[CORRECTION - An earlier version of this story reported that CommissionerJimmy Melton's election as Vice Chairman of the Board of Commissioners was a a continuation of his service in that post last year. In fact, Cindy Morgan served as Vice Chair last year. The Times regrets the error.]
Nick Picerno of McLendon Hills will return to the Chairman's seat on the Moore County Board of Commissioners, placed there by the unanimous vote of the Board to approve a nomination made by new Commissioner Craig Kennedy and seconded by former Chairman Tim Lea during the Board's Monday, December 6 meeting. Picerno served as the county board's Chairman in 2008, the first year of his term; Lea has served as Chairman for the past twelve months.
On a motion by Larry Caddell, seconded by Kennedy, and unanimously approved, Jimmy Melton will serve as the Board's Vice Chairman. Caddell and Melton were both re-elected to the Board in November. They, along with Kennedy, who successfully challenged Cindy Morgan in the Republican primary, were sworn in at the opening of the meeting.
Picerno wasted no time in assuming the mantle of leadership, laying out what he jokingly called "St. Nick's Christmas List" -- seven ""ideas" that he said he would "like the Board to consider" in the coming year. He asked his fellow Commissioners to explore:
• Selling the Village of Pinehurst the portions of the county water system that serve the Village, using the proceeds from that sale to extend county water service to the rest of the county.
• Partnering with the Town of Robbins to make it a source of water for county customers, by preparing a concrete proposal and asking the Town to do the same, exchanging those proposals in a public meeting, and beginning serious negotiations.
• Giving taxpayers a one-year break from paying the two-cent Advanced Life Support tax, which is dedicated to funding county emergency services. Picerno noted that the tax has produced a current surplus of $5.1 million, creating the opportunity for a one-time tax break.
• Using a portion of the county's fund balance, currently just under $19 million, to retire some of the county's debt that carries higher interest rates.
• Taking a second look at last year's reconfiguration of the county's longevity and performance bonus system for rewarding its employees. The rewrite of the system, which eliminated bonuses given solely on the basis of longevity, "May have gone too far," Picerno said, noting that it may be impossible for employees to reach the highest performance rating in the system.
• Continuing to reduce the number of county employees through attrition, using the savings realized to provide a pay raise for the remaining employees.
• Forming a citizen's task force that would review the ordinances proposed for the county's proposed Unified Development Ordinance and make recommendations to help make Moore County more business-friendly.
Picerno's list, offered at the very end of the meeting, provoked no public reaction from his fellow Board members. He joked that he didn't want his fellow Commissioners "to have too much of a holiday."
Though they will not meet again in December, the Board of Commissioners have a regular meeting scheduled for January 4, a work session on January 6, a retreat on January 13 & 14, and another regular meeting on January 18.
Auditors Give County "Clean Report"
Crystal Waddell of the accounting firm Martin Starnes & Associates told the Board of Commissioners that her firm's audit of county finances for Fiscal Year 2009-2010 produced a "clean report" without qualifications. She noted that the year included a change in financial software and a change in the county's primary banking relationship, both of which made the audit process more challenging.
Waddells' report included an overview of FY2009-2010 finances; among the highlights were:
• County general fund revenues totaled $83 million, down $4 million from the year prior, with $3 million of that resulting from a decline in income from sales taxes. Property taxes account for 65 percent of the money the county takes in.
• County expenditures were $82 million for the year, with 36 percent of that going to the public schools and community college.
• The County's Public Utilities assets grew from $29.6 million last year to $33 million this year, the result of upgrades and expansions to the water and wastewater systems.
Waddell introduced the Board to a revision of federal accounting principles that will require a more detailed classification of the county's fund balance. Ongoing negotiations between federal and state governments over the new rules mean their precise application to Moore County remains up in the air, she noted. The Board is expected to delve more deeply into the implications of the rule change during its January 6 work session.
Public Comment
Though the matter was not on the agenda for Monday's meeting, Pinehurst resident Doug Middaugh asked the Commissioner to turn aside a request from the Village Chapel in Pinehurst for an upgrade to the county's water system needed to provide adequate fire flows to support a major expansion of the Chapel.
The church's plan to build an education building on the Village Green in Pinehurst has run into stiff opposition -- including from Middaugh -- but has thus far won approval by the Village Council. Before the Commissioners, Middaugh argued that Moore County Public Utilities has consistently required that developers bear the cost of water system upgrades and should apply the same standard to the Chapel's request.
Pinehurst's John Marcum, who has become a regular speaker at the county Board's meeting, encouraged the Commissioners to consider adding to their recently approved Code of Ethics three specific amendments that Marcum had suggested previously, including one that would prevent any Commissioner from serving on a Board whose budget an activities are overseen by the county and another that would require a public hearing and environmental review before the county pays more than the assessed tax value for any property.
Noting the $3.2 billion budget shortfall facing the state, Marcum said big-ticket items like the new detention center and public safety building may need to be re-evaluated with an eye to cutting costs.
Other Business
In other business during their Monday, December 6 meeting, the Moore County Board of Commissioners:
• Approved a revision to the contract under which the county has access to Microsoft operating systems and software for its computers.
• At the request of Commissioner Lea, tabled a request from Public Works for a $724,800 water line upgrade that would provide fire flows needed to support an expansion of Carolina Eye Associates on Midland Road, while at the same time improving the county's water system in that area and allowing it to purchase more water from Southern Pines. Lea asked that the Board consider the request in closed session, as is typically done for projects related to economic development, and the Board unanimously supported his motion.
• Approved a contract with Riley Paving for the patching and resurfacing of parking lots at the Ag Center, Health Department, and Property Management Department.
• Approved an interlocal agreement with Town of Vass that allows the county to contract for design work on a project that will extend the existing Vass sewer system to town residents who currently do not have sewer service. The Town received a $15,000 NC Rural Economic Development Center grant to help fund the project; the county's share of the costs totals $7,500.
• Granted an easement to Progress Energy to allow a power line to be extended to the new water tower on Monticello Road in Pinehurst.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with the state Crime Control and Public Safety Division that will allow Moore County, along with ten other counties, to receive a $200,000 Homeland Security grant to fund the first phase of a project that will install transfer switches and generators to be used in case of emergency. Moore County will manage the multi-county project, which is expected to win similar grants in subsequent years.
• Appointed Commissioner Lea the county's delegate to the Triangle J Council of Governments, and Commissioner Caddell his alternate.
• Deferred filling a vacancy for an engineer and veterinarian on the Board of Health because there were no applicants for the position. Chairman Picerno encouraged qualified citizens to "step up." "It's a great Board to serve on," he added.
• Approved the bonds necessary to cover public officials, including the finance officer, tax administrator, and sheriff, in the exercise of their duties.
