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HomeMy WebLinkAbout051314ssmHARNETT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Minutes of Special Session May 13, 2014 The Harnett County Board of Commissioners met in special session on Tuesday, May 13, 2014, in the Commissioners Meeting Room, County Administration Building, 102 East Front Street, Lillington, North Carolina. Members present: Staff present: Joe Miller, Chairman Gary House, Vice Chaiinian Jim Burgin, Commissioner Beatrice B. Hill, Commissioner Gordon Springle, Commissioner Tommy Burns, Harnett County Manager Joseph Jeffries, Deputy County Manager Dwight Snow, County Attorney Jennifer Slusser, Staff Attorney Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer Margaret Regina Wheeler, Clerk to the Board Brian Haney, Public Infoimation Officer Chairman Miller called the meeting to order at 9:00 am. The following meeting agenda was provided: 1) Donation of land, Harnett County Parks and Recreation, Carl Davis 2) Budget Discussion: - Sheriff's Office - Fire and EMS - Solid Waste - Public Utilities - Board of Education 3) County Manager's Report: - Regular Meeting Agenda Review 4) Closed Session May 13, 2014, Special Session Minutes Harnett County Board of Commissioners Page 1 of 6 Carl Davis, Director of Harnett County Parks and Recreation, advised the Board of Lester Phillip's wishes to donate 109.52 acres of land to Harnett County to be used as a park. The land is adjacent to the Dunn -Erwin Rail Trail and would be used as part of the Rail Trail. Mr. Davis noted the stipulations by Mr. Phillips include retaining naming rights, the property is to remain for the intended purpose of a public park in perpetuity, and the appraisal on the property must be satisfactory to Mr. Phillips. Mr. Davis reported this would be at no cost to county as the Rail Trail Authority will use grant money to pay for any costs associated with the donation and will also be in charge of maintenance to the property. Mr. Davis did note the County reimburses the Rail Trail Authority $3000 annually for maintenance of the trails which is then performed by the Town of Erwin and the Town of Dunn. It was the consensus of the Board that Mr. Davis move forward with accepting the land donation. Mr. Davis announced that Anderson Creek Park is staying busy and things are going well. He noted the users of the park are typically environmental friendly and help take care of it. Mr. Davis acknowledge the growing trend of dog parks, when asked, and said he feels like they will develop as we continue to grow. Regarding the proposed budget, Mr. Burns reported the County has some revenue short and the proposed budget is still around $11 million from being balanced. He said most departments have kept a consistent budget but noted the Sheriffs Office and Fire/EMS to justify their requested significant increases. Sheriff Larry Rollins and Marie Hairr, Sheriff's Office Finance and Budget Officer, discussed their requested increases. Sheriff Rollins said $730,000 of the requested increase would fund nine new positions. He said the County is growing and it takes a number of people to keep it safe and secure and when he doesn't get positions they are falling behind. He did not include anything in his budget for the City of Dunn communications. Sheriff Rollins noted lost revenue as a result of the federal prisoner population being down. Sherriff Rollins said the requested increase of $48,000 would replace computers in patrol cars. The Sheriff is requesting 29 new vehicles in FY 14/15. It was clarified that the Sheriff's Office received 30 new vehicles in FY13/14 and 15 new vehicles in FY12/13. The Sheriff said in managing their fleet they try to take vehicles off-line at 150,000 miles and have approximately 132 vehicles. Discussions regarding the Sheriffs Office fleet and budget request continued. Commissioner Miller asked the Sheriff to contact a citizen who had recently contacted him regarding littering. May 13, 2014, Special Session Minutes Harnett County Board of Commissioners Page 2 of 6 Harnett County Emergency Services Director Gary Pope, Fire Marshal Jimmy Riddle and EMS Division Chief Ricky Denning gave an overview of proposed budget requests for County Fire/EMS Departments. Mr. Pope highlighted the depai tinents requesting budget increases which included Dunn Emergency Services (Averasboro Fire) $.02 additional tax rate, Benhaven EMS $31,559, Buies Creek EMS $47,693, Coats/Grove EMS $37,481, and Dunn EMS $56,090. Mr. Pope distributed letters of justification for the increases requested. Mr. Pope said a committee is currently meeting with all of those requesting increases and will come back to the Board with recommendations. Mr. Pope also thanked Harnett County Public Utilities for their help with fire hydrant installations. As a response to Commissioner Burgin's request, Mr. Pope estimated approximately $.09 cents as a County -wide rate. Mrs. Honeycutt reported the EMS billing is currently $2 Million short of projected revenues for 911 transport and $900,000 over projected revenues for non -emergency transport. Mr. Pope said people want to be transported to Wake or Cumberland County hospitals instead of using local facilities and Medicare/Medicaid will only reimburse a portion of that cost. At this time, patients decide where they want to be transported. Commissioner Burgin questioned how much the County would save if Medicare/Medicaid patients were required to be transported to local facilities if not otherwise determined by the medic. Staff feared that approach could result in a discrimination claim. Commissioner Burgin asked about transporting all patients locally unless otherwise determined by the medic. Staff agreed the County would be able to collect more reimbursements this way. Mr. Denning responded the County could save over $1.3 Million if they ran the entire EMS system and distributed a table detailing the savings. Mr. Denning and Mr. Pope stressed the proposal included rough figures and would not be at the same level of current services as it only provided one primary ambulance at each location and did not include a secondary unit. A medic is required to go on each call. Staff said the program could be much more efficient with use of the AVL software. Mr. Pope also said they believe there could be significant savings if the County bought all EMS supplies. Mr. Riddle and Mr. Pope noted the fire departments look at group purchasing on some items. Commissioner Burgin suggested the departments come up with standardize recommendations for supplies and equipment so they can take advantage of group purchasing while piggy -backing on state contracts. Mr. Pope acknowledged that pay for fire department employees is different across the county as the 19 districts each have a different way of doing things. May 13, 2014, Special Session Minutes Harnett County Board of Commissioners Page 3 of 6 Mr. Riddle mentioned the new rating criteria through ISO and thanked the GIS staff for all of their help. Commissioner House alerted the staff that a fire hydrant is down at Coats -Erwin Middle School which Mr. Riddle will handle. Mr. Burns told the group that Dr. Glazier would be retiring soon and has asked them to consider allowing an Assistant Medical Director to work with him for 18 months to ensure a seamless transition. All agreed Dr. Glazier he has done a lot for the County over the last 32 years. Mr. Jeffries gave an overview of the Solid Waste budget, reporting it is now balanced. He reported a slight increase in revenues but a potential for reduction in reimbursements for tires and white goods. Mr. Jeffries noted the two expansions currently being done in-house were the cause of increases in overtime and gas costs. He noted the request for a new position to handle billing for solid waste, which was previously handled in the Finance Department. Mr. Jeffries said the County is very lucky to have Amanda Bader overseeing the Solid Waste Division and detailed steps she is taking to improve the program. Steve Ward, Director of Harnett County Public Utilities, gave an overview of the proposed budget requested noting a slight increase. Mr. Ward said the Department is not asking for any new positions but is requesting 6 or 7 new trucks in capital outlay. He said they are requesting to increase the bulk rate on water which has not been increased in three years. He also noted a proposed increase on the cost of electricity to pump water to those outside of the County as well as a $2 per ton increase to septic haulers with a per truck flat charge. Mr. Ward will soon submit Public Utilities Capital Improvement Plan which will include a water meter upgrade project to be performed over two years. He responded that the Walmart coming on Hwy 87 would be required to bore under the road for water/sewer as well as installing a lift station. The group reviewed the Board of Education's 2014/2015 local budget request. Commissioners asked that the Board of Education prioritize their requests as well as vetting prices further because the quotes provided seem too high and they need real numbers they can depend on. Commissioner Springle said he also has an issue with their proposed supplements. Mr. Burns noted $21,523,000 of funding would not jeopardize Harnett County School's low -wealth funding in addition to the $2.2 million QSCB funding for repairs and the additional $1.3 million in sales tax which should cover the debt -service on the new elementary school. Mr. Burns reported the process is on track for the proposed bond referendum. Mr. Burns also distributed information regarding QSCB funding provided by Harnett County Schools. Mr. Burns reported that the School Board wanted to use the additional $2.2 Million May 13, 2014, Special Session Minutes Harnett County Board of Commissioners Page 4 of 6 QSCB funding for roof repairs next summer because they don't think they have time to receive the funding and get the repairs done this summer. Commissioner Burgin asked if the School Board could use money out of their fund balance to start the repairs while waiting on the QSCB funding. Commissioner Burgin said the estimates provided for roof repairs are too high. It was the consensus of the Board that the County move forward with the $2.2M QSCB authorization to replace the roofs at Western Middle and Western High but they will not incur the money until sometime in early 2015 which will coincide with the June 2015 project date included in the budget submittals from Harnett County Schools. Regarding the Harnett County School's recent request for $770,000 to open Highland Middle School; it was the consensus of the Board that the Board of Education fund this need through their fund balance. Commissioners were under the impression that Highland Middle School was a "turnkey" project. Commissioner Burgin questioned the need for funding for operational supplies as he said the State money follows the student and the 6th graders who will be attending Highland Middle School are currently attending other schools in the County. Commissioners assume Harnett County Schools will realize savings as the need for module units will decrease. The group also discussed the Harnett County School's financial statement recently provided. Commissioners requested more information including their exact amount of unassigned fund balance which would reflect recent payments by the County. Mr. Burns reviewed the draft May 19, 2014, regular meeting agenda. Mr. Burns also alerted the group that the Harnett County Parents As Teachers Program recently lost its grant funding when the Partnership for Children's Board voted to reclaim the grant funding to reallocate to another program. Mr. Burns said he was told the decision was based upon on-going reporting and eligibility issues. He noted employees of the program had already been notified. Commissioner Burgin asked about recent military training, including helicopters and explosives, at the old Boone Trail School. Staff was aware of the training and acknowledged an agreement with the military training group which included their obligations to inform neighbors of the training. Commissioner Burgin said something needed to be done regarding exploding targets in Harnett County. He said he is getting calls, as well as the Sheriff, and wondered if the County could limit the use of the exploding targets within so many feet of an occupied dwelling. Mr. Burns said this is also a problem in the area where he lives. May 13, 2014, Special Session Minutes Harnett County Board of Commissioners Page 5 of 6 Commissioner Hill moved that the Board go into closed session to: 1) consult with the County's legal staff in order to preserve the attorney-client privilege concerning the handling of certain claims; and (2) discuss matters relating to the location or expansion of industries or other businesses in Harnett County. This motion is made pursuant to N.C. General Statute Section 143-318.11(a)(3)&(4). Commissioner Burgin seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Commissioner Hill moved that the Board come out of closed session. Commissioner Springle seconded the motion which passed unanimously. Chaiiman Miller moved to adjourn the meeting at 12:56 pm. Commissioner Burgin seconded the motion which passed unanimously May 13, 2014, Special Session Minutes Harnett County Board of Commissioners Page 6 of 6