Here’s what happened during the June 21, 2022 Bulloch County Commission meeting.
Call to Order, Welcome Media and Visitors
Invocation and Pledge
Roll Call – Commissioners Walter Gibson and Jappy Stringer were not present
Approval of General Agenda
Public Comment
- Keely Fennel and Andy Burns presented an update on the development progress on the Creek on the Blue Mile project.
- Don Poe – addressed commissioners about Feed the ‘Boro and their increasing obligations amid the riding costs
Public Hearing – FY 2023 Budget
A total of six individuals addressed commissioners. Watch all six below.
Consent Agenda – voted on as a whole slate, approved unanimously
- Minutes of May 31, 2022 5:00 PM
- Minutes of Jun 7, 2022 5:30 PM
- Resolution to enter into a joint grant application with City of Statesboro for a CDBG Employment Incentive Program
- Bulloch County is submitting a joint grant application for a CDBG Employment Incentive Program Grant with the City of Statesboro. These grants are used to assist cities and counties with improvements to economic development, public facilities, and housing in Georgia. The City of Statesboro will be the lead applicant and will be responsible for the grant once it is funded. This particular grant will be requesting funds to assist Aspen Aerogels, Inc. with water and sewer improvements. The Bulloch County Board of Commissioners needs to pass a resolution supporting a Joint EIP Grant application with the City of Statesboro and acknowledging the City of Statesboro is the lead applicant.
- Resolution to Approve ACCG-IRMA Coverage for 2022/2023
- The resolution approves the renewal of property and liability coverage through ACCG-IRMA, as quoted in the proposal. The premium (price) for the 2022/2023 coverage will be $685,465, with liability limits of $2,000,000 ($1,000,000 for automobile liability). The new premium is $107,813 (or about 18%) higher than last year’s cost of $577,652.
- This difference is due to several factors, including inflationary/market changes, claims experience, and growth. ACCG has reported an increase in overall claims (among all members, including Bulloch County) as well as a reduction in investment income due to market volatility. These factors have increased the price for all ACCG-IRMA member entities. Growth factors impacting the cost for Bulloch County included higher values, overall, in the County’s vehicles, equipment, and property schedules, as well as the employee count. (Growth in these areas creates premium increases.) ACCG offered a variety of deductible options for consideration.
- After careful review, it appears that the increased risk associated with a higher deductible does not justify the small opportunity for premium savings. As a result, staff is not recommending any deductible changes at this time. After evaluating all factors, the staff recommends that Bulloch County renew this coverage with expiring deductibles and limits, at the cost of $685,465. It is important to note that the final price was reduced by a safety discount (more than $38,000) and a dividend credit of $67,179. Approval of the attached resolution is recommended by staff.
- Catastrophic Inmate Medical Insurance Renewal
- This is a renewal quote from Hunt Insurance Group, LLC, for the inmate excess loss medical insurance, covering inmates at the Bulloch County Jail and Bulloch County Correctional Institute.
- This renewal proposal provides the same per-claim limits as our current plan – a $75,000.00 specific deductible per inmate and a $500,000.00 limit of coverage per inmate. This insurance plan covers claims that exceed $75,000.00, up to a maximum of $500,000.00 per covered claim. The premium (cost) is $17,739.36, which is $3.88 per inmate per month.
- This represents a 4.3% increase from last year’s cost of $3.72 per inmate per month. The increase resulted from the overall increase in healthcare costs due to inflation. Approval to renew the Catastrophic Inmate Medical Insurance, with the terms shown on the attached proposal, is recommended.
- Motion to enter in a service agreement with Unifirst in the amount of $13,065.00.
- Unifirst will provide walkoff mats, mops, terry towels, urinal pads to the following buildings: North Main Annex, Agri Business Center, Bulloch County Annex, Magistrate Court, Probate Court, and Judicial Annex.
- Approval of Amended Summary Plan Description for Employee Health Care Plan
- Staff is seeking approval of changes to the Bulloch County Employee Health Care Plan. Several edits to the document were necessary to comply with the “No Surprises Act,” recent legislation which is designed to protect patients from surprise bills for emergency services at out-of-network facilities or from out-of-network providers at in-network facilities.
- The TPA/Vendor has drafted these plan revisions to ensure county compliance.
- In addition, there are two other changes to the Plan:
- The Plan now reflects coverage for “Teladoc,” a virtual provider for general medical needs, dermatology, and mental health concerns; and
- A previous typographical error in the County’s ZIP code was corrected.
- There are no other changes to the Plan or the coverage it provides. Approval is recommended by staff.
- Adoption of Restated Flexible Benefits Plan and Associated Documents.
- Bulloch County maintains, as a benefit for employees, a Flexible Benefits Plan that allows certain benefits, including Flexible Spending Accounts, to be funded from pre-tax contributions.
- The Plan is described in, and governed by, a Plan document previously approved by the Board of Commissioners. The Flexible Spending programs are administered by a vendor/partner, who also maintains the Flexible Benefits Plan Document.
- As a result of a corporate merger/acquisition during the last fiscal year, Plan administration was transferred from the previous vendor, Swerdlin, to the current administrator, Benefit Planning Consultants (BPC). Since then, BPC has been working to update client plan documents to the standard BPC format.
- The only substantive change to the Plan adjusts the roll-over amount from a “flat” $500 to the IRS standard amount as adjusted for inflation. This is a benefit to employees as it means that the current rollover maximum will increase from $500 to $550; future roll-over maximums will automatically update with inflation without the need for further plan amendments.
- The restated Plan, along with a Summary of Plan Provisions authorizing it, is attached. Adoption of this restated Plan, with an effective date retroactive to 7/1/2021, will allow employees to benefit from the rollover increase right away. In addition to the Plan document itself, we are required to approve and adopt a Summary Plan Description (SPD) which explains the Plan to employees.
- The SPD is also attached. Approval of these three documents is recommended
New Business
- Approval of Intergovernmental Agreement with the City of Statesboro for Use of ARPA Funds to Support Food Bank
- The intergovernmental agreement with the City of Statesboro commits the County and City to use $500,000.00 each ($1,000,000.00 total) in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to purchase property and construct a facility for the Food Bank on the terms and conditions contained in a separate Memorandum of Understanding with the Food Bank. Approval is recommended.
- Motion made by Mosely, seconded by Deal, approved 4-0
- Approval of Memorandum of Understanding with The Food Bank, Inc., and the City of Statesboro
- The City of Statesboro provides the terms and conditions on which the County and the City will provide American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Food Bank for the purchase of property and construction of a facility for the Food Bank. Approval is recommended by staff.
- Approved unanimously
- Motion to approve a bid and enter into a contract with Reeves Construction Company for County Road Resurfacing 2022 in the amount of $7,945,695, to be funded by LMIG and TSPLOST.
- The resurfacing list for this year is larger than normal because of some unused TSPLOST funds that are being applied to the project. This contract includes the resurfacing of approximately 45 miles of county paved roads.
- Also included in the contract is the restriping of the roads being resurfaced. The list of roads is attached. Sealed bids were received on June 10, 2022, as detailed in the attached memo from Faye Bragg, Purchasing Manager. The low bidder, Reeves Construction, met all requirements of the County’s bid specifications.
- The County Engineer’s cost estimate for the project (base bid plus three add alternates) was $7,414,285.15. There was some difficulty in estimating the project cost due to price inflation of asphalt and other items. Even though the low bid was above the cost estimate, after consultation with the Finance Department, there is sufficient TSPLOST funding available to fund the base bid plus the three add alternates, which would be a total of $7,945,695. There is a pricing index clause in the contract, so actual cost of the work may go up or down depending on the state average price for liquid asphalt, which is determined by GDOT.
- The County Engineer recommends awarding the contract for Bulloch County Road Resurfacing in the amount of $7,945,695 to Reeves Construction.
- Approved unanimously
- Motion to purchase computers and hardware for the new fire engines.
- Computer aided dispatch assist public safety agencies by keeping them informed and safe because the units in the field can see exactly what the 911 dispatchers are seeing on their computers in real time.
- The Bulloch County Sheriff’s department has used this type of CAD system for years to assist their deputies. Our goal is to outfit each new apparatus with the equipment that will afford our personnel with the information they need while responding to all emergency calls. We only received one complete quote. It was from Mobile Communications America and they could purchase and install all of the equipment needed. Emergency Network Services gave us a quote for a computer but no other hardware was included. When asked to redo the computer quote and add the hardware, he stated he didn’t have the time to this right now. West Chatham Warning Devices was contacted with a list and they provided a partial quote but then stated they were unable to provide the majority of the hardware that we requested. Because of these circumstances, we request the board approve awarding the project to Mobile Communications America, located in Statesboro.
- Approved unanimously.
Commission and Staff Comments
Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 10:28 a.m.
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