THOMAS COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES BOARD

Called Meeting

Tuesday, January 5, 1999

4:00 PM

City Hall Conference Room

Board Present: Chairman Tim Sherrod, Roy Campbell, Earl Williams and Josh Herring

Staff Present: Bruce Woods Executive Director, Kimberly Riddle Administrative Assistant, Scerrell Suber EMS Director, Kitty Singletary Administrative Assistant, Charles Anderson Fire Chief, Joe Cole Interim Fire Chief, Don Allen Training Coordinator

From the City: Tom Berry City Manager, Chip Watt City Attorney

From the County: Mike Stephenson County Manager, Bruce Warren County Attorney, and Twink Monahan Insurance/Personnel Clerk

From the News Media: Mark Brannan

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:

Chairman Sherrod called the meeting to order. Minutes from the December 29, 1998 meeting were approved with the correction of one noted date.

PROPOSED LEGISLATION:

Chip Watt stated that the by-laws could be sent through the legislation. Mr. Watt felt that it would be more productive if one person handled the legislation process verses a committee and that local legislation would be the best direction to proceed. Tom Berry requested that Bruce Warren forward a copy of the completed draft to Chip Watt and Wil Sanders. Mayor Campbell stated that the by-laws must be sent to the Secretary of State and that had not been done at this time. Bruce Woods reviewed with the board the update on the by-laws received from the office of Alexander and Vann. Mayor Campbell stated that in Article #1 the name of the board is incorrect and also at the heading of the document.

Bruce Warren arrived (4:25).

Chip Watt stated the TCESB may have to be incorporated due to the fact that it is a public corporation by statute until it becomes an authority. Bruce Woods asked to respectfully recommend the name change and have legal counsel (Chip Watt) to send the by-laws to the Secretary of State. A motion was made by Mayor Campbell to approve and pass the by-laws. Earl Williams seconded the motion. Motion passed.

ADDITIONAL ISSUES DISCUSSED:

ACCG Insurance – Chairman Sherrod stated that if the TCESB obtains the required liability insurance the board would be able to lease employees from the county and city. Bruce Woods discussed with the board the recent communications between himself and ACCG. ACCG will provide the coverage however, he has spoken with other perspective companies also.

Bruce Warren stated that he spoke with ACCG this morning. ACCG stated that the TCESB is qualified and their company can provide all of the coverage needs for the new board. He stated that ACCG requested a copy of the TCESB by-laws and everything else was in order. In reference to the cost of the insurance, Bruce Woods stated that ACCG has requested loss data information from the city before an amount can be quoted. This information has been requested from the City.

Bruce Warren suggested contacting ACCG as soon as possible to obtain coverage for Bruce Woods and Kimberly Riddle only at this time. Earl Williams made a motion to enter into liability/risk management/workman’s compensation insurance with ACCG. Mayor Campbell seconded the motion. Motion passed.

Ambulance Purchase – Bruce Woods discussed the cost projection from GMA for the lease on the new ambulance. He stated that this is a lease/purchase option at a very low interest rate if we go through the city. He has already spoken to Mark Barber, Finance Director in reference to this possibility. The lease would be at a 3.85% interest rate for (5) years. Mayor Campbell stated that the pact needed to have a leasing company for additional items in the future. Tom Berry stated that the TCESB would be able to look at many different companies however, if ACCG carries the insurance for the board then the board will be a member and be eligible to lease through ACCG. Bruce Woods stated that he would look at both ACCG and GMA.

Contribution Plans – Bruce Woods wanted to verify the matching percentage with city and county employees. It was decided upon that all employees who are eligible will automatically contribute 3% and the TCESB will match the 3%. The employee can contribute more than the minimum 3% but the department will not match anything over that amount. Bruce Woods also stated that one county employee is vested through ACCG. Twink Monahan stated that the employee must stop the current contributions and reapply under the new TCESB plan. The years of service for the employee will stay the same.

Payroll Software – Bruce Woods spoke to the board in reference to the payroll software that will be ordered for the new board. He stated that the “Peachtree” software was best suited for the needs of the board. The software can be delivered within the next two weeks and a training session will be included for two days. This will allow the program to be used for a trail run to correct any errors prior to the payroll set-up date of April 1, 1999. Mayor Campbell made a motion to approve the purchase of the software. Earl Williams seconded the motion. Motion passed.

E-911 Equipment – Joe Cole and Tommy Layton are working on the evaluating the current phone line costs and verify the equipment that has been purchased by the county. They will evaluate the current system to determine if it can be updated and the exact equipment needed for the consoles. Bruce Woods stated that the E-911 equipment is a top priority and he will look into leasing the equipment instead of purchasing.

The next TCESB meeting is scheduled for January 19, 1999 at 4:00 PM in the City Hall Conference Room.

Meeting adjourned.