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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay_29_2007_Budget_Session_MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BUDGET SESSION MINUTES TUESDAY MAY 29 2007 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met for a Budget Review Session on Tuesday, May 29, 2007, at 5:30 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Present were: Chairman Marvin Norman Vice Chairman Sara Haire Tice Steve Johnson Ken Robertson Godfrey Williams Staff present: County Manager Joel Mashburn, Deputy County Manager Susan Blumenstein, Assistant Finance Director Deb Alford, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. Others present: Lena Warmack with the Charlotte Observer, Chyna Broadnax and Bethany Fuller with the Record & Landmark, and Lee Ann Sherrill with the Iredell Citizen. WENDY WORKMAN OUT OF OFFICE: County Manager Mashburn mentioned that Executive Assistant Wendy Workman would be out of the office approximately four to six weeks due to surgery. Antonia Barcello, with the Finance Department, will be assisting in the manager's office during this time. NEW DEPARTMENT HEADS: Mashburn said new department heads Ron Smith (Planning Director) and Chris Royal (Animal Services Manager) would assume their positions on June 4. EROSION CONTROL ORDINANCE: Mashburn said (1) the newly adopted erosion/sedimentation control ordinance was approved by the state (2) the county office was now fully staffed and (3) the program would begin as planned on July 1. UPDATE ON 2007-08 ELECTIONS: As an update from the May 24 meeting, Deputy County Mgr. Blumenstein said $80,000 was the estimated cost for the 2008 presidential election. She said $45,000 could be eliminated from the budget if the second primary in June was not held. UPDATE ON LEGAL COSTS: Also as a follow-up from the May 24 meeting, Blumenstein said the county, since 2001, had paid $16,800 as a legal retainer. She said the hourly rate was $108. IREDELL-STATESVILLE SCHOOLS Attending the meeting on behalf of the I -S System were Board of Education Chairman Dr. David Cash, Superintendent Dr. Terry Holliday, Maintenance Director Dr. Kenny Miller, and Finance Officer Kay Fulp. Blumenstein said in current expense, I -S was recommended to receive $1,360 per pupil, and the average daily membership was estimated at 22,011 plus 612 charter students. She said there was a 7.42% increase in the per pupil rate. In capital outlay, Blumenstein said $5,380,040 was recommended, and this was a 5.00% increase over FY 06-07. She said $1,365,886 had been set aside for project reserve, and this was a 542% increase over FY 06-07. Dr. Cash said the Phase II projects were being bid, and the School Facilities Task Force would soon discuss Phase III. Commissioner Robertson asked when a new high school would be needed. Dr. Holliday said sites were being reviewed. He suggested a partnership with Mooresville Graded and then a regional high school around 2011. Holliday said Phase III would explore the needs. Robertson asked if Mooresville had been approached about the high school concept. Holliday said not really, and he felt the commissioners should make the move. He said Mooresville had a new superintendent, plus he didn't know how the maneuver might be viewed due to the merger discussions occurring in the General Assembly. Dr. Holliday said growth was occurring in many parts of the county and population estimates were continually watched. He said the system was estimating 1,000 new students a year. Commissioner Williams asked Blumenstein about revenues. Blumenstein said revenues were always conservatively estimated. She said this year there had been about a 14% increase for the '/z¢ sales tax. Commissioner Tice asked about the Presbyterian Road elementary school timetable. Holliday said it depended on Mooresville due to the pump station. He said it was possible the school might open in January 2009, but it would probably be opened in the fall. Dr. Holliday said construction costs for new schools had now increased from 9 to 12% increase. He said inflation was built into the projects, but nothing as high as 12%. Holliday said the Phase II projects had been identified; however, the public needed to know a school might need to be cut to meet the budget. He said the Phase I projects had came in under budget. Commissioner Williams asked if current projects were on schedule. Holliday said yes, and this included Statesville High. He said the high school continued to need the most scrutiny due to its location. Cash said any new high schools needed innovative curriculums to curb the drop-out rate. He said the funding formula had worked well, but adjustments were probably needed. Robertson asked about current expense funding, and how the system evaluated teacher performance. Holliday said a large portion of current expense was used for utilities. He said supplements had improved to the point that I -S was now in the top ten systems in the state. Dr. Holliday said student achievement and test scores were one way to measure performance. He said (1) in the past three years the teacher application pool had improved (2) there was less teacher turnover and (3) many teachers were now attracted to I -S due to the newer or improved facilities. Holliday said the system, unfortunately, had lost 6.5 teachers due to low lottery revenues. Chairman Norman asked if the system would save money if a merger with Mooresville occurred. Holliday said the state would save money, but there would be no savings for the county. Attending the meeting on behalf of the Mooresville Schools were Superintendent Mark Edwards and Finance Officer David Dutton. Blumenstein said Mooresville was recommended to receive 1,360 per pupil for its 5,638 students (26 are charter students). She said the current expense amount of $7,667,680 was a 20.31% increase over FY 06-07. Blumenstein said $704,928 was recommended for capital outlay, and this was a 5.00% increase over FY 06-07. She said project reserve was recommended at $316,075 and this was a 231% increase. 2 Finance Officer David Dutton said the state was projecting a five percent increase for teachers and 4.25% for all others. He said the state, in past years, always underestimated the system's enrollment, but he felt this situation had been resolved. Commissioner Johnson asked the Mooresville officials about the joint high school concept. Dutton said the Mooresville officials would be interested in knowing more about the idea. Johnson said that when the task force met again, high schools would be a topic of discussion. Commissioner Robertson asked if the new Mooresville high school would be at capacity upon first opening. Dr. Edwards mentioned that 12,000 new students in a 10 -year period had occurred with his previous school system in Virginia. Commissioner Tice mentioned that the full build -out for the Lowes Corporate headquarters was 12,000 employees. Robertson said that by 2014 there would probably be two new high schools at capacity. He asked Supt. Edwards the recommended enrollment figures for a high school. Edwards said an excellent high school could be achieved with 1200-1400 students. He said a 1400-1600 enrollment; however, might be needed to have many activities such as band and athletics. Edwards said some students would find it difficult to attend a high school with an enrollment of 2,000. MITCHELL COMMUNITY COLLEGE Attending the meeting on behalf of the community college were Board of Trustee Chairman Dr. Ralph Bentley, Executive Vice President for Development Dr. William Finch, and Finance Officer Richard Lefevre. (Dr. Bentley said MCC President Dr. Doug Eason was recuperating from heart surgery and was expected back to work in the next few weeks.) Blumenstein said it was difficult to calculate a per pupil rate for the college due to the state using a full time equivalency (FTE) method. She said FY 07-08 current expense was recommended at $2,392,160 or a $312,565 increase over FY 06-07. Mrs. Blumenstein said for capital outlay, the county was recommending $778,375 which was a $176,465 increase over the current year. She said there was a decrease for capital reserve, and the amount recommended was $229,060 or $139,630 less than FY 06-07. Dr. Findt mentioned that student enrollment continued to increase. Finance Officer Lefevre said the state was always a year behind in funding due to the FTE method. He mentioned that $100,000 had to be reverted to the state last year. Commissioner Johnson asked where the $250,000 for property acquisition was listed in the budget. Blumenstein said this was restricted in the fund balance, specifically for the college. BUDGET REVIEW FOR INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS (* = Budget was discussed but there were no changes from the county manager's recommendations) * 710 -Debt Service * 800 -Transfers to Other Funds * 810 -Other Financing Uses Courts: Commissioner Johnson and Commissioner Tice mentioned their attendance at the court facility task force meetings. They mentioned that part of the problems seemed to stem from the lack of personnel. (The state will not fund additional positions.) Johnson said the next 3 capital project, after the jail, needed to be the courts. He mentioned that an employee of the Administrative Officer of the Courts would soon meet with the study group. Tice said the Mooresville facility wasn't being utilized to its full potential. She said some people had mentioned that attorneys did want to drive to Mooresville. Johnson added that many cases originated in Mooresville but their disposition wasn't occurring there. He said local people should be scheduling the cases and not the state. Mr. Johnson said a directive needed to be given to the courts study group. He said the Clerk of Court would be meeting with a consultant and the Administrative Office of Courts would assist, but eventually an outside consultant would be needed. He asked if anyone had problems with this arrangement. (No one voiced concerns.) Plexiglass Request from Court Employees: Johnson said court employees had requested Plexiglass enclosures at some areas of the Hall of Justice. County Manager Joel Mashburn said Asst. Mgr. Jackson would request assistance from the Facility Services Department. * 34 - Capital Reserve *37/620/622/629 -Transportation *38 — 911 Coordination Fund *39 — JCPC *40 — Capital Projects Fund *52 — Solid Waste Blumenstein mentioned there was an increase in the household availability fund from $26 to $35. Mashburn said the Phase III cell was rapidly filling up and plans needed to be worked on for Phase IV. He said the new cell would cost $3,850,000 and the construction/demolition landfill proposed for the Harmon property was estimated to cost $1,535,000. *66 — Health Benefits Fund *68 — Workers Comp REQUEST FROM THE CITY OF STATESVILLE FOR $4,000: Chairman Norman said a letter from the City of Statesville requesting $4,000 from each Visioning "partner" had been received. Due to the project not being in the budget, there was board consensus to deny the request. GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPDATES: County Manager Mashburn said there was no Medicaid relief included in the Senate's budget, but the House did offer some assistance. Commissioner Robertson mentioned two pieces of pending legislation. One item pertained to health departments being allowed to charge for restaurant inspections. The other legislation would require mobile home dealers to charge a new home fee with a requirement that the revenues be placed in a reserve account for mobile home demolishment/clean-up. ADJOURNMENT: Chairman Norman adjourned the session at 8:20 p.m. (The next budget meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 31 at 5:30 p.m.) Approved: 4 Clerk to the Board