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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 18 2015 Regular MinutesIREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS PRE -AGENDA MINUTES August 18, 2015 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in pre -agenda session on Tuesday, August 18, 2015, at 5:30 PM, in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman James B. Mallory III Vice Chairman Marvin Norman Tommy Bowles Steve Johnson Ken Robertson Staff present: County Manager Ron Smith, County Attorney Bill Pope, Deputy County Manager Beth Jones, Finance Director Susan G. Robertson, Attorney Lisa Valdez, Public Safety Director David Saleeby and Clerk to the Board Retha Gaither. CALL TO ORDER: Chairman James Mallory called the meeting to order. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: County Manager Ron Smith stated there were two adjustments: Remove: Appointments Before the Board Report of the Cost of Community Services in Iredell County — Memo #1. Mr. Renkow had an accident and was unable to attend. Add: Closed Session Economic Development — G. S. 143-318.11 (a) (4) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Request from the Library to Accept a Scholarship and Approve BA #5 for One Employee to Attend a Conference: Julie Moore stated the State Library offers first time attendees to the Association of Rural and Small Libraries Conference to apply for a $1,200 scholarship. The scholarship is provided through the State Library of North Carolina and Library Services and Technology App Funds. The scholarship will cover the cost of the conference, air fare, hotel and shuttles in Little Rock, Arkansas on September 30 to October 3, 2015. Rebecca Lopez, Library Program Specialist at Troutman, applied and was selected as a recipient. Any scholarship money not used for the conference will be applied toward purchasing staff development materials for the libraries. No county money will be used to attend this conference. The request is to approve the budget amendment and receipt of the funds. This item was placed on the consent agenda. August 18, 2015 Budget Amendment Fiscal Year 2015-16 BA#5 To recognize State Library grant for Public Library employee to attend Small Rural 8/18/2015 Libraries conference in Little Rock Arkansas. Account # I Current Budget I Chane Amended Budget 104650 456119 652 State Library - Training Grant 1,200 1,200 105652 536000 652 Training & Dev-Grant Funded 1,200 1,200 Request from the Planning Division to Consider Calling for a Public Hearing for Southern Properties, LLC, to Release Jurisdiction to the Town of Mooresville: Planning Director Matthew Todd said this request is off Brawley School Road on Promenade Drive. It is a commercial piece of property and last year the Board released a portion on the rear side. They need water and sewer from the Town of Mooresville and are requesting the front portion be released as well. This item was placed on the consent agenda. Request from the Finance Department to Adopt a Resolution to Sell Two Houses Acquired Through Tax Foreclosure: Purchasing and Contracts Manager Dean Lail said the County acquired these properties through a tax foreclosure sale. The governing board is authorized to sell these properties using one of the standard real estate sales processes allowed by statute. Lail recommended using the electronic auction at GovDeals. The desire is to recoup the amount of taxes owed, therefore, the auctions will begin at that amount. This item was placed on the consent agenda. Request from Tax Administration to Approve Refunds & Releases for July: County Manager Ron Smith stated these were in order. This item was placed on the consent agenda. Request Approval of the Minutes from August 4, 2015: There were no corrections to the minutes. This item was placed on the consent agenda. ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS Farmland Preservation Advisory Board (1 Appointment) Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee (3 Appointments) Animal Grievance Committee (2 Appointments) Department of Social Services Board (1 Appointment) NEW BUSINESS Zero Based Budget: County Manager Ron Smith, Deputy County Manager Beth Jones, and Finance Director Susan Robertson prepared a presentation explaining the concept, the basics with examples, the preparation process and how it would apply to Iredell County. A Zero Based Budget is building a budget from the ground up, beginning with absolute zero. Past patterns of August 18, 2015 spending are no longer taken into consideration. Each department director would prepare a detailed description of all activities preformed. Currently, a national poll suggests that 44% of government agencies use parts of zero -based budgeting and only 20% us a zero -based budget in a hybrid form. Hybrid form means it is not a true zero base budget because debt can't be zeroed out every year due to State mandates. Commissioner Robertson stated that Iredell County already does this in a hybrid form. Each line item is reviewed. Commissioner Johnson said one thing that in done is business is to count mean time before initial failure to ascertain whether it is better to own, lease, or buy a maintenance contract. He wants to avoid putting too much burden on the staff. Chairman Mallory stated that periodically it can be prudent to take an in-depth review of finances but does not want the process to cause more work than it is worth. The staff has done an outstanding job watching the bottom line. Mallory stated one concern is at some point there needs to be a process worked into the management piece where everything is examined. County Manager Smith said the two new positions, the Assistant to the County Manager and the Finance Analyst, will be doing some in-depth review of the core functions, etc. Finance Director Susan Robertson explained the budget process that is currently being used. In January of each year the Finance Department gives each department all vital information concerning their individual budgets which include all fixed costs such as insurance, telephones, etc. In February each department submits their budget requests to Finance where it is reviewed for accuracy and correct format. In March each Management Team member receives a compiled budget which is reviewed again with the respective departments. In May the budget is submitted to the Board for adoption in June. Commissioner Robertson asked if it was safe to say that the majority of expenses is primarily labor and office supplies and not a tremendous amount discretionary spending. Smith said that is correct. The budget is approximately 60% employees. Jones said it is important to remember this agency is a service organization — to provide services for the citizens. Finance Director Robertson said that four years of data is compared during the review of each budget. Smith said each department is held accountable for actual spending. Chairman Mallory asked if there was an inclination to spend the remainder at the end of the year so the following year's budget would not be reduced. Smith said that is not the culture in this organization. Jones stated that departments return any lapsed funds at the end of the year. August 18, 2015 Smith said the County utilizes more of a hybrid zero -based budget than originally thought. Capital is basically zeroed out every year. Commissioner Bowles asked if the management team is keenly aware to avoid unnecessary spending, which is more important than counting paper clips. Smith said yes and used the Public Safety Coordinator as an example for saving money with fire and rescue departments. Chairman Mallory stated he is comfortable with the current process. Commissioner Johnson agreed. He feels the department directors have done an excellent job in spending. Vice Chairman Norman stated he did not think anything needed to be changed. The meeting was recessed until 7:00 PM. IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MINUTES August 18, 2015 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, August 18, 2015, at 7:00 PM, in the Iredell County Government Center (Commissioners' Meeting Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Board Members Present Chairman James B. Mallory III Vice Chairman Marvin Norman Tommy Bowles Steve Johnson Ken Robertson Staff present: County Manager Ron Smith, County Attorney Bill Pope, Deputy County Manager Beth Jones, Finance Director Susan G. Robertson, Attorney Lisa Valdez, and Clerk to the Board Retha Gaither. CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Mallory. INVOCATION: Chairman James Mallory stated that on the advice of counsel there will be a moment of silence that each person may use as a time to reflect, meditate, or pray. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE led by Chairman Mallory. ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA: County Manager Ron Smith made the following adjustments: August 18, 2015 4 Remove: Appointments Before the Board: Report of the Cost of Community Services in Iredell County—Memo #1 Add: Closed Session: Economic Development — G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (4) PRESENTATION OF SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS Chairman Mallory stated there are no specific awards but wanted to acknowledge and thank the Iredell County Sheriff's Department for their recent involvement in and the graduation of a Teen Academy. This academy began on July 23 with an average of 20 participants. This group was exposed to many facets of the community and law enforcement processes. They also worked on leadership, decision making skills, examining consequences of actions, etc. APPOINTMENTS BEFORE THE BOARD (Removed from the agenda) PUBLIC HEARINGS (None) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS County Manager Ron Smith summarized the consent agenda: • Request from the Library to accept a scholarship and approve BA #5 for one employee to attend a conference. • Request to consider calling for a public hearing for Southern Properties, LLC, to release jurisdiction to the Town of Mooresville. • Request from the Finance Department to adopt a resolution to sell two houses acquired through tax foreclosure. • Request from Tax Administration to approve refunds and releases for July. • Request for approval of the August 4, 2015 minutes. MOTION by Vice Chairman Marvin Norman to approve the consent agenda. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS (None) APPOINTMENTS TO BOARD AND COMMISSIONS Farmland Preservation Advisory Board (1 Appointment): MOTION by Vice Chairman Marvin Norman to approve the reappointment of Drew Sherrill. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee (3 Appointments): August 18, 2015 MOTION by Commissioner Tommy Bowles to appoint Janet Hall, Barbara Lippard, and Natalie Ramos. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 Animal Grievance Committee (2 Appointments): MOTION by Commissioner Steve Johnson to nominate D.J. Fuller and Keith Loudermilt and to close the floor to other nominations. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 Department of Social Services Board (I Appointment): Chairman Mallory volunteered during the pre -agenda session. Vice Chairman Marvin Norman briefly conducted the meeting during this vote. MOTION by Vice Chairman Marvin Norman to appoint Chairman James Mallory to the Social Services Board. Report: VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Deputy County Manager Beth Jones gave the following update on the Inmate Reduction Beginning Jail Annual Cost From To Goal 61nmates # of Days Reduced $47,865 Date Date 6/1/2015 6/3012015 18 Reduced 362 ($25,340) 7/1/2015 7/31/2015 18 23 568 $39,760 Beginning Annual ADA Cost Jail New Population $78,000 Goal Inmates # of Days 36 301 327 Reduced Processed* 23 15 554 ($38,780) 23 43 663 $46,410 Beginning Ending Jail Jail Difference Population Population 265 301 36 301 327 26 PUBLIC COMMENTS (None) NEW BUSINESS ZERO -BASED BUDGET: Chairman Mallory thanked staff for the presentation of the zero -based budget during the pre -agenda. It was a very cogent and compelling analysis of the goals of zero -based budgeted. Iredell County, in many respects, are working with a hybrid of a zero - August 18, 2015 based budget and are achieving most of the desired effects. The budget is tight and focused on efficiencies through -out all departments. The general consensus was there were no reasons to change. COUNTY MANAGER'S REPORT County Manager Ron Smith reported a public meeting has been advertised and scheduled for August 25, 6:00 p.m. in the Iredell County Agriculture Center. The meeting will be to discuss the proposed changes to the Animal Control ordinance. Staff will be there to listen, answer questions, take notes and bring back information to the Board. The public hearing for the change will be moved from September I to October 6, 2015. Commissioner Johnson agreed the original time frame is a little short. Smith reported, just for information, that a new inspector was added to the Building Standards department. The number of inspections has grown, 50% more than last month. ECOM has added the last console and their numbers are peaking as well. Commissioner Johnson asked about the passage of the sale tax proposal. Smith said the Senate has committed to the 50150 split. Commissioner Johnson asked the County Manager and Clerk to craft another letter showing opposition to all proposals that would reduce the sales tax distribution. Chairman Mallory said the impact over the next five years would be a projected loss to the County of almost $13 million. The percentage of the municipalities' budgets is even greater. It is a significant lose. CLOSED SESSIONS Chairman Mallory adjourned the meeting into Closed Session at 7:26 PM. ADJOURNMENT The Board resumed the meeting in open session at 8:20 PM. There were no action items from the Closed Session. MOTION by Commissioner Johnson to adjourn. The next meeting is scheduled for August 18, 2015, 5:30 PM, South Wing Conference Room, Government Center, 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. VOTING: Ayes — 5; Nays — 0 Date Approved Retha C. Gaither, Clerk August 18, 2015 7