Wayne Vest was named County Manager during the Tuesday, March 19 Regular Meeting of the Moore County Board of Commissioners.
Vest, a Moore County native who joined the county staff in the land records department in 1998, rose through the ranks to the post of Tax Administrator. He was named Interim County Manager in December.
“As we look back at the job that Wayne’s has done, it speaks well that we have this calibre person to promote within the system,” Commissioner Jimmy Melton said.
“It’s a great day for Moore County,” Commissioner Larry Caddell added.
Vest’s appointment was announced after a closed session in which Commissioners presumably nailed down the details of his contract, which includes a $115,000 annual salary.
“I want to thank the Board for your confidence in me,” Vest said, accepting the appointment. “ I look forward to continue to serve the citizens of Moore County — and intend to do so with honesty and integrity.”
County moves employee health plan
The Commissioners voted 4-0 to move administration of the County’s employee health plan to First Carolina Care, a health insurance company owned by FirstHealth of the Carolinas. [Commissioner Craig Kennedy was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.]
The County self-insures — that is, it has established a fund out of which health insurance claims are paid and hires a third-party processor to handle the paperwork and provide stop-loss insurance. The current administrator is UMR, a large, national third-party processor affiliated with the insurer United Healthcare.
Mark Browder, a consultant who advises the County on health care benefits, explained that the contract from First Carolina Care will provide $315,000 in savings on the cost of administration and stop-loss insurance. The provider network will not change for employees; however, additional discounts will be provided when employees use FirstHealth facilities. Those discounts could save the county an additional $200,000 or more annually.
The county spends $7 million or more each year on employee health insurance. Browder explained that, by self-insuring, if claims are low, the County can build a surplus that can then be used to defray the cost of administrative fees. In addition, self-insurance allows the County to avoid federal and state taxes on insurance that are expected to rise in the next few years.
First Carolina Care has been pursuing the County’s business for a number of years. Recognizing that, Commissioner Melton said, “We missed the boat a couple of times in the past, so we’re glad to be working with our local company, FirstHealth.”
Fire Service Report Previewed
Ryan Peach, of the consulting firm VFIS, presented top line recommendations from a just-concluded comprehensive study of the County’s fire and emergency services. He noted that the results and recommendations were preliminary, promising to deliver a full report by month’s end.
Among the thirty-five recommendations the consultants made were:
• Implementing a single county-wide tax for fire services, rather than the current system, which sets a different rate for each fire district.
• Changing the boundaries of six of the districts.
• Developing countywide standards for response time and a countywide set of standard operating guidelines.
• Creating a capital fund for replacement of vehicles and maintenance of facilities.
• Confining insurance billing for EMS calls to Moore County EMS, rather than allowing rescue squads to bill for those services.
In addition, Peach provided recommendations for equipment purchases and facility upgrades for specific fire departments.
Chairman Nick Picerno said the Commissioners would take up the recommendations in an all-day “critical issues summit” planned for April 18.
2012 Election reviewed
Moore County Elections Director Glenda Clendenin provided the Commissioners with an overview of the 2012 General Election, and brought with her dozens of precinct workers, who were thanked for their service by the Board.
Clendenin said turnout for the 2012 election in Moore County was 72.50 percent of registered voters, down a bit from the 75.91 percent turnout in 2008. Moore County had the seventh highest turnout in the state.
Of the 64,323 voters who cast a ballot, 24,625 did so during the 15-day one-stop early voting period.762 voters also registered to vote at one stop sites.
On Election Day, the County’s 26 polling places were staffed by 246 precinct officials.
Clendenin thanked the Sherif’s Department, Property Management Department, and IT Department for assistance provided during the election.
Data provided with Clendenin’s presentation showed that voter turnout in Seven Lakes was 78 percent, among the highest in the county, and turnout in West End was above average, at 75 percent.
Board urged to promote voter participation
NAACP President O’Linda Gillis and member Maurice Holland Jr. urged the Commissioners to oppose efforts by some state legislators to impose restrictions that will discourage voter participation, including requiring photo IDs at the polls.
Recalling the sacrifices of the civil rights era, Holland asked the Board “to consider a resolution to make it easier for people to vote, to expand voting, and not to put up obstacles like photo ID.”
Noting that the NC Constitution requires that “All elections shall be free,” Holland said voters who do not have driver’s licenses would incur costs when obtaining a photo ID — or the birth certificate required to obtain one.
Noting that North Carolina at one time “was one of the worst in terms of voter registration,” Gillis said it was now “one of the best,” and asked the Commissioners to oppose legislation that would take a step backwards. “We ask that we go forward together,” she said.
Saying that she would “like to rebut the two previous ones,” Freida Powers of Pinehurst said that an advertisement for the NAACP’s national convention noted that attendees must bring photo ID to be admitted. [In fact, that requirement applied only to reporters covering a speech by US Attorney General Eric Holder during the NAACP convention in July. –GH.]
Other Business
In other business during the Board of Commissioners Tuesday, March 19 meeting:
• The Board approved a number of budget amendments, including the transfer of more than $4 million from the general fund balance to the capital reserve fund. That total represents savings against budgeted expenses from the previous fiscal year. The County’s financial policy requires that any fund balance exceeding fifteen percent of budgeted expenses be transferred to the capital reserve.
• At the request of Public Works Director Randy Gould, the Commissioners accepted a $1 million low-interest loan from the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources for the replacement of a sewer lift station.
• The Commissioners approved a $116,802 change order to a contract with Wharton-Smith for the upgrade and expansion of the Addor Water Pollution Control Plant. The change covers the installation of new ductile iron aeration piping to replace leaking pipes.
• A request for new lift station monitoring equipment was tabled at Gould’s request, pending the gathering of further information.
• The Board approved a $6,412 change order to a contract with Terry’s Plumbing for the Little River lift station to reflect increased cost of materials — but also, at the advice of their consulting engineer, withheld $27,000 of the final payment because the work was not completed on time. The Little River lift station is part of a project that will carry waste water from sewers in Vass to the County’s Addor plant, allowing the decommissioning of the out-of-date Vass wastewater treatment plant.
• The Commissioners reappointed Leah Brennan, Mary Meindl, Jane Robinson, and Judith Trevarrow to the Nursing and Adult Care Home Community Advisory Committee; appointed Donna Blue to the Moore County Board of Health; and appointed Brenda Burt and Clare Ruggles to the RSVP Advisory Council.
• Chairman Picerno was appointed the County’s representative to the Triangle J Council of Governments at his request. Picerno noted that he had been a frequent critic of County spending on dues to the organization, and said he wanted “to go to this to see if this is something that can really help Moore County.”
• The Board reappointed Ralph Harris to the Planning Board, but then quickly rescinded that action when reminded by Planning Director Debra Ensminger of a new policy for screening Planning Board applicants. Ensminger explained that Planning Director Robert Hayter had suggested that he, Ensminger, and a member of the Board of Commissioners should interview prospective Planning Board members and then make a recommendation to the Board of Commissioners.
