Commissioners Agree on Proposed Budget
The Jasper County Commissioners agreed at their regular meeting Monday to advertise the proposed operating budget of $7.887 million for Fiscal Year 2013.
Public hearings on the proposed budget will be held Friday, June 15, at 9 a.m., Monday, June 18, at 6 p.m, and Thursday, June 28, at 6 p.m.
The budget reflects a 0.79 percent net reduction from last year’s budget. The millage rate for the county will be 16.297, with a county wide millage of 15.446 and a hospital millage of 0.851. Last year’s millage rate was 14.575. Because of the reduction in values, the higher millage rate will actually bring in less revenues. As for individual tax bills, it will just depend on how much the property changed in value.
Monday’s action came following several budget work sessions held over the last month, with much back and forth between commissioners, county manager, chief financial officer, and department heads and constitutional officers.
A public hearing is planned for Thursday, June 28 at 6 p.m. to formally adopt the budget, if the commissioners don’t make changes based on input at the public hearings.
In other action at Monday’s meeting, commissioners discussed attorney Jim Alexander’s invoices. Mr. Alexander was not present, rather his associate was there. The county has not received an invoice from Mr. Alexander since the middle of November, 2011, according to Commissioner Mary Patrick.
Commissioner Patrick said it was very gracious of Mr. Alexander to work for the county without billing the county for services, but that for the sake of transparency, she would like to see what he is working on.
Commissioner Carl Pennamon agreed that the commissioners should receive at least a summary of what he has done.
Commissioner Patrick said he submitted itemized bills until mid-November, She just wants to see what information bills since then contain. She doesn’t mind him working for free, but is interested in what is working on. Commissioner Jack Bernard suggested insisting on bills is kind of like poking a tiger with a stick.
The commissioners voted, 3-2 to ask for the bills. Commission Chairman Alan Cox joined Commissioner Bernard in casting a dissenting vote. Commissioners Patrick Pennamon and Charles Hill were in favor of requesting copies of invoices.
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The commissioners gave the o.k. for Emergency Management Director Melissa Slocumb to seek an Emergency Management Preparedness Grant to build an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at the current Station 3 firehouse. EMS personnel are also housed at that firehouse. Currently the fire chief has to share office space with living quarters. And, explained Mrs. Slocumb, if there is a large scale emergency, the current EOC at the 911 center is not large enough to accommodate everyone who would need to be involved.
The commissioners went into a closed session at the end of the regular meeting, and when they came out they voted unanimously to transfer the designated 2005 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) funds to the Development Authority of Jasper County (DAJC).
In addition, during the regular meeting, after some discussion, commissioners agreed for the county to serve as the fiscal agent for the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development administering the county’s Work Ready grant.
Commissioners deleted three items from Monday’s agenda. They were not yet ready to appoint someone to the Planning & Zoning board, an agenda item forwarded from the mid-month evening meeting.
In addition, they agreed to remove “LMIG Priorities 2013 Paving Season” and “Designation of SPLOST Road Funds” from the agenda.
They spent considerable time discussing the “role of the chair.” An item cited by Commissioner Patrick concerned the board voting to present a resolution to the sheriff about law enforcement around county watering holes, particularly Hwy. 142 Bar & Grill. The board voted to submit a resolution, and instead, Chairman Cox wrote a letter to the sheriff.
Chairman Cox said he thought the resolution would infuriate the sheriff’s office, so he wrote the letter, basically to soften the resolution. It was not meant ot replace it, he said.
Commissioner Bernard said the letter served the same purpose as the resolution so he had no problem with it.
Commissioner Pennamon aid if we vote on something, let’s do it. If we deviate from it, let us know. We need to work together, try to put trust in each other. Commissioner Hill echoed those remarks.
Some of the commissioner then questioned the way Chairman Cox had determined who was going to take part in Local Option Sales Tax negotiations with the city of Monticello. Chairman Cox had said at a previous meeting that the and Mayor Bryan Standifer would negotiate.
He named Commissioner Patrick as the back-up negotiator. Commissioner Pennamon expressed concern because the county had injected a number into its budget based on expected outcomes of the negotiations.
Commissioner Hill said local legislation has put it to the commission to negotiate LOST and made it clear he didn’t appreciate Chairman Cox appointing himself to be in charge. Commissioner Pennamon asked if the whole commission would set guidelines.
Chairman Cox said the law is clear; there are nine point that can be considered in negotiation.
Commissioner Hill said his district includes voters in the cities of Monticello and Shady Dale, and Commissioner Pennamon’s district includes some of Monticello. Commissioner Patrick’s also includes some of Monticello. He said those are the people who bend your ear back.
Chairman Cox said it is not a war between Jasper County and Monticello. He said we have to determine services, and try to make sure no one is double-taxed.
