MINUTES
WATAUGA COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
TUESDAY, MAY 7, 2024
The Watauga County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting, as scheduled, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at 5:30 P.M. in the Commissioners’ Board Room located in the Watauga County Administration Building, Boone, North Carolina.
Chairman Turnbow called the meeting to order at 5:31 P.M. The following were present:
PRESENT: Larry Turnbow, Chairman
Charlie Wallin, Vice-Chairman
Todd Castle, Commissioner
Braxton Eggers, Commissioner
Ray Russell, Commissioner
Andrea Capua, County Attorney
Deron Geouque, County Manager
Anita J. Fogle, Clerk to the Board
Commissioner Eggers opened with a prayer and Vice-Chairman Wallin led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Turnbow called for additions and/or corrections to the April 16, 2024, regular minutes and closed session minutes.
Commissioner Castle, seconded by Commissioner Eggers, moved to approve the April 16, 2024, regular meeting minutes as presented.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Commissioner Castle, seconded by Commissioner Eggers, moved to approve the April 16, 2024, closed session minutes as presented.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Approval of Agenda
Chairman Turnbow called for additions and/or corrections to the May 7, 2024, agenda.
Commissioner Eggers, seconded by Vice-Chairman Wallin, moved to approve the May 7, 2024, agenda as presented.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Public Comment
There was no public comment.
Public Hearing to Allow Citizen Comment on an Ordinance Update
Chairman Turnbow stated that a public hearing was scheduled to allow public comment on the proposed changes to the Watauga County Building Code Ordinance as follows with the highlighted portion being the addition:
Section 1-2.1 Fire Code Adopted
On July 1, 1991, or other date established by the North Carolina Building Code Council, the Standard Fire Prevention Code – 1988 Edition and all appendices therein as adopted by the Building Code Council and as amended …
Mr. Will Holt, Emergency Services Director, stated that several Fire Chiefs and the Fire Marshal were present and in support of the amendment.
Vice-Chairman Wallin, seconded by Commissioner Russell, moved to open the public hearing at 5:33 P.M.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
As there were no speakers, Commissioner Eggers, seconded by Vice-Chairman Wallin, moved to close the public hearing at 5:33 P.M.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Commissioner Russell, seconded by Commissioner Eggers, moved to adopt the amendment to the Ordinance as presented by Mr. Will Holt and reviewed at several past Board meetings.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Emergency Operations Plan Review
Mr. Doug Logan, with On Target Preparedness (an Emergency Management Consulting Company), presented the County’s proposed updated Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). Mr. Logan reviewed the proposed EOP which has five major sections: 1. Basic Plan, 2. Functional Annexes, 3. Hazard-Specific Annexes, 4. Appendices, and 5. Glossary. Mr. Logan stated that the biggest change was adding additional content as needed. Mr. Will Holt, Emergency Services Director stated that all of the emergency managements in the County were involved in creating the new plan. Chairman Turnbow requested the EOP be forwarded to the County Attorney for review.
Commissioner Eggers, seconded by Commission Castle, moved to approve the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) contingent upon the County Attorney’s review.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Pay and Classification Study Review
Mr. David Hill, Piedmont Triad Regional Council, presented the Pay and Classification Plan Study of which the expected outcomes were to determine and make recommendations regarding the geographic market position for Watauga County to support the County’s employee recruitment and retention initiatives. Mr. Hill presented the plan, his recommendations, and implementation plan which was as follows:
· adopt the recommended Pay Plan
· move employees’ salaries to the minimum salary of their proposed pay grade; or implement 5% COLA to current salary, whichever is greater.
· Begin addressing salary compression by implementing the following years of service recognition:
|
Years of Employment |
||||
|
0<3 |
3<6 |
6<9 |
9<12 |
12+ |
|
0% |
1% |
2% |
3% |
4% |
Implementation costs would be as follows:
|
Salaries |
$1,534,325 |
|
Payroll Associated Costs (26.5%) |
$406,596 |
|
Total Implementation Costs |
$1,940,921 |
Mr. Hill recommended changes to insurance benefits as follows:
The County will pay full premium costs for group term life, vision exam, dental and medical health insurance programs for classified, full-time regular employees.
The County will pay one-half of the premium cost for group term life, vision exam, dental and medical health insurance programs for classified, part-time regular employees who choose to participate. Regular part-time (20-30 hours) employees must pay the remaining one-half of the premium cost as a payroll deduction.
Families (dependents and spouses) of the above eligible County employees are offered insurance coverage at group rates at the expense of the employee, upon request and in accordance with provisions of the insurance contract. The premium costs must be paid as a payroll deduction and are deducted one month in advance of insurance effective date.
Mr. Hill recommended changes to Retiree Insurance Benefits as follow:
Category I
For employees retiring with a minimum of ten (10) years creditable service in the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System or the North Carolina Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, of which the last five (5) years must be served with Watauga County; the employee may elect to maintain coverage and be responsible for the payment of the premium to the County, or in accordance with provisions of the current insurance contractor. The premium amount for all categories will be the same rate as the County’s monthly charge per employee for the group health care plan.
Category II
For Watauga County Employees retiring with a minimum of twenty (20) years creditable service in the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System or the North Carolina Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, of which the last ten (10) years must be served with Watauga County; the employee may elect to maintain coverage and be responsible for the payment of the premium less the County supplemental amount to maintain their medical insurance coverage. The County’s monthly supplement amount will be equal to 50% of the per employee premium monthly charge. Dental and vision exam benefits may be retained upon payment of the full premium by the retired employee.
Category III
For employees retiring with more than twenty (20) years creditable service in the Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System or the North Carolina Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System, of which the last (10) years must be served with Watauga County; the employee may elect to maintain coverage and be responsible for the payment less the County supplement amount to maintain their medical insurance coverage. For each added year of service after twenty (20), the County will pay an additional 2.5% of the per employee premium monthly charge up to a maximum payment of 75% of the total monthly premium for 30 years or more of service (see table below). Dental and vision exam benefits may be retained upon payment of the full premium by the retired employee.
The retired employee is expected to enroll for Medicare when eligibility by age or length of disability is obtained.
Mr. Hill recommended changes to Longevity Compensation as follows:
Longevity pay is given to regular, full-time and part-time benefited employees with one month or more employment with Watauga County. Years of service are computed as of November 30th of the current year and based on total continuous creditable service under the North Carolina Local Governmental Employees’ Retirement System and/or North Carolina Teachers’ and State Employees’ Retirement System. Eligible service time includes continuous years of service within the NC Retirement Systems with less than one-year break in service. Longevity compensation is not a guaranteed benefit and will only be made contingent upon approval by the Watauga County Commissioners. Payments will be made as follows:
|
Length of Service |
Amount of Payment |
|
1 month but less than 5 years |
$100 |
|
5 but less than 10 years |
1.0% of annual salary |
|
10 but less than 15 years |
1.5% of annual salary |
|
15 but less than 20 years |
2.0% of annual salary |
|
20 but less than 25 years |
2.5% of annual salary |
|
25 but less than 30 years |
3.0% of annual salary |
Discussion was held. County Manager Geouque stated that the County had a young workforce with only 12+ employees close to or above the mid-point. Watauga County also has the 3rd highest Cost of Living in the State.
County Manager Geouque clarified that the recommendations were included in his Proposed Budget for FY 2025.
Commissioner Russell, seconded by Commissioner Eggers, moved to approve Mr. Hill’s recommendations, as presented, in the FY 2025 Budget.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
AppalCART Contracts for FY 2025
Mr. Craig Hughes, AppalCART Director, gave a brief update on transportation services then presented contracts for transportation services for the Project on Aging and Social Services Departments for FY 2025. The proposed rate for the Project on Aging, Department of Social Services, and other County functions remains the same at $2.85 per direct mile. The rate remains the same, at $2.00 per direct mile, for Project on Aging’s meal delivery.
Vice-Chairman Wallin, seconded by Commissioner Castle, moved to approve the AppalCART contracts for FY 2025 as presented by Mr. Hughes.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Proposal to Contract with High Country Council of Governments for an Update of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan
Mr. Jason Walker, Planning and Inspections Director, presented a proposed agreement for High Country Council of Governments to update the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. The cost is a lump sum of $25,000 and the update would take 18 months to complete. This is a large savings from the average costs, ranging between $100,000 to $200,000, associated with this type of update. Mr. Walker stated that the Statutes do not specify a timeframe required for updates; however, the UNC School of Government suggest it be updated every five to ten years. Watauga County’s Plan was last updated in 2010. County Attorney Capua stated that she would look into the specific requirements. Commissioner Castle questioned whether staff could perform the update in-house and save the $25,000 as well.
Chairman Turnbow tabled consideration and asked Mr. Walker to meet with County Attorney Capua to review the General Statutes and have Ms. Capua follow up on when updates were needed and why the UNC School of Government made the recommendation to update every five to ten years.
Miscellaneous Administrative Matters
A. Presentation of the FY 2025 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP)
The County Manager presented the FY 2024-2025 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) for review prior to discussion during the upcoming budget work sessions.
B. Presentation of the Manager’s FY 2025 Recommended Budget
County Manager Geouque presented the Recommended FY 2025 Budget and reviewed highlights.
The Budget would be discussed at the budget work sessions scheduled on Monday, May 13, 2024, beginning at 12:00 P.M. and Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. The Recommended Budget would be available for public inspection on the County’s website and at the County Manager’s Office as well as the Watauga County Library, Blowing Rock Library, and the Western Community Library. A public hearing was set to be held on May 21, 2024, at 5:30 P.M. to allow citizen comment on the recommended budget.
C. Boards and Commissions
County Manager Geouque presented the following:
Social Services Advisory Board
Mr. Matthew Rollins was recommended for appointment to the Social Services Advisory Board for a four-year term. Vice-Chairman Wallin, who sits on the Board stated that Mr. Rollins could give insight to the Board as an officer of the law.
Vice-Chairman Wallin, seconded by Commissioner Eggers, moved to waive the second reading and appoint Matthew Rollins to serve a four-year term on the Social Services Advisory Board.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
D. Announcements
County Manager Geouque announced the following:
· The Board of Equalization & Review (E&R) has meetings scheduled at 2:00 P.M. on Wednesday, May 8 and Thursday, May 9, 2024. The meetings will be held in the Commissioners’ Conference Room. The Adjournment date for Board of E&R is Friday, May 10, 2024 at 5:00 P.M.
· The following Special Meetings will be held in May 2024:
o May 13 Budget Work Session at 12:00 P.M. - Commissioners Conference Room
o May 14 Budget Work Session at 9:00 A.M. - Commissioners Conference Room
o May 21 Public Hearing to allow for citizen comment on the Proposed Budget at
5:30 P.M. in the Commissioners Board Room.
· The Trustees of Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute have invited the Board of Commissioners to a meeting on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at 6:00 P.M. at the Watauga Campus on Hwy 105 Bypass, Boone NC, in the Student Services Center.
· The North Carolina Association of County Commissioners will hold the 2024 County Advocacy Days in Raleigh on June 11 & 12. Steering Committee Meetings and a dinner will be on the 11th with the Legislative Program presented on the 12th. The Clerk to the Board will be happy to assist with your registration, if you plan to attend.
Closed Session
At 7:31 P.M., Commissioner Castle, seconded by Vice-Chairman Wallin, moved to enter Closed Session to discuss Attorney/Client Matters, per G. S. 143-318.11(a)(3).
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Vice-Chairman Wallin, seconded by Commissioner Eggers, moved to resume the open meeting at 8:13 P.M.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Adjourn
Vice-Chairman Wallin, seconded by Commissioner Castle, moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:13 P.M.
VOTE: Aye-5
Nay-0
Larry Turnbow, Chairman
ATTEST: Anita J. Fogle, Clerk to the Board