HomeMy WebLinkAbout6-4-2019
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June 4, 2019
IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
PRE-AGENDA MINUTES
June 4, 2019
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in pre-agenda session on Tuesday, June
4, 2019 at 5:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room located in the Iredell County
Government Center 200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Board Members Present
Chairman James B. Mallory III
Vice Chairman Tommy Bowles
Gene Houpe
Jeff McNeely
Marvin Norman
Staff present: County Manager Beth Jones, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Deputy County
Manager Susan Robertson, Assistant County Manager Joe Pierce, Finance Director Deb Cheek,
and Clerk to the Board Amy Anderson.
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman James Mallory called the meeting to order.
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA:
Add: Call for a public hearing for Project Donut under New Business.
Add: Budget Amendment #38a to Administrative Matter VIII.6 and Budget Amendment
#38b to Administrative Matter VIII.7.
Remove: Economic Development from Closed Session.
ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
Request from the Finance Department for approval and adoption of the proposed
Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget Ordinance: This item will be heard during the 7PM meeting.
Request from the Finance Department for approval of a surplus declaration of
personal property and adoption of resolution to donate the property to Diakonos/Fifth Street
Ministry for use by Drug-Alcohol Coalition of Iredell: Dean Lail said the Diakonos coordinator
is currently works in the Health Department and the County provides a desk, chair, laptop, monitor,
and various software for the position. Diakonos is moving to Fifth Street Ministries in July. The
request is to donate these items to Diakonos rather than using additional funds to buy new
equipment.
Vice Chairman Bowles shared his support for the request.
This item was placed on consent.
Resolution Authorizing the Disposition and Conveyance of Certain Surplus Personal Property
Pursuant to N.C.G.S. §160A-280
WHEREAS, the Iredell County owns and possesses certain personal property identified as a desk and Microsoft
Surface computer, along with a monitor, accessories and software (collectively, the “Property”), which the County
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wishes to convey to the Drug-Alcohol Coalition of Iredell, a North Carolina nonprofit corporation (“DACI”) organized
to reduce and prevent substance misuse, overdoses and overdose de aths in Iredell County; and
WHEREAS, North Carolina General Statute 160A-280 authorizes counties to donate personal property to a nonprofit
corporation provided such property has been deemed surplus, obsolete or unused; and
WHEREAS, Iredell County has deemed the Property has surplus; and
WHEREAS, Iredell County currently provides support to DACI, including space, equipment and funding and the
organization will move to locate with the offices of Diakonos, Inc., d/b/a Fifth Street Ministries, a local nonprofi t
organization who currently acts as its Fiscal Agent; and
WHEREAS, DACI has continued need of this Property and the conveyance of this Property will assist DACI in
continuing its work for the benefit of the citizens of Iredell County to reduce substance misuse and overdose deaths.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of Iredell County that:
The Property is hereby declared surplus to the needs of Iredell County.
The Board authorizes the County Manager to execute the necessary documents to convey the Property to DACI.
The Property shall be conveyed in consideration of the continued public benefit to the citizens of Iredell County in
furtherance of the mission, goals and objectives of DACI, and for agreement by DACI that the Property is, for its
useful life, to be used in the public purpose so undertaken by the DACI.
Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 160A-280, public notice of this resolution and the intent of the Board to donate the Property
was posted on the Iredell County website at least five days prior to the adoption of this resolution.
Request from Planning & Development to consider calling for a public hearing on
June 18, 2019 in regards to a request by David Hughes to release zoning and subdivision
jurisdiction to the Town of Mooresville: Planning Director Matthew Todd said the request is to
conduct a public hearing on June 18, 2019 to consider the release of zoning and subdivision
jurisdiction. The property is around 9 acres and the owner has applied for annexation with the
Town of Mooresville. Water and sewer has been approved for the site.
Chairman Mallory said the owner also owns an adjoining six acres.
Todd said the total acreage is about 12. The other property is in Mooresville’s jurisdiction.
Vice Chairman Bowles asked about the proposed use of the property.
Todd said the site plan shows roughly 120 townhomes, but that does not mean
Mooresville will approve the site plan. There is another site plan showing around 90 townhomes.
Therefore, the applicant will ask for somewhere in that range but Mooresville will make the final
determination.
Vice Chairman Bowles said there is a lot of property zoned residential on the Brawley
Peninsula and the Board should take a strong look at releases that produce less school children.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from the Health Department for approval of Fee and Eligibility Policy
Revisions to be effective immediately and approval of the proposed Clinical Services, Dental
and Environmental Health Fee Schedules: Director of Clinical Services Susan Johnson said the
format of the fee policy was completely revised to make it more user friendly for staff. All of the
changes were approved by the Board of Health in April 2019. Johnson went over the highlighted
changes:
No longer charging a returned check fee, late charges, or credit card fees. The
department does not receive bad checks very often and Title 10 in Family Planning
prohibits the departments from charging a returned check fee for certain services.
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June 4, 2019
If a client writes a check for a dental visit and family planning visit and the check
bounces, the department can only charge a returned check for the dental services.
Pregnancy Test is now a flat fee of $20.
Clarified the list of things included and not included in gross income when
evaluating a family’s income to determine the discount they are eligible for.
Clarified the timing for eligibility determinations for expectant mothers.
Refunds are released to the responsible party as designated in CureMD.
Johnson said in addition to the sliding scale, patients who meet certain criteria are offered
payment plans but the departments have been burned on payment plans, so staff has made the
criteria very restrictive. The new change has worked well thus far.
Changes in Environmental Health
Permit applications expire in one year, reinstated applications will be treated as new
applications and will require payment of associated fees before services will be rendered.
Commissioner Houpe asked about collecting late fees.
Johnson said Title 10 prohibits the department from collecting return check fees, credit
card fees, and late charges.
Commissioner Houpe said the problem of returned checks may increase if there is no fee
associated.
Johnson said the returned check fee, late fee, and credit cards fees can be charged in some
of the department’s clinics, but there really is no issue with returned checks. Staff felt that there
should be some clarification in the policy. The department does not plan on advertising that there
is no longer a fee. Staff felt that there should be some clarification in the policy.
Commissioner Houpe asked for some elaboration on problem with the payment plan.
Johnson said a lot of people sign the agreement to make payments but they do not follow
through with the payments. The criteria is placing more restriction on who the payment plans are
available too. Staff is doing their best to collect payment at the time of service.
Vice Chairman Bowles said the penalty of not doing what they said is they will not be able to
do it again.
Johnson outlined the following changes in the fee schedule:
Cost of vaccines fluctuate and staff works in some leeway in case costs go up so it will not
have to be brought back to the Board. If there is a significant change in the costs, staff will
bring it before the Board for approval.
Walk-in lab services (patients who pay out of pocket).
Johnson explained there were no changes to the Dental Clinic Fees or Environmental Health
Fees.
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Chairman Mallory asked if the lengthy process to qualify people based on the sliding scale is
consistent with what DSS does for qualifying people for Medicaid.
Johnson said the process is similar. Sometimes DSS considers something as income when
the Health Department does not, but the process is pretty close. For pregnancy Medicaid, DSS
counts the unborn baby as a part of the household.
Chairman Mallory said the majority of rules and regulations in the programs flow from the
federal government so one would think they would be consistent. The Department of Health and
Human Services deals with both entities and should have a common system. If DSS has qualified
someone for Medicaid that should populate over to the Health Department.
Johnson said if a patient has Medicaid staff does not have to qualify them for income
eligibility. The only time that would be done is if they were going to have a service done that might
not be covered by Medicaid. There are certain services that Medicaid does not cover.
Chairman Mallory asked how many people come to the Health Department after being
turned down for Medicaid.
Johnson said staff sees a lot of people who have not even applied for Medicaid and they
are encouraged to go to DSS and apply. Some adults with Medicaid come to the Health Department
for dental services.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from EMS for approval to apply for the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-
based Program Competitive Grant: Blair Richey requested approval to apply for a grant in the
amount of $612,478 over a three-year period. If awarded, the grant funds will be used to continue
the current efforts with the Peer Support Specialist by adding an additional specialist and a
community paramedic. Staff feels they have made considerable strides and linkages within the
community and this grant will assist in continuing those efforts.
Vice Chairman Bowles asked if the community paramedic be a new hire.
Richey said yes.
County Manager Beth Jones said this grant was discussed at the budget workshops. EMS
has requested a community paramedic for the past two years, and there are grants that are available
for something new and innovative. This is a great program and staff feels that this would be a great
fit.
Vice Chairman Bowles said grant funding is sometime used to hire full-time employees,
the costs associated to continue the position should be earmarked in case another grant is not
received.
Peer Support Specialist Sandy Grey has contacted 30 clients. All are non-fatal overdose
cases that have come through EMS initiatives and have resulted in lock-zone distribution,
treatment referrals, recovery support, resource referrals, transportation to treatment, clear and
obtainable goals set by the client, and continue follow up. There were five opioid related overdose
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incidents from May 16 – 19, which resulted in seven individual contacts, including family
members. Grey explained that one of those was a minor that started treatment later in the week.
Chairman Mallory said that is wonderful to hear.
Commissioner McNeely asked if any other clients are seeking treatment.
Grey said four were given referrals and two have followed through.
Vice Chairman Bowles asked if the epidemic is slowing down.
Richey said no. There is still a lot of work to do.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from Emergency Management for approval to accept the NC Tier II
Hazardous Materials Grant in the amount of $10,000 to hire an outside contractor to
update and re-write the Emergency Operations Plan for Iredell County and approval of
budget amendment 38a: Kent Greene said the funds from the grant will be used to re-write the
Emergency Operations Plan with an emphasis hazardous materials component.
Commissioner McNeely asked if an outside must be hired to write the plan.
Greene said it is not a requirement, however, it is difficult for staff to do the rewrite because
of the workload and number of staff.
This item was placed on consent.
Request from Emergency Management for approval to accept a NC Tier II
Hazardous Materials non-competitive grant in the amount of $1,000 to replace an existing
printer and fax machine in the Emergency Operations Center and approval of budget
amendment 38b: Kent Greene said the department has been awarded this grant for the last
several years and funds from the grant will be used to upgrade technology in the Emergency
Operations Center (EOC).
This item was placed on consent.
Request from Clerk to the Board for approval of minutes from the meetings on May
7, 9, 13, 14, and 21, 2019: There were no additions or corrections.
This item was placed on consent.
ANNOUNCEMENTS OF VACANCIES ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
(None)
APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
(None)
NEW BUSINESS
(None)
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COUNTY MANANGERS REPORT
County Manager Beth Jones gave updates on the following items:
Chairman Mallory moved into Closed Session at 5:42PM.
IREDELL COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
REGULAR MINUTES
June 4, 2019
The Iredell County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, June 4,
2019 at 7:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room of the Iredell County Government Center,
200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
Board Members Present
Chairman James B. Mallory III
Vice Chairman Tommy Bowles
Gene Houpe
Jeff McNeely
Marvin Norman
Staff present: County Manager Beth Jones, County Attorney Lisa Valdez, Deputy County
Manager Susan Robertson, Assistant County Manager Joe Pierce, Finance Director Deb Cheek
and Clerk to the Board Amy Anderson.
CALL TO ORDER by Chairman Mallory.
INVOCATION: Chairman Mallory asked everyone to bow their heads for a moment of
silence or reflection.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE led by Chairman Mallory.
ADJUSTMENTS TO THE AGENDA
Add: Call for a public hearing for Project Donut under New Business.
Add: Budget Amendment #38a to Administrative Matter VIII.6 and Budget Amendment
#38b to Administrative Matter VIII.7.
MOTION by Commissioner Norman to approve the agenda as adjusted.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
PRESENTATION OF SPECIAL RECOGNITIONS & AWARDS
Presentation of plaque by the Town of Mooresville: Mooresville Commissioner Gary
West, on behalf of the Town of Mooresville, the Mayor, and Mooresville Board of Commissioners
presented a plaque to the Board and expressed sincere appreciation to the County during the
Town’s recent loss of K-9 Officer Jordan Harris Sheldon, who was killed in the line of duty on
May 4, 2019. West said Officer Sheldon served the Mooresville Police Department and the Town
of Mooresville with pride, integrity, and commitment. West explained the support that the
Mooresville community received in the days that followed his loss was overwhelming.
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Chairman Mallory said Mooreville’s loss was felt throughout the County. The law
enforcement community is a team of teams, which was displayed through the response after the
loss of Officer Sheldon’s death.
APPOINTMENTS BEFORE THE BOARD
Presentation on receipt of airport grants by Statesville Airport Manager John
Ferguson: Statesville Airport Manager John Ferguson said the airport received total of $15.412
million in grants for construction projects at the airport. According the NC Department of
Transportation’s Economic Impact Study, Statesville Airport has an estimated payroll of $38.5
million, state and local taxes of $8.4 million, and a total economic impact of $134,580,000. This
brings the airport into the top tier of airports in the State. In February, the City of Statesville took
over the Fixed Based Operations and that is going very well thus far. Over the past four months,
fuel sales by volume has run about 14% higher than 2018. The airport is seeing more corporate
and private plans. In 2018, the airport had 108 based airplanes and taxes on aircraft was around
$126,580,000.
Ferguson explained the recent grants received. The taxiway project is close to completion.
One of the recent grants will provide lighting and an electrical vault for the new taxiway. The
electrical work was put in the original contract but there were no bids. The project is being re-bid
and the State awarded the airport with $2 million for lighting and electrical vault. This grant does
require a 10% match so Ferguson will be back to request the County’s share. One of the grants is
for $9.3 million and these funds will be used to add an 1,000 x 500 feet safety area on the end of
the west-end of the runway. This will require the closure of Bethlehem Road. This grant has no
local match. The last grant was for $4.112 million and has no local match. Victory Air has 10 50-
passenger jets that operate out of Statesville airport. The jets are used to take the pit crews to th e
races. There is a desire to purchase two more jets if there was more room. The goal is to have
additional paving done to park all of Victory’s airplanes and a few additional and have a parking
lot for 650 cars. This is a two-phase project. The second phase will be the construction of a green
hanger. The State has said they will fund phase one if they fund phase two.
Ferguson said things are looking up at the airport and expressed appreciation to the Board
for all of their support.
Commissioner Houpe said it is a pleasure to serve on the Airport Commission and
expressed appreciation to the commission for working hard for these projects. The airport has a
great economic impact on the County.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Public hearing for the consideration of an economic development incentive for Project
Maple: Iredell Economic Development Representative Chris Younger said Project Maple plans to
locate a new manufacturing facility in Mooresville. They design and manufacture for the
automotive industry. The company name and further details will be disclosed at a later date. The
project will create 102 full time positions and generate $24,950,000 in new tax investment over
the next five years. The request is for a tax back grant incentive grant in the amount up to $461,000
over a five-year period.
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Chairman Mallory opened the public hearing.
No one wished to speak.
Chairman Mallory closed the public hearing.
MOTION by Commissioner McNeely to approve an economic incentive up to $461,000
over a five-year period based on the company’s investment of $24,950,000 and contingent upon a
contract being executed within 180 days for Project Maple.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
Public hearing for the consideration of an economic development incentive for Project
Trigger: Iredell Economic Development Representative Chris Younger said Project Trigger plans
to locate a new facility in Mooresville. This is an expansion of an existing industry in Mooresville.
The company name and further details will be disclosed at a later date. The project will create 15
full time jobs and generate $19.1 million in new tax investment over the next five years. The
request is for a tax back grant incentive in the amount up to $371,000. Planning Board
recommended in favor of the request.
Chairman Mallory opened the public hearing.
No one wished to speak.
Chairman Mallory closed the public hearing.
MOTION by Commissioner McNeely to approve an economic incentive up to $371,000
over a five-year period based on the company’s investment of $19.1 million and contingent upon
a contract being executed within 180 days for Project Trigger.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
Public hearing to consider a request from Heather Gilreath to rezone approximately
4.25 along Salisbury Highway from Residential Agricultural (RA) to General Business
(GB): Planning and Development Director Matthew Todd explained the vacant property is a
little over four acres. The request is for straight General Business (GB) zoning desi gnation.
Planning staff supports the request as it does match the 2030 Horizon Plan and the property is
adjacent to other existing commercial uses.
Chairman Mallory opened the public hearing.
No one wished to speak.
Chairman Mallory closed the public hearing.
MOTION by Vice Chairman Bowles to approve the zoning map amendment and to make
a finding that the approval is consistent with the adopted 2030 Horizon Plan and that said approval
is reasonable and in the public interest and furthers the goals of the 2030 Horizon Plan because it
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is within a commercial designation, it is adjacent to commercially used properties, and traffic
should not exceed road capacity.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
Iredell County
PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING STAFF REPORT
REZONING CASE # 1905-1
STAFF PROJECT CONTACT: Leslie M. Meadows
EXPLANATION OF THE REQUEST
This is a request to rezone approximately 4.25 acres along Salisbury Highway, from Residential
Agricultural (RA) to General Business (GB). This is a straight rezoning and no conditions are
proposed at this time.
OWNER/APPLICANT
OWNER: Tsumas Family Limited Partnership
APPLICANT: Heather Gilreath
PROPERTY INFORMATION
ADDRESS/LOCATION:
2446 Salisbury Highway; more specifically PIN
4763349837.000.
DIRECTIONS:
Head east on US-70 E/Garner Bagnal Blvd. Turn
left onto Salisbury Highway. In approximately
half a mile, property is on the right, just before the VFW American Legion Post 65.
SURROUNDING LAND USE:
There are residential agricultural uses directly to the north, south, & west, with an assembly hall to
the east. There are various manufacturing uses just farther to the east and west .
SIZE:
The acreage to be rezoned includes approximately 4.25 acres.
EXISTING LAND USE: The entire parcel is currently vacant, densely wooded .
ZONING HISTORY: This property has been zoned Residential Agricultural (RA) since county-wide
zoning was established in 1990. The adjoining parcel to the east, once Zimmerman’s Fish Camp,
was rebuilt and reopened as American Legion Post 65 in 2000.
OTHER JURISDICTIONAL INFORMATION: This property is located within the City of Statesville’s Urban
Service Area.
OTHER SITE CHARACTERISTICS: This property is not located within a regulated Watershed Area. The
property is not located in a flood hazard zone.
UTILITIES: This site is currently served by well and septic.
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IMPACTS ON LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND/OR FACILITES
TRAFFIC: The closest and most recent traffic count is just to the west of the site, along Salisbury
Highway, which had a traffic count of 7,200 vehicles per day in 2009. According to the
Comprehensive Transportation Plan 2008 Study Report for Iredell County, t he capacity for this
section of Salisbury Highway is approximately 10,800 vehicles per day through the year 2030.
SCHOOLS: This is a commercial rezoning and should have no implications on local schools.
EMERGENCY SERVICES: This proposal has been reviewed by the Iredell County Fire Marshal’s Office
and Iredell County EMS. Neither office addressed any concerns regarding the request.
REQUIRED REVIEWS BY OTHER AGENCIES
LOCAL: The applicant must provide a commercial site plan to the Planning & Development
Department for review in order to develop the property. Zoning requirements such as parking,
landscaping, and buffering will be reviewed at such time. Erosion & sedimentation control
standards will also be reviewed for compliance.
STATE: Other than building code, there should be no formal state agency review at this time.
FEDERAL: None at this time.
STAFF AND BOARD COMMENTS
STAFF COMMENTS: This section of Salisbury Highway is a remnant of what was once US Hwy 70,
before the widening of Hwy 70 and relocation of a portion of the highway on a new alignment.
According to the 2003 US 70 East Corridor future land use report, this property was spilt between
Consumer Commercial and Industrial designations. The parcel in question is now divided into
what the revised 2030 Horizon Plan calls Corridor Commercial and Employment Center –
Industrial/Flex/Office. Areas Corridor Commercial in nature, include commercial, office, and/or
retail uses along major thoroughfares and highways, allowing for both large and small mixed -use
commercial centers. These areas are both within and outside the Iredell County Urban Services
Area. They may be serviced by and incorporated into one of the municipalities as some point in
the future. The intent of these lands is to provide a mix of commercial/ r etail and office uses at
critical nodes or activity centers along major roadways. Traditional strip commercial development
is discouraged within these areas. Instead, developments should be designed to provide greater
connectivity within and to adjacent developments, pedestrian access should be a priority, and
landscaping, signage, and building design/orientation should be consistent within individual
developments. Similarly, Employment Center – Industrial/Flex Space/Office area are intended for
development of industrial, flex space uses including light manufacturing and assembly, research
and development, warehousing, and building trade showrooms and offices. Such development
should provide adequate transition to adjacent lower intensity uses, such as re sidential and
commercial uses, in the form of vegetated buffers, landscaping, setbacks, and building heights.
The Planning staff can support the proposed rezoning request based on the following: The
property is within the 2030 Horizon Plan’s Corridor Commercial and Employment Center –
Industrial/Flex/Office designations, it is adjacent to commercially used properties, and traffic
should not exceed road capacity.
PLANNING BOARD ACTION: On May 1, 2019, the Planning Board held a public meeting to hear
the rezoning request. There were a couple surrounding landowners present to ask questions and
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express concerns about noise levels. The board voted 8-0 to recommend in favor of the rezoning
with the following motion:
Motion to recommend in favor of the zoning map amendment and to make a finding that the
approval is consistent with the adopted 2030 Horizon Plan and that said approval is reasonable
and in the public interest and furthers the goals of the 2030 Horizon Plan because it is within a
commercial designation, it is adjacent to commercially used properties, and traffic should not
exceed road capacity.
SITE REVIEW COMMITTEE: Staff visited site on April 12, 2019.
Public hearing for the proposed Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget for Iredell County:
County Manager Beth Jones said staff has been working on the budget process for quite some
time. The Board reviewed the budget during three extensive workshops. Jones made the
following highlights regarding the budget.
General Fund Budget of $222,655,992 with the following details:
Maintains the tax rate at 52.75 cent per $100 valuation
Increases the County-wide fire tax from 7 cent to 9 cent
Modifies the Voted in Fire Tax Rates as follows:
East Alexander: Maintains 7 cent
Mt. Mourne: Increases from 6 cent to 7 cent
Shepherds: Maintains 7 cent
Troutman: Increases from 7 cent to 7.5 cent
Chairman Mallory opened the public hearing.
Bryan Shoemaker, 742 Dobson Farm Road, Statesville, shared his disappointment in the
lack of public interest in the budget. Shoemaker said residents should be aware the even though
the tax rate is unchanged, the revenue neutral rate is 48.72 and that means county revenue is going
up because of the County assessed value of properties went up. Residents are being taxed at the
same rate, but most tax bills are going up. The fire tax rate for the majority of residents will be
going from 7¢ to 9¢. Current residents who moved from the North East part of the country enjoy
being here in a low tax area but they ask for more services, those high tax rates did not happen
overnight. The increases happened gradually. Shoemaker said the County may find itself in that
position in 20 years asking how it happened. A revenue neutral tax rate is not realistic but a
reduction in the taxed rate should have been a consideration for the property owners and taxpayers
in Iredell County.
Mark Cash, 232 Loray Lane, Statesville, said the three budget sessions must not have had
much consideration for the taxpayers because that is where the money is coming from. Cash shared
his disappointment in the revenue neutral rate. The tax rate should have been lowered because
taxes are going up for most people in the County. If someone pays more on a tax bill that means
taxes went up. Cash said lots of money was spent buying the old Barium Springs YMCA. Some
of the money was allocated, but a pool and fitness center was opened in the facility. Iredell County
has people who pay taxes that own pools and fitness centers. It is disappointing that the taxpayers
are competing against themselves.
No one else wished to speak.
Chairman Mallory closed the public hearing.
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Commissioner Houpe said, “To respond to all tax payers, \ we struggled tremendously with
this budget cycle because last year when we asked the taxpayers to consider a quarter cent for
schools for safety and security, which would have allowed 25% of that to go to the County’s
operations. With the reval being what it was, in my personal opinion, I would have loved to have
looked at a potential reduction at some sort in the property tax rate, had that revenue stream passed.
Unfortunately, that revenue stream did not. For example, the reval produced about $10.3 million
and the increase to schools was about $11 million, spent on the schools. We created a separate line
item because society today, the needs, requests, and responsibilities to our board and expectations
of services our citizens have did not diminish even though the potential revenue stream did not
pass. I would like to mention a couple things out of the budget book that I think are important, for
the record: As Iredell County continues to grow at a relatively high rate, according to the Census
Bureau, Iredell County had an increase of 11.9% increase in population between 2010 and 2018.
We are the 14th fastest growing county in North Carolina exceeding the State’s growth rate of 8.9%
in the same timeframe. The State’s projections for 2019 show Iredell County with an estimated
population of 182,424 by 2022 and we are projected to reach 191,709 residents. This indicates a
5.09% increase in population over this next four year budget cycle. Our current 2018 estimated
population of 178,435 makes us the 15th largest county in the State. More importantly, out of 100
counties in the State of North Carolina, there are only 14 that have a lower 2018 -2019 tax rate. A
low tax rate is double edged in many respects. It assists in business recruitment, retention, and is
appealing to new residents, but limits the County’s ability, in some cases, to offer the same level
of services as other similar sized counties. It is a delicate balance of adequate service delivery and
physical conservatinancy. We do take our citizen’s concerns seriously, as you do.. One key we
sustain our low tax rate is through strong conservative, physical management and diversification
of our tax bate through economic development. We continue to work hard in supporting our
existing business, industries by fostering retention and expansion as well as encouraging new
business industry recruitment. The Economic Development Corporations and the County, we
strive to foster an environment that creates a premier community to live, work, and raise our
families in. In order to prove successful we must remain focused on ensuring our commercial and
industrial growth compliments our communities and offers a competitive wage for our residents.
Our unemployment rate has continued to decrease since 2013 which was 3.8% as of February
2019, that we are proud of. As Commissioner McNeely mentioned, we’ve got jobs out there if
people can pass drug tests and want to have a job, they can find a job. Iredell County performs a
county-wide reappraisal every four years, which is reflected in the 2019-20 fiscal budget. The
purpose of the county-wide reappraisal is to equalize the tax burden among property owners and
among all classes of property. The periodic reappraisal of real property equalizes the tax burden
insuring all real property is assessed at the current fair market value. The two largest sources of
county revenue comes from ad valorem tax at 61.31% and local option sales tax at 18.62% as
depicted on some figures in our book. Taking all these factors in consideration ad valorem ta x
revenues are expected to increase approximately 8.46% as a result of the reappraisal which equates
to about $10.336046 million and 2.35% attributed to new growth. This provides an overall increase
in ad valorem revenue of 10.81%. I just want to mention a few of these facts and talk about our
funding mechanism and funding streams. The cuts that we made considered the taxpayers. Staff
made a tremendous amount of cuts before it was brought to our three day retreat, from requests
and needs. Unfortunately, in our society and our county, we have an unlimited needs and requests
and limited revenue respecting and trying to protect our tax payers, and have that balance we talked
about. I just wanted to mention a few of these facts and the considerations that we considered.”
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Commissioner McNeely said, “I got elected in 2016, I came in with the mindset that Iredell
County is vibrant enough and we are doing well enough that I should never maybe have to raise
taxes. That was my hope and prayer. We are doing well. The problem is the way we go about
collecting our taxes and the way about the demand comes for services; there is probably a good 12
to 18 month lag. We are always behind the 8ball. We built two projects. I hope we never take on
two projects at the same time again. Two very large and very needed projects. Because of that, it
really put a strain on our fund balance. We have to have a certain level of fund balance to prove
that we are good stewards so that we can get the best bond rating we can, so at some day and some
time we do go to borrow money, we will be able to borrow it at the lowest price possible. We have
flirted with that cliff I talk about all the time, of 18%. Seems like ever since I got on this board,
we’ve flirted with that cliff. I promised the taxpayers that I would not let us go over that cliff. We
have cut and done and yet still grown and spent at the same time. We are actually going to be able
to put some money back into the fund balance to get away from the cliff. I don’t apologize for that,
because I feel like if we don’t become prudent now with getting our fund balance getting built
back up, when the opportunities come, we need to be able to purchase or spend, we will have the
funds to do it. We will have the ability, if we need so, to borrow. I think that is unbelievable critical.
When we get done with this budget, Mrs. Jones, if I’m not mistaken we will be close to 19.25 –
19.3% fund balance. I can sleep just a little bit better at night. The comical thing is, I thought, if I
can just make it to the reval year, this is going to get so much easier. Be careful what you wish for.
The reval has come and believe it or not, it really wasn’t as good as we thought it was going to be,
but yet the requests came in. There was a lot of things we pushed or held back. I am afraid taxes
are going up, in a couple different ways. I apologize for that but I don’t apologize for how we acted
as a board in trying to make the best decisions. A great commissioner in some peoples eyes told
me “Sometimes the most conservative thing you can do is raise taxes.” I don’t like that saying but
I get it. I think that is where we are. The demand is so great that once we didn’t get the quarter cent
sales tax passed, I kind of felt like we were on a doomed path. We are at that cross roads right
now.”
Vice Chairman Bowles said, “Sitting in this seat we came in and the CIP funds had been
built up and there were two major projects that we needed desperately. One was a jail and one was
a new 911 center. If you have been to our old 911 center, you can see we need a new 911 center.
Those projects were put into the CIP years ago. They were funded to that because to do something
on that scale and do those two at the same time, that is major investments. We did it unfortunately
in an economy that every time we took something to bid it was always costing more and more. I
think to the tune of around of 25% more is what local jurisdictions and municipalities have seen
the subcontractor cost go up. That is a good lesson to add to the CIP and build when the economy
is down. Nevertheless, the statement that one gentleman said a moment ago was even though the
tax rate is still 52.75 if you paid more this year than you did last year that is a tax increase. That is
a cold hard fact. I want you to understand that just three budget meetings did not build this budget.
This budget took a year to build. All the department heads, the management hall, commissioners
were on committees, have all been working on this all year long because we knew we had hard
decisions to make. As Mr. Houpe said, we spent most of our new money that has been added to
the tax base, we spent reval money on one line item, school, safety, and security. We live in a
different world than we used to. My dad used to have a saying that “things aint like they used to
be, they are like they are now.” Never have I seen more of that than when we went through the
budget. I want to speak about the County-Wide fire tax increase from 7 to 9¢. If there is an item
in this budget that gives me heartburn and keeps me up at night it is that line item but, the reality
is, even though we have plenty of volunteers on rolls we can’t get the volunteerism to come,
respond, and do the work that this county has enjoyed in the last 30 year funding model. Those
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folks just don’t exist anymore or don’t have the leisure of getting off work and responding to a fire
call or medical call. It is different than it used to be. We have been working for three years on a
new plan. This is what we call the bridge plan, because we are going to have to do something in
that area if we are going to provide the service to our citizens. I don’t want to sugarcoat anything
because this 52.75, like I said, if you pay more than you did last year, it is a tax increase, but
understand one thing, in a four year reval cycle we have to forecast where we are going to be four
years from now. That third and fourth year can get tight. How does it get it tight? You go to starving
your CIP funds and spending down the fund balance is what winds up happening. I am comfortable
sitting in the seat right now that we have done the best that any board could have done to come up
with a budget. I know sitting three budget sessions and spending $222 million sounds pretty half-
hazard, but we spent a year trying to build this budget. We knew these things were coming. We
felt like we had to take this step. We didn’t want to back it down to revenue neutral or somewhere
in between there and then two years from now have to come back in for a tax percentage increase.
We could have spent less money but we would have had to cut services and that is one of those
things that it is hard to say where the cuts should take place. But, I hope you’ll trust us on this
because we act as a form of representative government and we’ve had our shoulder to the wheel
on this one.”
Commissioner Norman said, “Folks, you’ve had enough people talk about what we’re
doing or trying to do already. I will just challenge you who are in the audience and at home. This
year in December you have a chance to apply or to sign up for one of three seats that are open.
There will be three seats open. That is a challenge to you and give you an opportunity, if you want
to change some things, you can do it. You will have that opportunity.”
Chairman Mallory said, “Our guidance essentially to our staff, some guardrails, in terms
of our approach to the budget was to, as Commissioner McNeely referenced, we wanted to
maintain that 18% fund balance, not just in this year, but going forward over the next four years.
We wanted to have a budget, that as Mr. Bowles referenced, that could take us through a four-year
cycle because our income is set once and doesn’t change except for additional growth to the County
tax scrolls. So, what we know is obviously expenses and costs do not stand still. They continue to
grow. If you’re in business, you have all seen the costs of labor, materials, and all that is going up.
You can see an inflation rate overall of 2% and yet you’re looking at 5 or 10%. Construction is
easily in double digits. We need to be able to put back enough the first two years, just as that story
in the Bible the seven lean years and the seven fat years, we’ve got to put back some in the first
two years to help us meet anticipated and known increases in our budget for the following two
years. We wanted that factor incorporated. I have to say that our staff working with a consultant
that has provided us a really helpful analytic tool that allows us to plug into play a lot of different
numbers to be able to see where we are going. This is not just an annual budget but a look forward
over the next four years, to poster us. We also wanted to maintain the lowest ad valorem tax rate
in any contiguous county. Which we presently have and will continue to have. That is nine
counties. We touch more counties than any other county in the State. We are also lower than any
of the Charlotte regional counties. We take very seriously the idea that we are here to protect the
taxpayers pocketbook as much as possible. We still have to meet needs. While some folks may
move to Iredell County and be pleasantly surprised at the tax rate, as been mentioned, then wonder
why we don’t have the same level of services from whence they came. That is true because if
you’re making expenditures on arts and entertainment, that is a personal decision whether you
want to go to a Panther’s game or whether you want to go hunting or fishing. That is dollars that
you should spend, we shouldn’t be in the business of directing folks to subsidize an ything in
particular. That being said though, Parks and Recreation is a function that is for the benefit of all
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the members, all the citizens of the County. There are expectations that if you’re a county of some
means that you will provide a certain higher level of services. Now, are we a county of means? I
think we have all grown up most of us are no more than two generations removed from a family
farm and understand the mindset of farming and making do with what you got and not
overextending yourself. Our grandparents and great-grandparents came from the depression and
lived through an era that we are just fortunate to have never seen the likes of since, but we are no
longer a rural poor county. We have never been poor in terms of spirit and values. We have a
surplus of spirit and values, but there was never a lot of extra cash laying around. We made do
with what we had. In Economic Development, that is one thing this board has focused collectively
on for the last four years, is to attract industry, businesses to Iredell County to supporting the
expansion of existing businesses to creating a workforce for those businesses that pay above
average wages so that our people have more money in their pocket. This board’s attitude has been
to grow the pie not just try to focus on how to divide the pie. What we’ve been doing and why you
see an increase in services and a large increase in the budget is because the pie has been growing.
We started out 30 years ago in the 1990 census with about 90,000 souls in Iredell County. Twenty-
nine years later, we have doubled to 180,000. It is projected, in the Charlotte region, that we will
double again in 25 years. My guess is that we will more than double. If you look at the Economic
Development criteria that the State uses to determine which counties are under financial duress
and need more help and assistance to try to attract industry. They use a tier system, Tier I, Tier II,
Tier III. If you’re in Tier III you don’t get much love because you’re considered a wealthy county.
If you’re in Tier II, you get some additional incentives and Tier I get a lot of incentives, because
they are economic distress. I dare say most folks, just based on their general feeling about where
we are as a county, where would you put us out of all 100 counties, i n terms of economic health.
To determine that very question, are we a distressed county? Are we a wealthy county? Or
somewhere in between? The State used four different factors. They looked at population growth,
what counties are attracting folks to move into them. The looked at the unemployment rate. They
looked at the per capita to property value ratio and they looked at the median household income.
Those four factors were applied to all 100 counties in the State. At the end of the day, where do
you think Iredell County would fall? We are a Tier III county, that means we are in the top 1/3 of
the State. Where do you think we are in the top 1/3? The reality is we are number five in the State
out of all 100. We beat Mecklenburg County, which is number 6. We are not a distressed county.
What we are is we are rooted in the past but focused on the future. We are doing that by attracting
industry but investing in the services that will attract industry to come to Iredell County, in
education, Emergency Medical Services, and Fire. All of that goes into the package. We are not
profligate when it comes to investments because we are getting a return on that investment and
that is what keeps your tax rate low is the additional tax revenues generated by businesses and
people moving to Iredell County and generating more revenues. The counties you see the tax rate
going up are the bedroom communities. We are going to get population growth, whether we did
nothing, whether we didn’t try to attract one single industry, we would have neighborhoods
popping up all over the place just to go to work in Charlotte. The fact is that Iredell County stands
on its own. It is an employment center, 20,000 souls come into Iredell County to go to work and
we have a little less than that they go to a different county. Businesses make choices to locate here
because we provide a community where they want to live, work, and raise their family. Those are
the kind of values that we can never lose. We can’t compromise on our values and what makes us
distinct. A lot of the concerns that have been raised relative to tax rates and taxes are well
understood and we put that into the scales to try to achieve that and I think we have. We have not
raised taxes as far as the tax rate. You can go anywhere and see the need for transportation
resources, that is a state and municipal responsibility. What is in our kitbag is public safety and
education. Education is basically half of our budget because it is an investment in our future
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children and generations. The final thing we had to look at that we wanted our county manager
and staff to make sure that we address was the issue of safety and security in our schools. That is
something that is a shared responsibility between our school systems and our law enforcement
agencies. They all play in that space. That is not something that either of those organizations had
to give a lot thought to 30 years ago. It just wasn’t a line item in the budget. You might have had
a gate guard. You might have had an officer presence in one school out of multiple high schools.
It was just not a driving empatice for your budget. Today, we live in a different world and that is
why in conjunction with the schools and the law enforcement agencies, our Sheriff’s Office, and
municipal departments of Statesville, Troutman, and Mooresville, we looked together with Iredell-
Statesville, Mooresville Graded, and Mitchell Community College, what were there baseline
security needs. Late in the game got formulated and I don’t think people had much time to digest
it and wasn’t sure where their money was going and chose not to support the referendum, the
quarter cent sales tax. Which comes about half from folks that are outside this county that are
coming in and spending money in restaurants or hotels. There are some folks that will never
support any kind of tax increase, there is a consequence. That type of tax is paid by everyone, not
just property owners. It is not just folks in Iredell County, but folks traveling through. That quarter
cent sales tax would have raised almost $6 million. That didn’t pass. That didn’t mean that we
didn’t have a responsibility to address the need in the schools. We had to pair back what we could
do because we didn’t have $6 million. If you’re wondering why wasn’t there any kind of attempt
to adjust the tax rate down, as its been said, no one expected us to be revenue neutral. You can
look around and see the demands for services that are out there. A lot of those were pen up because
we had to cut back so severely during an eight-year recession. That is why we are where we are. I
would challenge the folks that want us to hold the line on ad valorem taxes to support that quarter-
cent sales tax the time it comes around because it will come around. We need an additional stream
of revenue to address these needs within our schools as far as safety and security, and the other
ancillary that go with trying to detect any kind of issues that children may be having. We can feel
pretty good about where we are. We are blessed to live in this little corner of the world. I am very
appreciative of our staff having taken our guidelines and sharp pencil and cut back a lot of request
that were absolutely appropriate to request to do, but which we just did not have the funds to do.”
Commissioner Houpe expressed appreciation to staff for the cuts that were made during
the year long budget process. Commissioner Houpe also thanked the Fire Departments. The
departments with the Board to try and work out a new funding mechanism and apparatus
replacement plan. Everybody compromised because the Emergency Services Personnel in the
county love and care about their communities. There is a permanent plan in the works.
Commissioner Houpe specifically thanked the Sheriff Darren Campbell and Register of Deeds
Ron Wyatt. Those departments took cuts along with the other departments in order to achieve a
balanced budget. The two elected officials and other county employees are working below their
counterparts in other counties because they care about the citizens in Iredell County. The citizens
of the County need to be aware that the elected officials and other departments worked with the
Board and staff to provide the best services at the most efficient possible way.
Chairman Mallory said there is a request from Administration for approval and adoption
of the proposed Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Budget Ordinance.
MOTION by Commissioner McNeely to approve the budget ordinance for FY19-20.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
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ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
County Manager Beth Jones summarized the items that were placed on the consent agenda as
follows:
Request from the Finance Department for approval of a surplus declaration of
personal property and adoption of resolution to donate the property to
Diakonos/Fifth Street Ministry for use by Drug-Alcohol Coalition of Iredell.
Request from Planning & Development to consider calling for a public hearing on
June 18, 2019 in regard to a request by David Hughes to release zoning and
subdivision jurisdiction to the Town of Mooresville.
Request from the Health Department for approval of Fee and Eligibility Policy
Revisions to be effective immediately and approval of the proposed Clinical
Services, Dental and Environmental Health Fee Schedules.
Request from EMS for approval to apply for the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Site-
based Program Competitive Grant.
Request from Emergency Management for approval to accept the NC Tier II
Hazardous Materials Grant in the amount of $10,000 to hire an outside contractor
to update and re-write the Emergency Operations Plan for Iredell County and
approval of budget amendment 38a.
Request from Emergency Management for approval to accept a NC Tier II
hazardous materials non-competitive grant in the amount of $1,000 to replace an
existing printer and fax machine in the Emergency Operations Center and approval
of budget amendment 38b.
Request from Clerk to the Board for approval of minutes from the meetings on May
7, 9, 13, 14, and 21, 2019.
MOTION by Commissioner Norman to approve the consent agenda.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
ANNOUNCEMENT OF VACANCIES OCCURING ON BOARDS & COMMISSIONS
(None)
APPOINTMENTS TO BOARD AND COMMISSIONS
Chairman Mallory said Appointments to Boards and Commissions will be made at the June 18,
2019 meeting.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
MOTION by Commissioner McNeely to call for a public hearing on June 18, 2019 at 7PM
regarding a maximum economic development incentive of $131,600 over a five-year period for
Project Donut based on $6.8 million investment in Iredell County.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD
(None)
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June 4, 2019
NEW BUSINESS
(None)
COUNTY MANAGER’S REPORT
County Manager Beth Jones gave updates on the following items:
Thanked the Board for their guidance in the budget process. It was not an easy year
but the Board made things easier with very clear advice, goals, and objectives,
which helped the budget team construct a budget to present to the Board.
Expressed appreciation to the budget team: Deb Cheek, Susan Cornell, Caroline
Taylor, Susan Robertson, and Joe Pierce. The department directors did a great job
of preparing conservative budgets.
CLOSED SESSIONS
Chairman Mallory said a Closed Session relating to Personnel G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (6) and
Attorney Client G.S. 143-318.11 (a) (3) was held immediately following the pre-agenda meeting.
Commissioner Houpe said the Board performs an annual review of the County Manager
and are required by statute to conduct a salary review for the Register of Deeds and Sheriff. After
looking at the ranges of pay and other counties, the Board feels that the merit and performance
reviews for the Sheriff and Register of Deeds are done every election cycle by the voters of Iredell
County. Last year, neither elected official had opposition and that is job approval of phenomenal
proportions.
MOTION by Commissioner Houpe to approve a 2% pay scale and a 3% merit increase
for County Manager Beth Jones, and a 5% salary adjustment based on a salary re view for the
Register of Deeds Ron Wyatt and Sheriff Darren Campbell. This is consistent with the pay
increases available to all county employees in the upcoming FY19-20. These positions will be
reviewed every four years as a part of the County-wide pay and classification study and adjusted
accordingly otherwise.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION by Commissioner Norman to adjourn at 8:35PM The next regular meeting will
be Tuesday, June 18, 2019, 5:00 PM, in the Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Government Center,
200 South Center Street, Statesville, NC.
VOTING: Ayes – 5; Nays – 0
__________________________________ ___________________________________
Date Approved Amy B. Anderson, Clerk