Commissioners Agree On Issues

The Jasper County Commissioners took care of a lengthy agenda in just one and a half hours Monday evening, after removing three items from the agenda.

The agenda listed water authority appointment and recreation committee appointments, but Commissioner Mary Patrick asked to have them removed as they had not been advertised per the commission’s policy. County manager Greg Wood said the water authority appointment had been advertised previously, so he wasn’t sure if the commission wanted it advertised again.

As for the recreation commission, more than 20 people had been named to an ad hoc recreation committee last year, and those vying for the openings were those who had remained active, he said. Commissioners, however, asked that it be advertised and they will consider the appointments at their next nightly meeting which will be March 21.

The commission appointed Jeff Greeson to the Development Authority of Jasper County (DAJC) to fill the opening left by David Dyer’s position. Mr. Dyer is now acting as executive director, after the resignation of Stone Workman. Mr. Workman took a position working with Congressman Austin Scott.
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The only other applicant for the position was Rodney Perry and since he was not at the meeting to meet the commissioners, and Mr. Greeson was, they approved Mr. Greeson.

Mr. Greeson lives in Jasper County and works for Central Georgia Electric Membership Corporation. He previously served on the board of the Chamber of Commerce. He is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Jasper. In his request to be named, Mr. Greeson advised that the EMC has many resources that can provide assistance and guidance to the DAJC.

During Monday’s meeting, the commissioners also approved the purchase of new software for the Emergency Medical Service (EMS). This item had been delayed from the previous meeting because EMS director Jeff Bratcher was out of town.

Mr. Bratcher was at Monday’s meeting to answer any questions, as was Adam Patterson, representative for EMS Consultants. The cost of the software is $7,200, and Mr. Bratcher said it would allow the EMS billing clerk to work less hours—reducing her from 40 hours a week to 32, and that would save close to $6,000. In addition, more collections are anticipated to offset the cost. Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the purchase.

The commissioners also approved, 3-2, the fire district resolution which allows for a a fee to be charged to those parcels within a 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant in the Jasper County Water & Sewer Authority’s area. The fee is $28.63 per parcel, which in most cases the property owner will recoup in lower property insurance rates.
Budget

Chief Financial Officer Lorri Smith presented a proposed budget calendar for Fiscal year 2012. Beginning this year, the county is going away from calendar year budgeting to a July 1-June 30 fiscal year.

As proposed the commissioners will see an overview of the budget on April 18, and budget work sessions will begin sometime after that. The first proposed work session was Monday, May 2, a regular meeting day, but commissioners will be returning that day from the ACCG conference, so they did not want to meet then. They did not discuss when they would hold their regular meeting which is mandated as the first Monday in the month.

Commissioners received an update on the landfill, showing that it is losing about $4,000 monthly. There was discussion about a compost pile and how it can be treated, with the county awaiting an answer from the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) of the Ga. Dept. of Natural Resources.

Commissioner Patrick said that it has been said that the landfill is going to close, and she wanted to know where that came from. The county manager said that would be a commission decision. Public Works Director Will Brown said that ideally the landfill should be a constant state of closure, so that when the time comes, much of the work will already be done. He said because of erosion and sedimentation problems, the landfill is not in a state of closure.

Commissioner Patrick commented that there is always talk of the landfill costing money, but said the county provides services, many of which lose money, such as the EMS, the senior center, and others. As Mrs. Patrick commented further on what she had heard about the landfill is shutting down, Commission Chairman Charles Hill interrupted her and said let’s move on.

The county attorney commented on a meeting he had with Tax Commissioner Merry Faulkner. The board had instructed him to talk with her about reports the board wants to receive. The attorney said that Mrs. Faulkner said that she would need more help in her office to take the time to do the detailed report they are requesting. She did indicate, however, that she would begin work on it after she completed work due April 1.

Commissioner Patrick read a report from the state showing that Jasper County’s tax collections are in line with those across the state and in bordering counties. She said she thought the county attorney has spent a lot of time and research on This and that she thinks it’s a dead issue. “Harassing her is not going to help,” said Commissioner Patrick, referring to numerous comments made by Commissioner Jack Bernard over the past few months.

Mr. Bernard said that the latest numbers may show our tax collections in line,. but previous reports do not. He gave no indication that he would stop harassing her, even commenting at one point that the harassment “is working.”

In other action at Monday’s meeting, commissioners:
•Spent considerable time discussing paying Key Paving for material it has on site on Bullard Road. Key Paving did the work on Hodges Farm Road, and has the contract for Bullard Road. The county is dissatisfied with the work on Hodges Farm, and commissioners were hesitant to release any money. After much discussion, they agreed to review all the financials of the projects at their next meeting, then decide if they money should be released.

•Approved submission of a Hazard Mitigation Plan grant pre-application.

•Agreed to waive the building permit fee for the Jasper County Board of Education for work being done at the current middle school.

•Agreed to move forward with a grant application for five new automatic external defibrillators (AEDs).

•Agreed to get a Sam’s card for Recreation Director Wes Chester so he is not dependent on maintenance director Marty Boyette for when he can order from Sam’s.
•Received reports on the January financial and the monthly human resources report.

Work Session
During a work session before Monday’s meeting, commissioners spent considerable time discussing an upcoming vote to continue the Special Purpose One Percent Sales Tax (SPLOST). The current SPLOST expires, and commissioners are hoping citizens will vote for a new one to fund items that are not included in the general fund.
The last SPLOST funded numerous projects, with the bulk of it going to county roads.

The county manager contacted department heads about their anticipated needs over the next five years, and he received a “wish list” totaling nearly $5 million, and that did not include roads.
One item was the addition of two fire stations in areas currently outside the service area of seven current stations. Another item was 10 new patrol vehicles for the sheriff’s office, presumably two per year for each of the next five years. Improvements to the radio towers and other radio equipment was also included.

Public works listed numerous pieces of equipment that could be purchased to help that department do a better job, with the cost of those improvements totaling $763,500.

Commissioners Bernard and Patrick are going to review the list and return to the commissioners with their suggestions on what should be included. For a six-year SPLOST to be passed, the county must have the cooperation of the cities of Monticello and Shady Dale. It can do a five-year SPLOST on its own, but commissioners talked about wanting to go six years and work with the cities.
Commissioner Bernard said he had been asking his constituents to let him know what they felt was needed and the bulk of the replies has been roads then emergency services.

Mr. Bernard also said that the last SPLOST would not have passed had it not been for the help of the city and the city’s projects making it appeal to the voters.

The city of Monticello has an election in November, and commissioners thought that might be the time for a vote. County Attorney Jim Alexander said some governments choose to have a special election just for the SPLOST for political reasons. Commissioners appeared inclined to include it with the city election rather than incur the cost of a special election.
Commissioner Patrick said she thought the county should do as it did last time and select “pay as you go” projects, rather than selling bonds and counting on the SPLOST funds to come into make the bond payments. The county’s portion of the SPLOST is anticipated to raise about $58,000 a month.

Commissioners then discussed what projects they would like to include on a T-SPLOST. This is a new regional funding measure that encourages municipalities and counties to work together and view improvements that impact the region rather than just one county.
Commissioners talked about completing the bypass, adding passing lanes on Hwys. 83 and 11, and several other projects. Commissioner Bernard said that the bypass will not be selected. “The bypass is dead as a doornail. They’re just not going to do it. We were suckered in back in the 80s….”
Mr Brown, PWD director, said the county had just received a bridge report and 21 bridges were deemed insufficient. He wondered if some of that work could be included.