The Jones County Board of Health approved its budget for the new fiscal year and considered increasing fees for environmental services at its second quarterly meeting of 2024.
The June 5 meeting was called to order by chairman Ed Barbee.
Approval of the 2025 budget was the first item of business. The budget was presented by Sylvia Woodford with the North Central Health District. The proposed budget was decreased from the 2024 budget due to completion of the building renovation project last fall.
The 2025 proposed budget amount was $939,650, with salaries the largest budget item at $398,268. Woodford said the health department is fully staffed.
She said the governor appropriated a four percent cost of living increase for state employees, which included the health department staff. The state is expected to reimburse 85 percent of that cost.
The 2025 budget was unanimously approved by board members.
Waiver
Environmental Health Specialist Maggie Graham brought a waiver request to the board for a Gray Highway property that has a septic system in failure. She explained that the system has been in place since the 1970s, but the soil conditions are not suitable for a septic system.
Graham said a soil scientist conducted soil borings with the results being the soil was unsatisfactory for use of absorption fields. The recommendation was to install a new system that would work in conjunction with the old one.
She said the new system would have more lines and used in combination with the existing system, creates the possibility of increasing the absorption area of the soil.
Graham said those suggestions would increase the chances of the repair of the system, but there was no guarantee it would be successful.
The waiver includes a hold harmless agreement for the county.
Board member Chris Weidner said he is familiar with this type of problem and agreed with the suggestions for repair.
Graham said she would work with the installer and make multiple site visits as the project progresses.
Weidner made a motion to approve the waiver, and it was approved unanimously.
Fee increase
Graham presented fee increases for water and sewer services performed by the Jones County Health Department.
She said the septic and water fees had not increased since 2010, and Jones County is trying to align with other counties. The specialist said time and equipment studies were being done statewide.
“We are not trying to make a profit. We just want to cover the costs of our services,” she said.
The spreadsheet provided to board members included the actual cost of providing the service, an amount equaling 65 percent of the actual cost, the current fee charged by Jones County, the district average fee and the suggested new fee.
For example, the current fee for a site evaluation for a new septic system is $250. The actual cost of the service is $404 with 65 percent of that cost being $263. The suggested new fee is $265.
The fee for the evaluation of a new water system is currently $100. The actual cost to provide the service is $233 with 65 percent of that cost being $151. The suggested new fee is $150.
Graham said she calculated that the increase over the past year using the new fees would have added $5,270 in income.
Board member Kara Moore said it would be hard to argue with the increases after seeing the actual costs of the services. She made the motion to approve the suggested increases based on recovering 65 percent of the cost to perform the services.
The motion was approved unanimously. Graham explained that the next step for the increase was approval by the Board of Commissioners. Following that approval, the new fee schedule would be implemented.
Plumbing issues
Jones County Building Maintenance Director Donald White spoke to board members about an issue that has plagued the newly renovated building since employees moved back into it in November.
He said the sewage lines in the new addition of the building have continued to clog, causing continuous issues. White said he had a virtual meeting scheduled with a plumbing company the end of the week.
“As far as the county is concerned, all the liability for this is with the contractor. We have never had an issue before the renovation,” he said.
The director said the plan is to run a camera through the lines to find the problem.
Nursing Director Sherry Bryant said the county had been great to work with.
Reports
Graham began the reports starting with environmental health. She said the county has 56 food service providers, and they usually inspect 25 facilities a quarter.
She said the county no longer has a body art facility.
Graham reported there were 27 septic permits issued and 25 septic repair permits. She said complaints were down, and animal bites remained average.
Bryant presented her nursing report. She began by passing out copies of the new Jones Living magazine and thanked The Jones County News for including an article about the Jones County Health Department.
She reported that the number services were not back up to the 2019 pre-COVID numbers, but they were improving. The director said revenues were up, and she attributed that to Nurse Practitioner Kimberly Jones and the services she provides.
“We hope to get people back in here,” she said. “We have a plan this fall and hope to partner with the county for vaccines.”
Bryant said the department is going electronic for school-based flu applications, but paper forms would still be taken to the school for those without computer access.
Woodford presented the financial report. She said the period ending April 30 marked 83 percent of the fiscal year. She said revenues were $1,158,715 and expenditures $1,360,260. The reported deficit was $203,545.
The cash in the bank as of April 30 was $369,867. Woodford pointed out that the total program income for the Jones County Health Department increased 24 percent over the previous year.
Interim North Central Health District Director Dr. Thomas Craft spoke at the meeting via Zoom. He thanked the county for working with the health department on the building issues.
Craft thanked Environmental Health for the work on increasing service fees and Bryant for being proactive. The director reported that bird flu was making an impact in counties with large poultry facilities. He said it has also begun infecting cattle.
Craft said flu kills the birds, but cattle are asymptomatic. He said there have been three cases of bird flu in people working with the animals.
“We are monitoring beef and have found no live virus in the food supply. We are also watching the milk supply, but so far no dairy cows have been infected,” he said.
The director said Georgia does allow the sale of raw milk but emphasized the need for pasteurization.
“It’s important to only drink pasteurized milk, especially children,” Craft stated.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Bryant introduced Paul Mathews, who is the new director of special projects for the district.
The next Jones County Board of Health meeting is scheduled Sept. 4.
