MINUTES
STATE
OF
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a regularly scheduled meeting at
Those present were: Chairman Bill Moyer, Commissioner
Also present were:
Planning Director
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed all in attendance.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Commissioner Williams
led the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag.
INVOCATION
INFORMAL PUBLIC COMMENTS
1.
Mary Orr – Ms. Orr addressed the animal rights laws that the Board
recently passed. She doesn’t think that the citizens have been well informed of
this. The citizens don’t realize that they are only allowed six personal
animals. The public should have been told this before the laws were passed.
“Are you going to do that to the farmers next with the cows and the horses and
goats and things like that.”
2.
Barb Irk – Ms. Irk is an educator of the
3.
Diane Dotson – Ms. Dotson is a third grade teacher at
4.
Danette Wesson – Ms. Wesson is an educator at
Chairman Moyer addressed
those who had spoken to the teacher supplement issue “I assure you when we get
to the budget, that’s an item that we will be discussing, talking to the School
Board and the School Board representatives and it will get a lot more attention
when we get to our budget. Thank you for
your comments, we’ll certainly take them into consideration.”
DISCUSSION/ADJUSTMENT OF AGENDA
Chairman Moyer pulled
item “E-Review Special Intensity Allocation WS-2007-11-03” from the Discussion
Items on the Agenda.
Chairman Moyer added as
item “J- The Policy for Tax Bills below $5.00” to the Discussion Items on the
Agenda.
Chairman Moyer also stated
a need to go into closed session for three subjects.
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to adopt the agenda as
amended. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
CONSENT AGENDA
Commissioner McGrady made the motion to adopt the consent
agenda as presented. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Consent Agenda consisted
of the following:
Minutes
Draft minutes were
presented for the Board’s review and consent approval of the following
meetings:
Financial Report/Cash Balance Report – December, 2007
The Financial Report and
Cash Balance Report for December 2007 were presented for the Board’s review and
consent approval.
Non-Departmental costs include
insurance premiums paid to date for Property and Liability insurance coverage
and Worker’s Compensation costs. These
costs are being allocated out to all departments on a pro rata basis during the
fiscal year.
The YTD deficit in the
Crisis Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) Fund, the Lewis Creek Restoration
Project Fund and the Public Transit Fund is due to the timing difference
between the expenditure of Federal and State grant funds and the subsequent
requisition and reimbursement of these expenditures.
The YTD deficit in the
Staff requested that the
Board consider approving the County’s December 2007 Financial Reports as
presented.
Suggested motion was:
I move that the
Board of Commissioners approve the December 2007
Henderson County Public Schools Financial Reports –
December, 2007
The Public Schools
Financial Reports for December 2007 were presented for the Board’s information
and consent approval.
Suggested motion was:
I move that the Board of Commissioners
approve the December 2007 Henderson County Public Schools Financial Reports as
presented.
Tax Refunds
A list of eight (8)
refund requests was presented for approval by the Board of Commissioners.
Tax Releases
A list of fifty-five
(55) release requests was presented for approval by the Board of Commissioners.
Board action on administrative denial of application for
vested rights
On September 18, 2007
(note: the Land Development Code was adopted by this Board on September 19,
2007), Parkridge MOB, LLC, filed an application for vested rights in section 2
of The Highlands, a part of The Glen and Highlands at Flat Rock (“the
Project”). A coy of this application, consisting of five (5) pages, was
presented for the Board’s review.
County staff dismissed
this application as incomplete due to not meeting the technical requirements of
the Henderson County Code as the same was in effect on September 18, 2007 (the
application did not contain an adequate “site specific development plan” to
meet the requirements of then section 189-2).
The applicant has requested Board action, likely in anticipation of
further litigation.
Staff requested
confirmation of staff action dismissing the application as incomplete.
Suggested motion was:
I move that the
Board dismiss the
for vested
rights.
LEPC Annual Report for 2007
Pursuant to Article 2-7
of the Local Emergency Planning Committee By-Laws, the 2007 Annual report was
submitted. The membership roster for
2007 was also submitted for approval.
LEPC Chairman
The Board was requested
to review and approve the LEPC Annual Report for 2007.
Suggested motion was:
I move that the Board approve the LEPC
2007 Annual Report and 2007 membership roster as presented.
Henderson County Hospital Corporation (
The Board of Directors
of Henderson County Hospital Corporation, doing business as
The North Carolina
Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has condemned certain real estate owned by
The Corporation Board
recommended acceptance of two of the three offers received from NCDOT, and
rejection of the third offer, subject to further negotiation with NCDOT by the Corporation
Board or its staff. The Board should note that all proceeds from the two offers
would return to the Corporation, under the proposed resolution.
Staff recommended
approval of the prepared resolution, a copy of which is attached as part of
these minutes.
Suggested motion was:
I move the Board approve the draft
resolution accepting two offers from NCDOT in compromise of its condemnation
claim against Henderson County and Henderson County Hospital Corporation, and
reject the third offer, and paying the proceeds of such two accepted offers to
Henderson County Hospital Corporation.
Resolution Requesting Funds for Sugarloaf Elementary Left
Turn Lane
The North Carolina
Department of Transportation (NCDOT) has offered to construct the left turn
lane for the
The Board was requested
to approve the prepared resolution.
Suggested motion was:
I move that the Board of Commissioners
approve the “Resolution Requesting Funds for Sugarloaf Elementary Left Turn
Lane”.
Waterline Extensions:
1.
Cummings Cove Sports
Complex
2.
Fox Glen
3.
4.
Oak Knoll
The City of
Action by the Board of
Commissioners is needed to either grant or deny each request. If the Board decides to approve the requested
extensions the following motion was provided.
Suggested motion was:
I move that the Board approve the proposed
waterline extensions for the Cummings Cove Sports Complex, Fox Glen,
Consideration of Public Transportation “ROAP” Grant
Agreement with WCCA
The grant funds will
provide for senior and disabled transportation programs, transportation for a
WorkFirst educational program, and an experimental fixed-route operation to
Edneyville. None of the programs require matching funds from
The grant agreement
specifies operating and reporting requirements of both parties as well as the
grant criteria. Its purpose is to serve as a management tool to ensure that all
the requirements of the grant program are met for this on-going program.
Planning Staff requested
the Board of Commissioners approve the pass-through grant agreement between
Suggested motion was:
I move the Board
approve the grant agreement and authorize execution.
Changes to Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) Charter
Working with the
committee chair, Planning Staff recommended realigning the committee membership
and reducing the size from 18 members to 11 by including the MPO Transportation
Advisory Committee (MPO TAC) membership and four at-large appointments. The MPO TAC membership from
Planning Staff requests
the Board approve the changes to the Transportation Advisory Committee Charter
and authorize staff to implement changes. If approved, consideration of the
at-large appointments would be necessary at a future meeting.
Suggested motion was:
I move the Board
approve changes to the Transportation Advisory Committee Charter as presented
with any changes noted by the Board.
Approval of Revised Animal Services Advisory Committee
Charter and Bylaws
The Animal Services
Advisory Committee reviewed the revised charter and bylaws at its December
meeting and voted to recommend the charter and bylaws to the Board of Commissioners
at its January meeting. The revised document clarifies the role of the
Committee and formalizes procedures already used by the Committee. The bylaws
are similar to those used by other advisory boards and committees serving the
County.
Staff requested approval
of the revised Charter and Bylaws of the Animal Services Committee which were
recommended to the Board by the Committee at their
Suggested motion was:
I move the approval
of the Animal Services Advisory Committee Charter and Bylaws as presented.
Sidearm Request – Randy Stepp
The Henderson County
Sheriff’s Office requests that the service sidearm of Officer Randy Stepp be
given to him in recognition of his retirement from the Henderson County
Sheriff’s Office.
Officer Stepp has served
the Sheriff’s Office and the people of
Officer Stepp’s service
to the people of
Sheriff Davis made this
request on behalf of the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office pursuant to North
Carolina General Statute 20-187.2(a).
The Board was requested
to allow Sheriff Rick Davis and the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office to
present Officer Randy Stepp with his service sidearm at no charge.
Suggested motion was:
I move the Board allow Sheriff Rick Davis
to present this service sidearm as a token of appreciation to Officer Randy
Stepp.
On
The upset bid procedure
for this property is now complete. No
upset bids on this property were received. The last and highest bid for this
property is the original bid, from Fred R. Dorsey.
Proposed below is a
proposed final acceptance of the offer and authorization to close the
transaction upon payment in full.
Suggested motion was:
I move that the Board give final
acceptance to the offer of Fred R.
Dorsey, to purchase real property, upon payment in full of the offer
price of $750.00, and further, that the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners,
County Manager and County Attorney take such steps, including the execution by
the Chairman of a quitclaim deed, as necessary to close such transaction.
NOTIFICATION OF VACANCIES
The Board was notified
of the following vacancies which will appear on the next agenda for
nominations:
1.
Agriculture
Advisory Board – 1 vac.
2.
Animal
Services Committee – 4 vac.
3.
4.
5.
Fire
and Rescue Advisory Committee – 1 vac.
6.
Recreation
Advisory Board – 3 vac.
NOMINATIONS
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board of the following vacancies and opened the floor to nominations:
1.
Cemetery Advisory
Committee – 1 vac.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Jennie Jones Giles. There were no other nominations. Chairman Moyer made the motion to accept Ms.
Giles by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
2.
Child Fatality
Prevention Team – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
3.
Chairman Moyer reminded
the Board that under the consent agenda the Board approved changes requested by
the Committee to reduce the size of the Committee. That gives us a number of
issues to deal with.
Commissioner McGrady had talked with the Chair of the Committee, Jim Crafton.
Commissioner McGrady explained that by the action taken on the consent agenda
today, the Board had decreased the size of the Transportation Advisory
Committee from 18 to 11 members.
Basically that move was made to align the Transportation Advisory
Committee more similarly to the MPO, on which we have five slots – five from
the municipalities and two from the counties.
He explained what was proposed here was basically to hopefully take
those same seven people and add four at-large slots to them. Commissioner McGrady said that technically
Hunter Marks, David Jones, and Jim Crafton’s terms are still continuing as
their terms are not expiring but Renee Kumor, William Crisp, Lee King, and
Terry Hicks’ terms are expiring.
Chairman Crafton made some recommendations to Commissioner McGrady in
terms of who he would recommend for appointment to those four slots: Jim
Crafton, Renee Kumor, David Jones, and either Hunter Marks or Terry Hicks. Mr. Marks has indicated that it is not
critically important for him to serve on this committee since he serves on
another county committee.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated for appointment: Jim Crafton, Renee Kumor, David Jones, and Terry
Hicks.
There was some
discussion regarding the Municipal representatives. The Deputy Clerk was requested to draft a
letter to each of the municipalities explaining what the Board is currently
doing with this Committee and why and to see who they wish their representatives
to be.
It was decided not to
take action at this time but to roll this to the next meeting.
4.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
5.
Commissioner Young
nominated Bill Benton. He lives in
Indian Hills. Chairman Moyer made the
motion to approve Mr. Benton by acclamation subject to receipt of his
application. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
6.
Home and Community Care
Block Grant Advisory Committee – 1 vac.
Chairman Moyer nominated
Calvin Titus. He has been involved in
this committee previously and has been a good asset. There were no other
nominations. Chairman Moyer made the motion to accept Mr. Titus by acclamation for
this vacancy. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
7.
Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council – 6 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
8.
Library Board of
Trustees – 1 vac.
Commissioner McGrady
nominated Morton Lazarus for position #4, at large position. There were no
other nominations at this time. It was decided to roll action on this to the
next meeting.
9.
Nursing/Adult Care Home
Community Advisory Committee – 12 vac.
Currently serving and
willing to be reappointed is Janice Aho, position #20. Commissioner McGrady nominated Janice Aho for
reappointment to position #20. There were no other nominations for that
position. Chairman Moyer made the motion
to accept Ms. Aho by acclamation. All voted in favor and the motion carried.
10.
Senior Volunteer
Services Advisory Council – 1 vac.
There were no
nominations at this time so this item was rolled to the next meeting.
11.
Travel & Tourism
Committee – Chair appointment
Commissioner Young nominated
Dale Bartlett (current Chair) for Chair of the Committee. Chairman
Moyer made the motion to accept Mr. Bartlett for reappointment as Chairman. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONER REPRESENTATIVES FOR
BOARDS AND
COMMITTEES
Terry Wilson had
supplied the Board with a current list of Commissioners and the
Boards/Committees they serve on for consideration and action, as follows:
Agriculture Advisory
Board Mark
Williams
Apple Country Greenway
Commission Chuck
McGrady
Cane Creek Water and
Sewer District Adv. Committee Charlie
Messer
CJPP Task Force
(Criminal Justice Partnership Program) Charlie
Messer
Community Child
Protection Team (CCPT) Chuck
McGrady
Downtown Hendersonville
Inc. Chuck
McGrady
Environmental Advisory
Committee Chuck
McGrady
Fire and Rescue Advisory
Committee Bill
Moyer, Charlie Messer
Governmental Financing
Corporation Bill
Moyer, Charlie Messer
Hospital Corporation
Board of Directors Bill
Moyer
Juvenile Crime
Prevention Council Mark
Williams
Land-of-Sky Regional
Council Bill
Moyer, Chuck McGrady
Library Board of
Trustees Larry
Young
Local Emergency Planning
Committee (LEPC) Bill
Moyer
Local Government
Committee of Cooperative Action (LGCCA) Bill
Moyer, Mark Williams
Metropolitan Sewerage
District of
Mud Creek District Adv.
Council/Water and Sewer
Advisory Council Bill
Moyer
Recreation Advisory
Board Charlie
Messer
Solid Waste Advisory
Committee (SWAC) Chuck
McGrady
Travel & Tourism
Committee Larry
Young
Chairman Moyer stated
that he had spoken with each of the Commissioners about these assignments for
the year 2008. What we currently have is
working well therefore; Chairman Moyer
made the motion that the Board/Committee assignments for the Commissioners
remain the same(as stated above) for the remainder of 2008 .All voted in favor
and the motion carried.
PUBLIC HEALTH ACCREDITATION PLAQUE PRESENTATION
Dr. Leah Devlin had
arranged to visit
Dr. Devlin congratulated
the Commissioners on having such an outstanding local Health Department and
strong Board of Health. She stated that Mr. Tom Bridges is one of the best
health directors in
Dr. Devlin also
explained that recently Tom Bridges was recognized with the Ron Levin
award. Ron Levin was State Health
Director in
Dr. Devlin asked Dr.
John Bell to join her (Chair of the Board of Public Health in
Dr. Bell thanked the
entire staff of the Health Department, stating that the credit is theirs, they
did the work and they are to be congratulated.
David Stone,
Accreditation Administrator, NC Local Health Department Accreditation, stated
that he is a former Health Director. He
offered his congratulations and the congratulations of the Institute for Public
Health to the Henderson County Health Department, to Health Director Tom
Bridges, Chairman Dr. John Bell, and the community that is served by the Health
Department.
1.
The
management team at the Health Department showed a true sense of teamwork.
2.
It
was clearly evident that accreditation was approached with a very practical
mindset.
3.
The
Staff had a great understanding of public health.
4.
The
Health Department is very community oriented which was evident to all.
5.
The
input and the role of community leaders in helping to develop what public
health
needs to do in this county is impressive.
6.
Their
strong leadership by the Health Director and the
7.
The
facility is a beautiful, modern, and state-of-the-art facility. The site visit team was talking that of the
different places they had been it was the most impressive facility they had
seen.
8.
The
open access program and the ability to transition the program from an old to a
new facility was impressive. Implementation shows some outstanding services
now.
9.
The
clinic was able to decrease its “no show” rate from 30% to less than 10% which
is truly impressive and indicative of a very successful program.
Mr. Stone stated this
was part of the report that was given at the Accreditation Board Meeting on
Tom Bridges accepted the
plaque with thanks and introduced the Board of Health and staff that were in
attendance. He asked the Board of Health
to stand, all present but two. Mr. Bridges then asked his key staff members to
stand. They had important roles and responsibilities in making sure that we got
the accreditation. “It is to their credit that we have this plaque.”
PRESENTATION OF THE COST OF
Chairman Bill Moyer
stated pleasure in having Dr. Mitch Renkow present at this meeting. He is a
North Carolina State University Professor. He conducted a Cost of Community
Services Study for
The 2007-2011 Strategic
Plan identified the creation of a Cost of Community Services Study as a goal
for
Dr. Renkow distributed a
hand-out, a graph entitled “Cost of Providing Public Services per Dollar of
Revenue Raised in
Dr. Renkow addressed the
graph he had distributed, stating this is a snapshot based on one particular
year, based on current development patterns within the county, flows of money
into the county budget and flows of money out of the budget to service
different land uses. He stated that
these numbers are useful in telling the Commissioners where the money is coming
from and where it’s going. He also stated that there is nothing sacred about having
an exact balance between revenues and expenditures for particular land uses
because of social values and needs that have to be met.
Chairman Moyer asked Dr.
Renkow to address the history of these findings, how long they’ve been going on
and how this has been accepted.
Dr. Renkow explained
that the basic template for doing these studies was done by the American
Farmland Trust and well over 100 of these kinds of studies were done throughout
the country over the past 10-15 years. Dr. Renkow has personally done studies
of this sort in four different counties in
Dr. Renkow addressed the
graph once again explaining that it is a simple chart that lays out how much it
costs to provide services per dollar of revenue raised from the different land
uses: residential land uses cost $1.16 for every dollar they are contributing
to the county coffers; commercial land uses are contributing significantly more
to the county budget than they are taking back in terms of services provided; a
rough balance in the agriculture land use exists with them paying slightly more
than their own way even given present use value taxation, $0.97 cost for every
dollar they are contributing to the county coffers. Dr. Renkow stated that the
residential and commercial numbers are very much in line with other studies
done nationally and within the state.
Dr. Renkow explained
some pretty strong reasons why we would expect residential land uses to
basically be subsidized by other land uses, particularly commercial land uses.
The largest reason is that roughly 2/3 of the county budget goes to human
services, i.e. social services, public health kind of expenditures and the
school systems. Those are overwhelmingly residential land users that are
benefiting from these things. He explained that there is another part of the
story – if you have businesses coming to an area then you will have to have
schools and the schools may be a lure to businesses. There is a lot of give and
take. A larger amount of money is coming
in from commercial land uses than is going back to them in terms of services
provided to them. Residential land uses
require more money spent on them than they are generating in property tax and
other kinds of revenues.
Dr. Renkow was able to
calculate the break-even house price based on the current tax rate, it worked
out to something like a $257,000 house.
If you had a house that was composed of people that were exactly like
the average person in this county, in terms of how many kids that they are
sending to schools, how much they are demanding services, public health,
sewage, solid waste, police protection, etc. then with a house that’s worth
more than $257,000 it would be more than paying it’s own way.
Commissioner Williams
stated that the conclusion reached from this study is one that the
Commissioners have been trying to get across to the public for some time – it
has to do with the misconception that because we are growing as a county in
terms of residences and the number of homes that we are seeing being built,
that the county should have all kinds of money laying around, that the tax base
should be increasing at a rate that should enable us to cover all the
additional services provided. The study
clearly shows the opposite, particularly if houses are built below that
break-even point then it is requiring greater dollars in services than what is
being contributed. “Therefore we find ourselves struggling from year to year to
be able to meet all the needs of the county.”
Dr. Renkow explained
that part of the above situation described by Commissioner Williams is due to
the fact that we have the big town of
Anthony Starr thanked
Dr. Renkow and all the department heads who helped get the necessary
information together for this study but particularly Amy Brantley and Carey
McLelland.
TAX COLLECTOR’S REPORT
Terry F. Lyda, Henderson
County Tax Collector, read the following report to the Board of Commissioners:
Re: Tax Collector’s Report to
Commissioners:
Report of Unpaid Taxes that are Liens on Real Property
as required by NCGS 105-369(a)
In accordance with NCGS 105-369, Advertisements of Tax
Liens on Real Property for Failure to Pay Taxes, I respectfully submit the
following report:
Annual Bills (not
including Motor Vehicle)
2007 Total Collector’s
Charge: $53,561,208.65
Payments: $49,797,987.99
Unpaid Taxes: $ 3,763,220.66
Percentage Collected through
Our collection
percentage at this same time last year was 92.70%.
Advertisement of Tax
Liens:
Effective
Effective
It is my recommendation
to the Board of Commissioners that unpaid tax liens be advertised once: on
Respectfully
submitted,
Terry
F. Lyda
Tax
Collector
TFL:wlk
Chairman Moyer asked if
Mr. Lyda’s recommendation was consistent with the policy he’d been following
for the last several years.
Mr. Lyda stated that
they had been advertising in May previously but feel that if they advertise in
April that they will have an extra month to work on any outstanding delinquent
collections that they might have.
Mr. Lyda had also
provided the monthly Tax Collector’s Report dated
Commissioner Young made the motion to approve Terry Lyda’s recommendation
to advertise once, on April 21, 2008.
All voted in favor and the motion carried.
Lee King, Delinquent Tax
Collector, then gave his report dated
Beginning
Beginning number of
accounts on the foreclosure list: 1012
Accounts with a payment
arrangement: 8
Accounts in Bankruptcy: 24
Under Appeal 1
Unable to foreclose 1
Property Line Issues 4
Mapping Issue/County
Line: 1
Unknown Owner: 28
Rebilled due to error on
original bill: 1
PAID IN FULL 860
Parcels remaining on
foreclosure list: 84
(Mr. King stated that it
is 82 as of today).
A foreclosure sale was
held on the courthouse steps on
We have recently submitted over 3500 motor vehicle bills to the debt set off
clearinghouse for collection. This will
allow us to receive monies if a taxpayer is due a refund on his/her state
income tax by attaching our tax lien to the refund.
We have also served 400
garnishments as part of our enforced collection process. “I would like to thank
Ms. Trantham of my staff for her hard work on these garnishments and managing
payment arrangements”. Over $68,000 of
property taxes have been collected through payment arrangements this past year.
One of our goals for the
ensuring year is to focus on collecting delinquent Personal Property
Manufactured Home Tax Bills as well as begin work on the foreclosure list for
delinquent taxes for tax year 2006 back.
REVIEW SPECIAL INTENSITY ALLOCATION APPLICATION
WS-2006-11-02
Natalie Berry informed the
Board that Tom Jacobson, Agent, had submitted an application on behalf of PT
Greene Family Partnership, for approval of a proposed warehouse space (11,620
square feet), office space (2,000 square feet) and associated parking/driveway
access (55,100 square feet) on
Normally these types of
applications would be under staff review using category I allocation for
Category 3 started out
with a total of 32.996 acre, this application removes 2.260 acres from the
total. If approved, this would leave 30.736 acres for future projects located
in the WS-III Balance of Watershed district.
Natalie Berry, Watershed
Administrator, recommends approval of the project as submitted.
Tom Jacobson was also in
attendance to answer questions, if need be.
Ms.
Following discussion, Commissioner Williams made the motion that
the Board approve the application for PT Greene Partnership’s Special Intensity
Allocation (WS-III Balance of Watershed) subject to the applicant satisfying
all recommendations of the Watershed Administrator, Senior Planner, Mills River
staff and the Board, also noting the revision to include the utilities as Ms.
Berry referenced..
Ms.
Chairman
Moyer’s intent was for these to go on the consent agenda unless there is some
special issue but because this was the first one under our new procedure, he
thought it best to bring it to the Board for discussion.
REVIEW SPECIAL INTENSITY ALLOCATION APPLICATION
WS-2006-11-03
This item was pulled
from the agenda at the beginning of the meeting.
CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT FOR JACKSON PARK SEWER
In addition to approval
of the Construction, the prepared Easement with Hendersonville Utilities needs
to be approved (included in the agenda packet). Hendersonville Utilities has
agreed to take over the sewer for ownership and maintenance provided the County
provide an Easement over the proposed sewer and a proposed alignment for a
future extension. The proposed alignment
will provide sewer access for an adjacent subdivision when
Tim Hopkins, Recreation
Director, was in attendance and able to answer questions, if need be.
Commissioner Messer
stated that this had been an on-going problem at Jackson Park for some time,
since he’s been on the Recreation Advisory Board. He is definitely in favor of the request.
Steve Wyatt stressed
that this has been a concern for some time.
Staff has looked at the most cost effective way to remedy this problem.
Commissioner Charlie Messer made the motion that the Board
of Commissioners approve the Construction Contract for the Jackson Park Sewer
with Harry’s Ditching at $190,089.00 with contingency to total $200,000, and
further move to authorize staff to execute the associated Sewer Easement with
the City of
UTILITY
Marcus Jones informed
the Board that PSNC Energy is requesting an easement on County property to
relocate a gas pipeline currently located on the
The Board was requested
to authorize the Chairman to execute the Utility Easement with PSNC Energy to
relocate their gas pipeline onto the County’s property located on
Commissioner
POLICY FOR TAX BILLS BELOW $5.00 – this was an add-on.
Chairman Moyer stated
that over the years there has been a lot of discussion about citizens who
receive a tax bill for $1.50. They look
at the postage and the staff time and question why we have such an inefficient
or ineffective procedure in place that doesn’t take this into consideration.
This issue has come up a couple of times recently so Chairman Moyer asked Stan
Duncan, County Assessor, and Tax Collector Terry Lyda to take a look at this
and come up with a recommendation for the Board of Commissioners, which
hopefully will make their lives easier and will save the County time and not
cost us a lot of money.
Stan Duncan addressed a
memo from him to the Board of Commissioners dated January 14 regarding
“Information in response to taxpayer inquiries regarding tax bills”. Mr. Duncan
stated that the issue is the hard costs associated with producing a tax bill. The current policy is in compliance with NCGS
105-321(f), which provides:
… “the governing body of a
taxing unit that collects its own taxes may, by resolution, direct its assessor
and tax collector not to collect minimal taxes charged on the tax records and
receipts. Minimal taxes are the combined taxes and fees of the taxing unit and
any other units for which it collects taxes, due on a tax receipt prepared
pursuant to G.S. 105-320 or on a tax notice prepared pursuant to 105-330.5, in
a total original amount that does not exceed an amount, up to five dollars
($5.00), set by the governing body. The amount set by the governing body should
be the estimated cost to the taxing unit of billing the taxpayer for the
amounts due on a tax receipt or tax notice.”
Stan Duncan – “While I
have not attempted to determine the costs associated with the listing,
appraisal and assessment of the property, and creating the tax bill prior to
sending it to the vendor for printing and mailing, it is my firm belief that
the greater costs associated with these minimal bills occurs after mailing when
the property owner receives the bill and either calls or visits the assessor’s
office. If the contact is within the 30-day appeal window when the tax bill
serves as the first notice of valuation, settlement can often be reached on
issues of value. Unfortunately, a large number of these contacts occur after
the 30-day appeal window has closed, and consequently, nothing can be done
regarding the valuation issue. In either
instance, experience has shown that as a general rule, larger tax bills create
less public outcry than what they perceive as a waste of taxpayer dollars in
producing minimal tax bills.”
Regardless of the amount
of the minimal tax bill set by the governing body, G.S. 105-321(f) also
provides the following:
1.
The
tax collector shall keep a record of all minimal taxes by receipt number and
amount.
2.
The
compiled record of all unbilled taxes is reported to the governing body at the
time of annual settlement set forth under G.S. 105-373.
3.
Minimal
taxes are not a lien on a taxpayer’s real property.
4.
Minimal
taxes are not collectible under Article 26-G.S. 105-349 through 105-378.
Since the county is
required by statute to bill and collect taxes on Registered Motor Vehicles for
all the municipalities, any decision as to minimal taxes by the county will
also have some effect on those jurisdictions as well.
Stan Duncan had surveyed
other counties via the assessor’s listserv.
Other than Henderson, of the 37 counties and two municipalities
responding, 18 have adopted a $5.00 standard, 8 are like Henderson at $1.00,
and the remaining 13 are at various, often unexplainable levels (such as Pamlico County
at $1 for real & personal, and $3 for registered motor vehicles). If a change is adopted,
Mr. Duncan requested that it be uniform for all property types.
Mr. Duncan had prepared
a Resolution for the Board’s consideration entitled “Henderson County
Resolution Authorizing Tax Bills With A Total Amount Due of $5.00 or Less Not
Be Billed By The County Assessor or Charged for Collection To The Tax
Collector”.
Mr. Duncan explained
that this is not just the county principal tax rate that we’re talking about
here, it’s the combined taxes and fees that might be on that tax bill.
The following is for the
last complete fiscal year – 2006-2007 – for which data is available for all
property types (individual
& business personal, public utilities, registered motor vehicles, and real
property), and
represents all taxes for which the County billed (County, Fire District,
or Municipal):
Actual revenue loss from
157 bills of less than $1.00 for which no tax was billed: $100.66.
Potential loss from
3,879 bills of less than $2.00, for which a tax bill was produced: $5,531.48.
Potential loss from
5,307 bills of less than $3.00, for which a tax bill was produced: $8,975.96.
Potential loss from
9,695 bills of less than $4.00, for which a tax bill was produced: $24,006.71.
Potential loss from
12,777 bills of less than $5.00, for which a tax bill was produced: $38,009.20.
$5.00 is the limit set
by North Carolina General Statutes.
$58.03 or $0.3696
($0.1389 for printing & $0.2307 for postage), was saved by not producing
157 bills that would have been for taxes due of less than $1.00.
3,879 bills of less than
$2.00, savings would be $1,433.68.
5,307 bills of less than
$3.00, savings would be $1,961.47.
9,695 bills of less than
$4.00, savings would be $3,583.27.
12,777 bills of less
than $5.00, savings would be $4,722.38.
Chairman Moyer felt that
the Board should go to the limit of $5.00 and as a courtesy should inform the
municipalities at the next LGCCA meeting of what the County will be doing.
Following discussion, Commissioner McGrady moved to direct the
Assessor and Tax Collector not to collect minimal taxes charged on tax records
and receipts of $5.00 and less. All
voted in favor and the motion carried.
ANIMAL ORDINANCE REVISIONS
1.
Spay-Neuter Program. Staff has developed a spay-neuter program
that encourages voluntary alteration of animals, strengthens the County’s educational
efforts in this regard, requires all animals adopted from Animal Services to be
altered prior to adoption, and imposes micro chipping and escalating fines for
unaltered animals that are repeatedly impounded by the County.
2.
Livestock. The
Agriculture Advisory Board has reviewed the Livestock section of the Ordinance
and had “no concerns” with the provisions, according to Soil & Water
Director Jonathan Wallin.
3.
Fee Schedule. Although the Board approves fee schedules
annually with the budget, staff is recommending immediate revisions to the
Animal Services fee schedule as follows: increasing the reclaim fee from $30 to
$50; imposing a $100 fine and escalating fines and $25 for responsible pet
owner educational classes for owners of repeatedly impounded unaltered animals.
4.
Land Development Code
Provisions regarding Kennels & Catteries. The proposed draft
incorporates buffering requirements as per the recently adopted Land
Development Code and clarifies the licensing categories and permit fees for kennels
and catteries.
Commissioner Williams
mentioned that there are municipalities that have adopted or are working with
the County on the adoption of the animal ordinance yet have not adopted the
Land Development Code. He could see a conflict
in the wording in terms of applying the Land Development Code to that
area. It needs to really be
defined.
Staff said that they
could add language in there “or ordinances that apply to another municipality”.
·
Reassignment of Animal Enforcement Division (Throughout
Document): This draft of the Animal Ordinance reflects
the reassignment of the Animal Enforcement Officers to the Sheriff’s
Department. As written, the Ordinance will be enforced by the Animal Services
Department in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office.
·
Animal Abandonment (Pages 22-23): This section clarifies how an abandoned
animal is defined and explains the guidelines for adoption, euthanasia, and
redemption of an abandoned animal. It also includes a prohibition against
animal giveaways in public places.
·
Spay-Neuter Program (Pages 28-30): The Spay-Neuter
Program proposed within this draft of
the Animal Ordinance encourages the voluntary alteration of animals,
strengthens the County’s educational efforts in this regard, requires animals
adopted from Animal Services to be altered prior to adoption, and imposes micro
chipping and escalating fines for unaltered animals that are repeatedly
impounded by the County.
·
Kennels and Catteries (Pages 31-33): This article
incorporates buffering requirements as per the recently adopted Land
Development Code and clarifies the licensing categories and permit fees for
kennels and catteries.
·
Fee Schedule Revisions (Various): The proposed Ordinance
incorporates recommendations for increasing the animal reclaim fee from $30 to
$50 and imposes escalating fines and educational classes to be paid at the
owners expense for repeatedly impounded unaltered animals.
Starting with page 3,
Ms. Coffey reviewed the Spay-Neuter Program that staff is requesting the Board
of Commissioners consider. After hearing some of the comments during Public
Input sessions, we have heard a number of folks talking about incorporating an
educational component. We also heard
pros and cons of both sides of the mandatory spay-neuter issue. One of the comments heard that stuck with Ms.
Coffey was the carrot and the stick approach.
Basically what that is talking about in this case is a carrot meaning
we’re going to give you something to encourage you to spay or neuter your pet
but also the stick that we hit you with if you don’t and that is the
enforcement side.
Ms. Coffey explained
that the proposed spay-neuter program is intended to promote the voluntary
alteration of dogs and cats through a financial assistance program, an
effective adoption program, and educational outreach to county residents. This
proposal incorporates input from the Animal Services Advisory Committee, local
veterinarians, kennel operators, rescue groups, and the general public.
This proposal targets
animals adopted from Henderson County Animal Services, requiring that all
animals be spayed or neutered prior to adoption from Animal Services,
·
Unless
the animal is less than 4 months old.
·
Including
adoptions to rescue groups, shelters, and other animal welfare groups.
She stated that we
propose to do this through an assistance program.
·
Spay-Neuter Assistance
Program (SNAP) provides
vouchers to low-income County residents who wish to adopt a pet from Henderson County
Animal Services but do not have the resources to have the pet altered. SNAP may
be funded via fines, registration fees for educational classes, donations,
reclaim fees and boarding charges.
Education: Outreach programs to encourage responsible pet ownership
and the importance of spaying or neutering pets.
·
Written Information. Distribution of
educational information to pet owners regarding responsible pet ownership,
importance of spaying/neutering pets, resources for pet owners.
·
Educational Events. Animal Services will coordinate classes,
events, and other activities to focus the community’s awareness on animal
issues.
Enforcement: Includes educational requirements and fines for unaltered
animals that are impounded repeatedly in a 12-month period. Fines go toward
SNAP Program:
First Impoundment = Micro
Chipping + Educational Materials
Second Impoundment = $100
Fine or Educational Class at owner’s expense ($25 per)
Third+ Impoundment = Escalating
Fine + Educational Class at owner’s expense ($25 per)
Ms. Coffey was asked to
address the issue of Kennels. She
referred to page 31 of the Ordinance, stating that the Ordinance was adopted in
2005. What has been done is changes have
been made so that commercial kennels and catteries that are in the county will
not have to go by our ordinance but rather will go by State Regulations. She asked
Chairman Moyer asked
specifically what is left that wouldn’t be covered by the State. Ms. Zambon explained what is left primarily
that is not regulated by the State – the State regulates largely animal shelters
which are either run by a municipality, county, local government or a
non-profit organization. Anything that is run by a public entity for the most
part will be exempted. They also regulate pet shops. So what this mainly regulates is individuals
who have seven or more companion animals in the home or in a structure.
Following discussion, Chairman Moyer made the motion that the
Board of Commissioners adopt the Animal Ordinance revisions and respective fees
as presented and authorize Animal Services to set up a special fund for
spay-neuter assistance which will be supported with funds from reclaims,
impoundment fines, educational classes and other appropriate sources. He
asked staff to think about the comments from the Board with respect to Kennels
and Catteries and come back to the Board at the next meeting with some
suggestions on how to better deal with that issue, in light of the comments
made.
Commissioner Messer
requested staff to get input from law enforcement.
Chairman Moyer included in his motion whatever staff needs
to cover Commissioner Williams’ comment about the Land Development Code and direct
that as soon as possible staff get back with some suggestions on how to deal
with this issue. All voted in favor and the motion passed unanimously.
PROHIBITED SIGNS IN THE PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY
Chairman Moyer stated
that there has been much talk of signs lately in the public right of ways, on
light poles, etc. Staff would like Board
direction on how to proceed.
·
Direct
Staff to take down prohibited signs especially on the main corridors;
·
Direct
Staff to send letters to targeted members of the community posting these
signs
alerting them to the violation.
·
Give
Notices of Violation to repeat or excessive violators;
·
Use
enforcement measures in the Land Development Code including injunction and
order for abatement against violators;
·
Amend
the Land Development Code to explicitly allow sign removal;
·
Prosecute
violators criminally, as a Class 3 misdemeanor;
·
Involve
NCDOT to partner with them for enforcement, including prosecution under state
law as a Class I misdemeanor.
Based on discussion,
Chairman Moyer said the recommendation was to have staff come back with other
suggestions. If we want to go further,
we’ll give staff the right to enforce these provisions in the Land Development
Code. Chairman Moyer put that in the form
of a motion. All voted in favor and the
motion carried.
A lady from the audience
was recognized who wished to speak. She
said that she has had a lot of animals for a lot of years. They’ve all been spayed or neutered, just
about all. She is being told now that they will come and take her animals to
animal control. There is no more safe
haven for them since All Creatures has been forced to close. This lady was a
Board Member at All Creatures. She has
never had any trouble with Animal Control.
Her animals have never been loose, have never been picked up. They are
up to date on shots. She has one animal that is blind and one that is old, one
on heart meds for almost two years now, one is missing an eye. “How am I going
to give up my old crippled dogs? They’re not bothering anybody but yet they
have the right to seize them?” They came to my house when I was trying to help
All Creatures Thursday and were gonna take my dogs. She said she has two
females left to spay, two being spayed tomorrow. There’s never been an intact male that could
sire a puppy in my house. “I haven’t had
a litter in over 2 years. I’ve been slowing down. And yet they still demand
that I turn over my dogs. They’ve never been moved. I have a secure fenced yard
which they are turned loose in but yet I’ve got to turn over my dogs to animal
control. Why?” She stated she would fight ‘tooth and nail’ to keep her
animals. “The pound is forcing me to
either dump them, get rid of them, or turn them over to animal control. I hate
just turning them over to animal control to be destroyed.”
Chairman Moyer asked
Brad Rayfield to take a look at her situation.
STAFF REPORTS
Nothing further.
Nothing further.
IMPORTANT DATES
Chairman Moyer mentioned
the meeting scheduled for Monday evening, March 3, stating there is a conflict
because four Commissioners are attending the Legislative Conference in
Chairman Moyer stated
that at the workshop in January the Board did not complete the items on
planning. The recommendation was to have
the workshop for those planning items held over from the January workshop at
Commissioner Young
stated that Saturday, February 16 at
It was announced that
the Etowah Library dedication was scheduled for Friday, April 25. Staff will
announce the time when they know it.
CANE CREEK WATER & SEWER DISTRICT – none
CLOSED SESSION
Commissioner McGrady made the motion for the Board to go
into closed session as allowed pursuant to NCGS 143-318.11 for the following
reasons:
1. (a)(3) To
consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to
preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public
body.
2. (a)(3) To
consult with an attorney employed or retained by the public body in order to
preserve the attorney-client privilege between the attorney and the public
body, which privilege is hereby acknowledged. To consult with an attorney with
respect to the following claim:
Harris v.
Frank v.
3. (a)(6) To
consider the qualifications, competence, performance, character, fitness,
conditions of appointment, or conditions of initial employment of an individual
public officer or employee or prospective public officer or employee; or to
hear or investigate a complaint, charge, or grievance by or against an
individual public officer or employee.
All voted in favor and
the motion carried.
Attest:
Elizabeth W. Corn, Clerk to the Board William L. Moyer, Chairman