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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY.
ARE WE ALL READY? WE HAVE NOBODY FROM THE PUBLIC TODAY.
UM, LIKE TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
THIS IS A WORKSHOP MARCH 10TH.
PLEASE STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
OKAY, MS. BROCK, THIS, I KNOW THIS MEETING WAS ADVERTISED IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT.
ALRIGHT, I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AGENDA.
MOTION BY TAB SECOND BY MR. MENT.
I THINK HE JUST LET ME MAKE THE MOTION THIS TIME.
UM, DID WE HAVE ANYBODY SIGN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT? I DON'T SEE ANYBODY HERE.
AND WE HAVE ONE COUNCIL MEMBER ON THE TRAIN.
OH, HE'S ON THE TRAIN TO PITTSBURGH, I THINK.
UM, WHO ELSE? OH, IS LARRY AND DAVID IS LARRY.
IS LARRY GONNA JOIN US? DO YOU KNOW? UH, NO MA'AM.
I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM COUNCIL.
WHO'S THAT? THAT'S COUNCIL MEMBER GLOVER.
LET'S START WITH THE FIRST ONE, WHICH IS GAP INSURANCE FOR RETIREES UPDATE.
AND THAT'S GONNA BE MS. MEAD OR YEAH.
OR DO YOU WANNA, YOU WANNA KICK IT OFF? FEW QUICK COMMENTS.
UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, MADAM CHAIR AND COUNSEL.
UH, I KNOW IT WAS A SHORT TURNAROUND LAST NIGHT, UH, FOR THE MEETING TO THIS MORNING, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR STAFF TO DISCUSS THESE ITEMS THAT ARE ALL BUDGET RELATED AS WE'RE MOVING INTO THE BUDGET.
SO WE HAVE GUIDANCE DIRECTION TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS AS WE, UM, PUT THE BUDGET TOGETHER.
AND THIS GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE ANY CHANGES OR, OR, UH, ADDITIONS YOU ALL MIGHT WANT TO SEE FROM THESE DISCUSSIONS.
SO, UM, THE FIRST SEVERAL ARE GONNA BE HR FOR THE GAP INSURANCE, UH, HEALTH INSURANCE FUND UPDATE, AND THE MERIT PAY.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE OTHERS, UH, THAT ARE GONNA, UH, COME IN AS WELL FOR PLT, UH, CASH OUT.
THAT'LL BE, UH, MR. ROBINSON AS WELL AS FOR THE DETENTION CENTER.
AND THEN STORMWATER FUND WILL HAVE MR. FREE AND PARKS AND REC.
WE'LL HAVE, UH, UH, MS. ANTONACCI DER FOR THAT.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH THE GAP INSURANCE.
SO I'LL INVITE CATHERINE UP IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS PRIOR TO THAT.
ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO.
ABOUT OUR INTENTIONS FOR TODAY? YEAH.
UM, WE HAVE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION AND THERE'S THREE ITEMS. AS MIKE MENTIONED.
I PUT EVERYTHING IN ONE PRESENTATION TO GIVE THESE LOVELY STAFF A BREAK OF SWAPPING FROM ONE SLOW SHOW TO THE OTHER.
SO WE'RE GONNA START WITH OUR RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE.
UM, MAKE SURE IT'S ON, SORRY, ON THE SIDE.
LOOK, DO YOU WANT US TO LET YOU DO THE PRESENTATION? AND ANY QUESTIONS AT THE END? MS. ME? DO YOU WANT US TO HAVE QUESTIONS AT THE END OR DO YOU WANT US TO, WHICH IS EASY, PROBABLY THE END BECAUSE I DON'T, IT'S REAL.
THIS IS YOUR WORKSHOP, SO I DON'T HAVE A LOT OF TALKING TO DO.
I'M JUST GONNA GIVE YOU SOME FACTS AND SOME DATA POINTS AND THEN WE CAN OPEN THAT UP, UM, FOR YOUR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, I WANTED TO JUST BRIEFLY GO OVER THE HISTORY OF THE PROGRAM.
I KNOW WHEN WE SPOKE ABOUT THIS LAST A COUPLE, UM, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, WELL, PROBABLY SEVERAL OF YOU WEREN'T HERE WHEN WE HAD THE RETIREE INSURANCE FOR, AND THERE WERE STILL SOME QUESTIONS.
SO I THOUGHT IT'S IMPORTANT TO KIND OF ALWAYS TALK ABOUT THE LAND OF WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST.
AND TO REFRESH YOUR MEMORIES OF THE RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE.
IN 2004, WE MADE EFFECTIVE A RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN, A SUPPLEMENTAL PLAN FOR RETIREES, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING A MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION STIPEND TOWARDS THAT COVERAGE BASED ON THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE WHEN THEY WERE WITH THE COUNTY.
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IT LOOKS LIKE DOING SOME RESEARCH ON THESE RESOLUTIONS.IT JUST FURTHER DEFINED WHAT IS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, WHAT IS A HEALTHCARE BENEFIT, TOTAL PREMIUM AND QUALIFIED RECIPIENT ALL WITHIN THE SAME YEAR OF 2004.
IN 2008, COUNCIL HAD PASSED A RESOLUTION TO AMEND THE PROGRAM EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
ALL COUNTY EMPLOYEES WHO BEGAN THEIR EMPLOYMENT ON OR AFTER JUNE 1ST, 2008 SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE THE BENEFITS.
SO WE GRANDFATHERED THOSE IN, BUT ENDED THE PROGRAM FOR ANY NEWLY ONBOARDED EMPLOYEES.
THE PROGRAM ENDED ALTOGETHER, EVEN FOR THOSE THAT WERE GRANDFATHERED IN, THE REASONS THAT WERE LISTED IN THE RESOLUTION AS TO WHY, UM, WAS A COUPLE FACTORS.
ONE, THE ANNUAL COST WAS $2.8 MILLION AT THE TIME.
THE GASB 45 FINANCIAL STATING STATEMENT REPORTING, UM, REQUIRING TOTAL AMOUNT OF UNFUNDED LIABILITIES RELATED TO PROVIDING THE BENEFIT, RESULTED IN A DETRIMENTAL EFFECT TO THE COUNTY'S CREDIT RATING.
AND THAT IS ALSO WHEN THE A CA, UM, WAS PUT INTO PLACE AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL, WHICH DID PROVIDE MORE ACCESS TO RETIREES TO GAIN AFFORDABLE COVERAGE.
SO I BELIEVE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN THE DECISIONS, UH, FOR COUNCIL AT THE TIME AS TO WHY THEY REMOVED THE PROGRAM.
SO WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT WITH YOU GUYS BACK IN, I BELIEVE OCTOBER, WE HAD OUR INSURANCE BROKER COME DOWN TO TALK ABOUT ANOTHER PROGRAM THAT WE COULD CONSIDER IMPLEMENTING, UH, THE RETIREE HEALTH INSURANCE REIMBURSEMENT ARRANGEMENT PROGRAM.
SO THIS IS A DEFINED CONTRIBUTION, A MONTHLY STIPEND TO REIMBURSE MEMBERS FOR HEALTH INSURANCE, WHERE THESE RETIREES WOULD GO OBTAIN THEIR OWN HEALTH INSURANCE TO THE MARKETPLACE AND WE WOULD PROVIDE A REIMBURSEMENT STIPEND FOR THEM THROUGH A THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR.
THEY, UM, THIS PROVIDES GREATER CONTROL OVER ANNUAL COST AND REDUCES EXPOSURE TO OUR OWN MEDICAL INFLATION RISK.
'CAUSE AS YOU KNOW, WE ARE SELF-FUNDED.
SO WE PAY OUR, WE'RE OUR OWN INSURANCE COMPANY.
WE PAY OUR OWN CLAIMS. WE KNOW THAT AS WE AGE, OUR CLAIM COST GETS MORE EXPENSIVE.
SO THIS CONTROLS THAT COST FOR US ON THAT FRONT.
AND WE ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UM, THIS BEING A PROSPECTIVE PROGRAM AS OF JULY 1ST, 2026.
MOVING FORWARD, THE CRITERIA IS QUITE SIMPLE.
THE PROGRAM WILL END AT AGE 65 WHEN THEY BECOME MEDICARE ELIGIBLE.
THE RETIREE MUST BE PBA RETIREMENT ELIGIBLE BY PBA STAND STANDARDS.
AND THE EMPLOYEE HAS TO HAVE AT LEAST 15 YEARS OF SERVICE WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY AT THE TIME OF THEIR RETIREMENT.
SO THEY CAN'T HAVE 20 YEARS BUILT INTO PBA WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, SO TO SPEAK.
THEY COME HERE FOR FIVE YEARS AND GET THIS BENEFIT.
THEY HAVE TO BE WITH US AT LEAST THE LAST 15 YEARS OF THEIR TENURE.
WE PROVIDED TWO OPTIONS TO YOU BACK IN OCTOBER.
WE'RE NOW NARROWING THAT DOWN TO ONE RECOMMENDED OPTION FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
SO, UM, THE YEARS OF SERVICE, WE'RE LOOKING AT 15 TO 20.99 YEARS OF SERVICE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A $300 MONTHLY STIPEND, 21 TO 27.99 YEARS OF SERVICE FOR A $400 STIPEND AND 28 OR MORE YEARS OF SERVICE FOR A $500 MONTHLY STIPEND.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THERE IS AN ADMIN COST OF $3 AND 50 CENTS PER MONTH PER RETIREE.
ONE THING I WOULD SAY THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY THINK ABOUT IS INFLATION GOING OVER THE YEARS.
WE COULD CONSIDER ADDING SOMETHING IN OUR POLICY TO THE EFFECT OF THE RHRA STIPEND MAY BE ADJUSTED ANNUALLY BASED ON THE SOCIAL SECURITY COST OF LIVING ADJUSTMENT, NOT TO EXCEED 3% IN ANY FISCAL YEAR.
THIS, AGAIN, ALLOWS US TO HAVE CONTROL OVER THE COST.
SO WHEN TRYING TO FORECAST WHAT IS THIS GONNA LOOK LIKE IN YEAR ONE FORWARD, I WENT THROUGH OUR RETIREE DATA AND PULLED SOME CENSUS REPORTS FOR YOU.
ALL THIS IS LOOKING AT RETIREES BACK TO 2015 THROUGH DATE THAT WOULD'VE BEEN ELIGIBLE UNDER THOSE THREE CRITERIA MARKS THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
SO PRE 65, 15 YEARS SERVICE PPA ELIGIBLE.
AND WE HAVE HAD AN AVERAGE OF 12 RETIREES FIT THAT CATEGORY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS.
OF THOSE 12, THE AVERAGE YEARS OF SERVICE THAT THEY HAD WITH BEAUFORT COUNTY, BEAUFORT COUNTY IS 24 YEARS OF SERVICE.
SO THAT KIND OF GIVES US A PARTICIPATION FORECAST HERE WHERE WE HAVE AN AVERAGE RETIREMENT OF 57 BENEFITS ENDING AT AGE 65.
MEANING THE AVERAGE DURATION OF BEING IN THE RHRA PROGRAM IS EIGHT YEARS WITH AN AVERAGE ANNUAL COUNT OF 12 RETIREES WITH A YEARS OF SERVICE OF 24 YEARS, WHICH PUTS THEM IN THAT TIER TWO OF $400 PER MONTH PLUS YOUR THREE 50 MONTHLY ADMIN FEE.
AND WE CAN EXPECT A MATURE, STEADY STATE POPULATION OF 96 PARTICIPANTS.
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AND FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WERE IN THE OCTOBER WORKSHOP, YOU MAY RECALL WE WERE MENTIONING THE, UM, NUMBER 94 BECAUSE AS OF DATE, IF WE WERE GONNA GO RETRO, WE DID HAVE 94 PARTICIPANTS.SO I THOUGHT THAT NUMBER MATCHED UP VERY WELL WITH WHAT OUR FORECAST IS.
OVER THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS, WE CAN EXPECT 96 PARTICIPANTS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS PROGRAM.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'LL HAVE OUR STEADY STATE.
SO HOW DO WE BUDGET FOR THAT? UM, SIMPLE MATH HERE WITH JUST USING WHAT WE CAN FORECAST AND EXPECT FOR THE FIRST YEAR WITH 12 NEW PARTICIPANTS JOINING THE PROGRAM.
AT THAT AVERAGE 400 TIER LEVEL, WE CAN EXPECT IT TO BE AROUND 58,000.
AND THEN I'VE GIVEN YOU WHAT THE NEXT EIGHT YEARS WILL LOOK LIKE TILL WE GET TO FULL PARTICIPATION.
NOW, YOU MAY WANT TO CONSIDER BUMPING THAT FIRST YEAR UP A LITTLE BECAUSE AGAIN, UM, THESE PROJECTIONS ARE SOLELY BASED ON HISTORICAL PATTERNS WHERE THERE WAS NOT A PROGRAM AVAILABLE.
I CAN, UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL TO FORECAST WHEN THIS PROGRAM LAUNCHES.
WHO'S GONNA SAY, OH, WELL I'M NOW READY.
AND THAT AVERAGE 12 COUNT INCREASES, I WOULD EXPECT THAT TO HAPPEN.
UM, SO I WOULD SAY YOU MIGHT WANNA CONSIDER US BUDGETING A LITTLE HIGHER IN YEAR ONE TO GET US A COUPLE YEARS UNDER OUR BELT TO HAVE GOOD DATA SO WE CAN ADJUST THOSE NUMBERS ACCORDINGLY.
UM, SO PERHAPS WE CAN CONSIDER THE FIRST YEAR DOING, UM, AN ANTICIPATION OF 18 RETIREES AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL.
SO WORST CASE SCENARIO, AND THAT'S GONNA BE LOOKING AT ABOUT 108,000.
AND I JUST KIND OF RECAPPED HERE.
THESE FORECAST IS CONSIDERING AN AVERAGE OF 12 RETIREMENTS PER YEAR AT THE AGE OF 57 WITH 24 YEARS OF SERVICE, ASSUMING THAT THEY'RE ELIGIBLE TO REMAIN IN THE PROGRAM FOR EIGHT YEARS.
BUT I WILL OPEN THAT UP TO YOU CHAIR LADY OF, OH, WE WOULD LIKE TO, WE'RE READY FOR QUESTION YOU.
AND YES MA'AM, I HAVE A QUESTION.
SO WHAT HAPPENS IF I'M HERE AND PRETEND I WAS ONLY 57, WHICH IS LONG PASSED? WHAT HAPPENS IF I HAVE A SPOUSE THAT HAS INSURANCE COVERAGE? AM I STILL ELIGIBLE FOR THIS? YOU WOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR IT, BUT IF YOU DECIDE TO GO ON YOUR SPOUSE'S PLAN, YOU ARE NOT.
SO WE'RE NOT GONNA GIVE YOU A REIMBURSEMENT FOR YOU TO HAVE, IF YOU ARE COVERED UNDER YOUR SPOUSE'S PLAN, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO SHOW THE ADMINISTRATOR, THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR THAT YOU HAVE SECURED YOUR OWN INSURANCE.
I DO AGREE WITH YOU THAT WE SHOULD START OFF WITH A LARGER SUM OF MONEY BECAUSE IF IT ISN'T USED, YOU JUST ROLL IT OVER TO THE NEXT YEAR AND HAVE A STARTING POINT.
OH, THE BREAKDOWN FOR THREE, FOUR, AND 500 IS, AND THEN YOU TALKED ABOUT THE 3%.
IS THAT GONNA BE AUTOMATIC OR DOES THAT HAVE TO BE VOTED ON BY FUTURE COUNCILS? IF IT'S WRITTEN IN THE POLICY, I WOULD THAT BE, TRY TO BIND THE FUTURE COUNCIL.
BUT YOU COULD MAKE IT EITHER WAY.
I GUESS THAT WOULD BE MY ONLY RECOMMENDATION.
IS THAT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE TALKED ABOUT BY FUTURE COUNCILS YEAR ON YEAR? JUST LIKE WE DO THE 3% COLA TO APPROVE IT? YEAH.
WHAT IF INSURANCE IS FLAT THAT YEAR? WHAT IF IT DOESN'T CHANGE? WHAT IF THERE'S A NEW PROGRAM THAT COMES OUT? WE REALLY DON'T KNOW.
KEEP IN MIND, MIND IT JUST LIKE OCCURRED PREVIOUSLY.
A FUTURE COUNCIL MAY DECIDE TO GO AWAY WITH THIS PROGRAM.
IF WE HAVE, UM, A RECESSION, ALL BETS ARE OFF.
I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, A THOUGHT IS IF YOU COULD TIE IT TO THE COLAS.
IF, IF THAT'S SOMETHING CATHERINE JUST FOR CONSIDERATION MM-HMM
THEY COULD COUNCIL VOTES A COLA.
THAT COULD BE OH, IF WE APPROVE A COLA, WE COULD BE PART OF THAT.
THE FUTURE COUNCIL HAS TO DO IT EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
THAT'S WHAT OUR COUNCIL DOES EVERY SINGLE YEAR WITH THE, UH, PAID LEAVE.
AND WITH THAT, THAT CAVEAT THERE, I MEAN, YOU COULD, WE COULD ADD SOMETHING TOO, TO YOUR POINT, PENDING COUNCIL APPROVAL, WE CAN, WE CAN PLAY WITH THAT LANGUAGE.
UM, HOWEVER, I, MY ONLY RECOMMENDATION OTHER THAN THAT, I THINK IT'S GOOD.
BE PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
'CAUSE IT'S GONNA BE BUDGETED EVERY YEAR.
IT'S GONNA BE BUDGETED EVERY YEAR.
I HAD A QUESTION THAT, A MIC FROM BACK THERE.
UM, THE AVERAGE AGE 57, IS THAT SKEWED BY THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT? UM, OKAY.
THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF REALLY YOU ELIGIBLE RETIRE.
FOLKS ARE GONNA BE AS SHERIFF.
BECAUSE THEY CAN WHAT, 30 YEARS AND, AND YOU'LL SEE THE AVERAGE YEARS OF SERVICE IS 24 AND THEY'RE ELIGIBLE AT 25.
SO MOST LIKELY THEY HAD EMPLOYMENT ELSEWHERE BEFORE THEY CAME HERE.
UM, BUT YEAH, THE 57 AND 24 WAS VERY TELLING TO ME THAT MOST OF THAT'S GONNA BE CORES.
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DISTRICTS, THE DIFFERENT FIRE DISTRICTS.WE DON'T, WE DON'T PROCESS, WE, THEY'RE NOT IN OUR RETIREMENT PLANS.
I DIDN'T, I DIDN'T THINK THEY WERE, BUT I JUST WANTED TO ASK.
THEY'RE STILL UNDER PORES, I BELIEVE JOHN, IS THAT RIGHT? RETIRE OR FIRE IS UNDER THE PORES SYSTEM.
SO LIKELY THEY'RE PROBABLY GONNA BE VERY SIMILAR TO THIS.
IF A FIREFIGHTER OR A DEPUTY RETIRES AND THEN GOES BACK TO WORK, ARE THEY TO BE CO COVERED AND GET A STIPEND OR IF THEY'RE INSURED THROUGH THEIR NEW EMPLOYER, ARE THEY NOT ELIGIBLE FOR THE STIPEND? THEY WERE, WHAT I'M PROPOSING IS THEY ARE ONLY ELIGIBLE FOR THE STIPEND IF THEY HAVE SECURED THEIR OWN PRIVATE INSURANCE THROUGH THE MARKETPLACE OR OTHER PRIVATE COMPANY.
NOT EMPLOYER PROVIDED OR SPOUSE EMPLOYER PROVIDED.
THIS IS JUST A STIPEND FOR THOSE.
IT'S JUST THE ONES THAT ARE GOING ON THE MARKET FOR THEIR OWN INSURANCE.
BUT JUST TO BE CLEAR, LIKE I DON'T, IF THEY RETIRE FROM HERE AND DECIDE TO WORK AFTER THAT AND THEY DON'T HAVE INSURANCE TO THAT COMPANY, WE WOULD STILL PROVIDE THIS STIPEND IF THEY HAVE OBTAINED.
I JUST MAKE SURE, I MEAN, ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO HIT THE WORKFORCE IS OH, ABSOLUTELY.
IF THEY'RE HAVING TO PURCHASE PRIVATE INSURANCE, IT'S NOT AN EMPLOYER PROVIDED SPONSORED PLAN.
EVEN THOUGH THAT THEY MAY HAVE RETURNED TO WORK.
AND I LIKE YOUR EXAMPLE OF LIKE A TEACHER.
'CAUSE THEY'RE UNDER, IF THEY RETIRE, IF THEY MOVE OVER TO THE COUNTY 'CAUSE THEY'RE, THEY INSURANCE IS THE, THE STATE SYSTEM.
AND SO THEY WOULDN'T BE ELIGIBLE UNLESS THEY'VE WORKED 15 YEARS.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR WE WANNA MOVE ON TO THE NEXT? NO, JUST ONE OTHER COMMENT.
I THINK YOU SHOULD MAKE THE DECISION AS TO HOW MUCH YOU BELIEVE SHOULD BE THE FIRST YEAR AND PUT IT IN THE BUDGET.
WE'LL WORK WITH WITH PINKY ON THAT.
AND THE COMMENT THERE IS THAT'S THE RISK IF I, BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE MAY SEE THIS AND DECIDE, WELL I'M GONNA RETIRE THIS YEAR.
AS WHAT UH, CATHERINE SUGGESTED.
DO WE SEE AT ANY POINT IT COULD BE LIKE FOR EXAMPLE, IF SOMEBODY WORKS AT LOWE'S OR KROGER, ANY BIG STORE, THEY OFFER HEALTH INSURANCE OPTIONS.
BUT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THOSE PEOPLE WORK ENOUGH TO QUALIFY FOR IT IF THEY'RE RETIRED TIME.
THEY STILL FALL WITHIN OUR PURVIEW THAT WE COULD STILL SUPPLY IT IF THEY CHOOSE NOT TO TAKE IT.
IF, IF THEY'RE ABLE TO SHOW PROOF THROUGH OUR THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR, WHICH BY THE WAY, WE REALLY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE A TPA HELP ADMINISTER THIS.
UM, AND THEY HAVE TO PROVIDE THAT PROOF THAT THEY HAVE SECURED THEIR OWN INSURANCE THROUGH, WHETHER IT BE A MARKETPLACE OR WHEREVER ELSE.
AND IT'S CONFIRMED THAT IT'S NOT EMPLOYER PROVIDED.
THEY WILL BE ELIGIBLE AS LONG AS THEY MET THE OTHER CRITERIA.
THEY'RE PRE 65, THEY WERE HERE FOR 15 YEARS AND THEY ARE A TRUE RETIREE WITH THE STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? NIKKI, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT? YES, I DO.
UM, IF YOU ARE NOT WANTING TO BIND FUTURE COUNCILS, THEN WE NEED TO MAKE THIS A PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS ANNUALLY AND YOU PROVE IT IN THE BUDGET ORDINANCE.
THAT'S WHAT WE'LL PLAN ON, I THINK IS WHAT WE'RE HEARING.
IS IT BE TIED TO ANNUAL APPROPRIATIONS.
WE'LL ARE YOU DOING THE NEXT ONE TOO, RIGHT? YES MA'AM.
SO THE NEXT ITEM WE'RE BRINGING FORWARD IS TO TALK ABOUT TO TRYING TO TRANSITION YOUR BRAINS HERE.
WE'RE MOVING AWAY FROM THE RETIREES.
WE ARE TALKING ABOUT CURRENT WORKFORCE HEALTH INSURANCE BENEFITS.
UM, SO WE HAVE A SELF-FUNDED HEALTH INSURANCE UPDATE WE'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.
AND AGAIN, I'D JUST LIKE TO GIVE A LITTLE 30, 62ND HISTORY OF WHERE WE ARE AND HOW WE GOT HERE.
SO, UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY TRANSITIONED FROM A FULLY INSURED, UH, HEALTH PLAN TO A SELF-FUNDED MODEL ON JULY 1ST, 2016.
THE 2016 FULLY INSURED RENEWAL WAS INITIALLY QUOTED AT $16.2 MILLION.
OUR ADMINISTRATOR HAS BEEN BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD THROUGHOUT THE DURATION OF THESE YEARS.
UM, FOR THOSE THAT WERE ON COUNCIL, YOU MAY REMEMBER, I THINK USI ACTUALLY CAME AND SPOKE TO YOU THEN.
UM, THAT WHEN BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD LEARNED THAT WE WERE CONSIDERING TO GO SELF-FUNDED, THEIR QUOTE CHANGED VERY QUICKLY TO BE FLAT FOR THE YEAR.
UM, BUT THEY ORIGINALLY QUOTED US AT 16.2 MILLION AFTER TRANSITIONING TO SELF-FUNDED.
WE, UM, ENDED UP HAVING AROUND 12 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF CLAIM.
SO WE MADE A VERY WISE DECISION TO MOVE TO SELF-FUNDED.
UM, AND ALSO UNDERSTOOD WHY BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD HAD COME BACK VERY QUICKLY TO FLAT THEIR QUOTE VERSUS INFLATED BY TWO AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS CHECKS OUT.
SO WE HAD AN APPROXIMATE SAVINGS OF $3.6 MILLION DURING THAT FIRST YEAR RECENTLY, COUNTY ADMINISTRATION, UM, WITH HR, MR. MOORE, MS. WOOD, PINKY, AND SOME OTHER MEMBERS OF FINANCE AND HR MET WITH OUR BENEFITS BROKER JUST TO DO
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A DEEP DIVE HEALTH REVIEW.SHOULD WE LOOK AT WHAT GOING BACK TO FULLY FUNDED LOOKS LIKE IN TODAY'S TIME, SHOULD WE LOOK AT GOING INTO PBAS HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN? UM, SO WE DID THAT.
WE GOT A LOT OF GOOD DATA AND IT WAS VERY OBVIOUS THAT WE NEED TO STAY AS A SELF-FUNDED PLAN.
UM, GOING BACK TO FULLY INSURED, I THINK I DIDN'T BRING THE NUMBERS WITH ME, BUT IT WAS WELL OVER 20 MILLION I THINK IS WHAT THEY WERE QUOTING US FOR THAT.
UM, AND THEN PPA, I THINK MOST OF US KNOW A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE MOVING AWAY FROM PPA.
UM, SO THERE WAS SOME CONCERNS IN RED FLAGS THERE AS WELL.
SO WE, WE DO BELIEVE STAYING AS A SELF-FUNDED PLAN IS THE BEST DECISION FOR THE COUNTY.
THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT OUR PROJECTIONS HAVE BEEN SINCE BEING SELF-FUNDED.
AND WHAT WE ACTUALLY, UM, OUR CLAIMS CAME OUT TO BE AT THE END OF EACH FISCAL YEAR.
AND I'M SORRY THAT'S VERY SMALL.
I HOPE YOU HAVE YOUR, YOUR PRINTED PACKETS WITH YOU.
BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT OVER THE YEARS, BASED ON WHAT WAS PROJECTED AND WHAT WE ACTUALLY SPENT, UM, WE'VE COME IN THE TOP REALLY ABOUT 2.9 NOW.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME DIFFERENCE OPINIONS OF WHAT WAS PROJECTED AND WHAT WE SHOULD BUDGET.
SO IT DIDN'T QUITE WORK OUT THAT WAY WITH WHAT WE ACTUALLY BUDGETED.
BUT WHAT WE PROJECTED HAS BEEN ABOUT A $2.9 MILLION SAVINGS OVER THE 10 YEARS.
WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS IS WE'VE DONE A DEPENDENT VERIFICATION AUDIT, WHICH IS ONGOING MAINTENANCE.
WE DID AN EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION INCREASE IN 24.
WE DID A SPOUSAL SURCHARGE IN 24.
AND WE'VE ALSO IMPLEMENTED A FEW DIFFERENT PHARMACY SAVINGS PROGRAMS IN 23 AND IN 25.
SO SOME CURRENT CONSIDERATIONS WE'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT WITH, UM, WE'RE STILL TALKING WITH USI, WE'RE EVALUATING WHAT ACTUAL MEDICAL SERVICES WE ARE PROVIDING AS A SELF-INSURED FUND JUST TO MAKE SURE IT IS ALIGNED WITH YOUR STANDARD POLICIES.
WE'VE IDENTIFIED A COUPLE SERVICES THAT ARE FAVORABLE AND ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT WE ARE REMOVING FROM OUR PLAN.
SO THERE WILL BE PROPER COMMUNICATIONS GOING OUT TO EMPLOYEES ABOUT THE REMOVALS OF THOSE SERVICES.
UM, BUT IT WASN'T MUCH MORE THAN ABOUT TWO OR THREE SERVICES.
SO ONCE WE GET THOSE OFF OUR PLAN, THAT'S GONNA HELP OUR COST AND WE WILL BE VERY ALIGNED WITH WHAT PBA IS OFFERING AND OTHER EMPLOYERS ARE OFFERING FOR A STANDARD EMPLOYER SPONSORED HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN.
WE'VE ASSESSED THE EMPLOYEE VERSUS EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTION STRUCTURE TO ENSURE LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY.
AND WE'RE GONNA TALK WITH YOU ALL TODAY ABOUT WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE AND WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE AS A COUNCIL, UM, TO SEE AS THE EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTION RATIO FOR THE COUNTY HEALTH PLAN.
AND BASED ON THAT DECISION, WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SOME STRATEGIES AND SOME PHASE OUT PLANS TO MEET THE DESIRES OF COUNCIL WITH THE RATIO.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE, AGAIN, SORRY IF IT'S A LITTLE SMALL, BUT THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT OUR CURRENT MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION PLAN LOOKS LIKE.
WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A FEW TIMES IN COUNCIL.
SO THIS MAY NOT BE A SHOCK TO YOU, BUT WE DO OFFER TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF HEALTH INSURANCE PLANS.
WE HAVE A PREMIUM PLAN AND A BASIC PLAN.
THE SERVICES WITHIN THOSE PLANS ARE THE SAME.
SO THE, THE PRESCRIPTIONS INCLUDED.
WHAT'S DIFFERENT IS HOW MUCH IS THE EMPLOYEE PAYING OUTTA THEIR POCKET THROUGH PAYROLL CONTRIBUTIONS AND THEN WHAT IS THE DEDUCTIBLE AND THE OUT-OF-POCKET MAXIMUM.
SO THE PREMIUM PLAN, WHILE IT'S A HIGHER OUT-OF-POCKET COST WITH PAYROLL CONTRIBUTIONS IS LOWER FOR THE EMPLOYEE IN TERMS OF OUT-OF-POCKET MAXIMUMS AND DEDUCTIBLES.
AND THEN ON THE OPPOSITE SPECTRUM OF THAT, FOR BASIC, YOU'RE PAYING A LITTLE LESS OUTTA YOUR POCKET AS THE EMPLOYEE THROUGH PAYROLL CONTRIBUTION.
BUT YOUR DEDUCTIBLE AND YOUR OUT-OF-POCKET MAXIMUM IS A LITTLE HIGHER.
SO IT'S REALLY STANDARD TO HAVE TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF PLANS TO OFFER.
UM, SO I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND CHANGING THAT WITHIN THOSE PLANS.
I WAS, I WAS JUST GONNA COMMENT ON THE EMPLOYEE ONLY AND THE EMPLOYER ONLY.
YOU CAN, UH, ON THE TWO PLANS, I'M SORRY, THE PREMIUM AND BASIC, THE PERCENT PAID BY EMPLOYER IS QUITE DIFFERENT.
1 79 0.4 WITH THE PREMIUM AND WITH THE BASIC IT'S 92%.
SO THE COUNTY'S PAYING 92% FOR THE BASIC AND 79.4 FOR THE PREMIUM.
SO I JUST WANT YOU ALL TO UNDERSTAND THAT 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT RATIOS MOVING FORWARD.
UM, WITHIN THOSE PLANS WE HAVE DIFFERENT TIERS OF WHO HAS COVERAGE.
SO YOU CAN COVER THE EMPLOYEE ONLY THE EMPLOYEE CAN ELECT TO COVER THEIR SPOUSE, THEIR CHILDREN, OR THE FAMILY COVERAGE, WHICH INCLUDES SPOUSE AND CHILDREN.
WE'RE A LITTLE UNIQUE THAT WE GO A STEP FURTHER WHEN YOU SEE SMALL AND LARGE AND YOU WONDER WHAT THAT IS.
IF IT'S LABELED AS SMALL, THAT MEANS IT'S ONE OR TWO CHILDREN ON THE PLAN.
A LARGE GROUP IS THREE OR MORE CHILDREN ON THE PLAN.
AND SO THERE'S A LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN THE COST 'CAUSE WE HAVE MORE BELLY BUTTONS
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THAT WE'RE COVERING UNDER THIS PLAN.THE GRADE COLUMN, UM, THAT YOU SEE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PAGE, THAT IS THE PREMIUM EQUIVALENCE TOTAL FOR EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYER.
AND THEN TO MR. MOORE'S POINT, WE THEN BREAK OUT TO SHOW YOU EACH, EACH PLAN AND EACH COVERAGE LEVEL, HOW MUCH IS THE EMPLOYEE PAYING MONTHLY VERSUS THE EMPLOYER AND WHAT THAT RATIO LOOKS LIKE.
SO THE GREEN HIGHLIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF EACH SECTION IS YOUR ANNUAL BOTTOM LINE.
SO IN OUR PREMIUM PLAN TO MR. MOORE'S POINT, WE ARE JUST ABOUT AT A 80 20 SPLIT WITH THE PREMIUMS OF EMPLOYER VERSUS EMPLOYEE MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS.
BOTTOM LINE ON YOUR BASIC PLAN IS AROUND A 90 91 0.3 VERSUS 8.7 SPLITS.
THE TOTAL PLAN OVERALL IS THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHT AT THE BOTTOM.
AND THAT'S AROUND AN 89 OR 90 10 SPLIT SOME BENCHMARK OF WHAT OTHER EMPLOYERS ARE DOING FOR MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION PERCENTAGES.
THE FIRST TWO COLUMNS IS OUR BASIC AND PREMIUM COLUMN THREE IS TELLING YOU THAT PBA STANDARD PLAN, THEIR CONTRIBUTION SPLIT FOR A SINGLE COVERAGE, WHICH IS OUR EMPLOYEE ONLY IS AROUND AN 85 15 SPLIT.
OTHER COUNTY GOVERNMENTS IS AROUND A 91 9 AND OTHER ENTITIES IN THIS BENCHMARK WITH A THOUSAND PLUS EMPLOYEES IS AROUND 80 20.
EMPLOYEE AND SPOUSE COVERAGE BENCHMARK, UM, WE'RE FOCUSING ON BASIC PLAN.
WE'RE ABOUT A 91 9, WHEREAS P IS A 82 COUNTY GOVERNMENT.
82 AND OTHER 1000 PLUS EMPLOYEE EMPLOYEES IS UM, 71.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE WHAT THE CHILDREN RATES ARE AND THE FAMILY RATES.
SO WHAT WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL, UM, I'VE GOT A COUPLE SLIDES TO GO THROUGH, IS WHAT IS COUNCIL'S GOAL FOR A CONTRIBUTION RATIO IF YOU'RE WANTING TO GO STEER TOWARDS AN 80 20 CONTRIBUTION RATIO? UM, WE ALREADY GOT SOME NUMBERS IN PLACE.
THERE'S A SEPARATE BACKUP DOCUMENT THAT WE CAN PULL UP HERE SHORTLY IF YOU'D LIKE TO LOOK AT THE, THE WEEDS OF THE MATTER SO TO SPEAK.
BUT I'M JUST GIVING YOU A HIGHLIGHT OVERVIEW OF THIS.
SO OUR PROJECTED HEALTH PLAN COSTS FOR EMPLOYEE AND EMPLOYEE OR TOTAL COST FOR FY 27 IS 19.2 MILLION.
IF THE GOAL IS TO MOVE TOWARDS AN 80 20 SPLIT, IT'S RECOMMENDED TO DO THIS IN A FIVE YEAR PHASE PLAN.
'CAUSE IT IS GOING TO TAKE A SEVERAL GOOD HITS AND WE WANT TO SPREAD THAT OUT SO WE'RE NOT ALARMING OUR WORKFORCE TOO TERRIBLY.
WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE IS IN YEAR ONE WE'LL DO AROUND A 33% INCREASE FOR THE EMPLOYEE CONTRIBUTIONS AND THAT WILL RESULT IN ABOUT A THREE POINT A HALF PERCENT INCREASE FOR THE EMPLOYER.
SO I'VE BROKEN THAT DOWN FOR YOU TO SEE THAT.
OF THAT 19.2 MILLION THAT I REFERENCED ABOVE, THE EMPLOYER WILL COME OUT AROUND 16.7 AND THE EMPLOYEE ABOUT 2.4 MILLION, WHICH GETS US TO A 87.2 VERSUS 12.8 SPLIT YEAR 2, 3, 4, VERY SIMILAR.
THE END GOAL IS TO GET US TO YEAR FIVE, FY 31.
AT THAT POINT IN TIME, CONSIDERING MEDICAL TREND OF INCREASE IN COST, YOU WE'RE ANTICIPATING ABOUT A $23.3 MILLION PLAN.
AND THE WAY WE'LL SPLIT THAT UP IN YEAR FIVE IS THE EMPLOYER TO BE AT 80% COVERAGE OF 18.7 EMPLOYEE AT 20% COVERAGE AT 4.6.
CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE OTHER SLIDE FOR A SECOND? NO, ALL THE WAY BACK THERE.
UM, SO RIGHT NOW FOR THE PREMIUM WE'RE 80 20.
SO IS IT THE GOAL TO FOCUS ON MAKING CHANGES TO THE BASIC PLAN TO BRING THAT INTO AN 80 20 SPLIT? YES.
AND, AND THAT BREAK THERE, THERE'S ANOTHER BACKUP DOCUMENT THAT REALLY SHOWS YOU ANOTHER, IT'S BASICALLY THE SAME INFORMATION AS THIS FOR EACH YEAR THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
AND IF I MAY, CATHERINE, I BELIEVE MOST OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE ON THE BASIC, IS THAT BY FAR? YEP.
SO THERE'S 1027 EMPLOYEES ON BASIC AND ONLY 147 EMPLOYEES ON PREMIUM.
AND YOU GOTTA BE CAREFUL HOW YOU PROPORTIONATE AND, AND ROLL IT OUT.
'CAUSE YOU, YOU DO THINGS TOO QUICK, TOO FAST, PEOPLE ARE GONNA START MIGRATING AND THEN YOU'RE LOSING HEALTHY RISK.
SO THERE'S, THERE'S A METHODICAL WAY TO DO THAT.
AND WE HAVE A VERY DETAILED FIVE YEAR PHASE PLAN TO, TO MEET THE GOAL, WHICH, UH, THAT WAS PROVIDED BY USI, IT WAS THESE TWO POINTS.
NO, THAT, THAT SEEMED LOGICAL TO ME.
WHAT'S OUR CURRENT, UM, DEFICIT, SORRY, DEFICIT SLASH SURPLUS IN OUR SELF-INSURED PLAN RIGHT NOW? NIKKI, DO YOU HAVE THAT
[00:30:01]
INFORMATION? BALLPARK FOR CURRENT YEAR? YEP.AT THE END OF FISCAL YEAR 25 AFTER THE AUDIT, IT WAS A LITTLE OVER $5 MILLION DEFICIT OR SURPLUS DEFICIT.
UM, I, WE HAVE BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD SUPPLEMENTAL AND IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY YEAR WHATEVER WE GET IN OUR COLA ENDS UP HOW MUCH OUR HEALTH INSURANCE GOES UP.
I MEAN THAT IT WORRIES, IT DOESN'T WORRY ME, BUT IT'S KIND OF A FACT OF LIFE, YOU KNOW, FOR SURE.
AND, AND YOU KNOW, WE DID A CLIMATE SURVEY THAT WE PRESENTED TOO AND, AND YOU'RE HEARING FROM YOUR STAFF THAT THEY'RE STAYING HERE FOR THE BENEFITS.
UM, SO THAT IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WE START INCREASING THESE COSTS.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE EITHER MERIT OR COAL IS KIND OF, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO MEET IT, BUT IT SHOULD CERTAINLY KEEP UP WITH IT.
YOU SAID UM, MANY OF THE ENTITIES ARE LEAVING PBA.
WHERE ARE THEY GOING TO OTHER INSURERS SELF, SELF-INSURED OR SELF-INSURANCE? SELF-INSURED.
IS THERE ANY THOUGHT PROCESS OF DOING SOME CONSORTIUMS FOR INSURANCE? I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UH, IF I MAY, SCAC IS LOOKING AT THAT.
THEY'VE LOOKED AT SEVERAL MY POINT COUNTIES AND, AND THEY'VE REACHED OUT TO US TO, TO LOOK AT OUR PROGRAM AS WELL.
I, I, I KNOW THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT THE TIER ONE COUNTIES MM-HMM
TO SEE IF THERE IS SOME SORT OF CONSORTIUM THAT CAN BE DONE TO, YOU KNOW, MAKE A LARGE GROUP THAT WOULD BECOME VERY ATTRACTIVE.
AND FRANKLY, YOU KNOW, FOR SEAC, WE'RE ONE OF THE LARGER COUNTIES THAT'S IN THIS MM-HMM
SO THEY'RE VERY INTERESTED IN, IN HOW WE'RE PROCEEDING.
UM, THIS IS A QUESTION FOR THINKING OF WHAT PERCENTAGE OF OUR BUDGET IS, UM, IN THE INSURANCE, IF YOU KNOW, I MEAN, ROUGHLY OF OUR, OF OUR OVERALL BUDGET MM-HMM
WELL YOU HAVE TO SPLIT IT OUT BY FUND BECAUSE THE SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS AND THE ENTERPRISE FUNDS PAY FOR THEMSELVES.
SO FOR GENERAL FUND IT'S, IT'LL BE SEPARATE, BUT I DON'T KNOW IT OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I'LL FIND IT.
UM, BREAKDOWN WISE, I KNOW IF YOU CAN GO BACK TO THAT LAST SLIDE YOU HAD.
ALRIGHT, SO THE INCREASE OF 2.2 MILLION OVER THE COURSE OF FIVE YEARS, UM, AVERAGE BREAKDOWN LOOKED LIKE NUMBER ONE WAS EMPLOYEE, EMPLOYEE SPOUSE.
HOW MUCH MORE A, A YEAR IS THAT ACTUALLY GONNA RAISE THEIR COST? IF I MAY, COULD I GO THROUGH THE LAST SLIDE HERE AND THEN WE CAN OPEN UP THAT DOCUMENT? BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE GONNA GET TO SPOUSAL SURCHARGE, RIGHT? YES.
THAT'S IN OUR LI UH, THE SEPARATE DOCUMENT.
IF COUNCIL'S DESIRE IS 85 15, WE CAN PROBABLY KNOCK THAT OUT IN TWO YEARS.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THE BREAKDOWN HERE OF FY 27.
WE'LL STILL LOOK AT THE 87 12 SPLIT AND THEN AN F UH, FY 28 FOR YEAR TWO WILL GET US TO THAT 85 15.
BUT IF WE, IF SARAH, COULD YOU PULL UP, THERE WAS A BACKUP DOCUMENT IN THE SECOND ITEM OF THE AGENDA.
JUST MY BIGGEST FEAR IS IF THIS IS OUR GOAL TO GO TO THE 80 20 THEN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, ALL OF OUR MAYOR BASED IN COLA IS WORTHLESS.
YEAH, THAT'S KIND OF MY POINT ABOUT THE GOAL.
YEAH, YOU SO IF WE'RE REALLY STRESSING OVER THE FACT OF $2 MILLION IN OUR BUDGET OVER THAT, WE'RE NOT EVEN REWARDING OUR EMPLOYEES FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS FOR THIS NEW POLICY THAT WE JUST PUT IN PLACE.
SO TO ME IT'S KIND OF COUNTERPRODUCTIVE.
WE WE'RE JUST MOVING ONE MONEY TO ANOTHER PLACE AS A SHELL GAME.
SO CONVERSELY, 'CAUSE I LOVE TO ARGUE WITH LOGAN
A 92 EIGHTH SPLIT IS VERY UNSATISFACTORY TO ME IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR WE STRIVE FOR 80 20.
I'M SPEAKING FROM MY EXPERIENCE, SO WHEN THE PUBLIC SEES 92 8, I THINK SOME OF THEM WOULD A LITTLE BIT FREAK OUT.
BUT I THINK WE NEED TO BRING OURS IN LINE AND WE NEED TO NOT BE $5 MILLION IN THE RED, WHICH WHY WE WE'RE 90 10.
AND WE'RE ONLINE WITH OTHER COUNTIES, NOT PRIVATE SECTORS, BUT OTHER COUNTIES.
SO WE'RE GONNA PRESENT THE TWO OPTIONS.
OF COURSE THERE'S A THIRD, WHICH IS NOT TO CHANGE.
SO THERE'S THINGS WE CAN CONSIDER HERE.
AND, AND THAT BENCHMARK WAS VERY TELLING TOO, THE PRIVATE SECTOR UP 80 20 IS YOUR STANDARD COUNTY GOVERNMENT'S NOT NECESSARILY 80 20 FOR STANDARD.
UM, AND I KNOW I, I GET THAT THERE IS A, A CONCERN WITH THE $5 MILLION DEFICIT.
UM, I ALSO BELIEVE THAT IT JUST MAY NOT HAVE BEEN BUDGETED APPROPRIATELY 'CAUSE WE WERE BEING TOLD IT'S GOING TO BE THIS MUCH, BUT WE DECIDED TO BUDGET LOWER THAN THAT.
SO I THINK AS LONG AS WE GO WITH WHAT OUR PROFESSIONALS
[00:35:01]
ARE RECOMMENDING TO FORECAST, WE SHOULDN'T FIND OURSELVES IN THAT SITUATION MOVING FORWARD.AND I THINK JUST TO PUT THAT, MAKE THAT POINT, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF EVENTS IN THE LAST TWO YEARS THAT YOU MAY WANNA EXPAND ON THAT HIT THE PROGRAM PRETTY HARD.
SO THOSE LAST TWO YEARS, EVEN EVEN THE FORECAST WERE, WE EXCEEDED THE FORECAST.
NOT $5 MILLION WORTH THOUGH, BUT WE DID EXCEED THE FORECAST IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS.
WE JUST HAD SOME VERY HIGH CLIMATE COSTS HIT US.
AND THAT IS THE RISK RUN AS A SELF-FUNDED.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE 10 YEAR LOOK BACK, THE FORECAST COMPARED TO THE ACTUALS REALLY WAS $2.9 MILLION IN, IN THE GOOD FOR THE COUNTY.
BUT, AND, AND WE DON'T HAVE TO BUDGET EXACTLY WHAT OUR CONSULTANTS ARE TELLING US.
IT'S COMMON THAT WE MAKE OUR OWN DECISIONS.
UM, BUT I THINK THE HISTORY SHOWS THAT THE FORECASTS WE'RE GETTING ARE PRETTY SPOT ON.
AND EVEN THIS YEAR WE DID BUDGET, WHAT WE WERE TOLD IS YOUR FORECAST.
UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE TRENDING AT 60% ON OUR BUDGET.
BUT FINISHING THAT A BUDGET DEFICIT SET ASIDE, WE'RE STILL AT A HIGH RATIO.
YEAH, YOU'RE GONNA BE IN A DEFICIT, BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT WHAT EMPLOYER EMPLOYEE PAY.
SO YES, WE'RE IN A DEFICIT AND WE CAN ADJUST THAT.
BUT I'M TALKING ABOUT THE 92 8.
SO THIS MR. CUNNINGHAM KIND OF GETS INTO YOUR QUESTIONS.
WE'LL START, UM, WITH THE JULY 1 27.
AGAIN, IT IS KIND OF SMALL, BUT THIS IS SHOWING YOU, IF WE CAN SCROLL DOWN SARAH, TO THE SECOND PART.
'CAUSE THAT'S THE BASIC, I THINK THAT'S WHERE MOST OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT THAT INCREASE IS GOING FROM.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, THE BASIC EMPLOYEE ONLY PLAN, UM, WOULD GO FROM 78 50 PER MONTH.
EXCUSE ME, LET'S LOOK AT THE JULY 1, 26.
IT'S GONNA GO FROM 58 50 TO 78 50 FOR A BASIC EMPLOYEE, ONLY FOR THE EMPLOYEE SPOUSE TIER.
WE'RE GONNA GO FROM 1 34 TO 180 4.
SO IT'S ESSENTIALLY A $20 INCREASE TO THE PREMIUMS FOR EMPLOYEE ONLY COVERAGE AND A $50 PER MONTH INCREASE FOR ALL DEPENDENT TIERED COVERAGES.
THE SECOND YEAR PLAN, WE WILL THEN INCREASE THE TIERS BY $15 A MONTH FOR THE EMPLOYEE ONLY.
AND AGAIN, $50 A MONTH FOR THE DEPENDENT TIER COVERAGE.
UM, YEAR THREE AT YEAR 28, YOU'RE LOOKING AT A $15 MONTH INCREASE FOR THE EMPLOYEE ONLY COVERAGE.
A $40 MONTH INCREASE FOR DEPENDENT CARE AND A $50 INCREASE TO THE SPOUSAL SURCHARGE.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE AS IT GOES ON, THE DIFFERENCES THERE.
SO I KNOW IT'S A LOT OF DATA THROWN AT YOU, BUT THAT'S KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF WHAT THOSE PATTERNS LOOK LIKE FOR THAT FIVE YEAR PLAN.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? AND AND THE BIGGEST THING AT THE BOTTOM, IT'S TELLING YOU, SARAH, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THE THAT? YEAH.
SO THAT'S THE, UM, GREEN ONE WILL BE NEXT YEAR'S PLAN.
WE'RE LOOKING AT INCREASING THE EMPLOYEE COST BY ABOUT 32.9% OVERALL.
AND THEN THE NEXT YEAR IS ABOUT AN 18.9% INCREASE.
AND THEN THE FOLLOWING YEAR IS ABOUT A 19% INCREASE SO FAR FOR, UH, UM, A SINGLE AND A SPOUSE, IT'S ABOUT $1,700 FOR THREE YEARS FOR WITH A SPOUSE IS THE INCREASE.
IF WE, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT 85, 15, YOU'RE JUST LOOKING AT THOSE FIRST TWO COLUMNS AND WE'LL BE BE 1200 MM-HMM
AND YOU'LL BE WHERE YOU, WHERE YOUR GOAL IS BY NEXT YEAR.
SO THE SPOUSAL SURCHARGE OFFERED, YOU KNOW, AS MENTIONED EARLIER TOO, RIGHT NOW IT'S $50 A MONTH FOR A SPOUSAL SURCHARGE.
THAT SPOUSAL SURCHARGE REALLY ISN'T BRINGING IN A LOT AGAINST US 'CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT THAT HAVE IT.
BUT THERE'S A POPULATION OF FOLKS THAT HAVE SPOUSES THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO GET THEIR OWN PLAN BUT DECIDE TO BE ON OUR PLAN BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A, A GREAT BENEFIT PLAN.
SO FOR THAT, IN ADDITION TO A TOBACCO SURCHARGE, IF YOU ARE A TOBACCO USER, YOU DO PAY AN EXTRA $50 MONTHLY SURCHARGE.
WE WILL BE LOOKING TO INCREASE THAT SURCHARGE SLOWLY OVER TIME.
SO YEAR THREE WILL INCREASE IT TO A HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH.
YEAR FIVE WILL INCREASE IT TO $150 A MONTH ON TOP OF YOUR PREMIUM.
UM, YOU, YOU SAID THAT WE HAD SOME CATASTROPHIC COVERAGE MM-HMM
WE DO, DO WE HAVE A CATASTROPHIC POLICY? WE DO.
AND UM, THIS YEAR IT'S AT $250,000 DEDUCTIBLE.
SO, BUT EVEN WHEN I SAY CATASTROPHIC, TO ME ANYTHING OVER 150,000 CLAIM IS SOMETHING YOU JUST DON'T SEE OFTEN.
[00:40:01]
THAT GAP OF THAT ONE 50 WHEN ACTUALLY I THINK IT'S OVER 200 WHEN SOMETHING HITS OVER 200, THEY'RE CALLED A HIGH CLAIMANT.WHEN THEY HIT OVER TWO 50, THEY'RE NOW COVERED UNDER STOP-LOSS.
AND WE HAD SEVERAL HIGH CLAIMANTS, UM, THE LAST TWO YEARS, THE OTHER SO FAR THIS YEAR ACT, WE ARE BELOW THE TREND OF OUR HIGH CLAIMANTS COST.
SO WE'RE REALLY HOPING FOR A GOOD STRONG YEAR WHEN WE FINISH THIS YEAR.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? YES, I, I KNOW I, I KNOW I CAME IN LATE AND I APOLOGIZE, BUT I, I KNOW WE WANT TO TRY TO GET TO THE 80 20, I, I THINK THE 85 15, IF WE WANT TO TRY TO BALANCE THAT SHARE THAT MIGHT BE SPLITTING THE, SPLITTING THE BABY, SO TO SPEAK.
GET TWO YEAR CYCLE AND THEN WE CAN REEVALUATE FROM THERE TO SEE IF IT'S WORKING.
'CAUSE I'D HATE TO PUT FORWARD A PLAN, A FIVE YEAR PLAN AND IT'S NOT WORKING.
I THINK WE JUST WANTED GENERAL GUIDANCE AS FAR AS HOW WE'RE GONNA BUDGET FOR THIS.
WHAT WE LOOK AT FOR FEES IF WE WANT TO GO 80 20 OR THE 85 15.
BECAUSE I THINK AS IT'S BEEN, WE HAVEN'T REALLY HAD A COURSE A MARKER TO STEER THE SHIP.
SO WE'RE JUST TRYING TO GET THAT SO WE UNDERSTAND WHERE TO GO AGAIN.
UM, ANOTHER COUNCIL DOWN THE ROAD CAN TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
SO I, I LIKE YOUR POINT ABOUT A TWO YEAR PLAN GETS US MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY HEALTHCARE IS A COSTLY ITEM.
UH, THE AREA IS GROWING, WE ARE GETTING MORE HEALTH SERVICES COMING TO US.
SO THAT'S AN UNKNOWN FUTURE AS TO HOW INFLUENTIAL THE MARKETPLACE WILL BE BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE HEALTHCARE OPPORTUNITIES WE MAY HAVE.
SO I LIKE THE IDEA OF THE 85 50 AND TO YOUR QUESTION EARLIER, MR. CUNNINGHAM ABOUT PAY, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT MERIT PAY.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING TO CONSIDER GOING FORWARD IS WE'RE GONNA HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO, AND AND I, I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT MOVING THE MONEY AROUND, BUT I THINK THIS PROGRAM, WE JUST WANNA UNDERSTAND WHERE TO STEER THE SHIP.
I AGREE WITH THE 85 15 ON A TWO YEAR AND YOU CAN ALWAYS REEVALUATE IT.
TO GO TO THE 80 20 OVER FIVE YEARS.
UH, THE NEXT COUNCIL COULD SAY, LET'S GO BACK TO 98.
SO I THINK WE DO IT OVER THE TWO YEARS.
MY ONLY QUESTION THOUGH, IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS IS COUNCIL THEN ARE WE GONNA CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THE FLAT RATE OR ARE WE GONNA LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE? BECAUSE IF WE ARE, NO MATTER HOW WE RAISE THIS, IF WE'RE GONNA SAY IT'S GONNA RAISE BY A PERCENTAGE THERE AND WE CONTINUE TO DO JUST THE 3% COAL, THE ONLY PEOPLE WE'RE HURTING ARE THE LOWEST ONES ON THE PAY SCALE.
I KNOW, BUT I'M, I'M JUST SAYING IN GENERAL.
SO IF WE ARE GONNA SAY WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS, THEN WE NEED TO HAVE IT IN OUR MINDSET THAT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT A FLAT BA BASE RAISE ALL THE WAY THROUGH.
'CAUSE IF NOT, THE ONES YOU'RE GONNA BE HURTING ARE THE ONES THAT ARE PAYING FOR IT THE MOST ALREADY.
WHICH, WHICH IS WHY WE INTRODUCED A FLAT AMOUNT OF MONEY.
EVERYBODY AT THE LOWER END WAS GETTING A HIGHER PERCENTAGE.
I'M SORRY, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE LIKE IF THIS IS GONNA BE OUR FOCUS FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE THAT MINDSET AS COUNCIL THAT THAT HAS TO BE OUR FOCUS FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
'CAUSE IF WE SWITCH BACK TO A PERCENTAGE, WE'RE TAKING EVEN MORE MONEY FROM THEM.
SO I JUST WANT TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.
BUT I AM GOOD WITH THE 85 15 IF THAT'S A ROUTE TO NOT BUYING THE NEXT COUNCILS TOO.
AND THEN MR. PASSMAN, WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE RIGHT.
MEDICAL TRENDS ARE SIX TO 8% INCREASE, YOU KNOW, EACH YEAR.
BUT, SO I'D LIKE TO TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GIVE A HUGE SHOUT OUT TO YOUR WORKFORCE.
'CAUSE WE'VE BEEN KEEPING THAT UNDER TREND FOR SO MANY YEARS.
YOU, IT MEANS YOU GOT A HEALTHY WORKFORCE OR GOING TO THE DOCTOR, THEY'RE GETTING THEIR EARLY DIAGNOSISES, THEY'RE TAKING THEIR MEDICINES.
AND REALLY, IF WE HAD BEEN MEETING TREND SINCE 2016, YOU'D BE LOOKING AT A 20 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS PLAN AS OF THIS YEAR.
AND WE'RE STILL VERY MUCH UNDER THAT TREND.
SO THAT REALLY DOES DESERVE A LOT OF KUDOS TO, TO YOUR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE KEEPING THEMSELVES HEALTHY.
DO DO WE DO, UM, UH, TRYING TO THINK OF THE TERMINOLOGY.
UM, HEALTH INSURANCE ACCOUNTS THAT INDIVIDUALS CAN HSAS, HSA, WE DON'T DO HSA BECAUSE WE DON'T QUALIFY FOR HSA AND YOU REALLY DON'T WANNA QUALIFY FOR HSA, THAT MEANS YOU HAVE A HIGH DEDUCTIBLE PLAN.
UM, BUT WE HAVE FLEX SPENDING ACCOUNTS WHERE THEY CAN PUT IN PRE-TAX DOLLARS FROM THEIR PAYCHECKS TO PAY COPAYS, PRESCRIPTIONS, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
DO MANY OF OUR EMPLOYEES TAKE CARE OF THE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FLEX PLAN? WE DO.
WE HAVE A, A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF THE EMPLOYEES THAT PARTICIPATE, BUT THEY'RE WELL AWARE OF IT AND THEY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
THERE'S A GRACE PERIOD THAT THEY CAN USE IT UP THROUGH SEPTEMBER, EVEN THOUGH THE PLAN YEAR ENDS ON JUNE 30.
UM, THAT WAS JUST IMPLEMENTED A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
AND, AND HOW IS OUR COPAY COMPARED TO OTHER
[00:45:01]
PLANS? OUR COPAYS ARE ACTUALLY PRETTY STANDARD WITH WHAT YOU SEE WITH OTHER PLAN THAT WE MIGHT BE SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN, THAN SOME, UM, FOR THAT BASIC PLAN BECAUSE IT IS A HIGHER COPAY, LOWER PREMIUM.BUT WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY STANDARD OR AVERAGE WITH, WITH WHAT WE SEE WITH OUR PEERS WITH COPAYS AND DEDUCTIBLES.
READY FOR THE NEXT ONE? CHAIRMAN HOWARD OF YOU ARE, DID YOU HAVE COMMENT PINKY, MS. HOWARD? YES.
IT'S 15.6% FOR GENERAL FUND FOR OUR GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS.
THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE OTHER, UH, FUNDS BECAUSE THEY PAY FOR THEIR OWN MM-HMM
UM, BUT IT'S 15.6% FOR GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS FOR HEALTH, FOR HEALTH INSURANCE ONLY FOR GENERAL FUND.
UM, I, YOU KNOW, TAB AND I GO TO THE HOSPITAL BOARD MEETINGS AND THEY HAVE COMPARABLE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT WE DO AND THAT'S ONE OF THEIR BIGGEST ITEMS IS THEIR, THAT GOES UP EVERY YEAR IS OF COURSE THEIR HEALTH INSURANCE.
SO I THINK THE NEXT ITEM ON THE AGENDA IS A MERIT PAY UPDATE.
UM, I'LL START WITH LETTING YOU KNOW THAT THE MERIT, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY.
WE'RE, WE SORT OF TALKED ABOUT WE'RE GONNA GO WITH THIS PLAN.
SO, AND YOU'LL, YOU'LL BUDGET FOR IT.
SO YOU'LL SEE IT AGAIN WHEN THE BUDGET GETS PRESENTED AND THAT WAY IF YOU HAVE WANTED TO CHANGE DIRECTION, WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
BUT FOR THE PURPOSES OF PLANNING THE BUDGET, WE'RE, I'M GONNA PROVIDE THE NUMBERS, UM, FOR THE 85 15 SPLIT WITH YEAR ONE PLAN 85 15 OVER TWO YEARS.
WE'RE GONNA GO 85, 15 OVER TWO YEARS AND THEN STOP AND REASSESS IT AFTER TWO YEARS AND FOCUS ON WHEN WE DO INCREASES, DO IT ON A FLAT RATE.
SO IT DOESN'T HURT THE LOWER PAID EMPLOYEES PAY EMPLOYEES, BUT INSTEAD OF DOING A PERCENTAGE.
CATHERINE, TO BE CLEAR, ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE, THE BACKUP DOCUMENTATION THAT YOU HAD IN THERE, YOU'RE STARTING NEXT FISCAL YEAR WITH OPTION 15? BECAUSE THAT'S A PRETTY HUGE JUMP.
I'M STARTING WITH THE ONE THAT WAS IN THERE.
AND THEN THE NEXT YEAR WILL BE AT THE 85 15 UNLESS WE WANT, I MEAN, AND I THINK THOSE ARE THINGS WE CAN TALK ABOUT OFFLINE.
AND COUNSEL, I THINK IF I'M HEARING YOU RIGHT, YOUR GOAL IS TO GET US TO 85 15 IN TWO YEARS.
WE AS STAFF CAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT, WELL, WHAT IS THAT GONNA LOOK LIKE PER EMPLOYEE? IS THAT FAIR TO SAY? SO WE CAN CERTAINLY TALK ABOUT THAT AGAIN AND MAYBE READJUST THAT AND DO IT MORE OF AN EVEN SPLIT.
BUT I CAN GO BACK TO USI AND HAVE THEM RERUN THOSE TWO THE NEXT TWO YEARS TO BE MORE EVEN VERSUS THE 39 IN YEAR ONE INCREASE, IF THAT'S WHAT YOU'D LIKE TO SEE.
IT'D BE IMPACT OVER TWO YEARS INSTEAD OF MORE IMPACT THE FIRST YEAR.
SO WE'RE THEY'RE TAKING A BIGGER HIT IN YEAR ONE GOING FROM 92 TO 87.2 AND THEN YOU'RE ONLY DROPPING 2% IN YEAR TWO.
UM, SO THE MERIT PAY IMPLEMENTATION UPDATE, I, I, IT'S REALLY JUST A COUPLE UPDATES FOR YOU.
I'M GONNA KIND OF HIGHLIGHT THE PLAN THAT WE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST.
UM, WE'LL BE BRINGING THE POLICY TO THE FINANCE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND THEN FOLLOWING TO COUNCIL, THE EXPECTED IMPLEMENTATION GO LIVE DATE IS JULY ONE.
SO WE ARE STAYING ON TRACK WITH GETTING EVERYTHING READY FOR THAT.
UM, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS IN OCTOBER, BUT I JUST WANNA BRING IT BACK FOR A REMINDER.
SO FOR, WE IMPLEMENTED THE STEP PALE STEP PAY SCALE THAT YOU ALL ADOPTED JANUARY 28TH, UM, THAT THOSE INCREASES HAVE NOW BEEN ISSUED TO ALL EMPLOYEES THAT ARE A PART OF OUR COMP AND CLASS PLAN.
SO EVERYBODY IS ON STEP IN THE NEW STEP SCALE.
SO THE NEXT GOAL IS TO NOW HOW DO YOU MOVE PEOPLE UP IN THE STEP SCALE? AND THAT'S GONNA BE DONE BY WAY OF MERIT THAT TIES INTO YOUR ANNUAL EVALUATIONS.
SO AS I SAID, POLICIES WILL BE FORTHCOMING FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND ADOPTION.
SO WE CAN GO LIVE ON JULY ONE.
UM, BUT TO KIND OF GIVE YOU A LITTLE PREVIEW OF THAT, EMPLOYEES MUST HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED THEIR PROBATIONARY PERIOD, NOT HAVE RECEIVED A DISCIPLINARY ACTION OR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN WITHIN THE PROCEEDING 12 MONTHS.
AND THEY HAVE A CURRENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION ON FILE TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE ANNUAL MERIT INCREASE.
IF WE DO HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT GET TO THE TOP OF THEIR PAY SCALE, WE WILL STILL REWARD THEM WITH A MERIT PAY.
UM, IT'LL JUST BE ONE LUMP SUM, BUT THERE'S NO STEP FOR THEM TO MOVE TO.
AS KOHLS ARE ISSUED, THE STEP SCALE INCREASES THE WELLS AS AS WELL.
SO WHEN KOHLS ARE ISSUED AND WE HAVE TO INCREASE OUR SCALES, THE INTENT IS THOSE PEOPLE THAT ARE THE HIGH END ARE NOW BACK IN STEP.
SO IF YOU'RE NOT UNDERSTANDING ME, PLEASE ASK.
[00:50:01]
IT SAYS, UM, THEY HAVE TO HAVE A CURRENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION ON FILE.SO THAT'S NOT THE EMPLOYEE'S PROBLEM, THAT'S THEIR SUPERVISOR'S PROBLEM.
SO IF SHE'S MY SUPERVISOR AND SHE DIDN'T GET MY EVALUATION DUE, THEN SHE, WHAT'S MY RECOURSE? 'CAUSE I'M GONNA PAY THE PRICE.
YOUR RECOURSE IS TO COME TO ME.
'CAUSE THAT'S A POLICY VIOLATION THAT YOUR SUPERVISOR'S NOT FOLLOWING COUNTY POLICY.
AND EVERYBODY IN OUR GROUP HAS TO HAVE AN EVALUATION ON FILE WITH YOUR OFFICE.
SHE KNOWS WHAT I'M, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
UM, SO EMPLOYEES THAT NEED IMPROVEMENT OR UNSATISFACTORY RATINGS ON THOSE ANNUAL EVALUATIONS WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR A MERIT INCREASE FOR THAT YEAR.
AND THEN THEY WOULD BE PLACED ON A PROBATIONARY STATUS, UM, AND ISSUED A PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PLAN INTO THE ANNUAL EVALUATIONS A LITTLE HERE.
SO IT'LL BE AN ANNUAL EVALUATION DONE THROUGH OUR NEO GOV SYSTEM.
ALL ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES WILL UNDERGO AN ANNUAL EVAL.
WE WILL HAVE A STANDARDIZED RATING SCALE.
UM, SO WE CAN ENSURE CONSISTENCY.
WE WILL CONTINUE OUR ANNUAL SUPERVISOR TRAININGS WITH SUPERVISORS.
SO THEY ARE, ARE WELL TRAINED ON HOW TO COMPLETE, UM, A THOROUGH UNBIASED EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENTS WITH THEIR STAFF.
AND THEN WE'LL HAVE THOROUGH DOCUMENTATION WHERE SUPERVISORS MUST PROVIDE WRITTEN JUSTIFICATION IN SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR ANY MERIT INCREASES THAT EXCEED STANDARDS, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST MERIT INCREASE YOU CAN GET.
EXCEED STANDARDS WOULD BE A TWO STEP INCREASE ON THE CURRENT PAY SCALE.
EACH STEP INCREASES APPROXIMATELY 2%.
SO IN LAYMAN TERMS, EXCEED STANDARDS IS A 4% INCREASE TO THEIR ANNUAL WAGES MEET AND STANDARDS IS A 2% INCREASE OR ONE STEP INCREASE.
AND IF ITS NEEDS IMPROVEMENTS ARE BELOW, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, THEY WOULD NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR A MERIT INCREASE THAT YEAR.
AND I KIND ALREADY TOUCHED ON THIS TOO, THE LUMP SUM PAYMENT WILL BE ELIGIBLE FOR EMPLOYEES AT THE MAXIMUM PAY RANGE, UM, IF THEY DO RECEIVE THE MEETS OR EXCEED.
SO THEY WOULD EITHER GET A 2% OR A 4% LUMP SUM PAYMENT IF THEY'VE ALREADY EXCEEDED THE STEPS IN THEIR PAY RANGE.
AND THEN WE'LL DO AN EQUITY CHECK, UM, HR OR REVIEW MERIT AWARDS FOR PATTERNS OF INEQUITY AND WE'LL REPORT ANY FINDINGS TO THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR.
I HAVE A QUICK, DO YOU THINK YOU, OH, GO AHEAD.
THE ONE, THE ONE BEFORE THAT I GUESS.
ALRIGHT, SO LET'S SAY IT'S YOU'RE, YOU'RE A GRADE 12 AND WE HAVE 12 STEPS MM-HMM
SO YOU'RE SAYING, OKAY, IF SOMEONE'S AT GRADE 12 AND THEY'RE AT 12, THE HIGHEST THEY CAN GO, DON'T THEY GET PROMOTED TO THE NEXT GRADE WITH THEIR EVALUATION INSTEAD OF YOU'RE SAYING YOU GET PAID A LUMP SUM? YEAH.
SO THE GRADES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH JOB WITH POSITIONS.
SO UNLESS THEY'RE ACTUALLY PROMOTING TO A NEW POSITION, THEY STAY IN THAT PAID BAND.
BUT IF THEY'VE EXCEEDED THE STEPS, THEY WOULD GET A LUMP SUM MERIT INCREASE.
WHEN WE DO COLAS, THAT'S GOING TO INCREASE THE STEP SCALE.
SO I WOULD SAY RIGHT NOW I THINK WE HAVE FOUR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE ALREADY AT THE MAX OUT OF 900 PLUS.
YOU'VE GOT AN EMPLOYEE THAT'S BEEN AN EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT FOR 50 YEARS THAT'S, THEY DON'T WANT TO DO ANYTHING ELSE.
THEY'RE GONNA TAP OUT OF THEIR PAVING EVENTUALLY.
SO IT'S NOT A HIGH POPULATION AT ALL THAT WOULD EXPERIENCE THIS.
AND AS WE, AND NOW EVEN THOSE FOUR EMPLOYEES, THEY ARE JUST BARELY OUT OF RANGE.
SO PROBABLY THE NEXT TIME YOU ISSUE A COLA, THEY'RE GONNA GET BACK IN STEP.
IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN, BUT, OKAY.
NO, THAT'S A, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION 'CAUSE OKAY.
I THINK I WAS GOING INTO THIS ONE.
UM, AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS.
SO AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE THE SUPERVISOR RECOMMENDATION.
UM, WE HAVE SEVERAL LEVELS OF REVIEW WITH THESE EVALUATIONS.
SO THE SUPERVISOR WILL CONDUCT THE EVALUATION, UM, IT'LL BE REVIEWED BY A SECOND LEVEL MANAGER.
IT'LL ALSO BE REVIEWED BY HUMAN RESOURCES.
AND THEN WE'LL ALSO INCLUDE THE A CA TO DO THE FINAL APPROVAL OF, UM, THE MERIT INCREASE.
SO OUR NEXT STEPS, UM, AS I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, IS THAT CURRENT, CURRENTLY WE ARE COMPLETING THE CONFIGURATIONS IN THE NEO GOV SYSTEM BECAUSE ANOTHER ITEM WE HAD TALKED ABOUT BEFORE IS DO WE WANNA KEEP THE UNIVERSAL DATES FOR EVALUATIONS OR TRANSITION TO ANNIVERSARY DATES? WE'RE GONNA TRANSITION TO ANNIVERSARY DATES.
UM, WITH THAT, THERE'S, THERE'S SOME CONFIGURATION CHANGES THAT WE HAD TO DO IN THE SOFTWARE.
[00:55:01]
HR STAFF IS WRAPPING THAT UP.WE'RE PROJECTED TO BE, HAVE EVERYTHING COMPLETED AND IN THE SYSTEM READY TO GO BY END OF APRIL.
UM, AND AS I MENTIONED, WE'LL BE BRINGING THAT FORMAL POLICY TO COMMITTEE IN APRIL, COUNCIL IN MAY TO BE READY FOR A GO LIVE DATE ON JULY ONE.
SO ESSENTIALLY ANNIVERSARY DATES FROM JULY ONE ON, WE'LL START GETTING THEIR EVALS AT THE TIME OF EVALUATION AND THEY'LL HAVE A MERIT INCREASE PROCESSED WITHIN X AMOUNT OF DAYS, PROBABLY TWO PAY PERIODS OF THE COMPLETION OF THAT ANNUAL EVALUATION.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? I, I REALLY AM GLAD YOU'RE DOING IT BY ANNIVERSARY DATE THAT WAY IT'S PROBABLY IN SOME WAYS EASIER ON THE SUPERVISOR, ISN'T IT? VERY MUCH SO.
THEY DON'T GET 50 AT ONE TIME.
I THINK ABOUT DONNA OVER AT EMS. MM-HMM
WITH, YOU KNOW, HAVING TO PUT EYES ON A HUNDRED EVALS AT ONE TIME.
AND THEN IT'S, IT GETS VERY EASY AT THAT POINT JUST TO CHECK, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK BOX, CHECK, CHECK, CHECK.
SO THIS WILL ALLOW THEM TO BE MORE THOROUGH, UM, AND TAKE THEIR TIME IN REVIEWING IT.
WELL, CUNNINGHAM, OH, GO AHEAD.
NO, I DIDN'T HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.
WELL, WELL, WELL YOU PROVIDE, UM, COUNSEL, UH, UH, UPDATE OF HOW THE, UH, MERIT PROCESS IS WORKING AND EVALUATION THAT COMES TO, I WOULD LOVE TO, SO THAT WE'LL SEE HOW THIS IS ACTUALLY BENEFITING.
WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT DOING QUARTERLY UPDATES OR, OR PRICING.
I WAS GONNA QUARTERLY IF WE CAN, WE CAN, YEAH.
WE CAN BRING OUT QUARTERLY, WHATEVER WORKS WITH YOU GUYS JUST BECAUSE IT'S ON AN ANNIVERSARY OR SOMETHING.
SO AS A QUARTERLY UPDATE THAT COULD WORK.
ONE, THANK YOU FOR DOING THE ANNIVERSARY DATE.
UM, SECONDLY, SO WHAT'S BEEN DONE SO FAR, I'VE HAD A COUPLE PEOPLE REACH OUT TO ME THAT'S JUST PUTTING THEM ONTO THE SCALE THAT THEY SHOULD BE ON.
SO THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY THEIR RAISE YET.
AND THAT, SO I'VE HAD A LOT OF PEOPLE BE LIKE, I SAW YOU GUYS PASS THE MERIT BASE AND MY RAISE WAS 12 CENTS.
AND I WAS LIKE, UM, I HAVE A WORKSHOP IN A COUPLE WEEKS.
SO I THINK YOU MAY BE TALKING ABOUT THE STEP.
'CAUSE THE STEP DID GO INTO EFFECT AND, AND I HAD TO BE VERY CAREFUL.
EVERY EMPLOYEE GOT A PERSONAL NOTIFICATION FROM ME.
AND, AND I WAS VERY CAREFUL IN THE LANGUAGE I USED.
'CAUSE I DIDN'T WANT ANYONE TO FEEL SLIGHTED THAT THIS HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THEIR PERFORMANCE.
THIS WAS SOLELY TO GET YOU ON A STEP THAT'S CLOSEST TO YOUR CURRENT RATE.
SO WHEN WE DO HAVE MERIT INCREASES AS OF JULY ONE, YOU'RE NOW UN STEP BECAUSE OUR POLICY IS YOU GET A ONE OR TWO STEP INCREASE.
WELL, IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY UN STEP, YOU'RE GONNA GET SLIGHTED.
IF YOU'RE NOT ALREADY ON A STEP.
SO, SO RIGHT NOW IT'S JUST PUTTING THEM ON THE STEP THAT THEY SHOULD BE ON.
SO WHEN THIS GOES INTO EFFECT, THAT IS CORRECT.
AND I'VE ALSO HAD FEEDBACK, SO I, I JUST WANNA SAY IT FOR YOU ALL.
IF YOU'RE HEARING IT FROM STAFF AND STAFF THAT MAY BE LISTENING, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONFUSION TOO THAT MAYBE THE STEPS ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE AND IT DID NOT, THE STEPS ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE IN THEIR CURRENT ROLE, WHICH IS WHAT WE IMPLEMENTED IN THE LAST CLASS AND COMP STUDY.
'CAUSE I'VE HAD SOME SAY, WELL, I'VE BEEN HERE 11 YEARS, BUT I'M A STEP EIGHT.
YOU'VE BEEN IN YOUR CURRENT ROLE FOR AROUND EIGHT YEARS.
THAT'S HOW THAT STEP WAS CREATED.
SO IT'S ESSENTIALLY WHERE YOUR CURRENT RATE WAS BASED ON THE LAST CLASS IN COMP STUDY.
WE ROUNDED YOU UP TO THE NEXT STEP CLOSE.
AND WE DIDN'T PUT ANYONE DOWN.
UM, BUT EVERYONE WENT UP ONE STEP.
I HAD SOMEONE IN MY STAFF GET A 1 CENT INCREASE.
SO, SO IT, IT WAS FELT COUNTYWIDE, BUT IT'S, THE INTENT WAS TO GET YOU UNS STEP.
SO WE ARE NOW PREPARED FOR MERIT INCREASES AS THEY COME THROUGH IN JULY.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I GAVE THEM THE CORRECT ANSWER FOR ANYBODY THAT ASKED ME AND THAT HELPS ME.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.
YOU'VE GOT ONE MORE? I'M, I'M, NO, I DON'T.
I THINK THE NEXT ONE WILL BE JOHN, BUT JUST TO CLARIFY, I THINK THAT'S RIGHT.
WE TALK ABOUT A MERIT AND THEN I THINK I ALSO HEARD THERE'D BE A COMPONENT TIED TO COST OF LIVING, WHICH WOULD BE A FIXED DOLLAR AMOUNT AS OPPOSED TO A PERCENTAGE.
I MEAN, I'VE HEARD THAT MENTIONED HERE.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE HEARING THAT CORRECTLY.
SO AS WE PUT THIS TOGETHER, COUNCILMAN PASSMAN.
ONE FINAL THING ON OUR INSURANCE, DO WE HAVE A WORKERS' COMPENSATION PLAN? WE DO.
DO WE HAVE A LIGHT DUTY PLAN? MM-HMM
AND ARE OUR, UM, JOBS, THE ACTUAL JOB DESCRIPTION DEFINE, YOU KNOW, FOR INSTANCE, SOME OF OUR PEOPLE HAVE TO LIFT THINGS EVERY DAY.
SO WE HAVE A POUNDAGE IN THERE.
SO IF WE HAVE AN EMPLOYEE WITH A WORKERS' COMP INJURY, THE FIRST THING WE DO IS IF THE DOCTOR PLACES THEM ON LIGHT DUTY, THEY'LL COORDINATE WITH OUR RISK MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
AND DEPARTMENTS ARE TELLING US, HEY, I COULD USE SOME HELP IN THIS CLERICAL FIELD.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY WORKERS' COMP, LIGHT DUTY FOLKS SEND THEM MY WAY.
AND SO WE TRY TO HAVE FIND LIGHT DUTY WORK FOR THEM BEFORE THEY JUST
[01:00:01]
GO HOME.DO THEY GO TO THEIR OWN DOCTOR OR DO THEY GO TO OUR DOCTOR? THEY GO THROUGH A DOCTOR THAT WE WORK WITH, BUT IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT LIKE OUR OWN DOCTOR BY ANY MEANS.
BUT, BUT YEAH, IT IS WHO WE REFER THEM TO.
WE'RE GONNA TAKE A 10 MINUTE BREAK BEFORE WE START THE NEXT ONE.
JUST THOUGHT ABOUT IT ON BREAK.
UM, I KNOW WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DOING THIS ON THE ANNIVERSARY DATE FOR THE VALUATIONS AND WE'RE STARTING IN JULY.
IS THERE ANY WAY WE COULD DISCUSS EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR X AMOUNT OF YEARS TO MAYBE AT LEAST GET AN EVALUATION? IF WHAT IF THEY'RE GOT HIRED IN MARCH AND THEY HAVE TO WAIT AN ENTIRE YEAR WHEN WE START THIS IN JULY.
SO IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN TALK ABOUT LIKE, PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN HERE FOR THE FIRST, FOR FIVE YEARS OR SIX YEARS OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES THAT THEY COULD AT LEAST GET THEIR FIRST EVALUATION DONE EARLIER? OR IS THAT SOMETHING YOU THINK IT'D BE TOO DIFFICULT? IT WOULDN'T AND IT MIGHT BE A DUMB IDEA.
IT'S JUST, WELL, THERE'S NEVER A DUMB IDEA.
UM, YEAH, NO, THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE DONE.
UM, SO IF THEY'RE MARCH AND IT STARTS IN JULY, THEY'D HAVE TO WAIT AN ENTIRE YEAR UNTIL MARCH.
TO, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE THAT'S THEIR ANNIVERSARY DATE.
BUT, SO BEFORE I GIVE AN ANSWER, COULD I ASK FOR CLARIFICATION ON SOMETHING THAT MIGHT SOLVE THAT? SURE.
WE, WE TALKED ABOUT COLA A LITTLE BIT.
IS THERE AN INTENTION WITH COUNSEL TO DO A COLA AN FY 26? IF SO, COLAS IS SEPARATE FROM MERIT AND SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE FISCAL YEAR? ME PERSONALLY, I WOULD THINK THIS YEAR, YES.
ESPECIALLY WITH THIS JUST GOING TO EFFECT.
AND IF THAT IS THE CASE IN COUNSEL STOLE THE REST, EVERYBODY ELSE IS GOING DOWN THAT ROUTE, I'M TOTALLY FINE NOT WORRYING ABOUT EVALUATIONS AND STARTING AN ANNIVERSARY YEAR.
'CAUSE THERE'S STILL GONNA BE A RAISE PUT IN THAT YEAR.
SO, SO IF THE, THE DESIRE IS TO DO A COLA I'D ADMINISTRATIVELY, I WOULD PREFER TO KEEP YOUR ANNIVERSARY DATE, YOUR ANNIVERSARY DATE.
BUT IT, IT SOLVES YOUR CONCERN WITH THERE IS SOMETHING WE'RE DOING IN JULY.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT EVERYBODY ELSE, BUT THAT, THAT CLEARS MY MIND VERY WELL.
WELL, COULD WE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT TO GET KIND OF THE TEMPERATURE OF THE ROOM? BECAUSE I DON'T THINK WE WERE TALKING ABOUT COLA.
UM, SO I'M LEAVING
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WANT US TO START WORKING ON? AND I THINK MAYBE WE CAN TALK ABOUT IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE FOR THE MERIT, WHAT THAT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW WHAT THE BASIC COLA COULD BE, UH, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THAT.
AND WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS WHEN WE FIRST BROUGHT MERIT TO YOU.
UM, I DON'T THINK WE EVER NEED TO IGNORE COLAS.
COLAS ARE SEPARATE FOR FROM MERIT.
COLA IS A COST OF LIVING GOES WITH INFLATION.
I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO CONTINUE DOING THE STANDARD THREE TO 5% COLAS THAT WE'VE DONE PREVIOUSLY BECAUSE WE ARE DOING MERIT AND TRADITIONAL BELL CURVES.
THE MAJORITY OF YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE GOING TO BE GETTING A 2% MERIT INCREASE.
SMALL PERCENTAGE WILL NOT GET A MERIT INCREASE.
'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT PERFORMING.
SMALL PERCENTAGE ARE YOUR SUPER STARS THAT ARE GETTING THE 4%.
SO YOU WANNA THINK THE MAJORITY OF YOUR EMPLOYEES WILL BE GETTING A 2% AS IS WITH MERIT ONLY.
SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT COLA, GOTTA REMEMBER THAT.
UM, IF YOU'RE GONNA DO, LET'S SAY A 1% COLA OR A ONE AND A 5% COLA, YOU'RE LOOKING AT AROUND A THREE TO 3.5% AVERAGE INCREASE FOR YOUR WORKFORCE, WHICH I THINK IS FAIR.
YOU WANNA TALK ABOUT DOING YOUR TRADITIONAL 5% COLAS OR 3% COLAS, SOMEBODY COULD POTENTIALLY BE GETTING A 9% INCREASE.
SO I, I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND MATCHING YOUR COLA WITH THE CPI INFLATION THAT WE'VE DONE HISTORICALLY BECAUSE YOU'RE ALSO DOING MERIT INCREASES.
SO THAT'S THE FLAT RATE THAT WE DID LAST YEAR.
I THINK IT WAS THREE, I WAS ABOUT TO SAY 3013.
WE WENT TO A FLAT RATE INSTEAD AND WE DID 9 83 FOR PART-TIME AND 1384 FOR FULL-TIME.
THAT'S KIND OF WHAT I WAS THINKING.
AND IF WE CUT THAT IN HALF, THAT'S SEVEN 50 IN CHANGE OR SIX 80? SIX 80 IN CHANGE IT, I THINK IT WASN'T, IT AROUND 18 THOUGHT IT WAS 1800.
IT WAS EQUIVALENT OF A 3% 18 PAYROLL, 1880.
SO THAT WAS LAST YEAR'S, OR THIS YEAR'S I SHOULD SAY.
SO NINE 40 WOULD BE 50% OF THAT, WHICH WOULD BEEN ORIGINALLY 3% TO 1.5.
AND I WOULDN'T, I'M SORRY TO THROW SOME WRENCHES,
[01:05:01]
BUT I THINK THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO DO THAT.IN HINDSIGHT, UM, A CONCERN FROM HRS PERSPECTIVE WITH THE FLAT INCREASE YOU INCREASES, UH, ON COLAS ALSO INCREASE YOUR PAY BANDS.
YOU MAY RECALL OUR PAY SCALE IS A 5% DIFFERENCE FROM ONE GRADE TO THE NEXT FLAT 5%.
UM, SO WHEN WE INCREASED OUR PAY SCALES, IT GOT THAT OFF AS YOU WENT UP IN THE HIGHER PAY BANDS BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T TECHNICALLY 5% OR 3% INCREASES.
IT WAS $1,800, WHICH COMPRESSED OUR PAY BANDS.
WE FIXED THAT COMPRESSION THROUGH THE STEP IMPLEMENTATION.
BUT I JUST WANNA POINT THAT OUT THAT IF WE ARE, I PERSONALLY AGREE WITH YOUR THOUGHT PROCESS ON THE FLAT, BUT I WANT TO BE MINDFUL THAT IT IS GOING TO CAUSE COMPRESSION ON OUR PAY BANDS.
I THINK WE, WE CAN SEE WHAT Y'ALL RECOMMEND SOON.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WHAT HR IS GONNA RECOMMEND TO THE, TO MR. MOORE.
DO WE HAVE ENOUGH TO FORM A RECOMMENDATION JUST FOR INFORMATION? SORRY? JUST FOR INFORMATION.
CPI FOR THE CURRENT UPCOMING FISCAL YEAR IS AT 2.63%.
IF, IF YOU WANTED A RECOMMENDATION FROM ME TODAY, UM, I WOULD DO A ONE AND A HALF PERCENT COLA ACROSS THE BOARD.
I, I DO APPRECIATE THE INTENT BEHIND THE FLAT, BUT IT DOES COMPRESS OUR PAY BANDS.
AND THE MERIT WOULD STILL COME INTO PLAY FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
WELL, SO I GUESS MY ONLY CONCERN IS THAT IS PRETTY COUNTERPRODUCTIVE WE JUST TALKED ABOUT WITH HEALTHCARE THEN.
SO THE RAISE IN HEALTHCARE JUST TOOK AWAY THEIR 1.5%.
THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WITH FEDERAL EMPLOYEES EVERY YEAR.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MESSES UP ALL THE TIME, THOUGH.
I DON'T WANNA BE A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
ANY OTHER COMMENT OR QUESTIONS OF CATHERINE? I JUST, A LAST COMMENT I I SHARED WITH YOU AFTER THAT, I, I I SHARE YOUR CONCERNS.
UM, BUT TO PUT IT IN A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE, 39% SOUNDS LIKE A LOT FOR THE IN HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASES, BUT IT WAS $20 EXTRA A PAY PERIOD FOR THE EMPLOYEE ONLY $50.
$20 A MONTH EXTRA $50 A MONTH EXTRA.
SO I DON'T THINK IT'S GONNA HAVE AS MUCH FEELING AS JUST LOOKING AT THIS 39% INCREASE AND 4% INCREASE AS SALARY.
DOES IT MATCH APPLES TO APPLES THAT WAY? ALRIGHT, THANK YOU.
AND JOHN, IT'S UP NEXT, RIGHT? GOOD MORNING.
SO, UH, I AM GONNA TALK WITH YOU ABOUT, UM, PAID LEAVE TIME.
UH, ONE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD, UM, I THINK IT WAS A, A A FEW MONTHS AGO, WAS ABOUT OUR PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF AND PAID LEAVE TIME.
THEIR INABILITY TO USE THEIR EARNED LEAVE TIME.
SO WE TOOK A LOOK, WE TOOK A HARD LOOK AT WHAT, WHAT THAT IS, HOW MUCH THOSE EMPLOYEES, UM, ARE EARNING, HOW MUCH THEY'RE LOSING, AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.
SO CATHERINE AND I WORKED ON THIS, UH, QUITE A BIT.
AND THE REASON I'M DOING THIS PRESENTATION IS MOST OF THOSE, UH, DEPARTMENTS ARE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS.
SO THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT DO SHIFT WORK, 12 HOUR SHIFTS, 24 HOUR SHIFTS.
SO THIS INCLUDES, UM, OUR EMS PERSONNEL, OUR BEAUFORT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICERS, OUR DETENTION, UM, OFFICERS AND OUR ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICERS.
ALRIGHT, SO I WANT TO FIRST TELL YOU WHAT WE'RE, WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THEN I'LL TELL YOU WHY OR WHAT WE'D LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER AND WHY.
UM, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO WHEN IT COMES TO THE PAID LEAVE CASH OUT IS WE COME TO YOU TOWARDS
[01:10:01]
THE END OF THE YEAR AND WE REQUEST THAT, UH, PAID LEAVE CASH OR PAID LEAVE CASH OUT OPTION FROM YOU.AND WHEN YOU APPROVE THAT, THEN WE GO BACK AND FIND THOSE FUNDS TO, TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
AND WE, WE DO THAT COUNTYWIDE AND IT HAS BEEN 40 HOURS, UH, FOR EVERY EMPLOYEE OVER THIS PERIOD OF TIME.
SO, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT SHOULD CHANGE.
HOWEVER, I WANT TO, UM, SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS OF, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, FOLKS.
UM, BEING THAT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I'D LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER IS MAKING THIS A POLICY, BEING ABLE TO PUT THIS IN OUR EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK OR SOME OTHER POLICY THAT WE DO THIS, UM, REGULARLY, AND THEN WE CAN PROPERLY BUDGET FOR THAT.
UH, SO LIKE I SAID, WHAT HAPPENS NOW, UM, I THINK THE FINANCE OFFICE DOES RESERVE SOME FUNDS TO COVER THAT AND EXPECTATION THAT YOU WILL APPROVE THAT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE TO OFTEN DIP BACK INTO THE, THOSE DEPARTMENTS, UM, BUDGETS IN ORDER TO COVER THOSE FUNDS.
SO IF WE PLAN FOR IT NOW, IT'S A, A MUCH BETTER, UH, FOR US AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, THIS CAN ALSO BECOME A BENEFIT FOR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION AND CAN POSSIBLY, BECAUSE THIS, UM, ALL OF PAID LEAVE TIME DOES BECOME A LIABILITY FOR THE COUNTY.
SO ALL THOSE FUNDS THAT ARE UNUSED, UH, THAT ALL OF OUR STAFF MEMBERS HAVE, UH, IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO ACCOUNT FOR DOING THAT.
SO THIS IS WHAT I JUST TALKED ABOUT.
UM, AND THE SPECIFICALLY, THE REASON WE'RE TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF IS DUE TO A MYRIAD OF REASONS.
WHETHER IT IS A SHORTFALL IN PERSONNEL OR SPECIFIC, UH, JOB REQUIREMENTS, THEY ARE EARNING MUCH MORE VACATION TIME THAN THEY CAN USE.
SO OFTEN AT THE END OF THE YEAR, THEY'RE LOSING THAT TIME.
SOME OF THAT TIME IT, WE HAVE A DISABILITY, UH, SAVINGS BANK.
SO IF THEY'VE EXCEEDED THE, THE NUMBER OF HOURS THEY'VE MET, THEIR CAP LIMIT, THOSE HOURS ROLL OVER INTO A DISABILITY BANK.
UH, WE DO HAVE A NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WHO HAVE FILLED THAT DISABILITY, UH, BANK AS WELL.
SO THOSE FOLKS ARE JUST, UM, THEY'RE CAPPED.
THEY ARE, UM, EVERY PAY PERIOD THERE ARE LOSING THOSE EARNED HOURS.
I'M GONNA SHARE WITH YOU OUR CURRENT PRACTICE.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE, THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE MEMO THAT HR SENDS OUT EVERY YEAR, UH, ONCE YOU APPROVE THOSE FUNDS.
UH, AND SPECIFICALLY FOR, UM, THOSE 40 HOUR EMPLOYEES, UH, I WOULD HOPE A LOT OF FOLKS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, OF CASHING THOSE HOUR OUT, HOURS OUT AND INVESTING IN, IN THEIR 401K AND 4 57.
I DID THAT AND I REALLY LIKED, UH, BEING ABLE TO DO THAT.
UM, RIGHT NOW THIS IS THE, UM, OUR CURRENT ACCRUAL RATE, JUST SO YOU UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT, UH, SOME OF OUR, UH, STAFF MEMBERS ARE ACCRUING.
AND I WANT YOU TO FOCUS ON THE, THE 10 YEAR AND OVER.
UM, SO THIS IS, THIS IS WHERE THIS AFFECTS PUBLIC SAFETY THE MOST.
THOSE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE THE MOST TENURE AND THE MOST EXPERIENCE, THEY ALSO PROVIDE THE MOST IMPORTANT SERVICES IN OUR PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, THEY ARE THE OFFICERS IN OUR DETENTION CENTER AND FOR THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND OUR EMTS AND MEDICS THAT HAVE, THAT ARE MOST SEASONED.
SO THEY FILL MOST CRITICAL POSITIONS.
UM, RIGHT NOW IN OUR DETENTION CENTER, SPECIFICALLY OUR SHORTFALL AND PERSONNEL HAS US ON, UM, UH, AN EMERGENCY MANDATORY, UM, OVERTIME.
THERE IS NO LEAVE AVAILABLE FOR THEM TO TAKE.
SO EVERY HOUR EARNED BY THESE TENURED EMPLOYEES IN THEIR LEAVE TIME IS JUST GOING AWAY.
THEY'RE NOT SEEING THE BENEFIT OF THEIR WORK.
UM, AND THIS IS THE, THE SAME SCHEDULE.
THIS IS RIGHT OUT OF OUR EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK.
THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR A 24 HOUR SHIFT EMPLOYEE.
WHAT WE'RE ASKING IS TO, IF YOU WOULD CONSIDER MAKING THIS A POLICY SO THAT WE CAN PROPERLY BUDGET FOR THIS, UM, THE CHANGES WOULD BE, THE CHANGES IN THIS POLICY, UH, WOULD BE APPLICABLE TO THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE, EMS DETENTION CENTER AND ANIMAL SERVICES.
WE WOULD OF COURSE ALIGN THE, THE NEW POLICY WITH THE EXISTING PRACTICE THAT WE'VE DONE.
OKAY, THAT'S IN THE SLIDE I SHOWED YOU EARLIER.
[01:15:01]
HOW WE DERIVED OUR OPTIONS.SO CATHERINE AND I MET WITH EACH OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES.
UM, WHEN WE DID THAT, WE DID, WE EX WE DID NOT EXCLUDE, BUT WE FAILED TO INVITE THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE TO THAT MEETING.
SO WHEN WE WERE HAVING THESE DISCUSSIONS, WE WERE, WE WERE REALLY JUST TALKING ABOUT OUR INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS.
HOWEVER, SINCE THEN, UH, CHIEF OUTFIELD AND I HAD A GREAT CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT WE WERE DOING AND THEY WERE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF THIS EFFORT AS WELL.
UH, THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF OFFICERS WHO FALL INTO THE SAME CATEGORY WHILE, RIGHT NOW I THINK THE LARGEST NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE EXCEEDED THEIR BALANCE IS AN EMS. AND THEN IT IS THE DETENTION CENTER.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
AND IN ANIMAL SERVICES, IT'S NOT GREAT, BUT WE DO HAVE FOUR SHIFT WORK EMPLOYEES THERE.
OUR ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICERS WHO OFFER 24 7 COVERAGE, SO THEY CAN'T ALWAYS HAVE A DAY OFF WHEN THEY NEED A DAY OFF BECAUSE WE HAVE TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
WE ARE OBLIGATED, UM, TO PROVIDE THAT SERVICE.
SO DURING THESE CONVERSATIONS, WE ASK THOSE DEPARTMENT HEADS, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE US TO DO? HOW CAN WE HELP YOU SOLVE THIS PROBLEM? SO, UM, WE HAD A, A, A LONG LIST OF OPTIONS.
WE WHITTLED THOSE DOWN TO FOUR, AND THOSE ARE WHAT I'M GONNA PRESENT TO YOU.
SO ONE OF THE OPTIONS FIRST WAS TO INCREASE THE ALLOWABLE HOURS OF PTL, UH, P-T-L-P-L-T, SORRY, THAT ONE'S WRONG.
SO WE COULD, UH, INCREASE IT, WE COULD DOUBLE IT FOR THE YEAR.
IT'S, INSTEAD OF 40 HOURS, IT'S 80 HOURS.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THEIR HOURS EARNED, 80 HOURS IS STILL A FRACTION OF THE HOURS THAT THEY'RE EARNED AT THE END OF THE YEAR.
ONE OF THE, UH, MOST ATTRACTIVE PRACTICES FOR THEM FOR THESE, UH, DEPARTMENTS WAS TO DO IT TWICE A YEAR, TO DO IT IN, IN DECEMBER, INCREASE THE NUMBER OF HOURS, UH, FOR THOSE AGENCIES FROM 40 TO 60, AND THEN DO IT AGAIN IN THE SPRING.
UM, BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS, WHEN I DESCRIBE SOME OF THOSE EMPLOYEES WHO REACHED THAT, UM, THAT LEVEL AND THEN IT ROLLS OVER INTO THEIR DISABILITY ACCOUNT, ONCE THEIR DISABILITY ACCOUNT HAS MAXED OUT, THEY'RE LOSING IT EVERY PAY PERIOD, IT'S JUST GOING AWAY.
UM, THEN ANOTHER OPTION WAS TO, UM, IN DOUBLE IT IN DECEMBER AND THEN OFFER ANOTHER 40 HOURS IN THE SPRING OR NOT DO EITHER OF THOSE AND JUST OFFER THE, UH, THE TOTAL OF 120 HOURS, UH, IN DECEMBER.
UH, THAT MIGHT BE AN APPROPRIATE OPTION IF WE DON'T DECIDE TO CREATE THIS AS A POLICY.
UM, AND, UM, AND DON'T FULLY BUDGET FOR THAT EVENT.
SO WE'RE COMING BACK TO YOU AND ASKING YOUR PERMISSION TO DO THAT.
SO ONCE A YEAR MIGHT BE EASIER FOR THE FINANCE OFFICE TO, TO MANAGE THAT INSTEAD OF THE TWICE A YEAR KIND OF THING.
THE STAFF THE PREFERRED, THIS WAS THE PREFERRED OPTIONS, WHY I'M SHOWING IT TO YOU FIRST.
THE PREFERRED OPTION WAS, UM, TO INCREASE THOSE HOURS TO 60 HOURS AND DO THAT TWICE A YEAR.
ANOTHER OPTION WAS DISCUSSED WAS TO ROLL, UH, CREATE A PTL ROLLOVER ACCOUNT.
UH, SO IN THIS WAY, INSTEAD OF THOSE HOURS THAT EXCEED THEIR MAXIMUM ROLLING OVER INTO DISABILITY, THIS COULD ROLL OVER INTO ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
AND THEN THOSE, UH, EMPLOYEES THAT EXCEED THAT MAXIMUM, UM, COULD APPLY IF FUNDED FOR, UH, PTL CASH OUT PROGRAM WITH THOSE HOURS THAT ARE STUCK IN THAT BANK.
UM, OPTION THREE WAS TO INCREASE THE ACCRUAL BALANCE.
UM, INCREASING THE ACCRUAL BALANCE, UH, DOES PUSH IT DOWN THE ROAD A LITTLE LONGER.
UM, BUT IT WON'T TAKE LONG BEFORE THE, BEFORE THOSE SAME EMPLOYEES MEET THAT MAXIMUM AND, UH, ARE STILL IN THE SAME POSITION.
THE OTHER THING THAT INCREASING THE HOURS DOES IS REALLY JUST INCREASES THE COUNTY'S LIABILITY TO MAINTAIN THAT ON THE BOOKS.
SO REALLY NOT A PREFERRED OPTION.
UH, AND LASTLY, UH, CREATE AN AUTOMATIC PAYOUT SYSTEM SO WHEN AN EMPLOYEE REACHES THAT MAXIMUM, INSTEAD OF LOSING THOSE HOURS, UH, EVERY PAY PERIOD THAT THEY WOULD AUTOMATICALLY BE PAID OUT.
THERE'S A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH THIS AS WELL.
UM, TRYING TO CREATE A SYSTEM THAT DOES THAT.
AND THEN, UM, UH, PERSONALLY I THINK IT TAKES AWAY THE OPPORTUNITY FROM THE EMPLOYEE TO MAKE DECISIONS ON THEIR OWN TIME EARNED.
SO THE OPTION ONE WAS THE, UH, UM, THE FAVORITE OPTION FOR EMPLOYEES.
UM, BUT IF WE DID THAT TWICE A YEAR, WHAT WE'D BE LOOKING FROM COUNCIL, UH, SUPPORT IS TO MAKE
[01:20:01]
THIS A POLICY BUDGET FOR THAT, UH, SO THAT WE, UH, WE CAN FUND THIS PROPERLY AND THEN TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR IT'S NOT A HEADACHE OR, OR GUESSWORK OR HAVING, ASKING OUR FINANCE OFFICE TO GO AND FIND ALL THESE DOLLARS TO, TO FUND IT PROPERLY.OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS.
I, I TALKED TO THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT FREQUENTLY AND I APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'RE DOING LOOKING INTO THIS.
I, I THINK AS LONG AS THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT CAN DO IT, I THINK THE TWICE A YEAR MIGHT BE PRETTY GOOD.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT PIQUED MY INTEREST WAS THE 401K CONTRIBUTION.
UM, I NOTICED WITH YOUR PLAN, I DIDN'T REALLY GO INTO FULL DETAIL ABOUT THAT.
IS THERE, IS THERE A PLAN? DO WE HAVE A MATCH WITH THAT 401K IF THAT CONTRIBUTION HAPPENS? OR HOW DOES THAT NO SIR.
THERE'S NO, IT JUST BE DIRECT.
IF YOU WANT TO GIVE A MATCH, I WOULD LOVE THAT.
UM, BUT THERE, THERE CERTAINLY IS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT'S ANOTHER BENEFIT THAT A LOT OF MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTIES DO AND, AND PRIVATE, UH, ORGANIZATIONS DO A 401K MATCH.
THAT'S AN INDEPENDENT BENEFIT THAT I WOULD, I WOULD AGAIN, SUPPORT.
I WORK FOR A PRIVATE COMPANY THAT, THAT CERTAINLY DID MATCH 401K INVESTMENT.
IT ENCOURAGES, UH, FOLKS TO INVEST IN THEIR OWN FUTURES.
UH, IT SURE DOES AND THEIR RETIREMENTS, UH, BUT THAT'S NOT REALLY PART OF THIS.
THAT AS AN OPTION FOR AN EMPLOYEE TO TAKE THAT CASH OR TO USE THAT AS AN INVESTMENT IS A REALLY GREAT OPTION THAT THE FINANCE OR THE HR DEPARTMENT PUT TOGETHER.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? WELL, I, I GUESS KIND OF FOLLOWING, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS COULD WE DO BOTH A A, IF WE DID THE 60 60, COULD WE DO BOTH A SELL OUT OR A, LIKE, LIKE A CASH OR A CONTRIBUTION OF 401K, MAKE IT PART OF THE POLICY WHERE IT WOULD BE THE, THE EMPLOYEE'S CHOICE? SO IF, IF I MAY, THAT IS CURRENTLY IN PLACE, BUT I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR, WE UNDERSTAND THAT'S NOT THE EMPLOYER MATCHING.
NO, NO, I, YEAH, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT, BUT NOT EVERYONE HAS A 401K UNDERSTOOD.
SO YOU HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT AS WELL.
AND THEN BEAUFORT COUNTY DOES, UM, SIGNIFICANT MATCHING AND THE STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
SO I DON'T WANNA LOSE SIGHT OF THAT EITHER, THAT WE, WHILE WE DON'T MATCH YOUR 401K, IT'S ALMOST A DOUBLE, UM, PAY IN TO YOUR STATE RETIREMENT.
WELL, LET LET ME ASK YOU ANOTHER QUESTION WHILE YOU'RE, WHILE YOU'RE STANDING THERE, IF THEY WERE TO HAVE A DIRECT CONTRIBUTION FROM THIS, COULD THEY PUT INTO THEIR PEOPLE RETIREMENT AND WE NOT MATCH THAT CONTRIBUTION? NO, WE, THAT'S NOT ALLOWED BY PBA.
THEY'D HAVE TO FORMALLY BUY TIME.
NOBODY CAN REALLY AFFORD THAT.
ANY, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS LIKE THE IDEA OF THE 60 60 OPTION AND MAKING IT A POLICY? BECAUSE THEN IT IS VERY PREDICTABLE.
EVERYBODY KNOWS THE BENEFIT THAT IT CAN BE FOR THOSE PARTICULAR EMPLOYEES.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO GO CERTAINLY, YES MA'AM.
WHAT'S THE FISCAL IMPACT? JUST ABOUT TO ASK.
WE KNOW THE COST BECAUSE I'M NOT, I'M NOT DOING ANY POLICY.
SO WE KNOW IT COST WELL, I'M READY FOR YOU.
UM, AND I WILL SAY THIS IS APPROXIMATE, UH, BECAUSE STAFFING LEVEL CHANGES, UH, IN, IN ALL THESE DEPARTMENTS IN 2023.
AND, AND I'M SPECIFICALLY GOING TO TALK ABOUT THOSE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS THAT THIS IMPACTS IN 2023, THE 40 HOUR COST TO, UM, THE COUNTY, UH, FOR A SHERIFF'S OFFICE, EMS DETENTION CENTER ANIMAL SERVICES WAS $278,000.
IN 2024 IT WAS $281,000, GIVE OR TAKE A LITTLE BIT HERE AND THERE IN 2025 IT WAS $320,000.
AND THOSE ARE JUST OF THE PARTICIPANTS THAT CHOSE TO SELL BACK TIME.
WHO, WHO? UM, AND THAT WAS WITH THE OTHER PROGRAM, THE, UH, THAT WAS ADMIN STAFF TOO.
THAT INCLUDED THE ADMIN STAFF.
SO THE TOTAL CAUSE, OR THE TOTAL, UM, PTL CASH OUT PROGRAM WAS ABOUT $850,000.
UM, UH, UH, IN AROUND THOSE YEARS WHEN WE ADD THE SPEC, THOSE HOURS FOR JUST THOSE DEPARTMENTS, JUST THE SHIFT WORK EMPLOYEES, UM, OUR EXPECTATION IS MAYBE 1.2 MILLION, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO BUDGET FOR
FOR PTL CASH OUT RIGHT NOW IT'S ABOUT 850,000.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THAT INCREASE OF, YOU KNOW, SO YOU PREDICTED 1.2 MILLION? YES, MA'AM.
YES, MA, WE'VE HAD THE SHORTAGE IN THE DETENTION CENTER, WHAT IS IT, 33 PEOPLE? 33 I THINK 34 TODAY, BUT 34 TODAY.
[01:25:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF THE PROBLEM IS THAT WE'RE NOT, I MEAN, YOU WOULD HOPE THAT NUMBER WOULD GO DOWN AND I KNOW YOU HAVE SOME IDEAS ON THAT AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THAT LATER TODAY ACTUALLY.IT IS THE LAST TOPIC BECAUSE THAT WOULD DECREASE THIS, THIS NUMBER TOO.
UM, AND LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT, CATHERINE PUT TOGETHER, UM, A A GREAT BIG SPREADSHEET THAT HAS, UM, ALL THE EMPLOYEES, DIFFERENT CATEGORIES OF EMPLOYEES AND ALL THE BACKUP MATERIAL, WHICH HELPED ME TO PUT THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER FOR YOU.
AND IT SHOWS THE, THE ACCRUAL OF EACH, UH, OF THOSE, UM, SHIFT WORK EMPLOYEES SO THAT WE CAN REALLY TAKE A GOOD LOOK AND SEE IS IT ALL THE EMPLOYEES? IS IT A CERTAIN, UM, NUMBER OF STAFF MEMBERS.
ONE THING ABOUT THE DETENTION CENTER IS WE, WE KIND OF HAVE THIS BIFURCATED STAFF.
WE HAVE STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN HERE A LONG TIME THAT ARE LOYAL AND DEDICATED TO THEIR WORK.
AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, NEWER STAFF MEMBERS WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FROM THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE YEAR TO FIVE YEAR, UM, UH, KIND OF TIME, TIME SPAN.
AND THEN ALL THE RECRUITING THAT WE'VE DONE KIND OF CREATES THIS REVOLVING DOOR.
WE RECRUIT PEOPLE, THEY COME IN, THEY DON'T REALLY LIKE IT AND THEY MOVE ON.
SO WE HAVE THIS KIND OF BIG TURNOVER NUMBER.
SO WHEN WE BEGIN TO LOOK AT PTL CASH OUT, IT AFFECTS MOSTLY OUR TENURED FOLKS.
UH, YOU SAID THE TOTAL COST FOR THE, UH, PAYOUT WAS ABOUT $850,000 A YEAR.
THAT'S WHAT WE PAID IN THE, THAT'S WHAT IT COST US IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS, JUST BASED ON THE 40 HOURS.
AND THAT INCLUDED ALL EMPLOYEES.
SO THE, WHEN, WHEN YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT 23, 24 AND 25, LET'S TALK ABOUT 25, IT'S $320,000 FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES SPECIFICALLY.
BUT ISN'T THAT PART OF THE 850,000? YES SIR.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY 1.2 MILLION.
WE, WE EXPECT THAT THAT TOTAL COST GOING TO INCREASE THE TOTAL PROGRAM WOULD GO FROM THAT 850.
AND THESE ARE ESTIMATES, UH, 'CAUSE ALL OF THIS CHANGES BENDING ON EMPLOYEES, UM, UM, PARTICIPATION.
SO IN THE PAST YEARS WE SPENT ABOUT $850,000 AND WE EXPECT IF WE INCLUDE THIS JUST FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS, THAT THAT COST WOULD GO TO ABOUT 1.2 MILLION.
WHICH IT, IT'S NOT $1.2 MILLION NEW MONEY BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY IN THE BUDGET SOMEPLACE.
WE JUST EVERY DECEMBER SAY LET'S DO THIS AND THEN FIND THE MONEY.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING.
SO THIS IS NOW MAKING IT PART AND PARCEL OF WHAT WE EXPECT TO DO AND HOW WE EXPECT TO DO IT.
AND IF I COULD ON THAT, GOING BACK TO MERIT.
SO IT ALL DEPENDS ON WHEN THEY CASH IT OUT, BECAUSE IT COULD BE BEFORE THEIR MERIT INCREASE, IT'D BE CASHED OUT AT A LOWER VALUE.
IT'S REALLY HARD TO NAIL DOWN A NUMBER, BUT I JUST WANNA THINK, WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR THAT SPRING CASH OUT WILL PROBABLY BE MORE THAN YOUR WINTER CASH OUT.
'CAUSE MORE PEOPLE HAVE NOW RECEIVED A MERIT INCREASE BECAUSE THE CASH OUT'S THE VALUE OF YOUR CURRENT RATE OF PAY.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS, QUESTIONS TODAY? THEY CAN GO AHEAD LET, OKAY, UM, TO PIGGYBACK OFF CHAIRWOMAN HOWARD'S STATEMENT, THE MONEY CURRENTLY FOR ALL THESE VACANCIES, IF WE FILLED THOSE VACANCIES THEORETICALLY IT SHOULD CUT DOWN ON THE AMOUNT OF PTO TAKING.
BUT WITH THAT SAID, IT'S ALREADY BANKED.
SO WE'RE GONNA FOOT THAT BILL FOR AT LEAST FOUR TO FIVE YEARS, EVEN IF WE FILL THOSE SPOTS TOMORROW.
SO MY QUESTION WOULD BE THE FUNDS CURRENTLY FOR THOSE VACANT SPOTS, ARE WE STILL HOLDING THAT AT THE COUNTY OR DO THOSE DEPARTMENTS HOLD THAT MONEY? GO AHEAD.
SO VACANT, UM, THE FUNDING FOR VACANT POSITIONS IS WITHIN THE WAGES AND SALARIES LINE ITEMS IN EACH DEPARTMENT.
SO MY QUESTION IS, IF IT'S VACANT AND WHERE THAT MONEY THAT WE ALLOCATED TO THEM IS BEING USED FOR PTO, HOW DO WE AS A COUNTY USE THAT MONEY THAT'S NOT BEING USED FOR WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO, TO ACTUALLY COVER THIS PTO TO COVER THAT COST OR LIKE THAT'S PROBABLY A, A QUESTION FOR WE WOULD, WOULD TRANSFER THE FUNDS OUT OF THE DEPARTMENTS TO COVER THE EXPENSE.
SO I REALLY THINK THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK AT BECAUSE THE VACANCIES AREN'T GETTING LESS, THEY'RE GOING UP IN MOST OF THESE DEPARTMENTS WHEN IT COMES TO WHETHER IT'S SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT OR DETENTION CENTER.
SO IF IT'S NOT BEING USED FOR THOSE SALARIES AND IT'S GOING, WE'RE PAYING MORE IN PTO, WE SHOULD BE PULLING THOSE FUNDS FROM THAT BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT FILLING THE SPOT ANYWAYS.
SO, AND THAT SHOULDN'T RAISE OUR LINE ITEMS. SO WE CAN STILL CONTINUE OUR GOAL OF LOWERING THAT MILLAGE BY THE END OF THIS BUDGET SEASON.
I DID NOT, I DID NOT PLAN TO BUDGET THE PLT.
YOU DID WHAT? I DID NOT PLAN TO BUDGET THE PLT.
I PLAN TO USE VACANCY LOG FOR IT.
[01:30:01]
PERFECT.SO IF, IF THAT'S THE IDEA BEHIND IT, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A MECHANISM IN PLACE THAT WE'VE APPROVED WHERE WE CAN USE THOSE FUNDS TO OFFSET THAT COST BECAUSE IT'S NOT, THE MONEY'S JUST SITTING THERE.
WE SHOULD BE USING IT FOR THAT.
NOT TAKING OUT OF OUR LINE ITEMS FOR DAILY BUDGETS.
BUT I THINK IF YOU WERE DOING THIS PLT PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY ALONGSIDE THE OTHER PLT PROGRAM THAT YOU DO FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTY, I THINK IT SHOULD BE PRESENTED TO YOU ON AN ANNUAL BASIS AND WE DO IT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
UM, AND MY QUESTION IS, SO WITH EMTS WE WENT TO THAT FOURTH SHIFT.
SO THERE SHOULD BE HYPOTHETICALLY LESS OVERTIME FIREFIGHTERS, I MEAN I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU REDUCE OVERTIME WHEN PEOPLE CALL OFF DON'T COME IN, WHATEVER.
BUT THIS IS, I MEAN I GET THE DETENTION CENTER, THAT'S ANOTHER STORY.
AND THE SHERIFF HAS LIKE 30 SOMETHING VACANCIES OFF AND ON.
BUT WHAT ABOUT EMT AND FIRE? OH FIRE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT FALL WITHIN THE COUNTY'S UM, PURVIEW.
WELL, BUT I HEARD YOU SAY FIRE SO I KNOW THEY'RE SEPARATE.
SO THEY'RE NOT YOUR PUBLIC SAFETY.
I KNOW THEY ALL HAVE THEIR OWN BUDGET.
BUT WOULDN'T THEY HAVE TO DO THIS AS WELL FOR EQUITY? NO, MA, THEY SET THEIR OWN POLICY.
WELL THEY COULD BUT THEY SET, THEY SET, THEY CURRENTLY SET THEIR OWN POLICY.
WELL, SO YEAH, I KNOW THEY SET THEIR OWN POLICIES, WHICH GIVE ME ONE MINUTE OF LEEWAY.
WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IF FIRE DISTRICT CONSOLIDATION, BECAUSE THERE ARE FIREFIGHTERS THAT ARE NOT MAKING AS MUCH AND EVERY FIRE DEPARTMENT'S GONNA SET THEIR OWN POLICY.
SO BLUFFTON MIGHT SAY, YEAH, WE'RE GONNA PAY OUT 120 DAYS, YOU KNOW, HOURS OF PPLT, BUT MAYBE ST.
SO I'M STILL WAITING FOR FRUITION OF THAT.
GENERALLY WHATEVER WE DECIDE TO DO, THEY TRY TO FOLLOW SUIT IF THEIR BUDGETS CAN AFFORD IT.
BUT IF THEIR BUDGET CAN'T AFFORD IT, THERE WE ARE.
NOW WE PUT ANOTHER LIABILITY ON THEM.
'CAUSE IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD THAT ST.
HELENA CAN'T AFFORD TO DO IT, BUT BLUFFING CAN.
THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE STUDY.
JUST BEFORE PEOPLE WILL START BALKING AT THE $1.2 MILLION, THAT'S ALREADY A LIABILITY WE CARRY.
IT'S GONNA HAVE TO BE PAID OUT AT SOME POINT.
AND THEN ON TOP OF THAT, PEOPLE ARE, THAT AREN'T ABLE TO REALLY CASH OUT.
THEY'RE EARNING A BENEFIT THAT'S, THAT THEY'RE LOSING.
SO I MEAN THAT'S ALMOST AN UNJUST ENRICHMENT TO A CERTAIN DEGREE.
I KNOW IT'S A BENEFITS PACKAGE, BUT YOU KNOW, THIS IS ALREADY A LIABILITY.
WE NEED TO GO AHEAD AND WE START PAYING IT OUT AND WE START LESSENING THAT LIABILITY ON THE BOOKS IF, IF, IF I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY.
SO YEAH, THE REASON WE DO THE PLT PROGRAM IS OF ITS BENEFIT TO THE EMPLOYEES TO BE ABLE TO CASH OUT RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND IT REDUCES THE AMOUNT OF LIABILITY ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
SO IT'S NOT, IT'S A GOOD THING THAT WE DO IT BECAUSE WE DO REDUCE OUR LIABILITY THAT'S OWED TO THE EMPLOYEE.
GOING BACK TO, UM, PINKY'S POINT ABOUT THAT IT SHOULDN'T BE POLICY, WE SHOULD DO IT YEAR TO YEAR.
WHERE, WHERE'S, WHERE'S THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT ARGUMENT? WELL, THE, THE POLICY SETS A STANDARD.
IT ALLOWS US TO BE CONSISTENT OVER TIME.
UH, AND WE CAN EASILY WRITE INTO THE POLICY THAT ALL THAT IT WOULD BE IMPLEMENTED ALONG WITH APPROVAL OF THE BUDGET.
UH, SO THERE, UM, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO KNOW THAT IF WE'RE GONNA, IF WE'RE GONNA DO THIS TWICE A YEAR, IF THE RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF IS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE THIS TWICE A YEAR, THEN WE NEED TO PROPERLY BUDGET THAT.
AND WE NEED TO KNOW APPROXIMATELY WHAT THIS COST WILL BE.
AND, UH, TO YOUR POINT, IF WE BEGIN TO HIRE STAFF, SO THE, THE SHORTFALL IN STAFFING RIGHT NOW IS GREATEST IN THE DETENTION CENTER.
AND WE HAVE, WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS, UH, TODAY AS WELL.
AND AS WE IMPROVE OUR RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION AND WE IMPROVE OUR OPTIONS FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES, WE WILL SEE THAT THOSE EMPLOYEES HAVE MORE OPPORTUNITY TO USE THEIR TIME OFF AND WE'LL SEE THIS LIABILITY DECREASE OVER TIME.
UH, SO I COULD SEE THOSE, THOSE, UM, EMPLOYEES, NOT MANY WILL STILL WANT TO SELL BACK THEIR TIME.
UM, BUT YOU COULD SEE THOSE NUMBERS DECREASING OVER TIME AND THAT WILL AGAIN REDUCE THE COUNTY'S LIABILITY.
ALLISON JUST JUMP IN REAL QUICK AND SAY IF THEY JUST TAKE THE TIME OFF THOUGH, IT'S NOT A LIABILITY BECAUSE IT'S ALREADY BUCKETED IN.
AND THEN I DON'T WANT US TO GET TOO AGGRESSIVE BECAUSE THERE IS A REASON WHY WE GIVE THEM TIME OFF AND THERE'S A, THEY THEY NEED TO TAKE TIME OFF.
UM, AS OPPOSED TO PEOPLE THAT WANNA WORK ALL THE TIME AND NEVER TAKE TIME OFF, IT'S BEEN PROVEN THAT IT'S DETRIMENTAL TO THEM.
SO AGAIN, THERE IS A, AN ADVANTAGE FOR THEM TO ACTUALLY TAKE THE TIME OFF THAT, THAT THEY'RE GIVEN TO USE IT FOR THEIR BENEFIT.
AND THAT'S NOT TO PAY OUT AGGRESSIVELY ON TIME THAT THEY'VE, THEY'VE GOT YOU'RE EXCELLENT POINT.
WELL, AND I'LL JUST TELL YOU, UH,
[01:35:01]
WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW IN THE DETENTION CENTER, UH, SPECIFICALLY, AND THEN WHEN IT COMES TO TENURED EMPLOYEES WHO FILL IN PUBLIC SAFETY CRITICAL ROLES, THOSE CRITICAL ROLES, WE ARE REQUIRED TO STAFF THOSE CRITICAL POSITIONS.AND WHEN THAT REQUIREMENT MEANS MANDATORY OVERTIME AND NO TIME OFF, THEN IT BECOMES THE, IT BECOMES OUR FAULT.
WE HAVE NOT FILLED POSITIONS IN ORDER TO, UM, GIVE OUR EMPLOYEES THE BENEFIT THAT THEY'VE EARNED.
SO THOSE EMPLOYEES ARE JUST LOSING THEIR EARNED TIME WHILE WE'RE MAKING THEM WORK AND NOT GIVING THEM TIME OFF.
DAVID, DID YOU HAD ANOTHER COMMENT? YEAH, SO WHAT I WAS GONNA SAY TO THAT, IT'S, IT IS NOT NECESSARILY, THEY'RE NOT TAKING TIME OFF.
IT'S THE WAY THE SHIFTS ARE STRUCTURED AND THE SHORT STAFF, THEY'RE HAVING TO DO BUDDY SWAPS.
SO THEY MAY HAVE SOME TIME OFF, BUT THE, THEY'RE NOT ACTUALLY TAKING A LEAVE SO TO SPEAK.
THEY'RE HAVING TO JUST SWAP SHIFTS.
SO THE SHIFT IS STILL GETTING COVERED BUT THERE'S NOT TECHNICALLY A, A TIME OFF.
SO THAT'S, I THINK THE ISSUE WITH THE SHORT STAFF RIGHT NOW, A BUDDY SWAP IS, IS COMMON IN THE FIRE SERVICE AND IN EMS, UH, IT'S LESS POPULAR IN EMS, UH, THAN IT, THAN IT IS IN THE FIRE SERVICE.
BUT THAT IS AN OPTION THAT FOLKS HAVE.
I THINK THAT HAPPENS PRETTY FREQUENTLY TO THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT TOO, IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
SO YEAH, I DON'T KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT THEM.
ANY OTHER YOU IT'S THE DESIRE TO HAVE A POLICY, SO WHAT THE CAVEATS IT SOUNDS LIKE WE COULD DO, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO I I WOULD SAY YOU PROPOSE THE POLICY, IT GOES THROUGH THE APPROPRIATE COMMITTEE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE POLICY, AGREE OR DISAGREE, MOVE IT TO COUNCIL FOR ACTION.
CERTAINLY WE HAVE NO PROBLEM PREPARING A POLICY TO, TO PRESENT FOR CONSIDERATION.
AND THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE'RE ASKING FOR TODAY IS JUST CONSIDER, UM, THIS PTL CASH OUT, CONSIDER YOUR PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, FOLKS AND THE AMOUNT OF TIME THEY EARN THE, UH, DEDICATED EMPLOYEES THAT GIVE OF THEIR TIME TO BEAUFORT COUNTY THAT JUST CAN'T TAKE A DAY OFF.
YOU GOT, YOU HAVE 10 WEEKS, YOU COULD TAKE A PAYOUT OR YOU COULD YEAH, WHY DON'T WE THINK ABOUT THAT AND THEN MAKE ACRU ACCRUAL ACRU EVERY YEAR FOR IT, RIGHT? YEAH.
THAT'S A IN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TOO.
YOU KNOW, AND ACCRUAL FOR IT AT THE END AND THAT'D BE A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, AND IT WOULDN'T REALLY COST US ANYTHING RIGHT NOW.
WELL IT DOES COST SO WELL IT COST IN THE END.
BUT WE RECRUITED FOR IT OVER ALL THE YEARS NOW, NOW.
SO THE MONEY'S THERE TO PAY FOR IT.
'CAUSE IT'S GOTTA GO ON YOUR BALANCE SHEET, BUT THE LIABILITY BECOMES VERY GREAT.
SO RIGHT NOW WE DO HAVE, WHEN AN EMPLOYEE RETIRES, IF THEY HAVE, LET'S SAY A LOT OF EMPLOYEES DO THIS, IF THEY KNOW THEY'RE GONNA RETIRE IN TWO YEARS, THEY STOP TAKING THEIR VACATION TIME SO THEY BUILD UP TO THEIR MAXIMUM SO THAT WHEN THEY DO RETIRE THOSE, UM, THOSE VACATION EARNED HOURS, RIGHT, THEY CAN BE ADDED TO THE, THEIR RETIREMENT YEARS.
THERE'S LOTS OF OPTIONS FOR RETIREMENT EMPLOYEES WITH USE OF THOSE.
BUT IF WE JUST KIND OF MAKE THIS INFINITE POOL, THEN OUR LIABILITY FOR THOSE THAT CASH, THAT DOLLAR FOR DOLLAR LIABILITY WOULD GET HUGE.
IT WOULD, IT WOULD, IT WOULD NOT BE, UM, IT WOULD NOT BE PRETTY ON OUR AUDIT.
I THINK WE NEED TO, LIKE JOE SAID, OH, I'M SORRY.
JUST MY, MY ONLY FEAR OF THAT IS WE'VE, WE RUN A BALANCED BUDGET HERE AND WE'RE TRYING TO LOWER THAT.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, BUT THEY DO NOT RUN A BALANCED BUDGET.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE PROGRAM SOUNDS GREAT, BUT I'M, I DON'T WANT TO GO IN THAT DIRECTION.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS AND THEY DID IT AT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
YOU COULD BUY IT OUT AND RETIRE AT THE END OF THE YEAR, BUT IT TURNS INTO A NIGHTMARE WHEN YOU CAN'T BALANCE THAT BUDGET.
AND HONESTLY, I COULD, MOST PEOPLE CAN MAKE MORE MONEY INVESTING IT THEMSELVES THAN THE GOVERNMENT TAKING THAT MONEY AND INVESTING IT TOO, WHICH IS WHAT THEY DO DURING THAT TIME.
SOME PEOPLE DON'T DO THEY MESS UP.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE WOULD DO HERE.
WE WOULD TAKE THAT MONEY AND INVEST IT SOMEWHERE AND LORD FORBID WE MESS UP OR IT'S LOCKED UP FOR SO LONG, THEN WE CAN'T PAY PEOPLE OUT THEN WE'RE IN DEBT SERVICE.
SO THAT'S JUST MY ONLY FEAR OF THAT.
OKAY, SO YOU'RE GONNA BRING IT UP TO YES MA'AM.
COMMITTEE AND WE WILL TAKE THE CONSENSUS OF COUNCIL, WE WILL PUT TOGETHER A, UH, A POLICY FOR YOU TO CONSIDER AND WE'LL MOVE FORWARD FROM THERE.
THE ENTERPRISE FUND VERSUS GENERAL FUND WAS A TAG TEAM WITH PINKY AND THIS IS WAS A QUESTION RAISED YES.
IN NOVEMBER WHEN WE HAD OUR RETREAT.
SO WE WANTED TO COME BACK AND ANSWER THAT DISCUSSION.
[01:40:01]
AND MR. GLOVER, I THINK IF HE'S STILL ON, HE WAS THE ONE THAT REALLY ASKED THE QUESTION.UM, SO ITS SINGLE, UM, SINGLE QUESTION AND PINKY AND I ARE GONNA TAG TEAM IT, WHAT I HAVE HERE AND SHE'LL PULL IT UP IN JUST A SECOND IS JUST A QUICK ASSESSMENT ON HOW OUR STORM WATER FEE IS CALCULATED TODAY.
SIR, YOU'RE GONNA SEND US THESE JARED FI CAN'T MAKE NOTES WHEN I DON'T HAVE IT.
I KNOW, I, I DON'T KNOW, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT.
THIS IS JARED FRA, JARED F REITZ.
QUICK GUMMY NOTES AND THERE'S ONE QUICK HIGHLIGHT AND THEN I'LL HAND IT TO, TO PINKY TO GIVE THE NEXT PART OF IT.
WAIT FOR EVERYBODY, JUST FOR THE RECORD.
UM, OUR STORMWATER FEE IS RATHER COMPLICATED.
THIS IS BREAKING IT DOWN AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, THERE'S A COUPLE KEY COMPONENTS.
UM, FIRST IS A SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING UNIT.
SO BASICALLY WE TREAT EVERYBODY INTO A UNIT.
SO WHETHER YOU'RE A RESIDENTIAL UNIT OR NOT.
THE, THE FIRST TERM THERE, A SINGLE FAMILY UNIT IS BASICALLY, I DON'T KNOW WHY IT'S THIS NUMBER, BUT IT'S 4,906 SQUARE FEET.
SO THAT IS ONE RESIDENTIAL UNIT.
UM, SO THERE'S A FACTOR TO MAKE IT IF YOU HAVE A SMALLER HOME TO REDUCE THAT TO EQUIVALENT TO YOUR HOME OR IF YOU HAVE A LARGER HOME.
UM, AND THEN SECONDLY IS IMPERVIOUS AREA VERSUS GROSS AREA.
SO HOW BIG IS YOUR OVERALL LOT VERSUS HOW MUCH OF THAT LOT IS IMPERVIOUS? SO IF YOU GOT ONE ACRE, UM, AND 75% IS IMPERVIOUS, THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
UH, SO AS YOU SEE NEXT IS JUST SOME CALCULATION TABLES.
AGAIN, THERE'S THREE DIFFERENT TIERS, UM, OF THE HOUSE BASICALLY ON THE SIZE OF THE HOUSE.
SO, UM, LESS THAN 2,500 SQUARE FEET IS A HALF OF A DWELLING UNIT.
SO WE'RE GONNA MULTIPLY THAT, UM, YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE BIT LATER.
AND THEN YOU GOT THE TIER THREES TO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSE.
AND THEN YOU ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT TYPE OF HOUSING.
YOU GOT A MOBILE UNIT, UM, UH, APARTMENT CONDO AND SUCH.
AND THEN LASTLY IS THE GROSS AREA.
SO HOW BIG IS THE LOT? IS IT LESS THAN TWO ACRES? IS IT GREATER THAN TWO ACRES? AND THEN, UM, ON THE SECOND PAGE IS JUST A QUICK EXAMPLE AND THIS IS WHERE YOU REALLY START TO SEE, UH, THE TYPICAL HOME.
THIS IS SAY A 2300 SQUARE FOOT HOME ON A ONE AC OR 0.8 ACRE LOT, THAT'S TIER TWO.
UM, SO THAT'S ONE SINGLE FAMILY UNIT EQUIVALENT.
AND UM, YOU GET TO THE FORMULA AT 0.5 TIMES.
UM, WELL, LEMME BACK UP ON THE LAST PAGE YOU SEE THE RATES.
SO EACH MUNICIPALITY OR JURISDICTION IN THE COUNTY AND THE FOUR MUNICIPALITIES SET THEIR OWN RATES.
UH, SO FOR THE EXAMPLE, JUST USING COUNTY RATES AND IF YOU GO BACK TO THAT FIRST EXAMPLE, EXAMPLE ONE TYPICAL HOME, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE RATES DOWN THERE AT THE BOTTOM.
SO WHEN YOU PUT THE FORMULA, THE FORMULA IS YOUR SINGLE FAMILY UNIT RATE, WE WANT TO GET IT THE RIGHT SIZE.
THEN YOUR GROSS AREA, BASICALLY HOW MUCH IMPERVIOUS AREA AND THEN AN ADMIN FEE.
SO WITH THIS ONE, IF YOU MULTIPLY 0.5 TIMES 71 AND 0.8 TIMES 10 PLUS 19, THAT GIVES YOU THE 62.5.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? THE BIG DIFFERENCE IF YOU SKIP DOWN TO EXAMPLE THREE IS THE COMMERCIAL.
SO THIS IS A 20,000 SQUARE FOOT BUILDING ON TWO ACRES AND YOU GET THE EQUIVALENT UNITS.
SO EQUIVALENT UNIT IS BASICALLY 5,000 SQUARE FEET.
SO THAT EQUALS FIVE SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IS WHAT IT'S SAYING.
AND THIS IS THE, THE FACTOR THAT TWO TIMES THE GROSS RATE.
SO BASICALLY THAT'S MULTIPLYING COMMERCIAL'S GONNA HAVE MORE SQUARE, MORE UM, IMPERVIOUS AREA AND, AND YOU CAN SEE THE RATE THERE.
LONG STORY SHORT, SO COME UP FOR AIR.
UH, LONG STORY SHORT IS THE FEE THAT WE HAVE STRUCTURED IS STRUCTURED SUCH THAT IT'S FAIR BASED ON HOW MUCH IMPERVIOUS AREA YOU HAVE ON YOUR LOT AND HOW MUCH POLLUTANTS THAT PROVIDES TO THE STORMWATER SYSTEM.
UM, SO IF WE TALK ABOUT SHIFTING IT FROM THE ENTERPRISE AND THE FEE-BASED SOLUTION AND MOVING THAT TO THE GENERAL FUND, IT GETS TREATED AS EVERYTHING ELSE OPERATING AS A MILLAGE BASE.
SO THEN IT GOES INSTEAD OF GETTING TREATED FAIRLY BASED AS BASED OFF SQUARE FOOTAGE AND IMPERVIOUS AREA,
[01:45:01]
IT GETS BASED OFF OF VALUE OF THE HOUSE.UM, SO WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE, WE'VE GOT A FACTOR, A MULTIPLICATION FACTOR ON COMMERCIAL IN THE FEE STRUCTURE BECAUSE COMMERCIAL IS GOING TO HAVE MORE IMPERVIOUS AREA ON YOUR LOT AND THAT LOT IS GOING TO, YOU THINK ABOUT A PARKING LOT, IT'S GOT MORE OILS AND STUFF THAT ARE COMING OFF INTO THE SYSTEM.
UM, THE ONLY FACTOR WHEN YOU GET TO THE MILLAGE, THE ONLY BREAK THAT THE SINGLE FAMILIES IS IF FOR SAY THEY'RE A FOUR PERCENTER VERSUS A SIX PERCENTER, OTHERWISE EVERYBODY'S GETTING TREATED EXACTLY EQUAL ON STORMWATER.
SO WHAT THAT'S GONNA EQUATE TO PINKY CAN TELL YOU, BUT THAT'S GONNA EQUATE TO UM, MORE FEES PLACED ON RESIDENTIAL VERSUS COMMERCIAL, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO PINKY, YOU CAN QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
ARE YOU READY FOR THAT? I'M, HANG ON.
PINKY'S GONNA JUST SHOW YOU HOW MUCH, UM, STORMWATER FEE REVENUE WE COLLECT AND THAT EQUIVALENT MILLAGE.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT THE HOMEOWNERS IN ORDER TO MOVE IT FROM FEE TO MILLAGE, UM, IT WOULD GO UP BY A CERTAIN AMOUNT.
ON PAGE THREE, THIS QUICK RULE OF THUMB, THAT LIST THAT'S GENERATED BY THE MUNICIPALITY, CORRECT? YES SIR.
THEY DETERMINE HOW MUCH TO CHARGE.
EACH MUNICIPALITY, YOU CAN SEE HOW IT'S VARIOUS ON THAT.
UM, THOSE ARE THE CURRENT FEES TODAY AND THEY TELL US WHAT THEY WANT, THEN WE PUT THAT IN OUR CALCULATOR AND THEN SEND THAT TO THE AUDITOR FOR ALL THE PARCELS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
SO WE, WE IN UNINCORPORATED ARE ASSESSING THIS MUCH HILTON HEAD.
YOU CAN SEE THEIR FEE IS MUCH HIGHER, BUT SO THEY'RE CREATING A DIFFERENT AMOUNT OF REVENUE INSIDE THE TOWN LIMITS.
SO THEY GET THAT STORMWATER REVENUE, HILTON HEAD AND BLUFFTON AND EVERYBODY ELSE, CORRECT? RIGHT.
THE ONLY THING THAT WE KEEP OUT OF THE HILTON HEAD IS THE ADMINISTRATIVE FEE TO HELP ADMINISTRATIVE FEE ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAM.
AND YOU KNOW, WE PUT IN A NEW PATIO, BIGGER PATIO AND UM, CITY BEAUFORT WAS RIGHT ON TOP OF IT.
SO, YEAH, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK IT'S GOOD THAT THEY, I MEAN THEY DID IT OF COURSE 'CAUSE WE HAD TO GET A PERMIT TOO, BUT YEAH, YEAH, YEAH.
SO REAL QUICK ON THE REVENUE AND MILLAGE, SORRY, MY LAPTOP WON'T GO THAT FAR.
ALRIGHT, I CAN DO IT FROM HERE, SARAH.
SO WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT ON THE SCREEN IS THREE FISCAL YEAR, YEAR TO DATE ACTUALS FROM 23, 24 AND 25.
UM, THIS IS ALL THE REVENUE THAT WAS COLLECTED IN THE STORMWATER UTILITY FUND.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE IT'S GENERALLY AROUND 7 MILLION IN SOME CHANGE.
SO THE AVERAGE IS 7.4 MILLION.
WE TOOK THAT DIVIDED IT BY THE FISCAL YEAR 26 ESTIMATED VALUE OF A MILL, WHICH IS THE 2.9 MILLION.
IF YOU WERE TO TAKE THIS REVENUE AWAY FROM THE ENTERPRISE FUND AND MOVE IT TO THE GENERAL FUND, YOU WOULD HAVE TO INCREASE OPERATING MILLAGE BY 2.5 MILLS.
AS OF RIGHT NOW, THIS IS WHAT, AND WE USE 25, 24 AND 23 BECAUSE THOSE WERE THE YEARS, AND YOU CAN, YOU, THESE NUMBERS ARE AFTER THE DISBURSEMENTS BACK TO THE MUNICIPALITIES.
SO IF YOU WERE TO TAKE THIS DEPARTMENT AND COMPLETELY CONSOLIDATE IT IN THE GENERAL FUND, NOT ONLY WOULD YOU LOSE THE REVENUE BECAUSE YOUR REVENUE NUMBERS WOULD CHANGE, RESIDENTIAL WILL BE PAYING, PAYING SIMILAR, AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, SIMILAR TO WHAT, UH, COMMERCIAL WOULD, BUT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE AS MUCH, UM, REVENUE COMING IN, BUT YOU WOULD ALSO BE INCREASING OPERATING MILL BY 2.5 AND THAT, OR TO SAY THAT OTHERWISE YOU'D HAVE TO, IF YOU WANT TO KEEP THE SAME AMOUNT OF REVENUE DEDICATED TO STORM DRAINAGE STORM WATER, YOU'D HAVE TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF MILLAGE VERSUS WHAT THIS 2.5 IS IN ORDER TO GET THE SAME LEVEL OF REVENUE BACK.
WE BROUGHT THIS UP TO DISCUSS YOU, I THINK IT WAS MR. GLOVER, UM, BROUGHT IT UP DURING THE BUDGET RETREAT, RIGHT? IT WAS NOVEMBER.
BECAUSE PERSONALLY 2.6 MILLION INCREASE IS A HARD NOTE FOR ME.
WELL IT'S NOT JUST THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE ALSO LOOKING AT ABSORBING A LOT OF THE EXPENDITURES THAT CURRENTLY IS SITTING IN AN ENTERPRISE FUND WITH A VERY HEALTHY FUND BALANCE THAT HELPS OFFSET SOME OF THAT COST.
SO MR. MOORE, DO YOU HAVE A COMMENT? I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, NOT EVERY COUNTY HAS A STORM WATER FUND MM-HMM
BUT, UH, WHERE I CAME FROM, THEY DID NOT MM-HMM
BUT I THINK THIS IS MORE EQUITABLE IN TERMS OF THE IMPERVIOUS SURFACE AND THE EFFECTS.
UM, AND IT APPLIES THE COST I THINK MORE APPROPRIATELY THAN, THAN A VALOREM I DO TOO.
MUNICIPALITIES PARTICULARLY, I MEAN, IT'S A GOOD SYSTEM TO ME.
COUNCIL INVESTMENT AND, AND AS AN ENTERPRISE FUND, IT'S SELF-SUFFICIENT.
VERY MUCH SO WITH A VERY HEALTHY FUND, BALANCE SYSTEM IS NOT BROKE.
SO, EXCELLENT POINT, DON'T FIX IT.
IF IT AIN'T BROKE, DON'T FIX IT.
WE JUST WANT TO BRING IT BACK 'CAUSE THE QUESTION WAS ASKED.
I THINK SOMETHING THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT OVERALL IS THE, THE CALCULATION FEE,
[01:50:01]
THE WAY THE FEE IS CALCULATED.SO THE SYSTEM'S NOT BROKEN, BUT IT IS, THIS PART RIGHT HERE IS COMPLICATED AND SO WE WANT TO TRY TO USE THE KISS MODEL AND MAKE IT SIMPLER.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
PRESENTLY, WE'RE ABOUT TO GO OUT ON THE JOURNEY INTO WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE DOING, HOW OUT OF THE ENTIRE STATE, AS YOU MENTIONED, WE HAVE A VERY ROBUST PROGRAM AND OUR SYSTEM HANDS DOWN IS THE MOST COMPLICATED VERSION OF THIS.
THERE'S OTHER SYSTEMS THAT AREN'T QUITE AS DETAILED, BUT STILL GET YOU THE END PRODUCT THAT WHAT WE'RE DOING FOCUSED STORMWATER EFFORTS.
DAVID, DID YOU HAD A COMMENT? YEAH.
WHAT, HOW MUCH IS IN THAT FUND BALANCE OR THE, THE STORMWATER FUND? UM, APPROXIMATE.
I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN ESTIMATE BECAUSE THEY HAVE BUDGETED FROM BUDGET MANAGERS BACK THERE, $12 MILLION RIGHT NOW.
BUT THEY ARE SPENDING SOME OF THAT DOWN ON SOME PROJECTS THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON THROUGHOUT FISCAL YEAR 26.
SO WE'LL HAVE A BETTER ESTIMATE TOWARDS THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
SO I, I GUESS, I GUESS IT'S GOOD TO HAVE A HEALTHY BALANCE IN THERE, BUT I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THIS COUNTY.
I THINK THAT MAY BE WHY MR. GLOVER BROUGHT IT UP.
I DON'T WANNA SPEAK FOR HIM, BUT I KNOW ST.
HELENA AND LADIES ISLAND AND, AND I KNOW THOMAS TALKED ABOUT SOME THINGS DOWN IN HILTON HEAD NO POINT AND JAIL POINT.
I MEAN, IF WE HAVE THAT HEALTHY AMOUNT OF FUNDS, WHY AREN'T THEY BEING ADDRESSED? THEY'RE WORKING ON, THEY ARE, THEY ARE ALLOCATING ANNUALLY WHAT THEIR PROJECT LIST IS.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY, IF YOU GO ON THE STORMWATER PAGE, UM, ON OUR WEBSITE, THEY'LL SHOW YOU ALL THE PROJECTS THAT THEY HAVE COMPLETED IN EACH INDIVIDUAL MUNICIPALITY AREA OR UNINCORPORATED, BUT THEY, THEY BUDGET, I MEAN, THEY CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH IN ONE FISCAL YEAR, SO THEY PLAN FOR 'EM.
UM, AND DEPENDING ON PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING AND ALL OF THAT FUN STUFF.
BUT TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS THE, UM, WE'VE GOT THE FLYWHEEL SPINNING, UM, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF MAJOR DRAINAGE STUDIES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY, EITHER COMPLETED OR IN PROCESS, ALL JOYS IN PROCESS NOW.
UM, AND THEN THOSE SPIT OUT DESIGNS AND DESIGN SPIT OUT PROJECTS.
SO WE'VE GOT A COUPLE THAT ARE IN PROCESS, UH, LIKE SHELL POINT IN AN EXAMPLE, ONCE WE GET TO CONSTRUCTION ON THAT, THAT'S IN DESIGN, THAT'LL BE SEVERAL MILLION DOLLARS THAT COMES.
UM, SO THE FUND BALANCE HAS GROWN BECAUSE WE'VE HAD MORE PROJECTS IN, IN STUDIES AND DESIGNS, AND WE'RE ABOUT TO BE IN EXPENDITURE MODE.
AND NOT TO GET TOO FAR AHEAD, BUT WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT PERSONNEL INCREASES AND, UM, SOME EQUIPMENT FOR STORMWATER TO HELP ADDRESS SOME OF THE SHORTFALLS AND GETTING OUT, DOING THE MAINTENANCE.
THE CITY OF BEAUFORT, UM, I GUESS QUOTE RINSE, RINSE OUR EQUIPMENT TO BLOW OUT THE STORM DRAINS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, BENEFICIAL TO EVERYBODY.
ONE QUESTION I HAD THAT I THINK, UM, PEOPLE IN GERALD'S DISTRICT GET, HOW IS AGRICULTURAL BUILDINGS HANDLED ON STORMWATER FEES? IT'S AS IMPERVIOUS.
SO IF YOU HAVE A BARN, IT'S A, IT'S IMPERVIOUS.
IT'S FIGURING THE ONLY THING WOULD BE THE DWELLING UNIT.
UM, SO YEAH, IT, IT'D BE IMPERVIOUS.
I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY TWO QUESTIONS GERALD GETS ABOUT THAT, BUT IT COMES UP EVERY NOW AND THEN.
I THOUGHT WE HAD CLOSE TO ABOUT 20 MILLION IN FUNDS.
THEY SPENT IT DOWN THEIR BUDGET, THE ANNUAL BUDGET WAS 20 MILLION BUT OF THAT IS THE 12 MILLION THAT THEY HAD IN FUND BALANCE.
SO, UM, SARAH PULLED UP YOUR PROJECT LIST ON THE WEBSITE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, ALL OF YOUR, UM, YEARS ARE OVER TO THE RIGHT.
AND THEY, STORMWATER DOES A PRETTY GOOD JOB ABOUT, UH, POSTING ALL OF THEIR PROJECTS BY MONTH.
SO, AND THE AMOUNT THAT THEY SPEND ON THE PROJECT.
SO I KNOW YOU PROBABLY HAVE QUESTIONS FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS FROM TIME TO TIME, BUT THIS IS A GREAT TOOL THAT THE STORMWATER FOLKS UPDATE.
YEAH, A LOT OF THESE THAT ARE LISTED HERE ARE MOSTLY OUR MAINTENANCE AND AS MIKE MENTIONED, SO WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE HOW MUCH MAINTENANCE WE GET TO IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COUNTY.
SO WE HAVE SOME STAFFING AND EQUIPMENT THAT'S IN THIS UPCOMING BUDGET.
AND THEN THE CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE THE BIG PROJECTS, LIKE THE SHELL POINT AND STUFF.
UM, SO THOSE WILL HIT, BUT YOU DON'T SEE THOSE AS PERIODICALLY AS THE MAINTENANCE CREWS GOING OUT DAILY TO DO WORK.
I HAVE ANOTHER, ANOTHER QUESTION, SORRY TO GET OFF TOPIC A LITTLE BIT ON THIS, BUT, UM, YOU'D MENTIONED THE STUDIES AND THE ENGINEERING.
IT IS, WOULD IT BE, I KNOW WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS WITH THE ROAD SYSTEMS, WOULD IT BE BENEFICIAL TO HAVE AN ENGINEER ON STAFF RATHER THAN SHIPPING IT OUT TO, UM, TO A CONSULTING GROUP? YEAH, I MEAN, SO TWO PARTS TO THAT.
THERE'S TWO, THERE'S THE STUDY, WHICH IS THE ENGINEERING DESIGN OR ENGINEERING LOOK, AND THEN THERE'S THE COM PUTTING TOGETHER THE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION PLANS.
UM, SOME OF THE DESIGNS ARE EASY TO PUT OUT THAT WE, UH, WE'RE NEVER GONNA GET TO THIS TYPE WHERE WE'RE GONNA BE NOT NEVER, LEMME SAY NOT NEVER WE'RE, IT'LL TAKE A LOT FOR US TO BASICALLY HAVE A FULL SERVICE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT THAT WE CAN DO ALL PROJECTS.
THERE'S COMPONENTS OF PROJECTS THAT ARE MORE EASILY
[01:55:01]
THAT WE CAN WORK THROUGH.SO FOR INSTANCE, ON LADIES ISLAND, IF WE NEED TO DESIGN, WE'VE GOT THE STUDY THAT SAYS, OKAY, THIS IS WHAT WE NEED.
NOW WE NEED TO GO GET A DESIGN AND PERMIT WITH DOT FOR UPSIZING, THIS 18 INCH TO 24 INCH, THAT WOULD BE A LEVEL OF ENGINEERING DESIGN THAT WE COULD GO AND DO, UH, IN-HOUSE IF WE HAD THOSE SERVICES.
BUT THE STUDY ITSELF, UNLESS WE GET A A HYDRAULIC MODEL MODELING DESIGNER, THAT'S STUDY'S GONNA BE HARD FOR US TO, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT.
MY, MY QUESTION WAS MORE SO FOR WHAT YOU WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT THE THE ACTUAL IMPLEMENTATION OF SAID STUDY.
AND WHAT WE'RE BEEFING UP REALLY IS THAT DESIGN ENGINEERING GROUP BEING UNDERNEATH ENGINEERING, AND THEN WHETHER THAT'S ROAD OR SIMPLE STORMWATER, THEY WOULD HAVE THOSE CAPACITIES.
A LOT OF OUR STORMWATER, AS WE KNOW, TRAVELS THROUGH DOT ROADS AND ENCROACHMENT PERMITS.
SO WE'RE BUILDING UP THE, THE ENGINEERING MUSCLE INSIDE THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
IN THE LAST YEAR OR SO, WELL PROBABLY NINE MONTHS WE FOUND ON THE BOOKS AND ORDINANCE THAT ALLOWS COMMUNITIES TO GET CREDITS OR MONEY BACK.
HOW DO WE ADDRESS THAT AND HOW DO WE, HOW DO WE WANNA USE THE WORD EDUCATE, BUT HOW DO WE, UH, MATRICULATE BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES THAT HAVE BEEN PAYING STORMWATER FEES AND NOT GETTING SERVICES? HOW DO WE ACCOUNT FOR THAT? LIKE, YOU KNOW, EBONY SANDERS GOES OUT AND DOES A REASSESSMENT CAMPAIGN AROUND THE COUNTY MULTIPLE TIMES.
WHAT DO WE DO? AND MR. MOORE, YOU AND I TALKED ABOUT THIS, WHAT DO WE DO TO, UM, GET THAT STARTED AND GET PEOPLE WELL, YEAH, GO AHEAD.
I MEAN, I KNOW THERE'S AN AWARENESS ISSUE WITH SOME OF THE HOAS, RIGHT? AND THEY, THEY NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE'S A PROCESS FOR DOING SO, WHICH I THINK WE'VE HAD SOME DISCUSSION OF THAT.
I THINK GETTING AROUND TO THE HOAS, I THINK IS PART OF EDUCATING THEM, BECAUSE TYPICALLY THOSE ARE ALL PRIVATELY OWNED, NOT COUNTY OWNED.
SO THE MAINTENANCE, YOU KNOW, IS NOT GONNA BE PERFORMED BY THE COUNTY.
IT'S EXPECTED THAT THE HOA WOULD DO THOSE IMPROVEMENTS AND THEN THEY WOULD IN TURN REAP SOME CREDIT FOR THAT.
I THINK IT'S AN AWARENESS CAMPAIGN IS, UM, WE'VE PRODUCED A DOCUMENT.
YOU'VE SEEN IT JUST A, A 4 1 1 FOR HOAS ON HOW DO YOU GO BACK OBTAINING THAT CREDIT.
UM, SO TAKING THAT AND FIGURING OUT HOW WE PUT IT OUT WITH HANNAH TO, TO GET IT OUT IN AWARENESS TO THE DIFFERENT POAS THAT THEY CAN BE AWARE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT.
AND I, I MAKE SUGGEST, WHAT ARE WE DOING RIGHT NOW? MAKE A SUGGESTION.
SO SUN CITY DOES IT EVERY YEAR.
IT'S A GIANT DOCUMENT, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE HAVE 360 LAGOONS, WHATEVER.
THERE'S AN HOA MANAGER ASSOCIATION.
WHY DOESN'T SOMEBODY SPEAK TO THEM? JUST PUT IT OUT TO ALL OF THEM AT ONE TIME.
I'M SURE MANY OF THEM KNOW ABOUT IT.
SOME OF THE SMALLER HOAS PROBABLY DON'T WANNA BE BOTHERED WITH THE PAPERWORK.
I MEAN, WE DO IT EVERY YEAR, SO IT'S EASY FOR HER.
SO, SO IF I MAY ASK, ARE THESE LIKE REGULAR MEETINGS TO YEAH.
THEY HAVE A HOA MANAGERS MEETING? WELL, WE COULD CERTAINLY GET ON AN AGENDA AND COME AND SPEAK TO THAT.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT WOULD BE GOOD, A REAL GOOD THING TO DO, BECAUSE A LOT OF YOU HAVE HOAS IN YOUR DISTRICTS, AND WE CAN CERTAINLY, BUT I, I WOULD SAY SOME OF THE HOAS AREN'T GONNA BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS CREDIT BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS, JARED, AM I RIGHT? THEY HAVE TO DO.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT FREE MONEY.
IT'S, UH, PAYING IN THE TUSH AND IT ALSO ISN'T REALLY MONEY.
SO THE HOA, UM, THEY, THEY CAN SUBMIT A CREDIT REQUEST BASED OFF ALL THE PROPERTIES, COMMON AREAS IN THE SUBDIVISION THAT THEY GET ASSESSED A FEE FOR, AND THEY HAVE BMPS FOR STORMWATER PONDS AND SUCH.
RIGHT? SO THEN JUST ROUGH NUMBERS.
SAY IF THEY PAID $5,000 IN, IN STORMWATER FEES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AND THEY GET A CREDIT AND OFFSET $2,500, THEN THAT $2,500 GOES TO THE HOA.
THEY CAN DETERMINE IF THAT'S PASSED ON AS A HOA FEE REDUCTION OR NOT.
BUT THAT'S HOW IT WOULDN'T BE A CASH, IT WOULD BE EVERYBODY PAYS A STORMWATER UTILITY FEE.
THAT'S A CREDIT OFFERING BACK.
AND THE HOA MIGHT JUST ABSORB IT IN THE GENERAL BUDGET TO REDUCE THE ANNUAL FUND.
YOUR TAXPAYERS GENERALLY DON'T SEE A REFUND BECAUSE IT GOES INTO THE HOA GENERAL FUND, WHICH PAYS FOR OTHER THINGS OUTSIDE OF, UM, SUN CITY.
WHAT OTHER COMMUNITY HAS TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THAT? I DON'T KNOW THAT I THINK, DOES ANYBODY KNOW THERE? I THINK, UH, LIKE BERKELEY HALL AND MAYBE SOME OTHER LARGER, I WOULD GUESS A, IT'S REALLY GONNA BE THE LARGER ONES THAT ARE MASTER PLANNED AND HAVE A, AN ENGINEER FROM THE, DO WE KEEP THAT ON FILE? LIKE, UH, YEAH, I CAN, I CAN SEE IF WE'VE GOT A LIST, IF THAT'S, WE CAN GET Y'ALL, WE CAN LOOK AND GET Y'ALL A LIST, IF THAT WORKS.
ANYTHING THAT WE CAN JUST, UM,
[02:00:01]
HELP THESE FOLKS OUT WITH, THAT'LL BE GOOD.YEAH, MAYBE IF THEY, WE HAD A LIST OF WHICH HOAS APPLIED.
WE'LL, WE'LL GET A LIST OF, WE'LL FIND WHAT'S ALREADY OUT THERE AND WE CAN CERTAINLY COME AND ADDRESS THIS AT, AT A MEETING, UPCOMING MEETING TO THE ASSOCIATIONS OF HOAS AND MAYBE PUT ON THERE WHERE ALL OF COUNCIL PEOPLE CAN FIND THE APPLICATION, WHICH IS LENGTHY AND INVOLVED.
ANY, I THINK JUST, UH, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE PUT A CHECK BOX BY THIS ITEM.
SO IS THERE A DESIRE FROM COUNSEL TO EXPLORE FURTHER MOVING IT FROM A FEE AND ENTERPRISE FUND BACK TO GENERAL FUND OR NOT? NO, NO.
NO, THAT'S A DEFINITE NO, DON'T MESS IT UP.
WE WILL, AGAIN, WE WILL, WE ARE WORKING ON HOW TO SIMPLIFY THE FEE CALCULATION, AND THAT WILL BE COMING HOPEFULLY LATER IN THE YEAR FOR, UM, COUNCIL'S REVIEW.
I, I JUST WANNA BE CAREFUL FOR ANYBODY LISTENING THAT IT IS NOT A CREDIT THAT GOES BACK TO THE HOMEOWNERS, IT'S TO THE HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION TO DETERMINE AFTER THAT.
SO IT'S NOT MONEY IN, OH, THERE'S MR. GLOVER.
UM, I THINK THAT'S THUMBS UP MEANS GOOD.
ALRIGHT, NEXT IS, UM, PARK AND REC FEE.
I MEAN, THIS WILL BE A, A BRIEF UPDATE.
I DON'T HAVE A FANCY PRESENTATION.
AND THIS WAS COMING FROM THE WORKSHOP IN, I BELIEVE, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER.
COUNCILMAN DAWSON, YOU MENTIONED ABOUT THE PARKS AND REC FEE SCHEDULE.
STAFF IS WORKING ON MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO COUNCIL FOR THE FEE SCHEDULE FOR PARKS AND REC.
MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE FEE SCHEDULE THAT IS CURRENTLY IN PLACE HAS BEEN IN EXISTENCE FOR AT LEAST 10 YEARS.
SO THERE WILL BE ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO THAT, ESPECIALLY WITH AGNES MAJOR AND WESLEY FELIX COMMUNITY CENTER, WHICH WE'RE HOPING TO BRING MORE PROGRAMMING IN THAT, UM, THERE WILL BE SOME MINIMAL INCREASES TO VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND FACILITY RENTALS WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT STAFF IS WORKING ON.
AND WE ANTICIPATE TO BRING THAT BEFORE COMMITTEE, UM, IN THE NEXT COUPLE MONTHS.
AUDRA, THANK YOU FOR THE, UH, FOR THE INFORMATION.
UM, I, I RAISED THE ISSUE AND, UH, I TRIED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE BECAUSE OVER THE YEARS, UM, WITH THE FEE POLICY THAT THE BOARD HAS ESTABLISHED, IT HAS ACTUALLY, UH, MADE IT ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE FOR A LOT OF THE, UH, MINORITY CHILDREN TO ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN SOME OF OUR SPORTS ACTIVITIES.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE WITH THE BOARD OF TRYING TO ACTUALLY, UH, EITHER LOWER SOME OF THE, UH, UH, FEES FOR, UH, SOME OF THE ACTIVITIES, INCENTIVE TO SOME OF THE, UH, KIDS IN THE RURAL PARTS AREA WHO CAN'T ACTUALLY AFFORD, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN A LOT OF THE ACTIVITIES BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE FUNDS.
POSSIBLY SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, WE CAN LOOK AT THAT, BUT THIS IS GONNA BE A RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO HAVE THOSE OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILDREN THAT WANNA PARTICIPATE, BUT FINANCIALLY JUST ARE UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR PROGRAMS. AND WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
NOW, DO WE? UM, I ACTUALLY THINK WE DO.
I KNOW WE DO FOR, NOT NECESSARILY FOR OUR PROGRAMS, BASEBALL, SOFTBALL, SOCCER, BUT FOR OUR SUMMER CAMPS.
SUMMER CAMPS, I BELIEVE WE DO, YES.
BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY HAVE THOSE CON CONVERSATIONS WHEN WE BRING IT, WHAT THE CURRENT FEE SCHEDULE IS AND WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION FROM STAFF IS.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD DONATE TO US.
I MEAN, THE YMCA HAS A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR, FOR THINGS LIKE THAT AND SPORTS, AND ALSO, UM, THEIR SUMMER CAMP.
SO I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS WOULD DONATE TO IT, UM, MAYBE.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YES, SIR.
ONE, I HAD A, HAD A COMMUNITY MEETING, UM, WITH, WITH A GROUP OUT IN CUSO ISLAND, UH, THIS PAST SATURDAY.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP THAT WAS UNBEKNOWNST TO ME, WAS ONE OF THE INTERNAL POLICIES THAT WAS DEVELOPED MADE IT SO DIFFICULT TO ACTUALLY RENT OUR FACILITIES.
THEY HAD TO DRIVE FROM, FROM SAU JUDGE ISLAND TO BURTON WELLS, PUT DOWN $200 DEPOSIT, PUT DOWN THE $200 FEE, OBTAIN THE KEY, GO BACK AND THEN UTILIZE THE, YOU KNOW, FOR THE SPACE THEY RESERVED,
[02:05:01]
THEN GO BACK AND RETURN, PHYSICALLY RETURN THE KEY, THEN WAIT TO GET REIMBURSED THE $200 DEPOSIT.SO ESSENTIALLY THAT, THAT POLICY THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS TRUE FOR THE BROOMFIELD CREEK AS WELL, OR, OR ALL THE OTHER, UM, COMMUNITY CENTERS THAT WE HAVE, BUT IT EFFECTIVELY RENDERED THEM USELESS BECAUSE PEOPLE WEREN'T TAKING THAT.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA DRIVE 45 MINUTES OUTTA THE WAY TO GO DO THAT ONE WAY.
UM, SO IS THERE A WAY THAT WE CAN, I HATE TO SAY GET WITH THE TIMES, BUT HAVE ONLINE RESERVATION AND THEN MAYBE, UH, THIS PARTICULAR COMMUNITY CENTER, UH, I KNOW WE DIDN'T RENEW THE LEASE, BUT THERE'S A CHURCH, THE, THERE'S A CHURCH RIGHT NEXT DOOR.
IS THERE A WAY WE COULD, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS A COMMUNITY CENTER THAT'S LEASED, THAT'S IN PROXIMITY TO ANOTHER HUB, I THINK THIS ONE ACTUALLY OWNS IT, UM, OWNS THE BUILDING, BUT COULD WE MAKE IT EASIER, MAYBE A AUTOMATIC LOCKBOX, OR, I MEAN, IF, IF REAL ESTATE AGENTS CAN DO IT, CAN WE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, TO UPDATE OUR POLICIES AND UPDATE ACCESS TO THESE THINGS SO THE COMMUNITY CAN ACTUALLY USE THEM? SURE.
AND IT IS AN INTERNAL POLICY, AND WE CAN DEFINITELY HAVE THAT DISCUSSION BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE IT CONVENIENT, LIKE YOU SAID, IF, IF THEY'RE RUNNING THE FACILITY AT BROOMFIELD, WHICH IS ALL THE WAY, ALMOST TO THE END OF LADIES ISLAND, AND THEN HAVE TO, HAS TO GO TO BURTON WELLS TO PICK UP THE KEY OR DROP OFF THE APPLICATION, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT IS AN INCONVENIENCE AND THAT'S NOT WHAT WE WANT.
BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS OKAY.
AND I WILL SAY THAT STAFF IS REVIEWING THE CURRENT POLICIES, UM, BUT WE CAN HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN CHANGE OVER WITH LEADERSHIP THERE MM-HMM
SO I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT AS THOSE DISCUSSIONS MOVE FORWARD, THAT THAT IS ON THE FOREFRONT, ESPECIALLY IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MODERNIZATION OF OUR WEBSITE AND LOOKING AT ALL THAT.
I MEAN, THAT CAN MAKE IT SO MUCH EASIER JUST HAVING ONLINE ACCESS AND RESERVATION.
UH, THE OTHER THING, UH, I'M READING THE, THE TITLE, SO FORGIVE ME, I DON'T GET, DON'T YELL AT ME, I KNOW IT'S CHANGED, BUT THE RESOLUTION TO ADOPT THE PASSIVE PARKS DEPARTMENT BUSINESS USE POLICY, APPLICATION AND FEE SCHEDULE.
IS THERE ANY THOUGHT, AND I KNOW IT'S THE LAND PRESERVATION NOW, BUT IT, I'VE HEARD A LOT OF THINGS FROM THE COMMUNITIES, RUMBLINGS FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT ACCESS, UH, TO OUR PA OR OUR, I GUESS PASSIVE PARKS, WHATEVER YOU WANNA CALL 'EM.
NOW, I'VE HEARD A LOT OF RUMBLINGS ABOUT THAT FEE THAT WAS PUT IN PLACE FOR USE OF THOSE AND THE PERMIT ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
UH, AND IN FACT, I'VE HEARD THAT SCHOOLS DON'T EVEN UTILIZE FORT FREMONT ANYMORE BECAUSE OF SOME OF THE POLICIES WE PUT IN PLACE.
THAT IS PART, THAT IS PART CHUCK CAN SPEAK ON THAT.
THIS IS PARKS AND REC, WHICH IS, IS SEPARATE.
BUT YEAH, IF THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, UM, I'M SURE CHUCK CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS.
FOR FREEMAN COMES UP ALL THE TIME WITH, AT TAX, WE GIVE THEM AT TAX MONEY, WE GIVE GRANTS, YET SCHOOLS CAN'T USE IT.
SO WITHOUT THIS CAVEAT, SO THAT'S COME UP SEVERAL TIMES.
SO TO SAY THAT THEY CAN'T USE IT, THEY HAVE TO APPLY TO APPLY.
SO THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THEY CAN'T USE IT AND THEY HAVE TO APPLY AND ABIDE BY THE RULES, RIGHT? SO THE PURPOSE OF THE BUSINESS USE POLICY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE INTENDED USE OF RURAL AND CRITICAL LANDS MONEY IS WHAT IT WAS COLLECTED FOR.
WE HAVE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY TAXPAYER DOLLARS WITH THE PROMISE THAT WE'RE GOING TO MAKE THESE PROPERTIES AVAILABLE.
BUT THE PRIMARY FUNCTION IS PRESERVATION.
SO WE WANT THE PUBLIC TO GO OUT, USE IT, ENJOY IT, AT THE SAME TIME, MAINTAIN A PRISTINE ENVIRONMENT.
THE BUSINESS USE POLICY, THE, THE PURPOSE BEHIND THAT IS TO ENSURE THAT THERE ARE LIMITS IN PLACE SO THAT IT DON'T, IT, SO THAT IT DOESN'T BECOME OVERWHELM OVERWHELMED WITH COMMERCIAL FOR-PROFIT USES AND UNDERMINES THE WHOLE PURPOSE THAT WE'VE PUT OUT ALL OF THESE REFERENDUMS, I THINK IT WAS FIVE REFERENDUMS OVER 25 YEARS.
AND THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S THE PROMISE THAT WE MADE TO THE TAXPAYER.
SO IF WE SHIFT ON THAT SO THAT COMPANIES WHO DO TOURS OR WHATNOT, UH, SCHOOLS CAN ABSOLUTELY USE THEM.
THEY JUST HAVE TO COORDINATE SO THAT ALL THE SCHOOLS AREN'T GOING ON THE SAME DAY.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE, UH, THE APPLICATION.
IT'S NOT COMPLICATED, BUT THERE'S A PURPOSE BEHIND IT.
SO IF WE BACK OFF OF THAT AND JUST MAKE IT AVAILABLE TO EVERYBODY AT, UH, WHENEVER THEY WANT, IT'S GONNA DEGRADE THE PURPOSE OF MAINTAINING IT IN A PRISTINE, UM, WAY FOR PRESERVATION, WHICH IS THE REASON WE BOUGHT IT.
AND THEN WE HAVE SORT OF, UM, FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES MAKING IT WHERE FOLKS WHO WANT TO GO OUT AS FAMILIES, FOLKS WHO WANT TO JUST ENJOY IT AS A TAXPAYER NOW ARE COMPETING WITH TIME.
AND IT JUST BECOMES SOMETHING THAT IT WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BE.
I, I'VE ASKED BEFORE, DO WE HAVE ANY, UH, DATA ON HOW MANY PEOPLE USE ALL THESE PASSIVE PARKS? SO WE DON'T HAVE CLICKERS TO COUNT HOW MANY PEOPLE GO TO EACH PARK ON EACH DAY.
UM, THERE ARE SOME RESERV, I MEAN, WE CAN TELL YOU HOW MANY RESERVATIONS
[02:10:01]
WERE MADE, BUT AGAIN, THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS OF THESE PROPERTIES IS NOT HOW MANY PEOPLE WE CAN PACK ON THEM.RIGHT? SO WHEN WE LOOK AT IT, IF THERE'S A CRITICISM THAT THERE AREN'T ENOUGH RESERVATIONS, UH, I'M NOT SAYING THERE IS, BUT JUST HYPOTHETICALLY, THAT'S NOT WHAT OUR MEASURE OF SUCCESS IS.
THE MEASURE OF SUCCESS IS THAT IT IS MAINTAINED IN PERPETUITY.
IT IS PRESERVED AND KEPT IN A PRE PRISTINE STATE.
AND THAT IT IS AVAILABLE WHEN THE GENERAL PUBLIC WHO HAS PAID A LOT OF MONEY TO PRESERVE THESE PROPERTIES CAN GO OUT AND PEACEFULLY USE IT.
THE BALANCE IS, WE HAVE OPENED THEM UP FOR BUSINESS USE, BUT WE TEMPER THAT SO THAT IT DOESN'T BECOME OVER OVERWHELMED AND OVERRUN AND BECOME SOMETHING THAT'S JUST ANOTHER COMMERCIAL USE.
SO TO KEEP THEM IN PRESTIGE SHAPE, I MEAN, WE INVEST A LOT OF MONEY IN IMPROVEMENTS OF OUR PRISTINE ENVIRONMENT.
OKAY? SO I'VE BEEN THERE TWICE WITH MY GRANDCHILDREN, NOT A SOUL, AROUND 10:00 AM IN THE MORNING.
SO I'M JUST SAYING, HOW DO WE KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE USING THIS? WE'RE STILL INVESTING LOTS AND LOTS OF MONEY IN, I CALL 'EM PASSIVE PARKS.
AND I'M GONNA SHIFT TO, MY FOCUS IS IN RECREATIONAL FACILITIES, SOUTH OF THE BROAD.
I'VE SAID THIS A HUNDRED TIMES.
SO I JUST WANTED TO KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE REALLY USING THESE.
LIKE, I'M GONNA GO TO OKEE RIVER PARK.
I CAN'T IMAGINE WHO'S GONNA USE THAT OTHER THAN PEPPER HALL RESINS.
REALLY? AND WE'RE, WE'RE SPENDING MILLIONS OVER THERE.
SO I DON'T REALLY WANNA ARGUE THE POINT.
RIGHT? BUT, SO THOSE ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT WID POINT, THAT WAS PER IT, IT WAS PURCHASED WITH THE INTENT OF PRESERVATION.
THE PARKING LOT, THE PATHWAYS, AND THE LITTLE PAVILIONS THAT WERE OUT THERE ARE TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC ACCESS TO THAT PROPERTY.
IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT, THERE WOULD BE A GATE.
IT WOULD BE WOODED AND THERE WOULD BE NO ACCESS.
THE TEST OF THAT IS NOT HOW MANY PEOPLE VISIT EVERY DAY.
ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO VISIT DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS CAN GO.
THE TEST IS IF YOU WALK THROUGH THERE, THERE ARE BALD EAGLES THERE, THERE ARE, THERE'S WILDLIFE THERE.
WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THAT TRAIL, WHEN YOU LOOK INTO THE WOODS, IT IS IN A PRISTINE STATE.
WHEN YOU WALK TO THE BACK OF THAT PROPERTY AND YOU LOOK OUT OVER THE VISTA AND THE MARSH, IT IS PROTECTED.
THERE IS NO, THERE IS NO OTHER IMPROVEMENT MADE OTHER THAN THAT TRAIL THAT YOU WALK THROUGH.
THAT'S THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THAT LAND AND THAT PRESERVATION.
YES, WE DID SPEND A LOT OF MONEY ON IT, BUT THAT WAS MONEY THAT WE PUT ON A REFERENDUM AND WE COLLECTED FOR THE PURPOSE OF SPENDING FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THAT PROPERTY.
IT COST SOME MONEY TO DEVELOP THE PARKING LOT AND THE, UM, THE LITTLE PICNIC PAVILION AND THE BIRD BLIND.
BUT THAT MONEY IS SPENT AND THAT WAS SPENT TO ALLOW ACCESS TO THE PROPERTY.
SO THERE'S, WHEN YOU LOOK AT, UM, OUR OTHER RECREATION, YOU KNOW, OUR ACTIVE RECREATION PARKS, THE TEST THERE IS, YES, WE WANT THOSE TO BE USED EVERY DAY, ALL DAY TO THE HIGHEST AND, AND BEST USE FOR THEIR INTENDED PURPOSE.
BASEBALL FIELDS, WE DON'T WANT BASEBALL FIELDS TO SIT VACANT.
THAT'S THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH WE, WE DEVELOP THOSE.
BUT THE PASSIVE PARKS, THE PASSIVE, RURAL AND CRITICAL LAND PROPERTIES, WE MADE A PROMISE TO THE CONSTITUENTS WHEN WE PUT THE REFERENDUM OUT AND THEY VOTED FOR IT, THAT WE'RE GONNA BUY THESE PROPERTIES TO PROTECT THEM, KEEP THEM IN A PRISTINE STATE, AND AT THE SAME TIME PROVIDE BALANCE AND ALLOW ACCESS TO THOSE IN A LIMITED CAPACITY.
UM, AND PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT THE WRONG WAY.
THIS IS FEEDBACK FROM THE COMMUNITY.
THERE'S A PERCEPTION THAT THIS COUNTY DOES NOT WANT PEOPLE TO ACTUALLY UTILIZE THOSE PARKS, AND THERE'S AN ACTIVE PUSH TO KEEP THEM AWAY FROM IT.
THAT'S THE PERCEPTION FOR TALKING ABOUT CONSTITUENTS.
AND EVEN PEOPLE SOUTH OF BROAD, THAT'S THE PERCEPTION.
SO I WILL ANSWER THAT BY SAYING THAT WE HAVE ABOUT A 10 YEAR PLAN WITH 12 PARKS THAT ARE READY TO BE DEVELOPED.
AND THE ONLY LIMITING FACTOR IS THE FACT THAT WE HAVE NO DEDICATED FUNDS TO OPEN THEM TO THE PUBLIC.
WHAT WE CAN'T DO IS JUST ALLOW PEOPLE TO PARK ALONGSIDE THE STREET AND SAY, PARK IN THE ROAD RIGHT AWAY, AND FEEL FREE TO WALK THROUGH THE WOODS.
WE HAVE TO MAKE IT SANITARY, AND IT TAKES MONEY TO DO THAT.
UM, WE HAVE PINE VIEW AND SOME OTHER PARKS THAT ARE CON THAT WE'RE READY, RIGHT? WE'RE ABOUT TO GO TO CONSTRUCTION.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE THOSE, UM, VERY SOON.
UH, BUT STAFF HAS TO COMPETE FOR MONEY.
[02:15:01]
FUNDING SOURCE TO PROVIDE THOSE ACCESS POINTS.SO WE'RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
AND THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN OPEN ALL THOSE LANDS IS TO GET ENOUGH MONEY TO IMPROVE, UM, THE AREAS FOR PARKING.
PUT BATHROOMS OUT THERE, MAKE IT SANITARY AND SAFE BY CREATING, UH, UH, PATHWAYS.
SO IF IT'S FUNDED, WE CAN BUILD THEM AND WE CAN GIVE ACCESS TO EVERY, UM, PIECE OF PROPERTY THAT WE'VE PURCHASED UNDER THAT.
BUT THERE'S JUST LIMITED FUNDS RIGHT NOW.
SO WE'RE DOING BEST WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
THIS IS MORE A QUESTION FOR, UM, MIKE MOORE.
I KNOW THE SPANISH MOSS TRAIL PUTS, UH, EVERY NOW AND THEN THE TRACK, YOU KNOW, WHERE IF YOU STEP ON IT, IT'LL TRACK YOU SIMILAR.
LIKE WHAT, WHEN THE DOT DOES TRAFFIC COUNTS, I WONDER IF WE COULD DO SOMETHING SIMILAR AT, AT THE PARKING LOT ENTRANCE TO SOME OF THESE, JUST TO GET AN IDEA.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I, WE CAN CERTAINLY LOOK AT IT.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE SPANISH MALL TRAIL STILL HAS IT WHEN I TALK TO DEAN.
OH, THEY JUST DO IT EV EVERY I DON'T, THEY DON'T DO IT ALL THE TIME, BUT RIGHT.
THIS WOULD JUST BE A ONE, LIKE A SNAPSHOT TYPE THING.
WE COULD LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, DOING SOME PERIODIC SNAPSHOTS.
I MEAN, THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT.
I DON'T, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TO WHICH POINT AND THERE'S ALWAYS PEOPLE THERE.
AND LAST TIME, UM, WE WERE DOING SOME FILMING OUT THERE.
HANNAH REMEMBERS THERE WAS A, A BIRD WATCHING GROUP THAT HAD COME FROM COLUMBIA.
AND THEY, ABOUT 15 PEOPLE, WELL, PROBABLY 20 PEOPLE, THEY WERE HAVING A GREAT TIME.
I MEAN, IT'S A WONDERFUL PARK FOR BIRD.
THEY GET A PERMIT ABOUT TO SAY, I THINK THEY DID PERMIT.
YOU'RE GONNA SEE HIGHER USAGE AT SOME OF THESE THAN YOU WOULDN'T DO.
WHEN THE BALD EAGLE NEST IS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE CORRECT.
BUT AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE IT AVAILABLE AND KEEP IT PRISTINE.
NOT TURN IT INTO SOME KIND OF A HUNTINGTON ISLAND.
SO TWO CAPACITY, LIKE ALL THE TIME.
MY LAST JOB, WE SAW THE SAME THING.
YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE VERY BASIC, AS CHUCK POINTED OUT, PARKING LOT TRAILS.
AND YOU GIVE ACCESS, RIGHT? WHEN YOU START TO GO HIGH END ON 'EM AND ADD A LOT OF THINGS THAT ADDS COSTS.
BUT I AGREE WITH CHUCK, YOU DON'T WANT TO, IF THERE'S NO PARKING LOT AND THERE'S NO TRAIL IT, AND THEN HAVING PEOPLE, THE PUBLIC COME ON, THAT CAN BE A PROBLEM IN TERMS OF LIABILITY AND QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE.
WELL, I HAVE, I HAVE TWO MORE THINGS THAT I'M, THAT I'M, I'M DONE.
UH, ONE GOING TO THE PINE VIEW PARK.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT'S GOING TO HIS THIRD YEAR OF BEING FULLY FUNDED.
'CAUSE I THINK IT WAS FUNDED TWO YEARS AGO, TWO FISCAL YEARS AGO.
MY CONSTITUENTS ARE, ARE GETTING, THE, THE REASON I PUT IT INTO THE FOIA IS BECAUSE MY CONSTITUENTS ARE GETTING FRUSTRATED THAT IT HAS NOT BEEN, THERE'S, IT APPEARS TO BE NOTHING'S DONE.
I KNOW THERE'S BEEN WORK, THERE'S STATE, THERE'S PERMITTING AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
IT WAS PURCHASED IN 2020, AND HERE WE ARE IN 20, 20, 26.
I, I KNOW FUNDING'S AN ISSUE AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE, BUT THERE'S A GENERAL FRUSTRATION IN MY COMMUNITY THAT THESE THINGS AREN'T MOVING FORWARD.
AND THEN THAT MY OTHER POINT THOUGH, I KNOW THERE'S A COMPETITION FOR OTHER PROJECTS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
UM, POTENTIALLY COORDINATING SOME OF THOSE PROPERTIES, IF THERE'S NOT ENOUGH FUNDING TO ACTUALLY DO THE PROJECTS, COORDINATE WITH DNR AND OPEN 'EM UP AS PUBLIC HUNTING LANDS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE COUNTY AND, AND DNR.
AND THAT WAY YOU HAVE LIMITED JUST YOU CLEAR SECTION FOR PARKING.
AND THEN YOU CAN ISSUE, YOU KNOW, LET DNR ISSUE THE, THE PERMIT TO GO OUT THERE AND HUNT THOSE LANDS.
AND THAT WAY, YOU KNOW, YOU STRIKE A BALANCE, YOU SAVE MONEY, YOU'RE ALLOWING PUBLIC ACCESS.
AND THEN IN THE OFF SEASONS, UM, MAYBE YOU CAN OPEN IT UP TO CAMPING, PRIMITIVE CAMPING.
AND I'M, I'M HAPPY TO ABSORB THE CRITICISM OF HOW LONG IT TAKES.
UH, HOWEVER, I'M NOT TRYING TO BEAT YOU UP ON THAT.
I MEAN, WE DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH WHAT WE HAVE.
IT, IT HAS, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE PERMITTING, RIGHT? SO YES, WE BOUGHT IT.
WE HAVE A LOT OF PROPERTIES THAT WE HAVE PURCHASED THAT OVER 10 YEARS AGO THAT AREN'T AVAILABLE YET.
WE HAVE ASKED REPEATEDLY FOR MONEY, NOT NOT BEING CRITICAL, RIGHT.
SO WE HAVE TO HAVE THE MONEY TO START THE PROCESS OF PERMITTING.
UM, IF, IF WE HAVE THE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO MAKE THEM AVAILABLE, WE WILL WORK TO MAKE THEM AVAILABLE AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN.
IT TAKES ABOUT TWO YEARS TO GET THROUGH THE WHOLE PERMITTING AND PLANNING PROCESS, UM, TO GET IT TO CONSTRUCTION.
UH, I KNOW WE TALKED ABOUT OKAT T RIVER PARK.
OKAT T RIVER PARK WAS PART OF A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT.
AND I WOULD, I WOULD CAUTION ANY COMPARISON BETWEEN OKAT T RIVER PARK AND ALL OF OUR OTHER RURAL AND CRITICAL LAND PURCHASES.
'CAUSE THAT IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT ANIMAL.
[02:20:01]
FRUSTRATION AND IF, IF WE HAD A BIGGER POT OF MONEY, WE WOULD DEVELOP THEM AND MAKE THEM AVAILABLE, UM, AS SOON AS WE COULD.POCO ALGO, THAT IS A BEAUTIFUL PIECE OF PROPERTY.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THAT WANT TO GO OUT THERE.
IF I HAD $4 MILLION WITHIN TWO YEARS, I COULD MAKE IT SOMETHING AWESOME.
RIGHT NOW IT'S A BEAUTIFUL, AWESOME PIECE OF PROPERTY, BUT NOBODY CAN GO ON IT BECAUSE THERE'S NO ACCESS POINT TO DO THAT.
WE HAVE TO HAVE THE MONEY TO START THE PROCESS.
AND THERE ARE 10 OR 12 OTHER, UM, PROPERTIES WITH PLANS THAT ARE IN PLACE.
YOU KNOW, HERE'S OUR FIVE YEAR, 10 YEAR PLAN.
HERE ARE THE LIST OF PROPERTIES, HERE'S WHAT WE'VE DONE, HERE'S WHAT WE WANT TO DO.
AND WE HAVE TO MAKE APPLICATION WHEN WE GO THROUGH CIP.
IT'S THE, THE PROCESS WE HAVE TO COMPETE.
SO, UM, LIKE I SAID, IF FUNDING'S AN ISSUE, MAYBE WE CAN DO PRIMITIVE CAMPING AND HUNTING, YOU KNOW, COORDINATE THOSE SEASONS WHEN PEOPLE CAN GET OUT THERE.
IT, BUT WHAT THAT DOES, UM, I'M NOT OPPOSED TO THAT, BUT WHEN YOU DO A LONG-TERM WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA THAT TIES THE PROPERTY UP FOR A VERY LONG TIME, YOU DON'T HAVE ACCESSIBILITY.
YOU DON'T HAVE RESTROOMS. IT, IT'S, IT'S NOT THE BE ALL END ALL.
IT JUST LIMITS IT TO PEOPLE WHO HUNT.
AND THEN IT LIMITS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE AND TYPICALLY BECOMES A LOTTERY JUST LIKE DONNELLEY AND SOME OTHERS.
UM, I'VE TAKEN MY KIDS OUT TO HUNT DONNELLEY A NUMBER OF TIMES.
UM, AND THEN YOU'VE TIED THAT PROPERTY UP WHERE THE GENERAL POPULACE, ESPECIALLY IN AN AREA WHERE WE HAVE AN OLDER POPULATION, CAN'T ACCESS IT.
SO THERE, THERE'S KIND OF PROS AND CONS TO BOTH OF THEM.
AND THERE ARE HIGH RISK, UH, HIGH LIABILITY HUNTING, START GOING HUNTING ON PUBLIC LANDS.
THERE, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF GREEN SPACE PROJECTS THAT ARE ADJACENT TO DNR LAND THAT MAY BE COMING UP, OR THAT MIGHT BE A POSSIBILITY.
THEY'RE NOT APPROVED YET, BUT THEY'RE COMING UP.
AND GREEN SPACE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT BECAUSE GREEN SPACE, AS PART OF THE REFERENDUM PARK IMPROVEMENTS OR LAND IMPROVEMENTS, ONCE WE BUY IT, FEE SIMPLE, WHICH WE HAVE NOT DONE YET, UH, THROUGH GREEN SPACE, ONCE THE COUNTY BUYS IT, THE ORDINANCE MANDATES THAT PUBLIC HAVE ACCESS TO IT.
AND YOU CAN USE THE GREEN SPACE MONEY TO DO THAT, WHERE RURAL AND CRITICAL ONLY ALLOCATED A SMALL PORTION OF THE REFERENDUM DOLLARS.
ONCE THAT WAS EXPENDED IN THE FIRST COUPLE OF PARKS, NOW STAFF IS HAVING TO COMPETE ANNUALLY WITH OUR LONG LIST OF, UM, REQUESTS ALONG WITH ALL OF THE OTHER, UH, FUNDING REQUESTS THAT COME IN THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
YOU BE SUBMITTING ANY ATEX REQUESTS? WHAT'S THAT? ATEX? WILL YOU SUBMIT ANY REQUESTS? WE DO IT EVERY YEAR.
SO I HAVEN'T SEEN IT ON STATE THE LAST THREE YEARS I'VE BEEN INVOLVED.
BUT YOU'RE DOING LOCAL, YOU'RE SO, WE TRIED STATE FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS AND WE WERE TOLD THAT THAT TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT DOES NOT PUT BEDS IN HEADS.
AND WE STOPPED PUTTING, IT'S A NEW DAY ON THE STATE, SO IT'S A BEDS.
SO IF, IF IT IS A NEW DAY AND THE, THE RULES HAVE CHANGED, WE'RE HAPPY TO SUBMIT IT THERE.
BUT THE LOCAL A NH TAX WE HAVE, WE ABSOLUTELY, UH, APPLY FOR THAT EVERY YEAR.
STACY, DAVID, I GOT A COUPLE GUYS IN SOME TRUCKS.
YOU GOTTA GET YOUR STATE PERMITS FIRST, RIGHT? THAT'S THE HARD PART.
PERMITS TAKE CARE OF THE REST.
UH, YOU MENTIONED THE GREEN SPACE PROGRAM FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS.
HAVE WE, HAVE WE APPLIED AS A COUNTY TO THE GREEN SPACE PROGRAM WITH THE PARKS THAT ARE IN THE QUEUE THAT DON'T HAVE FUNDING? COULD, COULD THAT BE A PERMISSIBLE USE OF, OF THE REMAINING FUNDS FOR THE, TO IMPROVE? NO.
SO ONCE YOU BUY 'EM IN RURAL AND CRITICAL, IN ORDER TO BRING 'EM OUT OF RURAL AND CRITICAL, YOU WOULD BASICALLY DO A, IT WOULD BE VERY COMPLICATED.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO REFUND RURAL AND CRITICAL, BECAUSE THEY'RE RESTRICTED FUNDS.
WHAT I'M, WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY IS YOU SAID THEY'RE FOR PARK GREEN SPACE CAN GO FOR PARK IMPROVEMENTS ONLY FOR PURCHASES THAT ARE MADE WITH GREEN SPACE DOLLARS.
SO YOU CAN'T TAKE GREEN SPACE DOLLARS AND DEVELOP A RURAL AND CRITICAL PIECE OF PROPERTY.
HEY, WE CAN, WE, WE READY TO GO ON TO THE NEXT ITEM? ANYTHING? AWESOME.
UM, NEXT IS DETENTION CENTER INTERNAL COMPENSATION STUDY.
MARK DOESN'T WORK WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.
HOW, TELL ME IT WOULDN'T WORK.
[02:25:01]
THE, UH, DETENTION CENTER, WE, WE BRIEFLY TALKED ABOUT THIS A FEW MINUTES AGO.UM, THE DETENTION CENTER, UM, HAS A HIGH TURNOVER RATE, AND, UH, AND WE HAVE A, UH, VERY, UH, I'D SAY HIGH PERCENTAGE OF OPEN POSITIONS.
UH, AND SINCE I DID A, A STUDY OF THE NUMBER OF POSITIONS WE HAD AVAILABLE AND THE NUMBER OF, UH, UH, AND SPECIFICALLY CORRECTIONS OFFICERS.
SO WE HAVE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF POSITIONS.
THERE'S 14 STAFF, UH, STAFF MEMBERS IN THE DETENTION CENTER.
WE HAVE BILLETED POSITIONS, SO OUR SERGEANTS, LIEUTENANTS MAJOR AND THE COLONEL, THOSE POSITIONS STAY FILLED.
THE PROBLEM WE HAVE IS WITH CORRECTIONS OFFICER.
SO FOR US, THAT IS A GRADE 4 0 2 UP TO THAT, UM, SERGEANT LEVEL.
SO SERGEANTS ARE BILLETED POSITIONS, BUT THE PROGRESSION FOR AN, UH, DETENTION CENTER EMPLOYEE, THEY COME IN AS A TRAINEE.
THEY HAVE ONE YEAR TO BECOME CERTIFIED.
THEY BECOME A CORRECTIONS OFFICER.
AND THEN THERE'S A, A PERIOD OF TIME OF EDUCATION EXPERIENCE AND, AND TIME AND WORK.
THEY GO FROM, UM, CORRECTIONS OFFICER TO LANCE, CORPORAL TO CORPORAL.
THESE ARE THE WORKING HANDS IN THE DETENTION CENTER ON A DAILY BASIS.
AND THIS IS WHERE OUR SHORTFALL, UH, BECOMES, UM, AND WE CAN, UM, THE STUDY THAT I DID BACK TO 2013 SHOWS A CONSTANT PROGRESSION FROM 2013, UH, AND A CONTINUOUS DECLINE IN THE NUMBER OF CORRECTIONS OFFICERS, UH, OVER TIME.
UM, IT IS AN INDUSTRY-WIDE PROBLEM.
SO THIS IS NOT, UM, JUST BEAUFORT COUNTY PROBLEM.
THIS EXISTS IN FEDERAL, STATE, UH, AND LOCAL DETENTION CENTERS ALL ACROSS SOUTH CAROLINA, ALL ACROSS THE LOW COUNTRY, REALLY ALL ACROSS THE NATION.
UH, IT HAS BECOME LESS AND LESS OF AN ATTRACTIVE CAREER FOR AND FOR STAFF MEMBERS.
UM, MOST OF THAT IS BECAUSE OF THE COMPETITION.
UH, YOU BEGIN TO LOOK AT OTHER PLACES OF EMPLOYMENT, UH, THAT FOLKS CAN HAVE, UH, ALSO GREAT BENEFITS AND GOOD COMPENSATION WHILE NOT BEING INSIDE THAT ENVIRONMENT.
UH, AND WE HAVE, UM, UM, THOSE THINGS I, I THINK ARE, UM, SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTORS TO THE STEADY DECLINE OF EMPLOYEES.
SO OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS, UH, WE HAVE WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH HR AND WITH OUR RECRUITERS TO TRY AND FIND WAYS TO ENCOURAGE NEW EMPLOYEE APPLICATIONS.
UM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THIS BRIEFLY EARLIER, THAT WE'VE HAD PERIOD OF TIMES THAT WE'VE SEEN A GREAT INCREASE IN APPLICATIONS AND, AND A GREAT INCREASE IN HIRING.
BUT THE TURNOVER RATE IS SO HIGH.
'CAUSE FOLKS, UM, DURING, DURING COV, WE HAD SOME ARPA ARPA MONEY DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.
WE OFFERED, UM, SOME, UM, HIRING BONUSES.
THOSE HIRING BONUS CERTAINLY ATTRACTED A LOT OF FOLKS, BUT THEY WEREN'T FOLKS THAT STAYED AROUND FOR A LONG TIME.
THEY CAME IN FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME, THEY REALIZED THAT THIS IS NOT THE TYPE OF WORK THAT THEY WANTED TO DO, AND THEY QUICKLY MOVED ON.
AND THAT'S WHY OUR TURNOVER RATE LOOKS SO HIGH IN THE DETENTION CENTER.
SO ALTHOUGH WE'VE DONE, UM, A LOT OF WORK TO TRY AND IMPROVE OUR RECRUITING, OUR RECRUITING AND RETENTION HAS PRETTY MUCH STAYED THE SAME.
WE HAVE, UM, A A LARGE NUMBER OF TENURED EMPLOYEES WHO ARE DEDICATED TO AND TO THE WORK THAT THEY DO, AND THEY STAY ON BOARD AND WE CONTINUE TO CYCLE THROUGH, UH, NEWER EMPLOYEES AND, AND FIND DIFFICULTY ATTRACTING OR RETAINING THOSE EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OF THAT.
UM, WE DID AN INTERNAL COMPENSATION STUDY, THE HR STAFF, CATHERINE AND, UM, AMBER, UM, DID A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK AND SPENT, UH, A COUPLE OF MONTHS COLLECTING INFORMATION.
SO THEY PUT TOGETHER A VERY LARGE QUESTIONNAIRE, SENT THAT OUT TO ALL OF THE, ALL OF OUR COMPETITORS.
SO THIS WAS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, OTHER DETENTION CENTERS, DETENTION CENTERS THAT WERE COUNTY OPERATED LIKE OURS AND DETENTION CENTERS THAT WERE OPERATED BY THEIR ELECTED OFFICIALS.
SO WE DID A LOT OF COMPARISONS, UH, BASED ON THIS DATA.
SO IT WAS A REALLY BIG SPREADSHEET, UM, THAT WE PUT TOGETHER THAT WHAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IS HOW, HOW DO WE COMPARE TO OUR COMPETITORS, UM, NOT ONLY LAW ENFORCEMENT TYPE AGENCIES AND OTHER DETENTION CENTERS, BUT OTHER WORKPLACE.
UM, FROM THAT WE DETERMINED WHERE WE THOUGHT OUR STARTING SALARIES NEEDED TO BE, TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE TO, IN, TO WE'RE NOT THAT WE'RE NOT COMPETITIVE WITH OUR ENVIRONMENT, BECAUSE I THINK OUR SALARIES AND OUR BENEFITS, OF COURSE, ARE VERY COMPETITIVE WITH OTHER AGENCIES.
BUT WHEN YOU COMPARE THAT COMPENSATION WITH THE WORK AND THE ENVIRONMENT
[02:30:01]
THAT YOU'RE IN, THAT MATTERS.SO, UM, WE REALLY HAVE TO HAVE TO DO BETTER TO ATTRACT THOSE STAFF MEMBERS.
SO WHAT I'M, WHAT WE HAVE, UM, IS, UH, THERE'S A, A COUPLE OF BIG SPREADSHEETS, AND I TRIED TO PUT, PUT THIS IN INFORMATION THAT WAS IMPORTANT TO YOU.
WHAT WE ARE SEEKING IS TO, OR WHAT WE CAN DO RIGHT NOW IS INCREASE THAT CORRECTIONS OFFICER TRAINEE POSITION.
RIGHT NOW A TRAINEE POSITION COMES IN AT $24 AND 29 CENTS AN HOUR.
UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO, WELL, WE INTEND TO INCREASE THAT SALARY FROM 24 29 TO 27 14 PER HOUR IN, IN THAT, UH, PAY RANGE.
AND THEN WHEN, I'LL SHOW YOU THE, UM, THE, UM, UH, PAY RANGE SCALE HERE IN A SECOND, AND THEN FROM PAY RANGE 4 0 2 THROUGH FOUR 14.
SO THESE ARE CERTIFIED CORRECTIONS OFFICERS.
THIS DOESN'T, THIS ISN'T ADMINISTRATIVE PERSONNEL.
THESE ARE ONLY THOSE, UH, FOLKS IN THE SHIFT WORK TYPE OR IN A CERTIFIED CORRECTIONS OFFICER'S ROLES.
4 0 2 THROUGH FOUR 14 INCREASES BY A STANDARD 7.2% OF THEIR COMPENSATION.
AND THEN, UH, THE WAY CATHERINE WORKED THAT OUT WAS THAT IS SCALABLE THROUGHOUT THE STEP PLAN.
SO I'M ONLY SHOWING YOU WHAT STEP ONE LOOKS LIKE BECAUSE THE SPREADSHEET WOULD BE ABOUT THIS BIG ON THAT SCREEN AND YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SEE ANY OF IT.
BUT I'M HAPPY TO SHARE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU.
UM, THIS ONE'S PRETTY HARD TO SEE, UH, BUT WHAT YOU HAVE ON, UH, IT WOULD BE ON YOUR LEFT IS THE CURRENT PAY SCALE.
UH, THIS IS, STEP ONE IS IN THAT, UM, UM, RIGHT HAND COLUMN.
AND THEN THE SALARY FOR THAT EMPLOYEE BASED ON 2080 HOURS A YEAR IS WHAT YOU SEE THERE NOW.
SO YOU SEE THAT 4 0 1 IS THAT CORRECTIONS OFFICER TRAINEE AT 2080 HOURS A YEAR IS RIGHT NOW COMING IN AT 50,000.
OUR, OUR NUMBER ONE COMPETITOR, LOCAL COMPETITOR, UH, FOR A SIMILAR ROLE IS AT $60,000.
SO WHAT WE ARE INTEND TO DO IS TO, UH, INCREASE THAT 4 0 1 ROLE IN THE PRO.
UH, THE PROPOSED PAY SCALE WOULD BEGIN THAT NEW OFFICER AT 27 14, WHICH BRINGS THAT STARTING SALARY, UH, TO 56, 451.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE REST OF THE SCALE, UM, WOULD CHANGE APPROPRIATELY.
AND I'LL, I CAN SHOW YOU WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
THE, UH, THE INITIAL COST FOR THIS, UH, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT EARLIER.
THE WAGES AND SALARIES, UH, LINE ITEM, UH, FOR THE DETENTION CENTER CURRENTLY CAN ABSORB THIS INCREASE IN THIS BUDGET YEAR WITHOUT ANY ISSUE.
UM, THERE IS, UH, CURRENTLY IN THAT LINE ITEM, UM, WE ARE, WE HAVE USED ABOUT 44% OF THAT, UH, WAGES AND SALARIES BALANCE.
AND THIS ISN'T COUNTING THE, THE FRINGES.
SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN ADD THE 28% TO 28 TO 30% IN THE FRINGES.
OF COURSE, THIS IS, ALL THESE NUMBERS ARE ESTIMATES BECAUSE WE, WE HIRED TWO FOLKS YESTERDAY WHO ARE IN THE LOOP.
WHAT WE ALSO LOST TWO FOLKS THIS WEEK.
WE LOST A MORE TENURED EMPLOYEE AND WE LOST A NEW EMPLOYEE.
SO ALL THESE CHANGE CONSTANTLY.
THE IMPACT THIS YEAR, UH, FOR THE REST OF THE, THE BUDGET YEAR, UH, WELL WHEN I DID THESE NUMBERS, IT WAS A PREVIOUS PAY PERIOD, SO THAT'S A LITTLE LESS.
UM, THE NUMBER OF PAY PERIODS WE HAVE LEFT IN THIS YEAR, AND THE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, THIS INCREASE UNTIL FOR THE REST OF THIS, UH, FISCAL YEAR COST US ABOUT $65,000.
UH, THAT'S ABOUT $8,000 PER PAY PERIOD.
AND THEN FOR THE FULL YEAR WITH THE EXISTING STAFF THAT THAT COST IS, UH, IT'S ABOUT 200,212,000, $213,000 WOULD BE THAT ANNUAL FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES.
UM, SO THIS IS OUR INTENT NOW.
WE WOULD LIKE TO, UH, IMPLEMENT THAT INCREASE.
UM, NOW THIS IS GONNA HELP US ATTRACT MORE EMPLOYEES AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, RETAIN THE EMPLOYEES THAT WE HAVE, UM, OUR COMPETITORS.
UM, AND THIS TYPE OF BUSINESS, WE TRY TO HIRE EXPERIENCED OFFICERS, UH, FROM OTHER AGENCIES AND THEY ARE TRYING TO HIRE OURS AS QUICKLY AS WE CAN, UH, ROB FROM EACH OTHER.
UM, HAVING THE ABILITY TO HIRE EXPERIENCED OFFICERS IS CRITICAL.
WHEN WE HIRE AN EXPERIENCED OFFICER, WE'RE MORE LIKELY TO KEEP THAT OFFICER AND RETAIN
[02:35:01]
THAT OFFICER BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GETTING INTO.SOMEONE WHO COMES INTO THE DETENTION CENTER, WE START THEM OFF WITH 40 HOURS OF TRAINING.
THEIR FIRST WEEK IS JUST DOING TRAINING.
UM, THEY ARE SLOWLY INTRODUCED INTO THE DETENTION CENTER OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS, SOMETIMES UP TO SIX WEEKS, DEPENDS ON THE CONFIDENCE LEVEL, WHICH OFTEN HAS TO DO WITH THE AGE AND EXPERIENCE OF A NEW OFFICER.
WE PAIR THEM WITH A, WITH A MORE EXPERIENCED OFFICER AND THEY GO THROUGH THE ROUTINE OF SHADOWING ANOTHER OFFICER THROUGH THIS MENTORSHIP PERIOD.
UM, EVEN AFTER THAT HAPPENS, ONCE AN OFFICER IS, UM, ASSIGNED TO A, A HOUSING UNIT ON THEIR OWN, THEY BEGIN TO REALLY, THEY EXPERIENCE THE FEEL OF BEING IN A HOUSING UNIT AND MANAGING A LARGE NUMBER OF INMATES, UM, BY THEMSELVES.
AND THAT OFTEN BECOMES UNCOMFORTABLE.
SO AFTER SOME TIME, THEY DO THAT FOR A FEW WEEKS AND THEN THEY DECIDE, YOU KNOW WHAT? THIS REALLY ISN'T FOR ME.
IT WASN'T SO BAD WHEN I HAD A MENTOR RIGHT NEXT TO ME, BUT NOW THAT I'M ON MY OWN, THIS DOESN'T WORK OUT.
SO THAT'S WHY WE SEE A LOT OF THOSE THINGS.
UM, SO ALL OF THAT IS TO SAY HERE IS OUR OPPORTUNITY.
WE, UM, DID A HARD LOOK AT OUR COMPETITORS.
WE LOOKED AT A COMPENSATION THAT WE HAVE NOW.
WE WORKED DIRECTLY WITH HR AND UM, I WOULD SAY NEGOTIATED.
UM, UH, MOSTLY BETWEEN MYSELF AND CATHERINE.
WE MET WITH THE, UH, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR AND THE FINANCE OFFICE, OUR CFO.
AND WE GOT TO A PLACE THAT I THINK IS REASONABLE FOR US TO OFFER, UH, UM, AN INCREASE IN COMPENSATION RIGHT NOW FOR OUR STAFF MEMBERS TO HELP US IMPROVE OUR RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT.
QUESTIONS? ALRIGHT, MS. TABER, IS THIS TO GO FORWARD OR ARE YOU RETRO TO JANUARY ONE? WE WOULD IMPLEMENT AT THE NEXT PAY STARTING THE NEXT PAY PERIOD.
WHERE DOES IT PUT US IN THE BAND OF WHAT OTHER PEOPLE OFFER? ARE WE IN THE MIDDLE, THE TOP? DO WE, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS WOULD PUT US MORE TOWARDS THE TOP.
SO IF WE JUST LOOK AT, UH, DETENTION CENTERS, THIS KIND OF PUTS US IN TOP THREE OF THE, OF THE STATE.
UM, I THINK THAT'S PRETTY COMPETITIVE, BUT MAYBE NOT QUITE ENOUGH.
DAVID, ARE WE, UH, COORDINATING EFFORTS WITH PEOPLE CYCLING OUTTA THE MARINE CORPS AND DOD? WE, UM, I WOULD SAY YES.
WE DO RECRUIT, UM, AND, AND WE ATTEND JOB FAIRS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, THERE THERE ARE MILITARY, UH, OPPORTUNITIES.
SO FOLKS THAT MAYBE WORK IN A BRI OR HAVE SOME OF THAT EXPERIENCE ALREADY.
THE PROBLEM IS THERE'S SO MUCH COMPETITION FOR THOSE EMPLOYEES AND THEY HAVE OPPORTUNITIES AND SALARIES THAT WE JUST CANNOT OFFER.
I JUST, I KNOW THERE'S SOME GROUPS OUT THERE THAT DEAL WITH, UH, TRANSITIONAL, UH, JOB PLACEMENT.
MAYBE WE CAN COORDINATE WITH THEM, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, RUN THE NEW NUMBERS.
SEE IF WE CAN CAPTURE SOMEBODY GETTING OUT OF THE, THE MARINE CORPS.
WHAT DOES THE SOUTH CAROLINA CORRECTIONAL DEPARTMENT PAY FOR THEIR, BECAUSE I SEE THEIR ADVERTISEMENTS ON HIGHWAY ONE.
I MEAN ON INTERSTATE 26 GOING TO COLUMBIA, THE LAST I LOOKED AT, THEY WERE, THEIR STARTING SALARY WAS 24 TO $27 PER HOUR.
SOME OF THEM WILL, UM, PUBLISH AN ANNUAL HOURLY RATE.
UM, WE'RE PRETTY COMPETITIVE WITH THEM AS WELL.
THERE, THERE ARE SOME DISCUSSION THAT IT'S LIKELY THAT SOME OF THOSE LARGER AGENCIES ARE DOING THE SAME THING THAT WE ARE.
THEY'RE INCREASING, UH, STARTING SALARIES BECAUSE THEY'RE HURTING FOR EMPLOYEES AS WELL.
SO WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP? IS IT GO TO MR. MOORE? DOES IT NEED TO GO TO COMMITTEE FIRST OR DOES IT COME STRAIGHT TO COUNCIL? AS, AS JOHN SAID, WE HAVE FUNDS AVAILABLE TO DO THAT THIS YEAR.
WILL, SO WE COULD IMPLEMENT IT NOW AND THEN IT WOULD BE PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
YOU DON'T NEED US TO VOTE ON IT, IN OTHER WORDS.
I, I DON'T, UNLESS THERE'S A OBJECTION TO IT.
WE CAN'T VOTE ANYWAY, BUT I MEAN, SO WE COULD IMPLEMENT IT AND UH, AND THEN BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR.
PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS? YEAH.
WELL THAT'S WHAT I'M, I WAS ASKING IF IT, YEAH, DON'T NEED OUR APPROVAL.
WHEN WE HAD DISCUSSED THIS, UM, THE DETENTION CENTER AS OF I THINK THE JANUARY VACANCY REPORT HAD HOW MANY? 24? I THINK I'M NOT, I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME.
I THINK TODAY, I THINK IT'S 34.
UM, WE HAD TALKED ABOUT IN ORDER TO IMPLEMENT THIS MIDYEAR OF RELINQUISHING UP MAYBE UP TO FOUR VACANT POSITIONS AND THEN CONTINUING TO BUDGET BECAUSE YOU'RE CONTINUOUSLY TELLING ME I GOTTA FIND A WAY TO REDUCE MILLAGE, BUT I'M ADDING MORE AND MORE COSTS.
[02:40:02]
TO BE ABLE TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO CONSIDER.ANY OTHER COMMENTS? WE DO HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN WE TALK ABOUT REDUCING THE NUMBER OF AVAILABLE POSITIONS.
UM, SCDC REQUIRES US TO HAVE A POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR A SPECIFIC RATIO.
UM, THEY, RIGHT NOW WE'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE 83 POSITIONS AND WE ALREADY HAVE 79 FUNDED POSITIONS.
SO WE NEED TO BE REALLY CAREFUL IF WE DO AS WE DO THAT CUNNINGHAM.
YEAH, PINKY SORT OF TOOK MY FIRST PART THERE.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE THE BUDGET NOW 'CAUSE WE DIDN'T FILL A POSITION.
SO HOW MUCH IS THIS GONNA RAISE OUR BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR? THE, HMM, THE ESTIMATE RIGHT NOW FOR THE ANNUAL WAS LIKE 213,000.
AND THAT IS FOR THE FILLED POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE.
THAT DOESN'T COUNT THE VACANT ONES.
THAT DOESN'T INCLUDE THE VACANCIES, NOR DOES IT INCLUDES INCLUDE FRINGES OR FRINGES.
SO REALISTICALLY WE'RE TALKING HALF A MILLION DOLLARS THEN COULD BE.
AND THEN IT'S ALL WELL AND GOOD.
IT'S NICE TO SAY THAT, BUT THAT STILL DOESN'T ADDRESS THE ISSUE THAT YOU SAID IS THE BIGGEST ISSUE.
AND THAT'S AFTER THEY'RE DONE TRAINING, THEY QUIT BECAUSE OF THAT ENVIRONMENT.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING TO ADDRESS THE ENVIRONMENT ASPECT TO KEEP THEM THERE? 'CAUSE THIS IS JUST, IT'S MORE THAN JUST A MONEY PROBLEM.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY AN ENVIRONMENT PROBLEM AND A SOCIAL PROBLEM AS WELL FROM THE OUTSIDE.
SO HOW DO WE, HOW ARE WE ADDRESSING THAT? SO THIS IS A VERY DIFFICULT PROBLEM
THE FACILITY ITSELF, WE'VE SPENT A LOT OF MONEY ON THE FACILITY TRYING TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FACILITY.
EVERY IMPROVEMENT IN THE FACILITY BENEFITS THE CORRECTIONS OFFICER.
IT MAKES IT SAFER FOR THE CORRECTIONS OFFICER.
THERE ARE MORE ELECTRONICS THAT, UM, THAT HELP TO LIMIT THEIR TASK THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS IN OUR BUDGET THIS, THIS YEAR IS A SYSTEM CALLED GUARD ONE.
SO WHAT GUARD ONE DOES IS AN ELECTRONIC SYSTEM WHERE THE OFFICER CARRIES A SMALL DEVICE AND THEY CAN GO TO EACH OF THE SEGREGATION CELLS AND THEY USE THAT DEVICE AND THEY JUST TOUCH A, UM, A UM, HOTSPOT OR LITTLE, UH, BARCODE, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CALL IT ON A CELL.
WHEN THEY TOUCH THAT DEVICE, IT AUTOMATICALLY OR ELECTRONICALLY RECORDS THE OFFICER, THE CELL THEY WERE AND THAT INSPECTION.
SO WHAT THAT DOES RIGHT NOW, WE DO THAT ON PAPER AND IT IS A REQUIREMENT THAT THAT OFFICER DOES THAT EVERY 30 MINUTES.
SO THEY SPEND ABOUT AN HOUR EVERY SHIFT DOCUMENTING THIS SCHEDULE.
AN ELECTRONIC SYSTEM LIKE THAT REMOVES THE HOURS OF DOCUMENTING TIME AND AUTOMATICALLY DOES THAT.
SO THOSE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING TO HELP IMPROVE THE OFFICERS.
SO THEY'RE DOING LESS PAPERWORK AND ABLE TO FOCUS ON THEIR JOBS SOME MORE.
UH, THOSE TYPE OF IMPROVEMENTS, WHILE THEY SEEM LIKE THEY'RE SMALL TO US, THAT IS CRITICAL TO AN OFFICER THAT IS CHECKING 70 CELLS EVERY HALF HOUR.
UM, THAT'S REALLY EFFICIENT USE OF THEIR TIME AND WILL HELP IN THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE JUST HAD OUR DETENTION CENTER DIRECTOR RETIRED.
UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY INTERVIEWING FOR THAT ROLE RIGHT NOW.
AND WHAT WE ARE SEEKING IS A NEW DE DETENTION CENTER DIRECTOR WITH THE RIGHT LEADERSHIP SKILLS AND THE RIGHT CHARISMA IN ORDER TO HELP CHANGE THE CULTURE OF THAT ENVIRONMENT.
UH, IT IS A VERY DIFFICULT THING.
OUR, UM, DETENTION CENTER EMPLOYEES ARE DEDICATED.
THEY, UM, TAKE CARE OF ONE ANOTHER.
THEY HAVE TO, IT HAS TO BE A FAMILY.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRESERVE THAT, THAT CULTURE AND IMPROVE THAT CULTURE TO HELP RETAIN AND ATTRACT MORE EMPLOYEES.
THE BEST ADVERTISING WE CAN DO IS TO HAVE HAPPY, HEALTHY EMPLOYEES WHO SHARE THOSE SENTIMENTS WITH OTHER FOLKS AND ATTRACT MORE FOLKS IN THERE.
BECAUSE I'LL BE HONEST, I'M, I'M MORE INCLINED TO INVEST IN THE FACILITY TO CREATE A BETTER WORK ENVIRONMENT TO ACTUALLY RETAIN PEOPLE.
'CAUSE WE, IT'S NOT A SECRET WE JUST TALKED ABOUT, IT'S HALF THIS DAY.
WE OFFER A LOT OF PERKS OUTSIDE OF JUST SALARY.
SO THROWING MONEY AT A PROBLEM DOESN'T ALWAYS FIX THE PROBLEM.
SO AT WHAT POINT IS THAT GONNA BE OUR MAIN FOCUS? I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH US ADJUSTING THIS NOW AND TALKING ABOUT IT, BUT ONE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIND HALF A MILLION DOLLARS.
BUT TWO, WE HAVE EXTRA FUNDS TO PUT TOWARDS THIS CENTER IF WE CAN MAKE THEIR JOB EASIER, THAT MAKES THE JOB MORE DESIRABLE WHERE WE THROW MONEY AT IT NOW, BUT NOT A CONTINUAL AMOUNT OF MONEY FOR YEARS TO COME, FOR NEXT COUNCILS AND NEXT BUDGETS.
SO IF WE HAVE EXTRA RESOURCES NOW TO BE ABLE TO GO TOWARDS THAT SYSTEM, WHICH I DON'T KNOW IF, CAN WE EVEN USE OUR GENERAL FUND FOR THAT? NOT SURE THE, THE LEGALITIES OF WHAT FUNDS WE CAN USE, BUT I KNOW WE HAVE EXCESS FOR OUR, ESPECIALLY
[02:45:01]
FROM OUR RESERVES.SO HOWEVER WE CAN MAKE THAT JOB EASIER FOR THEM, TO ME THAT'S MORE OF A BETTER ENVIRONMENT.
IT'S THE SAME THING I TOLD THE SCHOOL SYSTEMS FOUR OR FIVE YEARS AGO.
YOU GUYS CAN THROW MONEY AT THE PROBLEM, BUT YOU'RE STILL LOSING TEACHERS 'CAUSE YOU'RE NOT FIXING THE MORALE.
NO, WE'VE HAD, WE'VE HAD THE VERY SAME CONVERSATIONS FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS.
YEAH, WE HAVE THE SAME COMMENT YOU JUST MADE, THROWING MONEY AT THE PROBLEM'S, NOT GONNA SOLVE IT.
WE NEED TO MORE HOLISTICALLY LOOK AT IT AND WE HAVE EXHAUSTED EVERYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO.
THIS IS OUR LAST RESORT AND RIGHT NOW IS A VERY IMPORTANT TIME AS WE HAVE THE LEADERSHIP CHANGE IN THE DETENTION CENTER.
WE HAVE INVESTED IN THE DETENTION CENTER AND TRIED TO IMPROVE THE CONDITIONS.
ONE OF THE NEXT PROJECTS, UH, THE NEXT CAPITAL PROJECTS THAT WILL GO ON THE DETENTION CENTER IS THE PHYSICAL OFFICER'S SPACE.
THE MUSTER ROOM WILL BE UPGRADED, THEIR LOCKER ROOMS WILL BE UPGRADED.
THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT FOR MORALE FOR THE OFFICERS SPACE.
WE, LAST YEAR IT WAS INTENDED TO DO THIS FIRST, BUT LAST YEAR WE HAD ALL THESE EMERGENCY REPAIRS AND WE HAD TO SPEND TONS AND TONS OF MONEY IN THE HOUSING UNITS.
SO THE HOUSING UNITS ARE IN GREAT SHAPE.
WE HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING FOR THE OFFICERS.
SO THAT INVESTMENT WILL HELP ALONG WITH OUR OPPORTUNITY TO FIND THAT RIGHT LEADER IN THAT ORGANIZATION.
WE IMPROVE OUR COMPENSATION, WE'VE IMPROVED THE STRUCTURE ITSELF, AND NOW WE ARE SEEKING ANOTHER LEADER TO CONTINUE THE POSITIVE CULTURE IN THERE.
HOPEFULLY THIS IS THE TRIFECTA THAT HELPS US REDUCE THOSE, UM, OPEN POSITIONS, THOSE VACANT POSITIONS.
UH, HOW, HOW LONG ARE THE SHIFTS AGAIN? 12 HOUR SHIFTS.
THE AVERAGE EMPLOYEE, UH, AVERAGE EMPLOYEES WORKING 96 HOURS A WEEK.
WELL YOU YOU'D MENTIONED TOO, HOW, WELL, HOW LONG IS THE MENTORSHIP PART OF THAT? IT, IT DEPENDS ON THE PERSON.
UH, A MINIMUM THE MENTORSHIP IS THEY, THEY HAVE A WEEK OF MANDATORY TRAINING THAT THEY HAVE TO DO AND THERE'S SOME MENTORSHIP TIME IN THAT.
MOST OF THE TIME IT'S ABOUT TWO WEEKS THAT THEY CAN, THAT THEY DO, UM, UH, THE MENTORSHIP.
BUT IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE INDIVIDUAL.
SOME OF 'EM LAST, UH, MUCH LONGER SIX WEEKS.
SO I I I KNOW YOU MENTIONED, IS IT A TREND THAT AFTER THAT MENTORSHIP PERIOD IS OVER THAT SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE NEW TRAINEES LEAVE? IS THAT KIND OF THE GENERAL TREND? YES, SIR.
I, I, I THINK GENERALLY THAT'S, UH, THAT'S ACCURATE.
IT REALLY DEPENDS ON THE PERSON.
UH, SOMETIMES WE HAVE HAD OFFICERS THAT COME FROM OTHER DETENTION CENTERS THAT COME TO OUR DETENTION CENTER AND WE'VE HEARD THAT YOU'RE TOO STRICT, YOU HAVE TOO MANY RULES LIKE, UM, AND SO THEY MAY HAVE COME TO FROM ANOTHER DETENTION CENTER THAT HAS MORE LAX, BUT WHAT YOU SEE IN THOSE DETENTION CENTERS IS PERHAPS MORE OFFICER INJURIES, MORE WHAT WE WOULD CALL CODE REDS, MORE INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE BETWEEN INMATES AND OFFICERS.
UH, RULES ARE IMPORTANT IN A DETENTION CENTER, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE PRETRIAL.
SO ARE WE DOING, IS IT ONE PERSON, ONE GUARD PER HOUSING UNIT? LIKE IS THAT THE, THE POLICY FOR IT RIGHT NOW? IT, IT DEPENDS ON THE HOUSING UNIT.
UH, AND WE MEET THE STATE MINIMUM STANDARD OFFICER.
UH, YOU KNOW, YOU SAID THAT PERFECTLY MINIMAL, YOU KNOW, IS THAT AN ISSUE IF, IF THE MENTOR, WHEN, WHEN THERE'S TWO PEOPLE IN THERE, IF THEY FELT COMFORTABLE HAVING EACH OTHER'S BACK, I GUESS AND GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS, IS THAT SOMETHING WE CAN DO TO RAISE OUR OWN POLICY TO MAKE SURE THAT AT LEAST TWO PEOPLE ARE IN A HOUSING UNIT? I KNOW WE'RE WE, I KNOW WE'RE SHORT STAFFED, I KNOW WE'RE SHORT STAFFED AND WE'RE TRYING TO CORRECT THAT.
BUT I MEAN, COULD THAT BE SOMETHING LOOKING AT THE POLICY? I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I, I REMEMBER BUYING A HOUSE.
SOMEBODY SAID, OH, IT'S TO CODE, AND I SAID, GREAT.
YOU KNOW, WE CAN ALWAYS GO ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT.
I KNOW CONSTRAINTS ARE THERE, BUT IF, IF PEOPLE ARE JUMPING SHIP BECAUSE THEY'RE LEFT ALONE, MAYBE WE CAN EXPAND THAT MENTOR PROGRAM OR, OR GET THEM MORE COMFORTABLE OVER A LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WE CAN DO IS, UM, FOCUS ON OFFICERS SAFETY AND INMATE SAFETY.
IT IS OUR JOB TO PROVIDE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR PRETRIAL INMATES.
UH, AND THAT COMES WITH A RATIO OF THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS PER INMATES.
UH, IF WE COULD PUT TWO OFFICERS IN EVERY HOUSING UNIT FOR EVERY SHIFT, THAT WOULD BE IDEAL.
UH, RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE THE STAFFING TO DO THAT.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? YOU'RE, YOU'RE OUR LAST ONE TODAY.
ANY, ANY LAST THOUGHTS BEFORE WE ADJOURN? NO.
SO WE ARE GOING TO INSTITUTE THE PROPOSAL.
YEAH, WE'LL IMPLEMENT AT THE NEXT, STARTING IN THE NEXT PAY PERIOD.
AND THEN WE'LL IDENTIFY ABILITY, THE FUNDING SOURCE TO CARRY THIS FORWARD WITH THESE PAY FROM NEXT PAY, UM, INCREASES AS PRESENTED.
IF WE IMPLEMENTED THE NEXT PAY PERIOD, THEN WE ARE ALREADY SETTING UP FOR THE BUDGET TO INCREASE AT 1.2 MILLION.
AND I'M GONNA SAY ONE MORE TIME, EVERYTHING TODAY WAS INCREASE,
[02:50:01]
INCREASE, INCREASE.HOW ARE WE GONNA KEEP MILLAGE LEVEL OR REDUCE IT WHEN? INCREASE.
WHERE'S THAT COMING FROM? WHAT MAGIC UNDER THE MAY RIVER BRIDGE OR THE BROAD RIVER BRIDGE? IS THERE A TREASURE CHEST? I'M VERY CAREFUL.
I KNOW WE WANT ALL THESE THINGS.
BUT YOU KNOW, WE, SOME OF US HAVE A COMMITMENT TO REDUCE MILLAGE.
I DON'T CARE IF IT'S A MILL, BUT WE CAN'T DO IT.
WHEN EVERYTHING WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, EVERY SINGLE THING I TYPED WAS AN INCREASE.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT KIND OF MAGIC ADMINISTRATION'S GONNA BRING FORWARD TO DO THAT.
WELL, I THINK THE MAGIC IS WHAT PINKY SAID IS WE, YOU KNOW, WE MAY HAVE TO DEVIATE FROM THE S-S-C-D-C STANDARDS, BUT AS IT IS RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T HAVE FULL STAFFING ANYWAY.
SO THAT MAY BE SOME RISK WE NEED TO TAKE TO, WELL, I'M TALKING ABOUT OVERALL EVERYTHING WE TALKED ABOUT TODAY WAS AN INCREASE.
OH, I'M NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT DETENTION CENTER.
WELL, I MEAN, THESE ARE ALL THINGS WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT IN THE BUDGET.
UM, SO YOU HAVE SOME MAGIC WAND IN THERE.
ON A SCALE OF ONE TO 10, HOW MUCH DO YOU HATE US RIGHT NOW?
THAT WAS ONE OF THE TASKS YOU GAVE US AND WE'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED SEVERAL OFFSETS HAVE BEEN DISCUSSED PREVIOUSLY.
SO THERE ARE OTHER THINGS WE'RE GONNA LOOK AT.
TO ADDRESS, TO, TO TRY TO GET THIS TO BE NEUTRAL TO NICK, TO REDUCED MILL COUNCIL DAWSON.
AND, AND, AND IN THE PROCESS WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF, WE HAVE TO PROVIDE SERVICE.
PEOPLE WANT THE SERVICE AND THE SERVICE COSTS.
SO WE HAVE TO BALANCE THAT WITH TRYING TO KEEP THE MILLAGE, UH, NEUTRAL AND PROVIDE THE SERVICE.
AND THEN EVERYTHING THAT THERE HAS BEEN INCREASE.
BUT HOW DO WE PROVIDE THE, IF, IF THESE SERVICES ARE NEEDED, THEN HOW DO WE PROVIDE THESE SERVICES? THAT IS THE ETERNAL QUESTION.
BUT THE AVERAGE TAXPAYER JUST LOOKS AT THEIR BILL AND SAYS, WHERE ARE YOU SPENDING MY MONEY? I MEAN, I GET IT.
I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND THAT.
BUT WE HAVE TO MAKE THEM UNDERSTAND.
AND WE, IF WE, IF WE ARE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR PROVIDING THE SERVICES, THEN THERE'S A BALANCING ACT.
SO I WOULD TELL YOU, SINCE I ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS, PEOPLE CALLED IN ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE TAX BILL, WE PUT ALL THE YEAH.
OS TREASURER'S, OFFICE REFERRED ALL QUESTIONS TO ME.
I ONLY HAD 29 PEOPLE CALL
THE MOST COMMON THING I HEARD IS WHY ARE WE GIVING MONEY TO TCL? WHY ARE WE GIVING MONEY TO USCB? WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS PARKS AND REC? I MEAN, THEY'RE ASKING ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS.
'CAUSE WE'VE NEVER SPLIT IT OUT BEFORE.
SO YES, PEOPLE WANT EVERY SERVICE IN THE WORLD, BUT THE QUESTION IS, WHAT DO THEY WANNA PAY FOR THEREIN LIES THE BOTTOM LINE.
WELL, I, I WOULD SAY THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT CITIZENS WANT TO PAY FOR AND SOME THINGS THAT WE'RE OBLIGATED TO PAY FOR.
AND SOME THINGS WE'RE COMING UP WITH THAT WE THINK THE CITIZENS WANT.
LIKE WHO HEARD WHO SAID TO HIRE MORE OF THIS OR THAT? THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO IMPROVE WHAT, WHAT THE GRANT NOW.
SO FOR $2.9 MILLION 2 9 8 0 4 6 2 0.9 MILLION PER MIL.
I THINK CHARLESTON AT, THEY JUST, UM, IT WAS IN, IN THE DEBATE.
SHE SAID THEY'RE AT 37 MILLS, 36 AND A HALF MILS.
CHARLESTON CHARGES WE'RE AT 59.5.
WHAT'S MILL WORTH? THEY MILL, I DON'T KNOW.
SHE DIDN'T SAY THAT, BUT SHE THREW OUT THE 36 AND A HALF.
THE VALUE OF A MILL IS PROBABLY EXCEED OH.
VALUE'S MUCH HIGHER THAN OURS.
IT JUST SOUNDED REALLY GOOD WHEN SHE THREW IT OUT THERE.
I THINK THIS CURRENT YEAR IS 2.6.
ANY LAST THOUGHTS BEFORE WE ADJOURN? THANK YOU, JOHN.
THANK YOU EVERYONE TODAY THAT, UM, CATHERINE AND CHUCK.
THE COUNTY IS ONE OF THE OLDEST FORMS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.
EARLY SETTLERS FROM ENGLAND BROUGHT THE TRADITION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT TO AMERICA.
[02:55:01]
COUNTY GOVERNMENTS PROVIDE SERVICES THAT AFFECT ALMOST EVERY CITIZEN'S LIFE.SOUTH CAROLINA'S 46 COUNTIES ARE VERY REPRESENTATIVE OF HOW COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS EVOLVED NATIONALLY.
THE COUNTY UNIT IN SOUTH CAROLINA WAS REGARDED AS A LOCAL EXTENSION OF STATE GOVERNMENT, BUT A STATE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM MOVEMENT IN THE EARLY 1970S LED TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY, PASSING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAW, ALSO KNOWN AS THE HOME RULE ACT.
IN 1975, THE HOME RULE ACT GREATLY EXPANDED COUNTY AUTHORITY AND CHANGED THE NATURE OF COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION TO WHAT WE KNOW TODAY.
BEAUFORT COUNTY WENT FROM HAVING A BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO A COUNTY COUNCIL.
MEMBERS OF THE 1975 COUNCIL INCLUDED CHAIRMAN ARTHUR HORN, VICE CHAIRMAN, GRADY THAMES, LEROY BROWN, GARY FORDHAM, WILLIAM GRANT, HARRIET LING, DAVID JONES, BILL MCBRIDE, AND BOOKER WASHINGTON.
AS THE NEW COUNCIL SOUGHT TO DISTINGUISH ITSELF, COUNCIL MEMBERS DESIRED AN OFFICIAL SYMBOL THAT WOULD REPRESENT THE JURISDICTION'S IDENTITY AND UNIQUE CHARACTER COUNCIL APPOINTED AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO UNDERTAKE THE TASK AND CARRY OUT A CONTEST FOR THE BEST COUNTY SEAL DESIGN.
HARRIET KLIN WAS A MEMBER OF COUNTY COUNCIL, AND IT WAS HER IDEA BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY IDENTIFY OUR BEAUTIFUL BEAUFORD COUNTY.
WE MET THEN UP AT, UH, I THINK IT WAS A CAROLINA BANK AND SOME YEARS AGO, BACK THERE ON WEST STREET.
YOU KNOW, LIKE, GOOD, BAD MAYBE UNTIL WE FINALLY GOT IT DOWN TO THE ONE THAT WE NOW USE.
COUNTY COUNCIL APPROVED THE SEAL COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION, WHICH REFLECTED THE COUNTY'S HISTORY, TRADITIONS, AND NATURAL BEAUTY.
THE SEAL'S COLORS OF BLUE AND GREEN REPRESENT THE COLORS OF THE COUNTY'S OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT WITH ITS MANY WATERWAYS, MARSHLANDS, AND MARITIME FOREST.
THE FIVE IMAGES WITHIN THE SEAL DEPICT SOME OF THE COUNTY'S DISTINGUISHING FEATURES.
ANCIENT LIVE OAK TREES, THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY, RICH NATURAL RESOURCES, AND RARE MARINE ECOLOGY, LOW COUNTRY ARCHITECTURE, AND MILES OF RIVERS, CREEKS, AND INLETS.
I THOUGHT IT ENCOMPASSED WHAT THE, WHAT WE AS A BODY WERE LOOKING FOR A SEAL THAT WOULD, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT IT AND JUST THOUGHT ABOUT A LITTLE BIT, IT REALLY COVERS THE ASPECTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY.
SO HE DID A GOOD JOB OF BRINGING TOGETHER THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, WHOLE, SO DEAR AND WHAT WE REALLY LIKE ABOUT BEAUFORT COUNTY.
COUNCILMAN BILL MCBRIDE WAS IN OFFICE WHEN THE CONTEST WAS HELD AND WAS PRESENT WHEN THE COMMITTEE REVEALED THE WINNING DESIGN.
I THINK COUNCIL WAS ECSTATIC ABOUT IT.
UH, WE THOUGHT THAT THE, THE SIMS ON THE SEAL REPRESENTED, UM, ASPECTS OF LIFE IN BUTT COUNTY.
THERE IT IS A SLIGHT CHANGE IN THE ORIGINAL, UM, DRAFT THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US WHERE YOU HAVE THE SHRIMP BOAT TODAY.
INITIALLY, THAT WAS A PLEASURE CRAFT, A SAILBOAT YACHT TYPE BOAT.
AND, UH, IT WAS CHANGED BY COUNTY COUNCIL BECAUSE WE FELT THAT THE SHRIMP BOAT WAS A BETTER REPRESENTATION, UM, OF A MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UH, ASPECT OF BEAUTIFUL COUNTY LIFE BECAUSE YOU HAD OTHER THINGS ON THE SEAL THAT REPRESENT THE PLEASURE AND RECREATION, THE FISHING AND THE BEACH.
SO THEY THOUGHT THE SHRIMP BOAT, WHICH WAS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF BEAUFORD COUNTY CULTURE, SHRIMPING, ESPECIALLY AT THAT TIME, WOULD BE REFLECTED ON THE SEAL.
THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST WAS AN ARTIST FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND, THE LATE LEE PAYNE, WHOSE DESIGN WAS SELECTED FROM MORE THAN 126 CENTURIES SUBMITTED FROM AS FAR AWAY AS INDIANA AND TENNESSEE.
HE WAS AWARDED $250 FOR HIS DESIGN.
BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE CAPTURED THE LEGACY OF OUTDOOR BEAUTY, CULTURE, AND HISTORY THAT HELP TO DEFINE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF LIFE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
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