Budget amendments approved for FY23, park and rec grants announced

By LEAH INGRAM EAGLE

The Shelby County Commission adopted several budget amendments for personnel during the Jan. 9 commission meeting. The funds for those positions will not add to the fiscal 2023 budget, but instead will come from fiscal 2022 carryover and fund balance reserves.

Shelby County Manager Chad Scroggins had previously identified opportunities for several efficiency improvements and needs in the staffing structure, and due to the commission’s conservative budgeting, the funds are there to take care of them, he said.

From the general fund, $350,000 of carryover funds from fiscal 2022 will be used for partnering projects to increase and improve recreational opportunities within the county.

Also from the general fund will come the development of a capital asset grant program for EMS Transport Support to purchase vehicles for municipal and district entities. This will be done with $1.3 million of supporting revenue from fiscal 2022.

“A little less than two years ago, we did an incentive program for EMS transport in the county,” Scroggins said. “EMS transport in every county in the state of Alabama is not sufficient. The question is, do we want to sit around and allow it to continue not to be sufficient? Or do we want to try to solve the problem?”

“We're preparing to start an incentive program that purchases the capital for EMS transport, and rely on our municipal partners to provide the personnel of which you know, with EMS transport, you do build insurance so they can then get revenue to offset the costs,” he added

Three positions need to be filled for landfill and water services, including a pair of two full-time equipment operators at the landfill.

“Our landfill has grown significantly over the years,” Scroggins said. “We have new ADEM policies. … It's going to require us to make sure that we do things differently than we've done in the past.”

This will require an adjustment to the budget of $93,258, which will come from fund reserves.

The Water Services Department will add an assistant superintendent over the water plants, and the $56,432 will be funded from existing budgeted revenues.

a division of Gardner Landscaping LLC

“You need to have one [person] in each [of the plants] to make sure that the system is running at all points in time,” Scroggins said. “Also, it creates a pathway for growth in the future.”

Commissioner Lindsey Allison pointed out the distinction that historically, they do not amend the budget during the year.

“We are not increasing our operational expenses out of the general fund,” Allison said. “We do hold the line of not amending our budget, we stick to our budget through the year — not changing policy — but we have to be flexible and these are designated revenues.

They can only be spent for that.”

Scroggins agreed that it is a very delicate balance and it isn’t done lightly.

Commission Chairman Kevin Morris said he appreciated the open communication and that all of the items had been discussed long before the budget adoption.

“This will make Shelby County the pacesetter with EMS service, and people are going to look at and see how they can replicate it. This is one of the few service gaps all nine of us [commissioners] share equally and being able to do that with carryover funds is amazing.”

The commission also approved park and recreation grants for the fiscal 2023 funding cycle in the amount of $342,049.47. They included the following seven grants:

► City of Harpersville, $13,704.00

► City of Helena, $91,036.97

► Dogwood Community Center, $15,200.00

► Inverness Elementary School, $60,000.00

► Helena Elementary School/PTO, $61,563.50

► Oak Mountain Youth Baseball & Softball Association, $98,045.00

► Oak Mountain High School, $2,500.00

During the county manager’s report, Scroggins mentioned the fitness courts project at Veterans Park on Valleydale Road, a partnership with the city of Hoover, should be complete in a week, and work is also nearing an end at Cahaba River Park in Helena. Over the New Year’s weekend, he said, it was estimated that there were over 250 people hiking at Double Oak Park at one time.

The commission approved the County Rebuild Alabama Annual Report for fiscal 2022, which shows how all of the $2.9 million received was spent.