HomeMy WebLinkAbout012825 wsHARNETT COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Minutes of Work Session
January 28, 2025
The Harnett County Board of Commissioners met in work session on Tuesday, January 28, 2025
at 9:00 am, in the Commissioners Meeting Room, Harnett County Resource Center and Library,
455 McKinney Parkway, Lillington, North Carolina.
Members present: Matthew B. Nicol, Chairman
William Morris, Vice Chairman
Barbara McKoy, Commissioner
W. Brooks Matthews, Commissioner
Duncan "Eddie" Jaggers, Commissioner
Staff present: Dwight Snow, County Attorney
Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer
Brent Trout, County Manager
Melissa Capps, Clerk
Chairman Nicol called the Harnett County Board of Commissioners meeting to order at 9:00 am.
Vice Chairman Morris led the Pledge of Allegiance and provided the invocation.
The following agenda was before the Board of Commissioners:
1. Call to order — Chairman Matt Nicol
2. Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation — Vice Chairman Bill Morris
3. Discuss a request to establish a fee for QuantiFeron Tuberculosis Blood Test;
Ainsley Johnson, Health Director
4. Discuss a request to award the Dunn -Erwin Landfill Expansion Project
Construction Contract; Chad Beane, Solid Waste Director
5. Discuss fee schedule for Public Utilities; Seann Byrd, Interim Harnett Regional Water
Director
6. Economic Development Quarterly Update; Stephen Barrington, Economic
Development Director
7. Financial Mid -Year Update; Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer
8. Review applications to serve on Boards and Committees.
9. County Manager's Report — Brent Trout, County Manager
• February 3, 2025 Regular Meeting Agenda Review
• Upcoming meetings and invitations
10. Closed Session
11. Adjourn
Ainsley Johnson, Health Department Director, reviewed a request for the Board of
Commissioners to establish a fee of $80 for the QuantiFeron Tuberculosis Blood Test. At the
Harnett County Board of Commissioners
Work Session Minutes
January 28, 2025
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January 16, 2025 meeting, the Board of Health approved QuantiFeron tuberculosis blood test fee.
Consensus of the Board was to place this item on the next consent agenda.
Chad Beane, Solid Waste Director, reviewed a request to award the Dunn -Erwin C&D Landfill
Expansion construction contract to Lockamy's Grading, Inc. from Angier, NC in the amount of
$317,000. Proper procurement measures were taken and the bid was held on Thursday,
December 12, 2024. Four bids were received at that time. Consensus of the Board was to place
this item on the next consent agenda.
Seann Byrd, Interim Harnett Regional Water Director, reviewed information regarding system
development fees. The North Carolina General Assembly passed General Statute § 162A Article
8 in 2017 to establish guidelines for calculating and charging System Development Fees (SDF).
Harnett Regional Water's first System Development Fee Report was delivered in 2018. The
latest update to the Fee Report was performed in 2023 and we are required to update the report at
least every 5 years. SDFs are a one-time charge for new customers to recover the cost of
constructing large-scale water and sewer systems. SDFs are designed to prevent inequity to
existing customers. SDFs are different than tap fees, which seek to recover the labor and
materials of connecting a user to the utility system. The SDF Report in 2023 was prepared by
Willdan Financial Services. Report outlines history and methodologies of SDFs. Mr. Byrd
reviewed the cost per gallon of capacity, water SDF calculation, wastewater SDF calculation and
regional comparisons. Following some discussion, the consensus was to place on the next
consent agenda, the Board directed staff to come back with a plan to lower system development
fees and water tap fees if possible.
Stephen Barrington, Economic Development Director provided a quarterly update to the Board.
Information included active projects, business development, product development and
engagement and learning. Mr. Barrington also shared the following hot topics:
• Harnett 95 — property closed (October 2024)
• MidPort 95 — property closed (December 2024)
• KriGen — bought out by Dynamic Biologics
• ILC Dover — Ingersoll Rand
• Marketing Best Practice
Kimberly Honeycutt, Finance Officer, provided a quarterly financial review for quarter ended,
December 31, 2024. Information included:
General Fund
o The collection of Ad Valorem Tax was 10.32% above the same time last year.
Prior year comparisons were 6% below due to a software issue that prevented the
posting of tax collections until the next reporting period. As of the end of
December 2024, the County had collected 76.86% of the ad valorem tax
budgeted. [Update: As of 1/24/2025 posting, the County had collected 91.1% of
the Ad Valorem Tax budget.]
Harnett County Board of Commissioners
Work Session Minutes
January 28, 2025
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o On average, 75% of the General Fund revenues are derived from ad valorem and
sales tax.
o The collection of ad valorem taxes as the County continues to experience growth
in addition to the strong collection rate that Harnett County has always
experienced. Harnett County's levy collection rate for FYE 2024 was 99.38% and
is calculated annually as part of the fiscal year end audit.
o The collection of sales tax continues to remain positive. Sales tax revenue for the
County for the second quarter is above the same period last year. Please refer to
the "Sales Tax Analysis By Article" found on page 32 for more detailed
information. (posted on
o A comparison of the quarter ended December 31, 2023 with the same period last
year reveals that the General Fund Revenue is up 9.7% and General Fund
expenditures are up 12.4%.
• Harnett Regional Water
o Overall - The financial position of Harnett Regional Water continues to remain
positive in response to the continued growth of the county and demand for water
and sewer services.
• Solid Waste
o Overall - The financial position of the Solid Waste Fund continues to remain
positive in response to the continued growth of the county and demand for
services.
Review of applications to serve on Boards and Committees — Consensus of the Board was to
place this item as an individual action item for review and consideration at the February 3, 2025
Board Meeting to allow additional time for review of the applications.
Coley Price, Deputy County Manager, introduced Charlie Palocy, we are excited to have him as
the Opioid Task Force Coordinator and Management Analyst. '
Brent Trout, County Manager, shared at a previous meeting, it was mentioned that the Veterans
Farm was having some issues with putting homes on their property, staff has met with the
gentleman and they have worked through the issues and they are progressing again. I have some
good news, it was mentioned during our Legislative Policy luncheon that we needed to seek an
extension for our funding for the runway project that we received, that we had an October 1,
2025 deadline. There was a law passed in the last session, that actually extended that deadline
until funds had been expended.
Vice Chairman Morris made a motion to adjourn the Board of Commissioners at 9:32 am.
Commissioner Jaggers seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.
Matthew B. 14icol, Chairman
Melis Capps, Clerk
Harnett County Board of Commissioners
Work Session Minutes
January 28, 2025
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