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Wednesday, June 22, 2011 – 6:00 p.m.
By Editor Becky Watts
1. CALL TO ORDER ............................................................................. Chairman Doug Mangham
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ........................................................... Chairman Doug Mangham
3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA - (O.C.G A. 50-14-1 (e) (1))
4. COUNTY MANAGER COMMENTS
5. SECOND READING OF THE FY 2011-12 BUDGET
a. Public Hearing: Open for public comment regarding FY 2010-11 Budget.
b. Close public hearing.
6. COMMISSIONERS COMMENTS
7. APPROVAL/DENIAL OF FY 2011-12 BUDGET ON SECOND READING
8. ADJOURNMENT
Here are some important links that will put the entire budget into perspective.
To view a copy of the Budget Calendar which contains the times of upcoming hearings and the final adoption process, click here.
Click here to view a copy of the budget from the Pike County Commission website. You can also download financials, FY budgets from previous years, etc. from the Board of Commissioners' website. Copies of the proposed budget for FY 2011-2012 are also available for viewing at the Board of Commissioners Office located at 79 Jackson Street in Zebulon and at the J. Joel Edwards Library located on Highway 19 South in Zebulon.
Click here to read from the first budget hearing.
Click here to read about the June 8, 2011 budget meeting.
Click here to read about the June 15, 2011 budget meeting.
This meeting was attended by all five commissioners. County Manager Bill Sawyer began the meeting by stating the proposed budget for the upcoming year. The actual proposed budget is $9,678,077 including the Fire Auxiliary Fund, DATE Fund, Juvenile Fund and Law Library. Actual expenditures are $8,817,727. This is a reduction of $860,350 or 10%.
The FY 2011-2012 Budget is as follows:
• Approval of adoption of the General Fund: $8,512,232
• Approval of adoption of Jail Fund: 25,154
• Approval of adoption of the 911 Fund: 229,736
• Approval of adoption of DATE Fund: 11,792
• Approval of adoption of Fire Fund (Now in General Fund): 000
• Approval of adoption of Juvenile Fund: 27,813
• Approval of adoption of Law Library Fund 11,000
Total Expenditures ...................................................................... $ 8,817,727
The final adoption of this budget is scheduled for June 28, 2011 at the Special Called Meeting at 5 p.m. This was the second reading of the 2011-2012 Budget.
When the public hearing was opened, Magistrate Judge Marcia Callaway-Ingram was the first to speak. She said that she was “profoundly disappointed” with the reduction of the Magistrate Court budget and said that Magistrate Court needs to be given the funds to operate efficiently. She stated that it is her understanding that money is being taken for something that started even before she was appointed. She made reference to her letter to the Pike County Board of Commissioners which lays out her case against the Commissioner’s decision from the June 15, 2011 meeting to move $29,915.51 from the Magistrate Court budget and place it in Contingency with the understanding that this money has been set aside and can be moved back into the Magistrate Court budget if it is needed.
The following is from Judge Callaway-Ingram's letter to the Board of Commissioners dated June 9, 2011. All highlights are according to this portion of the letter.
Code of Georgia §15-10-23. Minimum compensation; annual salary; increases; supplements.
(d) The county governing authority may supplement the minimum annual salary of the chief or other magistrate in such amount as it may fix from time to time, but no such magistrate's compensation or supplement shall be decreased during any term office. Nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit the General Assembly by local law from supplementing the annual salary of any magistrates.
Any County Commissioner's attempt to control Magistrate Court personnel also violates the role reserved exclusively to the Judicial Branch in Code of Georgia §15-10-20: Number; selection; term; filling vacancies; chief magistrate; bonds; certain judges removed by federal court order to become special judges.
(e) Unless otherwise provided by local law, a vacancy in the office of chief magistrate shall be filled by an appointment by majority vote of the judges of superior court for the remainder of the unexpired term; and a vacancy in the office of any other magistrate shall be filled by an appointment by the chief magistrate with the consent of the judges of superior court for the remainder of the unexpired term .....
Further, The Constitution of the State of Georgia Article 9, Section II, Paragraph I(c) clearly states:
The power granted to counties in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above shall not be construed to extend to the following matters ...
(1) Action affecting any elective county office, the salaries thereof, or the personnel thereof, except the personnel subject to the jurisdiction of the county governing authority; and
(7)Action affecting any court or the personnel thereof.
Further in this letter, Judge Callaway-Ingram protested the cutting a magistrate position to part-time and cutting the only full-time clerk position and salary saying that historically this office has been staffed with two full-time judges and two full-time clerks until she took office last year. She reiterated that Magistrate Court is not "going smoothly and needs funding for two full-time active magistrates and two full-time clerks in order for this Court to function efficiently."
Update 6.28.11: (Revised 6.29.11)
Past Commissioner Parrish Swift spoke to commissioners about the County Fire Department (Pike County Emergency Services). He asked about funding and budgeting with regard to Meansville Fire Department. Said that a contract needed to be drawn up between the county and the City of Meansville (for mutual aid) and asked if Meansville can really provide mutual aid to the county. Parrish said that this is a budget issue because if ISO did a spot inspection on the City of Meansville Fire Department and it was found to be lacking manpower and equipment, the south end of the county would be impacted. He said that this was a budget issue because of it. He also asked where the $5,000 would come from to pay the City of Meansville to provide mutual aid to the county? Parrish said that the commissioner were assured--when he was with the prior county commission--by the County Manager that this would be worked out. He then asked why the Fire Department budget was cut so drastically to start with. He received no answer so he asked why the Fire Department's budget was cut so drastically to begin with. He received no answer to his question but Chairman Doug Mangham replied, "We're listening to you. You tell us what you want to tell us." Parrish replied, "But you're up here setting the budget and y'all have an answer." To which Chairman Doug Mangham replied, "We're not answering. We're listening." Parrish then said, "Sometimes we do too much of that. Sometimes we don't know where you stand." He went on to say that the public doesn't know how commissioners think or how they stand and encouraged commissioners to speak out. When there was no response he went on to ask whether the fire department is being put in jeopardy because of all of the required day to day equipment like nozzles, turnout equipment, etc. and the cut to the county Fire Department's budget. "Do we have the funds to operate the fire department properly?" he asked before saying that he was against the taking away of tax services to the Pike County Fire Department to fund a city Fire Department.
Becky Watts (that would be me) went up front as a citizen to address the topic of the City of Meansville and its decision not to join the Pike County Fire Department. I said that I received a phone call about the article this morning in the Pike Journal Reporter. I said that I was adamantly opposed to the City of Meansville receiving $5,000 from Pike County. I said that Pike County is currently looking at the possibility of having to pay for a fire department on that end of the county and suggested that the City of Meansville's truck is something that needs to be looked at. I said that my family is saving a lot of money on insurance (because of the county's ISO rating) with what has been done in the county fire department up until now. I said that I was afraid that with the cuts that have been done to the fire department's budget, we were looking at possibly pushing the ISO rates up for everyone. I said that it doesn't matter how much you cut the budget now because if the ISO rates go back up, that little bit that we saved (with budget cuts) is going to be gone.
Commissioner Carol Bass then asked about the $5,000 that Parrish and I both spoke about. The County Manager explained that the cities used to be paid this way before Pike County had a county fire department. He said the City of Meansville used to take this $5,000 and use it to repair and update their equipment, do testing that was needed, etc. in order to make sure that the equipment was satisfactory for ISO. Commissioner Bass then asked if this was something that came out of that week's Pike Journal Reporter. Parrish replied from the audience that the $5,000 that was wanted by the City of Meansville could be read between the lines in what was written in the paper. I said that it wasn't written exactly. The public hearing was then closed.
Commissioner Tamra Jarrett then asked CM Sawyer to clarify that the ISO rating for the county was lowered with Meansville being a city (fire) department and asked if the City of Meansville's decision to remain a city department could affect the county's ISO rate? CM Sawyer replied, "It could." He said that ISO could come in and find that Meansville is certified and that they have the equipment to say what they say they can do or they can say just the opposite and give a list of repairs, changes or improvements that must be done in a specific time frame. If this happens, any insurance agency that prescribes to ISO will get a copy of that report and ISO rates can go up or down based on that report. Commissioner Jarrett then said that the payment of money seems to be the issue that concerns some citizens.
Commissioner Bass then said that according to year to date numbers, the fire stations are budgeted in line with what their usage has been. She said that the county has a history that shows the fire departments in line with what has been used in the past. Parrish then replied from the audience, "That's because they are not allowed to spend any money." He was gavelled down by the Commission Chairman for this remark.
Motion to approve the 2011-12 Budget upon 2nd Reading. Approved 5-0. Motion to adjourn. 6:23 p.m.