►
Description
Council Chambers, Administration Building Beaufort County Government Robert Smalls
Complex 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort
Thursday, April 07, 2022
10:00 AM
AGENDA
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
3. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION OF THIS MEETING HAS BEEN PUBLISHED, POSTED, AND DISTRIBUTED IN
COMPLIANCE WITH THE SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
CITIZEN COMMENTS
5. CITIZEN COMMENTS - (ANYONE who wishes to speak during the Citizen Comment portion of the
meeting will limit their comments to no longer than three (3) minutes ( a total of 15 minutes ) and will
address Council in a respectful manner appropriate to the decorum of the meeting, refraining from the
use of profane, abusive, or obscene language)
6. PRESENTATION OF FY2023 GENERAL FUND BUDGET REQUEST
7. ADJOURNMENT
B
A
A
A
Three
members
of
council
are
in
the
chambers
and
two
members
of
council,
mr
dawson,
mr
flewelling,
mr
mckellen
are
online
the
others
mr
somerville
mr
glover,
mr
herveshon,
mr
rodman,
mr
flewelling
and
mr
cunningham
are
not
here.
Therefore,
we
do
not
constitute
a
quorum,
so
no
action
will
be
taken
at
this
meeting
and
this
meeting
is
actually
to
get
some
information
from
administration.
C
C
Without
further
ado,
I'm
going
to
pass
it
over
to
our
budget
director
miss
pinky
harriet,
who
has
worked
tirelessly
since
the
fall
to
begin
preparing
this
budget
for
the
next
fiscal
year,
and
she
will
hit
the
high
points
for
you
today
with
the
focus
on
the
general
fund,
which,
as
you
know,
is
our
operating
fund.
And,
of
course,
the
guidance
given
to
her
by
administration
is
to
keep
a
male
neutral
budget.
It
may.
D
C
A
A
E
Well,
today,
we
are
going
to
have
kind
of
an
informal
budget
workshop.
It's
not
exactly
tied
down
at
the
moment,
but
we'd
like
to
get
some
feedback
from
council
regarding
your
priorities
for
the
upcoming
year
and
some
of
the
preliminary
numbers
that
we
have
put
together
for
revenues
and
expenditures.
E
Sorry,
okay,
so
today's
discussion
will
consist
of
some
priorities.
That
council
can.
Let
us
know
that
you
know
you
may
have
for
fiscal
year.
2023
current
general
fund
status
and
the
upcoming
year's
requests
we'll
go
over
some
new
personnel
requests,
capital
equipment
requests
and
a
quick
overview
of
our
other
funds,
special
revenues,
capital
projects,
debt
service
and
then
some
summaries
on
the
enterprise
funds.
E
E
A
E
E
B
C
A
E
H
G
Business
license
the
biggest
months
for
the
business
license
will
be
in
the
next
several
months
and
then
collections
as
far
as
the
intergovernmentals
we've
only
received
two
months
out
of
our
state
aid.
We
are
our
two
quarters
we're
going
to
see
the
next
two
quarters,
we'll
also
we'll
also
get
the
homestead
exemption,
which
is
about
two
and
a
half
million
dollars
which
will
go
towards
that
that
10
million.
I
fully
see
us
getting
the
the
full
10
million
we're
pretty
close
on
the
charges
for
services.
B
A
A
D
E
The
one
I
have
here
in
front
of
me
and
the
one
up
there
so
for
fiscal
year,
23
the
general
fund,
big
picture,
our
revenues
projected
so
far
based
on
a
small
five
percent
growth
in
ad
alarm
taxes,
specifically
because
of
the
growth
that
we
have
seen
in
the
past
two
fiscal
years.
Our
projected
revenues
are
144
million,
nine
hundred
fifty
five
thousand
and
sixty.
E
E
So
here's
some
category
of
the
categories
of
expenses
for
the
general
fund
for
fiscal
year
23.
we
have
general
government
at
50,
40
fiscal
year.
22
is
the
first
column
and
fiscal
year.
23
is
the
second
column.
This
is
a
summary
of
the
document
you
received
via
email
and
what
you
have
in
front
of
you
for
those
here.
This.
E
General
government
or
all
of
our
government
category
of
expenditures,
so
the
general
government
is
53
291
066
for
the
next
fiscal
year,
and
that
includes
some
highlights
that
I'll
go
over
for
next
fiscal
year
coming
up
and
public
safety.
As
you
can
see,
there's
about
an
11
million
dollar
increase
from
last
fiscal
year.
E
Here's
some
of
the
highlights
of
some
changes
for
the
general
fund
for
next
year.
The
expenditures
include
a
three
percent
cost
of
living
increase
that
I
believe
we
discussed
previously
at
the
budget
workshop
in
october,
or
budget
kickoff
in
october,
administration
is
presenting
a
three
percent
cola.
E
Those
numbers
are
reflective
of
the
three
percent
as
of
july
one,
but
I
understand
right
now.
We
have
something
in
the
works
for
it
happening
sooner
than
july.
1.,
the
south
carolina
police
officer's
retirement,
has
not
yet
changed.
We
have
not
seen
anything
in
the
house
or
senate
bills
that
changes
those
percentages,
so
they
remain
the
same
at
16.56
for
south
carolina
retirement
and
police
officers.
At
19.24
this
year
we
have
several
additional
capital
purchase
requests
which
you'll
see
in
detail
in
an
upcoming
slide.
E
Previously
we
had
deferred
capital
purchases
because
of
kevin.
We
weren't
sure
exactly
what
our
revenue
was
going
to
look
like,
but
it
seems
we
have
done
pretty
well
during
covington.
For
the
past
few
fiscal
years
we
had
some
significant
increases
in
some
I.t
maintenance
contracts
that
we
have
converted
to
office,
365
and
other
softwares,
and
also
we
are
replacing
a
lot
of
hardware.
E
Deferred
during
code
for
for
it,
some
servers
and
traffic
traffic
signals.
I'm
sorry.
I
have
to
ask
the
expert
for
that
one
and
then
one
thing:
you'll
notice.
When
you
look
at
your
expenditure
details
your
the
sheriff's
office,
consolidated
all
of
their
orgs
kind
of
similar,
to
the
form
that
we
did
last
year
in
the
general
fund
into
one
org,
so
you'll
see
it
broken
out
and
22
adopted
and
then
you'll
see
it
as
one
org.
E
E
F
F
E
F
E
Okay,
so
these
are
the
departments
that
are
new
new
position,
requests
for
next
fiscal
year
in
the
general
fund
and
the
grand
total
is
1.1
million
dollars,
and
these
are
not
yet
included
because
again,
this
is
our
very
first
workshop.
We
are
still
working
through
the
weeds
administration
is
still
getting
some
details
from
departments
and
aca,
so
they're
not
quite
a
done
deal
yet.
E
J
We
are,
we
are
trying
to
continually
to
refine
the
fleet
services
by
setting
up
a
motor
pool
and
all
that
which
will
result
ultimately
in
reduced
purchase
of
vehicles
where
we
can,
where
we
can
allow
multiple
departments
to
share
vehicles,
that
not
all
departments
need
a
vehicle
every
day
or
use
a
vehicle
every
day.
So
we're
we're
doing
that
as
a
cost-saving
measure
as
well.
B
E
E
D
E
E
Workshop
is
for
council
to
give
us
some
direction
as
into
what
they
would
like
to
see
in
the
next
fiscal
year,
just
a
a
brief
summary
of
what
we
have
coming
up
as
our
next
steps,
we're
going
to
continue
to
work
on
our
revenue
projections
and
provide
the
outside
agency
with
the
value
of
a
mill.
Hopefully
we
can.
I
can
finish
that
this
week
next
year
or
next
we
are
going
to
probably
at
our
next
workshop,
go
over
our
three-year
cip
book
you've
heard
about
at
several
finance
committee
meetings.
E
Recommended
budget
and
present
it
to
council,
you
will
have
some
presentations
at
the
april
18th
finance
committee
meeting
from
outside
agencies.
Currently
we
have
before
jasper,
comprehensive
health
is
slated
to
present
and
the
fire
districts
are
slated
to
present
on
april
18th
at
finance
committee,
and
then
we
are
still
trying
to
stay
true
to
our
calendar
for
may
9th
for
our
first
reading,
and
the
school
district
will
also
present
its
budget
presentation.
At
that
same
time,.
D
J
Yeah,
I
would
a
council
member,
I
would
have
imagined
all
of
that
would
be
included
in
their
budget.
We
do
not
get
into
a
lot
of
detail
with
elected
officials
about
what
they
request
from
a
personnel
standpoint.
We
just
assume
that
they
have
those
items
covered
in
their
request
to
us
regarding
retention
and
pay
to
stay
on
par
with
what
they
need
to
be
doing
to
correct
the
shortage
that
they
may
be
experiencing,
as
as
we
are,
we
are
having
to
do
as
well,
so.
D
F
E
Science,
so
we
had
a
bit
of
a
for
parks
and
rec
specifically
last
year
or
in
21.
We
had
about
seven
different
or
coats
for
parks
and
rec,
and
we
consolidated
into
two
essentially
one
south
of
the
broad,
because
we
really
don't
do
a
lot
in
hilton
head
specifically
and
then
one
essentially
north
of
the
bride.
So
last
year,
when,
when
we
did
the
consolidation,
we
accidentally
lumped
some
salaries
into
the
north
of
the
broad
that
we
are
correcting.
Moving
forward.
H
And
now
let
me
say
that
I
think
you
correct
me
if
I'm
wrong
when
it
says
bluffton,
it
really
should
say
south
of
the
broad,
as
opposed
to
just
bluffton
right,
correct,
but
again,
hilton
head
obviously
does
a
lot
of
things
himself.
So
so
again,
it
kind
of
looks
like
well
g
bluffton's.
Getting
all
that,
but
really
it's.
J
J
Should
we
get
the
award
for
providing
those
senior
services,
and
one
of
the
things
that
I
have
asked
the
team
to
do
and
they're
working
hard
on
is
for
us
to
be
able
to
provide
after-school
care
programming,
that's
beneficial
and
effective,
and
it
also
will
reduce
the
cost
to
our
employees
who
need
after
school
care.
Many
of
our
employees
have
to
spend
four
or
five
hundred
dollars
a
month
out
of
their
paycheck
for
after
school
care
because
of
the
cost
right
now.
J
So
I
feel
like
if
we
could
do
that,
that
would
be
an
additional
benefit
to
employees
to
be
able
to
care
to
be
able
to
put
their
children
in
our
after-school
programming
and
not
really
have
to
worry
about
cost,
and
hopefully
it
will
be
closer
to
where
they
work,
so
they
can
get
to
the
to
the
children
more
quickly
in
the
in
the
case
of
a
sickness
or
something
like
that.
So
thank
you.
Those
are
that's
why
those
increases.
Are
there
as
well.
J
C
J
A
E
E
A
F
F
The
other
one
I
had
was
a
voter
registry,
other
two
voter
registration
and
veterans
affair,
the
increases
or,
if
it's
personnel,
then
that's
fine.
I
just
wondered
if
there
was
anything
else
in
those
expenditures
for
the
increase
that
I
mean,
I'm
sure
there's
some
justification
or
not
justification,
but
it's
quite
an
increase
43
and
49
percent.
C
E
A
J
So
let
me
I
can
help
thank
you
with
the
veterans
affair
issue.
So
what's
happening
right
now
is
there's
a
transition
going
on
there
in
the
director
position.
They're
posting
they've
posted
the
job.
They
are
going
to
be
hiring
someone
so
once
they
hire
that
person.
They
would
like
for
that
new
director
to
work
with
the
current
director
for
a
period
of
time
to
find
their
feet
and
understand
the
process
before
the
current
director
leaves
veterans
affairs.
J
D
J
E
K
B
In
addition
to
that,
I
would
also
ask
our
administrator
to
look
at
our
director
of
the
seniors
program
to
provide
more
activities
for
our
seniors
in
these
in
this
program.
That
would
allow
them
to
actually
expand
some
energy,
doing
some
creative
things
and
notches
continuing
on
the
on
the
level
that
we
have
now.
Let's,
let's
see
if
we
can
provide
some
more
activities
for
them
to
generate
some
liveliness
in
their
activities,
while
they're
spending
these
times
at
the
at
the
seniors
program,
and
in
addition
to
that
eric.
B
B
I'm
I'm
trying
to
highlight
the
need
for
recreational
activities,
but
also,
but
but
also
the
desires
for
the
communities
where
these
community
centers
are
located
to
be
able
to
have
have
some
access,
some
level
of
access
into
the
centers
to
actually
do
things
that
are
beneficial
to
the
communities
as
far
as
having
like
social
meetings,
social
gatherings,
things
of
that
nature.
So
I'm
not
I'm
not
impatient.
J
J
Impatience
and
it's
well
founded
by
the
citizens
who
are
doing
this,
because
many
of
the
areas
have
been
ignored,
particularly
over
the
last
couple
of
years
and
probably
much
longer
than
that.
So
we're
happy
to
continue
to
work
with
I'm
happy
to
continue
to
work
with
you
and
council
member
glover
as
well,
and
I
didn't
mean
that
to
be
a
negative
thing
about
the
impatience,
the
impatience
from
the
people
that
are
requesting
these
improvements
are
well-founded
in
a
lot
of
areas
and
we're
working
hard
to
try
to
deal
with
that.
D
Equance
chairman
and
I
had
an
opportunity
to
have
a
tour
of
the
voter
registration
board
of
elections
facility
in
northern
beaufort
county,
and
I
think
we
both
came
away
with
the
understanding
that
it
was
inadequate
and
I'm
wondering
pinky
if
there's
anything
in
the
budget
related
to
that
with
regard
to
capital
expense,
to
improve
the
situation
there.
With
regard
to
storage
and
the
environment
for
the
employees,.
J
J
Voter
registration
director
toured
that
building
a
few
weeks
ago
several
weeks
ago
and
determined
that
it
was
not
up
to
standards
that
they
would
need
to
put
their
equipment
in,
but
the
building
is
we
have.
We
have
county
channel
equipment
inside
that
building,
it's
climate
controlled,
it's
secured,
and
it's
all
of
that.
So
we
have
this
existing
building
in
there
and
I've
offered
them
to
have
that
space
for
storage,
but
they
have
declined.
D
J
J
J
D
And
I
I
understand
what
you're
saying
about
the
climate
is
the
security
for
the
voting
machines.
I
think
that
would
be
of
utmost
importance,
particularly
if
it's
not
a
manned
space.
With
regard
to
the
security
there,
but
I'll
leave
that
you
two
worked
out.
The
chairman
and
I
were
just
struck
by
the
lack
of
space
that
resulted
for
the
employees
over
there
based
upon
the
amount
of
space
that
was
being
used
for
storage,
and
you
know
they're.
Essentially,
a
lot
of
the
employees
are
working
in
the
storage
area
yeah.
D
So
you
can
rectify
that
by
moving
those
items,
and
that
would
be
great
one
more
one
more
observation
on
a
different
topic.
I
I
see
what
I'm
look.
I
see
what
I
see
on
the
screen
and
I
see
there
are
increases
there,
and
most
of
them
are
to
be
expected
because
of
current
situations
that
we're
dealing
with
but
will
will
we
have.
J
Sir,
and
if
you
have
any
specific
questions
in
the
meantime
that
you
would
like
to
know
answers
to,
as
always
a
council
member
should
feel
free
to
reach
out
to
members
of
the
administrative
staff
on
the
budget
team,
whether
it's
an
aca
or
a
member
of
the
finance
department,
pinky
or
anyone
on
her
staff,
feel
free
to
reach
out
to
them
and
say
hey.
I
would
like
to
see
this
detail,
or
can
you
explain
this
particular
issue
to
me
in
more
detail?
I
have
no
problem
with
that
whatsoever.
D
As
well,
okay
yeah,
I
feel
very
liberated
in
that
regard.
I'm
I'm
not
a
little
shy
about
calling
people
to
get
information,
as
you
know,
but
I
don't
I'm
only
really
dealing
with
the
ones
that
I
have
liaison
responsibility
for
and
not
things
in
a
larger
in
the
larger
picture
and
I'd
be
I'd,
be
happy
to
hear
what
other
people
who
have
specific
interests
in
and
the
items
that
they
raise
as
a
as
an
observer
and
participant.
D
F
A
E
J
J
An
allotment
for
the
employees,
the
state
employees,
are
getting
4.9
increase
if
you
all
want
to
go
ahead
and
increase
the
cola
to
to
a
higher
number
we're.
Okay.
With
that,
we
can
make
that
work.
We
just
wanted
to
understand
what
your
position
would
be
on
that.
So
you
know
my
living
is
going
up,
probably
five
or
six
percent
in
the
last.
A
So
I
applaud
the
idea
of
us
putting
together
a
plan
before
school
after
school,
for
our
employees
we're
one
of
the
largest
employers
in
the
county.
It
is
our
role
and
responsibility
to
ensure
that
our
employees
are
well
taken
care
of
through
an
increase
in
salary
through
training,
to
possibly
having
the
ability
not
to
have
to
spend
the
amount
of
money
they
spend
for
child
care,
and
if
we
can
do
that
as
part
of
this
budget,
I
think
that
goes
a
long
way
to
telling
our
employees
it's
not
just
lip
service.
A
A
A
You
know,
setting
aside
money
in
the
budget
to
maintain
our
facilities,
I
believe,
is
an
essential
part
of
our
responsibility,
because
if
we
let
that
tiny
little
roof
leak
go
without
maintaining
the
next
thing,
you
know
we
have
to
replace
the
whole
roof
sooner
than
we
had
planned.
So
if
that
is
something
that
we
can
work
in
the
budget.
E
And
I
think
you'll
see
a
lot
of
that
when
it
comes
to
the
cip
book.
We
have
a
lot
of.
We
had
a
lot.
We
had
over
147
requests
for
capital
improvement
for
upcoming
fiscal
year
and
we
kind
of
ranked
him
the
committee
met
and
ranked
him
based
on
priority
and
importance
and
a
lot
of
those
pertain
to
our
facilities.
So,
of
course,
we'll
be
presented
to
council
and
you
will
decide
whether,
which
one
is
our
priority,
but
you'll
see
the
numbers.
Of
course,.
E
A
H
Mr
lawson
good
thank
you.
I
was
gonna,
make
sure
everyone
had
a
chance
and
and
whatever
questions
they
had,
I've
got
a
couple
questions
and
really
it's
more
about
just
bringing
information
to
for
everyone
else,
and
we
start
looking
at
expenditures
and
especially
ones
that
have
increased
quite
a
bit
now
I'll
start
with
mr
hill
first,
that
got
quite
of
a
increase
in
in
your
department
next
year.
H
I
I
I
I
I
I
We'll
replace
through
and
then
finally,
we've
consolidated
the
security
piece.
Typically,
the
departments
would
whenever
they
wanted
to
install
cameras
or
something
they
would
budget
for
it.
We
just
moved
that
under
I
t
and
we
had
kind
of
a
significant
request
for
some
security
cameras
at
some
of
our
parks
and
rec
site,
and
I
just
put
it
in
the
I.t
budget
and
it
was
removed
from
the
department's
budget.
So
that's
where
the
increase.
H
Good,
so
do
you
think
you
have
enough,
because,
obviously
we
we
hear
every
day
from
or
we're
seeing
the
news
where
someone
has
a
40
million
dollar
ransom,
so
yeah?
We
want
to
make
sure
that,
even
though
you're
asking
for
increase
that
you've
got
enough
money
that
you
can
protect
us
is
that
something
you
need
more
money
or
how's.
That.
I
Good,
I
think,
we're
good.
You
know,
I
think,
the
the
overage
we
really
kind
of
focus
majority
on
keeping
the
infrastructure
safe.
This
overage
is
just
for
hardware
upgrades
just
to
keep
things
going
forward
in
a
progressive
way,
so
that
we
can
call
and
get
support
when
we
need
it
from
the
vendors
so
that
we
can
take
on
new
functionality
for
the
phone
systems
such
as
intercoms
and
those
sorts
of
things.
If
we
want
to
have
a
platform
to
enable
those
things
we
will
have
it.
A
And
one
of
the
things
that
we
want
to
do
is
to
upgrade
the
equipment
here
for
county
council,
because
obviously
we
are
in
the
technology
age.
As
you
can
see,
council
members
are
not
here
physically,
but
they
are
here
because
we
have
the
technology
to
have
them
participate
and
it
is
essential
that
we
make
sure
we
are
in
the
leading
edge
of
that.
H
Okay
good,
my
next
couple,
questions
that
might
default
back
to
to
eric,
but
obviously
we
look
at
our
expenditures
for
next
year.
Risk
management
is
a
25
increase.
Is
that
something
that
that
we're
looking
at
every
year
going
up,
25-
or
I
know
we
just
created
this
this
line
item
just
two
years
ago.
I
think
we
started
putting
everything
into
risk
management,
so
we
had
a
big
increase
again
from
before.
E
J
Okay,
we
also
it's
time
for
us
all
to
undertake
a
review
of
our
insurance
policies
and
make
sure
we
have
everything
covered,
so
that
will
require
some
resources
as
well
to
make
sure
our
coverage
amounts
are
adequate.
You
know
a
25
000
policy
last,
you
know
three
or
four
years
ago
may
not
be
adequate
to
cover
a
laws
of
something
that
you
are
familiar
with
with
your
career.
I'm
sure
you
know
you
got
to
make
sure
that
those
coverages
match
what
it's
going
to
actually
cost
to
do
the
work
or
to
replace
something.
H
Okay,
good
and
then
the
one
that
has
has
gone
up
quite
a
bit
as
well
is
emergency
medical
services.
We've
got
a
four
million
dollar
increase
if
you
look
at
the
actual
income
from
and
it
stays
the
same
about
four
million
dollars
and
we've
gone
from
expenses
at
10
million
to
14
million.
So
is
anyone
that
can
give
us
a.
I
know
we
increase
salaries
for
for
the
medical
staff,
so.
J
K
Is
our
salaries,
our
personnel
for
years
and
years?
The
personnel
budget
has
always
been
a
big
issue
with
ems
and
I
don't
think
it
was
properly
funded
through
the
years
and
so
what
you're
seeing
is
a
shift
in
making
sure
that
the
funding
is
proper
for
the
amount
of
personnel
that
we
do
have
and
so
also
through
the
years.
K
We
have
also
increased
our
personnel
numbers
because
we
have
had
put
on
another
ambulance,
and
so,
when
you
put
on
an
ambulance
your
talking
somewhere
in
the
neighborhood
of
adding
12,
more
additional
personnel
to
that,
just
that
one
ambulance
to
be
put
on
24
7..
So
that's
where
you're
going
to
see
a
lot
of
the
increase.
Is
there
there.
K
I
don't
know
that
if
you
know
this
or
not,
but
vehicles
are
hard
to
come
by
and
we're
kind
of
getting
behind
the
schedule
here,
we're
kind
of
getting
backed
up
that
we're
not
getting
these
vehicles
in,
because
we're
waiting
on
vehicles
to
be
built
with
no
time
limit.
At
this
point,
we're
being
told
every
time
we
call
we're
waiting
on
the
chassis
and
the
chassis
is
waiting
on
a
chip,
and
so
we're
getting
way
back
on
our
recycle
here
and
so
now
we're
trying
to
get
caught
up.
K
K
Built
there
goes
one
now:
those
chassis
are
specifically
built
for
ambulances.
They
actually
have
a
stamp
on
the
door
that
says
for
ambulance
use
only
so
they're
specially
built
out,
and
then
we
have
a
third
party
that
actually
builds
the
ambulance.
So
it's
not
ford
that
is
supplying
the
ambulance.
They
just
supply
the
chassis.
F
K
Increases
coming
in
plus,
we
are
trying
to
update
all
our
technology
years
ago
and
you
may
or
may
not
remember.
We
bought
a
bunch
of
lucas's
and
I'll
remind
you.
The
lucas's
are
the
automatic,
cpr
machines
that
we
use
and
they're
regular
expensive.
You
know
there's
about
12
to
15
000
a
piece
and
we
have
you
know
15
vehicles
that
need
those
replaced,
and
so,
when
you
look.
K
We
are
doing
much
better,
I'm
glad
to
report,
I
think,
with
all
the
help
from
eric
and
whitney
and
pinkney,
with
trying
to
get
our
salaries
adjusted
and
and
going
through
that
whole
process
that
I
think
we've
done
a
pretty
good
job
of
doing
better
than
what
we
were
at
one
time.
We
were
really
hurting
very
bad,
almost
at
a
point
where
we
are
looking
at
shutting
down
ambulances
throughout
the
county,
because
we
just
don't
have
personnel
to
run
them.
K
B
K
B
B
They
do
a
tremendous
job
in
trying
to
respond
to
the
emergency
and
the
emergency
care
for
the
citizens
of
our
county
and
the
salary
has
always
been
an
issue.
I
I
recount
back
in
the
early
80s,
where
I
started
working
with
ems
on
the
entry
level,
and
then
I
went
through
the
process
and
I
started
working
as
a
paramedic,
but
even
at
that
I
still
wasn't
able
to
provide
for
my
family,
and
so
it
caused
me
to
leave
beaufort
county
ems
and
seek
all
the
employment.
B
But-
and
so
I
I
know
what
the
ems
workers
go
through
and
for
us
to
consider
trying
to
make
their
salaries
appropriate
for
the
level
of
work,
the
stress
that
they
go
through
the
times
away
from
their
family
and
things
that
nature.
I
think
we
need
to
constantly
keep
looking
at
their
salary
and
make
it
make
it
appropriate
for
them
to
actually
provide
the
level
of
service
that
they
are
providing.
So
we
we
need
to.
We
need
to
make
sure
that
we
take
care
of
our
ems
workers.
K
K
D
K
C
K
D
H
J
J
We
have
a
lot
of
deferred
maintenance
needs
for
county
buildings
county-wide
and
we've
got
to
get
on
top
of
that,
provide
the
staffing
and
resources
necessary
in
order
to
bring
those
facilities
back
up
to
where
they
need
to
be,
and
hopefully
you
know,
provide
better
services
or
at
least
adequate
work
environments
for
our
employees.
The
building
the
roofing
is
getting
ready
to
start
on
this
building.
So
the
next
couple
of
weeks.
J
E
F
H
But
thank
you
anything
else
that
I've
got
to
add
is
obviously
I
do
want
to
commend
staff
that
obviously,
we've
stayed
conservative
and
still
been
able
to
pay
people
and
and
make
things
happen
and
take
care
of
our
our
facilities.
But
as
we
move
forward,
you
know,
obviously
I
think
some
of
the
things
that
that
we're
all
focused
on
and
joe's
mentioned
a
couple-
and
I
think
alice
mentioned
some
other
things
and
and
even
mr
dawson
is
the
fact
that
we
don't
take
care
of
our
employees.
H
You
know,
keep
our
buildings
updated
and
maintained,
and
then
obviously,
we've
had
some
surpluses,
and
I
think
that
when
we
look
at
our
surpluses
and
how
we
handle
things,
we
need
to
do
what's
best
to
pay
down
our
debt
or
end
up
giving
back
or
lowering
taxes
and
trying
to
bring
bring
that
back
to
the
citizens
that
paid
the
money
and
we
have
the
money
here.
So
those
are
kind
of
my
priorities
of
where
we
move
forward.
So
thank
you,
mr
chairman.
I'm
completed.
A
So
you've
kind
of
got
a
feeling
of
where
we
think
we
should
go.
I
commend
you
for
what
you
are
doing
on
behalf
of
all
of
the
citizens.
I
think
you
understand
the
needs
of
everybody.
What
has
happened
over
the
last
couple
years
and
how
we
get
to
move
this
county
forward
again.
Our
our
goal
is
those
who
live
here.
Those
who
work
here,
those
who
play
here
that
it
is
the
best
that
we
can
do
for
them.
B
If
I
might,
as
we
go
through
this
budget
process,
I
I
think
we
should
have
a
open
discussion
as
far
as
the
safety
and
protection
of
our
employees,
and
that
is
providing
security
for
the
admin
building.
I
know
we've
touched
on
it
in
the
past
and
it's
kind
of
like
fell
by
the
wayside,
but
I
think
we
need
to
address
the
safety
of
the
admin
building,
as
we
continue
this
budget
discussion.