* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] CAN YOU HEAR ME ON THE MICS? YOU CAN GAMBLE. YEP. THERE YOU GO. [1. CALL TO ORDER: Alice Howard, Chair] GOOD MORNING. LIKE TO CALL THIS WORKSHOP TO ORDER. PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. I PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. ALLEGIANCE, FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE ALL. I WOULD LIKE TO REMIND THE PUBLIC THAT WE WILL HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE END OF THE MEETING, NOT SOMETIMES WE DO IT IN A DIFFERENT ORDER. AND WE DO HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE SIGNED UP. ALL RIGHT. UH, WE HAVE NO ONE ONLINE AT THIS TIME, BUT ONE OF OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS MAY JOIN US IN A LITTLE WHILE ONLINE. UM, THIS MEETING HAS BEEN, UM, DULY ADVERTISED UNDER THE FOIA, CORRECT? MS. BROCK? YES, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT. I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN [4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA] A MOTION, UM, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. SO MOVED. I'LL SECOND IT. ALL IN FAVOR BY SIGN OF HANDS. AND THAT IS UNANIMOUS. OKAY. OH, IT'S ON THE FLOOR. WE HAVE SEVERAL ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION. UH, I, I JUST LIKE TO REMIND COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT WE WILL TAKE TURNS ON AND COMMENTS, OF COURSE, BUT IT IS DISCUSSION AND THERE'LL BE NO ACTION TAKEN. [5.a. Discussion of County Vacant Land and Recommendation of Uses] THE FIRST ONE IS DISCUSSION OF COUNTY VACANT LAND AND RECOMMENDATION OF USES WITH MR. HANK ANON, AND THERE WAS A PACKET IN THE MAP. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. LONG TIME NO SEE. YEAH. ALRIGHT, SO WE STARTED OFF, UH, KIND OF A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THIS AT A MEETING LAST MONTH. AND THEN WE TALKED ABOUT BRINGING IT BACK TO A WORKSHOP TO DIS TO DISCUSS RECOMMENDED USES FOR PROPERTIES, UM, THE MAP AS BEFOR COUNTIES SO LARGE. A COUPLE OF THE NUMBERS ARE HIDDEN. WE'RE GONNA USE THE MAP FOR THE BEGINNING OF THIS. UH, AS I TOLD YOU BEFORE, WE WENT THROUGH PROBABLY 500 PLUS PARCELS WITH WORK FROM AUDRA AND OTHERS THAT SHE ENGAGED AT DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS FROM RURAL AND CRITICAL TO, UH, ENGINEERING TO FIND OUT WHAT'S RIGHTS OF WAY OR PUBLIC WORKS TO KNOW WHAT PART OF THEIRS OR PARKS AND REC, ET CETERA. AND IT CAME DOWN TO A SPREADSHEET THAT WE'LL WORK FROM. IF YOU CAN PULL UP THAT SPREADSHEET, AND YOU GUYS WILL HAVE THIS SPREADSHEET. SO YOU CAN CLICK ON THE BLUE TMS NUMBERS ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, AND WE'LL, WE'LL GO THROUGH A FEW OF THESE. AND NOW PUT IT IN THE A IS FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT READ IT, IT IS, UH, THERE ARE I THINK, FOUR PARCELS THAT ARE PRETTY, VERY SUITABLE FOR EITHER A, A SMALL COUPLE, COUPLE UNITS OR INDIVIDUAL UNIT, WHICH POTENTIALLY WOULD BE A HABITAT TYPE OF DISCUSSION. UH, THERE ARE FIVE PARCELS THAT WE'VE BEEN IN TALKS WITH BMH AND THE HOUSING TRUST THAT ARE DOWN ON REBO ROAD. AND THERE'S SOME OTHER PARCELS, BUT LET'S JUST GO THROUGH 'EM SO YOU CAN SEE HOW THIS WORKS. SO IF YOU CAN JUST CLICK ON NUMBER ONE, FOR EXAMPLE. OOH, THAT'S PSYCHEDELIC. SORRY. I LOVE THAT. . SO WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU CLICK, IT'LL TAKE YOU THERE AND ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS GO UP ON THE, IT LOOKS LIKE THREE LITTLE LAYERS UP ON THE TOP AND YOU CAN ADD SOME AERIAL SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE TREES AND STREETS, ET CETERA. SO THIS FIRST PARCEL IS THE SMALLEST OF THE, OF THEM. IT'S ONLY THREE QUARTERS OF AN ACRE, BUT IT'S STILL, THAT'S A DECENT SIZED LOT. THIS IS UP ON PAGE POINT ROAD AS THE FIRST THREE ARE. UH, THERE ARE SOME. SO WE WENT, ALSO WORKED THROUGH, UH, STORMWATER BECAUSE A LOT OF THE PROPERTIES THAT WE OWN WERE PURCHASED FOR STORMWATER RUNOFF PURPOSES. AND SO A LOT OF 'EM THAT APPEARED WHEN YOU FIRST LOOK AT 'EM ON AN AERIAL, LIKE, AND THAT'S GREAT. AND THEN YOU LOOK AT HOW OUR STORMWATER WORKS, THAT'S TRUE. CLEARLY AN OUTFALL. THE ONES THAT WE LOOK AT HERE HAVE SOME MINOR WETLANDS IN THE BACK, BUT IT'S NOT PART OF A, OF A SYSTEM AND THAT'S WHY THEY'D BE RECOMMENDED FOR DONATION OR, OR A DISPOSITION. SO THIS IS ONE, IF YOU CAN ZOOM OUT A LITTLE BIT, YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE ARE. IT'S IN THE NORTH PART OF THE COUNTY ON PAGE POINT ROAD. IF YOU GO TO NUMBER TWO ON THE SPREADSHEET. YEAH, WE HAVE TO STOP. YEAH, I'M SORRY. IT'S OKAY. THE WAY ZOOM WORKS IS YOU HAVE TO STOP AND THEN RESHARE EVERY TIME. SO THE, UM, THE, SO THE FIRST THREE, THE NUMBER TWO IS DECENT, THREE AND A HALF ACRES. THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF WETLANDS AS AS WELL. BUT AGAIN, A LOT OF USABLE FRONTAGE. AND THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING, AGAIN, WOULD NOT BE FOR A LARGE SCALE DEVELOPMENT. AGAIN, [00:05:01] JEFF, WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH HABITAT OVER THE LAST, MORE THAN A YEAR JUST OF, OF WORKING THROUGH THIS PROCESS. UM, SAME THING. THIS IS A LITTLE BIT FARTHER DOWN PAGE POINT ROAD, A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE WATER, BUT STILL NOT ON THE WATER. AND THEN THE LAST ONE, WE DON'T NEED TO GO TO THE ARROW. YOU GUYS CAN DO THAT ON YOUR OWN. THE LAST ONE IS FARTHER UP. PAGE POINT ROAD. THAT IS ACTUALLY NINE AND A HALF ACRES. UM, THAT HAS A LITTLE BIT MORE OF WETLANDS IN THE BACK, BUT IT STILL HAS A LOT OF U UH, A LOT OF USABLE ACREAGE. AND AGAIN, THERE'S NO REAL USE. THIS IS NUMBER THREE THERE. I DON'T FORESEE A COUNTY, UH, GOVERNMENT USE FOR THAT PROPERTY. AND THERE'S, LET'S SEE IF IT COMES UP THERE. SEE, THIS IS, THIS IS A LARGE FRONTAGE. THERE IS SOME, IT'S JUST FARTHER UP PAGE POINT ROAD, BUT ALL BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, THESE ARE FAIRLY REMOTE. THEY'RE NOT IN ON MAIN THOROUGHFARES OR NEAR SERVICES. BUT IF THAT, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HABITAT WOULD BE INTERESTED IN JUST TO CREATE SOME HOUSING THAT IS AFFORDABLE THAT PEOPLE COULD GET INTO, THAT WOULD BE A GOOD USE. NUMBER FOUR, THIS IS ONE THAT IS ACTUALLY JOINTLY OWNED. THIS IS IN THE INDUSTRIAL AREA AND IS JOINTLY OWNED BY THE CITY AND THE COUNTY. UH, AS Y'ALL KNOW, MOST OF THE PARK AT THE INDUSTRIAL PARK IS OWNED BY THE CITY. THERE WERE A COUPLE PARCELS, ONE THAT WE, I THINK JOINTLY SOLD ABOUT TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO. THAT WAS HALF AND HALF. THIS IS THE REMAINING HALF AND HALF PARCEL. I BELIEVE THAT EVERYBODY WOULD BE FOR EITHER ACQUIRING THE WHOLE THING OR SELLING THE WHOLE THING AS A, AND I, I'M GONNA FIND OUT FOR YOU GUYS BECAUSE AS YOU LOOKED AT THE MAP LAST NIGHT AT OUR MEETING, THAT IS, UH, I'LL, I CAN GIVE YOU EXACTLY WHAT THOSE LOT NUMBERS ARE. 'CAUSE REMEMBER, OR LOT LETTERS. REMEMBER THE LETTERS THAT WERE ON THE MAP TO KNOW WHAT THOSE ARE. IT JUST BECOMES, IT BECAME STICKY ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO WHEN WE SOLD ONE BECAUSE THERE HAD BEEN COUNTY INVESTMENT INTO THE PARCEL, BUT THEN THE SALE WAS TO BE 50 50. AND SO I THINK JUST CLEAN LINES OF WHO OWNS WHAT AND WHO SELLS WHAT IS PROBABLY HELPFUL TO HOW WE MOVE FORWARD, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. UM, THERE'S NO NEED TO LOOK AT NUMBER FIVE. NUMBER FIVE IS BEHIND RECORDS MANAGEMENT. IT'S A BUFFER TO THE WETLANDS. AND IF WE EVER WANTED TO EXPAND AT ALL, THAT'S OUR ONLY PLACE TO DO IT. BUT IT SHOWED UP AS A GOOD IN THE MIDDLE OF TOWN KIND OF PARCEL DISREGARD. THE NEXT FIVE, I DON'T NEED TO SHOW YOU, BUT YOU KNOW THAT THOSE ARE THE FIVE PARCELS THAT Y'ALL BOUGHT A COUPLE YEARS AGO, RIGHT NEXT TO TCL. AND WE'VE BEEN MAKING GOOD HEADWAY WITH NOW INVOLVING THE, THE HOUSING TRUST AS A PARTNER WITH BEFOR MEMORIAL. AND WE SHOULD BE BRINGING IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS A PROPOSED MOU OF HOW TO DEVELOP THAT PROPERTY INTO WORKFORCE HOUSING, ET CETERA. NUMBER 11, IT LOOKED GREAT. IT'S RIGHT ON PARIS ISLAND GATEWAY. IT'S FIVE ACRES. WE GOT IT FROM DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING WITH IT REALLY, UNLESS IT WAS TO BE A PARK. AND IT'S NOT REALLY A GOOD PLACE FOR A PARK. SO IT'S JUST A PIECE OF PROPERTY. UH, I DON'T THINK, AND WE COULDN'T EVEN SELL IT FOR SOME OTHER USE. IT'S, I MEAN, IT'S RIGHT ON. IT LOOKED LIKE GOLD WHEN WE WERE LOOKING THROUGH ALL THESE PARCELS. TOWN OF POOR OIL. WOULD LOVE TO SEE US BE ABLE TO GET RID OF THAT, BUT RIGHT. BUT IT IS, IT'S VERY RESTRICTIVE. AND AGAIN, THAT'S THE DIGGING THROUGH IS WE, WE WENT THROUGH BOOK AND PAGE DEED RESTRICTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DID, DIDN'T TELL YOU SOMETHING THAT IS DOABLE AND THEN NOT BE TRUE. THE NEXT ONE WOULD BE ANOTHER GOOD FOR ONE OFF, UH, FOR HABITAT IS NUMBER 12. IF YOU CAN CLICK THAT, THAT'S, IT'S A LOT IN THE MIDDLE OF A NEIGHBORHOOD. AND, UH, I THINK THAT FITS SQUARELY INTO A SINGLE, A SINGLE HOUSE. I'M NOT SURE OF THE HISTORY. I'M NOT SURE IF THERE WAS A HOUSE THERE ONE DAY THAT GOT KNOCKED DOWN OR NOT. BUT BOTTOM LINE IS IT'S A BUILDABLE LOT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD. NO REAL GOVERNMENT USE. AND THEREFORE I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THAT WOULD BE A HABITAT SITUATION. UM, ANOTHER ONE THAT LOOKED GREAT, BUT IT'S REALLY PART OF WATER. OUTFALL IS NUMBER 13. WE DON'T NEED TO LOOK AT IT NECESSARILY, BUT IT'S RIGHT ADJACENT TO SHELL POINT PARK. IT HAS A WALKWAY AND IT IS HOUSED. STORM WATER DRAINS OUT AND IF THE PARK WAS EVER TO EXPAND, THAT'S A GOOD ONE. SO WE JUST KIND OF PUSH THAT OFF TO THE SIDE. THE NEXT ONE WE, I WOULD LIKE TO CLICK ON IS NUMBER 14. AND THIS IS THE OLD WATER SLIDE ON SEATTLE AND PARKWAY. IT'S INTERESTING. I MEAN, IT'S A TWO, 2.3 ACRE PARCEL THAT FRONTS ON LANGFORD ROAD AND UP ON CLM PARKWAY. I'M NOT, I DON'T REALLY HAVE A RECOMMENDATION. I DON'T THINK THIS IS NECESSARILY A HOUSING [00:10:01] SITUATION, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING FOR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER OVER TIME IF YOU WERE TO SELL FOR ANOTHER USE OR I DON'T, AGAIN, BACK TO OUR GOVERNMENT USE THERE. I REALLY DON'T SEE ONE, BUT THAT'S NOT FOR ME TO DECIDE. UM, BUT I WANTED TO SHOW YOU THAT, WHERE IT IS, WHAT IT IS. AND, UH, I WAS NEVER HERE WHEN THE ORDER SLIDE WAS HERE, BUT THAT'S WHERE IT WAS. , SOME OF US. THANK YOU BOTH. UM, THERE'S ONE MORE THAT I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THE COUNTY HOLD FOR IF POTENTIAL FUTURE USE. UNDEFINED IS NUMBER 15, AND THAT IS ON BALLPARK ROAD. IT'S ADJACENT TO THE GULLAH FARMER CO-OP. AND IT, WHETHER THAT'S FOR GOVERNMENT USE OR EXPANSION OR, I JUST, THERE'S NO USE TODAY, BUT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND THE DISPOSITION OF THE PROPERTY JUST BECAUSE OF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE COUNTY WANTS TO DO IN THE FUTURE ON ST. HELENA ISLAND. AND THAT IS A DECENT SIZED PARCEL TO THE TUNE OF 4.7 ACRES. CAN I SPEAK TO THAT? SURE. UM, OF COURSE THE GULL FARMERS CO-OP WAS GIFTED. UM, UM, PART OF THAT PROPERTY. AND THE COMMENT THAT WAS MADE AT THE TIME WAS THAT, UM, THE COUNTY WANTED TO MAINTAIN THAT PROPERTY FOR FUTURE USE AND THE FUTURE USE AT THE TIME WAS, UM, A, UM, EMERGENCY, UM, AMBULANCE. OH, LIKE A YEAH. CENTER OF SOME SORT EMS OR FIRE, YOU MEAN? HMM. LIKE, LIKE EMS FIRE OR LIKE EMS, BUT NOT, NOT FIRE. OKAY. BUT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT EMS STATION BECAUSE THEY NEEDED A MAY NEED A STATION IN THE FUTURE. THAT'S BASICALLY, AND THAT'S WHY I RECOMMEND THAT, THAT'S NOT REALLY A HOUSING. I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE HOLD FOR, FOR A COUNSELOR TO CONSIDER OVER TIME. YEAH. OF HOW TO REUSE THAT PROPERTY. AND WHILE YOU WERE ON, UM, ST. HELEN, LET ME GO BACK UP TO 13, UM, I THINK OR 14, UH, THE WATER SLIDE? YES SIR. THIS IS JUST ME NOW. YEAH. OKAY. UM, THE STATE, UM, PARK, UH, HONEY ISLAND STATE PARK, UH, IS IN DIRE NEED OF FUTURE, UH, CAR SPACE. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THIS IS FEASIBLE FOR CAR SPACE FOR THE, YOU MEAN PARKING? FOR PARKING FOR THOSE WHO ARE GOING TO THE BEACH, ET CETERA, ET CETERA. THAT'S WHERE MY MIND WAS AT ONE POINT IN TIME. UH, BECAUSE WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, MORE AND MORE LOSING PARK, UH, PARKING SPACE AT THE STATE PARK. UM, IT, IT, YOU KNOW, IT'LL BE SOMETHING IF IT'S, IF IT'S FEASIBLE, THE STATE WILL ACTUALLY TAKE OVER, HAVE THE PARKING SPACE THERE AND SHUTTLE, HAVE A PARK AND RIDE SITUATION. YEAH. OKAY. PARKING AND RIDE PROBABLY. THAT'S WHERE MY THOUGHT WAS AND STUFF, YOU KNOW. OKAY. THERE'S SOME SOMETHING TO BE CONSIDERED. THAT'S WHY I THINK THAT'S ONE TO HOLD AND HAVE THOSE FUTURE DISCUSSIONS. UM, THAT'S ABOUT THAT PROBABLY. WHAT DO YOU THINK? 2, 2, 2 AND A HALF MILES FROM THE PARK? YEAH, FROM THE PARK. YEAH. UM, MY FAMILY GO AND I GO OUT THERE AND ENJOY IT. GREAT PLACE. THE, UH, SO ANYWAYS, THAT'S, THAT'S WHY WE SAY THE HOLD THAT ONE, IT'S KIND OF A UNIQUE PROPERTY RIGHT ON THE MAIN ROAD. SOMETHING FOR COUNCIL CONSIDER OVER TIME. BUT I THINK OUR GOAL TODAY WAS TO DETERMINE WHAT COULD WE HAVE COUNSEL HAVE US MARCH FORWARD WITH A PLAN ON DISPOSING, I HATE TO SAY THAT WORD, BUT, UH, DIVESTING OR GRANTING TO USE FOR PURPOSES OF HOUSING. AND SO FAR, TO ME IT'S 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, AND 12. 'CAUSE EVERYTHING BELOW 16 FROM 16 DOWN IS SPOKEN FOR. AGAIN, THOSE SHOW UP AS REALLY BEAUTIFUL PROPERTIES. THE COUNTY BOUGHT 'EM FOR A REASON, UH, TODAY 16 AND 17 AND A LITTLE BIT OF 18 ARE PART OF THAT ACQUISITION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE COUNTY FOR THE LEC, WHETHER THAT WHATEVER THAT BECOMES IN THE FUTURE, BUT THAT'S ALL RIGHT THERE BY OLDFIELD. UM, IF THAT HAPPENS, IT'S GREAT. THAT'S WHAT THE, THE PLAN IS TODAY. BUT IF NOT, IT'S STILL A USABLE PROPERTY FOR, FOR COUNSEL. WHAT WERE THE NUMBERS AGAIN? 1, 2, 3. I'LL SHOW YOU. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. SO I HIGHLIGHTED IT'S IN THE A IS, BUT ON ONE, TWO, AND THREE AND 12 ARE REALLY GOOD. AND I WOULD SAY SUITABLE FOR A HABITAT TYPE OF REUSE. FOUR IS AN INDUSTRIAL SALE. THAT'S THE ONE THAT WE OWN HALF AND HALF AT THE CITY. AND THEN SIX THROUGH 11 ARE THE PAR. SIX THROUGH 10 ARE THE PARCELS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH BEFOR MEMORIAL AND THE HOUSING TRUST. SO THOSE ARE ALREADY IN A PLAN FOR REUSE FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING. AND THEN THE ONES AT PALMETTO, SO NUMBER 12 IS PALMETTO RIDGE STREET, THE SINGLE LOT. AND THEN EVERYTHING BELOW FROM 15 DOWN, AND I'LL JUST LIST THEM OFF LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER OR WHATEVER HAPPENS IN THE CENTER OF THE COUNTY IN OKT AREA. NUMBER 20 SHOWED UP. GREAT. BUT THAT'S STATION 39. [00:15:01] YEAH. DON'T TOUCH ME HANDS OFF, RIGHT, ? WELL, YOU CAN'T, ANYWAY, IT'S, I KNOW, I'M JUST, I'M KIDDING. UH, THE NEXT ONE IS, UH, 21 IS THE PARCEL THAT Y'ALL BOUGHT A COUPLE YEARS AGO FOR THE LIBRARY ON MAY, RIVER ROAD. MAY RIVER, MM-HMM . AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS THE ACRE PROPERTY AT THE END OF JENKINS ROAD, WHICH WE DON'T KNOW IF THAT BECOMES PART OF A LONG-TERM FERRY SOLUTION OR HOWEVER IT WORKS, BUT THAT'S WHAT IT'S THERE FOR, IS FOR THAT CURRENT EXISTING DOCK OR WHATEVER WE DO IN THE FUTURE. BUT THOSE ARE THE REAL ONLY MALLEABLE, MOVABLE PROPERTIES. AND IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, YOU CAN, ANY QUESTIONS FIRE AWAY OR COMMENTS? WELL, I'D LIKE TO COMMENT THAT IF WE'RE LOOKING AT 1, 2, 3, AND 12 MM-HMM . POSSIBLY DONATING THOSE, THE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY, SINCE WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT AFFORDABLE HOUSING, WORKFORCE HOUSING, I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU WANNA CALL IT. WE TALK ABOUT IT, TALK ABOUT IT, TALK ABOUT IT. BUT WE'RE TREADING WATER. YES. SO IF WE, IF THOSE FOUR PARCELS WOULD BE GOOD TO GET DEED TO HABITAT AND THEY CAN USE THEM, I DON'T SEE WHY WE WOULDN'T. SO AS IT'S A WORKSHOP, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS JUST KIND OF TAKE YOUR TEMPERATURE FEELING AND THEN BRING SOMETHING BACK AT A FUTURE MEETING, CORRECT? MM-HMM . FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. SO THAT WOULD BE ONE. UM, I, I'VE TOLD YOU THE ONES FROM SIX TO 10, WE'VE, YOU'VE KNOWN ABOUT THOSE FOR A COUPLE YEARS, AND WE'LL BRING THOSE BACK WHENEVER THE MOU IS FINALIZED OF HOW BMH AND THE HOUSING TRUST WORK TOGETHER. UM, AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, THE REST OF 'EM, I WOULD JUST SAY ARE, ARE TO HOLD FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION. BUT NOW WE'VE GOT 'EM ALL QUANTIFIED. UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER SPREADSHEETS IF YOU REALLY WANT TO DIG THROUGH. THE ONES THAT WE COULDN'T USE, THEY LOOK JUST LIKE THIS, BUT SOME OF 'EM ARE SEVEN PAGES WHEN YOU LOOK AT RURAL AND CRITICAL, FOR EXAMPLE. BUT I WON'T FLOOD YOU IF YOU DON'T WANT 'EM, BUT IF YOU WANT 'EM, JUST ASK ME. WE REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT AUDRA AND YOU DID ON THIS AND OTHER PEOPLE ON STAFF. UM, GET THIS CLEANED UP. I LIKE IT BECAUSE WHEN I FIRST STARTED AND MIKE SAID, WELL, HERE'S A BOOK, I THINK THIS IS WHAT IT IS. AND IT WAS A BIG, HUGE BINDER, AND IT WAS, I JUST, I THINK IT'S A GOOD BASELINE NO MATTER WHO HANDLES IT GOING FORWARD, YOU CAN EASILY TRACK WHAT'S GONE ON WITH WHAT PARCEL AND WHAT CATEGORY. IT'S MM-HMM . OKAY. ALRIGHT. MR. CUNNINGHAM HAS HAD HIS HAND UP. OH, I'M SORRY. YES. COUNCIL, I'M CUNNINGHAM. YEAH, JUST ONE QUESTION. NUMBER 12 IS A SINGLE LOT RIGHT? FOR ONE HOUSE? YES. YES. DO WE KNOW THE APPROXIMATE VALUE ON THAT? AND THE REASON I'M ASKING, IS IT MORE BENEFICIAL FOR US TO SELL THAT, TO BUY A BIGGER PIECE OF PROPERTY TO GO TO TOWARDS THAT'S A GOOD POINT, AND THAT'S WHAT I THINK WHAT WE SHOULD ON, ON THAT ONE SPECIFICALLY, WE CAN ASSESS, I DON'T KNOW IF WE, IT IS NECESSARILY WORTH PAYING FOR AN APPRAISAL AT THIS TIME, BUT WE CAN LOOK AND SEE IF THERE'S REDEEMABLE VALUE. AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING FOR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER OVERALL WHEN WE LOOK AT HOUSING AND LAND. AND SOMETIMES MAYBE IT IS A PARCEL THAT MIGHT BE MORE VALUABLE TO BE SOLD AND PUT THAT MONEY SOMEWHERE ELSE. NOT ONE OF THESE PARCELS, BUT SOMETHING TO BE DISCUSSED THE FUTURE IN IN THE FUTURE. OKAY. GOOD QUESTION. ALL RIGHT. MM-HMM . THANK YOU, SIR. LET ME ASK YOU THIS. UM, YOU MENTIONED THE, UH, UH, THE HABITAT AND THE HOUSING TRUST. UM, YES. YES. HAVE THEY, UM, THIS IS, UM, EXPRESSED INTEREST IN ANY OF THESE PROPERTY? YES. I'VE BEEN TO, THERE'S A COUPLE REPRESENTATIVES HERE FROM HABITAT TODAY. UM, THEY, THEY WANT TO, THEY WANT TO SAY SOMETHING. WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY SOMETHING? WELL, THEY DID SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. YEAH, WE CAN DO THAT. THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. BUT ANYWAY, WE'VE, WE'VE BEEN TALKING FOR A LONG TIME. IT'S BEEN ANTICIPATED, THIS CONVERSATION. UNFORTUNATELY, THEY HAD THE SAME, UH, I'LL BE CLOSER TO THE MIC. THEY HAD THE SAME FEELING AS WE DID WHEN WE FIRST LOOKED AND SAID, OH MY GOODNESS, LOOK HOW MANY PROPERTIES THERE ARE. THIS IS GONNA BE A TON OF, BUT THEN ONCE YOU START WEEDING THROUGH, IT REALLY, IT REALLY DOWN. AND WE, WE DO HAVE PUBLIC COMMENT AT THE END, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT SIGNED UP. IF, UM, IF SOMEONE MAKE A MOTION TO LET THEM GO AHEAD AND SPEAK NOW. SO I'LL MOVE. ALL RIGHT. DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND THAT A SECOND BY SHOW OF HANDS, CONSENSUS TO LET THEM SPEAK NOW FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. NO. SO, ALL RIGHT. UNANIMOUS, UH, BRENDA BRENDA'S SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. HI, BRENDA DOOLEY. I'M CEO WITH HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. UM, I JUST WANNA SAY, YES, WE'RE INTERESTED, ALWAYS, UH, INTERESTED IN LOOKING FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO BUILD MORE HOUSING FOR FAMILIES IN OUR COMMUNITY. I WANNA THANK HANK FOR ALL THE WORK THAT HE'S DONE AND, AND FOR, UH, HELPING TO IDENTIFY THESE PROPERTIES. AND I'M GONNA HAVE, HEATHER WRATH IS GONNA TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT. IF WE CAN JUST TAKE A MINUTE FOR THAT. OKAY. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. HEATHER WRATH FOR THE RECORD. ON BEHALF OF HABITAT FOR HUMANITY WITH OUR TEAM, WE HAVE MAYOR HARRY WILLIAMS FROM THE CITY OF HARVILLE. WE HAVE TOM DEMENT WITH US, AND THEN WE HAVE JED BACK THERE, WAVE A HAND. SO, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING US TO COME FORWARD. WE'VE REALLY ENJOYED WORKING WITH HANK ON THIS PROCESS. IT HAS BEEN A PROCESS. WE DUG THROUGH 500 [00:20:01] PARCELS, SOMETHING LIKE THAT. TOM AND I DID BROUGHT HIM TO HANK. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL RECALL, BUT ABOUT A YEAR AGO, WE CAME TO THE NATURAL RESOURCES AND LAND USE COMMITTEE TO TALK ABOUT BUILDING A VETERANS VILLAGE, UM, NORTH OF ABROAD. AND THE REASON THAT WE WANTED TO DO THAT IS BECAUSE WE SEE SO OFTEN, AND WE HEAR THIS FROM JOHN O'TOOLE, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY VETERANS AFFAIRS, THAT WE HAVE THESE VETERANS THAT LEAVE, UM, OUR AREA AFTER THEY HAVE BEEN TRAINED HERE, AND THEY WANT TO STAY HERE, BUT THERE'S NO PLACE FOR THEM TO LIVE. SO THAT WAS KIND OF OUR LAUNCHING PAD TO COME TO YOU GUYS AND START TALKING ABOUT WHY WE WANTED TO ACQUIRE SOME LAND AND BUILD THIS VETERANS VILLAGE. AND THAT HAS, UM, NOW BROUGHT US TO THIS DAY. SO WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT. WE LOOK FORWARD TO OUR CONTINUED INVOLVEMENT IN WORKING WITH EACH OF YOU ON THIS PROJECT, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. OKAY. I THINK WE'RE EXCELLENT. GO AHEAD. SO YOU WOULD USE, OR HABITAT WOULD USE THESE PARCELS FOR VETERANS? SO THE INITIAL PROJECT WAS TO BE A VETERAN'S VILLAGE. THAT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT NEEDS TO BE THAT FOR EVERY SINGLE PARCEL. MM-HMM . VETERANS VILLAGES AND HABITAT COMMUN, OR, AND HABITAT IS, IS SLOWLY BUILDING OUT VETERANS VILLAGES ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ESPECIALLY IN AREAS THAT HAVE A HIGH MILITARY, UM, STAKEHOLDER. AND THAT'S US. RIGHT? AND SO WE THOUGHT THAT IT WAS A GOOD FORMULA. UM, THAT BEING SAID, I THINK THAT WE SHOULD, I WOULD ENCOURAGE US, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PARTNERED WITH BEAUFORT, JASPER HOUSING TRUST WITH CLAUDE AND HIS TEAM WITH VETERANS AFFAIRS AS WELL AS EDC. UM, SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE US IF, IF YOU ALL ARE GOING TO LOOK AT THESE PROPERTIES FOR HABITAT, WHICH IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE, WE'RE GOING DOWN THAT ROAD, I WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO HAVE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS AS A COHORT, UM, TEAM WITH US SO THAT WE CAN GO AND WALK THESE PROPERTIES, SCOPE THEM, UM, SEE WHAT WOULD WORK THERE. MAYBE SOMETHING WOULD WORK BETTER, UM, IN A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AND SOMETHING WOULD WORK IN PARTNERSHIP BETTER WITH VETERANS. WE'RE TOTALLY OPEN TO BEING CREATIVE. WE WANT THIS TO BE A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS. OKAY. UM, COUNCILMAN CUNNINGHAM, GO AHEAD. GO AHEAD. NO, YEAH, JUST CURIOUS FOR WHAT'S YOUR IDEAL LAND SIZE THAT YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING FOR? WE DO, WE HAVE THINGS THAT ARE UNDER AN ACRE AND THINGS THAT ARE 10 AND OVER. SO WE DO NOT HAVE AN IDEAL LAND SIZE. WE CAN BUILD A SCALE. OKAY. COUNCILMAN, GO AHEAD, SIR. YES, CHAIRMAN. UM, THANK YOU. UM, I, I HAD THE PLEASURE OF, UM, VISITING, UM, A SITE, UM, IN HOTVILLE THAT YES. UM, UH, HABITAT HAS BEEN VERY MUCH INVOLVED WITH, AND THEY TURNED IN, IN, IN HARVILLE, UM, A, A SMALL, I'M SAY PROBABLY LESS THAN TWO ACRES INTO A HABITAT FOR 10 RESIDENTS. THAT'S RIGHT. UM, TIME, I MEAN, UM, I CALL IT TIME SHARE, BUT, UM, TOWN, TOWN TOWNHOUSE, TOWNHOUSE CONCEPT. YES. UM, AND I LOVE, YOU'RE VERY PROUD OF THAT. UM, AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE THAT ACROSS THE COUNTY, PARTICULARLY ON S CALENDAR, BUT I JUST WANTED TO SHARE, SHARE THAT, UM, IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THAT SITE, YOU MAY WANT TO VISIT IT. AND, UM, UM, I, I LOVE THE CONCEPT. IT'S, UM, THEY HAVE A HOUSING, UH, WHAT IS IT, POA OR HOA? YEAH. UM, THERE, UM, SO THE RESIDENCE IS BOUGHT INTO IT. UM, AND IT'S A 15, 1600 SQUARE FOOT, UM, APARTMENTS OR HOUSE TOWN HOMES. YES. TOWN HOMES, YES. AND, AND, UM, THREE BEDROOMS. YES. UM, TWO AND A HALF BATH. YEAH. I MEAN, IT'S A WORKING CLASS KIND OF SETTING. AND THE THING THAT I LOVE ABOUT IT IS, IS THAT, UH, IT'S AFFORDABLE. UM, THAT'S RIGHT. AND THROUGH THE HABITAT, UM, IT IS ACTUALLY AFFORDABLE. SO I LIKE TO SEE THAT ACROSS BEAVER COUNTY. SO, ESPECIALLY ON . WELL, WE, WE APPRECIATE THAT. AND I WAS SO PLEASED, UM, WHEN I SAW YOU THERE, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING TO THAT RIBBON. CUTTING. THAT MEANT A LOT TO THE FAMILIES THAT WERE THERE. AND IT WAS A GREAT PROJECT, AND THAT WAS COMPLETELY DRIVEN BY HARRY WILLIAMS, MAYOR, HARRY WILLIAMS, AND BRENDA, AND A PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP. SO THAT WAS WONDERFUL. AND AGAIN, WE LOOK FORWARD TO SIMILAR COLLABORATIONS WITH BEFORD COUNTY. OKAY. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. THANK YOU. OKAY, WE'RE GONNA CHANGE, UM, CHANGE INTO [5.b. Workforce Development: DiSC Training and Climate Survey] WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT. NOW. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AVAILABLE LAND AND HABITAT AND WORKFORCE HOUSING. UH, AND I THINK MS. MEAD IS GONNA START US OFF ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, DISC TRAINING AND CLIMATE SURVEY. YES. SO I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A BRIEF INTRODUCTION AND TURN IT OVER TO AMBER BLACK. UM, SO THIS MORNING WE'RE GONNA DISCUSS A FEW ITEMS. WE'LL START OFF WITH THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DATING BACK TO THE FALL OF 2023. WE PLACED A STRONG EMPHASIS IN INVESTING IN OUR EMPLOYEES PROFESSIONAL GROWTH AND ENGAGEMENT THROUGH IMPLEMENTATION OF DISC TRAINING, [00:25:01] WHICH MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE COUNTY HAVE ALREADY COMPLETED. UM, THIS TRAINING HELPS INDIVIDUALS BETTER UNDERSTAND THEIR COMMUNICATION STYLES AND THOSE OF THEIR COWORKERS, UM, AND THEIR SUPERVISORS, WHICH FOSTER STRONGER COLLABORATION, TEAMWORK, AND LEADERSHIP ACROSS OUR DEPARTMENTS. AMBER BLACK IS A MEMBER OF THE HR TEAM. SHE'S SERVING IN THE ROLE AS THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER. UM, ONE OF OUR FIRST INITIATIVES WHEN AMBER TOOK THIS ROLE WAS TO INVEST IN HER, TO CERTIFY HER AS A DISC TRAINER SO THAT WE CAN OFFER THIS TRAINING IN-HOUSE. WE WERE FIRST INTRODUCED TO DISC TRAINING THROUGH THE LEADERSHIP RETREAT BACK IN 20, THE SPRING OF 2023. UM, LOTS OF POSITIVE FEEDBACK FROM THAT. SO WE KNEW THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS WE WANTED TO DO WITH AMBER WHEN SHE CAME ON THE HR TEAM, WAS TO CERTIFY HER TO TRAIN IN-HOUSE. AND SHE'S DONE A WONDERFUL JOB WITH THAT. AND SHE'S GONNA GIVE YOU AN UPDATE ON THAT HERE, QUICKLY OR SHORTLY RATHER. UM, IN ADDITION TO DISC, WE, WE'VE ALSO COMPLETED A COUNTYWIDE CLIMATE SURVEY. WE BROUGHT THAT UP EARLIER THIS YEAR DURING A PLANNING WORKSHOP TO LET YOU KNOW IT WAS ON THE HORIZON. UM, SO THAT HAS BEEN COMPLETED, AND WE WILL GO OVER THOSE RESULTS AT A HIGH LEVEL REVIEW WITH YOU. AND THEN NEXT WE'LL MOVE INTO A DISCUSSION ON COMPENSATION, WHERE WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR STEP PAY SCALE, WHERE I DO HAVE A PRESENTER ON THE WAY FOR THAT. AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT RETIREE INSURANCE. AND I ALSO HAVE AN OUTSIDE PRESENTER FORM. SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I WILL TOSS THIS OVER TO AMBER. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. UM, SO THIS MORNING I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU, UM, SOME OF THE TWO TOP PRIORITIES THAT WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON. UM, ONE BEING OUR, OF COURSE, OUR DISC TRAINING INITIATIVE, AS WELL AS OUR PEOPLE'S OPINION CLIMATE SURVEY. AND BASED ON THOSE RESULTS, I WOULD THEN LIKE TO, UH, LET YOU KNOW WHAT OUR NEXT STEPS ARE AND WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE, AS WELL AS COVER SOME OF OUR FUTURE GOALS IN TERMS OF OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLANNING. OKAY. . SO FIRST WE'LL GET INTO THE WORKSHOPS, AND SOME OF YOU MIGHT BE ASKING, WELL, WHAT EXACTLY IS DISC? OKAY. DISC IS A RESOURCE THAT HELPS BUILD STRONGER, MORE MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS NOT ONLY YOUR PROFESSIONAL LIFE, BUT ALSO IT CAN BE CARRIED OVER INTO YOUR PERSONAL LIFE. UM, THE DISC MODEL WAS CREATED BY A DOCTOR, UM, A PROFESSOR, DR. WILLIAM MARSTON, BACK IN 1920. HE WAS A PROFESSOR AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY. UM, THE MODEL INCLUDES FOUR BASIC STYLES. UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE D DOMINANCE, I INFLUENCE S STEADINESS AND C CONSCIENTIOUSNESS STYLE. AND IT IS A TOOL THAT IS COMMONLY USED IN THE WORKPLACE, ESPECIALLY FOR PUBLIC FACING ORGANIZATIONS, UM, IN ORDER TO HELP INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFY THEIR WORK STYLE AND PROVIDE THE THEM WITH THE KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS AND ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE, UM, WHAT THEIR COWORKERS STYLES ARE SO THAT THEY CAN BETTER EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH ONE ANOTHER. OKAY. SO OUR DISC TRAINING PROGRAM HERE, UM, IT CONSISTS OF TWO MAIN PARTS. THE FIRST PART IS, UH, EMPLOYEES WILL COMPLETE AN ONLINE ASSESSMENT. UM, THEY GO THROUGH A SERIES OF ANSWERING A FEW ONLINE QUESTIONS, WHICH THEN PLOTS THEM IN ONE OF THE FOUR CATEGORIES. UM, THEY WILL THEN GO TO AN AND ATTEND A THREE HOUR IN-PERSON WORKSHOP THAT I FACILITATE. AND DURING THE WORKSHOP, OUR EMPLOYEES LEARN ABOUT NOT ONLY THEIR OWN WORKPLACE PRIORITIES AND WHAT DRIVE THEM DURING THE DAY, BUT THEY GET TO ALSO EXPLORE, UM, EACH MOTIVATOR, EACH STYLE'S, MOTIVATORS AND STRESSORS, UM, SO THAT THEY'RE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE QUALITIES THEY'RE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH STYLE. OKAY. AND THE WAY THAT WE DO THAT DURING OUR WORKSHOP IS WE PROVIDE VARIOUS HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES FOR THEM TO PRACTICE AND APPLY THE PRINCIPLES THAT THEY'RE LEARNING DURING THIS WORKSHOP. UM, AFTER ATTENDING THE WORKSHOP, EMPLOYEES DO CONTINUE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THE ONLINE CATALYST RESOURCE, UM, THAT WAY THEY CAN GO IN AND CONTINUALLY USE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY'VE GAINED. UM, AND IT DOES PROVIDE THEM WITH TECHNIQUES AND STRATEGIES, UM, WHEN INTERACTING WITH THEIR COWORKERS. AND THAT CAN EVEN HELP, UM, WHEN THEY ARE COMMUNICATING WITH OUR LOCAL, UM, COMMUNITY AS WELL. UM, SOME OF THE FEEDBACK I WANTED TO JUST SHARE, UM, SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE'VE RECEIVED. ONCE WE DO WORKSHOPS, I DO SEND OUT A SURVEY ASKING THEM, WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE WORKSHOP? WHAT DID YOU LIKE THE BEST? WHAT DID YOU LEARN? WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART? UM, AND SOME OF THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE BEST EXPERIENCE WAS LEARNING ABOUT EVERYONE'S INDIVIDUAL DISC STYLES, UM, AND HOW THEY CAN INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER THROUGHOUT THE WORKDAY. UM, ANOTHER RESPONDENT STATED THEY ENJOYED LEARNING TO UNDERSTAND OTHERS [00:30:01] AND HOW THEY CAN BETTER CONNECT WITH THEIR COWORKERS, WHOSE STYLE IS DIFFERENT FROM THEIRS. ANOTHER RESPONDENT MENTIONED, UM, THEY LEARN, LOVED AND ENJOYED LEARNING. UM, THE DIFFERENCES THAT WE ALL BRING TO THE TABLE WHEN WE COME TO WORK EVERY DAY, AND HOW THESE DIFFERENCES WORK IN OUR FAVOR TO HELP US ACCOMPLISH OUR MISSION IN EACH OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, IN OUR DIVISIONS. OKAY. UM, ONE MENTIONED, UH, THEY LOVED LEARNING HOW TO ADAPT TO OTHER DISC STYLES, BECAUSE WE DO DO GO THROUGH THAT WHEN, WHEN WE DO THE TRAINING. UM, ONE PERSON EVEN SAID THAT THEY THOUGHT THE SESSION WAS VERY INFORMATIVE, AND IT REALLY OPENED THEIR EYES TO WORKING WITH ALL DIFFERENT TYPES OF PEOPLE, EVEN THOSE THAT MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE THE EASIEST TO COMMUNICATE WITH. UM, WE'RE PROVIDING THEM WITH THOSE TOOLS, UM, IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE, UM, WITH ONE ANOTHER. AND THEY SAID THAT IT REALLY HAS HELPED DEVELOP THEIR DEPARTMENT INTO ONE COHESIVE UNIT. OKAY. UM, AND THE LASTLY, UM, ANOTHER COMMENT WAS THEY LOVE THE WORKSHOP AND THEY ACTUALLY THINK THAT ALL DEPARTMENTS, UM, SHOULD GO THROUGH THE TRAINING, WHICH WE ALSO AGREE. UM, AND THAT IS A SHARED GOAL. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, IN THE FALL OF 2023, UM, AS CATHERINE HAD STATED, WE BEGAN IN-HOUSE DISH TRAINING WORKSHOPS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. AND SO FAR WE HAVE TRAINED 560 TEAM MEMBERS SO FAR ACROSS 18 DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS. OKAY. UM, AS I'VE GOT LISTED HERE, WE, THESE ARE THE REMAINING DEPARTMENTS THAT WE HAVE YET TO COMPLETE. UM, WE DID NOT HAVE ANY TYPE OF PLAN IN TERMS OF WHICH DEPARTMENTS WOULD COME FIRST OR SECOND. UM, WE JUST, YOU KNOW, STARTED BY DEPARTMENT TO HELP WITH TEAM BUILDING. UM, WE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO EXTEND THIS TO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE FUTURE IF THEY WOULD BE INTERESTED, UM, IN RECEIVING THIS VALUABLE RESOURCE. ALRIGHT. HOW LONG IS THE TRAINING? I'M SORRY? HOW LONG IS THE TRAINING? THE TRAINING IS FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS, THREE HOURS. THREE HOURS. IT'S A THREE HOUR WORKSHOP. OKAY. YES. I THINK WE'VE HAD SOME ELECTED OFFICIALS TAKE THIS THOUGH. YES. YES, WE HAVE. OKAY. MM-HMM . ABSOLUTELY. ALL RIGHT. AND THEN NEXT, MOVING ON TO OUR PEOPLE'S OPINION SURVEY. UM, SWITCHING GEARS, UM, I'D LIKE TO SHARE SOME OF THE RESULTS FROM THAT SURVEY WITH YOU. OUR SURVEY WAS SENT OUT TO 958 OF OUR BEAUFORT COUNTY EMPLOYEES, AND WE HAD A 40% PARTICIPATION RATE, WHICH IS FAIRLY GOOD WITH OUR FIRST ONE THAT WE DID IN HOUSE. UM, THERE WERE AREAS THAT CHOSE NOT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS FIRST GO ROUND, WHICH IS FINE. UM, I WILL MENTION AND NOTE THE TREASURER, UM, THEY DID NOT PARTICIPATE, BUT THEY ALREADY HAVE THEIR OWN INTERNAL, UM, CLIMATE SURVEYS THAT THEY DO ON THEIR REGULAR INTERVAL. OKAY. SO, UM, WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, UM, WHEN WE DID THE SURVEY, WE HAD SOME OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS, AS WELL AS SOME RATING SCALE QUESTIONS. SO WHEN IT CAME TO THE OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS, THIS IS ONE OF 'EM, WE ASKED EMPLOYEES, WHAT'S THE BEST PART OF WORKING FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY? OKAY. 38% OF PEOPLE STATED THAT THEY INDICATED BENEFITS AND COMPENSATION, AND THAT INCLUDED HEALTH INSURANCE, RETIREMENT SYSTEM, THE FACT THAT WE'RE PART OF THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM, OUR PAID TIME OFF, UM, AS WELL AS OUR COMPETITIVE PAY PLAN, 22%. UM, REFERRED TO COWORKERS AND TEAMWORK, THEY STATED THAT THEY ENJOY, UM, WORKING AT BEAUFORT COUNTY BECAUSE OF THE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS THAT THEY HAVE. UM, THE COMRADERY AND THE SUPPORTIVE TEAMS THAT WE HAVE IN PLACE IN OUR AREAS. UH, 12% STATED GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. UM, MANY OF THEM ENJOY THE ABILITY TO GAIN, UH, ADDITIONAL SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, AND TRAINING. UM, AND THAT WAY IT PREPARES THEM FOR ADVANCEMENT OPPORTUNITIES SHOULD THEY ARISE IN THE FUTURE. 10% STATED WORK ENVIRONMENT. UM, THEY ENJOY THE WORK ENVIRONMENT HERE AT BEAUFORT COUNTY STATING IT'S PO IT'S POSITIVE, FLEXIBLE, THERE'S A WORK LIFE BALANCE. UM, IT'S VERY RESPECTFUL. AND OF COURSE, IT IS A PROFESSIONAL SETTING. 10% REFERENCE THE COMMUNITY IMPACT. UM, A LOT OF OUR FOLKS HAVE A LOT OF PRIDE IN SERVING THE PUBLIC, UM, THAT IS THEIR KEY DRIVER, AND THEY LIKE TO SEE HOW THEIR JOB EVERY DAY, UM, MAKES AN IMPACT IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY. AND LASTLY, UM, 5% STATED THE LOCATION AND THE STABILITY OF THE JOB. UM, A LOT OF 'EM SAID, YOU KNOW, HOW CLOSE WORK IS TO HOME, UM, THE PROXIMITY TO HOME, THE FACT THAT THEY'VE GOT JOB SECURITY, UM, AND [00:35:01] THAT THEY ALSO JUST ENJOY LIVING HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. WE DO LIVE IN A VERY BEAUTIFUL PLACE. SO NEXT, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE SOME OF THE RATING SCALE QUESTIONS, UM, THAT WE HAD. UM, WHEN WE ASKED IF THEY WERE PROUD TO WORK AT BEAUFORT COUNTY, 82% OF OUR RESPONDENTS EITHER AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREED. OKAY. AND THAT'S HUGE. SO THAT INDICATES THAT WE ARE DEFINITELY AN EMPLOYER OF CHOICE IN OUR AREA. OKAY. UM, WHEN ASKED IF THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE VALUED IN THE ROLE THAT THEY SERVE HERE, 75%, AGAIN, AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREED THAT THEY DO BELIEVE THAT THEY, THEY FULFILL MEANINGFUL WORK WHEN THEY COME TO WORK. UM, WHEN WE ASKED IF THEY BELIEVE THAT THEIR JOB ALLOWS THEM TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR OWN SKILLS AND ABILITIES, 85% OF OUR RESPONDENTS AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREED. UH, WE DID ASK IF THEIR JOB ALLOWS THEM THE ABILITY TO GROW, UM, AND PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP NEW SKILLS. AND 72% OF OUR RESPONDENTS, AGAIN, AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREED. UM, SO THAT TELLS YOU A LOT ABOUT OUR GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, UM, FOR OUR EMPLOYEES INTERNALLY, WE DID ASK ABOUT LEADERSHIP. UM, WE ASKED OUR EMPLOYEES, AND WE ASKED THEM IF SUPERVISORS MANAGE THEIR TEAM, UM, WITH POSITIVE AND HEALTHY ATTITUDES. AND 71% DID RESPOND THAT THEY AGREED OR STRONGLY AGREED. OKAY. SO THAT, THAT'S HUGE. OKAY. UH, WE ALSO ASKED, UM, EMPLOYEES, THIS WAS, UM, AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION. WE ASKED THEM IF THEY COULD RATE THEIR SUPERVISORS, UM, ON A SCALE FROM ONE TO 10. AND 64% OF OUR RESPONDENTS, UM, RATED AN EIGHT TO 10. AND THEIR REASONINGS FOR THAT, UM, WAS THAT THE SUPERVISORS ARE BEING SEEN AS SUPPORTIVE. UM, THEY'RE COMMUNICATIVE, THEY'RE FAIR, AND THEY'RE EMPOWERING. WE HAD 22% RESPOND, UM, BETWEEN FIVE AND SEVEN RANGE. AND, UM, SOME INDICATED THAT THERE WERE POSITIVE TRAITS, BUT THERE WERE ALSO SOME CONCERNS ABOUT MICROMANAGEMENT, UM, COMMUNICATION AND OR SOME LEADERSHIP GAPS. OKAY. AND THEN WE HAD 14%, UM, RATE BETWEEN A ZERO AND A FOUR. UM, AND SOME OF THE REASONS FOR THEM, UM, RATING ZERO TO FOUR WAS REPORTS OF POOR LEADERSHIP. UM, IN CERTAIN AREAS, WE HAD SOME POCKETS OF THAT. UM, LACK OF SUPPORT, UNPROFESSIONALISM AND, OR JUST SOME POOR COMMUNICATION. OKAY. MAYBE INFORMATION JUST ISN'T GETTING ALL THE WAY DOWN. UM, SOME AREAS FOR FUTURE TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE OF THESE RESPONSES. UM, WE DO WANNA IMPROVE COMMUNICATION TO ENSURE THAT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE INFORMED ABOUT NEWS AND DEVELOPMENTS THAT ARE IMPACTING THEIR DEPARTMENT. WE THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT. UM, WE DO SUGGEST THAT SUPERVISORS TAKE MORE OF A PROACTIVE ROLE IN COACHING AND DEVELOPING THEIR STAFF, AND WE HAVE PLANS TO HELP THEM DO THAT. AND THEN ALSO WE WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP TRAINING FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT SUPERVISE STAFF. OKAY. NOW WE, THIS WAS ANOTHER OPEN-ENDED QUESTION THAT WE ASKED. UM, WE DID ASK THEM WHAT WERE SOME OF THE TOP ITEMS, UM, THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE CHANGE OR IMPROVE. OKAY. BECAUSE NOT EVERY SURVEY DO WE ALWAYS HAVE POSITIVE THINGS. WE WANNA KNOW WHERE WE CAN GROW, UM, AS AN ORGANIZATION AND, AND LET, LET OUR EMPLOYEES FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING HEARD. UM, SO SOME OF THE IMPROVED CHANGES THAT THEY WERE RECOMMENDED WERE COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY. UM, THEY INDICATED THEY WANTED SOME IMPROVED COMMUNICATION ACROSS DEPARTMENTS FROM LEADERSHIP, SOME TRANSPARENCY WHEN IT COMES TO DECISION MAKING AND CHANGES IN PROTOCOL. SOME ALSO MENTIONED COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS. UM, THEY HAD A DESIRE TO HAVE MERIT-BASED RAISES, UM, POTENTIAL LONGEVITY INCREASES AND HEALTHCARE BENEFITS FOR RETIREES. THAT WAS A BIG ONE, UM, THAT A LOT OF FOLKS DID ASK FOR. UM, WHEN IT CAME TO THE WORK ENVIRONMENT AND EQUIPMENT, UM, THERE WERE REQUESTS FOR UPDATES TO OLDER BUILDINGS, UM, SOME MORE OFFICE SPACE AND LARGER COMMON AREAS FOR MEETINGS AND SOME IMPROVEMENTS, UM, TO BE MADE TO SOME EQUIPMENT SUCH AS SOFTWARE, MAYBE VEHICLES OR SOME TOOLS THAT, THAT OUR EMPLOYEES USE ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS. UM, THERE WERE ALSO SOME SUGGESTIONS REGARDING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, PRIMARILY REVISITING, UM, INTERNAL DEPARTMENTAL POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND OR PROCEDURES, [00:40:01] UM, TO ENSURE THAT THEY'RE EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE. OKAY. AND THEN LASTLY, UM, TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT. UM, THERE WERE REQUESTS, UM, FOR SUPPORT IN CONTINUED EDUCATION. UM, AN OFFER TO CLEARLY, UM, PLAN OUT CAREER PATHS AND SUCCESSION PLANNING AND MORE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES INCLUDING, UH, CROSS TRAINING AND MENTORSHIP. SO THESE WERE THE TOP ITEMS THAT IF THEY COULD SEE SOME CHANGES OR IMPROVEMENTS THEY'D LIKE TO SEE. SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, UM, ONE OF THE LAST QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED IS WHAT OUR EMPLOYEES RECOMMEND OTHERS TO WORK HERE AT BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND 82% OF OUR STAFF, OF OUR RESPONDENTS STATED THAT YES, THEY WOULD, UM, THERE WERE STRONG ENDORSEMENTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, BEING A GREAT PLACE TO WORK, UM, CITING OUR BENEFITS, THE STABILITY, AND THERE BEING SUCH A POSITIVE CULTURE. OKAY. 12% STATED NO. UM, AND THEY SPECIFICALLY INDICATED DISSATISFACTION, WHICH WAS OFTEN TIED TO, UM, SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS. AGAIN, WE'VE GOT THOSE POCKETS OF AREAS, UM, LEADERSHIP AND OR POSSIBLY PAY 6%, UM, RESPONDED THAT IT WAS CONDITIONAL. THEY MIGHT RECOMMEND OTHERS TO WORK AT BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND A LOT OF THE RESPONSES WERE YES, BUT, OR IT DEPENDS ON THE DEPARTMENT OR THE ROLE. OKAY. UM, AND SOME FACTORS THAT WERE CONSIDERED IN THEIR RESPONSES, UM, WERE THE BENEFITS AND JOB STABILITY WERE THE MOST FREQUENTLY CITED REASONS FOR RECOMMENDING FOLKS TO WORK HERE. UM, DEPARTMENTAL CULTURE AND LEADERSHIP WERE SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCES TO THEIR DECISIONS. AND ONLY, AGAIN, A SMALL GROUP, UM, EXPRESSED CONCERNS ABOUT PAY ADVANCEMENT OR WORK ENVIRONMENT. OKAY. UM, SO SOME OF OUR SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OVER THE COMING WEEKS, UM, WE HAVE PREPARED INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTAL SUMMARIES THAT CONTAIN, UM, EACH DEPARTMENT'S RESULTS. UM, AND OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, THAT WE HAVE WHILE MAINTAINING OUR EMPLOYEE'S CONFIDENTIALITY BECAUSE WE WERE VERY, UM, OPEN TO STAFF AND LET THEM KNOW THAT THEIR RESPONSES WOULD BE ANONYMOUS. OKAY. UM, AND WE WANNA MAINTAIN THAT CONFIDENTIALITY AND THAT ANONYMITY. UM, SO WE WILL BE MEETING WITH EACH OF OUR ASSISTANT COUNTY ADMINISTRATORS OVER THE COMING WEEKS TO REVIEW THE RESULTS FOR THEIR DEPARTMENTS THAT FALL WITHIN THEIR PURVIEW. AND THAT WAY THE ACAS CAN THEN SCHEDULE TIME WITH EACH OF THEIR DEPARTMENT HEADS, UM, AND DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS TO DISCUSS THE RESULTS AND IDENTIFY SHORT TERM AND EVEN LONG TERM GOALS THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE INTO THEIR STRATEGIC PLAN. SO, SOME OF OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GOALS THAT WE HAVE, UM, OVER THIS NEXT YEAR, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO IMPLEMENT A LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM FOR MANAGERS, UM, WHICH WOULD HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE SUPERVISOR RATINGS THAT WE RECEIVED. UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO CONDUCT A FOLLOW-UP PULSE SURVEY SOMETIME IN THE SPRING SO THAT WE COULD GAUGE OUR PROGRESS. OKAY. THAT WAY EMPLOYEES CAN SEE WHAT ARE WE DOING, UM, BASED ON THE FEEDBACK THAT WE RECEIVED. AND THEN OF COURSE, WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE, UM, MOVING FORWARD WITH OUR DISC TRAINING IN OUR REMAINING AREAS. AND THEN IN 26, UM, 27, WE WOULD LIKE TO BE, AGAIN, A MONTHLY DISC TRAINING WORKSHOP, UM, THAT WOULD INCORPORATE NEW EMPLOYEES AFTER THEY HAVE COMPLETED THEIR SIX MONTH PROBATIONARY PERIOD. OKAY. UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, AS WE HAVE DONE THIS YEAR, WE WOULD LIKE TO CONTINUE CONDUCTING ANNUAL, UM, PEOPLE'S OPINION SURVEYS SO THAT EACH YEAR WE CAN, WE CAN ALLOW OUR EMPLOYEES TO HAVE INPUT AND HAVE A VOICE SO THAT WE CAN TAKE THOSE, UM, ITEMS INTO CONSIDERATION, UM, WHEN WE'RE GROWING AND, UM, IMPROVING. SO, OKAY. WE'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS. ANY QUESTIONS? NOT A QUESTION, BUT A COMMENT. MM-HMM . UM, ALL OF THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU HAVE, HAVE YOU SHARED IT WITH ADMINISTRATION? YES. YES. OKAY. YES. YES. THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEN, I'M SORRY, BECAUSE THEN YOU HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SEE HOW YOU HAVE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE NEGATIVITY THERE. ABSOLUTELY. AND, YOU KNOW, I'LL BE MEETING WITH THE ACAS TOO, YOU KNOW, ONCE THEY'VE MET WITH THEIR STAFFS, JUST TO GET A FEEL FOR WHAT WE NEED TO DO AS ADMINISTRATION TO ADDRESS ANY SHORTFALLS. BUT I WOULD ALSO ADD, I'M A BIG SUPPORTER OF THE SUPERVISOR AND MANAGEMENT TRAINING. 'CAUSE I THINK I'VE SEEN IN MY CAREER OP SITUATIONS WHERE YOU HAVE A SUPERVISOR MANAGER WHO DOESN'T REALLY HAVE THE TOOLS [00:45:01] TO GET INTO THE POSITION. SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE THAT. OH, I, I THINK THIS IS WONDERFUL. WHAT, WHAT WE'RE DOING. COUNCILMAN DAWSON. YEAH. I, I, I CONCUR WITH JILL'S, UH, ASSESSMENT. THIS IS, THIS IS WONDERFUL, VALUABLE INFORMATION YOU SHARED WITH US. UM, UH, AT 2% OF OUR WORKFORCE SEEMS TO BE, UM, APPRECIATIVE AND, UM, SATISFIED WITH THE WAY THE OPERATION OVERALL IS RUNNING. BUT, UH, THERE WAS ONE INSTANCE WHERE THEY TALKED ABOUT THE SUPERVISORS BEING UNPROFESSIONAL. AND, UM, I, I TAKE, I TAKE EXCEPTION TO THAT BECAUSE IN LEADERSHIP POSITION, WE LEAD BY EXAMPLE. AND SO IF WE CAN'T SET THE EXAMPLE FOR THE WORKFORCE, THEN WE ARE ACTUALLY CONTRIBUTING TO THE DEMISE OF THE OVERALL MORALE OF THE, OF THE WORKFORCE. MM-HMM . AND SO THAT HASN'T BEEN SAID THEN. THIS IS, THIS IS GREAT. AND, AND MIKE, I, I APPLAUD YOU TO GET ON TOP OF THIS. THANK YOU, SIR. MM-HMM . OH, I HAD A QUESTION. UM, IS IT, IS IT, DO THIS PROCESS WHEN YOU GO THROUGH IT, IS IT KINDA LIKE MYERS-BRIGGS, THE OLD MYERS-BRIGGS? YES. YES. OKAY. YEP. WHERE YOU LEARN ABOUT YOURSELF. YES. THAT'S, THAT'S WONDERFUL. AND HOW DO YOU KEEP REPLIES TO THE SURVEY ANONYMOUS? I MEAN, WHEN YOU DO THE SURVEYS? YES. SO, UM, WE UTILIZE, UM, A VENDOR SURVEYMONKEY, AND IT ALLOWS YOU TO, IT DOESN'T REPORT ON IP ADDRESSES OR ANY, IT IS STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL. OKAY. SO THAT'S, WE JUST GET A**L EXCEL SPREADSHEET AT THE END. WE DO ASK THEM AT THE VERY BEGINNING TO STATE WHAT DEPARTMENT THEY WORK IN, BECAUSE IF YOU TELL US YOU'D LIKE TO SEE CHANGES OR IMPROVEMENTS, BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT AREAS THOSE ARE IN, WE CAN'T PINPOINT EXACTLY WHERE WE NEED TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS. I THINK THIS IS WONDERFUL TOO. ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR, YES. COUNCILMAN GLOVER? YES. UH, THANK YOU. UM, I REALLY DO APPRECIATE, UH, THE EFFORTS THAT Y'ALL PUTTING INTO THIS. UM, ONE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, UH, I WAS CONCERNED ABOUT WAS HOW FAR IN THE WEEDS, UH, DO YOU GET? AND FROM WHAT I'VE BEEN HEARING IS THAT YOU ARE GETTING IN THE WEEDS, , UH, PROBLEMS AREA THAT CAN BE ADDRESSED AND YOU WILL MOVE FORWARD IN THAT AREA OF, TO ADDRESS THAT. UM, IT, IT WOULD SEEM TO ME THAT, UM, UM, WHEN YOU HAVE EVERYBODY, OR A HIGH PERCENTAGE OF LIKE, BUT YOU HAVE A SMALL PERCENTAGE OF DISLIKE, SOMETIME THAT DISLIKE MAY JUST BE ONE OR TWO EMPLOYEES IN THE SYSTEM THAT YOU NEED TO SORT OF CULTIVATE. UM, UM, SO I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT. UM, I WOULD, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONTINUOUS, UH, EVALUATION OF THE SYSTEM TO SEE HOW WELL WE ARE IMPROVING AND, UM, GIVING EMPLOYEES AN OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO IMPROVE THEMSELVES AND TO GO UP THE SUCCESSION LADDER. YOU KNOW, UM, IT IS BETTER, I THINK, TO TRAIN FOLKS WITHIN THE SYSTEM TO MOVE INTO THE NEXT LEVEL TO, AND, UM, I HAD A, UM, PERSON WHO WAS IN BUSINESS, UH, TO TELL ME YEARS AGO THAT HER JOB WAS TO TRAIN SOMEBODY IN HER STAFF, UH, UNDER HER TO TAKE HER POSITION. AND IF SHE DOESN'T HAVE SEVERAL PEOPLE IN THAT POSITION TO TAKE OVER, SHE HAS REALLY FAILED AS A, UM, UH, SUPERVISOR. SO, UM, WE CAN'T BE INTIMIDATED BY WHAT WE HAVE BELOW US. WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE THAT. UH, 'CAUSE IN ORDER FOR ME TO MOVE UP, I GOTTA MAKE SURE SOMEBODY'S BEHIND ME TO TAKE MY POSITION. AND I'M THINKING THAT SOMEBODY LIKE, UM, UM, MR. MOORE IS TRAINING SOMEBODY RIGHT NOW IN THE SYSTEM TO TAKE HIS JOB. UM, I DON'T THINK HE'S INTIMIDATED BY ANYBODY. SO, YOU KNOW, UM, AND THERE SHOULD BE SEVERAL PEOPLE, UM, WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION TO TAKE SOMEBODY ELSE'S LEADERSHIP POSITION. GOOD POINT. THAT'S CALLED SUCCESSION PLAN, SUCCESSION PLANNING. UM, COUNCILMAN CUNNINGHAM, DID YOU HAVE ANYTHING? NO. OKAY. IT WAS GREAT REPORT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP WITH A COUPLE THINGS. UM, AMBER, YOU KNOW, HIT ON THE SLIDE OF THE PARTICIPATION RATE AND SAID IT WAS FAIRLY GOOD, BUT I WANNA CORRECT HER THAT THAT WAS OUTSTANDING PARTICIPATION RATE FOR A FIRST, UM, SURVEY. AND JUST REALLY WANTED TO SHOWCASE THOSE RESULTS TO COUNCIL. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR YOU ALL TO HEAR AS WELL. UM, AND IT'S A GREAT SEGUE 'CAUSE AS SHE NOTED, THERE WERE A COUPLE ITEMS THAT YOU SEE HERE ON YOUR AGENDA. SO IT WAS A PERFECT OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE [00:50:01] THAT WITH YOU. UM, AND, AND TO YOUR POINT, MS. HOWARD, UM, AS FAR AS KEEPING IT ANONYMOUS, THAT'S WHY I DON'T EVEN GET THESE RESULTS. THERE IS ONE PERSON IN HR THAT SEES THAT. UM, AND THAT'S AMBER. OKAY. AND WHEN SHE COLLABORATES ALL THAT DATA TO GET THE STATISTICS THAT SHE JUST SHARED WITH YOU, SHE PUTS IT INTO A SUMMARY REPORT. SO SHE DOESN'T QUOTE DIRECT STATEMENTS THAT SHE SAW. BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW IF YOU WORK WITH YOUR FOLKS DAY IN AND DAY OUT, YOU KNOW HOW THEY SPEAK. YOU KNOW THEIR LANGUAGE, YOU KNOW THEIR STYLE. SO WHEN SHE DOES MEET WITH THE ACAS AND THE DEPARTMENT HEADS, IT'LL BE HER SUMMARIZED VERSION OF WHAT SHE SAW THAT WERE TRENDS, UM, AND REPEATED COMMENTS OVER AND OVER. AND THERE WAS ONE SLIDE, UM, AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE BENEFITS, WHAT DID THEY SEE VALUABLE TO WORK FOR THE COUNTY? AND I THINK THAT WAS, UM, IMPACTFUL. I KNOW THE PERCENTAGES DIDN'T SEEM LARGE, BUT KEEP IN MIND IT WAS AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION. SO IT WASN'T THAT THEY HAD THOSE SELECTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM. SO WHEN YOU SEE 40% A PARTICIPATION IN 9, 9 58, AND YOU SEE 20% SAY THE SAME THING, THAT WAS AN OPEN-ENDED QUESTION. THAT'S, THAT'S PRETTY IMPACTFUL. SO I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, SLIDE AS WELL. I BELIEVE IT WAS THE THIRD OR FOURTH SLIDE WHERE IT TALKED ABOUT THE, UH, BENEFITS, UM, FOR THE COUNTY. SO I JUST WANNA SHARE THAT AND COMMEND THE HR STAFF. REMIND ALL OF US, HOW MANY TOTAL EMPLOYEES DO WE HAVE IN THE COUNTY? SO WE HAVE JUST OVER 1300, BUT WE SENT IT OUT TO 958 EMPLOYEES. OKAY. 'CAUSE WE HAD THE, UM, SOME ELECTRIC OFFICIALS THAT OPTED OUT. SO 958 EMPLOYEES WERE TOUCHED WITH THE SURVEY. AND A 40%, 40% RESPONSE RATE IS PHENOMENAL. AND THE NEXT, AND THE NEXT THING ON OUR AGENDA HAS TO DO WITH ONE OF THE COMMENTS THEY MADE. THAT'S RIGHT. ABOUT, UM, STEP PAY SCALE YES. AND MERIT POLICY. BOTH ITEMS. YES. BOTH OF THEM. BOTH ITEMS. BOTH OF THEM, YES. SO IF THERE WAS NO FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THAT, AND IF YOU'RE READY, YOU CAN MOVE ON. GO THE NEXT ITEM. YES. UM, SO [5.c. Overview of Step Pay Scale and Merit Pay Policy Proposal] WE HAVE HEARD FROM COUNCIL THAT THERE'S A DESIRE TO BRING BACK A STEP SCALE. WE HAD A STEP SCALE IMPLEMENTED WITH THE COUNTY FROM 2015 TO 2020. WE THEN TRANSITIONED TO AN OPEN RANGE. UM, YOU'RE ALL AWARE THAT WE, UM, CONTRACTED WITH MAG MANAGEMENT ADVISORY GROUP WITH DR. CAMPBELL LAST YEAR FOR A CLASS IN COMP STUDY. SO WE REENGAGED WITH HIM AS HE IS THE MOST FAMILIAR WITH OUR CURRENT COMP PLAN, UM, AND ASKED FOR HIS ASSISTANCE IN TRANSITIONING OUR PAY RANGE TO A STEP SCALE AND ACCOMPANY THAT WITH A MERIT PAY POLICY TO REWARD OUR HIGH PERFORMERS. UM, SO DR. CAMPBELL IS HERE, AND I WILL TURN THE MIC OVER TO HIM. DR. CAMPBELL, WOULD YOU PREFER THAT YOU PRESENT AND THEN WE ASK QUESTIONS AT THE END? UH, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL. OKAY. YES. I APPRECIATE THAT. THANK YOU. UH, GOOD MORNING. UH, I'M DR. RUSSELL CAMPBELL, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT WITH MANAGEMENT ADVISORY GROUP. HELLO, UH, CHAIR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS STAFF AS, UH, IT WAS POINTED OUT BY CATHERINE. WE DID, UH, DEVELOP THE LAST COMPENSATION CLASSIFICATION STUDY FOR THE COUNTY. UH, I BELIEVE WE FINISHED THAT UP IN THE SUMMER OF LAST YEAR. AND SO WE WERE ASKED TO COME BACK AND ASSIST THE COUNTY WITH THE, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF A STEPPING GRADE, UH, PAY SYSTEM. MANY OF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S, UH, UH, PAY SYSTEM, AND THIS IS MUCH AKIN TO WHAT IS IN PLACE AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT LEVEL. SO WHAT I WANTED TO DO THIS MORNING IS SHARE WITH YOU, UH, SOME, UH, INSIGHT INTO THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT. UH, SOME OF THE, UH, PROS OF TRANSITIONING TO A STEP AND GRADE, UH, PAY SYSTEM, UH, TALK, UH, UH, ABOUT THE, UH, STRUCTURE OF THE STEP SYSTEM IN TERMS OF NUMBER OF STEPS, INCREMENT BETWEEN STEPS. UH, AND WE DID CREATE, UH, THREE DIFFERENT PAY SYSTEMS OF F FLOYD COUNTY. SO I WANNA TALK ABOUT THAT. UH, AND THEN WE'LL GET INTO SOME OF THE, THE POLICY AND THE MERIT PAY GUIDELINES. AND I BELIEVE CATHERINE WILL ALSO JOIN ME AS WE TALK ABOUT THAT. SO GETTING STARTED, TYPICALLY IN SOUTH CAROLINA, THE MAJORITY OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ON THE SEVENTH GRADE PLAN OR SCHOOL SYSTEMS, THAT'S WHERE IT ORIGINATED. YOU GO TO ANY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE COUNTRY MM-HMM. AND YOU SEE A TEACHER AND YOU ASK THAT TEACHER, UH, HOW LONG HE OR SHE HAS BEEN THERE. AND SHE SAYS, FOR EXAMPLE, 22 YEARS. AND IF YOU GO TO HUMAN RESOURCES, YOU'RE GONNA FIND FROM A PAY STANDPOINT, THEY'RE ON A STEP 22 BECAUSE IT DIRECTLY MATCHES WHAT YEARS OF SERVICE. AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, IT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. WE DON'T QUITE ADMINISTER IT THAT WAY. WE USE IT MORE AS A, UH, AN ADVANCEMENT TOOL THAT PROVIDES CLARITY AND SECURITY FROM THE EMPLOYEE PERSPECTIVE IN TERMS OF HOW THEY WILL MOVE THROUGH THE, UH, UH, COMPENSATION SYSTEM. THERE ARE STILL A NUMBER OF, OF COUNTIES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE STATE THAT, UH, DO HAVE, UH, STEP SYSTEMS. BUT THE, BUT THE MAJORITY ARE, ARE SCHOOL DISTRICT. EVERY SCHOOL DISTRICT IN SOUTH CAROLINA DOES HAVE A STEP AND GRADE SYSTEM. SO IN TERMS OF GOAL, WHAT WAS THE GOAL IN DESIGNING THE, UH, UH, COMPENSATION SYSTEM WITH THE STEP AND GRADE FORMAT? UH, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT WAS FAIR. IT WAS TRANSPARENT. THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST ADVANTAGES OF A STEP SYSTEM. YOU CAN CLEARLY SEE HOW YOUR COMPENSATION IS GOING TO [00:55:01] GROW OVER A, A FIXED NUMBER OF YEARS. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE MAINTAINED THE INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE CREATED WHEN WE CREATED THE, UH, OVERALL COMPENSATION PLAN. WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE STILL HAD EXTERNAL COMPETITIVENESS, MAKING SURE THAT THE COUNTY COULD COMPETE FROM A RECRUITMENT AND A RETENTION STANDPOINT. AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THE PLAN ALIGNED WITH THE COUNTY'S, UH, MISSION, WHILE PROMOTING EMPLOYEE RETENTION, CAREER GROWTH, AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY. ANTIGENS OF THE STEPPING GRADE PLAN, TRANSPARENCY AND CONSISTENCY. EMPLOYEES KNOW EXACTLY HOW PAYS DETERMINED. EACH GRADE CORRESPONDS TO A DEFINED PAY RANGE, AND EACH STEP REPRESENTS A CLEAR INCREMENTAL INCREASE, UH, WHICH PROMOTES FAIRNESS AS EVERYONE WITHIN THE GRADE IS PAID, UH, ON THE SAME STRUCTURE. IT ALSO PROVIDES PREDICTABLE CAREER PROGRESSION. EMPLOYERS CAN SEE HOW THEIR PAY WILL GROW OVER TIME AS THEY GAIN EXPERIENCE OR MEET PERFORMANCE STANDARDS. THIS REDUCES UNCERTAINTY AND HELPS WITH LONG-TERM CAREER AND FINANCIAL PLANNING, UH, WITHIN THE COUNTY. IT'S EASY TO BUDGET, UH, UNDER THIS TYPE OF SYSTEM. ANOTHER ADVANTAGE, INTERNAL EQUITY, WHICH I BRIEFLY MENTIONED EARLIER, IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE JOBS WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION. THIS MAKES SURE THAT WE ADDRESS TENANTS LIKE EQUAL PLAY FOR EQUAL WORK. THOSE JOBS THAT ARE SIMILAR IN QUALIFICATIONS, SIMILAR IN DUTIES, RESPONSIBILITIES ARE GROUPED, UH, WITHIN THE SAME, UH, PAY GRADE. THIS AVOIDS DISPARITIES, DISPARITIES AND ALLEGATIONS OF DISCRIMINATION. ADMINISTRATIVE SIMPLICITY IS ANOTHER ADVANTAGE OF THE STEP AND GRADE PLAN. UH, THIS PROVIDES A, A STANDARDIZED FRAMEWORK FOR PAY ADJUSTMENTS, PROMOTION, AND BUDGETING. THIS MAKES IT EASY FOR HR MANAGEMENT TO ADMINISTER PAY INCREASES AND FORECAST SALARY, UH, COST. OUR COMPANY PROBABLY DOES ABOUT 40 TO 60 COMPREHENSIVE COMPENSATION STUDIES A YEAR AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT. AND ONE OF THE GREATEST, UH, COMPLAINTS WE OFTEN HEAR IS THAT THE ORGANIZATION NEEDS TO, NEEDS TO DO A BETTER JOB OF COMING UP WITH A MECHANISM SO PEOPLE CAN GROW, UH, WITHIN THEIR PAY STRUCTURE. I, FOR EXAMPLE, I DID A, A STUDY ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO FOR AN ORGANIZATION THAT WE DID THE ORIGINAL STUDY FOR SIX YEARS AGO. AND I LOOKED AT THE PERCENTAGE SIX YEARS AGO THAT WERE AT THE MIDPOINT OR ABOVE. AND JUST A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO WHEN I CAME BACK AND DID IT AGAIN, THAT PERCENTAGE HADN'T CHANGED MUCH. THEY HAD AN OPEN RANGE SYSTEM, AND THE ONLY ADJUSTMENTS THEY WERE GIVING WERE COST OF LIVING. SO EMPLOYEES REALLY WEREN'T PROGRESSING, UH, THROUGH THE PAY STRUCTURE. AND THIS WAS CREATING WHAT WE CALL SALARY COMPRESSION, WHERE NEW EMPLOYEES WERE COMING IN, MAKING CLOSE, IF NOT MORE THAN PEOPLE HAD BEEN THERE FOR A WHILE. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT WITH A STEP OF GRADE, UH, SYSTEM, OF COURSE, MOTIVATION AND RETENTION. I BELIEVE IN THE, UH, PREVIOUS PRESENTATION BY AMBER, WHICH WAS EXCELLENTLY DONE BY THE WAY, I BELIEVE SHE MENTIONED THAT SOME FOLKS HAD COMMENTED ABOUT THE DESIRE FOR A LONGEVITY SYSTEM. UH, UH, AND THERE'S ALSO, UH, A DESIRE FOR SOME MERIT INCREMENT, UH, OR PROCESS TO BE ADDED, WHICH IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO WITH THE STEP AND GRADE SYSTEM SO WE CAN ADDRESS LONGEVITY OR RETENTION. AND WE ALSO CAN ADDRESS, UH, UH, THE MERIT COMPONENT TO REWARD THOSE OUTSTANDING, UH, EMPLOYEES THAT WORK FOR THE COUNTY. AND OF COURSE, UH, FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE ECONOMY. ECONOMY. THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, UH, IN, IN FLUX AT THE MOMENT. BUT FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT, THIS TYPICALLY GIVES US A FIXED AND, UH, PREDICTABLE, UH, BUDGET PROCESS IN TERMS OF PAYROLL EXPENSE, WHICH IS TYPICALLY THE LARGEST EXPENSE, UH, IN THE ORGANIZATION. SO THERE'S A LOT OF POSITIVES TO GO ALONG WITH A STEP OF GRADE SYSTEM. AND JUST THE LAST TWO HERE SUPPORTS, UH, OBJECTIVE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT. UM, A LOT OF EMPLOYEES, UH, WANT THE MERIT PAY AS WE TALKED ABOUT. HOWEVER, WE OFTEN MUST REMIND THEM THAT THE BASIC PREMISE OR OBJECTIVE OF A PERFORMANCE EVALUATION OR PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROGRAM IS TO IDENTIFY STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE EMPLOYEE AND PROVIDE A MECHANISM BY WHICH THEY CAN OVERCOME OR IMPROVE ANY WEAKNESSES. AS A SECONDARY ITEM, UH, WE CAN USE IT, UH, AS A, UH, MECHANISM TO REWARD, UH, PAY BASED ON, UH, ACTUAL JOB PERFORMANCE. ALSO FACILITATES PAY COMPARABILITY. WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, THIS KIND OF GOES IN LINE A LITTLE BIT WITH THE INTERNAL EQUITY. I TALKED ABOUT MAKING SURE, UH, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE COMPETITIVE, UH, BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNALLY, CERTAINLY WITH OTHER PUBLIC ENTITIES, UH, WITHIN THE REGION, UH, AS WELL AS SOME OF COMPARABLE SIZE AROUND THE STATE. HERE IS ONE OF THREE PLANS THAT WE CREATED. THE FIRST ONE HERE IS WHAT WE CALL THE UNIFIED PLAN. IF YOU DID NOT WORK IN PUBLIC SAFETY OR YOU DID NOT WORK IN THE DETENTION CENTER, YOUR POSITION, UH, WILL BE ON THE UNIFIED PLAN. UH, THE UNIFIED PLAN, UH, STARTS AT GRADE 3 0 1 AND ACTUALLY HAS A PAY SCALE THAT GOES ALL THE WAY UP TO THREE 50. ALTHOUGH I'M NOT GONNA SHOW YOU THE ENTIRE, UH, SCALE , IT'D BE QUITE LENGTHY. BUT ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, YOU SEE THE PAY GRADES. AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT 3 0 1, WHICH IS THE LOWEST LEVEL GRADE, UH, IN THE UNIFIED PLAN, AND YOU MOVE TO THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE THE STEPS STARTING TO BREAK DOWN FOR YOU. THERE'S 25 STEPS ASSOCIATED WITH THE UNIFIED PLAN. UH, THERE [01:00:01] ARE 2% INCREMENTS IN BETWEEN EACH STEP. SO IF YOU GO FROM STEP ONE TO STEP TWO, THERE'S A 2% DIFFERENCE, AND THEY COMPOUND ALL THE WAY OUT TO STEP 25. NOW, WHEN WE GO VERTICALLY FROM GRADE 3 0 1 TO 3 0 2 TO 3 0 3, THERE'S A 5% DIFFERENTIAL BETWEEN GRADES. WHEN WE TYPICALLY DO THESE TYPE OF STUDIES, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAVE A UNIFORM PAY STRUCTURE. SO TYPICALLY WE'RE GONNA HAVE VERTICALLY 5% BETWEEN GRADES, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE A MINIMUM OF 2% INCREMENT IN BETWEEN, UH, THE DIFFERENT STEPS. NOW, LET'S SAY, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, NEXT JULY 1ST TO START OF NEXT FISCAL YEAR, COUNCIL DECIDES TO, UH, PROVIDE A 3.5% COST OF LIVING, UH, UH, RAISE TO EMPLOYEES. ALL YOU WOULD NEED TO DO WOULD BE TO ADJUST THE ENTIRE STEPS SCALE BY 1.5%. 'CAUSE THERE'S ALREADY 2% IN BETWEEN INCREMENTS. YOU'D ADJUST IT BY 1.5%, AND THEN THE EMPLOYEE WOULD MOVE, UH, ONE GRADE AND THEY WOULD AUTOMATICALLY RECEIVE A, A 3.5%, UH, COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT. AND THE OTHER COMPONENT IS WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT HOW WE USE THIS, UH, FOR MERIT, UH, PROMOTION AND RECLASSIFICATION REQUEST AS WELL. SO THAT'S PAID PLAN NUMBER ONE. UH, WE'RE GONNA GO BACK HERE. UH, PAY PLAN NUMBER TWO IS PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, WHICH INCLUDES, UH, SHERIFF'S, UH, POSITIONS, UH, AS WELL AS OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT, UH, AND OUR PUBLIC SAFETY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. THERE ARE 25 GRADES IN THAT PLAN AS WELL. 25 STEPS. AND AS I FAILED TO MENTION WITH THE UNIFIED PLAN, THE RANGE SPREAD FROM STEP ONE TO STEP 25 TO 60%, UM, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS OF YOUR SIZE THROUGHOUT THE STATE, THAT WE STILL HAVE THE SAME 5% BETWEEN GRADES, AND WE HAVE THE 2% INCREMENT, UH, IN BETWEEN THE, UH, STEPS. AND HERE IS A, UH, SNAPSHOT OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY PLAN, WHICH STARTS WITH THE 200 SERIES GRADING. THE LOWEST LEVEL POSITION IS GRADE 2 0 1, AND THE TABLE RUNS OUT ALL THE WAY OUT TO TWO 50 IF WE NEEDED TO. BUT YOU'LL SEE THE 25 STEPS WITH THE, UH, SPREAD BEING, UH, AS I SAID, 60% FROM STEP ONE TO STEP 25, 5% IN BETWEEN GRADES, AND 2% IN BETWEEN EACH STEP. NOW, THE DETENTION, UH, DETENTION CENTER PAY STRUCTURE HAS 14 PAY GRADES. THERE'S ONE FLAT GRADE, AND I'M GONNA EXPLAIN THAT IN A MOMENT. 25 ADDITIONAL STEPS. AND THE RANGE OF THE STEP, A RANGE OF THE PLAN IS, IS UP TO 60% FROM STEP ONE TO TW UH, STEP 25, THE INCREMENT BETWEEN STEP RANGES FROM 4.6 TO UH, UH, 6.7, UH, BECAUSE OF THE WAY WE TIERED IT. AND THEN THE INCREMENT BETWEEN THE STEPS IS, IS ZERO 2%. ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT THE DIRECTOR AND ATTENTION CENTER IS TRYING TO ADDRESS IS TO MOTIVATE PEOPLE TO WANNA SEEK PROMOTION, TO BECOME SUPERVISORS IN MANAGEMENT. UP UNTIL THIS POINT, YOU HAVE SOME PEOPLE WHO WON'T SEEK, UH, UH, HIGHER POSITIONS WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION AT THE DETENTION CENTER, AND THEY'LL STAY AT THE LOWEST LEVEL, WHICH IS A BASIC, UH, DETENTION OFFICER. THEY AREN'T OVERTIME AND THEY'RE NOT MOTIVATED TO MOVE UP WELL, BASED ON SOME ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES SHE'S WORKING WITH HR ON. YOU CAN ONLY STAY AS A BASIC, UH, UH, OFFICER IN THE DETENTION CENTER FOR SO LONG. UH, THEN YOU, YOU WOULD NO LONGER BE ELIGIBLE, UH, FOR, UH, A, A COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT. YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO WANT TO BE PROMOTED WITHIN THE STRUCTURE. UH, AND THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR SUCCESSION PLANNING. UH, THAT'S IMPORTANT, UH, FOR, UH, CREATING THAT SECOND, UH, LAYER OF, UH, SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT WITHIN THE DETENTION CENTER. UM, IN TERMS OF THE INCREMENT BETWEEN, UH, GRADES, IT'S 4.6 TO 6.75. AS YOU ARE WELL AWARE, DETENTION AROUND THE STATE IS A DIFFICULT JOB TO FEEL. AND STAFF. I'VE OFTEN SAID IF, IF WE MADE THE BASE SALARY A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, WE STILL COULDN'T FEEL EVERY POSITION BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST MONEY. IT'S ABOUT THE WORK ENVIRONMENT. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SPECIAL TYPE OF MENTALITY TO WANT TO DEAL WITH SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WHEN YOU WORK IN A DETENTION CENTER. AND SO THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE ADJUSTED THE, UH, THE GRADE STRUCTURE, UH, THE WAY WE DID THERE. UM, AND STILL THEY'RE ELIGIBLE UP TO THE, THE 2% IN TERMS OF STEP MOVE, UH, WITHIN THE DETENTION CENTER. AND THIS IS THE DETENTION CENTER PAY STRUCTURE, UH, WHICH STARTS WITH SERIES, UH, 400. UH, SO WE HAVE THE UNIFIED PLAN, WHICH INCLUDES ALL THOSE POSITIONS AND EMPLOYEES THAT ARE NOT PART OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND DO NOT WORK IN THE DETENTION CENTER. THE SECOND PLAN IS THE PUBLIC SAFETY PLAN. AND THE THIRD PLAN IS THE DETENTION CENTER. AND THAT COVERS ALL THE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE UNDER THE COUNTY'S, UH, COMPENSATION CLASSIFICATION PLAN, INCLUDING THE ELECTED OFFICES. SO TO TRANSITION FROM, UH, THE OPEN RANGE PLAN TO THE STEP PLAN, THERE'S A COST ASSOCIATED WITH THAT BECAUSE EVERYBODY [01:05:01] HAS TO HAVE A STARTING POINT. SO WHAT WE DO LOOKED AT THEIR CURRENT SALARY, WE LOOKED AT THE PLANS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE ASSIGNED TO, AND THEN WE ROUNDED UP TO THE CLOSEST STEP ON THE, ON THE PLAN THEY'RE GONNA BE ASSIGNED TO. AND THAT'S HOW WE DETERMINE WHAT THE INITIAL STEP PLACEMENT IS GOING TO BE TO GET THINGS STARTED AND TO WRITE RIGHT NOW, TO TRANSITION, UH, FROM THE, UH, CURRENT OPEN RANGE PLAN TO THE STEP PLAN, UH, IS A LITTLE OVER $587,000, WHICH IS LESS THAN, UH, 2% OF CURRENT PAYROLL. UH, AND THEN FROM THERE, THEY'LL MOVE BASED ON SOME COMBINATION OF, OF KOHLER AND MERIT, OR THEY COULD JUST MOVE STRICTLY BASED ON, ON, ON MERIT, MERIT PAY, POLICY AND STRUCTURE. UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU HAVE TO ADHERE TO WHEN YOU IMPLEMENT A MERIT PAY SYSTEM IS YOU'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE GOT THREE ELEMENTS. AND THESE THREE ELEMENTS ARE CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OR FAILURE. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'VE WORKED WITH A LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND THEY FALL SHORT ON ONE OF THESE THREE ELEMENTS. I'M GONNA, UH, I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU. AND THEN THE WHOLE, UH, MERIT PROGRAM BECOMES IN FLUX. NUMBER ONE, YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE A GOOD SYSTEM, A INSTRUMENT THAT THE EMPLOYEES BELIEVE HAS CRITERIA THAT IS APPLICABLE TO THEIR POSITION. THEY GENERALLY THINK THE SUPERVISOR, UH, CAN, CAN HONESTLY APPRAISE THEIR PERFORMANCE BASED ON THE CRITERIA THAT'S RELEVANT TO THE TYPE OF WORK THEY'RE DOING. SO A GOOD SYSTEM IS NUMBER ONE. NUMBER TWO, I DON'T CARE IF YOU'VE BEEN HERE 20, 30, OR 40 YEARS, THAT SHOULD BE SOME TYPE OF REFRESHER TRAINING IN PLACE EVERY YEAR TO NOT ONLY OUTLINE THE RESULTS OF THE, UH, UH, MOST CURRENT CYCLE IN TERMS OF WHERE'S OUR BAIL CURVE, HOW MANY DEPARTMENTS WERE OUTSIDE THE BAIL CURVE ON THE POSITIVE END, HOW MANY SCORED ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF THAT BAIL CURVE. AND THEN YOU DO THAT BY DEPARTMENT, AND YOU DO THAT BY, UH, EMPLOYEES. SO THAT'S AN ELEMENT OF TRANSPARENCY, UH, THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE. AND YOU'VE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS ARE TRAINED. I'VE SEEN, I CAN'T COUNT THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT I'VE SEEN THAT DIDN'T MANAGE ANYBODY, AND WERE CONSIDERED GOOD EMPLOYEES. EVERYBODY APPLAUDED THEM, PAT THEM ON THE BACK AND SAID, UH, YOU'RE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB. BUT THEN WHEN THEY MOVED UP INTO THE RANKS OF SUPERVISION AND MANAGEMENT, THEY STRUGGLE. THEY STRUGGLE WITH UNDERSTANDING POLICY. THEY STRUGGLE WITH, UH, UH, GIVING DIRECTIONS AND DELEGATING TO, UH, SUBORDINATES. AND SO BEING IN A POSITION WHERE YOU'RE MANAGING SUPERVISORS AND OTHERS IS THE HARDEST ASPECT OF ANY JOB YOU'LL EVER HAVE. AND I'VE SEEN GOOD EMPLOYEES WHO ALL OF A SUDDEN BECAME SUPERVISORS AND MANAGEMENT STRUGGLE, NOT NECESSARILY BECAUSE OF FAULT OF THEIR OWN, BECAUSE THE ORGANIZATION FAILED THEM AND DID NOT GIVE THEM THE TOOLS AND THE TRAINING THEY NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL. SO YOU GOTTA HAVE THAT TRAINING ALONG WITH THE, UH, GOOD SYSTEM. AND THEN NUMBER THREE, IF YOU'RE GONNA GO DOWN THAT ROAD, YOU'VE GOTTA MAKE A COMMITMENT TO FUND IT. UH, I'VE SEEN SOME SITUATIONS WHERE THE ORGANIZATIONS SAID THEY WANT DO IT, BUT AFTER TWO YEARS, ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WAS SHE. UH, AND THAT CREATES, UH, SOME MORALE PROBLEMS. I KNOW EMPLOYEES MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IF BUDGET AVAILABILITY EXISTS, UH, TO FUND MERIT, THEN MORE THAN LIKELY IT'LL BE, UH, UH, IMPLEMENTED. BUT, UH, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT THE GOVERNING BODY UNDERSTANDS IF YOU'RE GONNA MAKE THAT COMMITMENT, YOU GOTTA STICK TO IT. AND YOU GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT THE RAISES, RAISES ACTUALLY MEAN SOMETHING. THERE'S MEANING BEHIND THE RAISE. YOU KNOW, SOMEONE WHO EXCEEDS EXPEC EXPECTATIONS WINDS UP GETTING A, A PAY INCREASE. AND AFTER TAXES AND HEALTH INSURANCE, IT EQUATES TO $8 AND 50 CENTS EVERY TWO WEEKS. THAT'S NOT MUCH OF INCENTIVE TO WANT TO GIVE 110%. SO YOU WANNA MAKE SURE THERE, THERE ARE RAISES THAT PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY QUANTIFY. AND EMPLOYEES ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE STU, THEY KNOW THIS IS NOT A PRIVATE COMPANY WHERE PROFITS CAN DICTATE, UH, PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES. IT'S THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT. THERE'S ONLY, UH, SO MUCH YOU CAN DO IN TERMS OF COMPENSATION. BUT THERE IS MEANS I BELIEVE IN, IN VIRTUALLY ANY ORGANIZATION TO MAKE IT, UH, MEANINGFUL. UH, FOR THOSE THAT TRULY DESERVE RECOGNITION, BEYOND THE BASICS OF DOING WHAT'S ON THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION, UH, THE PERFORMANCE, UH, APPRAISAL SYSTEM YOU HAVE IN PLACE. I'VE REVIEWED IT. I THINK IT'S A GOOD SYSTEM, UH, SOLID CRITERIA. AND AS YOU MOVE FORWARD OVER TIME, YOU'LL TWEAK IT AND ADJUST IT. IT EVOLVES OVER TIME. IT'S NOT STATIC. UM, AND SO ULTIMATELY IT SHOULD, UH, ACCESS, UH, JOB KNOWLEDGE, IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY, COMMUNICATION, INNOVATION, ALIGN WITH THE GOALS OF THE COUNTIES. UH, PERFORMANCE RATINGS DETERMINE MERIT ELIGIBILITY, AND LEVEL OF PAY ADJUSTMENT. SUPERVISORS PROVIDE WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION FOR RECOMMENDATIONS TO ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY. FOR EXAMPLE, AS A SUPERVISOR AND AS AN ORGANIZATION, YOUR GOAL IS TO GET AS MANY PEOPLE IN THEIR ORGANIZATION TO SCORE MEETING EXPECTATIONS. THAT MEANS THEY'RE DOING WHAT'S ON THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION AS AN EMPLOYER, THAT'S REALLY ALL YOU CAN ASK IS, YOU, YOU DO WHAT WE'VE LAID OUT, AND YOU DRIVE DESCRIPTION THAT IS SOMEWHAT OF A QUASI CONTRACT BETWEEN, UH, THE EMPLOYEE AND THE ORGANIZATION. SO IF YOU'RE MEETING EXPECTATION, THERE SHOULD BE SOME INDUCEMENT THERE. BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO EXCEED EXPECTATION? THAT BY DEFINITION MEANS THEY'RE DOING BEYOND WHAT'S ON THE JOB DESCRIPTION, AND THERE SHOULD BE SOME MERIT. AND YOU'VE GOTTA BUILD IN SOME THINGS. AND I BELIEVE CATHERINE AND HER STAFF HAVE DONE AN EXCELLENT JOB OF BUILDING IN SOME CHECKS AND BALANCES. SO IF AN EMPLOYEE EXCEEDS [01:10:01] EXPECTATIONS, NOT ONLY DO THEY GET THEIR NUMERICAL SCORE, BUT THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING IN WRITING DICTATING WHAT MERITORIOUS, UH, UH, UH, WORK. HAVE THEY DONE WHAT, UH, SPECIAL PROJECT, OR DID THEY, UH, GENERATE SOME COST SAVINGS? OR DID THEY, UH, YOU KNOW, HELP, UH, SOMEONE IN THE PUBLIC, UH, UH, ACCESS SERVICES. BUT THERE NEEDS TO BE SOMETHING IN WRITING TO, UH, DOCUMENT THOSE THAT EXCEED EXPECTATION. AND THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING IN WRITING TO IDENTIFY THOSE WHO ARE BELOW EXPECTATION, WHICH MEANS THEY'RE NOT PERFORMING ALL OF THE ELEMENTS LAID OUT ON THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION. AND SO THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU LAY OUT WHAT THE EMPLOYEE NEEDS TO IMPROVE ON. AND IT'S, IT'S NOT ENOUGH JUST TO SAY, WELL, YOU'RE NOT VERY STRONG IN LEADERSHIP, OR YOU'RE NOT VERY STRONG IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT. IT NEEDS TO BE DETAILED. NOT ONLY DOCUMENT THE NATURE OF THE DEFICIENCY, BUT IT ALSO SHOULD HAVE A PLAN OF HOW THEY CAN OVERCOME THAT DEFICIENCY. WHETHER THAT'S BEING ASSIGNED TO A MENTOR MORE, UH, MORE SENIOR PERSON IN THE DEPARTMENT, OR TAKING SOME TYPE OF, OF COURSE, UH, OR, OR SOME INSTRUCTION, UH, WHETHER IT BE ONLINE OR FROM COUNTY, UH, HR STAFF. BUT IT NEEDS TO LAY OUT A PLAN BY WHICH THEY CAN IMPROVE, UH, UH, THEIR PERFORMANCE. YOU KNOW, AS SOMEONE WHO CAME FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AND, UH, AND EACH TIME I, UH, RELOCATED TO ANOTHER, UH, ORGANIZATION, I'D ALWAYS GO INTO THE PERSONNEL FILES OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE REPORTING UP TO ME. OFTEN I WOULD FIND THERE WERE NO PERFORMANCE REVIEWS AT ALL ABOUT SOME OF THE FOLKS I WAS ABOUT TO INHERIT. AND THEN SOMETIMES I'D INHERIT FOLKS IN THERE. UH, PERFORMANCE REVIEWS WERE MERITORIOUS. THEY WERE GETTING FOURS AND FIVES ON A SCALE OF ONE TO FIVE, BUT THERE WAS NOTHING TO, UH, IDENTIFY FOR ME. WHY WERE THEY GETTING FOURS AND FIVES? AND THEN WHEN I CAME IN, IN THE FIRST YEAR, I DID THEIR REVIEW, AND I GAVE THEM MAYBE THREES. THEY FELT SLIGHTLY. SO REALLY, THE GOAL IS TO GET EVERYBODY TO MEET THE EXPECTATIONS. I'VE DONE SOME RESEARCH AND REVIEW. TYPICALLY IN AN ORGANIZATION, IF YOU CAN GET, UH, AT LEAST THREE FOURTHS OF YOUR EMPLOYEES TO MEET EXPECTATIONS ON THEIR PERFORMANCE REVIEW, YOU CAN INCREASE OVERALL PRODUCTIVITY IN THE ORGANIZATION SOMEWHERE BETWEEN, UH, 10 AND 15%. SO THAT'S A REALISTIC STANDARD AND ONE THAT YOU SHOULD SHOOT FOR. AND THEN ALONG THE WAY, YOU WILL HAVE SOME WHO, WHO EXCEED THAT. UH, MERIT RECOMMENDATIONS ARE REVIEWED BY DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, HR, AND ADMINISTRATION FOR ACCURACY AND FAIRNESS. OFTENTIMES, WE TALK ABOUT BEING TOUGH ON, UH, THE FRONTLINE SUPERVISORS, UH, AND MANAGERS WHO ARE GRADING THE SUPPORT AFTER THEM. BUT I ARGUE YOU'VE GOTTA BE EQUALLY TOUGH ON, ON DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS, UH, AND ABOVE TO MAKE SURE THEY SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM. AND WHEN THEY GET PERFORMANCE REVIEWS, UH, FROM THE DEPARTMENTS UNDERNEATH THEM, THAT THEY POINT OUT DEFICIENCIES, WHETHER IT IS A LACK OF DOCUMENTATION SUPPORTING, UH, SOMEONE WHO EXCEEDS OR UNDERPERFORMS. UH, AND IF THEY SEE A TREND BY CERTAIN, UM, SUPERVISORS IN THE DEPARTMENTS THEY SUPERVISE, THEY NEED TO, UH, CALL THAT OUT. UH, AND THEY NEED TO SEND THEM BACK TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE REVIEWED, UH, APPROPRIATELY. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT HR, IF ANY, ARE SUBMITTED TO HR AND THEY'RE NOT PROPERLY VETTED AT THE DEPARTMENT LEVEL. THEY WILL BE SENT BACK AND THE DEPARTMENT HEAD WILL BE ASKED TO CORRECT, UH, THOSE, UH, THOSE REVIEWS IN TERMS OF MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S WRITTEN, UH, DOCUMENTATION NOTING, UH, EXCEPTIONAL OR UNDERPERFORMING, UH, EMPLOYEES KEY COMPONENTS OF AMERIT PAY POLICY CONSISTENT WITH, UH, BEAUFORT COUNTY AND OTHER ORGANIZATIONS. OBVIOUSLY, COUNCIL HAS TO DESIGNATE ANNUAL, ANNUAL FUNDING, UH, BASED ON THE BUDGET, UH, ASSUMING A RECOMMENDATION THAT COMES FROM HR TO THE ADMINISTRATOR, AND THEN ULTIMATELY TO THE COUNCIL. UH, EMPLOYEES MAY RECEIVE A BASE SALARY INCREASE OR A LUMP, UH, SUM, ONE TIME ADJUSTMENT IF THEY'RE AT THE TOP OF THE RANGE. AND THIS IS IMPORTANT EMPLOYEES IN A STEP SYSTEM. THERE WILL BE SOME, UH, LONG-TERM EMPLOYEES WHO WILL RISE TO THE MAXIMUM, UH, OF THEIR, UH, UH, PAY GRADE, UH, AND STEP, BUT THEY SHOULDN'T BE PENALIZED FOR THAT. UH, MANY OF THEM SHOULD BE, UH, TOP PERFORMING EMPLOYEES. AND SO WHEN THEY ARE DUE A PERFORMANCE INCREASE AFTER THEY'VE REACHED STEP 25, THAT, UH, PERCENTAGE INCREASE WILL BE PROVIDED TO THEM AS A LUMP SUM ADJUSTMENT. AND PLEASE DON'T MISTAKE THAT FOR, UH, A BONUS. I'VE HAD TO FIGHT THAT FIGHT WITH COUNCILS AROUND THE STATE. MM-HMM . IT IS NOT A BONUS. IT'S SIMPLY A DIFFERENT WAY OF PAYING IT. IT'S A LUMP SUM PAYMENT. UH, HR CONDUCTS EQUITY REVIEWS TO IDENTIFY AND PREVENT PAY DISPARITIES ACROSS, UH, DEPARTMENTS. MAKING SURE, AS I SAID, WHEN WE RUN THAT BILL CURVE, LOOKING AT THOSE DEPARTMENTS AND GRADERS ON BOTH SIDES OF THAT CURVE TO SEE WHO'S PERHAPS GRADING LENIENTLY. AND THOSE THAT ARE MAYBE, UH, GRADING A LITTLE TOO STRICTLY, UH, AS IT RELATES TO SUPPORTING THE PROGRAM. AND SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE, UH, FOR MAKING SURE IT'S FAIR, IT'S EQUITABLE, AND THE PERFORMANCE REVIEWS ARE UNBIASED. MERIT PAY RATING LEVELS, UM, EXCEED STANDARDS IS AN EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE FREQUENTLY EXCEEDS EXPECTATION. AN EMPLOYEE IN THIS CATEGORY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A TWO STEP INCREASE OR A LUMP SUM PAYMENT [01:15:01] IF THEY ARE EXCEED, UH, UH, STANDARDS. SOMEONE WHO'S A STRONG PERFORMER, WHICH WOULD BE I WOULD THINK IS, UH, ONE OF THE SECOND LARGEST POOL OF EMPLOYEES IN THE ORGANIZATION, IS SOMEONE WHO CONSISTENTLY EXCEEDS, EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS DEMONSTRATION INITIATIVE AND ADDS VALUE. THEY'LL BE ELIGIBLE FOR ONE STEP, A SALARY INCREASE, BUT THEN THE MAJORITY OF THE EMPLOYEES SHOULD FALL WITH MEETS EXPECTATION, WHICH WOULD BE, AGAIN, A ONE, UH, STEP INCREASE IN THE PLAN. THIS PERSON IS A SOLID PERFORMER. CONSISTENT PERFORMANCE MEETS EXPECTATION DOES THE WORK AS IT'S LAID OUT IN THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION. NOW, WHEN WE GET ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE OF THINGS, UH, THERE'S NEEDS IMPROVEMENT. THIS IS SOMEONE WHOSE PERFORMANCE IS INCONSISTENT, JOB REQUIREMENTS, NOT, UH, FULLY MET, NOT ELIGIBLE FOR MERIT PAY IS PLACED ON SOME TYPE OF ADMINISTRATIVE IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND OR PROBATION, UH, PRO UH, PROBATION. AND THEN THERE'S SOMEONE WHO IS, UH, PERFORMING UNACCEPTABLE, PROBABLY SOMEONE WHO IS CLOSE TO HAVING THEIR, UH, EMPLOYMENT WITH THE COUNTY TERMINATED, FAILS TO MEET MINIMUM JOB EXPECTATIONS, NOT ELIGIBLE FOR MAYOR REQUIRES IMMEDIATE CORRECTIVE ACTION. AND SO THOSE ARE THE, UH, FIVE DIFFERENT LEVELS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PAY FOR PERFORMANCE SYSTEM THAT THE, UH, UH, HR DEPARTMENT AND THE COUNTY, UH, PLANS TO PUT IN PLACE. YOU CAN GO FROM UNACCEPTABLE ALL THE WAY UP TO EXCEEDS, UH, STANDARDS WITH THE TOP PERFORMERS, THOSE THAT ARE CONSIDERED STRONG PERFORMERS, AND THOSE THAT ARE EXCEEDING STANDARDS, UH, UH, ELIGIBLE FOR A TWO IF YOU EXCEED A STEP INCREASE. AND THEN IF YOU'RE A STRONG PERFORMER, UH, AS WELL AS MEETING EXPECTATIONS, YOU'RE ELIGIBLE FOR A, A ONE STEP, UH, INCREASE. ANYTHING BELOW THAT, UH, REQUIRES A PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN WITH, UH, SPECIFIC ACTION STEPS TO IMPROVE THAT PERFORMANCE AND A TIMEFRAME BY WHICH THEY NEED TO DO THAT. ONE OF THE OTHER ITEMS I NOTICED, UH, PART OF AMBER'S, UH, PRESENTATION THAT WAS MENTIONED IS SOME TYPE OF, UH, SYSTEM TO ACKNOWLEDGE, UH, LONG-TERM PERFORMANCE, UH, PERFORMANCE IN THE ORGANIZATION. UH, BACK IN, UH, FEBRUARY, I WAS OUT, UH, IN A CITY IN SOUTH TEXAS. AND I HAPPENED TO BE PRESENT PRESENTING AFTER THE SERVICE AWARDS WERE BEING, UH, GIVEN OUT TO EMPLOYEES. AND ONE OF THE LAST PEOPLE THAT WAS CALLED UP, UH, TO RECEIVE A SERVICE AWARD WAS AN EMPLOYEE FROM PUBLIC WORKS, HAD BEEN A 45 YEARS, I COULDN'T IMAGINE. AND SO HE CAME UP AND GOT HIS, UH, CERTIFICATE, YOU KNOW, SAID HE WAS A 45 YEAR EMPLOYEE. THEY GAVE HIM A PEN, AND THAT WAS ALL HE GOT FOR 45 YEARS OF WORK, UH, TO THE ORGANIZATION. AND SO AFTERWARDS, I SAID TO THE HR DIRECTOR, YOU GUYS CAN DO BETTER. NOW, YOU KNOW HOW RARE IT IS IN TODAY'S LABOR MARKET TO HAVE AN EMPLOYEE WHO'S BEEN THERE OVER FOUR DECADES. THAT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN AGAIN. UH, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, I CAME BACK TO THE OFFICE WITH THE NEXT DAY AND I WAS WORKING, UH, WITH ANOTHER ORGANIZATION AND I SAID, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOMETHING TO BE SAID ABOUT RETENTION PAY IN THE ORGANIZATION. YOU GOT PEOPLE WHO ARE LOYAL, WHO'VE BEEN THROUGH, UH, TOUGH TIMES, WHETHER IT BE COVID OR RECOVERING FROM A STORM OR HURRICANE, AND THEY'VE BEEN WITH YOU THROUGH THE GOOD TIMES WHEN THINGS WERE ROBUST AND EVERYBODY WAS ON THE SURFACE ANYWAY, HAPPY. SO WHY NOT PROMOTE PEOPLE TO WANNA STICK AROUND AND STAY IN PUBLIC SERVICE BY ACKNOWLEDGING, UM, THEIR LENGTH OF SERVICE? AND SO THIS IS AN ADDITIONAL, UH, COMPENSATION ITEM THAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING. ULTIMATELY, THIS, YOU'LL DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT IT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO INCORPORATE INTO YOUR, YOUR COMPENSATION PLAN, BUT A RETENTION INCENTIVE PAY SCALE BASED ON ANNIVERSARY DATE. SO, FOR EXAMPLE, SOMEONE WHO COMPLETES ONE YEAR SERVICE IN THIS EXAMPLE, THEY GET A, A $200 LUMP SUM PAYMENT PRESENTED, YOU KNOW, DURING YOUR SERVICE AWARDS. UH, IT GOES UP TO TWO 50 AFTER TWO YEARS. UH, SOMEONE WHO COMPLETES THEIR FIFTH YEAR, UH, WOULD BE SIX 50, UH, 10TH YEAR WOULD BE 1200. BUT SOMEBODY WHO, YOU KNOW, COMPLETES 20 PLUS YEARS WITH THE ORGANIZATION, UH, UH, IS A $3,000 PAYMENT. AND I, I THINK IF YOU STEP BACK FOR A MINUTE AND YOU LOOK AT, UH, SOME OF THESE DOLLAR AMOUNTS IN AND OF THEMSELVES, THEY'RE NOT THAT GREAT, BUT THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH MONEY YOU'VE INVESTED IN, IN TRAINING AND DEVELOPING SOME OF THESE PEOPLE. IN SOME CASES, YOU'VE SPENT PROBABLY TENFOLD OF THE $3,000 TO INVEST AND TRAIN SOME OF THOSE PEOPLE, DEPENDING ON WHAT, UH, WHAT JOB THEY'RE IN. SOME OF 'EM MAY BE, UH, TALENT TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY'RE DOING A JOB, UH, OF MAYBE TWO PEOPLE HERE, WHERE IN SOME OTHER ORGANIZATION, MAYBE, UH, UH, UH, WELL, HERE THEY MAY BE DOING JOB, THE JOB OF TWO PEOPLE, BUT IN ANOTHER ORGANIZATION IT ACTUALLY TAKES TWO TO DO THE SAME JOB. AND SO OBVIOUSLY THE AMOUNTS CAN BE ADJUSTED AND YOU COULD CHANGE THE INTERVALS IF YOU LIKE. BUT I, I WOULD ASK THAT YOU CONSIDER DOING SOME TYPE OF RETENTION INCENTIVE, BECAUSE EVERY TIME YOU POST A JOB IN RECRUITMENT, THAT'S A COST, THAT'S A COST IN REAL DOLLARS TO GO THROUGH THE RECRUITMENT EFFORT. THAT'S A COST IN TERMS OF ALLOCATION OF TIME AND RESOURCES, BECAUSE IF A POSITION'S VACANT IT, THE JOB DOESN'T GO AWAY. YOU GOTTA PULL SOMEBODY FROM SOME OTHER DEPARTMENT TO FILL IN. AND SO, UH, THIS KIND OF, [01:20:01] UH, SWEETENS THE POT AND, AND, AND ENCOURAGES PEOPLE TO STAY, UH, AS AN EMPLOYEE WITH THE COUNTY. AND MY LAST ITEM, I KNOW YOU'RE PROBABLY SAYING, WHO IS THIS GUY? HE JUST COME HERE WANTING TO HAND OUT MONEY , IT'S WELL SPENT. BUT HERE, EDUCATION, LICENSURE AND CERTIFICATION. I THINK IT'S A GIVEN FACT THAT WHEN AN EMPLOYEE ENHANCES THEIR EDUCATION, OBTAINS AN ADDITIONAL LICENSE OR CERTIFICATION, IT ADDS TO THEIR JOB KNOWLEDGE. AND I DON'T JUST MEAN GOING OUT AND GETTING A TWO YEAR DEGREE OR SOME TYPE OF LICENSE JUST FOR THE SAKE OF HAVING IT. I MEAN, IT HAS TO BE RELEVANT TO YOUR CURRENT POSITION. I KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, I HOPE WE DON'T HAVE ANY IT PEOPLE IN HERE, BUT I COULD GO THE HR AND SIT DOWN AT A Q COMPUTER FOR AN HOUR AND I CAN COME BACK AND SHOW YOU 12 CERTIFICATIONS I GOT IN AN HOUR IN IT. 'CAUSE A LOT OF 'EM OUT THERE, A LOT OF 'EM DON'T CARRY A LOT OF WEIGHT OR A LOT OF MEAT, BUT, BUT YOU CAN'T GET THEM. BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT MEANINGFUL CERTIFICATIONS, MEANINGFUL LICENSURE AND DEGREES RELATED TO, UH, YOUR ACTUAL JOB WITH THE COUNTY AS AN INCENTIVE, UH, FOR PEOPLE TO, UH, WANT TO EXPAND THEIR, UH, KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL SKILL BY VIRTUE OF EDUCATION CERTIFICATION OR, OR, OR KNOWLEDGE. YOU KNOW, I, I OFTEN HEAR POLITICIANS TALK ABOUT AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM. WELL, THAT'S WHAT THE AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM COMES FROM EDUCATION AND TECHNICAL SKILL. AND SO WE WANT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DO THAT. AGAIN, UH, THE, THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS COULD BE ADJUSTED TO, TO FOR BUDGET OR FISCAL, UH, UH, REASONS. BUT I THINK SOMETHING TO FORMALLY ACKNOWLEDGE SOMEONE COMPLETING, UH, UH, A DEGREE OR EARNING A CERTIFICATION OR LICENSURE IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE APPLAUDED. UH, AND IF RESOURCES ALLOW SOME TYPE OF INCENTIVE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT. AND I PROMISE I'M NOT GONNA ASK FOR ANY MORE MONEY. , THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. IT'S ALWAYS A, A, A PLEASURE, UH, TO WORK WITH THE HR DEPARTMENT HERE. AND I, AND I SAID THIS NOT BECAUSE CATHERINE'S SITTING, UH, BEHIND ME, UH, BUT I'M GONNA SAY IT AGAIN IN FRONT OF, UM, HER BOSS AND THE LEADERSHIP OF COUNTY. SHE'S ONE OF THE BEST HR DIRECTORS IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, HANDS DOWN. AND, UH, I HOPE PEOPLE REALIZE ALL THE THINGS SHE KEEPS YOU OUT OF TROUBLE OF WHEN IT COMES TO EMPLOYMENT LAW. 'CAUSE SHE DOES A GREAT JOB WITH THAT. SO IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, I'LL BE HAPPY TO TAKE THOSE. YEAH. ALRIGHT, GO AHEAD. YES, MA'AM. SO I'M FROM THE WORLD OF EDUCATION. YES, MA'AM. AND I'M FROM OHIO, WHICH IS A LABOR STATE. SO I'M TOTALLY UNDERSTAND THE STEPS AND PAYING, UH, EXTRA FOR EDUCATION LICENSURE. SO I, I GET ALL THAT. WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT EDUCATION, LICENSURE, CERTIFICATION PAY, THAT'S A ONE TIME PAYMENT OR IS IT EVERY YEAR? UH, TYPICALLY A DEGREE IS, IS IS ATTACHED TO YOUR BASE PAY. 'CAUSE YOU'RE NEVER GONNA LOSE THAT DEGREE. CORRECT. BUT THE CERTIFICATIONS FOR LICENSURE, YOU USUALLY HAVE TO RENEW THOSE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. CORRECT. AS LONG AS YOU HOLD IT, YOU GET IT. BUT IF YOU DON'T MAINTAIN YOUR CERTIFICATION, IT'S TAKEN AWAY. AND I'M VERY WELL AWARE OF HOW SOME SUPERVISORS RATE EVERYBODY EXCEPTIONAL. MM-HMM . I WAS A SCHOOL PRINCIPAL, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU TAKE OVER STAFF AND WOW, EVERYBODY'S GOT GREAT REVIEWS. YES. AND THEN YOU FIND OUT THEY DON'T COME TO WORK ON TIME. THEY'RE TERRIBLE WITH KIDS, SO ON AND SO FORTH. SO THAT IS A DILEMMA THAT THE MANAGEMENT HAS TO FACE. YES, MA'AM. AND IT'S NOT AN EASY ONE BECAUSE IF ALICE ALREADY GOT FIVES FOR FIVE YEARS, I COME IN AND I SAY, YOU'RE PERFORMING AVERAGE, SO YOU'RE AT A THREE. YOU HAVE TO, THERE'S DIALOGUE THERE EXACTLY. TO MAKE HER FEEL BETTER. UM, I LIKE THE RETENTION PAY. I'M VERY USED TO THAT. SO THERE'S SOME REALLY GOOD PARTS OF THIS. I'M JUST LOOKING FORWARD TO HOW MUCH THE EVENTUAL PRICE TAG IT WILL BE. YES, MA'AM. I SAW THE FIRST HIT THERE. YES, MA'AM. UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? UM, JUST A COMMENT ON THE EVALUATION SYSTEM. YES, MA'AM. YOU HAD, YOU KNOW, IF YOU MEET THE STANDARDS OF YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION, YOU'RE ELIGIBLE FOR ONE STEP INCREASE. MM-HMM . THE STRONG PERFORMER STILL ONLY GETS ONE STEP INCREASE. THAT COULD BE A PROBLEM. IT COULD BE A PROBLEM. WE KIND OF WENT ROUND AND ROUND ABOUT THAT. UH, AND WE KIND OF SETTLED ON ONE. BUT, UH, THERE WAS SOME ARGUMENT THAT THEY SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE TWO AS WELL, WHICH I WOULDN'T HAVE ANY ISSUE WITH THAT AT ALL. BUT WE, WE WERE TRYING TO SET IT UP TO WHERE, YOU KNOW, HAVING SOME FISCAL DISCIPLINE, UH, UH, PUT INTO THE PROGRAM, UH, AND KNOWING THAT WE, YOU KNOW, WE WANT IT TO TAKE SOME TIME BEFORE YOU REACH THE TOP, BUT THAT IS A FAIR ARGUMENT. MM-HMM . I MEAN, I COULD SEE IT TOO MM-HMM . AND I COULD SEE THE EXCEPTIONAL PERSON GETTING TWO PLUS SOMETHING ELSE. YES. THAT IS NOT OUTTA THE REALM OF, UH, PROBABILITY. UM, I WOULD SAY WHEN, WHEN YOU ARE DOING THE INTERVIEW ON AN ANNUAL BASIS OF YOUR PERFORMANCE, UH, IN, I, I TOO WAS IN EDUCATION. MM-HMM [01:25:01] . AND MY PEOPLE THAT I SUPERVISED, WE SAT DOWN AND WE SET THE GOALS FOR THE YEAR, AND BASED UPON THOSE GOALS, IT WAS GONNA BE THEIR MERIT RAISE. SO THE FOLLOWING YEAR IT WAS VERY EASY MM-HMM . TO SAY, OKAY, YOU MET GOALS 1, 2, 3, AND FOUR, SO NOW YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOUR MERIT IS. AND THEY ALSO PUT DOWN WHAT THEY WANTED TO DO. IT WASN'T JUST ME TELLING THEM, YES SIR, IF YOU DO A, B, C, D, THIS IS WHAT YOU GET. YEAH. THEY WOULD ALSO SAY, I WANT TO DO THIS. ONE OF THE THINGS I'VE NOTICED AMONG, UH, HIGHLY EFFECTIVE SUPERVISORS IS THEY DON'T WAIT TO ONCE A YEAR TO MEET WITH EMPLOYEES. THEY MEET WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, THROUGHOUT, UM, IDENTIFYING, YOU KNOW, POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES. UM, I HAD, OH, YOU GO AHEAD. NO, YOU GO AHEAD. I'LL GO LAST. NO, NO, I GO, I GO, OH, YOU GOING TO GO LAST. OKAY. UM, WHAT I'M, I, AM I, LIKE, I WANT TO SEE MARY PAY. YES, SIR. I'VE BEEN ALWAYS CAUTIOUS ABOUT MOVING TOWARD MERIT PAY, AND SO I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU, UM, SYSTEMS THAT ARE VERY BIASED MM-HMM . AND, AND FROM WHAT I'M HEARING FROM YOU IS THAT, UM, THERE ARE WAYS TO DETERMINE, UM, BIASES IN THE SYSTEM. CORRECT. UM, SO, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF THAT AND, AND, AND YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UH, WE HAVE A VERY HIGHLY, UM, DESIRABLE PERSON IN HUMAN RESOURCE. I'M GOING TO LEAN ON MERIT PAY BECAUSE OF, UM, WHAT YOU ARE RECOMMENDING IN OUR STAFF. BUT, UM, I DO KNOW THAT, UM, IN SOUTH CAROLINA, UM, IT'S A GOOD OLD BOY SYSTEM AND THERE'S A LOT OF BUDDY BUDDY AND YOU, YOU ONLY SEE THE BUDDY GETTING ADVANCED AND GETTING PAID MM-HMM . VERSUS THOSE WHO, UM, ARE THERE WHO ARE DOING THE JOB, OR YOU CAUSE DISSENSION IN THE RANK BECAUSE OF THAT. SO, UM, I'M LEANING MORE AND MORE TO AGREEING TO A MERIT PAY FOR, I, I THINK ALONG THE WAY THAT THERE, THERE ARE MULTIPLE LEVELS WHERE PEOPLE ARE IN PLACE TO IDENTIFY THOSE THINGS. AND THEN CERTAINLY THE, THE ABILITY TO ADDRESS THOSE QUICKLY AND EFFECTIVELY, UH, UH, IS AVAILABLE FROM THE HR DEPARTMENT. AND SO MAKING SURE THAT DEPARTMENT HEADS AND ACAS ARE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS AND PEOPLE UNDERNEATH THEM, AND THEN THE MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS ARE BEING TRAINED EFFECTIVELY. AND THEN I THINK ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS IS TO, WHETHER YOU PUBLISH IT IN YOUR, UH, UH, EMPLOYEE, UH, NEWSLETTER OR, UH, SOME TYPE OF FORM OF PRESENTATION, BUT PUT ON A BIG SHOW OF, OF, OF, OF THE RECENT CYCLE, YOU KNOW, EXCUSE ME. WE HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, 60% OF OUR EMPLOYEES MEET EXPECTATIONS DOING WHAT'S ON THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION. WE ONLY HAD, YOU KNOW, 5% OF OUR PEOPLE WERE SUBSTANTIALLY BELOW EXPECTATION. AND THEN YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ZERO IN ON THE RAIDERS TOO, IDENTIFYING THOSE WHO TENDED TO SCORE, UH, EVERYONE ABOVE THE MEETS EXPECTATION AND DRILL DOWN AND IDENTIFY THOSE FOLKS AND MEET WITH THOSE FOLKS TO MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND HOW TO DO IT, HOW TO GO ABOUT APPRAISING THE PERFORMANCE OF OTHERS, OR MAKING SURE THEY'RE INTERPRETING THE CRITERIA CORRECTLY. AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT INTENTIONALLY TRYING TO SABOTAGE THE PROGRAM, WHICH CAN HAPPEN. BUT I THINK WHEN YOU HAVE THOSE BUILT IN CHECKS AND BALANCES, MORE TIMES THAN NOT, IT'S GONNA WORK AND IT'S GONNA WORK SUCCESSFULLY. THANK YOU. I HAVE ONE OTHER, OH, OKAY. WELL, I I YOU GO AHEAD. YEAH. UM, I, I DID SEE THAT YOU HAD PUBLIC SERVICE AND WE KNOW OUR SHERIFF HAS HIS OWN YES. WAY OF DOING THINGS. IS IT POSSIBLE FOR US IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE ARENA TO DEAL WITH FIRE EMS? I'LL LET CATHERINE ADDRESS THAT. . THANK YOU DR. CAMPBELL. UM, YES, TO CLARIFY, WE DO NOT HAVE THE SHERIFF'S POSITIONS ON OUR PAY PLAN. THEY HAVE A SEPARATE PAY PLAN. SO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY IS EMS AND AIRPORT USED TO ALSO FOLD INTO DETENTION CENTER, BUT THEY'RE SEPARATE FOR THE REASONS WE DISCUSSED. SO, UM, TO, TO YOUR POINT, WE DO NOT OVERSEE THE PAYROLL FOR THE FIRE EMPLOYEES. SO THAT'S WHY WE DO NOT HAVE THEM INCORPORATED. UM, OR LIKE I JUST MENTIONED THE SHERIFF. OKAY. UM, I, I, I WOULD, I WAS FEDERAL EMPLOYEE, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. AND I'M VERY GLAD THAT WE ARE THINKING ABOUT THIS BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WHO'S, WHO'S BEING PAID WHAT. IT'S VERY TRANSPARENT WHEN YOU HAVE A SYSTEM LIKE WHAT YOU'RE PROPOSING. YES, MA'AM. I, I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE RETENTION PAY BASED ON NUMBER OF YEARS. I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER INCENTIVE. 'CAUSE WE TEND TO STEAL FROM EACH OTHER IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, THE DIFFERENT LOCAL [01:30:01] GOVERNMENTS HIRE OTHER PEOPLE, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS. UH, I THINK SOMETHING LIKE THAT WOULD I, NOT ANYMORE WITH THE LEADERSHIP THEY HAVE, BUT UH, WE'VE LOST SOME GOOD EMPLOYEES. MM-HMM . LIKE IN LICENSURE, WOULD IT BE THINGS LIKE CDL IF THEY GET THEIR CDL AND IT'S RELATED? UH, IT COULD BE, UH, CDL. MM-HMM . UM, COULD BE AN ADDITIONAL, UH, CERTIFICATION FOR SOMEONE AT THE DETENTION CENTER. MM-HMM . UM, IT COULD BE IN TREASURER OR AUDITOR OR ONE OF ELECTED OFFICIALS GETTING SOME TYPE OF CERTIFICATION OFFERED THROUGH THE MUNICIPAL ASSOCIATION. MM-HMM . UM, THERE, WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE ARE GETTING VALUE FOR THE MONEY, IS, IS A DIRECTIVE GO OUT, UH, FROM, UH, MR. MOORE THROUGH HR THAT ASK DEPARTMENT HEADS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL LICENSED JUROR CERTIFICATION AND DEGREES. SO, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL KNOW AHEAD OF TIME BEFORE THEY GET IT WHAT THEY CAN GET. OKAY. YEAH. VERY GOOD. ANY OTHER LAST COMMENTS? MORE QUESTION? I WAS GONNA SAY, WE HAD THAT DISCUSSION AS WELL, SO WE WOULD WANT GET INPUT FROM THE DEPARTMENTS AS FAR AS WHAT CERTIFICATIONS, WHAT WOULD BE ELIGIBLE. IT WOULD BE UNIQUE, I THINK, IN SOME CASES TO EACH DEPARTMENT. I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION. IN YOUR SLIDE 16, CAN YOU PULL THAT UP FOR US? SURE. IT'S A SUMMARY FOR BUFORD COUNTY. CAN WE GET BACK THERE? YEAH, BRING IT BACK. OKAY. THANK YOU. YEAH. ZIP IT UP THERE. SO, UM, IT SAYS, OKAY, YOU'RE GONNA CALL IT UP. SO IT SAYS THE PROPOSED PAYROLL INCREASE IS 0.9%, LET'S JUST CALL IT MM-HMM . AND NUMBER OF POSITIONS 1017 AND POSITIONS ADJUSTED IS 1003. THAT INCLUDED, UH, THE DATABASE THAT WE ORIGINALLY WORKING WITH. THAT INCLUDES SOME PEOPLE THAT WOULD NOT BE APPLICABLE. OKAY. BECAUSE THEN IT SAYS ONLY 14 ARE NOT ADJUSTED. THAT, THAT MEANS THERE ARE 14 PEOPLE THAT ARE, UM, OVER THE MAX AT THIS POINT IN TIME. OKAY. AND ADJUSTED TO THE MINIMUM 16. WE HAVE 16 PEOPLE YEAH. THAT ARE NOT AT THE MINIMUM OF THE STRUCTURE. OKAY. STEP ONE THAT WAS SO THEY WOULD MOVE UP RIGHT AWAY? YES, MA'AM. AND ADJUSTED TO STEP 1003 EMPLOYEES. MM-HMM . OH, OKAY. AND IF, IF I MAY, THAT'S, THAT'S TO GET THEM ON THE STEP TO THE PENNY. SO, UM, THE MAJORITY OF THE WORKFORCE MIGHT BE 75 CENT OFF OF THE ROUNDED UP STEPS. SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE MINIMAL INCREASES. BUT TO MAJORITY OF EMPLOYEES WOULD BE OKAY. THANKS. ONE MORE QUESTION. UM, SCHEDULE FOR IMPLEMENTATION. I'M LOOKING TO THAT. YEAH, WE WOULD LOOK TO IMPLEMENT THIS IN THE BUDGET. LIKE WE'VE ALREADY HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH PINKY ON THIS. OKAY. WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THIS AT THE BUDGET RETREAT. THIS WILL BE OBVIOUSLY A TOPIC TO COVER AS WELL THERE. WELL THANK, THANK BOTH OF YOU FOR THE WORK. THANK GREAT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. I APPRECIATE YOU. THANK YOU, DR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND, AND I JUST HAVE A COUPLE COMMENTS TOO. BACK TO MR. GLOVER. YOUR POINT. UM, THE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT DIVISION IN HR HAS BEEN HOSTING TRAININGS, UH, NOW FOR FOUR CONSECUTIVE YEARS, MANDATORY TRAININGS FOR OUR SUPERVISORS TO ATTEND. SO THEY UNDERSTAND HOW TO DO A MEANINGFUL UNBIASED EVALUATION. AND THIS YEAR ACTUALLY WE'VE NOW IMPLEMENTED A TWO LEVEL REVIEW FOR MANAGEMENT. SO IT DOESN'T JUST STOP AT THE BUCK WITH THE FIRST LEVEL SUPERVISOR, IT WILL GO UP TO THE SECOND LEVEL AND THE NEW SYSTEM OF NEO GOV THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED THROUGH OUR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT MODULE. WE ALSO HAVE A FEATURE WHERE WE CAN RUN A VERY QUICK REPORT TO SEE WHAT DOES CATHERINE NEED, HOW DOES SHE AVERAGE HER RATINGS TO MAKE SURE SHE'S NOT DOING FABS ACROSS THE BOARD FOR EVERYONE. SO THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF TOOLS NOW IN PLACE THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE IN 2020, UM, THAT HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL TO HELP BUILD US UP TO THIS POINT WHERE WE COULD GO BACK TO A MERIT PAY IF THAT IS THE DESIRE OF COUNSEL AND BE MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL WITH IT THAN WE WERE FIVE YEARS AGO. UM, AND THEN I THINK CHUCK, I'D LIKE TO INVITE HIM UP 'CAUSE HE WOULD LIKE TO SHARE A QUICK COMMENT BEFORE YOU INVITE, BEFORE YOU DO THAT. WHAT, OH, I'M SORRY, KIM. GO AHEAD KIM. WHAT SYSTEM DO WE HAVE IN PLACE TO GIVE THE EMPLOYEE, UH, UH, THE AVENUE OF, OF LETTING YOU KNOW THAT THEY FEEL THAT THEIR EVALUATION IS NOT ABSOLUTELY, THEY CAN DOCUMENT IT ON THEIR EVALUATION THAT THEY DO NOT AGREE WITH IT, AND THEN THEY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SUBMIT A WRITTEN REBUTTAL ON THAT AND WE CAN PULL REPORTS TO SEE WHO HAS SUBMITTED WRITTEN REBUTTALS. SO WE CAN ADDRESS THOSE ACCORDINGLY. OKAY. MS. MEADE, I, UM, JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT I, I APPRECIATE THE TWO, UH, SESSIONS BECAUSE THEY MERIT AND THEY MATCH AND IT MADE ME FEEL A WHOLE LOT MORE COMFORTABLE IN MOVING FORWARD. I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT. WELL, THANK YOU FOR THAT FEEDBACK. THANK YOU. AND CHUCK, SO I'LL MAKE THIS VERY BRIEF. UH, FIRST OF ALL, I HAVE WORKED WITH CATHERINE FOR A LOT OF YEARS AND I I ECHO THAT SHE IS A FANTASTIC HR DIRECTOR AND GIVES US INCREDIBLE SUPPORT. UM, VERY APPRECIATIVE FOR THAT. SO I WANNA GIVE A SUCCESS STORY THAT, UM, IN LARGE PART HAS BEEN BECAUSE OF CATHERINE [01:35:01] IN THE BUILDING CODES DEPARTMENT. AS YOU KNOW, BEFORE I WAS AN A CAI WAS THE BUILDING COACHS DIRECTOR HERE FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. FROM THE LATE 2008 NINES. UH, THROUGH ABOUT 2016, WE REALLY STRUGGLED WITH RETAINING BUILDING INSPECTORS. WE WOULD BRING THEM ON, WE WOULD SPEND A YEAR OR TWO TRAINING THEM, WE WOULD PAY THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS AND THEY WOULD ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, ONCE BECOMING CERTIFIED, BE DRAWN AWAY BY, UH, OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES. I WOULD SAY REGIONALLY, ANYWHERE FROM CHARLESTON TO SAVANNAH. THEY WOULD GO AWAY. AND IT WAS AN ONGOING JOKE THAT WE WERE SORT OF THE TECHNICAL, UM, INSTITUTE FOR BUILDING INSPECTORS IN THE REGION BECAUSE WE DID A REALLY GOOD JOB OF TRAINING THEM, BUT WE COULDN'T KEEP THEM THROUGH IMPLEMENTING ALMOST EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY. WE TRAINED THEM, WE WENT THROUGH COMPENSATION STUDY AFTER COMPENSATION STUDY, UM, WE OFFERED INCENTIVES FOR GETTING CERTIFICATIONS AND THEN ALLOWED FOR TIERED ADVANCEMENT WITHIN BUILDING CODES. WE ARE NOW TAKING OTHER FOLKS, UM, WE'RE GETTING THEM BACK AND WE'RE RETAINING THEM. IF YOU, IF YOU LOOK AT THE REPORT, I AM PROUD TO SAY, AND I DON'T WANNA JINX ANYTHING, BUT BUILDING CODES FOR A LONG TIME HAS HAD A 0% TURNOVER RATE. SO THIS WORKS. WE HAVE USED IT HERE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY. AND, UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT IN SUPPORT, THAT'S, THOSE ARE REAL, UH, THAT'S A REAL SCENARIO WHERE WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED THESE TOOLS AND IT ABSOLUTELY WORKS A HUNDRED PERCENT. SO THANK YOU. GOOD. THANK YOU. OKAY, WE READY FOR THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA? OR YOU? DO YOU HAVE ANY MORE? UM, NO, I THINK, I THINK WE'RE READY. I JUST WANNA THANK DR. CAMPBELL FOR HIS TIME TODAY AND YES. EXCELLENT. JUST TO CONFIRM, I THINK WHAT I'M HEARING IS YOU GUYS ARE ON BOARD WITH THIS. WE'LL BRING BACK SOME MORE INFORMATION WITH WHAT THAT COST WOULD LOOK LIKE AND WE CAN BRING THAT FORTH, UM, TO A BUDGET RETREAT. YEAH, WE CAN WE TAKE A FIVE MINUTE BREAK? ABSOLUTELY. OKAY. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. SO IT'S, UM, 10 41. WE'LL COME BACK AT 10, 10 46 OR SO, OKAY. FROM OUR BREAK, MS. ME, SO OUR IS OUR NEXT ITEM. YES. OUR LAST ITEM FOR DISCUSSION [5.d. Retiree Health Insurance] IS BEEN A TOPIC THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED FOR QUITE SOME TIME BY MANY COUNCIL MEMBERS. UM, AND IT RELATES TO REINSTITUTING SOME TYPE OF PROGRAM FOR RETIREES HEALTH INSURANCE. SO I BROUGHT IN OUR BENEFIT BROKER USI KIND OF BRAGGED ON THEM A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THIS YEAR WHEN I GAVE YOU ALL A VERY THOROUGH PRESENTATION OF OUR CURRENT BENEFITS, UM, AND HOW THEY'VE HELPED GUIDE US ALONG THE WAY WITH A LOT OF COST SAVINGS OVER THE YEARS SINCE WE WENT SELF-INSURED. SO I BROUGHT THEM HERE IN PERSON. UM, AND I WILL TURN THE MIC OVER TO LET THEM BEGIN THEIR PRESENTATION. AND, UM, OUR MAIN PRESENTER HERE IS DANNY WOOD. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. GOOD MORNING. AND, UH, WE'LL HOLD OUR QUESTIONS TILL THE END. THAT'D BE FANTASTIC. OKAY, THANK YOU. THANK YOU. SO, UM, RECENTLY WE PUT TOGETHER SOME INFORMATION FOR Y'ALL. I, I KNOW THIS IS STILL IN THE PRELIMINARY STAGES, BUT WE REALLY LOOKED AT TWO DIFFERENT RETIREE COVERAGE OPTIONS FOR YOU. UM, A DEFINED CONTRIBUTION WHERE, UH, RETIREES WOULD BE OFFERED A MONTHLY STIPEND USED TO PURCHASE COVERAGE THROUGH COVERAGE THROUGH THE MARKETPLACE. WHAT THEY WOULD DO IS WE'D HAVE AN ADMINISTRATOR SET UP TO WHERE, UM, THEY WOULD SUBMIT RECEIPTS, GET THE STIPEND, UH, PAID TO THEM BASED ON PROOF THAT THEY PURCHASED COVERAGE THROUGH THE APP MARKETPLACE. UM, THAT'S GONNA BE LOW ADMINISTRATION FOR THE COUNTY. ALSO, IT'S A KNOWN COST BECAUSE WE WOULD BASE THAT STIPEND ON YEARS OF SERVICE. WE'VE GOT SOME EXHIBITS THAT ARE GONNA HIGHLIGHT THAT LATER ON. UM, NEXT OPTION'S GONNA BE DEFINED BENEFITS. SO HERE WE WOULD BE ADDING RETIREES BACK TO THE CURRENT BUFORD COUNTY GROUP HEALTH PLAN. THIS IS GOING TO RESULT IN A HIGHER COST DUE TO, UM, UNCERTAINTY VOLATILITY BASED ON HIGH CLAIMANT ACTIVITY. UM, ONE OTHER FACTOR THAT, UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME HISTORY, WE'VE STARTED WORKING WITH THE COUNTY BACK IN 2015. THIS WAS AFTER Y'ALL CEASED THE RETIREE PROGRAM. UM, AT THAT TIME, WE DO HAVE SOME INFORMATION ON IT LATER ON IN THIS DECK, BUT I'LL REFERENCE YOUR OPEP LIABILITY, UM, LATER ON. SO OTHER POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS LIABILITY OBLIGATIONS THAT WOULD COME WITH OFFERING THEM UNDER YOUR GROUP HEALTH PLAN. UM, IT WOULD BE HIGHER ADMINISTRATION AND ALSO THERE'S GONNA BE INCREASED COSTS THAT MAY IMPACT YOUR FUTURE OFFERINGS FOR YOUR ACTIVE EMPLOYEES. UM, WHENEVER WE FIRST STARTED WORKING WITH THE COUNTY, YOU WERE FULLY INSURED. UM, SO YOU'RE PAYING BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD, THEY PAY ALL THE CLAIMS. UM, UH, JULY 1ST, 2016, WE CHANGED Y'ALL TO A SELF-FUNDED PROGRAM. SO NOW BEAUFORT COUNTY PAYS ALL OF THE CLAIMS OTHER THAN CLAIMS THAT EXCEED A SPECIFIC STOP-LOSS LEVEL. SO Y'ALL HAVE $275,000 EXPOSURE [01:40:01] ON EACH MEMBER OF YOUR PLAN. UM, UH, AND AND I REFERENCED THAT BECAUSE BY CHANGING YOU TO THAT MODEL, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP YOUR HEALTHCARE COSTS. IT TOOK EIGHT YEARS FOR Y'ALL UNDER THE SELF-INSURED MODEL TO CATCH UP WITH WHAT YOU WERE PAYING IN 2015 UNDER THAT FULLY INSURED MODEL. SO IT'S BEEN SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN, UH, A VERY STABILIZING FORCE ON YOUR MEDICAL PROGRAM. UM, SO THAT'S ALSO, I WANT TO POINT OUT THE EXPOSURE THAT YOU WOULD HAVE ON EACH RETIREE. IF Y'ALL WERE TO BRING 'EM BACK ON THAT PLAN, IT WOULD CREATE QUITE A BIT OF VOLATILITY. UM, POTENTIAL POLAR RETIREES, THERE'S SOME THINGS WE KNOW, THERE'S DEFINITELY SOME UNKNOWNS HERE. WE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT THE COUNTY EXTEND COVERAGE TO PRE 65 RETIREES ONLY, NO DEPENDENTS. NOW YOU MAY ASK WHY PRE 65 RETIREES ONLY ONCE SOMEBODY'S 65, THEY COULD GENERALLY QUALIFY FOR MEDICARE. UM, AT THAT POINT MEDICARE WOULD BE PRIMARY VERSUS RETIREE COVERAGE ANYWAY. SO BY PICKING UP, THEY WOULD HAVE TO PICK UP PARTS A AND B AT THAT TIME REGARDLESS. UM, AND SO IT WOULD JUST MAKE SENSE FOR MOST FOLKS TO MIGRATE TO MEDICARE ADVANTAGE PLAN OR SUPPLEMENT WITH A PART D DRUG PROGRAM. SO WE WOULD JUST LOOK AT EXTENDING COVERAGE TO YOUR PRE 65 RETIREES ONLY JUST TO GET THEM FROM RETIREMENT TO AGE 65 WHERE THEY HAVE ACCESS TO MEDICARE. UM, THE COUNTY WOULD NEED TO MAKE ADDITIONAL DETERMINATIONS ON ELIGIBILITY. UM, AND THAT IS WHETHER OR NOT TO OFFER THIS RETROACTIVELY OR TO FUTURE RETIREES AT A LATER DATE. UM, PER THE BEAUFORT COUNTY HRIS SYSTEM, WE IDENTIFIED ROUGHLY 94 RETIREES THAT WOULD QUALIFY IF RETRO RETROACTIVE BASED ON THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA. THAT IS THAT THE RETIREE MUST MEET PEOPLE RETIREMENT ELIGIBILITY. THEY HAVE TO HAVE AT LEAST 15 YEARS OF SERVICE WITH THE COUNTY AND CURRENTLY BE UNDER THE AGE OF 65. NOW 94 IS A, A, A LOW AMOUNT OF FOLKS. I WOULD IMAGINE THAT IF Y'ALL WERE TO ROLL SOMETHING OUT, YOU WOULD PROBABLY SEE SOME SHORT-TERM SPIKES IN THE NU THAT NUMBER. SO, UM, REALLY NO WAY TO GUESSTIMATE THAT. UM, IT WOULD BE INDIVIDUAL DECISIONS AND, AND WHEN Y'ALL ROLL THIS OUT AND WHO WOULD ULTIMATELY BE ELIGIBLE? UM, THE FIRST OPTION THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER WAS THE, THE, THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION MODEL. UM, THIS IS A RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENT OR RHRA. UNDER THIS MODEL, THE COUNTY WOULD SET UP AN ARRANGEMENT WITH AN ADMINISTRATOR TO REIMBURSE MEMBERS FOR HEALTHCARE INSURANCE PURCHASE THROUGH THE MARKETPLACE. THE RETIREE, THE RETIREE, WOULD HAVE THE ABILITY TO SELECT THE PLAN BEST SUITED FOR THEIR NEEDS. UM, NOW HERE'S ONE THING TO BE CAUTIOUS OF FOR YOUR RETIREES. BY PARTICIPATING IN THE RHRA, IT WOULD IMPACT THE RETIREES ABILITY TO QUALIFY FOR, FOR, FOR PREMIUM TAX CREDITS. SO THERE ARE SOME OF YOUR RETIREES WHERE BASED ON THEIR INCOME AND AGE, THEY MAY BE BETTER OFF RECEIVING PREMIUM TAX, UM, CREDITS AND HAVING A HIGHER SUBSIDY LEVEL FROM THE GOVERNMENT THAN THEY WOULD FROM BUFORD COUNTY PROVIDING A STIPEND. SO THERE WOULD BE SOME DECISION MAKING, UM, ON THE MEMBERS PORTION, BUT THAT ALSO MAY IMPACT THE 94 THAT WE'RE GONNA KEEP REFERENCING. 'CAUSE WE WILL HAVE SOME EXHIBITS LATER ON TO REALLY SHOW WORSE CASE SCENARIO IF EVERYBODY JOINS AND ELECTS. UM, SO WHAT DO THE COST LOOK LIKE HERE? UM, COST IS A $150 ONE-TIME SETUP FEE. THAT'S NOT PER MEMBER. THAT'S JUST ON THE PROGRAM ITSELF. BASICALLY TO SET UP PLAN DOCUMENTS, ARRANGE EVERYTHING WITH THE VENDOR, THEN $4 PER PARTICIPATING, RETIREE PER MONTH ADMINISTRATION FEE FOR THAT VENDOR TO TRACK, UM, UH, SUBMISSIONS. PAY THE MEMBER OUT BASED ON THE MONTHLY STIPEND ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE. AND THEN YOU WOULD ALSO HAVE YOUR MONTHLY STIPEND AMOUNT, WHICH CAN BE DETERMINED BY YEAR AS A SERVICE, OR IT COULD BE SOMETHING WHERE IT'S OFFERED AND EVENLY DISTRIBUTED ACROSS EVERYONE. BUT, UM, SOME OF THE PREVIOUS CONVERSATIONS WE HAD, IT, IT, IT MAY BE SOMETHING BASED ON YEARS OF SERVICE. NOW, IF SOMEBODY WAS TO GO INTO THE MARKETPLACE AND GET COVERAGE, WE DID PROVIDE SOME SAMPLE MARKET, UM, SOME SAMPLE MARKETPLACE MONTHLY PRICING. AND WE'VE DONE SO AT MULTIPLE DIFFERENT AGES. WE'VE SHOWED THE RANGES FOR AGE 45, 50, 55, 60, AND 64. THESE ARE RATES SPECIFIC TO SOMEBODY RESIDING IN BUFORD COUNTY WITH A 2025 BRONZE PLAN. UM, SO YOU'LL SEE AS WE GO UP IN AGE, UM, OUR COSTS DO GO UP SIGNIFICANTLY. UM, THAT WILL ALSO BE REFERENCED LATER ON WHEN WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE CLAIMS EXPOSURE YOU WOULD HAVE IF WE WERE TO ADD THE MEMBERS TO YOUR GROUP HEALTH PLAN. WE ALSO WANTED TO SHOW THE SILVER PLAN. SO IF SOMEBODY PURCHASED A LITTLE BIT RICHER PLAN HAS BETTER DEDUCTIBLES, LOWER COPAYS, SO ON AND SO FORTH, SOMETHING THAT MAY SUIT THEIR NEEDS. WE AT LEAST WANTED TO GIVE Y'ALL A RANGE, UM, ON WHAT SOMEBODY COULD PURCHASE [01:45:02] FOR BEAUFORT COUNTY. UM, THIS IS REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SMALL, BUT BASICALLY WHAT WE'VE DONE HERE IS WE'VE JUST MODELED OUT A COUPLE DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR YOU. UM, WE TALK ABOUT THE SETUP FEE, THE PER EMPLOYEE, PER RETIREE PER MONTH FEE. THEN IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE YOU SEE SOME ESTIMATED REIMBURSEMENT COSTS. WE'VE BROKEN THIS OUT INTO THREE CRITERIA OR THREE DIFFERENT SUBGROUPS, RATHER , UM, 15 TO 20, UM, 15 TO 21 YEARS OF SERVICE, 21 TO 28 YEARS OF SERVICE, AND THEN 28 OR MORE YEARS OF SERVICE. WE ALSO HAVE THE NUMBER OF RETIREES THAT FALL INTO EACH ONE OF THOSE BUCKETS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE TO THE RIGHT OF IT. AND THEN OVER THERE TO THE RIGHT, YOU'LL SEE WHERE WE'VE JUST SUGGESTED SOME MONTHLY STIPEND AMOUNTS THAT THE MEMBER WOULD RECEIVE. UM, OF COURSE THE THE COLUMN TO THE RIGHT IS GONNA BE THE MORE GENEROUS OFFERING. YOU DO HAVE FLEXIBILITY WITH WHAT YOU WANT TO DO THERE. WE JUST WANT TO AT LEAST PROVIDE SOME SAMPLE RATES. UM, DOWN AT THE BOTTOM YOU'LL SEE WHERE WE KIND OF CU UM, ACCUMULATED ALL THE COSTS FOR THE ADMINISTRATION, BUT ALSO THE, THE, UM, STIPENDS THAT OPTION ONE, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $338,000. THAT'S A SERVING 94 PEOPLE THAT ARE ELIGIBLE. AND THAT NUMBER STAYS STATIC. THEY ALL ELECT AND JOIN THE PROGRAM. PROBABLY WON'T BE THE CASE. UM, JUST TO GIVE YOU SOME HISTORY, WE WEREN'T WORKING WITH YOUR CASE WHEN Y'ALL HAD THE RETIREE COVERAGE, BUT WE DID LOOK BACK AT WHO WAS ELIGIBLE AT THAT TIME BASED ON SOME DATA I RECEIVED. AND I RECALL YOU HAD ABOUT 50 PRE 65 RETIREES ON YOUR PROGRAM WHEN IT ENDED. SO IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAD ABOUT A 50% ACCEPTANCE RATE ON FOLKS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE FOR RETIRE COVERAGE THAT THAT SIGNED UP FOR IT. SO W WE KNOW SOME FOLKS MAY BE BETTER OFF BASED ON THEIR INCOME TO QUALIFY FOR PREMIUM TAX CREDITS. I'M VERY UNLIKELY THAT YOU WOULD END UP WITH 94. SO WE WANTED TO SHOW YOU WHAT WOULD ESSENTIALLY BE WORST CASE SCENARIO. THAT OPTION ON THE RIGHT OPTION TOO. WITH THE HIGHER STIPENDS, WE'RE LOOKING ABOUT $445,000 IN TOTAL COVERAGE. UM, WE DO FOOTNOTE SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS. THERE'S SOME A CA FEES THAT Y'ALL PAY FOR YOUR SELF-FUNDED PROGRAM THAT YOU WOULD ALSO BE TIED TO THIS VERY SMALL AMOUNTS. BUT WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT WITH THESE TWO OPTIONS BETWEEN 338 AND $445,000. UM, VERY LIKELY LESS THAN THAT. 'CAUSE WE WOULDN'T EXPECT 94 TO PARTICIPATE, THOUGH YOU PROBABLY WOULD HAVE SOME FOLKS WHO WOULD LOOK AT RETIRING SOONER AND AND BECOMING ELIGIBLE. NOW THE OTHER MODEL IS THE DEFINED BENEFIT MODEL. UNDER THIS MODEL, THE COUNTY WOULD ADD RETIREES TO THE CURRENT BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF SOUTH CAROLINA BENEFIT PLAN. WE HAVE IDENTIFIED SOME OF THE COSTS, ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $55 PER MONTH, $660 ANNUALLY JUST TO ADD THEM TO THE PLAN FOR BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD TO ISSUE AN ID CARD PROCESS CLAIMS ALL THEIR BELLS AND WHISTLES. UM, I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE HAVE STOP-LOSS INSURANCE SINCE YOU ARE SELF-FUNDED. IF WE WERE TO JUST OFFER TO RETIREES ONLY NOT DEPENDENTS WITH THE CURRENT PLAN YEAR, YOU'D BE LOOKING AT ABOUT 35 70 PER RETIREE PER MONTH. SO 428 ANNUALLY FOR IT TO, AT THE PERSON TO STOP-LOSS THE CLAIMS. THAT'S GONNA BE ONE OF THE BIG PIECES HERE. UM, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE CURRENT RISK ON YOUR RETIREE POPULATION IS RIGHT NOW. IT'S BEEN 10 YEARS SINCE THEY RECOVERED. IT'S ENTIRELY NEW. PEOPLE HAVE BEEN AT THAT MAY NOT BE ELIGIBLE ANYMORE. NEW PEOPLE MAY BE ABLE, THE BEST, UM, POOL OF DATA WE HAD IS YOUR CURRENT ACTIVE EMPLOYEE. SO WE LOOKED AT FOLKS IN THE 45, EXCUSE ME, 40 TO 49 CATEGORY, 50 TO 59 CATEGORY IN 60 TO 64 CATEGORY TO LOOK AT, OKAY, WHAT DOES IT CURRENTLY COST THE COUNTY FOR FOLKS IN THIS CRITERIA? AND WHAT WE'VE CAME UP WITH IS, UM, AN ESTIMATE OF $10,365 PER RETIREE ANNUALLY FOR MEDICAL CLAIMS ONLY. NOW, WHEN WE PUBLISHED THIS FRIDAY, I DIDN'T HAVE PHARMACY CLAIMS SINCE THEN. I WAS ABLE TO GET, UM, THE PHARMACY DATA IN A MANNER THAT I COULD SLICE IT AND DICE IT BASED ON AGE CATEGORIES. SO AT ABOUT FOUR GRAND PER YEAR FOR PHARMACY COVERAGE ALSO. NOW OF COURSE, WE LOOKED AT EACH CATEGORY. WE APPLIED THAT BASED ON THE AGE BANDS THAT YOUR RETIREES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE CURRENTLY FALL IN. SO AGAIN, THAT'S PROBABLY A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT $975,000 ANNUALLY JUST FOR MEDICAL CLAIMS. IF WE INCORPORATE THE PHARMACY CLAIMS IN THERE THAT I REFERENCED, IT'D BE MORE OF ABOUT $1.35 MILLION MILLION DOLLARS. NOW THE BIG PIECE OF THIS IS GONNA BE YOUR OPE LIABILITIES. UM, WE, UM, NEVER RECEIVED A COPY OF YOUR GASB REPORT FROM 2014, BUT WE DID SEE SOME SCREENSHOTS OF THAT DATA. AND AT THE TIME IN 2014 [01:50:01] YOU HAD A $30 MILLION NET OPE LIABILITY AND ABOUT $214 MILLION IN LONG-TERM OBLIGATIONS. SO YES, THERE'S DEFINITELY THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH PROCESSING THE CLAIMS ADMINISTRATION DURING THE YEAR, BUT THESE ARE ALSO BIG LIABILITIES FOR THE COUNTY AS WELL. UM, AND THAT'S IT. SO, UM, QUESTIONS OPEN UP FOR QUESTIONS OR COMMENT. YES, JOHN? UH, OBVIOUSLY THE, UM, TWO PLANS HAVE EXTREME COSTS TO THEM AND YOU'RE RECOMMENDING THE DEFINED CONTRIBUTION. YES. UM, AND, AND IT IS FOR BETWEEN THEIR AGE AT RETIREMENT AND 65 BECAUSE THEY AUTOMATICALLY GO INTO THE MEDICAID PLAN. CORRECT. THEY WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR MEDICARE AT THAT TIME AND, AND YOU SAID THAT THERE COULD BE A PEN, UH, POTENTIALLY 94 INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED AND THAT WE'D HAVE TO MAKE A DECISION WHETHER WE WANTED TO START RETROACTIVE THE TIMEFRAME THAT WE WANT TO HAVE AS THE RETIREMENT PIECE. UM, SO, UM, A, I THINK THIS IS A WAY WE SHOULD GO. UH, WE'LL HAVE TO WORK WITH ADMINISTRATION AS TO THE COSTS AND LIABILITIES THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AND WHETHER OR NOT, UM, THIS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE CAN AFFORD TO DO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. OKAY. THAT'S MY TAKE. THANK YOU. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THIS? YES, I HAVE A QUESTION. YES. SO, UH, I KNOW WE'RE SELF-INSURED, SELF-FUNDED. YES. ARE WE AT AN EQUITABLE BALANCE RIGHT NOW OR ARE WE RUNNING AT A DEFICIT? YOU'RE PLANNING, YOU'RE JUST STARTED, UM, FIRST COUPLE MONTHS. YOU COULD START OFF THE YEAR PRETTY HOT. UM, I BELIEVE WITH CLAIMS THROUGH AUGUST, Y'ALL FLATTENED OUT. SO YOU'RE KIND OF BA BASICALLY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT LARRY AND I DO IS WE LOOK AT YOUR HISTORICAL DATA, WE PROVIDE PROJECTIONS, AND THEN ON A MONTHLY BASIS WE TRACK YOU TOWARDS THOSE PROJECTIONS. I, IF I WERE TO RECALL, I THINK YOU'RE RUNNING ABOUT ONE OR 2% OVER WHAT WE WERE PROJECTING, BUT WE'RE THREE MONTHS INTO THE PLAN. YEAR. ONE OR TWO BAD MONTHS IS GONNA HA HAVE A BIGGER IMPACT ON A SHORTER PERIOD OF TIME. UM, THAT, THAT WOULD BE A, A BETTER QUESTION FOR IT LATER ON IN THE YEAR. HOW DID WE DO FOR THE LAST FISCAL YEAR? LAST YEAR WAS, UM, Y'ALL RAN ABOUT 108% OF WHAT WE PROJECTED HISTORICALLY. Y'ALL RUN WELL BELOW THAT. UM, RIGHT AFTER WE ISSUED OUR PROJECTIONS LAST YEAR, WE LEARNED THAT THERE WERE SOME SIGNIFICANT CLAIMS AFTER WE HAD MADE DECISIONS PRESENTED OUR, OUR FINAL PROJECTIONS THAT REALLY IN HINDSIGHT I SHOULD HAVE SAID, HEY LOOK, BECAUSE YOU HAVE $275,000 IN EXPOSURE ON EACH MEMBER, I SHOULD PROBABLY GO BACK AND RETOOL THIS. WE KNEW Y'ALL HAD RUN HOT, WE PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE RERUN IT, BUT Y'ALL RAN 108. BUT ESSENTIALLY Y'ALL RAN WHERE WE EXPECTED YOU TO BARRING THIS UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCE THAT RESULTED IN SOME SIGNI SIGNIFICANTLY HIGH CLAIMS FOR Y'ALL LAST YEAR. OTHER THAN THAT, HISTORICALLY, Y'ALL RUN WELL BELOW WHAT WE PROJECT BY THREE, FOUR, 5%. UM, DO YOU THINK ANY OF THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN AT ALL THE TALK ABOUT RETOOLING OR WHATEVER THEY'RE GONNA DO WITH THE, UM, HEALTHCARE? WILL YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT THIS AGAIN? IT'S SOMETHING WE WILL NEED TO LOOK AT AGAIN. UH, WE MENTIONED, AND I REFERENCED IT IN THE DECK, THEY'RE 20, 25 RATES. MM-HMM . WE DON'T EVEN HAVE ACCESS TO 2026 RATES YET. AND SOME OF THE PREMIUM TAX CREDITS ARE GONNA GO AWAY AT THE END OF THIS YEAR. SO IT IS REALLY NOT ENOUGH DATA OUT THERE FOR US RIGHT NOW AT THIS TIME. OKAY. WE JUST HAVE TO WATCH IT AND ADMINISTRATION, I HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THAT WHEN, WHENEVER THEY GO BACK TO WORK. OKAY. ALRIGHT. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? YES, SIR. THERE'S NOT A QUESTION. UM, I, I DO DESIRE FOR US TO BE BACK INTO, UM, HEALTHCARE FOR RETIREES AND, UM, A LOT OF WHAT YOU JUST SHARED WITH US THIS MORNING WAS GREEK TO ME. OKAY. BUT I'M GONNA LEAN ON THIS MAN RIGHT HERE. OKAY. FOR SUPPORTING KNOWLEDGE. SO I WANNA MOVE FORWARD AND I'M GONNA STAND WITH HIM. OKAY. WE APPRECIATE YOUR WORK ON THIS. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. IT IS VERY, IT'S VERY COMPLICATED TO SAY THE LEAST. OKAY. DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY MR. MOORE, ABOUT IT? NO, I THINK WE WILL PLAN TO BRING THIS TO THE RETREAT, TO THE BUDGET RETREAT FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION ON HOW YOU ALL WANT TO PROCEED. SO CERTAINLY IT'S INFORMATION HERE. UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE PREPARED TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT OPTIONS THAT, THAT YOU ALL WOULD WANT US TO LOOK AT. AND I THINK IT'S, IT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE SAID THIS FOR SEVERAL YEARS AS A COUNCIL AT [01:55:01] OUR RETREAT, SO WE'RE GLAD SOMETHING RESOLVED. YEAH. AND I THINK IT GOES BACK TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE SAW UPFRONT IN OUR SURVEY IS THAT, YOU KNOW, FOLKS ARE LOOKING FOR THIS. AND I THINK IT, IT IS, IT'S NOT GONNA BE FOR EVERYBODY. I, YOU, YOU GOTTA HAVE MINIMUM 15 YEARS AND THERE, THERE ARE SOME CRITERIA YOU HAVE TO MEET TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS. BUT I THINK IT DOES MAKE GOOD FOR OUR LONG-TERM EMPLOYEES. YES. YEAH. YEAH. AND, AND TO MR. MOORE'S POINT THERE, THAT'S A VERY SIMILAR STRUCTURE OF WHAT WE HAD WHEN WE HAD THE RETIREE INSURANCE INSTITUTE. WE DIDN'T JUST MAKE THOSE NUMBERS UP. UM, IT WAS TEARED OUT THAT YOU HAD TO BE RETIRED WITH PBA, YOU HAVE TO MEET P'S ELIGIBILITY TO RETIRE. MM-HMM . UM, AND YOU CAN'T JUST COME TO BEAUFORT COUNTY YOUR LAST TWO YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT TO GET THIS BENEFIT. YOU NEED TO BE WITH US. THE LAST 15 YEARS OF YOUR, YOUR STINT WITH PPA, I SPENT ABOUT 10, 15 MINUTES JUST QUESTIONING HER ABOUT SCENARIOS WHERE PEOPLE WOULD COME IN AT THE LAST MINUTE. LAST MINUTE, BUT THEY, THEY WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO THAT. 'CAUSE WE DO HAVE A 15 YEAR REQUIREMENT TO WORK FOR THE COUNTY. YOU CAN'T COME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE. EXACTLY. THAT'S RIGHT. AND THEN WE WANTED THE THRESHOLD TO REWARD EVEN HIGHER, THOSE THAT WERE ACTUALLY WITH US FOR 28 PLUS YEARS VERSUS 15. SO THAT'S NOT FOREIGN CONCEPT TO WHAT WE HAD IN PLACE 10 YEARS AGO. IN FACT, FOR SOME OF YOU THAT ARE HERE, THAT'S IDENTICAL, UM, TO THE THRESHOLDS OF THE YEARS OF SERVICE, UH, TO INCENTIVIZE GREATER, UH, REIMBURSEMENTS. SO MR. ANICK, SO, UM, THROUGH THIS WHOLE THING, I THINK IT'S GREAT INFORMATION. I APPRECIATE THE RETIREE PART. I APPRECIATE THE MERIT PACE. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO LOOK AT OUR CFO'S FACE BECAUSE YOU KNOW, I'M GONNA ASK FOR MONEY , SO I'LL BE INTERESTED WHEN WE GET TO THE BUDGET WORKSHOP. SHE'S PASSED THE SHOCK POINT. 'CAUSE WE'VE ALREADY HAD THESE DISCUSSIONS. I STARTED WATCHING HER FACE, BUT IT, I MEAN IT'S ALL GOOD, BUT WE HAVE A LIMITED POT, SO WE'LL, WE'LL STICK OUT HER RETIREMENT , HOW MANY MORE YEARS SHE NEEDS? SHE'S NOT ELIGIBLE YET. OKAY. IS THERE ANY OTHER DISCUSSION OR COMMENTS FOR THE WORKSHOP? WELL, NO. EXCUSE ME. I, I, IF I COULD, I'D LIKE TO SUMMARIZE WHAT WE DID TODAY. SURE. BECAUSE I THINK THE PEOPLE WHO ARE WATCHING US SHOULD BE WELL AWARE OF THE KINDS OF THINGS WE WANT TO DO NOW TO MOVE THIS COUNTY IN THE DIRECTION IT NEEDS TO MOVE. NUMBER ONE, WE DISCUSSED VACANT LAND THAT CAN BE USED FOR OTHER PURPOSES. WE TALKED ABOUT SPECIFIC PROPERTIES THAT CAN BE TURNED OVER TO HABITAT FOR HUMANITY AND THE HOUSING TRUST FUND TO WORK TOGETHER FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT IS DESPERATELY NEEDED IN THIS COUNTY. WE KNOW THAT BMH AND, UH, THE HOUSING TRUST FUND ARE WORKING WITH SOME OTHERS. SO THAT IS A WONDERFUL THING THAT WE'RE DOING. THE TRAINING THAT WAS PRESENTED ON THE, UH, DCIS, UM, THAT WAS OUTSTANDING. THAT JUST SHOWS THE VALUE THAT WE PUT ON OUR EMPLOYEES, UH, THE PAY SCALE. THAT'S SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO DO FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME. WE WANT TO IMPLEMENT, IMPLEMENT THAT. AND THE RETIREE HEALTHCARE IS A POSITIVE THING THAT WE WANT TO BRING BACK. SO I THINK WE, THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BETTER MEETINGS WE'VE HAD IN A WHILE. OKAY. WAIT, BEFORE YOU GAVEL, I JUST WANNA REMIND ALL OF COUNSEL, I THINK MR. MOORE ALREADY SIGNED UP. NOVEMBER 12TH IS THE SYMPOSIUM TO TALK ABOUT WORKFORCE HOUSING. I'VE, YEP. I'VE SIGNED UP. IF YOU HAVEN'T SIGNED UP, I'VE ALREADY HARASSED YOU TWICE. YEAH, I DID SIGN UP. YEAH, PLEASE USE THE LINK SO I DON'T HAVE TO HARASS YOU AGAIN. THANK YOU. ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. WE A ADJOURNED. STOP. WHAT? I'M GONNA KEEP HARASSING. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.