Denton, Maryland

The regularly scheduled meeting of the County Commissioners of Caroline County, Maryland, convened at 9:30 AM in the Hearing Room, Courthouse, Denton.

John W. Cole, President

Franklin W. Prettyman, Vice President

John S. LeGates, Member

Charles C. Cawley, County Administrator

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the minutes of April 27, 1999 were approved as amended. Vouchers #45989 – #46087 were approved for payment. Bi-weekly direct payroll was approved for release.

The Commissioners conducted an advertised bid opening for project #CC-PB-5499, 4-H Park Building. The following bids received were publicly opened, read aloud and recorded:

BIDDER TOTAL BID

The bids were referred to staff for evaluation.

On individual motions by Mr. LeGates, the following purchase orders were unanimously approved and signed:

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously accepted the low bid of David A. Bramble, Inc., Chestertown, Maryland, in the amount of $629,150 for hot mix overlay, project #CC-HM-42799, and signed purchase order #15565 in that amount. All other bids received were rejected.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously accepted the low bid of Pennline Service. Inc., Scottsdale, Pennsylvania, in the amount of $39,700 for guardrail, project #CC-GR-42799, and signed purchase order #15564 in that amount. All other bids received were rejected.

On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously authorized Mr. Cawley’s signature on FY 1999 Certification for Cooperative Local-State Library Aid Programs, verifying the total FY 1999 County contribution, in the amount of $798,634, to the Caroline County Public Library, as required by the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Library Development and Services.

Dan McDermott, executive director, Upper Shore Private Industry Council, met with the Commissioners regarding an update of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Mr. McDermott advised that the Governor has designated the five-county area a Workforce Investment Board (WIB), which is the first step in the implementation process. The next step of the WIB involves the County Commissioners to certify the local structure, certify membership, and identify local issues. Mr. McDermott said that the legislation sunsets in five years, therefore a program must be designed, implemented and proven successful within the next three to four years. The legislation provides the same accountability and performance standards as before, and there is more latitude in local issues and funding those local issues. Mr. McDermott advised the Commissioners to start identifying local issues and goals and ideas for Caroline County so that the Board may begin addressing them.

The Commissioners, on motion by Mr. Prettyman, unanimously authorized use of the Courthouse green and portico on May 22, 1999 for the annual March for Jesus in Caroline County, as requested by Janice Clere, 1999 March for Jesus committee member.

Rebecca Loukides, deputy health officer, and Dr. John A. Grant, health officer, met with the Commissioners regarding the Caroline County Health Department budget. Ms. Loukides distributed a graph outlining the County share of the health department budget. She explained that the current operating budget for FY 1999 is $423,000, however, the health department has actually been using the figure of $473,000 due to utilization of FY 1998 surplus in the amount of $50,000. The $50,000 was not shown in the County’s FY 1999 budget, therefore led to some confusion.

Cathy and Reg Carter, owners of the county-based company, Medical Claim-Aid, accompanied by Bobby Schoonover, director, Caroline County Advanced Life Support, met with the Commissioners regarding renewal of the ambulance billings contract for ALS. Ms. Carter provided an in-depth history of their company and how their billing process works. Ms. Carter said that they began processing ambulance billings for Caroline County in 1994 through their collection agency, and though they were inexperienced in ambulance billing, the program has grown and proven very successful. Ms. Carter advised that Medical Claim-Aid is currently Y2K compliant for all ambulance and collection software. Last month, the new countywide subscription ambulance plan was instituted. The funds generated from this plan will prove critical to the continued success of the BLS Enhancement Program. The ambulance plan will be managed by Medical Claim-Aid as a form of secondary insurance to cover all insurance co-payments for members, as well as covering the cost of transport for the uninsured members. Medical Claim-Aid installed a special database program and separate computer to manage the plan, at no additional cost to the County. Medical Claim-Aid was the only qualified bid received at the time of solicitation for bids in 1998. Mr. Schoonover added that the contractual services provided by Medical Claim-Aid are paid for by fees collected through the ALS Program and that it is more cost-efficient than hiring an employee to bill in-house. On motion by Mr. LeGates, the Commissioners unanimously authorized renewal of the ambulance billings contract for ALS with Medical Claim-Aid.

Anthony Wagner and Victoria Haines, government partner specialists, U. S. Census Bureau, met with the Commissioners regarding the 2000 Census. Information and packets were distributed to the Commissioners. Ms. Haines provided background and history stating that every ten years, the Census Bureau conducts a mandatory complete accounting of every resident in the United States. Census questionnaires will be mailed out around mid-March of next year. About 83 percent of respondents will receive a short form, which asks about seven subjects: name, sex, age, relationship, race, housing (whether the home is owned or rented) and takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. One out of six households will receive a longer form which asks about 34 subjects, including education, ancestry, employment, disability and house heating fuel, which takes approximately 38 minutes to complete. Ms. Haines stressed the importance of completing the forms. According to the 1990 Census, there were 472 people that failed to return the Census questionnaire in Caroline County. By not completing and returning the questionnaires, the County looses potential grants and direct loans. Questionnaires are to be completed and returned by April 15, 2000, after which time Census workers will visit housing units that did not return Census forms. By October or November 2000, all field work will be completed. Mr. Wagner explained to the Commissioners the Census 2000 Complete County Committee for Local Governments, a national campaign to receive an accurate census count. He reiterated that the Census Bureau is mandated by the U. S. Constitution to take a census every ten years, and the Bureau is held accountable for its success. State, local and tribal governments can significantly enhance the efforts by brining local knowledge to the process – knowledge that the Census Bureau does not possess. Complete Count Committee is a major vehicle for planning and implementing local, targeted efforts that will uniquely address the special characteristics of a community. The role of the Committee will be to plan and implement a locally-based promotion to publicize the importance of Census 2000. Mr. Wagner recommended the formation of a Complete Count Committee for Caroline County to achieve widespread participation in the census for the betterment of the community and its residents. The Commissioners were reminded that April 1, 2000 is National Census Day, and encouraged to adopt a proclamation in declaration thereof.

Helen Spinelli, economic development director, met with the Commissioners regarding the ADC map for Caroline County. Ms. Spinelli advised the Commissioners that during a recent conversation with the Alexandria Drafting Company (ADC), it was learned that the 1996 edition of the Caroline County ADC atlas is out of stock and they will not be revising or producing another edition for Caroline County due to lack of sales. Ms. Spinelli said that Caroline County has experienced residential growth and expansion in the business sector, therefore the maps are needed as a part of our community’s identity. On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed a letter to the Alexandria Drafting Company (ADC) requesting reconsideration of their decision to discontinue production of the ADC for Caroline County.

On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners unanimously approved and signed a letter to Walter Palmer advising of a modification to the charge of the Caroline County Education Study Commission performance audit subcommittee, as excerpted below:

On motion by Mr. Prettyman, the Commissioners unanimously approved the proposed constant yield advertisement, contingent upon review by the State, as excerpted below:

1. For the tax year beginning July 1, 1999, the estimated assessable base in the unincorporated areas of the county will increase by 4.18%, from $349,977,759 to $364,617,845.
2. If Caroline County maintains the current tax rate of $2.38 per $100 of assessment, property tax revenues will increase by 4.18%, resulting in $348,434.05 in new property increases.
3. In order to fully offset the effect of increasing assessments, the property tax rate should be reduced to $2.28, the constant yield rate.
4. The County is considering not reducing its property tax rate enough to offset increasing assessments.

At 12:15 p.m., the Commissioners held an extensive budget workshop. Mr. Cawley distributed updated budget worksheets for the Commissioners’ review.

By unanimous consent, the Commissioners authorized Dorsey Wooters, county treasurer, to solicit bids for the FY 2000 line of credit.

There being no further business, the meeting of the County Commissioners was adjourned by unanimous consent at 2:30 p.m.

Vivian L. Anders

County Commissioners Office Coordinator