Pike County Times
The Pike County Times, PO Box 843, Zebulon, Georgia 30295. Click here to donate through PayPal. Becky Watts: Phone # 770-468-7583 editor@pikecountytimes.com
 
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This online news website is owned and operated by Becky Watts. The Editor can be reached at 770-468-7583 or at editor(at)PikeCountyTimes(dot)com. Pike County Times is a website for citizens to keep up with local events and stay informed about Pike County government. It began on November 13, 2006 as a watchdog on county government and has turned into an online newspaper.

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REGULAR BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS MONTHLY MEETING
Wednesday, January 13, 2016 – 9:00 a.m.
Courthouse Annex, 79 Jackson Street, Zebulon, Georgia

All five commissioners were present as well as County Clerk Jo Ann Wrye, County Manager (CM) John Hanson, and County Attorneys Rob and Tom Morton.

1. CALL TO ORDER....................................................................................Chairman J. Briar Johnson

2. INVOCATION……………………………………………………………………………Ben Maxedon

3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE...................................................................Chairman J. Briar Johnson

4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. § 50-14-1 (e) (1))

5. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES - (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1(e) (2))

a. Minutes of the December 9, 2015 Regular Monthly Meeting.

6. INVITED GUESTS

a. Employees to be recognized for their service to Pike County.

Christopher Johnson has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 6 years and received his 5 year pin.

Lateesia Anthony has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 8 years and received her 5 year pin.

Megan Chestnut has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 8 years and received her 5 year pin.

Robert Snowden has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 10 years and received his 10 year pin.

Michael Wright has been with the Sheriff’s Office for 13 years and received his 10 year pin.

CM John Hanson said that every time you see these deputies, they are about their business. It’s evident that we have good people in Pike County. Sheriff Thomas complimented their longevity and said, “It’s not about what I do, it’s about the job that they do.” He told the group that they make Pike County proud.

David Allen took on Animal Control as well as doing the building permits and erosion, etc. He was praised for his dedication and willingness to get things done even though Animal Control was not what he signed up to do when he began working for the county. We are very fortunate to have him was the consensus of the Board and County Manager.

Lisa Baker 13 years (10 year pin). Hanson said that when he first began working here, the Assessor’s Office had a lot of challenges. She really knows the job inside out. The Chief Appraiser said that he considers himself a very fortunate man and the three ladies who work here have 50 years of experience between the three of them. Lisa keeps up our covenants and has helped in that office so much. County Attorney Tom Morton said that she is one of the finest employees that we have in the county and she helped out during hard times by going out into the field and helping the office run like it should. She has negotiated many settlements on the Board of Equalization.

b. Mark Hardison from the accounting firm of Clifton, Lipford, Hardison & Parker, LLC to present the annual audit of the financial statements of Pike County for the year ending June 30, 2015.

Mark Hardison advised that we have a clean audit report. We ended with $3.2 million in cash. Our fund balance is assets minus liability and it’s $2.6 million though there are some funds in this that are assigned to projects such as roads. 60% is property taxes, 8% is sales tax, with other places where we collect taxes for the county. Public Safety is the largest expenditure after general government. Our county is growing the necessary back up funds from 2012 to now. This is positive. We have very little debt in this county. He walked through the entire report and pointed out specific changes to Georgia accounting laws as well as points that might be important to them understanding our financial situation here in the county.

There was one finding in this even though the report is clean. He said the governmental reporting is extremely complicated, and it is not uncommon to have a finding. Accounts payable does not have adequate accounting procedures to insure that expenditures are recorded and properly classified when a liability is incurred. There were three changes that were needed to move an item prior year invoices from one year to the previous year to ensure that they were recorded in the right year.

We had no disagreements with management and there are no misunderstandings about new accounting standards with the county. He thanked the county for their cooperation and said that the county does an excellent job with overseeing what is going on. Kay Landers and County Manger John Hanson know what is going on and do a good job with our finances. CM Hanson praised Mark for their work to the county.

Our General Fund ended the year with $3.2 million. Our revenues were $9.2 million and expenditures were $8.4 million. The Fund Balance was $2.6 million. Click here to download a copy of the 2015 audit. [Note from the Editor: Many thanks to Kay Landers for knowing that I was going to ask for this and sending it to me by email as soon as the meeting was over so the public can review this information.]

Motion to accept. Accepted 5-0.

7. REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONS, DEPARTMENTS, COMMITTEES, AUTHORITIES

a. Monthly Reports submitted from County Departments and County Authorities, including a Revenue/Expenditure Statement for all departments and a summary check register.

b. County Manager Report
Update on County finances for the following funds/accounts:
General Fund ............................................................................................ $2,691,871.64
Fire Dept. Donations........................................................................................ $3,942.97
Cash Reserve Account................................................................................. $589,484.84
Jail Fund ........................................................................................................ $16,792.02
E-911 Fund .................................................................................................... $61,645.12
DATE Fund ................................................................................................... $35,336.19
Juvenile Court Fund....................................................................................... $16,196.18
Commercial Impact Fees ............................................................................... $13,922.16
C.A.I.P FUND................................................................................................. $1,895.63
General Obligation SPLOST Tax Bond Sinking Fund, 2011...................... $495,233.55
L.M.I. Grant (DOT)....................................................................................... $12,232.89

c. County Manager Comment

Seven roads closed at one time because of the rain. Two roads have been opened already. Millwood and Old Zebulon should be open by Friday. Culverts were delivered yesterday. There has been a lot of work on potholes and cross drains. They have changed the blade on the scrapers and the roads look better. Move to Nazareth and Reid Road next with Campbell Road after that.

On Campbell Road, there is a dam that is directly against the right of way so they can solve the problem of an old timber bridge that made the dam fail and our culvert fail too. The old timber bridge had been covered many years ago. We are going to work with the owner and make changes that will be good for years to come.

[Note from the Editor: This is additional info from the County Manager Report. Thanks to CM Hanson for making this available to me every week.] Public Works crews have worked extended hours scraping roads and working to get Bethany Church Road open. Cross drains and driveway pipes have also been replaced on roads that were not closed by have had "significant water issues" during the rain. They have been prepping Old Zebulon and Millwood for repairs [Old Zebulon is now open-1.14.16]. Millwood is currently open but only has one lane open to traffic and no bus traffic is allowed. Nazareth Road is next followed by Reid Road and Campbell Road.End of CM Report info.

There was an accident with a dump trunk on Rover-Zatella Road. Someone t-boned our truck, but everyone was ok.

There is a study on the City of Zebulon from the Downtown Development Authority to see what revitalization that we need for future uses. He asked commissioners to support this because the only thing that will be needed is in kind work with CM Hanson by giving his time to sit with the research team. No funds will be needed. Motion to authorize the county to give a letter of support on this. Approved 5-0.

He made it a matter of record that the county has received records and questions from Randall Moss regarding his granddaughter. CM Hanson has made it a matter of record that the county has no authorization over the Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, etc. in regard to a Grand Jury Investigation with the situation involving his granddaughter.

CM Hanson is adding a couple of items to Govdeals.com. This will come up later in the meeting.

Commissioner Jenkins said that the General Fund Balance compared to last year is off by $300 from last year. CM Hanson said that it might be just because of when the audit fell. He also said that TAVT is beginning to hurt our county. Hanson said that the county received word from the state that we should expect a 9% decrease in TAVT which will reduce tax income by about $43,000 or even more. Discussion that changes need to be done through state legislature to fix this. [Note from the Editor: This shouldn't be a surprise to the state legislature as there were warnings that smaller counties would be hurt by the change from the annual birthday tax on automobiles to the TAVT.]

d. Commissioner Reports

Commissioner Daniel said that he got lots of calls during the rain and those issues have been addressed.

Commissioner Guy commended the Road Department for their long hours during and after the road.

Commissioner Powers said that he has also had a lot of calls on roads and that he occasionally gets calls with thanks about the roads. He passed that along.

Commissioner Jenkins said that he has had some calls about school tax exemptions. People who meet the 62 and 65 year old requirements can apply for this discount to the school tax through the Tax Assessor’s Office. He also said that the trash build up on the state highways has gotten really bad over the past couple of months. Hanson said that he has noticed it too and that it’s all of the roads. Hanson said that there is as much trash on our county roads as well as along the state highway. He said that if people dispose of our trash properly, we won’t have to deal with the problem anymore. Hanson encouraged people to go out and pick up along their property and said that the Sheriff’s Office is looking to catch people throwing trash out.

Commissioner Johnson said that there is a Pick Up Pike Meeting at the Oink Joint on Friday. He said that he rode over 90 miles and saw county crews working that day. They were scraping and doing what they can do and they are doing a good job. He thanked CM Hanson for his work on the audit and Kay as well. He praised all of the staff in the County Office for their work on this.

e. County Attorney Report to Commissioners.

A litigation report is regular part of the audit. Rob said that other local governments are having the same problem as we are with trash. There is one city entity especially that is dealing with a similar instance. The county is following up on trash that was found with addresses on it.

8. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - None

9. NEW BUSINESS

a. PUBLIC HEARING: To receive public input regarding SUB15-02 - Johnny Bertram, property owner, and Steve Godwin, applicant, are requesting final plat approval of a 6- lot single family residential subdivision on 25.72 acres located off of Ga. Hwy. 109 East and also off of Walker Road. Said property is zoned A-R (Agricultural-Residential), with approximately 948 feet of frontage along the southern side of Ga. Hwy. 109 and approximately 279 feet of frontage along the western side of Walker Road. The property is located in Land Lot 89 of the 8th Land District of Pike County, Georgia. Property is further identified as Tax Map Parcel Number 093 035.
ACTION: Discuss/Approve/Deny

Zoning Director David Allen spoke first. Prelim plat approved in October. It doesn’t involve any infrastructure so this has been a short process.

No one spoke in favor or opposition. There was no discussion. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

b. Approve/deny the Tax Resolution in connection with the Board Of Education’s issuance of general obligation bonds.

There was a countywide vote on this that passed already. The county is the taxing authority so this has to be done. [Note from the Editor: This has nothing to do with the County Commission except for the signature. The people have already passed this by a vote in the last election.] Motion to approve this resolution. Approved 5-0.

c. Approval/deny of Resolution to Set Qualifying Fees for 2016 County Elections. County Manager recommends approval and fees will be published as required.

The county is responsible for setting qualifying fees so this is just a matter of course for later on in the year. It’s a calculation set by state law. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

d. Elect Vice Chairman for the Pike County Board of Commissioners for 2016.

Commission Powers made a motion to appoint Commissioner Tim Daniel. Question was asked whether Tim could vote on this. County Attorney Rob Morton said that since there is no financial aspect to this, he can vote. Approved 5-0.

e. Approve/deny request from Kevin Teate of two park renovations to be paid from the Recreation Impact Fee.

These are much needed items that fees will be used to pay for. Hanson recommended that these projects be funded through Impact Fees as presented. Commissioner Jenkins mentioned a graffiti free type of partition that could be used. Kevin said that he would look into it and see if this is what is being used and if there would be an increase. Motion to approve. Hanson advised that the amount is $49,670. Approved 5-0.

f. Approve/deny CSS Probation Services for Pike County Superior Court.

. Contract executed by Judge Edwards for a change in services provided by misdemeanor probation. There was some discussion on this from those involved in the court process that indicated that they wanted the change based on a change in another county. The change would be beneficial to everyone. Judge Edwards wanted all of the counties to be aware of and approve the change. This is also the same provider for our Magistrate Court and this company works with Upson County. This company is going to make sure that if probationers are scheduled to be here, they will be held accountable for the job that they are supposed to do in the county from laying out tile to picking up trash or whatever job they sign up to do. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

g. Approve/deny Credit Card Policy and Resolution.

The legislature made a necessary change to the law based on past abuses. As of January 1, no governmental official can use a credit card without prior approval by the County Commission. Another hearing will be required. The County Manager will check through expenditures and provide accountability for credit card use. CM Hanson said that each department will now have a separate credit card rather than having everyone use the same county credit card. Commissioner Jenkins said that he thinks that there shouldn’t be three steps on this for revocation. He said that this is taxpayer dollars and if there is even one problem with it, it should be revoked. County Attorney Rob Morton said that this is for elected officials only. He said that the first is a warning, the second is a suspension, and the third is a revocation. CM Hanson said that commissioners can go straight to revocation if they want to. Discussion of whether to revoke upon the first instance of misuse. Commissioner Jenkins made a motion to remove the other steps and just use revocation. Further discussion: What if there is a mistake? County Attorney asked if they are sure that they want to require revocation if something isn’t turned in timely? He said that this is not just written for misuse. If they go this route, a receipt that isn’t pulled from the gas pump that might take time to obtain and it might not meet the time requirement. CM Hanson said that misuse is going to be punished accordingly. County Attorney Rob Morton said that a section could be written to say specifically that any misuse will result in revocation. Commissioner Jenkins amended his motion to include the change that County Attorney Morton suggested with leaving the rest as is. Approved 5-0.

h. Approve/deny trade-in and lease renewal of Caterpillar Dump Trucks.

CM Hanson handled this. When the county leased these trucks, there was a new type of fuel system that was required. This technology is on our trucks. This fuel is clogging up and keeping the truck from moving when we need it for work. Catepillar is covering the cost of repair, but that still leaves us with trucks down because of it. Catepillar recognized the problem and complaints, and they have revamped the fuel system that works well now and they have offered to buy back our leases as they are and we will get a new truck at today’s cost with the same rate. We have had to lease trucks in the past because of downed trucks. He recommended that we do this. Commissioner Johnson asked yesterday why we were buying Catepillar products if we have problems now and this discussion is what ensued. Motion to approve the two existing trucks. CM Hanson advised that this is a 5 year lease. Approved 5-0.

i. Approve/deny items to be sold on GovDeals.

Govdeals.com. Surplus items including a passenger van, a regular van, and trailers will be added as well as furniture, etc. from the Senior Center. Motion to approve. Approved 5-0.

10. PUBLIC COMMENT- (Limited to 5 minutes per person)

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION - None

12. ADJOURNMENT

Motion to adjourn at 10:38 a.m.

Agenda subject to revision.

[Note from the Editor: If you appreciate being able to read information from county meetings for free on Pike County Times, please make a donation to Pike County Times through the PayPal link at the bottom of the page or by check to Pike County Times at PO Box 843, Zebulon so I can justify the amount of time that I am spending away from family. It may not seem like much but sitting in a meeting and then typing it up takes a lot more time than you might imagine! Thanks for reading Pike County's only FREE newspaper.]

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