Regular Session
The Holmes County Board of Commissioners met in a Regular Session on the above date with the following members present: Commissioner Kenneth Williams, Commissioner Monty Merchant, Commissioner Jim King, Commissioner Phillip Music, Commissioner Raymon Thomas, Chairman of the Board.
Mr. Greg Wood,
Mr. Brandon Young,
Angie Jonas, Deputy Clerk, was present and kept the minutes.
Chairman Thomas opened the meeting with the prayer and pledge.
The Board discussed the consent items individually.
Commissioner King stated that a correction should be made on page six of the
The Board discussed the contract with Bullard Excavating
for the Son in
The Board discussed the SR 79 Resolution #08-17. Administrator
Wood explained that under this resolution, the Florida Department of
Transportation will be purchasing some property for the road widening project,
and that the property will be maintained on the
(Resolution 08-17)
The Board discussed budget amendment #4. Administrator Wood explained that there were some adjustments to the budget due to State funding changes, the miscalculation of the Ad Valorem Revenues and various miscellaneous line items. Commissioner King made a motion to approve the budget amendment. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Budget Amendment #4)
The Board discussed the Development Commission nominations. Chairman Thomas asked the Board whether to accept the nomination of Mr. Nolan Baker as the representative of District Two to replace Mr. Scott Prescott, and the re-nomination recommendation of Mr. Jeffery Johnson as the District Three representative. Commissioner King made a motion to accept the appointments. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Letters of Recommendation)
The Board discussed the previously tabled Petroleum Bid agenda item. Each vendor had the option to bid on each of three product sections. Bid section #1 included engine oil, transmission fluid, universal tractor hydraulic fluid, fifty weight drive train oil, bulk engine oil, and bulk universal tractor hydraulic fluid. Bid section # 2 included multipurpose grease, multipurpose gear lubrication, brake fluid, wheel bearing grease, five-year life antifreeze, other antifreeze, and two-cycle engine oil. The third section included gas and diesel. The following bids were submitted:
|
|
Home Oil |
|
CMOC |
|
Bid Section 1 |
$595.60 |
$603.85 |
$499.35 |
|
Bid Section 2 |
766.34 |
846.87 |
884.12 |
|
Diesel |
2.54 |
2.70 |
2.61 |
|
Gas |
2.14 |
2.33 |
2.25 |
|
Vendor Totals |
1366.62 |
1455.76 |
1388.34 |
Commissioner Williams made a motion to award the bid to the lowest bidder in each bid section. Commissioner King seconded the motion. The motion passed with Chairman Thomas voting no; and all others voting yes.
(Bids)
The Board discussed the draft Take Home Vehicle Policy that was submitted by Administrator Wood. Administrator Wood stated that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is requiring that a policy be devised regarding the take home vehicle benefit. He explained that as part of that policy, the benefit will be taxed and that all non-exempt vehicles will be required to maintain a mileage log. He also stated that after conversation with the Auditor, the determination is still being made regarding exemption status for all of the vehicles. Attorney Young advised that it should be stated in the policy whether non-employees, such as family members, are permitted to ride in the vehicles. He also advised that it would be beneficial to the County to add provisions in the acknowledgement section of the policy specifically stating that non-employees riding in County vehicles are not covered under the County insurance policy. Commissioner Williams made a motion to table the Vehicle Take Home Policy so that it may be revised. Commissioner Merchant seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Draft Vehicle Take Home Policy)
The Board discussed the Out of County Vehicle Policy. Previously, the Board had asked the Administrator to devise a policy regarding appropriate use of County vehicles for travel. Chairman Thomas suggested that the County look into getting a “motor pool” vehicle for use by individuals who are not assigned a specific County vehicle, so that it may be utilized for business travel. Administrator Wood stated that he would look into revising the policy at a later date to include a “motor pool” vehicle as needed. Commissioner Merchant made a motion to table the Out of County Vehicle Policy. Commissioner King seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Draft Out of
The Board reviewed the draft Cellular Telephone Policy. Administrator Wood explained that due to the requirements set forth by the IRS, each telephone that is under the County’s account must have a log that lists each call. He proposed the draft policy, which would eliminate the need for telephone logs by registering the telephones to individual employees, rather than the County. He stated that under this policy each eligible employee would receive a taxable $50.00 per month allowance toward cellular telephone service to be maintained by the employee for County business. He asked the Board to determine employee eligibility for the allowance and also whether to mandate a cellular service provider. Eligible departments listed in “attachment A” of the draft policy were the following: County Administrator, County Commissioners, District Road Foremen, EMS director, EMS Shift Supervisor and Assistant Director, Emergency Management Department, Special Projects Manager and Extension Office. The Board discussed the allowance for the Emergency Management Department, which currently utilizes four cellular telephones. Mrs. Wanda Stafford, Emergency Management Director, stated that she would eventually like to carry just one telephone and one radio rather than the two cellular telephones. Commissioner Williams made a motion to amend the Cellular Telephone Policy so that a specific cellular telephone service carrier is not mandated and also so that an allowance of $50.00 will be afforded to each of the positions listed in “attachment A” of the policy, with the exception of the Assistant EMS Director, which is not yet an established position. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Draft Cellular Telephone Policy)
Administrator Wood asked the Board for clarification regarding a leave policy, specifically whether to pay an employee for holiday time that may occur while he or she is accepting donated time. He stated it was in the opinion of the Labor Attorney that employees should not be paid for the holiday while accepting leave time donations. Commissioner Williams made a motion that an employee who is receiving donated time should not be paid for holidays that fall during such time. Commissioner Merchant seconded the motion. The motion passed; with Commissioner Music voting no and all others voting yes. Chairman Thomas asked whether the policy should be applied to non-union employees as well. Commissioner Williams stated that his motion should be amended to reflect this change. Commissioner Merchant also agreed to revise his second to include non-union employees.
(Attorney Letter)
The Board discussed the Funeral Leave Policy. Administrator Wood stated that there was a need for clarification in this policy because an employee had requested funeral leave for the death of a spouse’s Aunt. He also discussed the definition of “immediate family”, which was listed in the policy. Commissioner Williams made a motion to clarify that funeral leave time will be paid for a death in the employee’s immediate family and does not include spouse’s relatives. Commissioner Merchant seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Funeral Leave Manual Excerpt)
Administrator Wood stated that with the retirement of Mr. Wilburn Baker, Fire Inspector and EMS Director, that the workload of the Fire Inspector position does not justify hiring a full time person. He suggested allowing the Building Department to utilize contractual certified personnel to conduct the inspections. He also suggested utilizing the current fee schedule which allows for a five-percent administrative fee that would be retained by the Building Department, and the remainder of the fee would be paid to the inspector. Commissioner King made a motion to approve the fire inspection procedure. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Fee Schedule)
Administrator Wood asked whether a seventy-two hour “turn around” policy could be devised regarding public records requests for information from personnel files. He proposed allowing a policy to be drafted stating that records requests will be processed within a seventy-two hour time period, so that documents may be screened for personal information, such as social security numbers, which should not be released to the public. Attorney Young advised that subject to Chapter 119 of Case Law, a reasonable amount of time has been deemed to be a period of thirty days and that three days is permissible for a records request from a personnel file, should the Board so choose. Commissioner Merchant stated that he would like a turn around of forty-eight hours rather than seventy-two. Administrator Wood clarified that forty-eight hours would be defined as two working days. Commissioner Merchant made a motion to establish a policy requiring at least forty-eight hours to deliver requests on personnel records. Commissioner Williams seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Info)
The Board discussed timesheet records for non-salary employees. Administrator Wood stated that he had prepared a sample timesheet at the request of the Board. He clarified that the new timesheet would be used for all hourly Board employees with the exception of the Road Department. Commissioner Williams stated that he would be in favor of a time clock method of record keeping rather than the timesheet. Commissioner Williams made a motion to table the timesheet item and for Administrator Wood to gather pricing information for Board review. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
(Draft Timesheet)
Administrator
Wood stated that everyone was invited to attend the retirement party for Mr.
Wilburn Baker to be held at
Administrator Wood stated that previously, the Board had contributed funds toward the retirement of an employee. He asked whether it would be allowable to set a policy that the Board contributes funds up to a $300.00 allowance toward the retirement festivities for individuals that had reached sixty two years of age or have served the County for thirty years. Commissioner King made a motion for the County to fund up to $300.00 for retirement ceremonies for individuals who have served thirty years or have reached sixty-two years of age. Commissioner Music seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
Administrator
Wood stated that the Library budget will be discussed again at the
Administrator Wood stated that a representative of FEMA is currently auditing paperwork in the Emergency Management Office regarding Hurricane Ivan.
Commissioner King, Commissioner Merchant, Commissioner Music, Attorney Young and Administrator Wood wished Chairman Thomas well and thanked him for his service on the Board.
Commissioner Music made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Merchant seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously.
__________________________________ ___________________________________
Clerk Chairman