HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril_18_2006_Briefing_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
BRIEFING MINUTES
APRIL 18, 2006
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on
Tuesday, April 18, 2006, at 5:00 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, Deputy County Manager Susan
Blumenstein, Assistant County Manager Tracy Jackson, Planning & Code Enforcement
Director Lynn Nibloek, Transportation Director Ben Garrison, Tax Administrator Bill
Doolittle, GIS Manager Lee Anne Owens, Library Director Steve Messick, EMS
Director Lee Darnell, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore.
CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Tice
RECOGNITION OF BOY SCOUT KYLE HAWKS: Chairman Tice
recognized Boy Scout Kyle Hawks, a member of Troop 171, sponsored by Williamson
Chapel Methodist Church in Mooresville, NC. Kyle's father, Robert, also attended the
meeting.
CROSSROADS BEHAVIORAL HEALTHCARE UPDATE: David Swann,
the CEO/Area Director of Crossroads, summarized recent changes made by the NC
Department of Health & Human Services that will impact the local managing entity.
The following summary was provided:
Utilization Management will be provided by Value Options: Swann
said Crossroads had a "flawless" application to provide this service,
but one vendor, Value Options, a for-profit organization, was
selected for the entire state. (It was noted that this decision is
contrary to the state's initial mental health platform -- this being that
local government was the best source for coordination.)
2. Crossroads' Local Management Entity Funds will Suffer a 12.5%
Reduction as of July: This loss is due to the utilization
management change.
3. Crossroads Chosen as a Regional Screening/Triage/Referral Source:
Crossroads has been approved to provide after-hours service as of
July 1. (Added with Iredell, Yadkin and Sorry counties were
Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba and McDowell counties. This
service will be provided out of the Elkin office.
4. Governor Easley's Budget and the Budget for the Department of
Health & Human Services will Withhold State Hospital Dollars:
State hospitals are downsizing; however a new facility will be built
and money will be directed towards its debt service. Mental health
reform was supposed to transfer funds to the local communities for
services; however, the money has not been sufficient enough to
sustain the programs. Crossroads has tried to reduce its reliance on
state hospitals, and an effort is being made to encourage legislators
to provide the funding necessary to cover new services.
5. Grant Funds will Start a Mobile Crisis Management Service: A
mobile team will be in place as of July 1 to assist individuals
experiencing a crisis in Iredell, Surry and Yadkin counties. Team
members will travel to the person's home, workplace, or nursing
center.
6. Merger Investigation Subcommittee Established: Crossroads' board
of directors will meet with the area authority boards of Catawba and
Foothills (Alexander, McDowell, Burke & Caldwell Counties) to
evaluate any benefits in merging the three entities.
Swann said a cost savings could definitely be shown if an administrative "hub"
existed. He said that when the Charter Hospital chain closed down, many private beds
were lost. Swann said for hospitalizations, Crossroads mostly referred clients to Frye
Regional, Broughton and Davis Community. He noted that Davis, however, did not
accept any patients who were involuntary committed.
PRESENTATION OF OTHER AGENDA ITEMS: County department
heads and staff then reviewed other items on the agenda. A summary of their
statements may be found in the regular minutes.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
REQUEST FROM THE COVENANT HOUSE OF STATESVILLE, A
501C-3 ORGANIZATION, FOR WASTE DISPOSAL EXEMPTIONS: (This
request was initially discussed at the April 4, 2006 meeting.) County Manager Joel
Mashburn read the following statement regarding suggested criteria to be used in the
future when evaluating tipping fee waiver requests at the Solid Waste Department.
"After reviewing past actions of the county staff and actions by the board of
commissioners concerning the waving of tipping fees for non-profit agencies, I feel there are
justifiable reasons why each is permitted, and also reasons why others may also be justified as
well.
"Back in the early 1990s, when the commissioners were considering the options for
charging for disposal at the landfrll, it was felt that whatever option selected should not only
provide revenue to operate the landfill, but would encourage disposal at designated sites
instead of encouraging illegal dump sites. It was felt that people would not be as likely to
illegally dump if there was no financial gain. Therefore, it was decided to have an availability
Pe that would cover the cost of normal household waste so that residents would not be charged
when they delivered their waste to a convenience center. For the most part, this has been a
successful approach. Illegal dumping has been held down, and by making the transaction
easier, there has been less reason for residents to avoid delivering their waste to the transfer
.stations.
"Along the line, however, it was recognized that some of our charitable organizations
were providing a direct and valuable benefit to the citizens of Iredell County, but were in reality
being hit with fees that were detrimental to the organization. A prime example of this was
donations made to the Salvation Army. In looking at the waste brought in by the Salvation
Army, it was determined that most of the waste brought in was items that would have been
covered under the availability fee if it had been brought in by an individual citizen.
Furthermore, the Salvation Army actually helped in our recycling effort since they would go
through the donations and pull out any item that could be reused or resold. I can recall that
Ron Weatherman and 1 discussed this and felt that the tipping fee had literally already been
paid, and it was not fair to charge it again. Rightly or wrongly, that is the principle that has
been applied to other charitable organizations such as the Fifth Street Ministries. This practice
was ratified in 2004 when the board of commissioners granted such a waiver to the Mooresville
Christian Mission on its donations.
"There have been concerns expressed by some that if we are not careful, we will open
the flood gates and every non-profit in the county will expect waiver offees. Since there are
over 100 non -profits in the county, the revenue loss would be sizeable. I personally don't feel
that concern to be founded in fact. To begin with, not all non -profits, including schools, bring
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waste classed as "household waste. " Just because a child eats at school instead of at home
does not make the lunchroom waste become household waste any more than restaurant waste
becomes household waste because a person eats out instead of fixing their meals at home. In
order for waste to be classified as "household waste, " it must be waste generated by the
occupants of a home carrying out normal daily living activities.
"Why do we waive tipping ,fees ,for certain waste for the NC Department of
Transportation and all tipping fees for Iredell County departments? As to the NCDOT, we
exempt only the waste they bring in from the roadside clean-ups. This is waste that has been
picked up by volunteers who agree to pick up waste from along side the road, bag it up, and
leave it for DOT to pick it up and bring it in. Who should we charge? The volunteer that takes
their Saturday morning to do more than their part to keep Iredell clean, or should we charge
the DOT for transporting the waste to the landfill'? The greater good is being served by having
the waste disposed of properly rather than on the roadside.
"If we look at the amount of fees waived from April '05 to March '06, the Solid Waste
Enterprise fund contributed a little over $39,000,16r the benefit of the community. That is not
even one percent of its budget. If we are going to operate the landfill like a business, even a
business would contribute that much, or more, back to the community.
"With all the above being said, what is my recommendation concerning the request
from Covenant House? My recommendation is that we use the same rationale as we have
with other charitable organizations. If'the items brought in are items that were donated to
the charity, and would have been classified as household waste if brought in by an individual,
then I say the fee should be waived If the items brought in are waste resulting from the
normal operations of operating a group home, then the fee should be paid. I also feel this
same rationale should be applied to all charitable organizations as long as the waste is
separated and easily identifiable.
"As_far as charging county departments, I don't.feel you can justify a waiver based on
the above rationale; however, I do feel there is a way to make it a fair and simple transaction.
Instead of'charging each department when the waste is delivered, the solid waste department
should record all transactions and submit a quarterly or annual billing to the finance
department. The finance department could then credit the charges against the Cost Allocation
Plan which recovers admin costs provided to the Solid Waste Disposal Enterprise Fund.
"Will the above cover every conceivable waiver request? It is doubtful, but it will
provide some semblance of a standard guideline that could help to decide when future requests
are made."
Commissioner Williams concurred with the manager's suggestion, but he
(Williams) emphasized that fairness and consistency needed to be applied in evaluating
the waiver requests.
(The board requested for the manager to briefly review his recommendation at
the 7:00 p.m. meeting in order for a formal decision to be made regarding tipping fee
waivers.)
ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Tice adjourned the briefing at 6:20 p.m.
Approval:
Clerk to the Board