Funding issues appeared to be at the heart of most of the agenda items considered by the Jones County Board of Commissioners at its third Tuesday meeting.
The May 17 meeting was called to order by Board Chairman Chris Weidner, and the prayer and pledge were led by Chris Smarr, Care Pastor for Gray United Methodist Church.
Board appointments for the Jones County Historic Preservation Commission were the first item considered. Commissioner Wendy Vaughn said she had spoken to Aubrey Newby, and he agreed to be on the commission. Commissioner Sam Kitchens said he contacted Steve Saunders, and he was willing to serve, and Commissioner John Wood stated that he talked to Earlene Hamilton, and she would like to continue as a member of the commission.
Kitchens made a motion to accept those as nominations, and the vote to approve was unanimous.
New business
Jones County IT Director Will Harp presented a request for a second IT employee in conjunction with Elections Superintendent Marion Hatton. The idea of the department heads to share an additional employee stemmed from the technology needed to handle elections that now starts with the voting machines themselves.
The IT Department currently has one employee, Harp, and the Elections Office had two, Hatton and Elections Registrar Sidney Higley. Harp told the commissioners that Hatton needs help setting up the voting machines.
Hatton said she has to hire outside help, which now comes from Dominion at a cost of $6,500 per election.
“If we could do this in house, this money could be used to pay for the shared position. This year we have four elections. That will cost the county $26,000,” she said.
Harp first asked for an additional IT position during the 2022 budget discussions because of the growing technology needs in the county.
Weidner asked the amount that would need to be added to the budget for the position, and Harp said that would need to be hashed out.
Kitchens said he liked the idea of having a dual-purpose position.
“That’s a good use of resources,” he said.
Harp said he would work with County Administrator Jason Rizner about the position and bring the information back to the commissioners.
Human Resources Director Shannon Wagner asked the Board for clarification for the percentage of salary increases for employees who achieve certification.
Kitchens said if the certification includes a state license that benefits the county, the usual increase is 10 percent. He added that, to keep the salary increase, the employee needs to keep up the certification.
Rizner said he has tasked department heads to look for certifications that would benefit their departments and the county.
Weidner asked for a 5 p.m. work session before the third Tuesday meeting in June for code enforcement and planning and zoning.
“We need ideas about where we are and where we are going,” he said.
Old Business
Kitchens brought up the issue of Cost-of-Living Allowance increases.
“We can’t watch the news without hearing about inflation. It’s affecting all of our employees and staff,” he said.
The commissioner said he knows the salary study helped to bring employees up to market standards, but it seems like the county employees are under again. He said he knows the county has been doing 2 percent COLA and 2 percent merit increases, but the county is not competing.
Kitchens made the motion to give all employees a 4 percent salary increase, to begin immediately, and go back to 2 and 2 next year.
The vote to approve Kitchen’s motion was unanimous.
Comments
Parks and Recreation Director Bert Rosenberger talked about the annual Independence Day Celebration with the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce. He said he was glad to say the celebration would take place June 30 at the Morris Bank Recreation Complex.
Rosenberger suggested the use of a licensed and insured company to handle the fireworks display. He said he had identified a source of funds for the fireworks, but he needs to act now to schedule the display.
Code Enforcement Officer Tiffany Davis said she had been working with 20 abandoned properties and had everything ready to take them to court. She announced that all but six of those properties had been taken care of.
Davis said she would be proceeding with the court process for those remaining six properties.
Blight Committee Chairman Frank Duke said committee members had some questions they would like to ask board members when appropriate. He said that included updates on what progress had been made.
“The corridor into Jones County is the front door to your community, and that means a lot. You have to think about that when you are marketing Jones County,” he said.
Duke said the former Cherokee Products property was sitting in disarray.
“It’s a prime example of how blight can take over,” he said.
Weidner reminded Duke of the third Tuesday work session they had scheduled and that it was open to the public.
The next meeting of the Board of Commissioners is scheduled at 6 p.m. June 7.
