BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
8 NOVEMBER 2024
Chair Commissioner Matt Rubelsky opened the meeting noting he wanted to allow all to have time to review the minutes. No motion at this time. The Chair discussed the County Executive’s (CE) absence in that the CE Graham Stowe was in North Carolina speaking at a veteran’s event. (No prayer or pledge was given due to being provided in same day previous meeting.) Commissioner Erin Curry discussed the equalization vote which had recently passed and will provide more than $400K to the school system. She thanked Commissioner Evan Baddour who took a major role in defending the proposal and in the success of that vote.
First Agenda Item. School Budget Amendment – A motion by Commissioner Terry Jones, and seconded by Commissioner Roger Reedy, was made to approve. Given discussion in previous same day meeting, the motion was approved unanimously.
Next Agenda Item. County General Fund Amendment – This amendment included the Wal-Mart Tax Reimbursement for $20,000 (county, less school and highway, portion); Vehicle Equipment Insurance amendment which collates all vehicle insurance into one budget line item, rather than across departments; OEM request for an additional part-time employee due to increased workload (discussion including questions follows); Ambulance Special Events overtime service which will be reimbursed; and debt service fund relating to the Wal-Mart decision. The part-time employee requirement at OEM was questioned as to need with OEM Director providing information on the loss of one employee to the Sheriff’s office and the increased workload due to a TACN grant pushing a heavier workload on OEM Josh Young. A motion to approve the overall amendment was made by Commissioner Evan Baddour, seconded by Commissioner Roger Reedy, and later was approved. In interim a motion by Commissioner Terry Jones and seconded by Commissioner James Lathrop to vote on each part of the amendment separately failed with the following voting no Roger Reedy, Evan Baddour, Judy Pruett, and Matt Rubelsky.
Next Agenda Item. The cardiac monitors for OEM. Willow Chavez gave an update showing the current bid from Lifepak, good until 19th December, is $476,989 which doesn’t consider trade-ins, but which did include a competitive discount, and the following year will increase by $50K. Commissioner Gayle Jones said if known would be on agenda would have reviewed past data. On being asked how much is service, Ms. Chavez gave a rounded amount of $19k per year. Service includes other items such as batteries, per Ms. Chavez. On being asked of actual cost in service/preventive maintenance she said about $20K. Commissioner Terry Jones asked how long a battery would last, with two years being answered, and on questioning how many bought recently, answering five. Dr. Joe Fite mentioned the current technology of Zoll/Stryker is far superior to the technology being proposed (Lifepak). He mentioned some of the advantages and he didn’t feel the need to spend any funds on new monitors for EMS. He mentioned several other medical organizations that prefer the Zoll product. The Chair asked how long would the county be “sustainable” with current available monitors and Ms. Chavez said about one year. She noted that the monitors currently have some residual value but would obviously decrease over a period of time. Several commissioners mentioned the longer postponed the higher the cost. A motion by Commissioner Terry Jones to postpone this decision for a year was seconded by Commissioner David Adams. Commissioner James Lathrop noted that if this committee did approve, the final decision would be done at a full commission meeting. Commissioner Gayle Jones noted that all monitors are not old, that previously the monitors had been purchased on a staggered basis and some were no older than two years. She said she would need to look at the quotes, and that it would be premature to make a decision without more information. Commissioner Evan Baddour noted that to postpone for a whole year would increase the price considerably. Several of the commissioners thought the committee should consider who uses the equipment and that their input was more valuable, while others thought commissioners’ responsibility rested on obtaining as much information as possible before making a decision on $400K+, especially with other known county requirements. The above motion to postpone failed with Commissioners Terry Jones, Roger Reedy, Evan Baddour, and Judy Pruett voting no. A motion by Terry Jones, seconded by Commissioner Evan Baddour was made to move forward and send the request to the full commission. Financial Manager Beth Moore-Sumners reminded all that per statute, used equipment cannot be trade-ins; items would have to be listed for sale. Commissioner Roger Reedy asked Dr. Fite had he met with Emergency Services leadership before this request was proposed and Dr. Fite said as Medical Director the approval of such items would have to come through him. OEM Director Myers said while it is true the Medical Director approves the necessity of equipment but that approval does extend to which brand/model is worthy of purchase. Commissioner Terry Jones said his concern is not on the different brand but on determining how county funds should be spent. The Chair mentioned the other funding requirements and that he considers postponing this decision to look at all projects, e.g. what can the county afford. The motion to approve and send to full commission was reiterated with call for question (approved) and the motion itself was voted on, with Commissioners Terry Jones and David Adams voting no. The motion was approved and will be placed on next full commission agenda. Commissioner Tracy Wilburn, in addressing the public comments, asked that Dr. Fite be allowed to speak to some of the information that had been offered by EMT’s and Paramedics of the Ambulance Service. Dr. Fite said OEM currently has the best technology in the nation, and the funds could be better served by providing Minor Hill with service.
Any New business. Questions were asked on the movement of funds from the Line Item 171 which has been a “savings” account for capital equipment purchases. Consideration of establishing a separate line, leave in the fund balance was discussed by some of the commissioners with the financial manager stressing how to treat the 171-line item the same as the other department heads’ budgets, i.e. school/highway. Commissioner Evan Baddour read from the fund balance policy which did not say you would treat the 171-line in the same fashion as the other budget’s process. The Financial Manager noted that she understands the commissions’ concerns but that she too has rules she must follow for financial management. She considered the use of the 171-line item as farsighted protection, safeguarding those funds from miscellaneous spending such as salaries or annual recurring costs. Commissioner Tracy Wilburn asked about adjusting the percentage currently used to determine how much should be moved from general funds to the 171-line item. The Financial Manager reiterated previous statements in other meetings where she noted the budget process at the beginning of the year could alleviate some of the concerns by noting what capital equipment should be funded from the 171-line item. Commissioner Judy Pruett stated that we are treating the CE differently than we do the other heads of departments, with the Financial Manager noting, other than the schools and highway, the CE is head of the rest of the budget.
A motion to adjourn was made by Commissioner Roger Reedy, seconded by James Lathrop, and was approved unanimously.
ATTENDEES: Members of the Committee Chair Commissioner Matt Rubelsky, Other Commissioners Evan Baddour, Terry Jones, James Lathrop, David Adams, Roger Reedy for Matthew Hopkins (absent) and Judy Pruett for Shelly Goolsby (absent) Other Commissioners in attendance: Joseph Sutton, Joyce Woodard, Erin Curry, Gayle Jones, Tracy Wilburn, Carmen Brown, David Wamble, Tim Risner, Annelle Guthrie Others in attendance: Financial Manager Director and staff Beth Moore-Sumners, Shanna Woodard; County Medical Director Joe Fite, EMS Director and staff Bill Myers, Willow Chavez, Josh Young, Chris Morgan; School Superintendent Dr. Vickie Beard, and members of the public including Roy Griggs, retired Ambulance Director
