Johnston County
Board
of Commissioners report from March 19 session |
 |
Commissioners present: Chairman
Ted Godwin, Tony Braswell, Jeff Carver,
Patrick Harris, Butch Lawter, Chad Stewart,
Larry Wood
Absent: None
Photo courtesy of Chris Johnson, County of Johnston
The County Commissioners spent much of Tuesday in a "work session" held at Johnston Regional Airport with department heads who shared lots of background information and recommendations the board will use as it crafts the county's budget for the upcoming fiscal year that starts July 1. What follows is a summary of topics that were addressed:
Kyle Laux of Davenport & Company, the county's financial advisors, highlighted notable fiscal progress made in recent years:
• Seven consecutive years of General Fund surpluses have not only boosted the county's "rainy day fund" but also pushed the county closer to the top of bond ratings that translate into lower interest rates for borrowed funds. Mr. Laux credited that to "strong management from the board and staff as well as improving economic conditions."
• The county has saved more than $31 million since 2010 "by strategically refinancing existing debt." That, Mr. Laux said, gives the county good capacity to handle future needs. Already well within affordability, he noted, are the $76-million bond issue approved last year by the county's voters for public schools and Johnston Community College and $49 million to be borrowed (without voter approval) for the new Public Safety Center that includes a larger jail on a new site east of Smithfield.
Johnston County's credit ratings have been "increasing steadily during the past decade," Mr. Laux observed. To reach the highest rung on the bond-rating ladder will likely require further improvements in the "local economy" --- especially per-capita income and median household income, he noted. Graphs provided commissioners show Johnston's per-capita income falls short of the $40,000 mark exceeded by comparable counties in North Carolina.
EXPANSION OF WATER SYSTEM IN THE WORKS
Chandra Farmer, director of public utilities, reviewed plans to expand the county's water system to meet unrelenting residential and commercial growth in Johnston. The cost of adding treatment capacity is estimated at $129 million over the next 20 years; the cost of adding transmission pipelines is another $87 million, she said. As a result, the county is planning "aggressive" rate hikes over the next several years --- 6 percent for residential customers in 2020 and again in 2021, she noted. In the works just now are an expansion of the county's water-treatment plant on the Neuse River at Wilson's Mills, purchasing additional water from Sampson County and the City of Wilson as well as the Town of Smithfield, and looking at conversion of an abandoned rock quarry near Princeton into a water-storage facility.
EXPANDED WASTEWATER TREATMENT, TOO
Ms. Farmer said engineers are at work designing an expansion of the county's wastewater-treatment facilities with an eye toward replacing the principal plant on the Neuse River at Smithfield with a completely new plant on higher ground near the Johnston County Landfill. The idea is to get those facilities "out of harm's way" in light of Hurricane Matthew's flooding of the Smithfield plant in 2016, she said. With an estimated cost estimate of $270 million over the next 20 years for that and other projects, she noted, sewer rates are on schedule to go up 10 percent each of the next two years.
FEE OPTIONS FOR GARBAGE DISPOSAL
Rick Proctor, director of solid waste services, gave the board several options to consider in place of the current "decal" system for charging rural residents who carry garbage and trash to the county's roadside "convenience centers." The simplest option, he noted, is to eliminate the vehicle decals, which currently cost a household $100 a year, and cover the county's expenses with an annual appropriation from the General Fund of $2.3 million. Another option is to add an annual charge to homeowners' property-tax bills. That charge could be as high as $37 or perhaps lower, depending on how garbage and recycling services are figured, Mr. Proctor noted. Surrounding counties handle this issue in a variety of ways. Wake County, for instance, charges no one who brings in household waste. No other county in this region uses a decal system like Johnston's, Mr. Proctor said.
Reporting on activities at the Johnston County Landfill, Mr. Proctor said its system that captures methane gas from decomposing garbage is producing about $93,000 annually from sales to Duke Energy of electricity the system generates. On another topic, he said the county's landfill, opened in 1973, continues to have a "life expectancy" of 80 years. Landfill operations so far have taken about half of about 1,100 acres available at the site off Highway 210 west of Smithfield, he noted.
PLANNING AND ZONING PROPOSALS
Braston Newton, director of planning and zoning, presented several options for amending county ordinances to decrease density of residential development in rural Johnston. Those options include:
• Adjusting density calculations to a "net usable land method."
• Requiring a minimum lot size of 30,000 square feet (no lot-size rule at present).
• Allowing "Planned Developments" to cluster units with increased density while requiring a greater percentage of open space.
• Decreasing density and increasing open-space requirements in environmentally sensitive zones and water-supply watersheds.
• Mandating "attenuation" of stormwater (measures to reduce runoff).
Mr. Newton also recommended a re-drawing of the county's "Municipal Transition Districts" to encourage more residential development closer to towns. Sewer service provided by municipalities could attract developers to those areas and help reduce momentum for sprawling development in rural areas, he said.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING
Chris Johnson of the county's Office of Economic Development told commissioners his No. 1 impediment to recruiting business and industry to Johnston is availability of employable "talent." He mentioned several things going on to improve that situation, including recent expansion of the Workforce Development Center at Clayton and an apprenticeship program seeking out employers willing to take on more young workers. Another impediment in recruiting is a lack of available buildings for prospects. He suggested dedicating county revenues from the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, once it is built here, to economic-development projects like the construction of so-called "spec" (or speculation) buildings sought by new business and industry.
On the marketing front, County Manager Rick Hester pointed out that Lu Hickey and others in the county's Human Resources Department have taken on extra duty from time to time as Johnston's "public information officers." He suggested the time has come for the county to hire someone to handle that task as well as marketing opportunities. The position's job description could include "social media specialist," Mr. Hester noted. In response, commissioners authorized the county manager to include the position in his upcoming budget proposal for 2019-20.
Commissioner Braswell brought up the topic of highway safety near the close of Tuesday's "work session." READ the editor's take on the OPINIONS page>