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HomeMy WebLinkAboutC.054.93010_1060IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS BRIEFING MINUTES MARCH 18, 2003 The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in Briefing Session on Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at 5:00 p.m., in the Iredell County Government Center (South Wing Conference Room), 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC. Present were: Chairman Steve D. Johnson Vice Chairman Godfrey Williams Doug Madison Marvin Norman Sara Haire Tice StaffpresenV County Manager Joel Mashburn, Finance Director Susan Blumenstein, Interim County Assessor Bob Miller, Chief Deputy Rick Dowdle, Support Services Director Jim Vernon, Code Enforcement and Planning Director Lynn Niblock, Emergency Services Director Tracy Jackson, Emergency Medical Services Director Lee Darnell, Assistant Fire Marshal Tim Warren, Planning Supervisor Ron Smith, and Clerk to the Board Jean Moore. Call to order by Chairman Johnson. Request for Approval of the January & February Refunds and Releases: Interim County Assessor Bob Miller presented the January and February 2003 refunds and releases and requested their approval. He said the refund/release listings did not include any properties owned by the commissioners. Request from the Town of Troutman Regarding a Correction to the Iredell County Code: Section 5-28 (Fire Code Enforcement): Donald Duncan, the Administrator for the Town of Troutman, said one of the county's fire marshals had recently reviewed the county code and discovered a section that was inaccurate. Mr. Duncan said the county had been providing fire inspections for Troutman for many years; however, the code's language indicated the Town had its own Fire Prevention Code. He said the code could be corrected by the omission of the Town of Troutman in the last sentence of Section 5-28. Request from the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) Department for Approval of a"Write-Off Procedure for Accounts Involving the Homeless, Indigent, and Transient Parties" after Four Months: Tracy Jackson and Lee Darnell requested approval of a new policy that would allow the "write off' of EMS debts that were incurred by homeless, indigent and transient individuals after four months. Jackson said the current practice was to invoice patients once per month for four months, and then, the accounts were submitted to a collection agency. He said delinquent accounts remained `on the books" for three years. Mr. Jackson said $1.8 million was currently owed, and he felt it would be more beneficial for the staff to pursue the accounts or individuals that might pay. He said there were two office workers in EMS, and one did collections and the other performed invoicing tasks. EMS Director Darnell said the accounts involved in the request averaged about $1,000 a month, or $12,000 a year. Commissioner Madison stressed the importance of someone in the EMS department checking the county tax records to deten nine if a debtor owned property, or vehicles, before the accounts were written off. Jackson said liens had not been pursued in the past, but credit-reporting companies were notified about delinquent accounts. Finance Director Blumenstein said the Debt Setoff Program allowed counties to submit delinquent accounts to a Department of Revenue clearinghouse. She said that if