MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

May 22, 2001

            The Board of County Commissioners of Cecil County met at the County Administration Building, 107 North Street, Elkton, Maryland, on May 22, 2001.  The following members of the Board were present:

            Nelson K. Bolender, President

            Harry A. Hepbron, Commissioner

            Phyllis Kilby, Commissioner

Constituting a full Board.

            The meeting was called to order by President Bolender at 10:00 a.m. and opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.

-         RESOLUTION – AMENDMENT OF THE CONSOLIDATED PUBLIC IMPORVEMENT PROGRAM FY01 THROUGH FY06 –

Mr. Al Wein, County Administrator, presented a Resolution to amend the FY01-FY06 Capital Improvement Program to reflect the deletion and deferral of the following projects in the amount of $2,130,918 for FY02:

            Deletion of $91,918 of pay-as-you-go funding for the Board of Education;

            Deletion of $260,000 in pay-as-you-go funding for the CCC for the Multi-purpose building roof replacement and the Multi-purpose space reconfiguration project;

            Deferral of $300,000 in Pay-as-you-go funding for the Public Libraries towards the design/engineering for the Susquehanna Library Branch;

            Deferral of $325,000 in pay-as-you-go funding for the Sheriff’s Department for parking lot overlay and lighting renovation;

            Deferral of $815,000 in pay-as-you-go funding for the Roads Department  - Roads and Bridges to out years;

            Deferral of $10,000 in bond funding for the Roads Department;

            Deletion of $35,000 in pay-as-you-go funding for the Aging Department for feasibility study;

            Deletion of $294,000 in bond funding from Facilities Maintenance.

Motion was made by Commissioner Kilby, seconded by Commissioner Hepbron, and unanimously carried to adopt the revised Capital Improvement Program.

A copy of the Resolution is incorporated as a part of these minutes.

-         ADOPTION OF FY02 BUDGET –

Mr. Craig Whiteford, Budget Manager, summarized the following changes authorized by the Board of Estimates between the proposed budget issued May 1, 2001, to the approved budget issued May 22, 2001:

            Pay for Performance – for 276 County employees – Improved matrix to average of 3% for meets expectations with lump sum increases to employees over their maximum of their individual pay scale.  Employees in the top third of their pay scale will receive a maximum of 3% for consistently exceeds expectations and a 2% increase for meets expectations.

            Sheriff – Fully funded salaries at 3%, increased operating funding by $72,000 for various categories (requested $193,000).  Sheriff has pledged to fund an additional 2% for his deputies through operational efficiency and merging of functions, which amounts to approximately $144,000 including fringes.  The % increase for the Law Enforcement function is 14.98%, and the operation wide % increase including CARC is 2.24%.

            Board of Education – Funded Maintenance of Effort as $678,581 plus Teachers Challenge Grant at $1,798,341 for total of #2,476,922, or 5.12% increase.

            CCC – Funded additional $78,000 for small capital items, namely chimney repairs.

            Planning – Allocated an additional $50,000 for farmland preservation, funded by reduction in Roads Overlay for district 3.

            Revenues – total increase of $401,025 – Largely made up of additional federal and state grant carryovers.

            The bulk of the changes were funded from reductions in Roads Department overlay program, plus fringe reduction (pension contribution requirement is less due to performance of pool) to more accurately reflect anticipated experience for FY 2002.  Roads overlay program is now reflected at $2.1 million, down from proposed 3.34 million.

            Commissioner Hepbron stated he feels the Cecil Community College Railroad Avenue Continuing Education project seems to be a low priority since some of the programs could probably he housed in existing public schools or the college classroom space.

                        Commissioner Hepbron expressed concern about the cost associated with the design for the Elkton High School renovation.  He stressed the importance of continuing aggressive economic development efforts to increase the tax base.

            Motion was made by Commissioner Kilby, seconded by Commissioner Hepbron, and unanimously carried to adopt the Fiscal Year 2002 Budget but to withhold the SPCA portion of the budget until there is a signed  contract.  A copy of the approved budget is incorporates as a part of these minutes.

            Motion was made by Commissioner Kilby, seconded by Commissioner Hepbron, and unanimously carried to adjourn.