unexpired term ending August 31 , 2024 Gary R Underwood has applied for appointment B Budget Revisions i Health – 5,00000 – To budget grant funds for the Environmental Health Division to complete a comprehensive strategic improvement plan ; 17,87700 – to budget additional grant funds for the Self - Measuring Blood Pressure Innovation Project as well as diabetes prevention program ; 40,30500 – to budget an increase in State WIC funds for increased caseload to enhance the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for WIC ; 66,61977 – to budget payment from Return Solutions for expired medicines ; 266,41500 – to budget an additional allocation of federal funds related to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to support the public health response to COVID - 19 ; 543,76800 – to budget State grant funds to expand essential public health services for COVID - 19 and other communicable disease challenges ; and 916,68300 – to budget State grant funds to build upon existing infrastructure and emphasize the coordination and critical integration of laboratory with epidemiology and health information systems , maximizing the public health impact of available resources additional resources to prevent , prepare for , and respond to coronavirus ii LEO Separation – 54,40300 – To budget fund balance in the Law Enforcement Officer LEO Separation Fund to cover additional LEO Retirement expenses iii Public Utilities – 175,00000 – To budget the transfer of wastewater System Development Fees SDF to the Wastewater SDF Capital Reserve Fund inadvertently omitted in the Fund 68 Fiscal Year 2023 budget Pageiv Sheriff – 5,00192 – To budget revenue Insurance Recovery , Miscellaneous Revenue , and Sheriff Fees into appropriate expenditure line items v Social Services – 39,82263 – To budget funds received into the correct expenditure line items C Tax Releases & Refunds – 06 15 2022 – 07 15 2022 3 Public Comments The following individuals addressed the Board during Public Comment ? Christine Livingston ; and ? Tony Tetterton The Chairman also acknowledged an email from Shannon Petersen Note Full comments can be viewed in the video from the meeting at the following link https wwwyoutubecom watch v gsVW684DNsg & t 14s 4 Delinquent Tax Collection Report - Informational item 5 Annual Tax Settlement and Charge to Collect Taxes for 2022 - The Board accepted the annual settlement and adopted the order to collect for 2022 Tax Administrator Jocelyn Andrews will present the annual tax settlement for 2021 , and request the Board to formally adopt an order to collect taxes for 2022 6 Appointments A Alcoholic Beverage Control Board – 1 position ; 3 year term Jeff Carver was appointed B Hospital Authority Board of Commissioners – 1 position ; 3 year term The Johnston County Board of Commissioners will nominate the appointment at the August 1 , 2022 meeting ; the nomination will then be sent to the Hospital Authority for review Upon review and recommendation by the Hospital Authority , Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr will make the final appointment at the Johnston County Board of Commissioners September 6 , 2022 meeting Brad Oakes was nominated 7 Manager Reports and Comments None 8 Board Reports and Comments A Suggested Rules of Procedure At the request of the Chairman , County Attorney Jennifer Slusser introduced a draft Rules of Procedure for the Board to take under advisement Ms Slusser explained that the Board has been using the School of Government’s Suggested Rules of Procedure for the Board of County Commissioners withPagea few exceptions as a basis for conducting their meetings She stated staff used the SOG’s publication as a starting point with modifications in accordance with the Board’s current practices Ms Slusser stated staff welcomes feedback and looks forward to future discussions Ms Slusser also took a moment to advise the Commissioners on the Board’s adopted Code of Ethics Policy , which is a separate document from the draft Rules of Procedure At the request of Commissioner Fred J Smith , Jr , Ms Slusser stated staff would provide a redlined version of the draft to the Board B Other Board Comments Commissioner Richard D Braswell reminded the Board of the need to be looking at the County’s water and sewer capacities and policies Commissioner Ted G Godwin recalled remarks that have been made during Public Comment from citizens who have expressed concerns with Commissioners not responding to emails Commissioner Godwin stated if he receives an email directly from a citizen , he responds to that email ; however , he does not always respond to emails sent to the entire Board , but he is aware that County Manager Rick Hester does respond Commissioner Godwin stated he wanted it known that even though he may not always respond , he does read the emails from citizens and he is listening Vice Chairman Patrick E Harris stated he also reads all the emails that the Board receives ; however , he would rather talk with citizens on the phone than email Vice Chairman Harris stated most of the time when he responds to emails it is to request a phone number that he can personally speak with the citizen on their issue Vice Chairman Harris stated his phone number is published on the County’s website and he does answer his phone and returns calls Commissioner Tony Braswell stated the Commissioners are a policy board and not an operational board He continued that 80 of the emails the Commissioners receive are about operational matters , which is the responsibility of the County Manager who does respond to those issues Commissioner T Braswell also stated that if he receives an email directly then he does respond ; however , like Commissioner Godwin , if the email is sent to the group he does not always respond Chairman RS “ Butch ” Lawter , Jr stated the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners Conference is next week and although he will be on vacation there are a few Commissioners who will be attending to represent Johnston County Chairman Lawter asked his fellow Commissioners to be looking at their calendars for possible dates in March 2023 for next year’s strategic planning session Chairman Lawter stated Johnston County is in a transitional time and is seeing growth like never before He stated there are many challenges , in particular with infrastructure Chairman Lawter identified the following matters in which he would like for the Board and staff to focus as it relates to water and sewer I Policy Making A Allocation of Sewer Board Decision 1 Short Term - Residential Sewer Service Area ; Towns 2 Long Term - Industrial Commercial Retail ; Residential - Towns County B Time Frame for Using Allocation II Regionalization – There is a study underway ; towns are working together ; need to add Cape Fear industry to the study III Expand the Wastewater Plant - How IV Buy Nitrogen Credits - HowPageAt the inquiry of Commissioner Fred J Smith , Jr , Utilities Director Chandra Farmer discussed with the Board the current wastewater capacity allocations actual flow versus paper flow Ms Farmer explained how staff tracks this information and provides a reconciliation each year Commissioner Smith expressed his concerns that the policy on sewer allocations is not clear and he spoke on his understanding of the County’s ordinance that vested rights expire after two years if there has been no activity on a development Commissioner Smith spoke on the need for clear rules with no areas that require judgement calls and for the public to be kept informed He also spoke on the importance of water and sewer capacities and how that factors into smart development where the land is used in the most efficient ways possible Commissioner T Braswell stated Commissioner Smith has made good points and he would like to see this discussion added to the Board’s August 15 , 2022 6 00 pm meeting The Board continued to discuss the issue with Ms Farmer as well as capacity allocations for the towns that receive sewer service from the County Chairman Lawter spoke on the need to clarify the Board’s th position for staff stating he anticipates a lengthy discussion at the August 15 meeting 9 Closed Session – NCGS 14331811 a 3 – Attorney - Client Privilege ; NCGS 14331811 a 4 – Economic Development ; NCGS 14331811 a 5 – Acquisition of Property ; and NCGS 14331811 a 6 – Personnel No action was taken Page