THOMAS COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES AGENCY
Board of Directors Special Called Meeting
9/3/02, 10:00AM
Board Members Present: Bobby Brown, Roy Campbell, Ann McCrickard,
Elaine Mays, Earl Williams
Staff: Commander Derrick Ogletrtee, Chief Ann Powell, VF Liaison Chris Jones,
Deputy Chief Ronald Roberts, Julie Stripling, Secretary, Keith Allen, Board Attorney
Chairman Earl Williams called the meeting to order and Sheriff Carlton Powell
opened with prayer.
Executive Director Jack Smith said the purpose of today’s meeting is to discuss the financial situation of the Emergency Services Agency. Mr. Smith has reviewed revenues and expenses and the Auditor, Darrell Mills with Simmons & Simmons, has examined them. The existing budget will be affected by a lower collection of revenues and state mandated cuts.
Roy Campbell said that currently the only source of revenue produced by E911 is the
$1.25 surcharge on landline phones. EMS collections do not cover all of the ambulance services operating expenses. Fire Rescue is taken care of with the Fire tax. Mr. Campbell recommended asking the Thomas County Board of Commissioners to increase the phone surcharge to $1.50 and implement Phase I Wireless ($1.00 per user for cellular phones) as soon as possible. He made a proposal to the City Council to contribute annually to ESA and said that the municipalities should be contacted about doing the same.
County Manager Mike Stephenson announced that there had been a revision in the Digest so a short break was taken for Board members to review the figures.
After the break, Chairman Earl Williams invited comments from the audience. Elaine Mays asked Chief Appraiser Mark Strickland to explain to everyone about property taxes and millage. Mr. Strickland explained that revaluations were done on rural and residential areas and the total digest increased significantly because of this. Exemptions provided for under Land Conservation use, which was passed by the voters of Georgia increased. Homestead Exemption has increased but the State will be refunding this to local governments.
Elaine Mays welcomed any suggestions on ways to increase revenues.
County Commission Chairman Josh Herring said that on behalf of the Board of Commissioners he would like to know what: (1) the ESA Board would propose the millage rate be set for ESA, (2) How much doe ESA owe for operations, and (3) How much of the SPLOST is committed. Mr. Herring stated that some budget cutting and/or stabilization must take place. Commissioner Mary Jo Beverly added that expenses needed to be decreased instead of looking for ways to increase revenue.
Chief Ann Powell, E911 Operations Manager requested that the County pass a resolution for Phase I Wireless to provide for collection of surcharges on cellular phones. This would not only increase revenue but also would greatly assist and benefit E911.
The meeting recessed at 12:00 noon and reconvened at 12:32PM. Chairman Earl Williams called the meeting to order.
Roy Campbell announced that there has been no ESA Board retreat at Myrtlewood this year. The Board did have lunch at the Boston Café and Mr. Campbell personally paid all expenses. Mr. Campbell said that the ESA has been working on increasing EMS collections. The level of service Agency-wide has improved. Work is being done to improve ISO ratings. Roy Campbell made a motion to recommend to the Thomas County Board of Commissioners to set the millage rate for ESA at 5 mills for District 1, 4 mills for District 2, and 3 mills for District 3. This would help to alleviate accumulated past deficits. Ann McCrickard seconded the motion. Mr. Campbell said that 12 more personnel would have to be hired when the Boston and Ochlocknee stations are completed and that this would also aid in lowering ISO ratings. He said that the ESA Board would attend the public hearings to help answer any questions. The vote was taken. Four Board members voted in favor with Bobby Brown opposing. The motion carried.
County Commission Chairman Josh Herring stated that if the Board of Commissioners accepts the motion that three public hearings are necessary and he requested that Executive Director Smith and ESA Board members attend. The Thomas County Board of Commissioners will be setting the millage rate Thursday, September 5th at 6:00PM.
Bobby Brown requested that the Executive Director along with the Auditor review financial reports and attend the meeting Thursday. Josh Herring asked if the Board recommended millage is approved would this balance the budget and Mr. Smith’s answer was yes.
The meeting adjourned.