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May 31, 2016 (Special)

MINUTES BURKE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

SPECIAL MEETING

The Burke County Board of Commissioners held a special meeting on Tuesday, May 31, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. The meeting was held in the Commissioners’ Board Room in the Burke County Services Building located at 110 N. Green Street in Morganton, North Carolina. The purpose of the special meeting was to discuss a variety of matters related to the FY 16-17 recommended budget. Chairman Abele executed the meeting notice and it was published on May 24, 2016. Those present were: COMMISSIONERS: Wayne F. Abele Sr., Chairman Jeffrey C. Brittain, Vice Chairman Jack Carroll Johnnie W. Carswell Maynard M. Taylor STAFF PRESENT: Bryan Steen, County Manager Paul Ijames, Deputy County Manager/Finance Director James R. Simpson, II, County & Tax Attorney Kay Honeycutt Draughn, Clerk to the Board CALL TO ORDER Chairman Abele called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA After a short discussion, Commissioner Carroll requested the two (2) “Decision Items” on the agenda be converted to “Discussion” items. Motion: To approve the agenda with both “Decision” items converted to “Discussion” items.

RESULT: APPROVED [3 TO 2] MOVER: Jack Carroll, Commissioner AYES: Wayne F. Abele, Sr., Jack Carroll and Maynard M. Taylor NAYS: Jeffrey C. Brittain and Johnnie W. Carswell

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

SHERIFF - PAYMENT OF HOLIDAY TIME FOR DETENTION OFFICERS Background: The Board originally heard this request at its May 3 pre-agenda meeting and agreed to take the matter up at its first budget meeting. Sheriff Steve Whisenant presented the following request:

The Sheriff’s Office (S.O.) has been unable to recruit and maintain detention officers for the downtown Burke County Jail. Due to the starting pay of

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$26,874.84 being approximately $5,000 less than the starting pays for the NC Department of Public Safety Officers with a facility only a few miles away from the Sheriff’s Office, the Sheriff’s Office has lost five (5) detention officers in the last seven (7) months. When combined with two (2) officers that retired due to medical conditions, the Sheriff’s Office is down seven (7) detention officers in seven (7) months. The S.O. had four (4) vacancies as of August 2015 and were able to fill two (2) of them. With the staff movements associated with upcoming promotions, the S.O. will be back to three (3) vacancies soon. Currently, there are no qualified applicants to fill the vacant positions. Due to the inability to fill vacant positions and to keep the minimum number of three (3) detention officers on a shift, the Sheriff’s Office has been forced to cancel vacation time for all detention officers and postpone sending some of the officers to the basic detention officer certification class. Detention officers, as well as the Courthouse/Detention Officer supervisors, are working overtime to fill in the gaps. As a result of the staff shortage, this means that several Detention Officers have banked holiday time that they will not be able to use by June 30, 2016. These employees will lose out on this time, not to any fault of their own, but rather to our inability to give them the time they have earned due to the staff shortage. The Sheriff’s Office would like to remedy this problem by paying these employees for the holiday time they have earned but are unable to use due to their dedication of staying with our office. Budgetary Effect: The total floating holiday balance that will be forfeited if not taken by June 30, 2016 is 287.53 +/- hours. Calculating these hours by current hourly rate equates to $3,791.05 +/-.

County Manager Steen asked the HR Director, Rhonda Lee, to present staff’s recommendation. Ms. Lee advised that other employees receive floating holidays and recommended amending the Personnel Policy to allow three (3) days to be carried over into the next fiscal year which is similar to BCDCF’s (Burke-Catawba District Confinement Facility) policy. The payout for detention officers only was estimated at $2,468. Referencing a recent newspaper article, Commissioner Taylor remarked that people are not choosing law enforcement as a career path. Commissioner Carroll then asked the Sheriff a number of questions concerning the number of detention officers on staff, their hours, and whether they are sworn officers or not. This was in comparison to a list of employees provided by the HR Department which also included bailiffs as they’re under the Detention budget. The Sheriff advised that he has twelve (12) regular detention officers on four (4) shifts with three (3) officers per 12-hour shift. On average, there are 55 inmates in the downtown jail. Vice Chairman Brittain asked the Sheriff what his thoughts were on HR’s recommendation to which he responded that it’s better than nothing but his staff have been losing their holiday pay for a long time and it’s unfair to ask folks to do without their family holidays and time off

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through no fault of their own. He noted that he is unable to hire staff due to the substantially lower pay than surrounding counties and the trend will not end. It is unsafe for staff and supervisors to work double shifts which is how they are currently operating. In response to questions, he said nationwide, law enforcement is struggling to fill vacancies and add in the low starting pay, the County has a dual problem. The County can’t continue to lose officers and keep the jail open. In response to questions, Ms. Lee reviewed the number of detention officers that would lose the holiday hours at the end of the year. The Sheriff, in response to additional questions, noted that the officers could simply call in sick but have continued to show up and he encouraged the Board to reward that loyalty and dedication. Vice Chairman Brittain expressed concern with the proposal, noting that if nothing changes, employees won’t be able to take the time off in the next fiscal year. County Manager Steen commented that the recruiting net has not been cast as wide as it could be and if the Board allows the Sheriff to hire his requested part-time officers, the current officers could begin taking time off. There is also the question of if this floating holiday pay solution will be confined to detention officers or to all county employees in this same boat. Ms. Lee then reported communications’ employees are currently carrying 225 hours of holiday time which will be lost and historically General Services’ employees have not lost floating holiday time. Jail, patrol and communications all lost holiday time last year. Sheriff Whisenant followed that up by noting that it’s hard to let staff off when the shifts are small and with patrol, they’re required to have five (5) officers on shift at all time but at times, depending on situations in the field, other shifts are required to come in to cover the call volumes. Chairman Abele asked if anyone at BCDCF was willing to work part-time to which Sheriff Whisenant responded that yes, there are three (3) patrol officers with their jail certifications and they have been approached to fill in on shifts. Supervisors are filling in but they’re already handling their own additional duties. In response to an inquiry, Ms. Lee reported there were eight (8) departures in 2014-2015 and seven (7) in 2015-2016 which Commissioner Taylor noted was not a high turnover rate to only lose seven (7) out of 130 in the department. He followed that by suggesting that a signing bonus might be a better tactic to draw applicants. Sheriff Whisenant responded that he doesn’t want to be a training agency for others and when you lose key personnel, it takes two (2) years before employees are up to speed. There are investigators currently being heavily recruited by outside agencies and if they eventually leave the County, it will affect the crime rate and take time for a new person to get to the level and experience with the County to match the level of the prior position holder. Commissioner Carroll asked how many detention officers the jail needs and the Sheriff noted that if the three (3) vacancies were filled, they would be adequately staffed. Ms. Lee noted that three (3) detention positions are currently listed with only one not being in the jail. Sheriff

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Whisenant commented that a detective position has been vacant for months because they cannot move a detention officer from the jail into the position due to the lack of staff to backfill the lower-level positions that would open up as a domino effect. Sheriff's Offices (SO) are much different than police department because they encompass twelve (12) different divisions and hire applicants just to get them in the system on the promise that they’ll be moved out on patrol or into their desired positions as soon as possible. The SO recently had zero applicants from the Basic Law Enforcement Training circuit that just ended at WPCC. The County doesn’t even display a brochure at WPCC because of the substantially lower starting pay and a forthright advertisement of the lower pay will potentially offset any potential applicants in comparison to other hiring agencies. In response to comments from Commissioner Taylor, the Sheriff advised that the comparison between the starting pay differences for graduates makes for an easy decision and in regards to risk, the SO has no backup and is considered one of the riskiest agencies to onboard with. Chairman Abele asked for the multi-department inclusion to the amended personnel policy and Ms. Lee responded that it would be difficult to create a policy for just the SO officers. Any policy amendment or addition would affect all groups including Communications, General Services, Patrol, and Detention. If the policy is amended, it helps everyone affected. County Manager Steen noted that there are unintended consequences of any action the Board takes but creating a part-time pool of officers and changing the policy is a good first step. Vice Chairman Brittain noted that the Board needs to make a policy change before July in order for the employees to be able to carry it over to the following year. Commissioner Carroll commented that if the Board allows for the rollover holiday time, every year employees will actively bank their time in order to get a check. Ms. Lee clarified that rolling over the time to the next year just allows them additional time to use it instead of losing their time due to no fault of their own. She reiterated this is the current policy at BCDCF and there aren’t any issues with this process. Chairman Abele asked for a number for an end-of-the-year payout instead of rolling over the time and Ms. Lee noted that it will cost roughly $15,000 out of the General Fund to pay for all employee’s holiday pay. As a side note, Sheriff Whisenant commented that BCDCF has 37 officers on staff which make time off requests much easier to accommodate. Vice Chairman Brittain recommended that the Board move forward with the policy amendment and offer a one-time payout for all affected employees. Chairman Abele suggested this item be placed on the June budget meeting for a vote. There was no objection.

RESULT: BY CONSENSUS, THIS ITEM WAS MOVED WITHOUT OBJECTION THE NEXT BUDGET MEETING: 6/7/2016 AT 4:00 PM

SHERIFF - SALARY INCREASE FOR BCSO EMPLOYEES Sheriff Steve Whisenant presented the following request: The Sheriff’s Office is grateful for what the county commissioners have provided to our agency. However, one of our greatest

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obstacles is attracting and retaining employees. The Sheriff Office’s comparison of salaries revealed that although we are the largest law enforcement agency in the county, we are the lowest paid law enforcement agency in the county. Morganton Department of Public Safety, Valdese, Drexel, and Glen Alpine as well as the NC Highway Patrol, Broughton Police, NC License and Theft, and ALE are all compensated much better - in some cases over $5,000 per year better. The Sheriff’s Office also has a difficult time attracting Basic Law Enforcement Training graduates from Western Piedmont Community College when other agencies starting pay, in and outside the county, is up to $5,000 or more, than the Sheriff’s Office. $5,000 per year for a medium and close custody detention officer who is paid $26,875, is a significant difference. We lost seven (7) detention officers in seven months (five (5) for better pay and two (2) to retirement). At this time, we currently have three detention officer vacancies at our downtown jail without any applicants for those vacancies. Those vacancies account for 25% of the line officers who staff the downtown jail. Lastly, information provided to the Sheriff’s Office is that some of our law enforcement and detention officer families are eligible for government assistance at our current salaries. Unlike other law enforcement agencies within the county, the Sheriff’s Office provides a multitude of services, many which are unique to our agency and critical to the citizens of Burke County. Some of our services include: 1.) Providing a road patrol and answering calls for service throughout the county 2.) Supplement calls for service in municipalities 3.) Investigate reported crimes throughout the county 4.) Transport writs 5.) Serve civil papers throughout the county 6.) Secure county courtrooms 7.) Administer the Burke County Jail 8.) Transport inmates across the state 9.) Transport involuntary commitments across the state 10.) Administer the Burke County Animal Shelter 11.) Provide animal control services throughout the county 12.) Secure the majority of Burke County Public Schools 13.) Provide a lake patrol 14.) Partner with municipalities to provide community policing services 15.) Have a volunteer SWAT team which often assists other agencies 16.) Contribute officers to the Burke County Narcotics Taskforce 17.) Maintain and monitor sex offender register for Burke County 18.) Issue gun purchase permits & conceal carry permits 19.) Contribute officers to regional volunteer Dive Team 20.) Maintain Sheriff’s Office Honor Guard 21.) Provide a K9 unit program 22.) Provide an Explorer program for young adults interested in law enforcement 23.) Provide a DARE officer to Burke County Public Schools 24.) Administer Project Lifesaver program for Burke County 25.) Provide a full-time Warrant Officer

Sheriff Whisenant then read the following memo he provided to the Board:

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The Sheriff's Office is requesting an annual increase of $3,000 for all Sheriff's Office full-time employee’s base salaries excluding the Sheriff. This would raise starting salaries in the office to be competitive with most of the other law enforcement agencies but still less than others. Thank you for your consideration. The Sheriff’s Office budget will need to be readjusted based on the request for the salary increase. The starting cost will be $3,000 x 109 employees = $327,000. However, this figure does not figure any additional costs related to Medicaid, retirement, social security, etc. Subsequent to submitting the agenda abstract for today’s meeting, I wanted to provide some additional information. We still have the three vacancies at our downtown jail which accounts for 25% of the line officer staff. We also appreciate the County Manager’s recommended 3.5% Cost of Living increase for county employees and ask that the Commissioners approve that. In addition, I’m proud of what the men and women at the Burke County Sheriff’s Office are accomplishing. We continue to strive for integrity and professionalism and our progress in training and technology are producing positive results for our citizens. I ask that we continue to pursue this positive direction by paying our staff a competitive salary. According to the Hickory Daily Record’s article May 26, 2016, although Burke County has the second largest population among the unifour counties consisting of Alexander, Caldwell, Catawba and Burke, Burke County has the lowest average salary from that same group. On top of the lowest salaries compared with the other three unifour counties, the Burke County Sheriff’s Office is the largest law enforcement agency within the county including all local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, yet the lowest paid law enforcement agency. The Commissioners have an opportunity to motivate and incentivize a hard working group of employees who are committed to the safety and security of our county. The Burke County Sheriff’s Office is not asking to be compensated better than other law enforcement agencies, we are only asking for competitive pay. Thank you for your consideration.

County Manager Steen noted that the budget includes the 3.5% COLA and the merit pay policy. At the Manager’s request, Patrick McCoy from Human Resources, reported that he pulled the MAPS 2007 salary study and used the same comparisons as used by the study; Caldwell, Catawba, and Rutherford Counties were used to run the analysis of current salary ranges and the average hiring rate, including Burke, was listed as $31,130 which is based on the 2016 School of Government survey and includes all reported salaries for each NC county. Our hiring rate is $29,630, 5% below the average market rate which isn’t terrible and doesn’t yet include the proposed 3.5% COLA in the current recommended budget. The MAPS group also used data from Hickory Police Department, Morganton Police Department, and Broughton with hiring ranges of $35,068, $35,831, and $31,383 with the average hiring rate being $33,760, of which Burke County sits at 88% of that average. That’s a 12% from the market average which could lead to the loss of staff based on State and local averages. HR would like to close that significant gap and looks to the benefit package offered by the County and what other outside agencies is the County losing to specifically. HR does not get many exit interviews from officers but Catawba’s starting pay is $36,476 which, being right next door, creates an even bigger

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noticeable gap. Commissioner Taylor noted that the pay comparisons are not apples to apples and stated Catawba’s revenues (sales tax in particular) is far great than Burke’s. He expressed serious concern about the positions being labeled and indicated solely on the base pay instead of incorporating the benefits package that’s offered alongside in an attempt to paint a negative picture to force the Board’s hand to provide raises. He asked for the total pay package including the fringe, insurance, and retirement package that Burke pays to give a fully encompassed compensation package. Mr. McCoy noted that the base salary pay is what the Sheriff’s request is based upon and is not the total compensation package but the SOG uses the base pay listings to create their state-wide studies. County Manager Steen commented that other counties provide other benefits and perks that aren’t consistent across the board such as letting officers take patrol cars home which saves them wear and tear, gas, and mileage on their personal vehicles but that’s when it comes down to technicalities. Utilizing the base pay for each county is the most consistent method of analyzing the state averages since benefits, merit pay raises and perks vary wildly across counties. Sheriff Whisenant noted that many agencies utilize performance-based pay and in some cases such as Catawba and Caldwell, officers can accrue two (2) pay raises a year. Other agencies have a base starting pay but don’t start new officers at the bottom of the pay scale which gives them more hiring leverage. He wants the County to do an actual apples-to-apples comparison for 2-3 years out post-hire to demonstrate to the Board the dismal situation of the Sheriff Office (SO) pay scale. Commissioner Taylor stated a negative reflection is portrayed when the base salary is advertised instead of the total compensation package. Commissioner Carroll remarked that the SO and HR always compares to Catawba but they have double the population. If a pay comparison is done for one department, it will destroy the morale for all employees. Chairman Abele reported he and the County Manager have to leave at 2:30 p.m. He asked what the Board wanted to do with this request. Vice Chairman Brittain asked that it be added to the next budget meeting on June 7th. Commissioner Carswell noted that county vs. municipal markets are different and asked for information on how many officers are being lost and where is the County losing them to. Commissioner Carroll requested the salary and benefits budget for employees from five (5) years ago in comparison to salaries & benefits in the FY 16-17 recommended budget.

RESULT: BY CONSENSUS, THIS ITEM WAS MOVED WITHOUT OBJECTION TO THE NEXT BUDGET MEETING: 6/7/2016 AT 4:00 PM

Note: The County Manager was excused at 2:30 p.m. and was not present for the remainder of the meeting. FINANCE - FY 16-17 BUDGET EXPLANATION OF CHANGE AND ITEMS OF NOTE Paul Ijames, Deputy County Manager/Finance Director, reviewed the significant changes and items of note for the recommended FY 16-17 budget as follows:

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DEPARTMENT EXPLANATION OF CHANGE AND ITEMS OF NOTE

Aids & Donations Reflects a $14,000 increase in the County's 40% share of NC Forest Service costs due to the proposed purchase of a $35,000 truck. Maintains operational funding to Burke County Rescue Squad at the FY15-16 level of $95,000. $16,000 in additional funding for equipment and repairs is included in the Fire Marshal budget.

Building Inspections $7,951 of the $13,480 total increase in personnel costs is attributable to allocating 15% of the Code Enforcement Operations Manager position to building inspection activities. This allocation is reflected in the Code Enforcement budget's decrease in personnel. Funds one of the two requested four-wheel drive replacement vehicles at a cost of $21,800.

Burke County Schools Increases funding for school nurses by $296,772 to reflect the County paying for all nurses. There are a total of eleven (11) school nurses. A $100,000 Health Department grant pays for approximately 1.4 positions and the remaining 9.6 positions will be paid from County tax dollars. Provides a $500,000 (3.5%) increase in current expense appropriation for the school system. Reflects the expenditure of $1,377,600 in sales tax revenue expected to be received from the State's addition to Article 44 of N.C.G.S. Chapter 105, in which Burke County would receive 2.19% of $84.8 million, for public education. The County must spend funds received under this new section of Article 44 for either economic development, public education, or community college purposes.

Code Enforcement Does not fund a $25,000 request for County dollars to remove abandoned mobile homes and condemned structures. These will continue to be dealt with on a case-by-case basis as they come up during the year. Reflects a $44,372 decrease in personnel costs as a result of allocating 65% of the Code Enforcement Operations Manager position to the Planning Department budget and 15% to Building Inspections.

Communications Appropriates $139,985 for Phase 2 of the simulcast fire paging system.

Cooperative Extension Reflects a $50,869 increase in personnel costs due to the new staffing plan percentages that take effect in July. Does

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not fund a $26,000 vehicle request. The current County Administration van will be transferred to them instead.

County Manager N/A

Courts N/A

Debt Service Reflects a $198,553 reduction in County funds.

DSS Reflects a $81,600 increase in County funds for the Foster Care program due to an increase in the number of children in foster care. Reflects a $114,548 increase in County funds for the Community Assistance Program due primarily to a projected decrease in revenue. Reflects a $195,311 increase in County funds for all DSS programs. Funds both requested vehicles plus a third as the result of transferring an existing vehicle to the Recreation Department. Funds 10 of the 16 requested positions at an estimated net County cost of $186,468. Does not fund a $30,000 request for contracted legal services to provide assistance when staff attorneys are not available. Does not fund a $23,400 non-capital furniture request for gazebo/outdoor furniture. Provides $78,625 in funding for 4 temporary help service positions to assist Crisis and LIEAP for 6 months and 2 positions to assist in other areas for 6 months. Funds 30 of the 70 requested computers as part of a 5-year life cycle replacement at a cost of $32,400 instead of $75,600.

Economic Development Reflects a $63,050 increase for the Burke County Tourism Development Authority as a result of the projected increase in occupancy tax receipts. The Authority receives 97% of actual collections.

Elections Does not include a requested 10% increase in salaries ($9,908 full time, $2,105-part time, and $918 board members) for the stated purpose of adjusting pay to that in surrounding and similar sized counties. Provides $76,200 in funding for costs of conducting the Presidential Election. Budget reduction of $90,900 due to only one election being scheduled for fiscal year 2016-2017.

Employee Wellness Clinic Appropriates $162,575 for operation of the wellness clinic in FY16-17. In FY15-16, $200,000 was included in the non-departmental budget to fund the start-up and begin operations.

EMS Includes $25,000 in part-time salaries for the department to staff the Jonas Ridge station with 2 employees 24/7. As a result, the transportation services appropriation has been eliminated. Includes an increase in the number of part-

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time positions from 40 to 50. The increase improves the opportunity to provide coverage for full time staff. Funds one of the two requested new ambulances at a cost of $190,000. Funds the continuing life cycle replacement for defibrillators and radios.

Finance Appropriates $5,800 for the actuarial valuation of Burke County's post-employment health plan (OPEB) which is required for disclosure in the County's audit report. Includes $2,000 in technology services for review of the Human Resources/Payroll system configuration and utilization by the software vendor. Anticipated cost of $4,000 being split equally between the Finance and Human Resources departments.

Fire Marshal Reflects $16,000 in funding for the Burke County Rescue Squad: $10,000 for equipment and $6,000 for repairs to their building. Funds a $25,000 capital request for a new Zodiac boat with half the cost provided from the Fire Marshal's EMP Grant rollover funds. Includes $45,070 for a new vehicle which completes the department's current replacement cycle. Does not fund a $250,000 request for a storage building which would provide the opportunity to house all emergency services equipment in one location.

Garage Reflects a decrease in expense reimbursement from the enterprise funds being offset by a decrease in automotive supplies.

Governing Board Includes $3,500 for the Rosenwald Schools memorial plaque.

Health Reflects a $76,390 increase in County funds for all Health Department programs, while utilizing $40,454 of the Health Department's portion of fund balance. Includes continuing participation in the Blue Ridge Healthcare Collaborative (Diabetes Clinic) at a cost of $77,780. Does not fund a requested re-class of 2 Public Health Nurse II positions to Public Health Nurse III at a total cost of $6,055. Funds a requested reclassification of 3 WIC program employees at a total cost of $4,935 but at no cost to the County since program is federally funded. Does not fund a request for a new Environmental Health Specialist position at a total cost of $50,555. Reflects contracting medical services with Carolinas Healthcare - Blue ridge instead of having a staff doctor for family planning and maternal health services.

Human Resources Appropriates $14,400 for employee insurance and benefits related fees. Includes $2,000 in technology services for review of the Human Resources/Payroll system

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configuration and utilization by the software vendor. Anticipated cost of $4,000 being split equally between the Finance and Human Resources departments.

Information Technology Reflects a $57,783 decrease in computer rental expenditures as a result of transitioning from the County's old tax and operating systems. Appropriates $53,000 to address network backup and storage issues, and $15,550 for the replacement of phone system servers which will not be supported after November 2016. Funds a request for $27,250 to assess the security of the County's computer network. Does not fund lower priority capital items including a request of $40,830 for document management software.

Juvenile Crime Prevention Council

N/A

Land Records Management N/A

Legal Includes $125,000 (payment #3 of 4) for the R. O. Huffman Center lease settlement. Provides for a $12,000 increase in County legal services.

Library Does not fund a request for 4 part-time Library Page positions at a cost of $5,080 each, totaling $20,320. Includes $32,500 for capital improvements at Morganton Library - 50% funding ($16,250) from the City of Morganton. Includes $18,000 for building repairs at Valdese Library - 50% funding ($9,000) from the Town of Valdese. Reflects a $7,662 increase in County funding of non-capital expenditures.

Maintenance & Operations Does not fund a request for a new Administrative Specialist position (grade 14) at a cost of $35,887. Does not fund a requested reclassification of a Facilities Maintenance Tech 1 (grade 17) position to a Lead Maintenance Tech (grade 19) at a cost of $1,790. Reflects a decrease in personnel costs as a result of allocating certain staff time to other functional areas such as the water & sewer and solid waste funds. Includes $10,000 for overtime pay should it be determined during the year that staffing requirements for Conference Center and other departmental activities need to be addressed. Provides $25,000 to replace a failing blower in air handler #1 at the HRC, but does not include $30,000 for access control on DSS doors. Appropriates $90,000 to renovate the Courthouse basement area behind the magistrate's office for office space. Funds one of the two replacement vehicles requested.

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Medical Examiner Provides an additional $33,000 for investigation costs and autopsy fees due to an October2015 increase in rates.

Non-Departmental Provides $775,000 for a 3.5% employee pay, and associated pay plan, adjustment effective in January 2017. Provides $100,000 for funding the continuation of a staggered performance pay system. Appropriates $51,000 for a holiday bonus payment. Includes $388,720 for a 10% increase in medical insurance costs. Reflects the cost of operating the wellness clinic being moved to its own individual budget. Appropriates $53,400 for contracting with NC DOT to upgrade Government Drive to state maintenance standards. Offset by a $53,400 right-of-way payment from NC DOT. Includes $35,000 for the purchase of a new van for County Administration. The current van will be transferred to Cooperative Extension.

Planning Does not include a requested reclassification of the Planner position (Grade 22) to a Planning Technician (Grade 20). Does not include a requested reclassification of the Senior Administrative Specialist position (Grade 15) to a Planning Technician (Grade 20) at a cost of $4,364. Includes $34,453 in personnel costs from the 65% allocation of the Code Enforcement Operations Manager position to planning activities. Includes $8,500 for the Deputy County Manager/Planning Director to attend the County Administration course at the UNC School of Government. Provides $88,000 to begin construction of a trailhead at the entrance of the Fonta Flora County Park with 50% ($44,000) of the cost paid from Duke Energy funds.

Recreation Does not fund a request for a Parks and Greenways Planner position at a cost of $53,805. Funds the department's #1 priority for a new tractor at a cost of $48,040. Funds one of the two requested vehicles at a cost of $29,760. A second vehicle will be transferred from DSS.

Register of Deeds N/A Retire Employees (Law Enforcement) N/A

Senior Center Includes $61,229 in capital expenditures for improvements to the building and needed equipment.

Senior Center - East Burke Does not fund a requested increase in part-time hours at a cost of $3,388. Reflects maintaining the same $4,800 cost for building rent.

Senior Center - Nutrition WPCOG N/A

Sheriff Includes $3,000 to start the Explorers program, but does

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not include requested funding for D.A.R.E. Provides $515,135 for the purchase and equipping of 12 vehicles. Appropriates $57,225 for 15 radios as part of a five-year replacement program. Does not fund a $20,640 request for a 24/7 legal service that specializes in law enforcement matters.

Sheriff - Animal Control Does not fund a $39,000 request for a new Ford F-250 four-wheel drive vehicle.

Sheriff - Detention Funds a request for 3 Deputy Sheriff positions needed for courthouse security. Annual cost per position is estimated at $43,130 for a total of $129,390. Positions would become effective January 2017, so funding is included at half the annual total which is $64,695. Funds a change to the pay and classification plan for Detention Officer, Detention Officer - Special Assignment, and Detention Officer - Corporal positions at a cost of $25,008. The change is intended as an aid to staff recruitment efforts. Includes $15,000 to pay new part-time positions created to assist with staffing issues. Includes $1,386,000 for the County's share of costs at the Burke Catawba District Confinement Facility (not including medical).

Soil & Water N/A Tax Assessor Personnel costs reflect one less employee due to the

reclassification of a Land Records Specialist position to a Tax Collections Specialist position in the Tax Collection budget approved by the Board March 15th. Does not fund a requested reclassification for a real estate tax appraiser (grade 19) position to senior real estate tax appraiser (grade 20) at a cost of $1,933 split 95% to assessor budget and 5% to revaluation budget. Does not fund the department's third and fourth capital priorities requests for a vehicle ($25,000) and pictometry (aerial photography) ($36,000). The pictometry request is a first year amount, reflecting a total cost of $114,559 being paid over a three-year period.

Tax Collection Includes $35,389 of personnel costs for a Tax Collection Specialist position approved by the Board on March 15th as part of the reclassification of a Land Records Specialist position in the Assessor budget. Offset by decrease in Tax Assessor budget. Reflects a $10,793 increase in personnel costs due to a change in the allocation of a Tax Collections Specialist position between the Tax Assessor and the Tax EMS Collection budgets. In FY15-16 the position was split equally but in FY16-17 the percentage changes to 99%

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Assessor and 1% Tax EMS Collection. This change in percentage reflects more accurately how this position's time is spent with the County's use of a third party EMS billing and collection company. Offset by decrease in Tax EMS Collection budget. Reflects a $37,000 increase for billing service costs charged by the State in collecting motor vehicle taxes for the County.

Tax EMS Collection Reflects a decrease in personnel costs due to the change in the Tax Collections Specialist time allocation. See note in Tax Collection above.

Tax Revaluation Reflects a decrease in personnel costs due to changes in staff time allocation percentages between the Tax Assessor and Tax Revaluation budgets. 2.35 full time equivalent (FTE) positions in FY16-17 versus 3.55 FTEs in FY15-16. Decrease offsets an increase in Tax Assessor budget.

Transfers Appropriates $3,000,000 for the construction of the East Burke Library/Senior Center. Appropriates $860,000 for landfill closure costs. Includes an additional $50,000 in anticipated Medicaid hold harmless payments to municipalities.

Transportation N/A Veterans Service N/A WPCC Provides a $100,000 (4.3%) increase in operational funding

for the community college. Reflects a $658,400 reduction in capital and grant match funding.

RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN

COUNTY MANAGER - FY 16-17 PROPOSED FEE CHANGES Paul Ijames, Deputy County Manager/Finance Director, reviewed the proposed fee changes as recommended in the FY 16-17 budget:

(Five (5) percent increase.)

Burke County General Services Burke County General Services

WATER RATES Basic Monthly Service Fee = $22.00 per month Irrigation Basic Monthly Service Fee = $26.00 per month Consumption Rate = $4.00/1000 gals for 1-4000 gals then $5.00/1000 gals for >4000 gals Irrigation Consumption Rate = $5.00/1000 gals

SEWER RATES

Basic Monthly Service Fee = $22.00 per month Consumption Rate = $5.00/1000 gals

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RESULT: NO ACTION TAKEN

COUNTY MANAGER - FY 16-17 RECOMMENDED BUDGET – DISCUSSION

368

369May 31, 2016 (Special)

Due to time constraints, Chairman Abele asked Commissioners to hold questions/commentsuntil the June 7th budget meeting or to speak with the Finance Director or Manager directly.

ADJOURNMotion: To adjourn at 2:39 p.m.

MflIlER:~Ie"s:

Jack.·€:arroll,CommissionerV'\.I·a~rle F. )\l;>ele,Sr., Jeffrey C. Brittain, Jack Carroll, Johnnie W. Carswell.andMaynard M. Taylor

Approved this the 16th day of August, 2016.

Wayne F.Abele, Sr., ChairmanBurke Co. Board of Commissioners

Attest:

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