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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-11-23 Commissioner Minutes WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2022 The Franklin County Commissioners met Wednesday, November 23, 2022, with the following members present: David S. Keller in person and John T. Flannery and Robert G. Ziobrowski attended virtually. Chairman Keller presided and after calling the meeting to order, a Moment of Silence, and the Pledge of Allegiance, proceeded with the business of the day. The meeting was live streamed. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved to adopt the agenda. There was no public comment. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved all bills presented and ordered paid. The minutes of the November 16, 2022 meeting were reviewed. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the minutes. The Board reviewed Agreements, Contracts and Reports. Chairman Keller asked Carrie Gray, County Administrator, for more information on board action item #5, bulk purchase of Adobe. He sits on the Technology Committee for the County Commissioners Association of PA (CCAP) and he knows that they negotiated a bulk purchase agreement with Adobe for the benefit of all counties to purchase off of it. He asked if the Southern Computer Warehouse vendor is associated with the CCAP Agreement. Ms. Gray responded that yes they are an approved vendor for the CCAP agreement. It has worked well with us to be a part of the consortium of purchasing opportunities. The items will be decided upon in the afternoon session. The Board recessed and will reconvene at 2:00 p.m. for final approval of the items that were reviewed. Teresa Beckner, Fiscal Director, presented the 2023 proposed budget to the Board. She provided the binder and exp expenses for all operations. This same information will also be available for review on the -in- is prepared by staff. The Budget-in-Brief includes more demographic information, more graphics and valuable information again this year. The Budget-in-Brief will also be available on e Preliminary (All th Requests) budget on October 19, it showed a net use of reserves over $11 million to fund the operational, personnel and capital requests of all General Fund operations, considering the hey provided their priorities for 2023 that includes: Preserving services that support County citizens by funding programs for human services and veterans; maintaining public safety and security; streamlining government and delivery of services through the use of, and improvements to, technology; ensuring continuity of operations and providing competitive pay and benefits and the resources that staff need to perform their duties. Ms. Beckner continued that to accomplish their priorities, we were to make u available, including equipment replacement fund reserves, and capital project reserves if appropriate, and use the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for specific large capital items as needed. The Board directed staff at that time to prepare the budget reflecting no increase in taxes, as well as an expectation to end 2023 with 60-90 days of General Fund expenses in reserves. This budget reflects funding to accomplish their priorities. The 2023 Proposed General Fund budget uses $4.1 million in unrestricted reserves. She continued that working with County Administration they evaluated overall budget requests, revisited Revenue Continued on page 2 assumptions considering current conditions and historical trends, reviewed line items related to operating costs - reasonableness, historical trends, and consistency, giving consideration to on. They adjusted accordingly, balancing the objectives and priorities of the Board with the operational and capital needs of County departments and the revenue and resources available. If they recall from the Preliminary budget, capital needs for the Jail were significant. Although part of the use of reserves will be paid from reserves accumulated in previous years specifically for needs of the jail, this year there is significant need and they will apply those to the capital items. Additionally, we utilized other funds to pay for minor and major capital items where possible, such as our equipment replacement fund (Fund 41) and our capital projects fund (Fund 40). Ms. Beckner continued that the General Fund is where they account for operations funded primarily by tax dollars. The General Fund pays for Court Administration and Magisterial District Judge operations, Adult and Juvenile Probation, the County Jail, elected official offices, Tax Services, Elections and Voter Registration, Administration and Affairs, the Public Defender, Property Management, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), and Archives and provides financial support to outside agencies. General Fund revenues total $56.2 million showing an increase of $3.1 million (5.8%) compared to the revised 2022 budget of $53.1 million. The property tax millage rate for general purposes remains the same as 2022 at 25.0 mills in the 2023 proposed budget. Using official assessment records, the value of a mill increased 1.2% from 2022 to 2023, contributing $19,090 per mill, for a total of $477,250. For budget purposes, we consider more than assessed value though. We include adjustments to tax revenues such as: Discounts and penalties; supplemental billings; assessment appeals; and collection of prior year delinquencies. Taking the more comprehensive approach, the budget for taxes is 1.6% higher than 2022 for about $618,000. Based on assessed values and information from the tax office received just yesterday, the value of 1 mill of taxes is $1.598,859. This was higher than she estimated. Ms. Beckner continued that the biggest increase in revenue is from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation. This is part of the one-time funding the federal government provided to assist with recovery from the economic effects of the pandemic on the County and our community. Of the $4.4 million, the Board has committed $600,000 to the Ag Preservation program for the purpose of preserving County farmland. Another County bridges. The remaining $3 million transfer of ARPA funds to the General Fund provides additional revenue to help fill the gap between flat \[or declining\] revenues and increasing operating costs. In summary, the overall source of the increase in General Fund revenues is the utilization of $4.4 million in ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding. Ms. Beckner explained the total General Fund expense budget is $60.3 million, compared to the revised operating budget for 2022 of $57.4 million, reflecting overall growth of 5%, or $2.9 million. Expenses are presented here in a different format than in the Budget-in- Brief. That document shows them categorized by function. This perspective is intended to and Benefits total $32.6 million, (54.2%) of the expense budget. That compares with $31.2 million (54.3%) for the 2022 revised budget. Operating Costs includes anything that is not personnel or capital or contingency. The 2023 budget for Operating Costs is $18.4 million, compared to $17.6 mil budget. The County, like the rest of the community, is incurring higher costs for supplies, utilities, and fuel, and contracted services due to general economic conditions. Ms. Beckner continued that transfers to support other County operations of $7.1 million is $543,000 more than the 2022 revised budget of $6.5 million. By area: Human Service programs total $3.9 million, mostly flat at 1.7% increase over 2022; Emergency services totals $716,000. The increase in funds to support 911 operations relates to capital equipment purchases or replacements. Note here that $800,000 is committed to county bridge construction projects and a total of $765,000 to farmland preservation. ARPA proceeds are providing $1.4 million of the funding of these. Capital requests with outside funding sources total $1.3 million. The outside Continued on page 3 And once again, the County has set aside funds in a contingency account for expenditures that require further review or action. For 2023, contingency is budgeted at almost $761,000. This is made up of computer and equipment replacements, software, new projects, and potential personnel expansion where needed. General Fund reserves are an important part of evaluating our annual budget and must be considered. In the past, our reserves have carried operations into the new year without the need to borrow operating money. A healthy fund balance also contributes to our ability to maintain our AA bond rating, making the market more favorable for borrowing money for new projects or refinancing existing debt. Based on the 2022 projected budget performance and the impact of this proposed budget: General Fund unrestricted reserves at the end of 2023 are expected to be $9.9 million. That equates to 60 days of General Fund expenses, still within our policy and the recommendation of our auditors and GFOA best practices. Ms. Beckner included the tax dollar breakdown from the Budget-in-Brief. The breakdown of the tax dollar is another perspective on the General Fund and how we spend the tax dollars we collect. This only includes general operating millage and not debt service tax dollars. Those can only be used for paying principal and interest on County debt. Related activities are grouped together to give a clearer perspective. For 2023, each dollar of property taxes collected supports these necessary and valuable County services: Crime, Courts and Corrections that Includes court administration, MDJ offices, court-related elected officials, jail operations, drug task force, District Attorney and public defender offices, adult and juvenile probation, and General Fund subsidies to court-related operations outside the General Fund. This function is the largest share of GF expense, and requires the most tax dollars to operate. For every tax dollar collected, 78¢ goes to support the 3-Cs. For 2022, it was 76¢; Community and Taxpayer Services is the next largest service area, 8¢ of a General Fund tax dollar in 2023, compared with 10¢ for 2022. This is made up of tax services (assessment and claims), GIS, planning, archives and records management, voter registration and elections, and includes support to cultural and recreational programs and community and economic development nce costs; and internal administrative support services that are charged back to the General Fund. These services cost 6¢ of each tax dollar for 2023, compared with 7¢ for 2022; Emergency Services is 3¢ of each tax dollar that supports the General Fund in 2023 as well as in 2022 goes to sustain our Emergency Services operations. These are the emergency management agency and General Fund subsidy to the 911 center and hazmat which do receive other funding from outside the county; Human Services is tax dollars that are used to subsidize programs that provide services and support to individuals in and developmental disabilities, and treatment for mental health and drug and alcohol abuse. Most of these get their primary funding from state and federal dollars, but the County still contributes 3¢ of each tax dollar in both 2023 and 2022 to supporting them; and other is the remaining category is for operations not classified elsewhere and in this case is primarily property management services for some of the General Fund County buildings. For 2023, this category receives 2¢ of a General Fund tax dollar, the same as for 2022. Ms. Beckner continued that with regard to the overall Countywide budget, for ALL FUNDS AND SERVICES, here are a few noteworthy items: The 2023 budget reflects no property tax increase. The 2022 millage rate of 29.1 remains unchanged and is made up of 25 mills for general purposes, unchanged since 2016. And 4.1 mills for debt service, last increased in 2019 by 1.5 mills to fund the Court Facility Improvement Project; the total revenue for all services and all funds decreased from $169.6 million from the original adopted 2022 budget to $158.8 million, primarily from the market impact of securities in the retirement fund and interfund transfers; the total expenditures for All Operations and All Services equal just under $170 in All Funds and All Operations is $15.2 million for capital expenditures to purchase or replace necessary technology, vehicles and equipment, provide for required building maintenance projects, and continue the next phase of the Court Facility Improvement Project with renovations to the Continued on page 4 SERVICES. ARPA funds are allocated to grant awards, construction on county bridges, farmland preservation, capital items, and support for General Fund operations. Ms. Beckner ended her presentation with the following summary: The 2023 budget has no tax increase; the proposed 2023 budget includes continuing progress on the Court Facility Improvement Project with renovation of the Courthouse Annex; funding for necessary operating costs and maintaining and replacing County assets as necessary; the budget allows for a pay increase to employees; and it provides for personnel and capital expansion as necessary. Ms. Beckner opened the floor for questions or comments from the Commissioners. Commissioner Ziobrowski asked if everything goes according to plan we would have $9.9 million left by the end of the year which is 60 days. Historically the debt we have anticipated has been reduced, can he assume if we are able to avoid the $4.1 million deficit thru good planning and not spending all of the contingency we would have $14 million left by end of year which is roughly 85 days. Are we able to absorb all that without going into deficit spending? Ms. Beckner responded that it would be the objective to reduce the $4.1 million as low as we could possibly get it by means that are appropriate. Purchases are evaluated for propriety through procurement and go through the approval processes and review by County Administration where necessary and for budget compliance. To the extent possible she would love to reduce that $4.1 million. Commissioner Ziobrowski stated that the $9.9 million is the worst case scenario, given what we know now. He commented that this was a good presentation. Commissioner Flannery had no questions but commented that it was a wonderful presentation and thanked them. Chairman Keller thanked Teresa and her team for putting this together and Commissioners Office they put such a nice neat bow on it, no one would believe the gnashing of teeth that goes on diligence and hard work to get it done. Unlike the Federal Government we are required by law herculean effort, it happens every year and they should be proud of the work that they do. We will put the budget on counter for 20 days and they look forward to receiving questions or comments from the residents of the county. He believes the guidance the Board has provided has been satisfied. They wanted to see a budget that avoids a tax increase, leaves 60-90 days from a budget purpose to end the year to sustain operations, while tax revenue comes in and addresses priorities. They established public safety and investment in the community, some capital improvements at 911 and the Jail, 911, farmland preservation and replacing some bridges. All those things have been accomplished within the parameters they established. He has a few prepared remarks: This is an excellent budget, provides for continued delivery of essential services in support of the administration of justice, public health and safety, economic development, historic preservation, housing, food security, mental health treatment, substance abuse treatment and prevention as well as protection of children from abuse and neglect, and programs for children, veterans, senior citizens and individuals with intellectual developmental -wide partnerships with nonprofits and municipalities are being enhanced with grant allocations from the America Rescue Plan Act, that funds in the area of Fire and EMS, education, economic development, parks and recreation historic preservation, tourism, healthcare, water and sewer infrastructure, stormwater management, and conservation. ARPA funds will also exhilarate the replacement of several obsolete county bridges and preserve an additional 1,000 acres of farmland, which is relevant these days with the continued development that is occurring in the county as well as some pressures from solar development as well. Lastly funding is included in the budget to complete the final phase of the court facilities improvement project, which is the remodeling of the Courthouse Annex to locate all court related offices at the judicial campus in downtown Chambersburg. Funding is also included for general operations and capital improvements without the need for a general fund tax increase for the seventh year in a row. Lastly he wanted red ownership of the nursing home to private ownership and once the dust settled on that transaction the county netted almost $11 million in proceeds. Once we liquidated some portions of grant dollars we had to Continued on page 5 reimburse the Federal Government for some windows and the roof that were replaced and distributed about $300,000 to the community in the form of Human Service grants. We were left with about $9 million which were set aside in two funds which are funds 40 and 41 for capital and facility improvements and we have been prudently using those funds over the years but its notable that we still have that luxury to avail ourselves of those funds for vehicles, roof repairs, computers, etc. We still have significant balances in both accounts. Taxpayers should be pleased with the stewardship that we manifested in administering those funds and making use good work of the Fiscal office and County Administration. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the proposed budget and to place it on the counter for public review for 20 days. Final consideration for adoption will be on December th 14. The Board reconvened at 2:00 p.m. There was no public comment. The Board reviewed Area Agency on Aging matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the quote from Dell for purchase of Dell laptops, monitors and accessories for senior activity centers for use by the participants at a cost of $14,752.00. The Board reviewed Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Certificate of Substantial Completion form from Oracle Elevator Holdco, Inc. for completion of the elevator construction at the Historic Courthouse Construction Project. The Board reviewed additional Commissioners Office matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Lease Amendment between the County of Franklin and United States Department of Agriculture for lease of 185 Franklin Farm Lane, Suite 202, Chambersburg for the Farm Service Agency. The Department of Ag. will pay the square feet of $24.98 for 3,190.5 rentable square feet of office space and the amount per month will be $6,641.56 per month from September 1, though November 30, 2022. The square feet will increase to $26.98 and will be $7,173.31 per month beginning December 1, 2022 through August 31, 2025. The Board reviewed Grants Management matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Request to PA Department of Community & Economic Development from South Central Community Action Program to request an amendment to their ESG-CV Grant. SCCAP would like to move $8,400 from the Rapid Rehousing Component to the Emergency Shelter Component to help cover the cost of shelter operations. SCCAP would also like to move $19,368.83 from the Rapid Rehousing Rental Assistance line item to the Rapid Rehousing Services line item due to the increased need for Rapid Rehousing assistance from SCCAP staff. The Board reviewed Information Technology Services matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the quote from Southern Computer Warehouse for the annual renewal of the Adobe licenses which allows for PDF modifications, electronic document routing and signatures at a cost of $24,161.35 for the period of December 7, 2022 through December 6, 2023. The Board reviewed Planning matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the request from the Franklin County Community Connection Division to amend the approved request for a cash match of $10,000.00 from the Housing Trust Fund for the 2021-2022 HUD Permanent Supportive Housing Program to include an additional cash match of $2,789.29 for the 2021-2022 HUD Shelter Plus Care Program. Continued on page 6 The Board reviewed additional Planning matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the request from the Franklin County Community Connection Division for a cash match from the Housing Trust Fund for $18,594.00 for the 2022-2023 HUD Permanent Supportive Housing Program and Shelter Plus Care grant. The Board reviewed Property Management matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the quote from Accruent, LLC for the annual technical support renewal of the county wide Maintenance Connection program at a cost of $15,740.74 for the period of January 7, 2023 through January 6, 2024. The Board reviewed Register & Recorder Office matters. On a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski, seconded by John T. Flannery; unanimously approved the quote from Spacesaver to dismantle, relocate and reinstall the mobile shelving system that is currently in the Courthouse Annex Register & Recorder storage unit to the Archives Department at a cost of $22,794.00 for the period of December 1, 2022 through January 31, 2023. In accordance with PA Act notifications, GHD notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Water Quality Management Permit Application being applied by Washington Township Municipal Authority Wastewater Treatment Plant to replace the grit removal system on property located in Washington Township. The meeting was adjourned at 2:05 p.m. with a motion by Robert G. Ziobrowski; seconded by John T. Flannery. Carrie E. Gray County Administrator/Chief Clerk FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ____________________________________ David S. Keller, Chairman ____________________________________ John T. Flannery ___________________________________ Robert G. Ziobrowski