Committee Approves $1 Million To WPS Renovation, 5% County Raises And Hybrid Benefit Plan
The Jefferson County Budget Committee met on Monday, October 19, 2015 in the Historic Jefferson County Courthouse. Sitting in for Committee Member Kesterson was Commissioner Huffaker and for Committee Member Turner was Commissioner McGraw. All other Committee Members were present.
Committee Member Solomon offered a Motion to accept the Minutes of the September 14, 2015 meeting with corrections for misspelling and was 2nd by Committee Member Musick. The Motion Passed. The Committee chose to take County Budget Amendments A-D, which included general housekeeping items for the County General Fund, Solid Waste/Sanitation Fund, Solid Waste Disposal Fund and Highway Fund. Also included was a $25,448 impact to the County General Fund Balance for increases in Workman’s Comp insurance. Several of the items in A-D put the payment for the insurance in the appropriate department’s line item rather than carrying it in “other finance” as it had been previously. Amendments A-D were Approved with a Motion from Solomon and 2nd from McGraw. Capital Fund Amendment that transferred unused reserves and credits for the previous fiscal year by the Department of Education back into Capital Projects for the current fiscal year use was Approved with a Motion from McGraw and 2nd from Solomon. General Fund 101 Amendment, which included line item transfers, was Approved with a Motion from Committee Member Blevins and 2nd by McGraw.
School Budget Amendment #3 had no fund balance impact and was Approved with a Motion from McGraw and 2nd from Musick.
A request by New Market Fire Chief Solomon for $25,000 for sub station funding was Approved contingent on required paperwork submittal, with a Motion from Committee Member David Seal and 2nd from Blevins ( with Amendment from Committee Member Tucker accepted by consent) ( Solomon abstained).
Commissioner Steve Douglas appeared before the Committee and requested that the Committee offer funding in the amount of $1,000,000 that is a part of the County fund balance for repairs and renovation to White Pine School. Douglas stated that the request did not further increase the indebtedness of the citizens of Jefferson County and, if combined with a like amount from the School Board, could have a positive impact on the needs of White Pine School. Both Jefferson County Schools Director Edmonds and Jefferson County School Board Chair Jarnigan expressed their gratitude to the Committee for the recommendation and, while noting that they do not speak for the Board in its entirety, they expect that the offer will be well received. David Seal made a Motion to provide funding for the renovation of White Pine School in the amount of $1,000,035. The Motion stipulated that the School Board match or exceed the amount that the County allocates for construction/renovation at White Pine School and that the County Contribution will not 50% of the funding should the cost of renovation/construction be less than $2,000,000. One million dollars will go to the school project and $35,000 will be designated for the expense of a Quality Control Advisor to oversee the citizen’s interest in the project , as well as legal expenses ( Jefferson County Attorney’s review the contracts, state and federal laws associated), but the $35,000 does not require a match from the School Board. All funding in the motion unless otherwise specified by the motion is for use exclusively for construction and renovation expenses at White Pine School and any funds not used, including contingency funds and other expenses, are returned to Jefferson County. The funding for the County portion of the project will come from the County Fund Balance and the Quality Control Oversight Committee will be maintained for the duration of the project. Seal’s Motion was 2nd by Solomon and was Approved.
Jefferson County Sheriff McCoig requested that the Committee consider approval of a 5% raise for his department, citing higher wages in the local municipalities and area counties. Jefferson County Finance Director Potts stated that a limited look a like salaries had reveled a discrepancy in wages for the Sheriff’s Department and Emergency Services, although other County positions were not a part of the official study but some are also lagging in comparison to like positions. Potts stated that a 3% across the board increase for all County employees would be in the neighborhood of $328,000 for employees that have had one full year of service. A 5% across the board raise for all County employees would be around $546,000 per year in increase. Finance Director Potts stated that the Fund Balance currently has around $1.1 million dollars in excess of the imposed minimum. The allocation for White Pine School would leave the balance close to the reserve. However, Potts stated that the budgeted amount for sales tax was conservative and the first indicators show an increase in sales tax for the County, which if the trend holds, could offset the cost of a raise. Should the sales tax fall off, Hospital Reserve Funds, which the County Commission recently replenished, could be tapped to fund the increase. Committee Member Blevins made a Motion to fund an across the board increase of 3% for all County employees that meet the longevity stipulation and was 2nd by Tucker. Commissioner Huffaker made an amendment to increase the percentage to a 5% increase across the board and was 2nd by Committee Member Beeler. The amendment was Approved 7-3 with Seal, Blevins and Scarlett voting No. The Motion as amended was Approved.
The Committee stood in recess, pending the meeting of the full body, and then reconvened. Finance Director Potts presented for approval the County Retirement Hybrid Benefit Plan. Potts stated that the plan is already in place for school system employees and will not impact any current employees, only new hires. He stated that the cost benefit to Jefferson County will exceed $2 million dollars in savings over a ten year period. The Motion to Approve was offered by Beeler and 2nd by Musick. The Motion passed.
Upon a Motion from Musick and 2nd from McGraw, the Committee Approved a request from the School Board to use previously assigned funds for various capital projects and reimbursement for over payment for Maury gym windows, Dandridge Elementary School carpet and $25,000 for White Pine Study for a total amount of $115,939 ( previously approved by the budget committee and denied by the full body).
Potts informed the Committee that bids for the HVAC at the Work House came in much higher than anticipated and only two bids were submitted. Several avenues are being investigated to address the situation but no bid has been awarded at this time.
