Tag Archive for: #countyofvance

TownTalk: County Debates Future Of Vance Co. Fire Dept.

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Chiefs from several of Vance County’s fire departments have voiced opinions and concerns regarding a proposal to restructure the county’s only full-time paid fire department and make it a combination of paid and volunteer staff.

That proposal, discussed in some detail at a meeting Wednesday of the county’s Public Safety Committee, will be presented to the full board of commissioners at a special called meeting on Wednesday, June 14.

If commissioners accept the proposal with its associated budget amendments to begin the restructure process, and then adopt the budget changes, the restructure plan would begin.

If the board does not accept the proposal and the budget draft that is before the commissioners now is adopted, no changes would be taking place – at least in the foreseeable future – for the Golden Belt Fire District.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt laid out the basic points of the plan during the 30-minute meeting, which includes hiring a consultant to help the county implement the restructuring process.

In a follow-up telephone conversation earlier today, Epsom Chief Powell Wilkins called the proposal a “vague” that will adversely affect people’s livelihoods. “We need to build off what we currently have,” Wilkins said, adding that “transitioning this department is not going to work.”

Wilkins further stated that business owners within the existing Golden Belt district need to be informed of the proposed restructuring, noting that this district includes areas where the county is seeing economic and industrial development.

Adam “Slug” Pegram, chief at Cokesbury and batallion chief at Vance County/Golden Belt, told WIZS today that his department doesn’t support the restructuring and stated such in a letter of support for the county fire department that was sent to commissioners.

This support is echoed at Bearpond Fire Department, where Billy Jenkins has been chief for two years. Jenkins told WIZS today that he and his team “didn’t want to lose that guaranteed response” that comes from the county/Golden Belt fire department.

“Our stance on redistricting is we want the closest fire truck (to respond) – that person on the 911 call deserves that.”

Doyle Karpunky, who is chief of the Vance County Rescue Squad, president of the Vance County Fire Association, also is president of the Bearpond board said decisions need to be made that are in the best interest of the county, not just one department.

Karpunky told WIZS today that Vance County is the only county among the state’s 100 counties that has this situation. “We are the only county in the state that spends that kind of money on a single department.”

He added that he wants all the departments to be treated equally within the county. Volunteer departments have to raise money to fill the gap that the standard $100,000 annual county allotment doesn’t cover.

“We don’t want to see anyone lose their job,” said Chad Blake, chief at Hicksboro. “At the end of the day, it’s about taking care of citizens.”

Brummitt said the proposal would not gut the Golden Belt Fire Department; rather, the positions would be reduced by attrition over time. According to Brummitt, the state fire marshal’s office has recommended that more volunteers be added to the Golden Belt roster during recent ISO inspections.

“We are not getting rid of the department, we are adding volunteers to support the department,” he reinterated in a phone conversation today with WIZS.

As the county grows, the idea is to have two paid staff at each of the county’s 10 fire departments, with the ultimate goal of having paid personnel in all the departments – a feat that could take years to achieve.

And if the four-call system is implemented, it would mean that four departments would response to a structure fire, Brummitt noted. And since Golden Belt sits in the central part of the county, it is more than likely going to be called on more often to be one of the four units responding.

Several in opposition to the proposal have mentioned increased difficulty in finding volunteers to provide much-needed support to the paid staff in fire department across the county, which seems to be a national trend.

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TownTalk: Vance County Considers Changes to Fire Service

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The Vance County Commissioners met Monday night but the proposed budget was not adopted. Preparing a budget – whether for a county or any other organization, is sort of like making sausage…nobody wants to see it being made, but they all want to enjoy the end result.

The annual budget adoption process requires having a public hearing before the budget is approved, but not a single person addressed the board specifically about the budget last night.

And no member of the Vance County board of commissioners made a motion to adopt the budget.

Rather, it appears that the budget adoption is being held up by additional discussion that will take place tomorrow, June 7, at 4 p.m. during a meeting of the county’s Public Safety Committee.

Commissioner Dan Brummitt told WIZS News Tuesday that he hoped people interested in this topic will attend tomorrow’s meeting to learn more about plans for the fire tax rates and plans to restructure/redistrict fire departments across the county – this seems to be a sticking point in the passage of the 2023-24 budget.

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The issue of fire departments has long been a topic of discussion within the county – and Brummitt said there’s a “wildfire of misinformation” swirling about with regard to consolidation of departments, as well as getting more paid staff in place to bolster the largely volunteer organizations.

There’s talk of merging the county fire department and dissolving the Golden Belt district, but Brummitt said misinformation within the community is fueling unfounded rumors.

“I’ve talked to people in professional fire services, fire professionals throughout the region, “ Brummitt said in a telephone interview. “There’s merit in what we’re trying to do.” And, Brummitt contends, there are many options to consider.

Just what that is, however, remains to be seen. Brummitt said a written plan is not ready to be released to the public, but he said he hoped to have some details and accompanying budget figures at tomorrow’s meeting.

The commissioners will reconvene at 4 p.m. on June 14 in a special called meeting to consider any additional recommendations that come from the Public Safety Committee and could possibly adopt the budget at that time.

Commissioners have until June 30 to approve the 2023-24 budget, which currently is at $57.5 million.

If the proposed budget is adopted without changes, improvements to the county’s fire tax fund would help provide 24/5 coverage in the north and south of the county – that is, two additional full-time employees at both the Hicksboro and the Bearpond fire departments.

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The Local Skinny! Vance County Commissioners To Meet Tonight

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Update 10 p.m. Monday:

The Vance County Commissioners voted Monday to authorize the execution of the “second wave” of Opioid Settlements written about below, meaning Vance County would receive an additional $2.76 million between 2023 and 2036

Original Update 5:30 p.m. Monday:

The Vance County Commissioners are scheduled to hear this evening all about what amounts to a lot of activity by county staff, who continually work to make sure county business gets taken care of in a timely and efficient manner. Tonight’s meeting begins at 6 p.m.

County Manager Jordan McMillen will share information about money coming into the county from the national opioid settlement, money the county may need to come up with to support KARTS and an upcoming planning retreat for the commissioners and county staff later this week.

These topics and more are scheduled to be part of the county manager’s report to the commissioners at their meeting Monday.

The manager is expected to recommend that Vance County join in “Wave Two” of the opioid settlement, which would bring an additional $600 million to the state to be distributed to local governments and municipalities.

The decision needs to be made by April 18; if the commissioners approve the recommendation, Vance County would receive an additional $2.76 million between 2023 and 2036, McMillen said.

The county has gotten more than $315,000 of its total $3.45 million allotment from Wave One.

McMillen also will present a funding request from KARTS, which operates in the four-county region. The rural transportation service is asking for more “emergency funding” – $75,000 – from Vance County and from the other counties it serves to allow the service to finish out the fiscal year.

The total annual budget is approximately $3.75 million, most of which comes from federal funding. Another 10 percent to 15 percent comes from local counties. McMillen said KARTS is asking for an additional $154,936 in administrative funds for the upcoming FY 2023-24 budget, as well as an extra $32,931 in capital funds to allow for replacement of buses that are over the recommended mileage.

“It is our understanding the funding requests are a result of expiring Federal CARES Act funds which have been instrumental in filling a gap in their new facility and operational costs the past couple of years,” Jordan stated in agenda information. “They have also indicated a need to
increase driver rates and have been paying significant overtime due to driver shortages. The KARTS board is exploring various ways to improve efficiency and raise additional revenue to include possible increased rates for contracted services, recouping money for no shows, and advertising on their vans among other things,” he continued.

The KARTS request may be part of the discussion at the upcoming commissioners’ planning retreat, set for Wednesday, Mar. 8 at the Perry Memorial Library.

The daylong planning retreat will begin at 9 a.m., McMillen noted. Among the agenda items include a board training on establishing a high-performing board, then a finance and budget review, with discussion, from the county finance director.

The day is scheduled to end by 4 p.m., following a goal prioritization session for the upcoming fiscal year.

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TownTalk: Tax Revaluation Currently Underway

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Vance County is in the middle of a tax revaluation process – something that state law requires happen at least once every eight years.

Vincent Valuations is the company contracted to complete the work of assessing the 26,000 parcels of property and the buildings that are on them.

According to County Manager Jordan McMillen, about 20,000 parcels have been completed, leaving about 6,000 to go. The company is finishing up their work in the city limits now, and then will come the task of estimating the values of the parcels.

Tax values went down after the last revaluation in 2016, but McMillen said he anticipates values will increase in the current revaluation, based on an improved economy.

The bottom line is this: will the tax bill you get in the summer of 2024 be more than you currently pay?

Just because values of parcels go up, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll pay more in taxes, especially if the tax rate goes down. The idea is to evenly distribute the tax burden across all property owners.

About a year from now, those tax bills will be generated and property owners will have the chance to appeal the valuation next April or May.

County leaders are already working on the 2023-24 budget, and the revaluation plays a role in creating that budget.

To make a long story short, the impact to your wallet is about 15 months away.

 

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TownTalk: Nobles And Wood Recognized

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It’s always nice when your colleagues recognize you for your efforts in the workplace. Frankie Nobles, chief of animal services for Vance County, thinks it’s so important that he belongs to the county’s Employment Engagement Team, a group that thinks of ways to show appreciation to the county’s employees.

One of the ways the county shows its appreciation is by identifying an “employee of the month” and recognizing the award winners at county commissioners’ meetings.

Shelly Wood was recognized as December’s employee of the month. Wood works with the Board of Elections.

January’s employee of the month was a surprise to Nobles, who chairs the employment engagement team.

It was him!

“They pulled one over on me,” Nobles told John C. Rose on Monday’s TownTalk, who said he was honored to accept the award. And he didn’t know ahead of time, he said,  that he would be January’s recipient.

Nobles and the others on the employee engagement team are always looking for ways to make employees feel appreciated and valued.

“You want your staff to want to come to work and be proud to work for Vance County,” Nobles said. Employee retention is a challenge that many employers face these days, he added. He and the other members of the engagement team meet monthly to brainstorm how to improve and, in turn, attract prospective employees to find careers in Vance County.

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Town Talk: More On ARPA Funds, Jail and other items of County Interest

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Cities and counties across the country are figuring out just how to spend their part of the unprecedented $1.9 trillion in federal aid coming through the American Rescue Plan Act’s COVID-19 relief effort.

Vance County’s share is just more than $8.5 million, and county leaders are way ahead of the 2024 deadline to decide where those funds will be used: it’s all being allocated as “revenue replacement, which provides flexibility and allows the county to use the funds for general government purposes,” explained County Manager Jordan McMillen.

Of that total amount, about $2 million is earmarked for Phase 1B of the county’s water system, another $350,000 will be used to replace security doors and locks at the detention center and $347,000 was earmarked to pay employees premium pay back in February 2022, McMillen told WIZS News. The health department is set to get $250,000 as well.

All that doesn’t add up to the total slice of the trillion-dollar pie that’s promised to the county, but the infusion of ARPA funds into the county’s general fund should mean that next month’s scheduled audit presentation will show a fairly large surplus, he said.

McMillen said he expects that those surplus funds will be moved into the capital expense funds, which will allow the county to hold onto that money for future capital expenditures like a new EMS station, future needs at the county jail and more.

 

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The Local Skinny! County Commissioners Minutes Review

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Local meeting minutes are like a system of checks and balances.  You get a recap of news, a chance to double check anything that may have been missed and the words written as the entity in question saw it.

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Plain and simple, I love reading meeting minutes for the locally elected boards, commissions and councils … particularly for the school board, the city council and the county commissioners.

It’s to last month’s Nov. 1 Vance County Board of Commissioners meeting that we turn to today on WIZS for The Local Skinny!  Just another chance to dig around in the dirt and to learn more about what’s going on in Vance County.

These are direct quotes from the meeting minutes found online at vancecounty.org.  This is not the whole meeting minutes but rather highlights that read as newsworthy at this time.

“The Vance County Board of Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, November 1, 2021 at 6:00 p.m. in the commissioners’ conference room, Vance County Administration Building, 122 Young Street, Henderson, NC.”

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“Public comments were heard first. Mr. Ron Regular spoke about a WRAL report regarding the Vance County’s Sheriff’s Office and the three employees who were indicted. He also stated that he would like to see high speed internet available throughout the county.

“Mr. John Miles expressed his concerns with the Sheriff’s Office continuing to pay three employees who are on administrative leave due to being indicted by a grand jury. He asked the board how long are they going to allow this to continue.”

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“Mr. Chase Wingate with Open Broadband was next on the agenda to provide the quarterly project report for the county’s broadband initiative as well as an activity update. He explained the trouble they have had with delays in receiving equipment and stated that it was slowly improving.

“After lengthy discussion, Chairman Brummitt expressed his concerns with agreement milestones not being met. Mr. Wingate responded that he anticipates a great deal of progress to be made soon.”

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“Committee Reports and Recommendations section

“Properties Committee – Surplus Property Offer from Vance County Schools. Mr. McMillen stated that the committee reviewed a letter from the school board seeking to surplus Western Vance School and offering the property and the old two story Eaton Johnson building to the County. Both properties are no longer needed or necessary for public school purposes, and in accordance with NC General Statute 115C-518, the school system is required to offer the properties to the county before attempting to sell the properties. The committee discussed the possibility of utilizing the Western Vance property for a rural park in the future, but did not see an immediate need for the county to take ownership of either property offered. The committee recommended providing a written response declining interest in taking ownership of either property.”

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“From the County Manager’s Report

“Vaya Health Transition and Regional Board Appointments. Mr. McMillen advised that Vaya Health anticipates finalizing their consolidation with Cardinal Innovations January 1, 2022. Vaya anticipates approval from the DHHS Secretary of their alternative board structure in the coming days. A total of 31 counties are in the Vaya catchment area and their intent is to create four regions of counties. Vance County would be in region four with Granville, Franklin, Person, Caswell, Alamance, Chatham, and Stokes County. Maps of Vaya counties and region designations were provided to the board. Mr. McMillen stated that each of the counties are to appoint two members to the regional community board and each of the four regional boards will appoint two members to the newly consolidated and reconstituted Vaya Health Board. Additionally, four members will be appointed to the Vaya Board by the Consumer and Family Advisory Committee (CFAC), one will be appointed by the DHHS Secretary, and up to eight at-large seats will be appointed by the current Vaya Board. Vaya is aiming to have the board in place by January 1st. Vance County will need to appoint two members to the regional community board at the December board meeting. One member must be a commissioner and the second member can be a commissioner, DSS Director, Health Director, Law Enforcement representative, or County Manager.

“Chairman Dan Brummitt expressed his interest in serving in this capacity.”

The Local Skinny! Vance Co. Commissioners Meet

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The Vance County Commissioners selected Leo Kelly, Jr. as chairman and Yolanda Feimster as vice-chair at its recent regular meeting. Kelly takes over from Dan Brummitt as chairman.

Kelly was appointed to the board of commissioners in November 2015 to represent District 5. He is retired from Vance-Granville Community College where he served as dean of continuing education. Kelly serves as president of the Community Relations Council for Kittrell Job Corps and is the financial secretary for his church, Cotton Memorial Presbyterian. He also works as a customer associate for Lowe’s Home Improvement store in Henderson.

Feimster was elected in 2016 to represent District 6. She is an attorney licensed to practice in North Carolina. She holds a B.A. degree in Political Science from UNC-Greensboro and a Juris Doctor (law) degree from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law. She is an Associate minister at St. James Missionary Baptist Church on Oxford Road in Henderson.

The renovation of the former Eaton-Johnson campus is nearing completion, and County Manager Jordan McMillen updated the commission on the progress being made in order for the Department of Social Services and Senior Center to move in to their new building.

“Eaton Johnson is very close,” McMillen told WIZS News in an email today (Monday). “The pavement and landscaping went in last week and we are looking to move DSS and the Senior Center in during the third week in January if the certificate of occupancy is complete by then.  We will also have a ribbon-cutting and tours set up closer to move-in day,” he said.

During their Dec. 6 meeting, the commissioners also got the chance to officially meet and welcome McKinley Perkinson, the county’s new economic development director. Perkinson began her new role in mid-November, and most recently has worked with Franklin County’s economic development agency as a project manager to enhance the county’s website, online presence in the areas of economic development and tourism.

The commissioners received an update from Granville Vance Public Health Director Lisa Harrison about the state of public health in the county. According to data from Harrison, cancer, heart disease and stroke remain the top causes of death in the county.

 

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The Local Skinny! Economic Incentive Grant to M. R. Williams

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County Approves More Than $126,000 In Economic Development Incentive Grant Funding To M.R. Williams, Inc.

The Vance County commissioners on Monday approved more than $126,000 in economic development incentive grant funding for local wholesaler M.R. Wiliams, Inc., which is planning to embark on a $4 million capital improvement project.

M.R. Williams, Inc., located at 230 Raleigh Road in Henderson, plans to add 20,000 square feet of freezer space, as well as expand the warehouse and office areas.

The business currently employs about 250 people, and expects to be able to add at least 25 employees by the time the project is completed.

The grant, which totals $126,821, would be distributed basically over a 5-year period and is part of an effort to support economic development in the county – especially the creation, maintenance and retention of jobs, according to the agenda packet information. The grant specifies certain criteria that the company will have to comply with to continue to receive the funding. The project is estimated to add at least $4 million in real property improvements.

The grant will provide financial support to a local business that has a positive impact on the local economy and is designed to be an incentive for businesses like M.R. Williams to stay in the area and continue to provide jobs for the community.

The Local Skinny! Vance County Grapples With Employee Discontent

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A recent survey of county employees conducted by the UNC School of Government has turned up several areas of discontent, which county officials are hopeful could be eased by providing targeted training opportunities and following recommendations from the surveyor.

Three focus groups totaling 23 county employees were convened during the week of May 24 of 2021, and the Human Resources Committee comprised of Commissioners Carolyn Faines, Archie B. Taylor, Jr.  and Gordon Wilder met in July with UNC School of Government representatives to receive the results.

The three focus groups were titled Department of Social Services, Cross-organizational and Department heads. The results were shared at the August commissioners’ meeting, during which time several distinct themes emerged. The full report can be found at www.vancecounty.org and as part of the August commissioners’ meeting minutes.

The survey results captured employee sentiment, which ranged from feelings of disrespect to intimidation from supervisors. But the survey also reported that employees find their jobs interesting, they enjoy serving their community and have caring co-workers.

The recommendations, designed for the entire organization and not a specific department, include investing in supervisor training that emphasizes on effective communication, the role of supervisors as stewards and as a player in conflict resolution. Another recommendation is development of a set of values that govern and guide workplace behavior – to be developed at the employee level and involving the whole organization in the process.

Among the survey results were comments that ranged from employees enduring disrespect and intimidation from supervisors to feeling expendable or having their ideas not valued or taken seriously.

During the August meeting, county staff explained that efforts already are underway to provide additional training opportunities for supervisors, but those efforts have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The HR committee discussed the importance of group trainings and felt that on-site workshops would be especially valuable for supervisors.

As for the suggestions for the board of commissioners, the survey results showed that employees value greatly the opinion of the commissioners, and they would like to see more commissioners attend employee events to show their interest in the county’s employees; the employees work hard to bring ideas for discussion – don’t dismiss them outright.

One idea the commissioners considered, but decided against pursuing, is taking over the responsibilities of the local Social Services board. A handful of counties in the state have made this switch, but Vance County commissioners decided not to join that group.

Commissioner Faines said the DSS board had not addressed several concerns from DSS employees, but Commissioner Taylor – who also sits on the DSS board – disputed that notion. It was reflected in the minutes that Taylor said the DSS board is focused on employee morale, employee treatment and the best operation of the department.

“When issues come up, they are addressed,” the minutes read. Taylor also said that the current structure is working properly and there is not need to change it.

Chairman Dan Brummitt said he would like to hold a work session to further discuss the matter.

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