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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1987-03-18 adj3'0 3 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) A meeting adjourned from March 17, 1987, of the Board of Supervisors of Albemarle County, Virginia, was held on March 18, 1987, at 1:00 P.M., Meeting Room 97, County Office ~uilding, 401 McIntire Road, Charlottesville, Virginia. BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: Mr. F. R. Bowie, Mrs. Patricia H. Cooke (arrived at 1:06 P.M.), ~essrs. Gerald E. Fisher, J. T. Henley, Jr., C. Timothy Lindstrom (arrived at 1:09 P.M.) and Peter T. Way. BOARD MEMBERS ABSENT: None. OFFICERS PRESENT: Mr. Guy B. Agnor, Jr., County Executive; Mr. Robert W. Tucker, Jr., Deputy County Executive; Mr. Ray B. Jones, Deputy County Executive; and Ms. Roxanne White, .dministrative Assistant. Agenda Item No. 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 1:03 P.M. by Mr. Fisher who explained that it was a continuation of the work sessions on the budget for 987-88. He said that the Board's task at this meeting is to complete its recommendations to he public and to set the tax rates that will be advertised for public hearing. Agenda Item No. 2. Work Session: 1987-88 County Budget: Region Ten Community Services - Requested $117,410; Recommended $117,410. Mr. Fisher asked Mr. Tucker to present Region Ten's budget. Mr. Tucker explained that there were no significant changes in the Region Ten Budget. The request is for a 2.46 percent reduction from the current year's budget, although the services for Albemarle resi- dents are projected to increase. Mr. Tucker went on to explain that the Region Ten Community ~ervices Board is an agency of the local government responsible for the provision of mental health, mental retardation and alcohol and drug abuse services for all citizens who are in need of those services in Planning District 10. He mentioned that Region Ten scored very high in each category under the review process criteria, and full funding is recommended. He said that Region Ten should be commended for the level of detail and data that it provided for the program ~eview. Program changes that were implemented in the past year are the merger of the crisis intervention and intake fees, the twenty-four hour answering service, and the Western State Hospital contract to reduce bed day use at the hospital by ten in exchange for a $60 a day payment for each bed. These savings will be used for increasing Region Ten services. He said that while Region Ten's dilemma in having the rural localities achieve compliance with the formula distribution is understood, it is critical that the agency continue to seek contribution of formula shares from the localities. The staff has recommended full funding. Mr. Fisher asked about funding from the rural counties? Mr. Tucker said he thinks that ~egion Ten has difficulty in getting the outlying counties to contribute as much because the )utlying counties feel they will not get the same level of services as Charlottesville and %lbemarle County. He said that not only Region Ten, but other agencies need to be reminded 2hat they need to pursue funding requests from other localities, so that it won't just be a ;harlottesville and Albemarle contribution. Mr. Lewis Fibel, an appointee to the Region Ten Community Services Board from Albemarle :ounty, expressed his appreciation to the review committee and the County Executive for the (ind review of their proposal. He gave the credit for its preparation to the staff. He nentioned that the requirement for the request from Region Ten this year is less than last year. In a sense the Region Ten Board is sorry this is so, but the formula so dictates. The Region Ten Board has mad~ it a first priority matter to persuade the rural counties to come i~P with their share of money, according to.the formula, for this year and succeeding years. t~r. Fibel mentioned that he is chairman of the Finance Committee of the Region Ten Board, and t!snow speaking primarily for himself, that if the rural counties cannot be persuaded to come i~p with their share of the money, then he thinks that other methods of finance will. have to ~e considered as well as a revision of the formula. He said there are unmet needs in this ;ounty and in other counties. He thinks that it is a shame that the formula dictates that ;hey cannot increase either the quantity or quality of their services. Retired Senior Volunteer Program - Requested $6,274; Recommended $5,000. Mr. Tucker said that the Retired Senior Volunteer Program is requesting a 25.5 percent increase to maintain its current services, which according to the agency staff, have been ~nderbudgeted the last two years. The increased funding would provide needed transportation ~or volunteers and operational expense increases. Mr. Tucker mentioned that R.S.V.P. is a program for the elderly and uses its volunteerism as the mechanism to improve the quality of life for those over 60 years of age. It serves as the liaison between the citizens and ;ommunity agencies in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville. The Program Review ;ommittee is recommending level funding of R.S.V.P. because it ranked in the medium range of ~gencies reviewed. Mr. Tucker noted that R.S.V.P. has not tried for other kinds of funding, ~nd it did not provide adequate documentation as to why an increase in funding is necessary. ~owever, a limited number of paid staff, in relation to the number of volunteers and services provided, demonstrates an efficient administration. As a volunteer-oriented agency, R.S.V.P. ~eets the County objective of a program which promotes the active use of volunteers. ~.S.V.P. has developed a local share formula that is equitable in the County staff's opinion. ~ased on the information provided by R.S.V.P., the Committee recommends that a 25 percent increase in funding is not deemed to be justified, and, therefore, level funding is recom- nended. Ms. Lida Pritchette-Arnason, Director of the R.S.V.P. Program, responded that they ~evised a fair share formula, and the amount requested was in direct proportion to that. One ~f the special programs which she wrote about in the grant request, the senior health insur- ance benefit advisers, has grown considerably in the last two years. Ms. Pritchette-Arnason ~aid she just left a training session where there were 45 people in attendance, and the 304 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Paae 2) sign-up list indicated that three-quarters were County residents. The Director of that program is a volunteer, and he is present at this meeting to give more details of the pro- gram. Mr. Ben Rau, Director of the Senior Health Insurance Benefit Advisers Program, stated that his program counsels senior citizens on Medicare. He said according to a recent survey of the 30 million people in the United States-on Medicare, 50 percent of them do not know what Medicare is. He mentioned a list of 25 cases that he has been working on for two years where he has assisted people in making Medicare and insurance claims in the amount of $581,000. He said the work involved is in counseling senior citizens on what Medicare supplemental insurance they must have to cover amounts not approved or paid by Medicare. He stated that most of the senior citizens are widows, and some salesmen in the area are taking advantage of these people. He said that the older people trust him, and he doesn't recommend anything for them unless he is positive it will be to their advantage. He said he had only turned away four people in the seven years that this program has been in effect, and these four people refused to abide by the agreement made with him. Mr. Fisher told Mr. Rau that the Board appreciated his comments but asked him to speak to the requests that have been made by R.S.V.P. Mr. Rau said he is amazed that the R.S.V.P. Program has only asked for $6200. He thinks the program is worth a lot more than this amount. With no Board member making a recommendation for a change, Mr. Fisher explained that the staff recommendation will be advertised for the public hearing. United Way Child Care Scholarship Program - Requested $13,570; Recommended $ -0-. Mr. Tucker said that the funding requested is to provide fee subsidies to 32 county families in need of child care. This Scholarship Program provides direct fee subsidies to low income families in the Thomas Jefferson Planning District. The funding for the scholar- ships presently comes from the United Way and the City of Charlottesville. The Program Review Committee does not recommend funding the Scholarship Program at this time. The Program ranked within the medium range in the review process because of duplication of services. Since July 1, 1986, the Albemarle County Social Services Department has adminis- tered a state-funded day-care subsidy. This program targets a similar population of low income working parents to that targeted by the United Way Program. Mr. Tucker added that the Committee recommends that the Department of Social Services monitor and analyze their subsidy program during the coming year to determine patterns of usage and to ascertain if there are areas of unmet needs. He said the United Way is encouraged to refer County residents they cannot serve to the SOcial Services Department and to maintain their own waiting list. The Social Services Program is just getting underway because there was a training period that was necessary. Mr. Tucker said staff feels that the County has adequate funds to meet the needs indicated by the United Way. Mr. Lindstrom inquired if the people who qualify for the County's state-funded day-care subsidy have to meet the same criteria as the United Way participants. Mr. Tucker replied that the qualifications are almost identical, with the County and the United Way both using the sliding scale based on family incomes. Mr. Lindstrom asked if the state subsidy is also available to the program United Way has been managing, and Mr. Tucker answered, "no." Mr. Fisher mentioned that last year a statement was made that the program Social Ser- vices was going to operate would only take care of children while parents were looking for jobs. As soon as the parent or parents got a job, the day care service ended. Mr. Tucker answered that Mr. Fisher's statement is true. There are two programs, and the program for child care while parents are looking for jobs is being maintained. Then, there is also a new program for children whose parents are working. He said it is an 80 percent state, 20 percent local match. Mr. Fisher asked if the program for working parents is in the Social Services' budget, and Mr. Tucker answered, "yes." Mr. Fisher went on to ask if it will meet the anticipated demand. Mr. Tucker replied that Social Services has not been able to meet the demand because they got started late in the year. He said that most of the programs began in September, but the County did not get its program started until November. He mentioned again that staff feels there is more than enough funding available in Social Services Department budget to meet the need. Mr. Fisher asked if this service is terminated when parents reach the minimum wage. Mr. Tucker replied that when a certain income level is reached, the subsidy is no longer avail- able. Mr. Fisher mentioned that he feels when parents work and reach that transition point, they are probably worse off than they were before. Mrs. Cooke stated that these people sometimes quit their jobs at this point. Mrs. Cooke wondered if the amount of money that parents can make before the subsidy is cut off is set by the state, and Mr. Tucker answered, "yes." Mrs. Cooke stated that she thinks the amount of money that parents can make should be raised to a more realistic figure. Mr. Tucker stated that he could not say that there is a need to ask the State to increase the amount of money that parents can make, but he would be glad to get more information. He mentioned that the County really does not have enough experience with this program to make recommendations at this point. Mrs. Cooke said that people really do quit work when their salaries reach a certain level, and that it happens more than one imagines. Mr. Agnor added that he does not think the problem is related as much to minimum wage as it is to the number of members of the family being supported by the income of the wage earner. Mr. Lindstrom asked how many scholarships equivalent to what United Way is funding now can be funded out of the $27,000 in the Social Services budget. Mr. Tucker said the staff could get that information for the Board. Mr. Lindstrom said that he did not know what United Way intended to do, but he thinks that if United Way is not getting support from the County, it .probably will not provide scholarships to County people. He thinks that the County program needs to cover this situation. Mrs. Cooke asked for information on the March 18, 1987 (Afternoon- Adjourned M~eting) sliding scale used to determine the amount of the subsidy. Mr. Fisher asked if the Board wished to take action on the recommendation, and there were no comments. Juvenile Detention Home - Requested $17,000; Recommended $16,304. Mr. Agnor informed the Board that the Juvenile Detention Home is a partnership of eight localities. The increase in the budget for this category is 6.8 percent. It was estimated in January based on a six percent state salary increase, and now the state salary adjustment has gone to a 6.9 percent adjustment. The operational costs have decreased even though they are offset in part by increasing insurance costs. The state revenues have gone up 6.3 percent or $31,800. The local revenues to fund the budget have to increase about $12,000 between the eight jurisdictions. In addition, usage is a factor of the formula. Albemarle County's usage in 1986 was 10.5 percent and in 1985, it was 8.4 percent. This means that the County's share increased by 25 percent. The result is that a share of $16,304 is needed to fund both the budget increase and the increased usage. Mr. Agnor recommends that this budget be funded at the required amount of $16,304, which is different from the $17,000 that the staff previously requested. Emergency Medical Communications - Requested $239; Recommended $239. Mr. Agnor stated that Emergency Medical Communications is a continuing annual cost that Albemarle County pays Fluvanna County for the maintenance of the radio system used by the Rescue Squads. There is no change requested for next year. SPCA Shelter - Requested 6,000; Recommended 6,000. Mr. Agnor said that the amount for the SPCA Shelter is not changing. It shows as a contribution but in actual terminology, it is not. It is a bill that the County pays for the SPCA to take dogs from the animal wardens to have them adopted or disposed of and any cost associated with their care and maintenance while they are in the shelter is billed to the County on a periodic basis. The estimate is slightly higher than last year, but it is difficult to determine what makes the change. He recommends that funding be continued at its current level of $6,000. City-County Revenue Sharing Agreement - Requested $2,277,953; Recommended $2,277,953. Mr. Agnor commented that the Revenue Sharing Agreement calculations had been distributed to the Board earlier, but some information on Page 382 of the budget has changed. He said the change is reflective of the real property reassessment this year. Mr. Fisher said that he has examined some of the factors in the Revenue Sharing Agree- ment, and there are several things that are not exactly as they were predicted five years ago. One thing is that the County's tax base is higher than was anticipated. Another is that the population, as recorded by the Tayloe Murphy Institute, is lower, and the tax rate has been considerably lower. He brought out the fact that there are more dollars being paid, but there are more dollars available to pay them. He said that after the 1990 census, maybe the population will catch up, but he is not sure how those estimates are made. He thinks also that the surge in revenues that the County is seeing may be related to the fact that the County has kept all of its commercial and industrial tax base. There were no other comments. Capital Improvements Transfer - Requested $1,000,000; Recommended $1,000,000. Mr. Agnor said the Capital Improvements Transfer has been recommended by the staff to be maintained at its current level of $1,000,000. He stated that it is consistent with the Five-Year Capital Improvements Program. Mr. Fisher asked about the recent limit placed on borrowings from the Literary Fund. Mr. Jones said the County is at its limit. The 1987 Session of the Legislature placed in the Appropriations Act a maximum of $10,000,000 that any locality could borrow from the Literary Fund. The County has used the Literary Fund Loan a lot, and has $2,000,000 currently pending for Meriwether Lewis School. The County has at this time $8,200,000 outstanding with the Literary Fund. The staff has looked into the $200,000 necessary to reduce the loan so that the County will qualify for the $2,000,000 for the Meriwether Lewis project. Mr. Fisher asked if any of the other school projects would qualify, and Mr. Jones replied that after the amount for Meriwether Lewis School is borrowed, that will be all that the County can get. Mr. Jones said that now the staff is investigating what can be done through the Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA). Mr. Lindstrom wanted to know the interest rate on a Literary Fund loan now, and Mr. Jones answered that it is four percent. He said that the County just barely qualifies for the four percent rate. Mr. Lindstrom then asked the interest rate under the Public School Authority, and Mr. Jones answered that the interest rate would be approximately six percent. Mr. Lindstrom asked if the VPSA had a limit on its loans. Mr. Jones explained that the VPSA takes all of the needs of the State of Virginia and puts them into one bond issue. Mr. Agnor added that the Literary Fund does not have a cap, but a threshold. In order to be eligible for Literary Fund money, there are priorities. If the $10,000,000 threshold is reached, then the priority drops. So, it is not as though the loan cannot be made, but the money is hard to get so it seems as though there is a cap. Mr. Lindstrom said that under the current interest rates, if the County limited its borrowing from the Virginia Public School Authority to the amount that the County borrowed per project from the Literary Fund, the County would essentially be paying $40,000 more. Mr. Agnor explained to Mr. Lindstrom that his statement is correct except that the amount will go 308 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Page 4) down each year. Mr. Way asked if the money is readily available from the VPSA and Mr. Jones explained that to go on the bond market, the County would have to get a bond counselor's opinion, official statements, an investment counselor, etc. Mr. Lindstrom mentioned that the cost would be much more than the $40,000 when all the things Mr. Jones mentioned were taken into consideration. Mr. Jones mentioned that there are no such issuing costs with the Literary Fund. Mr. Agnor mentioned that there are other differences. With the Literary Fund, the County has to use its own money and wait for reimbursement. The Public School Authority's money comes in at the beginning of the project. Mr~ Agnor said that in preparing alterna- tives for the Planning Commission to review for the next cycle of the Five-Year Capital Improvements Program update, his staff once again considered the alternative of either split- ting collections on personal property taxes or splitting collections on real property taxes as sources of revenue. The staff believes the Capital Fund will earn almost $500,000 in interest on the balance invested this year. Those kinds of monies have never been put into the Capital Program in the past. The staff also discussed the alternative of disposing of some properties that the County owns and has no particular use for and turning those monies into capital monies. Mr. Agnor said he is nervous about the $1,000,000 from current revenues being sufficient, but there are other sources that can be used. Mr. Lindstrom said the Board does not yet have a complete capital improvements analysis and he is uneasy about the suggested reduction in the real property tax rate in light of all of the projects that are planned. He is at a loss as to how to deal with this situation, because there will not be sufficient time for input before the Board takes action on this budget. Mr. Agnor stated that there could be a $3,500,000 windfall in a single year from per- sonal property and $9,500,000 from real property, by splitting tax collections. Mr. Fisher reminded the Board that there are costs associated with splitting the collection of taxes. Mr. Lindstrom added that it should be looked at as emergency money only. Mr. Bowie said he would not support the idea at this time. Mr. Fisher said that the Board needed to make a decision as to whether to recommend for public hearing purposes the $1,000,000 or something else. Mr. Lindstrom understands and appreciates both proposals, but he does have some concerns. One of the reasons the County has received more tax money than estimated is because of the number of cars sold last year. He said that personal property taxes are different than real property taxes because cars do not appreciate. That specific number of vehicles generating that money will generate less and less over the years. That makes him uneasy because at some point that revenue will not be there anymore. Building a reduction on that, he thinks has some of the bad aspects of building it on a windfall. Traditionally, these windfalls of revenue have been put in the Capital program, and he thinks that is logical. He would feel more comfortable leaving the tax rate as it is, and taking that revenue and putting it in the Capital Improvements Pro- gram, recognizing its windfall character and needs that are uncertain. He thinks it is cheaper to deal with capital improvements that way than to compete for funding on a competi- tive bond market. He knows that collectively all of the savings are significant for the taxpayers, but individually they are very modest. He thinks this is the best approach to this situation this year. He believes that approximately $900,000 will be generated if the tax rate is left at 77 cents. Mr. Agnor corrected Mr. Lindstrom by saying that the amount of money generated if the tax rate is left at 77 cents would be $1,200,000. Mr. Lindstrom recommended that the $1,200,000 be reflected in the Capital Improvements Plan line item. He thinks that potential for reducing the real property tax rate is in the Revenue Sharing Agreement. In the next year or so, the amount paid to the City may be less than the cap. Ten cents was added to the tax rate specifically for paying that this agree- ment. As the money that the County pays drops below the cap, it would appear to be a rela- tively permanent situation. Mr. Henley thinks it is wrong to pack away money and draw interest on it. He thinks some cushion is needed, but when there is a lot of money, it is too easy to spend it. He would rather have his taxes raised for a project rather than stashing it away and let the school people dream about how they will spend it. He thinks that the school system is spending some now that it does not need to spend. He reminded the Board that it is not in the banking business. Mr. Bowie pointed out that not more than 64 cents has been spent as a break-even tax rate, except for one year, since the tax rate was raised. Sixty-seven cents would have paid for everything and generated a surplus. He cannot support the idea of leaving everything as it is. Mr. Lindstrom does not think that to reduce the tax rate, then turn around and borrow the money and spend extra dollars for that borrowing makes sense. Mr. Bowie said that the plan was to use Literary Fund monies. The total difference is $40,000 which the Board has planned not to pay out of next year's tax rate but to pay for over the whole period of the loan. Mr. Fisher added that it is not only $40,000 but also the full cost of $1,200,000 plus six percent on that amount. Mr. Lindstrom said that it is the $1,200,000 that the Board did not know about that will have to be borrowed. He does not think that the mix on the Literary Fund loan is unreasonable. Motion was offered at this time by Mr. Lindstrom to increase this line item by $1,200,000. The motion was seconded by Mrs. Cooke, but failed by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mrs. Cooke and Mr. Lindstrom. Messrs. Bowie, Fisher, Henley and Way. Mr. Bowie commented that if the motion had been to offset the $1,200,000 through some other deletion he would have supported it. He thinks the way to do it in the future is to fund the most critical things and reduce the less critical. 307 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) Engineering. Requested $296,673; Recommended $286,608. Mr. Tucker said that the request is to promote an administrative secretary to an admini- strative assistant and hire a new clerk typist. He said that some detention basins are being added in the urban area that the County will be responsible for maintaining. There is an increase in office supplies to reflect some one time needed drafting supplies and an increase in merchandise for resale which reflects the increase due to the demand for an increased cost of street signs. The staff's recommendation supports the additional staffing needs which will free the staff engineer from administrative paper work. The recommendation reduces electrical services to reflect actual costs. There are equipment and data processing needs that are recommended to be purchased in this current year's budget, and the staff recommends deleting the amount shown under line item 800100, Lease/Rent/Equipment. This is being carried totally for radio communications rental space in the Inspections Department budget. Mr. Fisher asked about the substantial increases on the personnel page, after Page 193, particularly in the first Civil Engineer I position. Mr. Tucker explained that this is due to the position not being full-time this year. This position is being carried for a full year next year. He said that there was a third person on staff through August. If these two salaries were added together, it would be close to the full salary for the Civil Engineer I position. That is the offset. Refuse Disposal. Requested $771,217; Recommended $771,217. Mr. Tucker said that the request covers both the Keene and Ivy Landfills. The request for Keene Landfill is for those items necessary for the eventual closing of the site which the staff estimates to be approximately two years. This involves seeding some areas, erosion control and water sampling. When the Capital Improvements Program comes before the Board, it will show the proposal for a transfer station to replace the Keene Landfill. The request for the Ivy Landfill includes funds for engineering and preparation for three additional cells for solid waste disposal. The closing out of the first cell has been completed. The staff recommends full funding for both the Keene and Ivy Landfill requests. Staff Services - Requested $777,761; Recommended $708,770. Mr. Jones reported that Mr. Bill Sullivan, Director of Staff Services, is on sick leave at this time. Mr. Jones said there was a request for a van for use by the mail room clerk for delivery services. It was felt that the compact car being used is too small for these duties. It has been arranged that a larger vehicle will be taken from the motor pool and assigned to this department. Mr. Jones said the cost of the postage machine is being trans- ferred to the Staff Services budget. From the staffing standpoint, a heating/airconditioning mechanic is being considered, rather than an administrative position. Mr. Jones replied that the Deputy Director's position has been deleted, and the Mechanic's position substituted. Mr. Fisher asked if the mechanic position could be combined with a similar position in the school division. Mr. Jones said this possibility has been looked at twice, and each time the school system people said they needed their own heating/airconditioning person, and have in fact, just added a person in this capacity. Mr. Henley said he believes that both positions could be combined as one person. Mr. Jones stated that he hoped that if the proper person can be hired, some cost cutting can be done on maintenance contracts in the future. Mr. Henley said he does not believe the County Office Building requires a full-time mechanic. Mr. Jones said that the mechanic would also be involved with a lot of other buildings, such as the Court Square Building, and facilities in the parks, etc. Mr. Henley suggested getting someone to help the mechanic, rather than hiring someone for the same position in the school system. He pointed out that it would cost a lot of money to hire two people with the knowledge to run the systems, when the top position could be combined with a mechanic's helper for both the school system and the County. Mrs. Cooke asked how many buildings the mechanic would have to handle. Mr. Jones replied that the school system has twenty-two buildings, and the general government has the County Office Building, the Courthouse, the old County Office Building, the old Real Estate Office, the old Jail Building, the $outhside Health Center, the Meadows at Crozet, and periodic work with the parks. Mrs. Cooke said that she doesn't see how one man can handle all of these buildings. Mr. Henley said he did not think the position was structured right, and Mr. Fisher agreed. Mr. Fisher said it may not be how many people, but how many at what level. Mr. Fisher went on to say he did not think Mr. Jones' argument is convincing. Mr. Jones answered that he had talked with people at the City and at the University, and their suggestion is what Mr. Jones presented to the Board. Mr. Bowie added that he thinks the structure should be considered. Secondly, there is a risk factor with the amount of technical equipment involved and only one supervisor who might not be available. It could be bad if there is not a back-up person. He really thinks that some back-up needs to be provided. Mr. Way thinks that the Board needs to seriously consider combining into one department the schools and the general government maintenance businesses. It is too late to do this in this budget cycle, but he thinks this situation needs to be analyzed. Mr. Fisher suggested that the whole thing be looked at again, and especially how the mechanical systems in the schools are handled. He would like to know what the school officials are proposing. Mr. Fisher suggested talking about this again at the April day meeting. Mr. Bowie asked what will happen to the new position, and Mr. Fisher said that he thinks Mr. Jones has made the point that additional help is needed. He suggested leaving the funds ' 308 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Page 6~ for this position in the budget, but the Board needs to consider how the job will be struc- tured. Parks and Recreation - Requested $671,126; Reconmuended $645,311. Mr. Tucker pointed out that there has been an increase in printing and copying services and advertising because of a promotional effort for the recreational programs offered. Advertising was increased this year, and the staff has already seen a change in enrollment which reflects increased revenues for the recreational programs. The staff sees this as a positive effort. A new therapeutic program for handicapped individuals, co-sponsored with the City, is being proposed this year. The County will pay its share for the County resi- dents who will be participating in this program. There is also a request from the BMX Track people to maintain the track with the City of Charlottesville. Another request is to in- crease the hours of the recreational supervisor at the Adult Day Care Center from 12 hours 'to 20 hours per week. One vehicle which has over 100,000 miles needs to be replaced. The County Executive's recommendation generally reflects the maintenance of existing programs with some expansion in the handicapped and elderly programs. The staff does not support the BMX Program, and it has not been included in this budget. Mr. Bowie asked the amount of the BMX Track request. Mr. Tucker replied that the County's share would be $1500 with a similar amount contributed by the City. He pointed out, however, that neither the County nor the City staffs are recommending this money for the BMX Track. Mr. Bowie said he was glad to hear this, because the whole thing started as a volun- teer, parental support program. Rivanna Park - Requested $108,810; Recommended .$95,600. Mr. Tucker next discussed the Rivanna Park and said the request is to provide partial staffing of the new Rivanna Park as of July 1, 1987, with the remaining staff being funded beginning in March of 1988. The staff feels that staggering the staffing needs will save money, but also a full staff is not needed at the beginning of July 1. Full staffing will be needed when seeding is taking place in the summer period and to have the ballfields ready for play in the summer of 1988. Machinery and equipment will also need to be purchased, and the City is funding its share in the same amount that the County staff has proposed. Mr. Fisher asked if this money would be administered under the County's department, and Mr. Tucker answered, "yes." Mr. Fisher asked Mr. Patrick Mullaney, Parks Director, how many staff people he will start with in July. Mr. Mullaney responded that starting in July the Park Foreman will be hired and one part-time laborer. Beginning next spring, there will be four, full-time people and two, part-time people and also cashiers. Mr. Mullaney said that the part-time employee in July will work 40 hours a week up to approximately October. Then, there will be only the one full-time Park Foreman on duty during the winter. Mr. Fisher then inquired as to when the roads will be put in. Mr. Mullaney said he was not sure how things will fall into place in relation to the roads, but the grading, irriga- tion system and the seeding will be the first things that will be done. Mr. Bowie commented that he does not see any impact in the budget, but there was an offer, which Mr. Bowie passed to staff, to donate all of the trees necessary to landscape the park. Mr. Tucker and Mr. Mullaney replied that the trees are still available for the park, but the staff is debating where that type of tree can be used, and the value of those trees versus buying smaller trees, etc. Mr. Mullaney reminded the Board that there is a substan- tial cost involved with moving a large tree. Mr. Fisher asked how plans are going for the Southern Regional Park. Mr. Mullaney answered that the staff is still waiting to hear about the Barksdale property. He under- stands that deeds are being drawn up on that piece of property, and there is no indication that there is any problem. No architectural or engineering services have been purchased at this point, and the staff is waiting to see what the final totals work out to be for that property. The staff is also waiting to see what the time schedule will be in the Capital Improvements Program. Mr. Mullaney mentioned that a local wildflower group has volunteered to catalogue all of the plants and shrubs on the property and will work with the staff on nature trails. Mr. Fisher then asked if in anticipation of the Capital Improvements Program review, the staff has reviewed the capital costs for that park to make sure they are up to date. Mullaney replied, "yes." Mr. Tucker added that the staff is also doing the same for the Rivanna Park. There were no further comments. Mr. Planning and Community Development - Requested $488,382; Recommended $472,360. Mr. Tucker reported that basically the increase in this budget is due to purchasing some data processing equipment. The County Executive's staff recommends an increase in the line item entitled "Contract Services" to provide for a 2.5 percent increase in the Housing Coordinator Position that is contracted with the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commis- sion. This increases that line item by $427, making a grand total of $20,292. The remaining part of the budget is basically maintenance of existing programs. The staff is recommending Durchasing some of the capital items in the current year's budget. There were no comments from the Board members. March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) ~aqe 7 ) Housing - Requested $77,989; Recommended $77,299. Mr. Tucker said the request here is to expand a part-time secretarial position to ~ull-time, basically due to the work load increase. There is also a request for one addi- tional microcomputer. The County Executive's recommendation supports the request as pro- ~osed. There is a budget for a Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Housing Program which will be submitted to the Board if the County receives an extension of the program. Mr. Lindstrom asked if the extension is granted, would it be possible to contract with the TJPDC for the additional work rather than continuing this particular position as part of the County's staff. He is not advocating this but is wondering if it would be possible. Mr. Tucker answered that the staff is requesting that all of the funds that are ~nexpended in the Moderate Rehabilitation Program be carried over for this one year exten- sion. That will probably provide enough funds for a half-time position that is currently funded as full-time. The staff's plan is to provide an administrative assistant. Mr. Pete Bradshaw serves in that function now, and he needs to be on either a contractual basis or a part-time basis to continue doing what he is now doing. His duties include evaluating housing units to make sure they meet the criteria for the rehabilitation that HUD requires after the landlord decides that he wants to participate in the program. Mr. Bradshaw has to write a report and send it to HUD for approval. He would continue doing that. The duties of the person who actually goes out in the community, finds available units, discusses the program with applicants, and helps them get financing through the banks, etc., would fall to the Housing Coordinator at TJPDC. The staff is trying to separate the two in terms of the ~utreach side to be handled by TJPDC and the more technical side to be handled by Mr. Bradshaw, assuming the extension is approved. Mr. Bowie asked sbout the recommendation on the microcomputer, and Mr. Tucker indicated that the staff is supporting the request. Mr. Bowie asked that discussion of the micro- computer be held until the next item is discussed. He noticed that· there are several such requests in this budget, and he would like to look at them as a group. There were no further comments. Zoning - Requested $215,469; Recommended $213,519. Mr. Tucker reported that the request in Zoning is basically to replenish brochures for 5he Development Information Office, the cost of which is found under Printing and Copying Services. There are new requests for data processing equipment and other minor capital items, and a line item for Merchandise for Resale which is increased due to requests for tax map books. The County Executive's staff recommends support of this budget which is maintain- lng existing programs, and recommends deleting the line item for Lease/Rent/Equipment because that is to be carried in the Inspections Department budget. This will decrease the total by ~500. Mr. Bowie inquired about the item for data processing equipment. Mr. Tucker said the ~equest is for a CRT and printer and some additional costs. Information Services (Data Processing) has new word processing software that will be available should other departments want to tie in through a CRT rather than a separate micro. This CRT can be used for word ~rocessing needs from the main frame. Mr. Bowie asked how the additional microcomputer in Housing fits into the total picture. Mr. Tucker reported that the Housing Department needs a microcomputer because they will be working with software that is not just for word processing. Mr. Tucker also said that the micro in Planning is primarily for the new transportation program and is being funded through the Metropolitan Planning Organization. It will tie in with the work that is being done on the Route 29 North study and will provide the staff with the ability, when there is a site plan or a subdivision, to determine what the additional traffic generation is for that subdivision and what impact it will have on a particular roadway. Mr. Bowie inquired again about the microcomputer in Housing, and Mr. Tucker said it will be used to keep the Housing Department up-to-date on the Section 8 program and all of the administrative problems that the Department has in keeping their waiting list updated, and keeping a list of all the units that are available and rented, etc. Mr. Tucker mentioned that Albemarle County is the only place in the state, under Section 8, that has that program. Mr. Fisher questioned the $4500 that is listed only as a terminal. Mr. Tucker replied that this is for a printer, CRT and additional costs in tying it in with the main frame. Mr. Fisher stated that he did not believe this is cheaper, and Mr. Tucker agreed that it is not a lot cheaper. Mr. Bowie mentioned that the Board is seeing more and more requests from different departments for computers. He wonders if all the computers in the different offices are actually being used. Revenues - Requested $44,480,775; Recommended 44,480,775. Mr. Agnor highlighted the Revenues section of the budget, and said the first line on the page is the real property tax income which is calculated on a 72 cents tax rate. This in- cludes, beyond the reassessment number that the Board was given earlier this year, $80,000 in new construction continuing into the fiscal year of 1987-88. This is the highest level of collections that the staff has ever projected. The staff is apprehensive, but believes that the number has to be used. Personal Property shows an influx of vehicles and that has already been reported to the Board. Machinery and Tools changes dramatically, approximately $137,000, which is a reflection of the business economy. Mr. Agnor next discussed the State Sales Tax income and said that this item shows the strong economy. He stated that this year there is actually a steady growth trend that the staff is projecting will continue. He pointed out a correction on the fourth line item "Motor Vehicle Licenses." It shows an income of $710,000, but should really be $760,000. 310 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) . (Paqe 8)__ Mr. Agnor asked the Board to note that the Animal License line on Page 12 was under- budgeted this year at $16,000. It is actually getting close to $23,000. The $6,900 increase is a result of examining the County's realized revenues. Zoning fees were budgeted at $17,000, but Mr. Agnor explained that last year the County realized $27,000, and this year the staff is estimating $28,000. The staff expects this to continue upward to $29,000. Mr. Agnor said that there are asterisks below the column of Building, Electrical, Mechanical Permits showing adjustments for this item. Those adjustments are the result of actually counting permits rather than using Finance Department projections. The total amount of all of the permits and licenses goes up approximately $94,000 in one year. An adjustment of realized revenues from County fines was discussed next by Mr. Agnor. This was budgeted at $58,000, but last year the County collected a higher amount. The staff expects this experience to continue into next year at $75,000. Mr. Agnor directed the Board to look at the top line on Page 14 which is "Interest on Investments" and which shows a drop of $375,000. Mr. Agnor explained that this drop in interest is caused by two things. One, the General Fund's of $6,300,000 balance was trans- ferred to the Capital Improvements Fund last July. Secondly, the interest rates earned on investments are not good at this item. On Page 15, Mr. Agnor pointed out three large items. The first one, Fees of the Clerk, is the money that is left after the state is paid Excess Fees collected by the Clerk of the Circuit Court. With all of the real estate activity, there are a lot of fees being gen- erated. This is an increase for the County of $45,000. Parks and Recreational fees have already been commented on, but Mr. Agnor wanted to call attention to the fact that the park fees are climbing and the recreational fees are staying about the same level. Mr. Agnor then focused on Administrative Fees for the Joint Security Complex which is climbing 33 percent because it has been left at a constant level for several years. This is in conflict with the Joint Security Complex agreement because it is actually supposed to represent one percent of the budget. The staff had not noticed that this was not being adjusted as it should have been. On Page 16 is another item in the current year's budget of $20,000 estimated for Vir- ginia Public Assistance refunds. They fluctuate, but Mr. Agnor said the staff had seen a level last year of $29,000 and this year close to the same number, so the revenue estimate has been moved up to reflect a $10,000 change. Page 17 has two significant changes. Mr. Agnor pointed out that under the line item for Hazardous Waste Disposal, the staff decided that it should not try to project this because there have been no costs associated with it at this time. If there is a need, the staff believes that it should come out of the Board's Contingency line item and not be funded here as a separate item. This $10,000 has been removed, and nothing has been projected for next year. The Health Department Refund is showing an overbudgeted amount for the current year. The revised amount in the 1986-87 column is the actual number, and the staff believes this trend will go downward. Mr. Agnor said this item shows a $16,700 drop. The University of Virginia Service Charge is a reflection of the cost allowed by state law to be charged universities for services that the locality provides to them as an agency. This is an annual adjustment that the staff makes each year after the budget is put together. The next page is Non-Categorical Aid from the state such as profits from ABC taxes and motor vehicle carrier taxes. Mr. Agnor said the significant changes are in the titling tax for mobile homes and the tax on leased vehicles. This year this was budgeted too low com- pared to last year's actual and this year's revised figures. The staff is projecting that it will stay at this level or continue to climb slightly. One item needs to be added to the Shared Expenses page which is a $5,000 shared payment for the Presidential Primary next May. It is a brand new line item, so this amount of money needs to be added to this page. Mr. Agnor said there will be other amendments to this page once the Compensation Board's budgets have been adopted and sent back. This will occur in June. If changes are significant, the Board will have to make adjustments in the revenues and expenditures of the budget. Page 21 lists state funds that are categorical to actual programs. The asterisks in the first three columns are reflective of the expenditure adjustments that the staff has recom- mended, and the revenues will have to be adjusted accordingly. The three programs involved are Public Assistance, Fuel Assistance and Section 8 Housing. Mr. Agnor mentioned that, on that same page, the Fire Services Program is changing because this is the first full year of money being received from the state from the fire insurance policy add-on that is returned to localities. On Page 22 is the Federal Government's payment to the localities for the national park lands that they own. Last year it looked as though this payment would disappear, but it has been put back in for the current year and again next year. This amounts to $11,500. The last page is the appropriation from the Fund Balance, which will change as the Board finishes its deliberations today. It shows that a little more than $500,000 was funded this year from that balance, and next year the staff is projecting approximately $370,000. There were no other comments. 311 March 18, 1987 [Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting)~ _(P~ge 9~ 911 Rescue Dispatch Request. Mr. Agnor said that Mr. Marc Winstead would make the comments concerning this item. Mr. Winstead said his comments would be directed toward the 911 Dispatch Center rather than the rescue squads in general. He asked if the Board members had seen the proposal that was submitted to the 911 Advisory Board. Mr. Agnor responded that the proposal was reported to the Board. Mr. Winstead said that the Charlottesville-Albemarle Rescue Squad, the Western Albemarle Rescue Squad, and the Scottsville Rescue Squad have requested the 911 Management Board to fund a medical dispatcher to be a professionally paid individual in the 911 Dispatch Center. The staff at the Center feels that this individual is needed for several major reasons. Mr. Winstead went on to describe the reasons by saying that the Center has approximately 130 emergency medical technicians (EMT's) in the City and County and approximately 140,000 hours of volunteer time. Approximately 26,000 hours of that is tied up in dispatching. Each of the three rescue squads dispatches its own calls once they are funneled from the 911 Center, and they still get calls that come in directly on their emergency lines which are still maintained. The Center feels that some assistance is needed, particularly with the dispatch area. Mr. Winstead said that this year the Center will probably get 8600 calls. If the City and County could fund the 911 rescue squad dispatcher, it would eliminate the ring down system that is there now. When an emergency call comes into the 911 Center now, the person at the Center has to find out which locality the caller is in. Once that is determined, then the call can be transferred to the appropriate rescue squad. This doesn't take a- lot of time, but the caller has to repeat his or her story. The Center feels that consistency at dispatch at this time is a big problem. A professional dispatcher, who would be able to look over the entire system would be very helpful in trying to figure out the needs in different parts of the County or City. The staff at the Center feels that one person could more readily access police and fire assistance. Mr. Winstead stated that dispatching is probably the least enjoyed, but the most critical of the tasks that the EMT's need to perform. It is also one of the least trained things. Some EMT's put in over 110 hours of training but probably less than five hours are put into dispatching. With the multiple calls coming in now, the Center needs one person who can oversee what is happening for the whole County. People who are trained for the field are now being used as dispatchers. The Center would also like for the 911 dispatcher to help relieve some of the heavy burden that is on the volunteer system now. The Center would like to see the governing boards of the City and the County acknowledge the fact that the squad volunteers have been putting in a great deal of time and training. Mr. Winstead mentioned that these volunteers encounter danger sometimes such as with traffic accidents, hazardous materials, disruptive or intoxicated patients, mental patients, bad weather, unknown diseases, and verbal and physical abuse. He also mentioned that some of the senior people work 18 hours of a 24 hour shift due to the fact that only a few people have been there a long time. A 911 dispatcher would go a long way to relieve some of the pressure on an already overworked volunteer system. Mr. Winstead said that volunteers who donate time are now in short numbers. He feels that any step to assist these volunteers would go a long way in increasing their service. He said that the Center does not want to have to go to a paid service. With the continuity that' a professional dispatcher could provide, he feels that Charlottesville and Albemarle would get better service. Mr. Fisher asked how much this service would cost, and Mr. Agnor said it is estimated at $120,000. Mr. Agnor explained that some equipment costs are included in the first year's cost, but that would not be repeated in future years. Mr. Agnor then asked Mr. Mike Carroll, Center Director, what the operating costs were per year, and Mr. Carroll replied that it is a little over $100,000 a year. Mr. Fisher wondered, if this request is approved, if there would be space, administrative or other problems involved. Mr. Carroll explained that the Center is designed to handle more personnel. He does not see it as a major problem. Mr. Fisher then asked if there would be five people for this position. Mr. Carroll answered that the Center should have one person around the clock who is dedicated to be a rescue squad dispatcher and to work that particular radio. This would allow the Center to have one person for each of the three police departments and one person for the three rescue squads combined on a regular basis. One person would be set aside to handle medical emergencies, but he hopes to have more than one person trained medically. That would make four communications officers and a working supervisor. Mr. Fisher asked again if it would take five people to fill this slot. Mr. Carroll answered, "yes," to have around-the-clock coverage. Mr. Bowie said that the police are dispatched from the 911 Center and the fire depart- ments are not. He thinks that one of the reasons is that the police officers are in cars on duty with radios. One of the problems is that when there is nobody on dispatch with the rescue squads, how will they get calls? Mr. Winstead agreed with Mr. Bowie. He said it is envisioned that the communications officer at the 911 Center will be able to access all of the squad houses by way of tone communication, with pagers, such as the Fire Department now does. He envisions that squad houses would have to keep in communication with the 911 Center. If you get beyond the point of what is on the road, then a tone-out through pagers would have to be done to get more people in. He mentioned that this process is basically what Montgomery County is doing now. He and Mr. Agnor went on to explain how this dispatch situation would work in Albemarle County. Mr. Fisher said he understands that daytime, weekday shifts are the hardest ones to find volunteers to cover. He asked if that part of the day were covered, if the rest of the time could be handled with volunteers? Mr. Winstead thinks this would be a problem because rescue squad people, in general, are there to answer calls. If a rescue squad cannot get enough people in to dispatch its own area, then he does not think there will be enough people to go to the 911 Center and volunteer to dispatch the entire City and County area. People usually know their locality and don't know anybody else's. He would not feel comfortable with one of his people dispatching Scottsville's or Western's calls, and he would not feel comfortable having someone from Scottsville dispatching calls for the City. They don't know the area as March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Paqe 10) well, and that is the idea of getting someone who is well-trained and well-versed in communi- cations. Mr. Fisher inquired if Mr. Winstead is assuming that none of the people who are now dispatching for the three squads would necessarily be trained well enough to take any of these paid positions. Mr. Winstead replied that he does not know that for a fact, but he does not think that would be a very good alternative. He mentioned that retired individuals have come in and dispatched, and they have a great deal of problem getting into the system since they have never really done anything like this before. Mrs. Cooke thinks that volunteers are very valuable in some areas, but there are some things, such as what is being discussed now, when she is uncomfortable with relying on a volunteer who must have, in her opinion, the same amount of training that a full-time profes- sional would need in order to be adequate to meet the demands of the job. She does not believe that a volunteer is as committed to the job as someone who is a full-time, paid person with benefits, etc. Volunteers can disappear when they are needed the most, and there is more control over a paid professional. When a volunteer disappears, and he or she is replaced with another volunteer, the same training process has to be followed. She thinks it probably costs more to maintain a volunteer staff in this particular type of service. She can see volunteers in other places where they are really valuable and do a great service. But this is a crucial situation and dependent on professional expertise. She would not support any kind of volunteer service for this particular situation, and does not think it would be economically sound or professionally acceptable and the level of service would not be adequate. People's lives are being dealt with, and she does not think that the Board should save or pinch pennies. She said that is a motion. Mr. Lindstrom asked Mr. Agnor the status of the negotiations with the City and Uni- versity of Virginia on the dispatching situation. He is supportive of the request. Mr. Agnor said the Dispatch Board believes that this is inevitable. The need is there and the response in fulfilling it has got to be accomplished. The problem is that the City had priorities and did not have the resources to be able to fund it. The problem at the University arose as to whether they should be involved in the funding because this is not a public health, safety, or welfare issue. So, it came down to two people out of the three jurisdictional organizations trying to figure out what to do. Then, alternatives were considered. One was that the three squads could combine their dispatch into a single dis- patch center and then gradually move into the 911 Center. He said the same problems were encountered which Mr. Winstead had discussed of people not knowing the whole County. It was not practical or acceptable to phase it into the 911 Center. The City Manager does not recommend funding this year, unless City Council agrees to it. Mr. Agnor indicated that the County would have the funds, but it would have to be done collectively. Mr. Agnor went on to explain that the Center was originally conceived as dispatching fire, police and rescue groups. It ended up dispatching police only. The fire and rescue people wanted to dispatch their own, and they had their reasons for that. Now, the rescue squads are asking to become a part of the Center that was originally created to do it all. Mr. Agnor said he got a call from Chief Julian Taliaferro, of the Charlottesville Fire Department, and from the City Manager saying that the Rescue Squad's needs for central dispatch, they thought, could be accommodated at the Ridge Street Fire Station dispatch. Mr. Agnor is supposed to receive this week a proposal to move the rescue squad's central dispatch, not into the 911 Center, but into the Fire Dispatch Center, and then ultimately to move it all into the 911 Center. There is administrative staff in the Fire Dispatch Center that could be trained to do rescue squad dispatching, if multiple calls come in. When a crunch occurs, these administrative people can be called upon. Then a single person can go back to doing fire and rescue dis- patching until the crunch occurs again. The Fire Company has the resources and flexibility. Mr. Agnor thinks there is an answer coming, but he thinks that it is inevitable that the 911 Center will have to do it all eventually. Mr. Lindstrom asked if the City and County would share the $120,000 total cost of this operation, plus the $30,000 to $40,000 in capital expenses. Mr. Agnor said the $120,000 is inclusive of the capital needs. It will cost $100,000 a year in repetitive costs and $30,000 or $40,000 in equipment costs, and the $120,000 is a combination of those for beginning the first year. Mrs. Cooke asked Mr. Agnor to explain why the University felt it had no responsibility to help with the funding of this service. Mr. Agnor explained that the University is not a public service agency responsible for the public's safety, health and welfare. Mrs. Cooke asked what the University's responsibility is to their students and other people on Univer- sity property, who use the Fire Department and rescue squads a great deal. Why does the University feel that it is the County's and City's responsibility to serve the University grounds? Mr. Agnor replied that the University pays through the University of Virginia Service Charges to the localities for those kinds of services. More specifically, the University saw the 911 Center as a dispatch function of getting those units on the road. The University has its own helicopter which helps the rescue squads on short hauls. That is related to the hospital's operations and not to dispatching of the unit to get it going. The University saw the dispatching responsibility as a public safety issue of the locality. Mr. Agnor said that it was not discussed at length, but the representative on the 911 Center Board said he was not sure that the 911 Center as a dispatch center is of any interest to the University, except for the police function. The University has its own police department, but it has to be dispatched. Mr. Fisher commented about moving the rescue squad dispatching into the Fire Department on a temporary basis. He feels this is going in the wrong direction. The whole concept is to get all three types of emergency services together. He encouraged Mr. Agnor to find some' way to .try to help solve this problem. Mr. Fisher believes that the 911 Center is doing what it was set up to do. He would like to see the 911 Center get to its original concept, but participation from the agencies is needed. Mr. Bowie made the comment that volunteers had carried him out of the woods once, so he is happy with volunteers. There are just not enough of them to man the phones. He would March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) 313 like to see this resolved, but the participation with the other agencies has to be resolved first. He does not have a problem with moving the rescue squad dispatching to the Fire Department where there is now staff there to solve the problem. The other details could be worked out later, but he does not think the Board has enough information at this time. Mr. Lindstrom asked if it would be possible for the Board to appropriate in this coming fiscal year's budget an amount that would represent the County's share of the money for the dispatching position, and then continue to work with the City in hopes that something can be put together that would allow this to go forward. He thinks that having a 911 Center that just dispatches police is not the right way to go. He does not know if the City can be hurried, but the City is concerned enough about social issues that it should be able to recognize the need. Mrs. Cooke clarified that she was not downgrading volunteers on the rescue squads. was referring only to this one position. She Mr. Agnor, as a member of the 911 Board, suggested that the Board ask Mr. Winstead to go to the City Council with the County's commitment and ask for the full participation of the City. Mr. Fisher asked what the County's share is, and Mr. Carroll stated that $75,000 would cover half. He said that $148,000 is the total amount needed. Mr. Fisher asked the County's percentage of the police dispatch, and Mr. Carroll answered that it is 34.5 percent. Mr. Fisher suggested that the Board appropriate 34.5 percent as its share, in the absence of any other distribution. Mr. Lindstrom asked if the 34.5 percent of the police dispatched included the University calls. Mr. Carroll said the City's share is slightly over 50 percent and the University's share is 15.4 percent. Mr. Lindstrom said if Pegasus could be brought into this dispatch system, then the University would be dispatching some of its people also. Mr. Bowie said he had no problem with going to City Council with some sort of commit- ment, but would object very strongly if Albemarle County is the only one who is going to contribute a fair share. Mr. Fisher said Mrs. Cooke had started a motion, but the Board needs to decide how it wants to go about this, and how much money it wants to contribute. Mr. Henley said he was not sure if the correct percentage is being used since it is based only on police calls. Mrs. Cooke still feels that the University has an obligation in this. She said that even though the University feels that its helicopter is contributing to rescue calls, the Univer- sity's police force is also involved. She thinks the same formula should be used for the rescue squad as is used for the police force. She would have no problem confronting the University with that idea. Mr. Lindstrom asked if the police percentage is based on the number of calls for ser- vice. Mr. Carroll said the formula is complicated and is based on three factors. One is the relative population in the area. Second is the crime rate and the third part of the formula calls for service as defined by police, fire and rescue agencies. Mr. Carroll explained that they take each one of the three factors, and take a percentage of the three agencies in each and average them. Mr. Fisher asked if this included population and total cost for emergency services. He said that the only thing that might get an argument is the crime rate. Mr. Carroll stated that the problems that exist with the formula have already been discussed. It was a political compromise made five years ago, and it has to be viewed that way. Mr. Lindstrom asked if Mr. Carroll had developed a different formula to calculate what the rescue squad's dispatch function would be, or is this the same formula? Mr. Carroll said when the study was put together, it was thought that this formula would be good enough to start with, but now that there has been some experience with it, and this is a new item, he thinks it should be considered again. Mr. Lindstrom inquired again if the allocations that Mr. Carroll had worked up were based on this formula, and Mr. Carroll said, "yes." Mr. Carroll said actually he had two ideas. One, using the existing formula, he came up with 34.5 percent. The other was to just split it 50./50 between the City and County. Mr. Lindstrom asked again about the percentages for the University and the City of Charlottesville, and Mr. Agnor explained that the City makes up approximately 50 percent, and the University and County together make up the other 50 percent. Mr. winstead said that it had just been brought to his attention by Ms. Brenda Barbour, who is the Coordinator for the Thomas Jefferson EMS Council, that the University of Virginia produces about $50,000 annually for the training of the shock/trauma, cardiac and paramedic volunteers that are in this area through its hospital program. Ms. Barbour said that through the emergency services in the University Hospital's Emergency Room, there is a staff that goes out and trains shock/trauma technicians and the cardiac technicians at no charge. Mrs. Cooke said that this could be considered as a contri- bution. Mr. Lindstrom said this service is needed, and he wouldn't be too upset if the University does contribute in ways that are not specific dollars assigned to this project. Mr. Lindstrom suggested matching the City if it Will fund the program for this first year. Mrs. Cooke said the formula is fine with her, and she feels that it is necessary to get on with the program. Mr. Lindstrom made motion that the County will match the City in funding the rescue squad dispatch out of the 911 Center for the coming fiscal year. Mr. Fisher said that this motion would mean a $74,000 commitment, and Mr. Agnor agreed. Mrs. Cooke seconded the motion. Mr. Bowie asked if the motion could also include negotiations with the City, if the City people can think of other ways to solve this problem. Mr. Lindstrom asked that this not be added in now. If the City does not do anything with the first proposal, then it can be added at that time. He said he would rather not leave the door open for the City to come up with something not as good as this. Mr. Lindstrom said he would rather get the rescue squad dispatch into the 911 Center, rather than having..to put it somewhere else, and then having to 3 !4 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Paqe 12) eventually move it to the Center anyway. Mrs. Cooke said that if the dispatch was put somewhere and then moved, there would also be moving costs incurred. At this time, roll was called, and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. (Note: The Board recessed at 3:33 P.M. and reconvened at 3:45 P.M.) Student Exchange Program. Mr. Fisher said that the question on the Student Exchange Program was raised as to whether it should be in the School Board's budget or in the Board of Supervisors' budget. said he does not have a strong feeling on the matter, as long as it is funded somewhere. He Mrs. Cooke said this program was not arranged or developed by the School Board. It is a program that was arranged by the City and County governments. It was not done as an educa- tional exchange, but as a cultural exchange. The City and County governments were very grateful that the school systems decided to take it on, and it is done not during the school year but during the summer months. Based on these facts, she feels that the funding should come from the Board of Supervisors' budget. Mr. Fisher stated that the funds are now in that budget. Mr. Lindstrom moved that the funds for the Student Exchange Program stay in the Board of Supervisors' budget. Mr. Henley said he had supported the program in the past and would second the motion. Mr. Bowie said if the Board has to have a vote he will support it, but he would like to explore an Exchange Program with Tokyo. Roll was called and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. Sheriff. Mr. Fisher said that the Sheriff had requested two new replacement cars and staff had recommended against the request. He asked the total amount of money, and Mr. Agnor answered that it was $16,800. Mr. Fisher asked if there was any motion to change the staff's recom- mendation which is not to get the cars. No motion was made. Regional Library. Mr. Way stated that he would like to make a motion concerning the Regional Library. He said this was discussed during the Board's work session. He addressed particularly the unfunded request to expand the hours of operation in the two branches of Scottsville and Crozet from 34 to 38 hours. The supporting material that the Board has been given clearly indicates that there is a need to do this. He has also said before that in many cases it is being done voluntarily by some of the dedicated members of the library staff. He feels that it is a justified expense, especially in lieu of the other request that is being denied. The original request was to hire a full-time certified librarian to work half-time at Crozet and half-time at Scottsville. He thinks this is a totally unsatisfactory solution to the problem because it takes the local librarian out of the community, and he doesn't know how much could get done on a split basis. And, he feels it would also be considerably more expensive. Mr. Way then offered motion that $21,570 be included in the Library Budget for the purpose of extending hours of operation at the Scottsville and Crozet Branches. The motion was seconded by Mr. Lindstrom. Mr. Bowie asked about the total amount of money, and Mr. Way said it would be $9,146 for Scottsville and $12,424 for Crozet. Mr. Lindstrom said he was interested in looking at the historical collection before the Board completes this item. Mr. Way said it is not his intention to include funding for the Local History Collection in his motion. Mrs. Cooke mentioned also that there is the question of the security guard that was requested, and Mr. Way said that was already included. Mrs. Cooke wanted to know if this is included in the $21,000, and Mr. Way said, "no," but it is already in the recommended budget. Mr. Fisher explained that the only things that were not in the recommended budget were the expanded hours of operation and~housing of the Local History Collection. Mr. Lindstrom said he would like to hear more about this item. Mr. Tucker said the City staff did not support the Local History Collection, and he does not know if the City Council will fund it. Mr. Lindstrom said he feels this is an important item, but he does not know if the County should take on the whole thing. He wouldn't mind doing this contingent on City Council funding its share. Mrs. Cooke asked what the City staff's objections were, and Mr. Tucker said he did not know the staff's objections. Mr. Fisher asked if $13,000 is the County's share, and Mr. Tucker said, "yes, with the City paying a similar amount. Mr. Lindstrom wondered if anything would happen this year if the City does not fund its portion. Mr. Tucker said this was his understanding from the Library Board, but they have since said they would fund a half-time position for a librarian for the local collection, if only one of the jurisdictions funded its share. Mr. Lindstrom said the problem with that is that it doesn't give the City any incentive to consider this further. He supports Mr. Way's motion and in addition he would support the $13,000 with the understanding that if the City does not fund its share, then that money is returned to the County. 315 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting)? (Pa_AgD_13] Mr. Way commented that he thinks the Local History Collection is something that would be good to have. He supports it, but does not know if he wants to support both the Historical Collection and the expanded hours this year. He feels that the Historical Collection could be done possibly next year. Mr. Bowie stated that he will support it but would prefer not having money going out for a lot of other things. Mr. Fisher said he would like to put the Local History Collection and the expanded hours together and get one vote on both of them. Mr. Lindstrom said that the Board is saying it will support it, but it probably will not be until next year that the money is spent. However, it might urge the City along that course. Mr. Fisher said he could not support the motion for the extension of hours. called at this time and the motion carried with the following recorded vote: Roll was AYES: Messrs. Bowie, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. NAYS: Mrs. Cooke and Mr. Fisher. Motion was then offered by Mr. Lindstrom that $13,000 be added to the Regional Library Budget for the Local History Collection with the condition that if the City of Charlottes- ville does not fund its share of this expense, the money will not be expended. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bowie. Mr. Way said he is going to support the motion to fund the Historical Collection, however, he felt it was important for Scottsville and Crozet to stand on their own as a single motion. Mr. Fisher said he was supporting the motion for the Historical Collection because he has seen such collections in other cities and counties in Virginia. Mr. Henley said he would support the motion. Roll was then called on the motion which carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. JABA Home Care Program. Mr. Tucker stated that he has talked with Ms. Karen Morris about the JABA Home Care Program as well as what is being done in the companion services program. She indicates that she is only aware of needs in a more intensive personal care service area. This is something that neither JABA nor the County is now providing. The Red Cross also provides personal care needs. The Red Cross refers County residents who call them for service to the County's Social Services Department. The companion services funds are used to meet these needs. To date, in every instance, these needs have been met. He is assuming, because of this, that there is not an unmet need even in the more intensive personal care. Mr. Lindstrom inquired if Ms. Morris had said that JABA's Home Companion Program could provide the kind of service that she thinks is still needed. Mr. Tucker answered Mr. Lindstrom's question by saying that this is correct, even though this program may be a step up from what the County is now providing. Ms. Morris feels that there is a close duplication of services that is provided by JABA and the service that the County has. The staff's recommendation would be to document for this next year what is actually occurring and what the true unmet need is in the County. Then, next year, if there is justification that a service needs to be provided, the staff will recommend this to the Board. Mr. Lindstrom agreed that Mr. Tucker's suggestion was a good one. Madison House. Mr. Tucker wanted to be sure the Board is aware that the staff did not know about the comments that Ms. Parker made concerning their problems with public liability insurance until the Board's meeting yesterday. He went on to say that the staff was also unaware, until two hours before the Board meeting, that there was a problem with the Migrant Worker Program. Those were not stated as issues or problems in the Madison House application. That is why the staff did not address these issues, and did not feel that there was justification for increasing the budget. But, now that the staff understands the problem with the liability insurance, it does support the increase of 10 percent over Madison House's current budget to reflect the added liability insurance expense. This amounts to $312. Mr. Tucker reported that his staff still has some concern about the Migrant Worker Program, primarily because they do not understand it. It is a program that Madison House provides service for, but it is not a program that the County's funding helps support. It has been totally a federal program that has been matched by other funds. The staff is reluctant to support it until it knows more about it, because the Board would be setting a precedent. Federal funds have been cut back and that is the reason there is a deficit this year. MadisOn House is looking for additional funds from somewhere to match that federal funding. If the Board did choose to fund a part of this program, it would need to earmark the amount of money. This would be approximately $700. The staff does not support this request because it does not know enough about it at this point to feel comfortable in recom- mending it to the Board. Mr. Bowie asked if Mr. Tucker is recommending the $312 for the insurance expense, and Mr. Tucker said this is correct. Mr. Bowie then asked if this supports the effort that comes to Albemarle County. Mr. Tucker answered, "yes," and said it reflects the County's share for the Madison House public liability insurance. Mrs. Cooke stated that Madison House lists as one of its services, the Consumer Hotline. Charlottesville and Albemarle County now have a Better Business Bureau which was not here before. She thinks the Madison House Consumer Hotline is probably no longer a service that 316 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - AdjOurned Meeting) (Paqe 14) is viable and which they can list as a credit. She also asked for the cost of the Hotline. She asked the staff to look into this matter. Mr. Tucker asked Mrs. Cooke if she saw this as duplication, and she responded that she definitely does. She said, also, that she did not think that the Consumer Hotline was ever effective. Mr. Tucker asked Mrs. Cooke if she wanted this information on the Hotline for- next year. Mrs. Cooke answered that she would appreciate it if the information could be obtained this year. Mr. Fisher commented that the County Executive's staff recommends that $312 be added. He asked if anyone would take exception to that. Mr. Bowie said that he would like the recommendation to also reflect whatever the reduction is for the Consumer Hotline. Mr. Fisher said he did not share Mrs. Cooke's concern about this matter. He said the Better Business Bureau is run by the businesses. This is run by the students themselves. Sometimes if one won't work, there is always the other one. Mrs. Cooke responded that it may be run by the businesses, but the contracts that deal with it indicates that the Better Business Bureau is consumer-oriented. Mr. Fisher said he was not ready to throw out the Hotline until he knows more about it. He would also like to know more about the Better Business Bureau. There were no further comments. Police Salary/Equity Adjustment Status Report. Mr. Jones said the staff has not yet completed its study of this matter. Mr. Agnor said that a $20,000 figure has been given to the Board as a recommendation and by the time the budget is adopted, the staff will have completed its study. Mr. Lindstrom said that he thinks the Board should follow the staff's recommendation with the understanding that the money will be paid according to the experience rating, rather than just pay what the officers would have gotten had they been in the Sheriff's Office. Mr. Bowie said that if the officers were hired at the pay level at which they should have been, and the County did not allow their service to be credited, then an adjustment is due. Education: Expenditure Estimates for FY 86-87. Mr. Agnor said that the revised columns in the budget show the information the Board requested and Mr. Overstreet has rewLewed them with Mr. Agnor because he could not be present today. Mr. Agnor said that he emphasized to Mr. Overstreet that information pertaining to the School Board budget would have to be prepared in the same manner as the General Govern- ment's, and Mr. Overstreet has agreed. Mr. Agnor said there were some school cost centers whose revised columns are exactly what their appropriations are, and it doesn't show that any analysis is being done. Some, however, are doing it, but it varies with cost center manage- ment. Mr. Fisher pointed out that it is required by law that the School System provide infor- mation at the same time it provides the County Executive's Office with the budget. Mr. Agnor explained that the School Board gave it to him in summary totals and not in line item fash- ion. Mr. Fisher asked Mr. Agnor if he had had time to identify any areas that are decent forecasts of what the actual expenditures will be this year. He stated that the school budget requests are considerably different and there appear to be places where their budget needs adjustment. Mr. Agnor said he had only looked at the large dollar items, and his staff did not find anything there. Mr. Agnor also said that Mr. Overstreet had summarized it in a different fashion in a memo that the Board got today. This is a memo from Mr. Papenfuse to Mr. Overstreet, dated January 27. The memo gives underruns in the expenditure side in four categories. Mr. Agnor said that in the middle of that memo, Mr. Papenfuse shows expenses were underrun by $240,000 and the revenues were overrun by $198,000. A combination of those makes the $440,000 carry-over balance that the Board has already heard about. Mr. Fisher asked if there is $325,000 underexpended in salaries, and Mr. Agnor replied that this is in contracted salaries. Mr. Fisher then asked how many positions that amount of money involves. Mr. Agnor answered that he did not know, but the bulk of the positions are throughout the teacher contract area. He said in one line he had found $250,000 of the $325,000 in compensation of teachers. Mr. Fisher said that that amount sounds as though it is approximately ten teaching positions. He then asked if the budget this year is inflated by ten positions. Mr. Agnor said, "no," that means that the salaries of the replacement teachers hired do not consume all of the appropriation, which is how the school system got in trouble with the state on their average teacher ten percent mandate. He does not believe that it relates exactly to unfilled positions, but to the attritional costs. The school personnel officials are saying that they are planning on funding the new positions by their attritional costs. Mr. Fisher asked Mr. Agnor if he would be able to get better estimates of expenditures now that Mr. Overstreet has seen how the budget analysis should be done. Mr. Agnor answered, "yes." Education: Cost Breakdown for Community Education. Mr. Agnor explained that the information for the cost breakdown for Community Education is in the materials that the Board received today. Mr. Lindstrom said that this information still does not tell him what he wanted to know. He wants to know how much of this is the Public Information section. Is Mr. Overstreet saying that everything on the handout is Public Information? Mr. Agnor said he thought that the school officials understood that Mr. Lindstrom wanted to know how much time was being assigned to each task. It is being shown at about 50/50. Mr. Lindstrom replied that this is roughly $32,000. To that is added the Newsletter which is $22,400, the Handbook which is $5000, video revisions, etc., is $520, Newsletter postage is $5880. Mr. Lindstrom said the whole thing is adding up to approxi- mately $65,000. He does not feel comfortable with this item, and he did not feel comfortable with it last year, either. March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned -Meeting-) Motion was offered by Mr. Bowie to reduce this portion of the Education Budget by $65,000. The motion was seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, who suggested that one-half of the compensation allocated to public information, along with fringe benefits, and the specific items shown in the cost center 60111 on the hand-out received at this meeting be deleted. Mr. Fisher and Mrs. Cooke asked for clarification of the motion, and Mr. Bowie and Mr. Lindstrom explained that the amount of money was listed separately. Mr. Lindstrom said that the Board needs to look at the School Budget and see, under Community Services, Compensation- Instructional, for the supervisor of that department the money requested is $34,896. Cleri- cal is $15,072, and all the benefits are listed below that. However, none of this shows in the handout. Mr. Lindstrom said that, supposedly, half of the supervisor's position is allocated Public Information. He assumes that half of the clerical and benefits would be allocated to that also. Mr. Agnor wanted the deletion of the $65,000 from the budget clari- fied for his staff. Mr. Lindstrom said he would feel better if the motion was not tied to a specific dollar figure. He would like for half of the compensation allocated for Public Information to be deleted, and then the specific items shown under Category 60111 on the handout given to the Board as being for the Public Information Office. Mr. Bowie said he would adjust his motion to include Mr. Lindstrom's suggestions. Roll was then called and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. Education: Teacher Salary Schedule Assuming Three Percent Annual Increase. Mr. Agnor said that this item answers the question that Mr. Bowie raised about a zero step in 1983. Mr. Bowie said this information points out that a teacher who joined the County staff in 1983 at the zero step, and is still here today, would receive a 90.76 percent pay increase in four years. Someone who came in at Step Four in 1983, and is now at Step Eight, would receive a 56.94 percent increase. He thought it would be interesting to see what the individual teacher would get. Mr. Fisher said that the information the Board received does lay out what would happen, and assumes that there will be no increases in stipends under the Career Ladder Incentive Plan. Assuming the three percent inflation rate and assuming a three percent annual increase in the base figures, you can figure out where someone should be at a given time in the future depending on what options they take. If this plan is approved, he thinks that the Board of Supervisors will not want it to be changed every year. He wants the school officials to think about what will be done in future years. He is not committed to the plan, but he is saying that the Board should see where it goes. Mr. Lindstrom said he basically supports this career ladder path, but the stipend for being a professional instructor or a career teacher does not come automatically. The teacher must have a Masters or Masters plus 30 hours and do extra work. If it is figured how much a teacher is getting for being a professional teacher, it is not quite as much incentive as it appears when it is looked at as a breakdown on a daily or weekly basis of a non-career path person versus the career path person. He recognizes that there are a lot of benefits over and above the cash, but assuming a three percent annual increase, the stipends don't increase in this model. The amount of the advantage for the career path professional versus the basic salary structure person is less and less favorable as that percentage gets bigger and bigger. He fully expects that it will become noticeable four or five years later in a significant way that may result in some kind of adjustment being proposed. He thinks that the structure now proposed is now meaningful, but as time goes on the advantages of being on a career path disappear because those stipends are not inflating with the base. Mr. Fisher agreed that this is exactly what he is concerned about, and he stated that he had asked the school officials to think about this problem. Mr. Lindstrom said he supports the plan, but it does have some built in factors that are not going to maintain the total benefit package of this deal forever. Mr. Henley said he would be surprised if this plan lasts four years without changes. Education: Subject Area Listing for Teachers. Mr. Bowie said he had requested this information, but he had just received it today. He will continue to work on it. Mr. Fisher said that he is surprised that there are 100 teach- ers in special education. MrS. Cooke asked if these 100 teachers in special education are full-time, and Mr. Agnor said, "yes," and Mr. Overstreet had asked him to point this out. Mr. Lindstrom asked if this number of special education teachers is state-mandated given the population of the County. Mr. Agnor replied that this is a result of special education students being put into the mainstream of the school system. Mr. Fisher pointed out that the County is probably overstaffed in this category, as well as other areas. Mr. Bowie mentioned that all counties and jurisdictions do not have five days of physi- cal education. He wonders, when something is state-mandated, if the level at which the County does it, is mandated. Mrs. Cooke said that the County schools may have physical education five days a week, but it does not necessarily mean that the children take physical education five days a week. Children may be taking it on different days of the week. Mr. Agnor was not certain if Mrs. Cooke's statement is true. Mr. Bowie mentioned that the justification for the size of the gymnasium is that every class takes physical education every day. Mr. Way stated that he thinks every child takes it five days a week in the elementary school. Mr. Agnor added that he thinks physical education is done on a rotating basis as it gets into the middle and high schools. Mr. Agnor said that Mr. Overstreet asked him to point out that in the memorandum that he sent to Mr. Agnor, he calculates that 58 percent of the teaching staff teaches basic contents of reading, writing and arithmetic. Mr. Bowie said in his analysis he got 55 percent of the staff teaching the basic subjects. 318 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Paqe 16) Mrs. Cooke asked what is the teacher/pupil ratio in special education. Mr. Agnor said it varies according to a lot of things such as the child's handicap, etc. Mrs. Cooke said she had been in classes of severely handicapped students, where there might be five students and three teachers. She thinks it is necessary to have that many teachers and/or aides. She believes that this accounts for the 100 special education teachers. Mr. Fisher would like for Mr. Agnor to amplify on the merit pay distribution plan that he told the Board about at the first meeting, and inform the Board if it is built into the budget. He also wants to know what assumptions Mr. Agnor has made. Mr. Agnor said he did not understand what Mr. Fisher was saying at the meeting until he heard his comments on the radio. Mr. Fisher said, on the radio, that the staff had made some strong assumptions by putting the budget on a distribution plan of merit pay when the Board had not heard about it or approved it. Mr. Agnor explained that the budget is built on a four and one-half percent adjustment of salaries. It is the same adjustment that is used for the current year of 1986-87. The staff has been looking, since last spring, at another method of awarding pay for performance. It is being used fairly widespread. The staff built in a four and one-half percent pay adjustment for General Government employees. In order to give the Board salary sheets, the staff build in a two and one-half percent across the board increase and put two percent in for a merit pool. If the current salary merit system is used, the dollars will not change at all, but some of the individual salary pages with individual names listed will be changed. Mr. Agnor is not convinced that his staff has built the budget around a new pay system, but the staff is looking at a new pay system that will be brought to the Board before the next fiscal year begins. Mr. Fisher wondered if, in the budget that the Board has, the same dollar distribution will work whether or not the existing system is kept or the new system is used. He also wanted to know if the Board will have another chance to vote on how that system will work. Mr. Agnor answered, "yes," to both questions. He said that he was only trying to give the Board a preliminary review of the pay system, but it is not yet finished. Mr. Bowie commented that two things had come out of his review of the pay for perfor- mance plan. These two things should be adopted even if there are changes. He does not think an unsatisfactory employee should get a salary increase, and secondly, if someone is on probation for cause, he does not think that their pay should be increased before they are off of probation. Mr. Bowie wanted to make a motion that these two things be adopted. Mr. Fisher asked that this be taken up later, and Mr. Agnor said he would bring this matter back to the Board in May. Agenda Item No. 3. Set Tax Rates for 1987. Mr. Lindstrom wanted to know if the Board has to decide about the teacher pay plan before going forward with setting the tax rates. Mr. Fisher said that if there is any discussion about what the school budget is going to have, and whether or not the Board will go with the career pay plan, this is the time. He said that setting the tax rates is clearly dependent on this decision. Mr. Bowie said he supports the career ladder concept, but he is concerned with the initial jump and first step cost. He said that he keeps hearing 16 percent, and the only way he can get 16 percent is to take the starting salary increase and the top of the scale increase and add them together and divide by two. If the percentages are'looked at, they run as high as 38.6 percent. Three of them are 16 percent or less. He said that now the Board has the proposal, and he doesn't get a lot of sense out of the numbers, except that there is a nice salary range. Mr. Fisher said that the process the Board is in now is setting the budget that will be presented at public hearing. Under state law, the Board can always reduce the budget and tax rates after the public hearing, but it cannot increase either one unless there is another public hearing. Mr. Agnor said he was going to pick up on something that Mr. Lindstrom was talking about earlier that he is similarly concerned about. Last fall, when the staff looked at the revenue projections and projected needs, he saw the opportunity to address the tax rate on real property. It was addressed on Personal Property two out of the last three years. He understood the Board wanted to turn its attention to the real property tax rate now. That is what the staff has tried to do. The five cents decrease was a targeted planning number, and that is the proposal today. The need for funds for the career ladder in the second year was not examined last fall, nor was there a realization that the capital fund was going to be changing. The staff looked at the career ladder only in preliminary numbers. The staff figured that the CIP was set for the next several years, that carry-over monies were avail- able, and also that the School Facilities Committee report that the CIP was built on was not too far off base. The School Board is not finished with what it is going to ask to be included in the CIP. He is apprehensive about $1,200,000 being taken out of current revenues when the County is facing a cost of $1,200,000 at Stone-Robinson School alone, and this has either got to be borrowed or taken from another project. He said that the numbers just happen to be coincidental. He wishes he had the wisdom to tell the Board what it should be doing, but he is candid and is concerned that the five cents cut may be regretted later. Mr. Agnor said Mr. Henley makes a good point. If the money is there, it is easy to allocate. He suggests that the Board may want to advertise for public input on the current rate and then decide if it will be cut. He Pointed out, as did Mr. Fisher, that if a lower rate is adver- tised, it cannot be increased without holding another public hearing. He said this could delay the issuance of contracts for teachers by the April 15 deadline. Mr. Agnor suggested that the five cents cut could be used for the CIP, a reserve fund balance for starting with a self-insurance program, fixed-asset accounting, or equipment replacement account funding. 319 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) Mr. Lindstrom said he appreciates Mr. Agnor's comments. When the Board talked about the Capital Improvements line item earlier and he said the $1,200,000 ~should be added back in, it was not a criticism of the process. To cut the tax rate at a time when there is one specific project that needs exactly the amount that is going to be cut out by decreasing the tax rate, he feels that it is the wrong thing to do. This isn't a proposal to raise the tax rate, but to leave it the same. He thinks that under these circumstances, it probably makes the Board more responsive to public input than it can otherwise be given the dates and deadlines that have to be met. He has heard quite a few people express satisfaction with the stability of the tax rate. He thinks there is virtue in having that stability rather than tailoring it so closely that it has to be shifted on a regular basis. Mr. Bowie said he understands the argument, but the fact remains that a 68 cents rate is a $1,000,000 increase in spending authority. He said that from the telephone calls he has received, the citizens support some kind of adjustment in taxes. He will not support 77 cents based on this budget because there is no evidence at all that this budget is any more accurate than in previous years or that the need is anymore critical. He knows the effort that goes into constructing a budget, and he would be willing to advertise 75 cents. But, he does not think that 77 cents is justified. Mr. Lindstrom said it is true that there are so-called surpluses, but the fact remains that the Board is faced with projects that it has to handle. If those surpluses had not occurred, the County would be short more than $1,200,000. That would mean borrowing money through a public referendum, or some other way. He takes some issue with the character- ization of the money being "surplus," because he thinks that implies to the public that there is no valid use for it. He thinks the County would be in a pinch if it did not have that money, and he is concerned as to what may happen in the future with the growth the County is experiencing. There are two areas where the Board already knows there may have to be new schools built. Mrs. Cooke said that usually people fuss about taxes, but in light of this proposal, she has only had one person call her and ask her to support the tax reduction. However, she has had many calls from people who are satisfied with it the way it is. They recognize that the County is growing and that its needs are growing. They would rather have the stability of the present tax rate rather than the other possibilities that might occur. She is prepared to support a motion to advertise the present tax rate. Mr. Way stated that he is torn because he is not willing to support the current rate, but on the other hand, he thinks that advertising the current rate gives the Board a flexi- bility, and he will have a better feel for what some of these projects are. The CIP bothers him because not only has the Stone-Robinson project increased in cost, but also the Stony Point project increased by a significant amount, the Yancey project will be considerably higher and so will various other things. If the Board goes with the 77 cents that would alert people who want the lower tax rate to come in and say so. In the past several years, there has been very little said at the public hearings from the people who want the tax rate reduced. The public is already expecting the Board to adopt the lower tax rate. Mrs. Cooke stated that she could only respond to that which has come to her. There has not been any ground swell in remarks, so she sees no ground swell for the reduction of the tax rate. She would like to advertise for public hearing the 77 cents and then see what hap- pens. Obviously she and Mr. Bowie are hearing different things. Maybe by doing this, the Board can find out what people really want to do. Mr. Fisher commented that the messages he has gotten since the last hearing on the Education budget have been almost entirely against the teacher salary plan, and there has been nothing said about tax rates. Mr. Lindstrom said he feels strongly that government is people doing collectively that which they cannot do individually. He does not see anybody in a position to go build school buildings. If the tax reduction of five cents is taken and divided up, it certainly will help everybody a little bit, but it will not do anything in the way of accomplishing the public needs that the County has. If there were no fundamental public needs he feels the Board might be at a point where the tax rate could be cut. He is not going to vote on the basis of whether or not he is surprising somebody. He then moved that the Board advertise the 77 cents tax rate for the public hearing. Mrs. Cooke seconded the motion. Mr. Henley supported the reduction to 75 cents in the tax rate. Everybody who has talked to him feels that there should be a reduction. In the last eight years he has had to "sweat blood,'~ and now he thinks it is time for the County to "sweat a little blood." The County has done a lot of capital improvements in the last few years. He thinks that the surplus in the Capital Improvements Fund needs to be cut down, and people need to decide what they want. He believes that if the Board advertises for public hearing the 77 cents tax rate, people will be led to believe that is what the Board is supporting. Now is the time to make a decision. Mr. Way responded that he agrees with what Mr. Henley is saying, but his only problem is that when he looks at the County's capital improvements projects which are already committed for the next three or four years, he is not convinced that 68 cents or whatever it happens to be will enable that commitment to be met. Mr. Fisher said he looks at the projects as being committed too, but he is deeply concerned about every project going up by 50 percent or more. Mr. Lindstrom commented that every project has not increased in cost. The Burley project is just about what the Board expected. The bids for the Meriwether Lewis project seem to reflect that its costs are close to what was budgeted. Stone-Robinson was more, but he understands the reasons for that. The consultants did not give the building a correct appraisal in the beginning. He does not know what else the School Board is looking at, but he has heard that it is looking at capacity issues. The Crozet Elementary School project is still uncertain, but the Board already knew that there was a substantial change that had to be made in that building. It is not because of extravagance or irresponsibility by anybody. If there is anybody to blame for the perception that the Board now has, he thinks that it 320 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Page 18) would be the Committee on which he served as a member, because the Committee did not have the consultant study the right things. Mr. Fisher asked if there was any more discussion on the motion. He reminded the Board that no one had yet talked about the teacher salary plan which is approximately $500,000, which is a little over two cents on the tax rate. Mr. Lindstrom said since he haS been on the Board there has been a request for some sort of merit pay plan. When he first started talking about it, he was told it was an impos- sibility, that the teachers would not accept it, and that it would be unbelievably expensive to implement and to administer. He recognizes that substantial work has gone into this plan, and it appears to be accepted, not only by administration and the School Board, but by the teachers. It gives them an option, and it is not mandated. He recognizes that there is a substantial salary increase. He still feels that this is appropriate and from all he has heard this year, not only from the School Board but also the County staff, for the first time that increase is needed to be competitive and to be able to maintain the teaching staff at a decent level. He thinks that is important. He does believe that teachers' salaries are at a level where there will be much closer scrutiny of performance whether or not the career path is approved. Teachers in this community are now being paid salaries that are comparable to other starting professionals. They may not have as much range at the top of the scale as other professionals, but they have security that other professionals don't have. He supports not only the implementation and pilot program this year and a commitment to the career path for next year, but he thinks it is the first step towards getting what has been needed for a long time. It has been supported by the school staff, the School Board and the County staff. He also supports the increase in salaries, because he thinks that is part of the package and from all he has heard from the staff, it is necessary to maintain the County's competitive- ness. Mr. Lindstrom added that if the tax rate is cut to 72 cents, the Board would either have to forego capital improvements this year or forego the whole instructional pay plan that has been proposed. He thinks that both of these things are important, and that is why he is supporting the 77 cents tax rate. Mr. Henley believes that in every budget hearing in the state the same thing is being said, that something has to be done to be comp~etitive. He said he had heard this for sixteen years, and people seem to blame the Board because the starting salaries are so low. He clarified that the Board of Supervisors does not set the starting salary for teachers. The School Budget has a different program each year, and last year the Board of Supervisors thought ten percent was a great increase. Now, the teachers will be getting 16 percent. He will not support it, but if it had been closer to 10 percent, he would have supported the program. Mr. Henley said, also, that he feels the school system could have a teacher perfor- mance program and not have to put as much money into it. Mr. Agnor said he needed to clarify that if the Board starts setting tax rates, the record has to be specific as to what it is covering. The 77 cents tax rate applies to real property, mobile homes and to public service corporations on equal assessments. Mr. Fisher asked if the advertisement also has to include Personal Property, and Mr. Agnor said a rate would have to be set to cover Personal Property, Machinery and Tools and Public Service Corporations on unequal assessments. Mr. Fisher said there is a motion on the floor to accept the staff's recommendations on all the rates except the one on Real Property. Mr. Lindstrom suggested putting it all in one motion and just accept the staff's recommendations, except to maintain the 77 cents current tax rate. Mr. Lindstrom's motion will include Mr. Agnor's statement that this tax rate applies to real property, mobile homes and public service corporations on equal assessments. Mrs. Cooke also agreed to having this statement in the motion. At this point, roll was called and the motion failed by the following recorded vote: AYES: Mrs. Cooke, Mr. Lindstrom and Mr. Way. NAYS: Messrs. Bowie, Fisher and Henley. Mr. Fisher asked if there was another motion. Mr. Bowie moved to accept the County Executive's recommendation of the 72 cents tax rate. Mr. Henley seconded the motion. Mr. Lindstrom pointed out that if the Board accepts this motion, it has precluded for all realistic purposes the opportdnity to respond to the public if that response would require an increase. He thinks this will tie the Board's hands if it goes with a rate that cannot be increased without another advertisement and another public hearing. He believes this is a big mistake even if Board members are not committed to the 77 cents tax rate. The point in having a public hearing is to be able to respond to the commen~s received. Mr. Henley reminded Mr. Lindstrom that if the Board does what he suggests, the rate could not be set until after another public hearing. Mr. Lindstrom said he would be willing to do that. Mrs. Cooke would appreciate an opportunity to hear another side from constituents in her area, if those who have not responded feel differently. There is obviously a difference of opinion that is not getting through to everybody. Holding a public hearing on a rate other than the 77 cents eliminates the Board's ability to respond to what is going to come before it at the public hearing. Mr. Lindstrom said that prior to the public hearing held before the beginning of the work sessions, the Board was talking about a 72 cents tax rate. Except for maybe one person, everyone was supportive of the proposal for teacher pay, etc. Nobody addressed capital improvements because it wasn't something on which the Board focused. He has been at meetings since then where capital improvements have been discussed, and because it hasn't been iso- lated as a consequence of this budget he does not think people were keyed that they needed to respond one way or another. When people have talked to him about school improvements, they are very clear about what is needed. To not have focused on the consequences for the capital March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) 3_21 budget and then for the Board to have a hearing, he thinks cuts out public participation in this process. Mr. Henley commented that within the last year there has been discussion among Board members that the money would not be spent because there are not enough people on staff to look after the building projects. Mr. Lindstrom argued that the Board had decided that it could be done. The first project to be started using the new staff member will be Stone- Robinson. The money will probably have to be borrowed, and these people in that school district are expecting the permit to go forward. Mr. Henley said he thinks the money should be put into the Capital Improvements budget closer to the time it is going to be spent. Mr. Lindstrom remarked that substantial interest has been accrued on the so-called surpluses which has helped fund much of the County's operations. Two years ago there was more than $1,300,000 in interest earned. When these things are cut back, some of the revenues are lost that the County has had in the past. This money is not a total loss, but it is money on which the County gets interest. Mr. Henley said that people had been saying to him that the money should not be put anywhere to draw interest, but it should be put in the budget to spend for the important projects. Mr. Lindstrom said he is not sure how thoroughly the people who made those state- ments understand the consequences. He has heard every conservative in the country say, as Mr. Henley has, that there should not be deficit spending. Mr. Lindstrom said a little of that has been done all along because of the decent rates on the Literary Fund. Now, what is being discussed is that unless the instructional portion of the budget is reduced the tax rate will be cut and the money will have to be borrowed to replenish it. Mr. Bowie thinks that Mr. Lindstrom is distorting the conservative view. He said that you do not deficit finance operations or pay for 50 year investments out of current capital. The diffsrence between the two should be understood and funded appropriately. He firmly believes the 72 cents tax rate is more than enough, and he does not think that anything will have to be given up. The County's needs have been overstated, and the budget can be funded on a 72 cents rate. However, if his motion fails, he will not try to bargain. Mr. Fisher said he plans to support this motion for a number of reasons. It is the recommendation of the County Executive, and it has been before the public for a period of time. The public is expecting a certain amount of confidence building to support that recommendation. He thinks the Board should be willing to respond to changes as they occur, but he is not sure yet if he will support all of the changes in the Capital Program. If there are increases in spending for one school, then taking the money from another school needs to be considered. He does not think that the Board can assume that everything will be built the way people want it to be built without some restraint. That restraint has to come from the Board. Mr. Fisher has not yet made up his mind on the teacher pay plan. If the Board decides not to fund that plan, that provides some cushion. Even though the Board may be looking at a five cents tax increase next year after elections with a new Board, he thinks that he is going to go with the original recommendation of the County Executive. Mr. Way said he supported the 77 cents tax rate primarily because of the flexibility that it would give the Board. He, then, could have very well voted for the 72 cents tax rate. He thinks it funds everything in the budget, however, puts a question mark over some of the things in the capital improvements projects in the future. That means the tax rate may have to be increased a year from now, but he is committed to those projects, and would be willing to do that. He will support the 72 cents tax rate. At this time, roll was called and the motion carried by the following recorded vote: AYES: Messrs. Bowie, Fisher, Henley and Way. NAYS: Mrs. Cooke and Mr. Lindstrom. Agenda Item No. 4. Order Advertisement of public hearing on 1987-88 County Budget. Mr. Fisher stated that an advertisement of the public hearing needs to be ordered on the budget for April 1. Mrs. Cooke made a motion to set the public hearing for April 1, 1987. The motion was seconded by Mr. Bowie. Roll was called and the motion carried by the follow- ing recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. (Mr. Lindstrom said he was disappointed that the public hearing will be routine where whatever people have to say will be difficult to respond to. But, he thinks the Board does need to go ahead with the public hearing.) Agenda Item No. 5. brought forward. Other Matters Not Listed on the Agenda. There were no other matters Agenda Item No. 6. Executive Session: Personnel. At 5:25 P.M., motion was offered by Mrs. Cooke, seconded by Mr. Lindstrom, to adjourn into executive session for the purpose stated. Roll was called and the motion carried with the following recorded vote: AYES: NAYS: Mr. Bowie, Mrs. Cooke, Messrs. Fisher, Henley, Lindstrom and Way. None. At 7:28 P.M., the Board reconvened into open session. 222 March 18, 1987 (Afternoon - Adjourned Meeting) (Paae 20) Agenda Item No. 7. meeting was adjourned. Adjourn. With no further business to come before the Board, the ~~' C~ha/i~r an I