Finance Committee Meeting
Minutes
Glynn
County Board of Commissioners
4:00 P.M., Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Third Floor Conference Room
W. Harold Pate Courthouse Annex
Brunswick, Georgia
Present:
Committee Members: M.
Bedner, J. Chapman, and C. Fendig
Staff: D. Chunn, W. Davis, B. Dimeo,
M. Eckert, J. Hegstrom, J. Herrington, P. McNicoll, J. Nazzrie, D. Newbern, J.
Pereles, W. Pittman, B. Rogers, Jamie Sanders, C. Segars, R. Shell
Press: Josh Rayburn
Others: Ralph Guarracino, David
McLendon
1. Consider approval of the Consent Agenda.
a)
Approve the March 11, 2003 Finance Committee
Meeting Minutes.
b)
Approve the real corrections to the
1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 Digests as recommended by the Board of Assessors
and/or the Chief Appraiser at their March 5, 2003 meeting.
c)
Declare the unusable
items listed on the attached page as surplus and approve the sale of these
items in the best interest of the County.
The following motion made by Commissioner Chapman and seconded by
Commissioner Fendig passed unanimously.
Recommend approval of
the Consent Agenda. (Vote: 3-0-0)
2.
Consider adopting and executing
the Cable Franchise Agreement between Glynn County Georgia and Century Venture
Corporation d/b/a Adelphia Cable Company.
Mr. Ralph Guarracino discussed
the significant terms of the proposed agreement with Adelphia. The agreement is for a term of fifteen years
from the effective date. The agreement
has a broader definition of gross revenues which will result in greater
franchise revenue for the County. The
County will have the authority to audit Adelphia’s accounting records to ensure
that fee payments to the County are accurate.
Adelphia will pay the County a total of $120,000 ($60k at execution and
$60k in the 8th year) for use by the County in implementing the
Educational Grant (EG) channels. The
agreement provides for liquidated damages for customer service noncompliance
and a security fund of $150,000 for faithful performance. Performance evaluation sessions which will
be open to the public will be held not more than once in any three year period.
Commissioner Chapman questioned
who came up with the $60,000 for the EG channels and how much the equipment
would cost. Mr. Mark Eckert, County
Administrator, stated that that was the negotiated amount and that the County
had started at $1 million. He said that
$60,000 is an estimate of the cost of the equipment.
Chairman Bedner stated that the
attorneys, Holland and Knight, were on contract for approximately $20,000 to
assist staff with the agreement and it was evident that the agreement resulting
from their effort will more than pay for their contracted legal fees.
Commissioner Fendig commented
that the FCC, not Glynn County, has final approval of Adelphia fees. He also stated that Adelphia has discretion
to change basic channels without the County’s consent.
Commissioner Chapman asked if the
agreement limited the selling of pornography and Mark Eckert stated that the
customer can request a block at no charge.
Commissioner Chapman indicated that he had discussed this with Mr. Gary
Moore, County Attorney, and was expecting a response from him.
Commissioner Fendig stated that
he had not had time to review the agreement since he was out of town for the
weekend and requested that this item be deferred to the full Board of
Commissioners. Commissioner Chapman
also said that he was not ready to vote on this item as he was waiting for an
opinion from the County Attorney.
Chairman Bedner stated that he
would like to send this to the Board with a vote from Finance Committee but was
unable to do so since Commissioner Fendig had not reviewed the agreement and
Commissioner Chapman had legal questions.
No Action Taken by the
Committee.
3.
Consider exercising the 2nd year
extension options for Neighborhood Parks Grounds Maintenance Services with
Evergreen Land Service & Nursery in the amount of $89,100 and A Little
Touch of England in the amount of $20,981.40 per year. Funding to come from the Operating Fund of
the Recreation Department.
Mr. Wesley Davis presented this
item and Commissioner Chapman stated that this contract began a couple of years
ago and it has worked very well with staff verifying that the work was
performed correctly. The following
motion made by Commissioner Chapman and seconded by Commissioner Fendig passed
unanimously.
Recommend
exercising the 2nd year extension options for Neighborhood Parks Grounds
Maintenance Services with Evergreen Land Service & Nursery in the amount of
$89,100 and A Little Touch of England in the amount of $20,981.40 per
year. Funding to come from the
Operating Fund of the Recreation Department.
(Vote: 3-0-0)
4.
Consider adopting a resolution
authorizing the Community Development Director to submit the Section 5303 Funds
grant application with Georgia’s DOT to secure transit planning funds to
support the BATS Unified Planning Work Program subject to the County Attorney's
approval.
Ms. Carolyn Segars, Planner II,
explained the BATS grant program and requested authorization to apply for the
funding. The following motion made by
Commissioner Fendig and seconded by Commissioner Chapman passed unanimously.
Recommend
adopting a resolution authorizing the Community Development Director to submit
the Section 5303 Funds grant application with Georgia’s DOT to secure transit
planning funds to support the BATS Unified Planning Work Program subject to the
County Attorney's approval. (Vote:
3-0-0)
5.
Consider applying for funding
from the Law Enforcement Agencies Grant Program to purchase 76 new body armor
vests for the police department.
Chief
Bob Pittman, Police Chief, explained that it was time to replace the
department’s bullet proof vests and the grant would fund up to 50% of the costs
of those vests. He requested
authorization to submit the application.
The following motion made by Commissioner Fendig and seconded by
Commissioner Chapman passed unanimously.
Recommend
applying for funding from the Law Enforcement Agencies Grant Program to
purchase 76 new body armor vests for the police department. (Vote: 3-0-0)
6.
Consider
adopting a Resolution requesting that the Georgia General Assembly budget at
least $270,000 for Georgia Drug Courts for FY 2003/04, and that the Georgia
General Assembly specifically allocate $50,000 to the Glynn/Camden County Drug
Court to cover operational expenses.
[Copies of the Resolution will be sent to the members of the Glynn
County state legislative delegation.]
Mr.
Dick Newbern, Grants Administrator, stated that Judge Amanda Williams had
requested that the County adopt the resolution to help fund the local drug
court. Commissioner Chapman asked Mr.
Eckert if he had any comments. Mr.
Eckert stated that he supports the drug court program but there is an issue of
funding. Commissioner Fendig commented
that in the budget process last year, the Board had asked Judge Williams to
present better documentation of services and outcomes. The following motion made by
Commissioner Fendig and seconded by Commissioner Chapman passed unanimously.
Recommend
adopting a Resolution
requesting that the Georgia General Assembly budget at least $270,000 for
Georgia Drug Courts for FY 2003/04, and that the Georgia General Assembly
specifically allocate $50,000 to the Glynn/Camden County Drug Court to cover
operational expenses. [Copies of the
Resolution will be sent to the members of the Glynn County state legislative
delegation.] (Vote:
3-0-0)
7.
Consider
a) authorizing Glynn
County Water and Sewer to enter into a commercial meter change out program
through our Cooperative Procurement Program by issuing a contract to
Metron-Farnier to replace all meters 1 ½” and above at a cost of $433,131;
b) authorizing
funding to be secured through a five-year lease/purchase agreement with
repayment from the water and sewer operating revenue; and
c)
directing the Finance
Department to obtain the most favorable interest rate for the
lease/purchase.
Ms.
Beth Dimeo, Engineer in Training, presented this item and stated that
Metron-Farnier would monitor the first year’s billing cycle to verify the
benefit to the County. Commissioner
Fendig asked if the County could bill an estimated usage for prior years if the
customer’s usage increases substantially with the new meters. Commissioner Chapman stated that if the
County billed and the customer paid in good faith, that the County should not
go back to prior years and estimate additional prior charges. After further discussion the
following motion made by Commissioner Chapman and seconded by Commissioner
Fendig passed unanimously.
Recommend
a) authorizing Glynn
County Water and Sewer to enter into a commercial meter change out program
through our Cooperative Procurement Program by issuing a contract to
Metron-Farnier to replace all meters 1 ½” and above at a cost of $433,131;
b) authorizing
funding to be secured through a five-year lease/purchase agreement with
repayment from the water and sewer operating revenue; and
c)
directing
the Finance Department to obtain the most favorable interest rate for the
lease/purchase. (Vote: 3-0-0)
8.
Consider
authorize the Recreation Director to initiate
the immediate elimination of the Camp Adventure Day Camp Program and eliminate
one (1) full time Recreation Specialist position from the Recreation
Department’s Operations Budget, which will combine to provide a net savings to
the FY 03 Budget in the amount of $33,214.
Mr. Wesley Davis, Recreation
Director, presented this item and Commissioner Chapman questioned how many jobs
were eliminated when the Casino closed.
Mr. Davis stated that eight part time positions were not filled and were
removed from the budget. The current
proposal would eliminate eight part time positions and one full time
position. The following motion made by
Commissioner Fendig and seconded by Commissioner Chapman passed unanimously.
Recommend
authorize the Recreation Director to initiate the immediate elimination of the
Camp Adventure Day Camp Program and eliminate one (1) full time Recreation
Specialist position from the Recreation Department’s Operations Budget, which
will combine to provide a net savings to the FY 03 Budget in the amount of
$33,214. (Vote: 3-0-0)
9.
Receive
FY02 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).
Ms. Phyllis McNicoll, Finance
Director, informed the Committee that the County had received an unqualified
opinion on the annual financial statements.
She stated that the auditors had found one instance on non-compliance
which was related to the collateralization of deposits in the Probate Court and
Clerk of Superior Court offices. She
also discussed unfavorable budget variances in four departments. Commissioner Bedner questioned the amount of
County debt on the books and Ms. McNicoll responded that it amounted to
$2,206,275 in Water & Sewer bonds and loans and $440,210 in the General
Fund for the Animal Control Building capital lease.
10. Request that Chairman Bedner identify the Finance
Committee items which should be included as consent items in the Commission’s
Meeting Agenda.
Chairman Bedner identified all items as
consent items except #2. Item #2 was
referred to the full Board of Commissioners with no vote from Finance Committee
because Commissioner Fendig had not had time to review the agreement and
Commissioner Chapman had some legal questions.