Brantley County Georgia: June 2009

The County Commission has met in sessions over the last months working with department heads and other constitutional officers to hammer out the budget for 2010. The process has been stalled due to problems at the State level, which impact the ability of the Tax Assessors office to provide the Commission with a property digest figure. The budget was to be adopted on July 9 in a final session, but that will have to be pushed back a couple of weeks. A meeting is being set for July 21, in hope that the State will have done its part and that the local Tax Assessor's office will be able to take that and provide the County with the information needed to adopt a budget and set a millage.

The goal of the Commission is to make sure that the local effort, which is defined as the total budget minus anticipated revenue, is as close to last year as possible. With the State eliminating almost 1/2 million in revenue by taking away the homestead exemption reimbursement, this was a very tall order. This, coupled with the slowing economy, which causes Local Option Sales Tax to be off by $200,000 or more, makes this even more of a challenge.

The good news is that the Constitutional Officers and the Commissioners have worked to make the departments more efficient, have increased fee schedules and picked up collections of fees and taxes. This is bringing the anticipated revenue figure in slightly above those of previous years and the Board was conservative in those estimates.

The Commission is focusing its efforts on roads and recreation, leveraging SPLOST dollars that are collected solely for those purposes. As of 6-24-2009, there was $1.65 million in the SPLOST account for road paving and $245,000 in the SPLOST for recreation.

In a called meeting on June 16 at the County Courthouse, the Commission covered the following items:

A Foreign Trade Zone was discussed with the Development Authority to help entice business to Brantley. There is a situation where the Trade Zone that exists around the Port will be extended, and all the counties have to do is pass a resolution accepting this change. More information will be shared with the Commission and the attorney so that action can be taken in July.

Mr. Ryker Carter discussed his plans to convert "Big Horse" Development into a reserve for ministry for families and children to be held by a non profit organization that they are in the process of forming. They are already sponsoring youth and children's camps where they gain use of the horse stables, tennis courts, swimming pools, hiking trails on adjacent property, etc. There are immediate plans to build a bunk house to increase the facilities to handle large groups. Longer range plans explained by Pastor Ray McMillian of Hickox Baptist Church include a boys and/or girls home to help with abandoned or orphaned children from Brantley County. Mr. Carter had been told by the Tax Assessors office that the Commission would be able to accept this plan and make adjustments to his taxes. The Chairman explained to Mr. Carter that where the Board wholeheartedly supports his plans for the property, the Commission has no authority to abate or forgive taxes. Their 2008 taxes would need to be settled. If they have them under appeal, they must sill pay the 80% that the law required. Since the assessment process for 2009 has been completed, it is likely too late to make changes to the 2009 bills that will go out in November. The Commission recommended that Mr. Carter visit with the Planning Commission to consolidate the lots (or abandon the plat that subdivided the property) so that the situation can be rectified for the 2010 tax season. No action was taken.

Sue Carter came forward to discuss the bids for hauling fill dirt at the airport. The absence of clarity on the part of the RFP that was published led to some confusion. The award was given to 444 Trucking, as they had several 21-24 yard trucks and bid $100 per hour to haul the dirt. Mrs. Carter explained that they had two or three 18-21 yard trucks and bid $50 per hour. During the previous month's meeting, the size of trucks that all the companies had in the bid process was not made available to the Board. The County Manager was charged with finding out exactly what was paid for the crews that hauled the fill dirt on the last airport award and the capacity of those trucks. The County Attorney was charged with finding out if the previous award constituted a contract. If it does, then there is likely nothing that can be done. Commissioner O'Quinn made it clear that the RFP's for services in the future must be more detailed and provide the Commission with more information. The Chairman explained that a bid format must be provided so that the Commission is comparing apples with apples.

Billy Lartz came forth as the new head of the Code Enforcement Department, asking that we increase the building permits, fees and fines to get them more in line with the cost of services for that department. This is something that the Planning Commission is working on, so Billy was asked to discuss this with Paul Bowers and that team to get some recommendations and come back to the July meeting. He also asked that he and some of his staff be allowed to write citations for improper construction or failure to comply with the BC Ordinances. The Commission had no issue with that but asked the attorney to define the process for that, and review the needed qualifications, before action was taken on that. This, too, will be put on the July Work Session agenda.

The Fuel lock system provided by Lewis and Raulerson Oil was discussed. Some of the Commissioners have reviewed the system and found it to be very useful and no cost to the County. Commissioner Summerlin stated that the two card system was the way to go and would give the County much better accountability on fuel than the County has ever had. More demonstrations are expected this week and the County Manager is working with the Road Department supervision to put together an implementation plan. The County Manager stated that the system would be up and running in June.

Commissioner Edgy brought up the abandonment of Buck Lake Road. During public participation, one resident on that road spoke to the reasons for closing it. The Commission supported the request, asked the attorney to define the process to abandon the road, and report back in the July Work Session. The Chairman has asked the County Manager to get with the Road Department supervision and define a list of roads around the County that are maintained by the County, but rarely or never used, so that they too can be considered for abandonment. With over 400 miles of dirt road to maintain, this is one way to help hold down costs.

The County Attorney discussed the alternatives for a lease or contract with the Saddle Club. The Commission asked him to draw up a draft and have it for review at the July Work Session. Any facility located on public property would have to be made available to the public and blended in as part of the Recreation Department. With the primary site under consideration next door to the Waynesville Recreation Park, this wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

Mary Gibson gave an update on the airport project. There is an issue with the amount of additional fill dirt that the engineers are saying is needed to complete the project. What was originally believed to be about 5,500 cubic yards, could be as much as 49,000 cubic yards that is needed to complete the project. The engineers and the contractor are working to fine tune these numbers. Mrs. Mary is working through grant sources to find the money to pay to have the dirt hauled and the County is discussing whether their dirt should even be used or if the engineer / contractor should have to go buy the dirt. The goal is to get the project completed. Mrs. Mary will return to the July meeting with an update.

There are only a handful (4 or 5) folks left on Waynesville Road that have not signed right of way deeds to widen and pave that road. Vince Settles, former Brantley County Attorney, suggested that one of the Commissioners go out and attempt to meet with these folks to let them understand that they are holding up a process that has been in the works for 4 years. Last night the Board voted to begin condemnation process on any property on Waynesville Road or Buster Walker Road that was needed to get this road paved. With school starting in August, there will be buses traveling down this road every morning between Waynesville Elementary and the Upper Elementary. This road has to get paved. The County Attorney was instructed to get the list from the former attorney and start the condemnation process.

The County discussed the purchase of a used D4 with a 5 point tilt blade to assist the Road Department with building and repairing roads. After much discussion, the Board voted to have the Chairman compare the costs with the "green book" for used equipment and have the Road Department supervision review the equipment. If all was well, the equipment could be purchased. The estimated cost of the equipment was about $49,000 or about 45% of a new dozer. While on this topic, the two used dump trucks and the low boy were discussed. The used dump trucks have required a good bit of attention and have spent a good deal of time in the shop for repairs. The Chairman had asked that a "punch list" of issues be put together so that we know specifically what all is wrong with the trucks and the low boy. None has been provided as of yet. The Chairman also talked to D&M Trucking on June 4th and explained that if both of these trucks could not be repaired to the satisfaction of the Road Department supervision that the County would be asking for it's money back. The Road Department personnel went to D&M and drove both trucks prior to the County paying for them. So these issues have come up since the trucks were put into commission. The County Manager was empowered in last month's meeting to get the trucks repaired or return them for a full refund. Neither has taken place at this point. The low boy tractor and trailer that was purchased for $14,000 is in much need of repair. The Commissioners asked for a punch list of needs on it as well. The County recognizes that these things are aggravating, but given our current financial situation, buying new is just not an option.

The discussion of the new route for Boots Harrison Road was discussed. The goal is to take out the two very sharp curves in this road and prepare it for paving at some point. This will also allow the County to dig drainage canals from the ditch to lower areas so that the water runs away from the road and the road does not "blow out" when heavy rains come. The County voted to have the County Surveyor work with the land owners and the Planning Commission to define the path of the road and prepare a proposal for the County for the new location of the road.

Several appointments were made to boards including:
Gwen Bohannon & Peggy Justice to the Library Board
Charles Whitfield to the DF&CS board
Jimmy Woodard to the Forestry Board
Billy Lartz to the Animal Control Board

The Board discussed the paving of the Satilla Church Road in Hortense and voted to have the County Surveyor and the County's contract engineering firm to work out a plan and right of way for this road so that we can get it paved. The County Manager will coordinate this effort.

The Chairman asked that the Tax Commissioner be allowed to begin the process of collecting taxes using a credit card machine and online payments via the web. Given the fact that a significant number of Brantley County tax payers do not live in Brantley County, the online payment option could really streamline the payment process. Accepting credit cards for tax payments is something that a lot of Counties have gone to. This allows the property owner to pay with a credit card and pay that off over time, lessening the burden on them and getting the County the much needed revenue. The Tax Assessor's office would have a portion of this page as well, that would allow for folks interested in Brantley County to log in and review parcel data. This will reduce the foot traffic in the Tax Assessor's office and allow them to focus on cleaning up the digest and getting that submitted on time. The fees for credit card or online payments would be added to the payment so that the County is not responsible for those fees. The only ongoing costs to the County would be the maintenance of the site and the credit card equipment that would be located in the Tax Commissioner's office. These funds are included in their 2010 budget figures already. The Board voted unanimously to allow the Tax Commissioner to contract for equipment and services to begin accepting credit card payments in the office and online. Mrs. Pat Tompkins will discuss the web presence with the Tax Assessor's office and put together a consolidated plan to move forward.

The advertisement for the County Manager position was discussed. At this point, all the local papers will be utilized, the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) web site will be used, Jaxjobs.com, and other web sites are being utilized.

Commissioner Summerlin requested that the County hire a full time Building Inspector with all the proper credentials to do residential and commercial inspections. He was concerned that the current contract inspector was costing too much and not readily available. With Billy Lartz and staff in the audience, they explained that there had been some communication issues as the process of using the new contract person began, but those had been resolved. They are working with the Tax Assessor's office to streamline some of the process around trailer tags and digitizing that process. The last 4 weeks the contract person has billed the county for $1800. Comparing that to a full time salary of $36,500 per year, adding benefits and paid vacation for the same period, would have cost the County $3876. So, under the contract process the County, even in these rare and busy times, has saved $2,000. The Board voted to not hire the full time inspector. The Chairman did share that he believes as the economy recovers and, more importantly, as we get the remainder of the ordinances in place around Mobile Homes, Mobile Home Parks, RVs and RV Parks and general Zoning in the County, Brantley will need to reconstruct the code enforcement department next year. At that time, the fees and fine structure will be in place for that department to operate in hopefully a more self-sustaining manner and not have to use so many tax dollars for their operation. There was much discussion as to why the County pays the city 1/2 of the building permits that are purchased for construction in the City. The City has adopted the County's building code. The attorney was asked to prepare a contract between the City and County, where the City contracts with the county to complete inspections in the City of Nahunta. This is already being done on an age old agreement between the two, which is needed to help those residents in the City obtain funding and/or insurance. This contract will help make that more official. In this contract, the process and fee structures can be better spelled out. The Chairman suggested that a conversation be held with the City of Hoboken to see if we can standardize these inspections throughout the County.
After an executive session for litigation, the County Commission reconvened the meeting and voted to accept a settlement offer in the a pending case between the Sheriff and a former employee who was terminated last year. The settlement was for $100,000 with $20,000 paid by the County and $80,000 paid by the County's former insurance company.

Video by Robby Thomas

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