MINUTES
STATE
OF
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a special called meeting at
Those present were: Chairman Bill Moyer, Vice-Chairman
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance, stating that the purpose of
the meeting was the Board’s first budget workshop for FY 2007-2008. The Board hopes to review all revenues at
this meeting and discuss the collection rate.
The Board also hopes to have a beginning discussion with respect to the
Compensation Plan.
Commissioner Messer made
the motion to approve the agenda. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
FY 2007-2008 BUDGET WORKSHOP
REVENUES
Ad Valorem Revenue Forecast –
Mr. Duncan distributed a
hand-out entitled “Reappraisal Update”.
He stated that the tax base is comprised of:
1.
Real
Property
2.
Motor
Vehicles
3.
Personal
Property
4.
Public
Service Companies
Mr. Duncan reviewed some
figures for the past year with the Board.
The projected tax base for FY 2006-07 as of April 28, 2007 was
$9,360,115,000 with almost 82% of that being real property. He reviewed other
numbers with the Board as well. Comparisons were also made with other counties,
to see how we stacked up.
Mr. Duncan discussed the
fact that FY 2007-08 is a moving target.
He had given ranges for the registered motor vehicles, personal property
and public service companies. Since that time reappraisal notices have gone
out. He then reviewed the actual projected numbers as of today (
Real Property $10,459,000,000
Registered MV’s
877,500,000
Personal Property
798,700,000
Public Service Co.
183,500,000
TOTAL TAX BASE: $12,311,200,000
The projection for
registered motor vehicles is slightly less than what we took in last year, due
to the change in how commercially tagged vehicles were handled during calendar
year 2006 and through 2007. Some motor vehicles got a 7 month tag which means
they got billed twice in the year of 2006.
Some got an 18 month tag so it depends on how that commercial tag came
across from DMV. He reduced that number
because he knows that we picked up some vehicles twice in calendar year 2006.
Mr. Duncan explained that notices have gone out and that there will be changes
to this tax base due to those reappraisal notices having been received by the
tax payers and property owners of
Mr. Duncan explained
that there are at least three bills currently before the General Assembly that
deal with the elderly exclusion program and they are effective as of the 2007
tax year. The remaining bills are mostly
effective for 2008. All those bills deal
with present use value and the elderly exclusion program.
Mr. Duncan stated that
our real property component went up and continues to be the major player in the
tax base, the other three components had reductions in terms of their
relationship to the total. Mr. Duncan stated that his estimates are routinely
on the conservative side. He mentioned
appeals and their impact on real property, stating that they are currently in
the midst of the informal appeal process.
He stated that they’ve had a steady response to the reappraisal notices
but what they are currently seeing is applications for present use value,
elderly exclusion. By April 16, they
will know how many people have actually appealed and what the value of that
property is and they will be working with those face to face to try to get them
all out of the way before they advertise for the Board of Equalization and
Review on May 7. The Board should have a different set of numbers after
that. If there is a substantial change
in either direction, it will be explained and noted to the Board of
Commissioners per Mr. Duncan.
Mr. Duncan mentioned
that currently (as of yesterday) they had 793 appeals that have been filed from
the mailing of the reappraisal notices.
They have begun working those and investigating them. They have reduced the valuations on 78
appeals. They have raised the valuation
on one appeal. They have had 67 that
they’ve not made any changes to. They
still have about 647 remaining to be reviewed.
The window for the informal appeals closes on April 16. The Board of Equalization and Review is the
first formal appeal avenue for the property owners. They will be advertising in the local paper
and will run an announcement on the radio that the window of opportunity for
those appeals will begin on Monday, May 7 and the Board will adjourn from the
taking of requests. They will not
adjourn from their actions as a Board but they will adjourn from the taking of
requests on Friday, May 31 at
Percentage of Tax Collections – Terry Lyda
Terry Lyda, Henderson
County Tax Collector, addressed the Board stating that he anticipated
collecting 97% in the up-coming fiscal year.
That is basically what they’ve done in the past. That is the figure
staff has used in the budget for the coming year.
General Fund Revenues –
Step
1: Determine the rate that would produce the revenues equal to those produced
for the current fiscal year. Take the
property tax revenue for the current fiscal year ($53,099,205). This number is based on the Tax Assessor’s
TR1 Report. You divide that by the
values that we expect for the next fiscal year ($12,294,596,000) and then
divide it by the collection rate of 97%.
So our step 1 amount equals 44.5 cents.
Step 2: Increase the rate by a growth factor equal to the average annual
percentage increase in the tax base since the last general reappraisal. The
annual growth rate was calculated at 3.71%.
Then you increase the Step 1 calculation by the average percentage
increase to get the revenue neutral tax rate. At this point in time the revenue
neutral tax rate is 46.2%. This tax rate
will produce $55,069,186 in revenues, based on these projected values.
1.
FY2006
Revenue Actuals
2.
FY2007
Revenue Projections
3.
FY2008
Revenue Estimates
He explained that there
are three categories that make up the largest pieces of the pie: property
taxes-current year, unrestricted local portion of sales tax, and restricted
intergovernmental revenues (restricted for federal and state programs,
primarily DSS and Health). Mr. McLelland
explained that the third pie is the best estimates to date of what we will need
to fund county government in the general fund.
Currently we’re standing at $111,462,740 as the FY2008 revenue
estimates. Mr. McLelland also reviewed the three categories in some detail with
the Board, explaining the reasoning behind the FY2008 estimates, why estimates
went up or down.
Compensation Plan
The Project Team
consisted of Liston Smith as Chairperson, Dept. of Social Services Director;
Rick Davis, Sheriff; Nedra Moles, Register of Deeds; Jan Prichard, Human
Resources Director; Bill Snyder, Library Director, and support staff was Mary
Alice Jackson, HR Analyst. The Team was charged with developing a compensation
system that will:
Liston Smith explained that our most valuable asset in getting the job done is
our employees.
The Compensation
Proposal included five key components:
1.
Market adjustments based
on timely classification and market review
Our ability to provide
effective and efficient public service is fundamentally dictated by the quality
of the County workforce – our employees.
Competitive pay must be implemented and maintained to recruit and retain
qualified employees. Turnover is costly
in time, money, and quality of public service.
Effective compensation
should be equated to duties performed and required knowledge, skills, and
abilities. It should also be competitive
in the market in order to attract qualified employees. An organization does not
determine what it pays the best employees.
The market determines what to pay qualified employees. The organization determines if it is going to
recruit and retain the best employees.
2.
Annual cost of living
adjustment (COLA)
Pay needs to keep up
with the cost of living. Maintaining a
living wage assists in the retention of employees.
3.
Longevity Pay Program
To recognize the value
of long term service and ensure the retention of knowledgeable and effective
employees:
·
Continuity
in delivery of services
·
History
and knowledge of County operations
·
Job
experience
·
Consistency
in administration of duties
·
Commitment
and dedication to
4.
Performance Management
Program
Performance Management
Program should:
·
Focus
on what is important and makes a difference in the lives of our citizens.
·
Increase
accountability for the stewardship of local tax dollars.
5.
Outstanding Performance
Award
Provide supervisors the
opportunity to recognize and reward an employee or team who, through
demonstrated outstanding accomplishments “find a better way to do business”.
Proposed Implementation.
Different members of the team explained to the Board different aspects of the
recommendations.
1.
Market adjustments based
on timely classification and market review
·
Establish
appropriate salary grades and ranges for each classification
·
Adjust
salaries to correct and maintain market competitiveness
2.
Annual cost of living
adjustment (COLA)
·
Analyze
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data to determine appropriate COLA
·
Move
pay ranges to accommodate for the increase in the standard of living
·
Adjust
employees’ pay to accommodate for the increase in living expenses
3.
Longevity Pay Program
An investment in
organizational knowledge, skills, and abilities that we cannot afford to
lose. It will assist us in keeping our
best and brightest out of
·
Lump
sum payment to eligible employees
·
Payment
not added to base pay
·
Based
on actual service to
4.
Performance Management
Program
A Different Way to
Succeed. Effective performance
management produces results and rewards high performers. Performance Management and Appraisal links to
County’s mission and departmental mission.
Identify, measure, and reward the things that matter!
·
Core Values
Customer Service
Accountability
Attendance
Safety
Teamwork
Communication
·
Performance Results
Measurable
tasks identified for each position that are directly related to the County’s
mission and the overall departmental mission.
·
Establish Tasks and
Standards for Upcoming Year
Supervisor
and employee set goals annually to ensure high quality levels of service to the
public.
·
Performance Management
and Appraisal
Employee
will receive an overall rating of “Successful” or “Needs Improvement”
Supervisor
may award the employee from 0 to 3% pay increase based on the appraisal results.
·
Requires tough business
decisions be made by Department Heads
Proposed
allocation is equivalent to 2% of department’s personnel pay
Department
Head may award 0 – 3% pay increase for an employee based on the performance
management plan.
Pay
increases may not exceed departmental allocation.
5.
Outstanding Performance
Award
Supervisor
nominates individual or team that “finds a better way of doing business”.
A
“better way of doing business” can be either an increase in productivity within
resources or cost saving measures.
One-time non-recurring
cash award.
Staff explained that
this is a win/win proposal and explained how it would impact the citizens, the
county as an employer, and the employees.
Jan Pritchard explained
the differences between the old pay plan and the proposed new pay plan and how
the new plan relates to organizational goals and the county mission statement.
Much discussion followed. The compensation issue will come back before the
Board on a future agenda.
ADJOURN
Commissioner Messer made the motion to adjourn. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Attest:
Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk
to the Board
William L. Moyer, Chairman