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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay_26_2005_Budget_Meeting_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET SESSION MINUTES THURSDAY MAY 26 2005 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Review Session on Thursday, May 26, 2005, at 5:30 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Present were: Chairman Sara Haire Tice Vice Chairman Godfrey Williams Steve D. Johnson Marvin Norman Ken Robertson Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. Others present: Kathryn Wellin with the Charlotte Observer and Carrie Sidener with the Record & Landmark. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice. UPDATED REVENUE ESTIMATES: Finance Director Blumenstein said Tax Administrator Bill Doolittle had increased the FY 05-06 revenue estimates by $334,646 on May 24. She said, however, that the net ad valorem tax amount available would only be $103,037. (She said $7,676 would be paid to the schools, airport debt service would be paid at $27,223, and one-half of the cost for the airport sewer line would be paid at $197,710.) STATESVILLE REGIONAL AIRPORT: Commissioner Johnson said the state had approved an airport grant for $1 million. He said a ten percent match would have to be paid prior to receiving the grant money. 700 -MITCHELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE BUDGET: College trustees Wally Riddle, Joe Troutman, and Dr. Frank Fields, along with President Dr. Doug Eason and Business Operations Manager Barbara Wheeler, joined the commissioners for a discussion regarding Mitchell's budget. Both Troutman and Eason expressed concern about next year's funding. Dr. Eason said the new Workforce Technology Building would add additional costs. Wheeler said the additional expenses would be approximately $98,983 (housekeeping, utilities, etc.). Dr. Eason asked for an additional $100,000 in current expense for the new building. Tice asked when the new building would be completed. Eason said June 28, 2005 was the expected completion date. Commissioner Williams said the county manager had recommended $1,839,638 (current expense) for the college's appropriation, and this already was an increase of $116,001. Williams asked if the college was requesting another $100,000. Dr. Eason said this was correct. He said the college's liability insurance had increased, and this was another reason for the request. Mashburn asked if the state covered any of the costs. Eason said no -- just programming costs -- no operating costs. Williams asked the sq. footage cost for the new building. Eason said $2.75 a sq. ft. Johnson asked if any money had been set aside for property acquisition. Eason said there had been property discussions, but there wasn't a short-term likelihood that a purchase would occur. In reference to the new building, Eason said the Gordon Family had contributed $50,000.00, Kewaunee Technical had donated benches for the labs, Blanton & Moore supplied furnishings for the conference room, and Mitchell Gold provided furnishings for the lobby area. Dr. Eason then provided enrollment data for the college's programs. 700-MOORESVILLE GRADED SCHOOL DISTRICT BUDGET: Mooresville Schools Chairman Dr. Frank Fields, Superintendent Dr. Bruce Boyles, and Finance Director David Dutton attended the meeting to discuss the Mooresville Graded School System's budget. Boyles estimated the system would have 208 new students in the fall. He said the proposed budget had a two percent increase for local employees, but the major expense was for personnel at the new school. Dr. Boyles said the system was anticipating a $175,000 cut from the state (teacher assistant category). Commissioner Robertson asked if some of the mobile units could be eliminated once the new school opened. Dutton said yes, but some might be needed elsewhere. He said the system both leased and leased -to -own the units. Dutton said currently there were 28 mobiles, but after the new school opened, only 24 would be needed. Pertaining to current expense, Boyles said the system had to use some of its fund balance to balance the budget. He said as much money that could be saved, however, was going into the capital budget for fund equity. Boyles predicted an intermediate school would be the system's next new project. Robertson said the high school would soon have 1,400 students. Boyles said it was anticipated the high school could accommodate 2,000 students. Commissioner Norman asked about the impact of state cuts. Boyles said the system would have to wait and see what they were. He acknowledged, however, that the school systems in the past had made the cuts look fairly easy, when in actuality they had been difficult. Boyles said the school units would really be affected if more state cuts occurred. Robertson asked if there were any new student projection counts, especially since the southern end would have several new housing developments. Boyles said the Moore Farms subdivision, which alone would require a new school, along with the second phase of the Cherry Grove development, were not included in the last OR -ED student population study. Robertson requested that the school system provide updated student projections. 700-IREDELL-STATESVILLE SCHOOL SYSTEM BUDGET: Superintendent Dr. Terry Holliday, Assistant Finance Director John Cashmire, and 2 Maintenance Director Dr. Kenny Miller presented the Iredell-Statesville School System's budget. Holliday said the current expense budget was increased by $1,981,331 in accordance with information provided by the county's finance director. He said the increase would be used for utility costs, transportation, potential salary increases of three percent, the impact of salary increases on the local supplements, and that the teacher supplements were being raised to 7.5%. Holiday said the supplements would then be above state average, and this would make the Iredell-Statesville System competitive with all surrounding units with the exception of Charlotte -Mecklenburg. Holliday said the central office had been cut by $50,000. He said the General Assembly was considering the possibility of ending the sales tax reimbursements to the schools. Commissioner Norman mentioned the teacher assistant cuts. He asked if any were locally funded. Holliday said media assistants were locally funded. Commissioner Johnson asked about the child nutrition program, and the system's interest in contracting out the services. He asked how the employees would be impacted. Holliday said outsourcing was beneficial, and it saved money in some cases. He said a profit margin of at least 1% was required of the nutrition program, and the employees did a good job. Dr. Holliday said outsourcing would be used only if money could be saved. He said there were three levels that could be taken and these were (1) retain all employees (2) retain current employees and turn over new employees and (3) turn over all employees. Holliday said three firms were being reviewed for the services. Johnson requested that the employees be considered in the outsourcing proposal. In reference to capital outlay needs, Dr. Miller said he had a five-year spreadsheet and an updated copy would be given to the board members. He said a major cost for the upcoming year would be in mobile unit lease purchases ($1,100,000). Miller said a three percent rate had been obtained. Commissioner Williams asked about the roofing schedule. Miller said the system was behind in roofing repairs, but overall, it was in good shape. He said paving was an area that would need attention in the future. When asked about standing seam roofs, he said there were a few leaks, but the feedback that had been received was good. Miller said it was usually the installation and not the actual roof that was causing the problems. He said the boilers were in good condition, and one was transferred from Scotts to Statesville High School. Johnson asked the sewer backup plan for Harmony. He also asked about the water runoff problem. Miller said a sewer engineering study was included in this year's budget. He said the staff was reviewing the possibility of expanding the field. Dr. Miller said the construction manager was studying the runoff problem. Holliday said the school system's attorney had advised "caution" regarding the runoff problem. He said the system wanted to be a "good neighbor," but it didn't want to assume a long-term commitment that it couldn't afford. Commissioner Robertson asked if updated student population counts had been created. Holliday said the consultant, OR -ED, would update the figures in the fall. He said the estimates were updated every two years. 3 630 -SOCIAL SERVICES BUDGET: Social Services Director Don Wall joined the commissioners and offered to answer any questions about his budget. Mr. Wall encouraged the board members to accompany a social worker on a home visit, or to sit-in on an interview at the office. He mentioned that people from "all walks of life" obtained services from the agency. Wall said the 2005-06 budget was five percent higher (county funds) than 2004-05, and this was mostly due to increased Medicaid costs. He said the demand for services had increased substantially during the past year especially in the Food Stamps Division where $8 to $10 million would be spent. Wall also said the Foster Child Program had been busy. He said normally, the department had 80 to 90 children in foster care; however, this year 165 had been placed with 145 of them being in DSS custody. Commissioner Johnson asked if the $1.2 million increase in Medicaid was a "firm number." Wall said yes. When asked if the new building would increase operating costs, Blumenstein said no. She said all of the services would be housed in one building, and it would be more cost efficient; plus there would be a 60% administrative payback from the state. County Manager Mashburn mentioned that Cornerstone Baptist Church had requested access across the waterway at the new social services building. He said the staff were not in favor of allowing the access. (Some of the commissioners also voiced their disapproval.) 600 -HEALTH BUDGET: A brief discussion occurred about the health department's budget; however, no changes were made to the county manager's recommendations. Commissioner Robertson mentioned that in an effort to curb some of the turnover in the environmental division, some positions might require additional compensation. County Manager Mashburn said reclassification funds were included in the general governmental budget. RESCUE SQUAD BUDGET: Finance Director Blumenstein reviewed the proposed rescue squad funding for 05-06. She said the recommended funding for Troutman was reduced by $3,010 due to the squad receiving fewer calls. In regards to the Iredell Rescue Squad, Blumenstein reminded everyone that the county was paying the debt service ($73,780) for an ambulance and equipment. The 05-06 funding amounts for the four squads are as follows ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Tice made a otion at 7:45 p.m., to adjourn the budget meeting until Tuesday, May 31, 2005 for the third budget session. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Approval: 4 Clerk to the Board 2005-06 Increase over 2004-05 Iredell $225,525 $46,440 North Iredell 82,254 7,504 Mooresville 43,045 16,201 Troutman 28,038 (3,010) ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Tice made a otion at 7:45 p.m., to adjourn the budget meeting until Tuesday, May 31, 2005 for the third budget session. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0. Approval: 4 Clerk to the Board