) STOKES COUNTY GOVERNMENT
COUNTY OF STOKES ) DANBURY, NORTH CAROLINA
) FEBRUARY 4, 2010
The Board of
Commissioners of the County of Stokes, State of North Carolina, met
for Budget Work Session in the third floor conference room of the
Ronald Wilson Reagan
Memorial Building (Administration Building) located in Danbury, North
Carolina on Thursday
February 4, 2010 at 5:00 pm with the following members present:
Chairman Jimmy
Walker
Vice Chairman Ernest
Lankford
Commissioner J.
Leon Inman
Commissioner Ron
Carroll
Commissioner
Stanley Smith
County
Personnel in Attendance:
County
Manager K. Bryan Steen
Clerk
to the Board Darlene Bullins
Finance
Director Julia Edwards
Tax
Administrator Jake Oakley
Chairman Jimmy Walker called the meeting to
order.
Commissioner Inman delivered the invocation.
Chairman Walker opened
the meeting by inviting the citizens in attendance to join the
Board with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Presentation
of Report from Risk Management Services
Commissioner Inman
presented a report from NCACC-Risk Management received
at the Board of Directors’ meeting on 02-03-10 in Raleigh.
Commissioner Inman
noted the following highlights:
·
Workers’ Compensation Pool has current revenue
exceeding expenses
by $1,932,081 – Cash flow remains positive
meaning that the Workers’
Compensation cash collections from members are
exceeding required
payments by a significant margin
·
Group benefits financial results through November
30, 2009 indicate a
through November of $1,322,196 – cash flow
remains positive at $1.2
million
·
Liability and Property financial results for
2009-10 through November 30th
shows an excess of revenues over expenses of $3,724,068 – cash flow is
positive
·
2010 District Meeting will be in Forsyth County at
Tanglewood Country Club – there will no registration fee
·
General Fund Revenue Report & Economic Outlook
o Sales tax
collections remain well below expectations and withholding income tax continues to weaken
o Recent national
and state forecasts indicate the recovery may take longer to unwind before it
gains solid footing
o Budget pressures
will continue to mount as the prolonged weaknesses in the economy affect revenue collections the second-half of
the fiscal year
·
Budget outlook – mounting pressures for remainder
of fiscal year 2009-10 and beyond:
o No improvement in
sales tax collection
o Expenditures for
Medicaid and other income assistance programs may exceed budget amounts
o Enrollment from
people seeking to improve their job skills has placed added pressure on
post-secondary education, especially on the community college system, which is
experiencing unprecedented growth
o A looming issue on
the horizon will be fiscal year 2011-12 revenue picture, temporary taxes are
set to expire, fiscal stimulus money dries up and early projections indicate revenue
growth will not be sufficient to close the gap
·
Projected to be a challenging upcoming fiscal year
2010-11 budget year for the State
GENERAL
GOVERNMENT – GOVERNING BODY – APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Chairman Walker entertained a motion to
approve or amend the February 4, 2010
Agenda.
Commissioner Inman moved to approve the
February 4, 2010 Agenda as presented.
Vice Chairman Lankford seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
Presentation
of Current Revenues and Expenditures
Finance Director Julia
Edwards presented the following information:
·
Total available cash as of 01-31-10 =
$20,499,394.87
·
Total ad valorem taxes collected as of 01-31-10 =
$18,807,364.80
·
Total ad valorem taxes collected as of 01-31-09 =
$17,046,676.62
·
Has collected $192,577.09 ad valorem taxes since
February 1st - second notices have were sent out on January
27th
·
Social Services’ State reimbursements remain two
months behind
·
Health Departments’ State reimbursements remain one
month behind
|
As of 01/31/2009 |
As of 01-31-2010 |
% |
|||
|
Total Revenues |
$ 27,744,003.75 |
$ 29,125,976.18 |
70.15 |
||
|
Total Expenditures |
$ 19,548,841.95 |
$ 19,407,052.62 |
51.06 |
The Board discussed
the financial report with Manager Steen and Finance Director
Edwards.
Presentation
of Sales Tax Information
Finance Director Julia
Edwards presented the following sales tax information:
|
Percentage |
||||||||
|
July |
August |
September |
October |
November |
Total |
Budget |
Collected |
|
|
F/Y
09-10 |
$ 372,426.74 |
$
340,261.42 |
$ 326,548.15 |
$
327,272.25 |
$ 220,953.76 |
$
1,587,462.32 |
$ 3,799,000.00 |
41.79% |
|
F/Y
08-09 |
$ 540,072.25 |
$
404,428.95 |
$ 460,802.52 |
$
409,563.59 |
$ 352,958.37 |
$
2,167,825.68 |
$ 4,870,000.00 |
44.51% |
|
Difference |
$(167,645.51) |
$(64,167.53) |
$(134,254.37) |
$(82,291.34) |
$(132,004.61) |
$ (580,363.36) |
$(1,071,000.00) |
·
Article 42 changed from point of delivery to point
of sale which started with
October collections
·
Article 44 ended with October collections
·
Changes were due to the Medicaid Relief Program
·
Percentage per months collected = 41.66%
·
Percentage per budget = 41.79%
·
Sales taxes revenue are always two months behind
The Board discussed the sales tax information
with Manager Steen and Finance Director
Edwards.
Commissioner Inman noted the County continues to
budget revenues conservatively.
Manager Steen noted that Administration
continues to do quarterly reviews along with new
collection procedures. Finance
Director Edwards noted that the Board has a budget amendment
which reflects the recent quarterly reviews in the February 8th
Agenda.
Need to
Implement Furlough Days or Allow for Retro Payment of Longevity Increases
County Manager Bryan
Steen noted the following:
·
Information received indicates the County is on
target with budget projections
·
Feels the County will be very close to revenue
projections
·
Do not feel there is a need to recommend furlough
days at this time
·
Funding for longevity increases ($141,000) has been
budgeted in contingency
·
If approved by the Board, longevity increases would
be in the March payroll
·
Recommends implementation of longevity increases
Commissioner Carroll noted that the Board
agreed a decision to implement the
longevity increases would be made at the mid-year budget review if the
revenues were coming
in at or above the same level for the previous year.
Commissioner Carroll
stated he saw no reason to not implement the longevity plan.
Commissioner Inman
concurred with Commissioner Carroll to implement the longevity
plan.
The Board discussed
implementation of the longevity plan retro back to July 1, 2009.
Chairman Walker
entertained a motion.
Commissioner Inman
moved to implement the payment of longevity increases retro back to
July 1, 2009 for the 2009-10 fiscal year. Vice Chairman Lankford seconded and the motion
carried
unanimously.
Anticipated
Increases in Expenditures for Upcoming Fiscal Year 2010-11
Health and
Dental Insurances
County Manager Bryan
Steen noted the following:
·
Will not have any premium information until March
·
County changed generic prescription co-pays to $0
effective 07-01-09 with hopes
to lower prescription costs which would lower premium costs
·
10% increase for health and dental would result in
approximately $140,000 increase in
premiums
Employer
Retirement Contributions
County Manager Bryan
Steen noted the following:
·
State has notified Counties that there will be an
increase in employer contributions for retirement
·
Increases projected to be 1.55 added to the current
employer contribution percentage which would result in approximately $150,000
increase in employer contributions
Early College
Facility Operations
County Manager Bryan
Steen noted the following:
·
With the new the Meadows facility, operational
costs estimated to be approximately
$22,000 per year
Hospital
Losses
County Manager Bryan
Steen noted the following:
·
Hospital losses will hopefully decrease with new
management taking
over operation on March 1, 2010
·
Very hard at the present time to anticipate losses
The Board discussed
the potential increases in expenditures presented by Manager Steen.
Commissioner Carroll noted the longevity plan for each fiscal year
would be decided during
the budget process.
Vice Chairman Lankford
noted that the County could possibly incur costs related to
Day Care. If grant funding is
available for repairs to the building, there will most likely
be a match.
Manager Steen noted
that the County has received a projected cost of approximately
$125,000 to take care of repairs to the facility. Currently, there is a possibility of a grant
from the Rural Center, but the grant has a 50% match.
Vice Chairman Lankford
noted that there could be ARC funding that could be used for the
match.
Manager Steen noted
further information would possibly be available at the February 22nd
meeting. Manager Steen also
noted that a provider would have to provide a business plan to be
included with the grant which is due March 1, 2010.
The Board discussed
the grant being job creation.
Chairman Walker questioned
the County being able to use funding to assist a provider
with re-opening the facility and the short length of time to inform
those who might be interested in
providing a business plan for the grant.
Vice Chairman Lankford
noted that funding would be used to bring the County building
up to code which must be done in order to use the facility.
The Board briefly discussed
the issue.
Chairman Walker noted
the need for further discussion regarding the issue.
Commissioner Inman
noted the need to look closely at using any of the hold harmless
funding this upcoming fiscal year especially with the hold harmless
projected to end after next
budget year.
Commissioner Carroll
noted that the Board needs to consider the $100,000 set aside
in Contingency for the school system’s current expense even though it
was not on tonight’s
Agenda. Commissioner Carroll
stated this allocation was also to be decided at mid-year budget
review just like the longevity increases.
The Board discussed
adding the item to tonight’s Agenda.
The Board agreed to
add the item to the February 8th Agenda.
Commissioner Carroll
requested debt service information.
Finance Director Edwards
stated she would provide the debt service information at the February 8th
meeting.
Anticipated
Revenues for Upcoming Fiscal Year 2010-11
County Manager Bryan
Steen presented the Board with 2010 estimations of
value and collection rates provided by Tax Administrator Oakley.
Manager Steen noted the following:
·
Total increase in values is estimated at $16
million which would result in approximately $96,000 in new revenues
Tax Administrator Oakley noted the following:
·
2009-10 tax scroll = $3,622,946,417 (total county
value)
·
As of 2-2-2010, 10/11 values = $3,639,031,981 (total
county value)
·
Estimated increases can always decrease due to not knowing
how many taxpayers will apply for farm deferment, disability exemption,
business depreciation, etc.
·
Small amount of growth
·
Very little building
·
Could be a possible decrease in public utilities
·
Estimated growth could possibly be offset by
business depreciation
The Board discussed tax revenues with Tax
Administrator Oakley.
Board
Guidance for Upcoming Fiscal Year 2010-11 Budget Development
Manager Bryan Steen
noted the following:
·
Presentation of proposed fiscal year 2010-11 budget
– May 24, 2010
·
Possible Public Hearing date – June 7th
at 7:00 pm
The Board discussed possible dates for the
public hearing and budget work sessions.
The Board discussed having the Public Hearing
on June 8th.
Chairman Walker noted the Board would continue
discussion regarding dates for budget
work sessions at a later meeting.
Manager Steen requested guidance from the
Board regarding whether the Board would
like to talk to each individual department about their proposed budget.
The Board unanimously agreed
that the County Manager would review the departmental
budgets with department heads and if there is reason determined by the
Board of Commissioners
to have department heads present information, the Board of
Commissioners will request their
presence during the budget work sessions.
Manager Steen
requested if the Board had any capital projects that they would like
Administration to look into regarding cost such as paving the parking
lot.
Chairman Walker, with
full consensus of the Board, directed Manager Steen to bring
any capital projects in question to the Goals Session meeting for
further discussion.
Goals Session
Meeting on March 3, 2010
Vice Chairman Lankford
stated that he had a conflict with the Goals Session meeting
scheduled for March 3rd – NCACC- Board of Directors meeting
in Raleigh.
Manager Steen noted
there was a tentative date mentioned – March 11th at 10:30 am
Chairman Walker
requested Board members bring their calendars to the Feb. 8th
meeting for further discussion regarding rescheduling the March 3rd
Goals Session meeting.
Adjournment
There being no further business to come before
the Board, Chairman Walker entertained
a motion to adjourn the meeting.
Commissioner Inman moved to adjourn the
meeting. Commissioner Smith
seconded and the motion carried unanimously.
_________________________
_____________________________
Darlene M.
Bullins Jimmy Walker
Clerk to the Board Chairman