Commission Hears Audit, Status of EMS and Much More
The Jasper County Commissioners worked through a long agenda Monday evening meeting for the first time in a month.
The commissioners skipped their regular first of month meeting because of the Labor day holiday. They planned to skip the first October meeting, also, but are working on scheduling a work session before the next regular meeting on October 17. Monday’s meeting lasted four hours, ending about 10 p.m.
And, although presentations are usually limited to 10 minutes, the commissioners allotted 30 minutes for Jeff Bratcher to give an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) status update. In addition, the 2010 audit report was publicly presented, and the commissioners typically do not put a time limit on that. Most of the commissioners had reviewed at least parts of the audit, but the majority wanted it presented publicly as it has been done for many years.
Mr. Bratcher gave a progress report on the EMS outlining the improvements made with service from May, 2010, when he was hired through the present.
{{more}}
Mr. Bratcher said the first concern is how can he evaluate the EMS without being biased. Then he explained that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services created the Rural EMS Managers Awareness Program that educations rural EMS directors and provides qualitative research and analysis.
He talked about the much improved relationship between the EMS and Jasper Memorial Hospital. He said the EMS has updated its protocols to match those of the American Heart Association. Mr. Bratcher said he was able to comply with the EMS budget by having vendors who compete, communicating regularly with the county’s Chief Financial Officer Lorrie Smith, and by not keeping excess supplies on hand.
He said employee morale had improved significantly after he was hired as he was able to lay rumors to rest, and he listened to the employees. He was able to get the employees on board to achieve the goal of providing a high level EMS service to the community. And, he worked to integrate the department with the volunteer firefighters and first responders.
He talked about the new medical director who provides standing orders and protocols. Mr. Bratcher also talked about the orientation that each employee receives before being hired, and other procedures to be sure the person is right for the job.
Mr. Bratcher also talked about the EMS units attending community events and being involved in the community.
Mr. Bratcher reviewed some challenges the EMS faces by working in a large county by land mass with a relatively low population. He said an ambulance needs to be based in Shady Dale, and a new emergency dispatch system is needed. He said the county currently needs three full time fire fighters (rather than the one currently employed). He said there is not money to accomplish this, but those are the needs.
Lastly, Mr. Bratcher outlined the goals achieved, including the training he offers and the number of people in the county who are trained to respond and the ones currently training.
As Mr. Bratcher tried to wind up his presentation with the CFO reviewing numbers, his allotted 30 minutes had expired, and Commissioner Mary Patrick asked them to stop so the commissioners could move on with other agenda items.
She questioned why the 30 minutes was allotted at this meeting, saying his presentation should have been made in a work session. Commissioner Jack Bernard said they had agreed by memo to allot the 30 minutes at this meeting to Mr. Bratcher. Commissioner Patrick indicated she had not seen such a memo.
* * *
Mark Hardison who has done the county’s audit for years explained that the role of an independent auditor is to express an opinion on the financial statements which are the responsibility of the management. He issued a “clean” opinion for 2010.
Total revenues for 2010, according to the audit report, were $8,969,888. Seventy-four percent of those revenues come from ad valorem taxes.
Total expenditures for the year were $9,380,630, with 27 percent being spent on public safety and 26 percent through the public works department (PWD). Mr. Hardison explained that the PWD used a larger percentage of the budget than usual because of a $300,000 Department of Transportation grant, making that number look a little skewed compared to previous years.
He showed a graph with general fund trends for the past five years showing a gradual increase in both revenues and expenditures, except for 2008 when revenues were down significantly and expenditures were up.
In separate funds, Mr. Hardison showed that the landfill fund lost nearly $200,000 in 2010, and said that he knew the county was now addressing that. (The county has reduced the hours the landfill is open, and therefore the personnel needed. However, the landfill will incur engineering fees and closure fees for 30 years.)
The audit showed the curbside fund ended the year with net assets of $21,931.
The material deficiencies cited for 2010 included that the landfill fund receipts are not pre-numbered or issued in sequence within the receipt books, and no reconciliation is performed between the receipt books, bank deposit, or final general ledger posting.
As for internal control deficiencies, Mr. Hardison said that in the general ledger certain revenue transactions and prior year audit adjustments were not properly recorded. Also, the accounts payable subsidiary records were not reconciled to the general ledger.
The payroll system also lacked controls to insure that only authorized changes were made to the payroll system.
Mr. Hardison indicated all those deficiencies were being corrected now that the county has a CFO on board. He mentioned the turnover in the finance department and expressed confidence in current procedures.
Two material deficiencies were found in the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST), but they have been corrected.
Lastly, there was a finding that the county did not properly monitor the legal level of control for the general fund based on the adopted annual budget, and no budget amendments were made on the law library or victims assistance fund as they should have been.
Commissioner Patrick questioned the auditor about the county’s pension plan, suggesting the county had grossly over funded it. Mr. Hardison said the actuarial statement indicates that is true, but rather than address that he suggested that the county have the actuary come speak to the county about the condition of the fund.
Deer Capital
Adam McGinnis spoke the the commissioners about Deer Capital, and said the county had been labeled that some 44 years ago. He talked about the visitors and revenues that deer hunting brings to Georgia, and specifically to Jasper County.
He told of some of the things that the group Deer Capital had accomplished in recent years, such as donating $1,000 to the Warnell School at the University of Georgia for deer research, working with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to publish a pocket hunting calendar, and being a resource for hunters and landowners.
He requested the commission allow the DOT to put signs at the entrance to the county that identify it as the Deer Capital. For example, where there currently are signs saying Jasper County, another similar sign would be placed beneath it that says Deer Capital of Georgia.
He talked about neighboring counties and their sign-age such as Georgia’s Lake Country and Georgia’s Dairy Capital.
Commissioner Bernard said that the county should get input from the Monticello-Jasper County Chamber of Commerce and the Development Authority of Jasper County to determine if that is the way we want to brand our county. He said he understood the tourism aspects of it, but wanted more input.
Commissioner Patrick said she agreed that she had always known Jasper County to be the Deer Capital of Georgia, then made a motion to approve the resolution to install the signs. Commissioner Pennamon said he also has always known the county to be the Deer Capital. The resolution to install the signs passed with four commissioners voting in favor and Commissioner Bernard abstaining.
Commissioners reviewed a SPLOST fact sheet, outlining the accomplishments of the current SPLOST and the goals of the upcoming SPLOST (see related story). CFO Smith said that she had looked at the proposal for SPLOST funding and determined if those items had to be bought with ad valorem taxes, it would increase property taxes nearly two mills from the current 14.575 to 16.35, based on this year’s budget.
Commissioners briefly discussed redistricting with Commissioner Bernard saying he had three new options to review and stating that Commission Chairman Charles Hill had gone to the redistricting office and gotten another option that was similar to the one adopted by the school board.
Rep. Susan Holmes has said she will not introduce legislation unless maps for the two entities are in agreement.
Commissioner Bernard said he thinks the map that Commissioner Hill got will satisfy the Board of Education (BOE) and it adds more minorities to both districts that are currently represented by minorities. Commissioner Pennamon questioned Commissioner Bernard, indicating the map that Commissioner Hill helped develop does not increase his minority numbers.
The commissioners talked about meeting in a work session to discuss the map options. Then, Commissioner Alan Cox said that if it’s going to be two weeks before the BOC meets again to discuss it, why not send it to the BOE so those members can get a look at it, and then have a joint meeting.
Commissioners Hill and Patrick expressed concern that the BOE members want the commission to be in agreement before meeting with the school. The commissioners could not agree on a date at that time, so they were each going to e-mail their top three choices to the county manager so he could schedule a work session with the BOE members.
Animal Control
The commissioners had a proposal to declare surplus some cat cages that belong to animal control, as they are not appropriate for that use, according to County Manager Greg Wood.
The commissioners had many questions, and wanted a veterinarian to report they are inappropriate for animal control. They also want to know when the cages were bought and for what price. Then they will determine what to do.
The board also postponed any action on setting up a PayPal account for animal control. People make donations to animal control for supplies for the pets, and using PayPal would make it easier. The board delayed action on that item until after a closed session.
Before going into closed session, Commissioner Patrick said she had some concerns about a recent animal control case. She said there are some serious allegations being made, and the commission needs to know if everything was done correctly. She said the board needs to review written statements taken in connection with the animal seizure. She said she was concerned that the accused did not get due process.
During the public comment period, before the board went into closed session, Don Jernigan said he was there on behalf of his wife, Janet, who was sick. He said she has contacted the interim animal control director to be able to put articles in the newspaper about animals at animal control that need to be adopted and has not received any cooperation. He asked if the commission could look into this, as it was a good thing she was doing on a volunteer basis.
After a 45 minute closed session, the commissioners tabled action on taking PayPal, and voted to adjourn with no action taken.
Several persons concerned about animal control were in the audience for the meeting, including representatives of the local humane society, a veterinarian and others.
Also during Monday’s meeting, commissioners:
Other Action
•Reappointed Billy Nalls as the private sector representative from Jasper County to the Northeast Georgia Regional Development Center. During general comments, Mr. Nalls said that he had found the staff at RDC superb, and said the county should utilize their services more. In addition, he said he sometimes would like to share what he learns with the commissioners and wasn’t sure of the best way to do it. The commission thanked him for serving.
•Reappointed Mark Watson, Ken McMichael and Tate Turner to the water authority. Only one other person had expressed interest in serving, Chuck Jones, and Commissioner Bernard said for the sake of consistency he thought those three should be reappointed.
•Delayed action on naming anyone for the Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) board, saying there are two openings and only one person expressed interest. Tracy Norton asked to be named to the board, but was not at the commission meeting so the action was delayed.
•Had the first reading of an amendment to the solid waste, scrap tire management and trash ordinance.
•Reviewed a proposed ordinance to restrict large trucks from parking in residential areas. After much discussion, they agreed to send the proposal on to Planning and Zoning. Commissioner Patrick said that it started with a concern about heavy trucks on rural roads, and now the county is trying to determine what people can park on their property. The motion to send it to P&Z passed 3-2.
•They also had the first reading on an amendment to the curbside ordinance, and that caused much concern. Some commissioners feel the opt out clause is not comprehensive enough. Some feel the opt-out should be part of the contract with Advanced Disposal.
•Asked the county manager to research possible consultants for the upcoming Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) negotiations. They had one proposal to review to get an idea if they want to hire a consultant.
•Agreed to contract with Computer Business Solutions for auto precinting at a cost of $5,000.
•Reviewed the August financial statements, and learned that the water authority had billed the county for 2011 payments due, as well as some payment due from 2006, 2009, and 2010. Commissioner Cox made a statement saying that the tax commissioner will give the water authority what is collected, and that is all it gets.
