PRESENT: ROBERT L. BAILEY, PRESIDENT
L. D. EGNOR, COMMISSIONER
NANCY CARTMILL, COMMISSIONER
WILLIAM WATSON, COUNTY ATTORNEY
GLENN WHITE, COUNTY MANAGER
SHARON ROSS, ASSISTANT COUNTY MANAGER FOR
BILLABLES AND PAYABLES
Robert L. Bailey, President, called the regular scheduled meeting of the Cabell County Commission to order at 10:00 a.m.
APPROVE:
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, moved to approve the agenda as presented. Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to approve purchase orders #100 X through #194 X and pay jackets. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, moved to offer an amendment to the minutes of the regular meeting on June 19, 2003 to substitute all of those matters related to item #150. Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. (Documentation attached to the June 19, 2003 and the July 3, 2003 minutes.)
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to approve the minutes of the June 19, 2003 minutes as amended. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to approve the minutes of the special meeting on June 26, 2003. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, moved to approve erroneous assessments/land consolidations/split tickets and probate documentation. Nancy Cartmill, Commissioners, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to approve handwritten checks to Mountain Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Medical Life, not to exceed $100,000.00, from the Cabell County Medical Insurance Fund. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
THURSDAY JULY 3, 2003
PAGE TWO
#172 LETTER, KAREN COLE, CLERK
RE: EMPLOYMENT
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to approve the employment of E. Kelly Nichols, as a part-time employee for the Record Room; effective July 8, 2003, with a rate of pay of $7.50 per hour. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, the motion and the vote was unanimous.
OFFICE EQUIPMENT
Glenn White, County Manager, informed the Commissioners that he had listed the items that County Clerk, Karen Cole, had requested at the last meeting, which totaled $13,011.86.
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, asked if it was too early to know what the carry-over amount would be. Glenn White, County Manager, stated that the amount of the carry-over was not known at this point. Mr. White went on to say that if the Commission would want to fund Mrs. Cole’s request as a result of the clerk’s salary line not being spent, they could do so in the form of a budget revision once the amount of the carry-over was known.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, stated he was concerned that this request was presented at the end of the fiscal year and not discussed during the budget process. Commissioner Egnor went on to say that he would like Mrs. Cole to present the Commission with the needs of each individual item she was requesting.
Karen Cole, County Clerk, informed the Commission that the reason the purchase of these items was not discussed at the 2003-2004 budget meeting was because it had always been the practice of the Commission for the past two years to allow her to transfer this money at the end of the fiscal year and since she knew the money would be in the current budget to purchase these items, she did not feel it was necessary to ask for these funds to be placed in the next year’s budget. Mrs. Cole stated that had she known the Commission would change their policy, she would have addressed the issue earlier.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, stated he believed that using the carry-over from salary line items and directing it for other expenditures on other items was not good practice.
Mrs. Cole stated that she was only following the guidelines set by the State Auditor’s Office that salary line items were no different than any other line items and, if allocated in an elected official’s budget, transfers could be made at the elected official’s discretion with the County Commission’s approval.
THURSDAY JULY 3, 2003
PAGE THREE
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved that once the carry-over was known and if the money was available, to revise the budget to purchase the needed equipment in the County Clerk’s Office. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, stated that he was voting in the affirmative with the understanding that the purchases be determined appropriate.
#176 RESOLUTION, FY 03-04 COAL SEVERANCE
STATE BUDGET REVISION #1
Karen Cole, County Clerk, informed the Commission the carry-over amount for the Coal Severance Fund for the 2003-2004 fiscal year, was $45,206.00.
Glenn White, County Manager, explained that the state requires the actual carry-over for Coal Severance be revised and budgeted by the 15th of July. Mr. White stated this would be the only opportunity the Commission would have to deal with the Coal Severance budget because the next meeting was scheduled for July 17, 2003.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, moved to accept the Clerk’s letter and the budget revision. Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Exhibit (A)
Kim Wolfe, Cabell County Sheriff, had requested a transfer of funds from his salary line item to purchase portable radios replacing the existing radios, which were twelve years old.
Sheriff Wolfe read from a letter the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office, had written which stated “the auditor’s office has consistently advised County Commissions that any disapproval of an elected official’s supported request to transfer funds within the total appropriation previously provided to that official through the budget process could be viewed by the courts as an attempt to exercise control over that official’s budget. Therefore, solid support and justification for denying any transfer should be made available to you and be a matter of record.”
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, asked Sheriff Wolfe why the radios were not purchased earlier and could they not be purchased from the Sheriff’s Weapons Account.
Sheriff Wolfe stated the radios could be purchased from the Weapons Account, however a large portion of the money in that account had been targeted for the drug prevention program. Sheriff Wolfe went on to say the reason he did not purchase the radios earlier was he felt this would be a good opportunity, do to the carry-over in his budget, to transfer unspent funds to purchase the radios.
PAGE FOUR
Robert L. Bailey, President, asked if the Drug Fund Account and the Weapons Account were two different accounts. President Bailey also asked if there were two drug funds and the amount in each fund. Sheriff Wolfe replied that the Weapons Account and the Drug Fund account are two different accounts. Sheriff Wolfe also stated he thought there were two Drug Fund accounts but he was not sure of the amounts.
William Watson, County Attorney, stated he felt that once the carry-over amount was known, the Commission had expressed the opinion to consider both requests in a similar fashion and the best procedure would be to take a portion of the carry-over and make a budget revision in the Sheriff’s and in the County Clerk’s line items, if the Commissioners are assured there was a need for the equipment they had requested.
Robert L. Bailey, President, asked if the radios could be ordered and paid for from the Weapons Account and a budget transfer be made at a later date. Mr. Watson stated that might be a problem.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, stated that he did not understand if the radios have been such a problem and needed replacing, why they had not been purchased at an earlier date because the funding was there.
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to handle the Sheriff’s request the same as the County Clerk’s request. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion. The vote was as follows:
Robert L. Bailey, President nay
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner aye
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner aye
KIM WOLFE, SHERIFF
RE: BANKRUPTCY NOTICES RECEIVED BY CABELL
COUNTY
Glenn White, County Manager, informed the Commission that this item was on the last agenda and was carried over because Sheriff Kim Wolfe could not attend the meeting.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, read the letter that was sent to Sheriff Wolfe from the Commission. Commissioner Egnor asked Sheriff Wolfe if he had the information the Commission had requested. Sheriff Wolfe stated that he did not have the information as they are working on hundreds of bankruptcies and that his office was very busy at this time of year. Sheriff Wolfe informed the Commission they were welcome to come to his office and they could go through the bankruptcies together.
PAGE FIVE
William Watson, County Attorney, informed the Commission that David Tyson, the attorney contracted to collect the delinquent taxes for the tax department, had left a message for Mr. Watson indicating that bankruptcies claims were not being filed on a timely basis and that it was not in his contract to file the necessary claims. Mr. Watson further stated that Mr. Tyson informed him the claim for Special Metals was not filed within the 120 days of notification and the county had probably lost what rights they had as a claimant.
Sheriff Wolfe stated that as far as he was concerned there was no problem with the filing of the bankruptcy claims, however he would check into the matter.
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, asked Sheriff Wolfe what procedures were in place in the Sheriff’s Office to handle a bankruptcy notice, what they do with the notices and what person handles the bankruptcy. Sheriff Wolfe stated he was not sure but he would find out.
#173 APPEARING, KIM WOLFE, SHERIFF
RE: LETTER REGARDING SHERIFF’S COMMISSION
L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, moved to approve the letter regarding the Sheriff’s commission. Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Robert L. Bailey, President, informed Sheriff Wolfe that it had been brought to his attention that the Sheriff had in his possession a horse trailer. Sheriff Wolfe informed the Commission that he used the trailer for hauling hay for the Sheriff Department’s horse.
After a lengthy discussion, L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, suggested that the Commission direct the County Attorney, William Watson, to make the appropriate inquiries, investigations and research, so as to direct the Commission on how they may best avoid the ownership of a horse and horse trailer and to hold the Commission harmless from any suits should the Sheriff endeavor to maintain such horse and trailer at his expense and in his own name for his own purposes.
Mr. Watson stated he would talk with the insurance people and find out what the Commission’s exposure would be, and he requested the Sheriff not use the horse and trailer relatively to his law enforcement duties, until the liability was known.
Sheriff Wolfe stated he had planned to use the horse in his drug prevention program and he would welcome the inquiries of the County Attorney into the liability issue on the use of a horse in his program.
THURSDAY JULY 3, 2003
PAGE SIX
#174 RESOLUTIONS, CABELL COUNTY COMMISSION
RE: EMPLOYMENT RECLASSIFICATION FROM
FULL-TIME TEMPORARY TO FULL-TIME
REGULAR
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to approve the reclassification from full-time temporary to full-time regular E-911 employees for Anthony Cremeans, Brian Noble, Tabitha Saddler and Jonathan Whitley as telecommunicator/dispatchers, effective July 7, 2003; with a rate of pay of $8.92 per hour. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
#175 PROGRESS REPORT, SMALL CITIES BLOCK GRANT
UNION RIDGE WATERLINE EXTENSION PROJECT
NO. 02-SCGB0021X
Glenn White, County Manager, explained that Kathy Elliot of Region II had prepared and provided this report to the Commission. Mr. White stated that with the approval and submission of this report by the Commission, it would give an update on the project and would release the second year funds needed for the construction of the project. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, moved to approve authorizing the President of the Commission to sign the progress report and to submit the report to the West Virginia Development Office. Nancy Cartmill, Commission, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Melinda Perry, Community Relations Officer with FEMA, addressed the Commission and informed them that she was in the area and reaching out to disaster victims to be sure they registered for assistance. Ms. Perry also reported that FEMA had opened a disaster recovery center in Milton and to date 105 people in this area had registered with FEMA.
Nancy Cartmill, Commissioner, moved to place the bankruptcy notice letter, that the Commission sent to the Sheriff concerning information on bankruptcies, on the agenda for the next meeting and that a letter be drafted by the President of the Commission requesting an update and that the Sheriff appear before the Commission to explain the information to them. L. D. Egnor, Commissioner, seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
THURSDAY JULY 3, 2003
PAGE SEVEN
Robert L Bailey, President, adjourned the meeting at 11:48 a.m., until the next regular meeting July 17, 2003.
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PRESIDENT, COUNTY COMMISSION
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