Town Council 02-07-2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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the year. Councilman Cook made a motion to join the Meijer Opioid settlement. Councilman Williams seconded. Motion carried 5-0 County Communication Opioid Restricted Fund -This has to do with the manufacturer settlement and the first payment of the restricted funds has been received. The restricted fund must be used for things like education, prevention, and treatment. The Town's portion of that is $25,539.18. Josh Messmer from the County has asked if the town would partner with the county and the town of Martinsville to use these funds for a county -wide project. Town Attorney mentioned that the first FSSA grant applications are starting to come in, so any action on this should probably be done quickly. Councilman Cook made a motion for the joint project. Councilman Williams seconded. Motion carried 5- 0. Reestablishing Cumulative Fund - Every two years, the CCD fund has to be re-established. This fund is used for town improvements. The legislation was passed last year that increases the limit on this fund from $0.043 to $0.05 per 100 in assessed value. This would generate approximately $43,000 for the town. Councilman Williams expressed his concern about raising the tax rate at this moment. There will require a public hearing on March 7th for it to be accomplished. Councilman Brown motioned to begin the process of re-establishing the CCD fund and raising it to the maximum limit. Councilman Swinney seconded. Motion carried 4-1. Councilman Williams opposed it. Resolution 1-2023 Year-end Appropriation Transfers. This is a year-end housekeeping process. Councilman Swinney made a motion to approve Resolution 1-2023. Councilman Brown seconded. Motion carried 5-0. Fire Station Garage Doors - Chief Dalton is requesting an additional appropriation for new doors to replace the current ones, as they are 14 years bid. With the age of the equipment, the doors are starting to fail. He presented some quotes for the replacement. He attempted the replacement within his budget last year and could not do so. Bay door 3 is completely out of service and cannot be opened. The parts for the doors have gone up in price, and the least expensive quote he received is $15,348 to replace the motors, antennas, curtains, remotes and controls and an additional $3000 to replace damaged panels and paint damaged doors. Council President Warthen stated that there is $65,000 in the CCD fund that could be used for repairs. Councilman Cook made the motion to approve the repairs of the doors. Councilman Brown seconded. Motion Carried 5-0. Employee Bonuses - Councilman Williams requested this to be put back on the docket as a majority of the COVID funds have been disbursed, and he would like to revisit this topic. He proposed to give a $3,000 one-time bonus to full-time employees and $1,000 to part-time public safety employees for a total to $239,000. He suggested appropriating a portion of the initial $318,000 disbursement that is in the general fund to cover bonuses. Councilman Cook voiced his approval of the plan. Clerk -Treasurer Wamsley stated that her salary is set for the year, and she could not accept a bonus. Councilman Brown voiced his concerns with some major expenditures such as the HVAC that are approaching and believes this should be looked at during budget discussions. Councilman Swinney voiced his support of the employees but said that raises were given this year and he would like to be able to give another raise this year so it would not be a one-time payment but a continual raise. Councilman Warthen stated that they strive to be able to give consistent raises that can be counted on year after year. Councilman Williams motioned to move forward with his one-time bonus proposal. Councilman Cook seconded. Motion failed 2-3. Councilman Warthen, Councilman Swinney, and Councilman Brown opposed. Department Head Reports Chief Buckner gave an update on new police officer Ronald Capps. Officer Capps starts his career with the Town as a tier 1 certified officer. He gave an update on the drug task force. He mentioned a now defunct PACE team which had a fund that is split 50/50 with the county. He would like to be able to utilize the money in that fund to support the drug task force so that it may become self-sufficient and not have to use funds from the police budget. There is currently $15,334.13 in that fund. This fund is generated from forfeiture proceeds. Attorney Lee would like to see the MOU and the agreement to see what the next step would be. There