The September meeting of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners began with a moment of silence in remembrance of the passing of Commissioner Jan McNeil’s husband, Jim. Mr. McNeil passed away on Saturday, September 15th. Jan and her family are in our thoughts and prayers during this time of loss.
All Commissioners were in attendance at the meeting except for Jan McNeil. Elections to the various committees and positions were the first topic of the evening. Mayor Carey was again elected as Chairman of the Commission. Sonya Rimmer and Harry Sabine were both nominated for the position of Chairman Pro-Tem with Commissioner Rimmer prevailing in the vote. I voted for Commissioner Rimmer, as did Harry Sabine, Nancy Hyder, Robert Safdie, David Hassler, Johnny Presley, Charles Seiber, Larry Allen, Terry Carter, Mike Harvel, Roy Turner, Jeff Brown, and John Kinnunen. Brian Houston, Joe Koester and Carmin Lynch voted for Harry Sabine. Sony Rimmer abstained. Next, Harry Sabine was unanimously elected as the Parliamentarian for the coming year. The Standing and Statutory Committees were approved with minor changes made to the suggestions presented by the Chairman. I will be serving on the following committees for the next two years: Budget, Emergency Services, Environmental, Rules and Nomination, and Investment. The complete committee listings can be found on my website, http://allenfoster.net, on the ‘Meeting Information’ page.
Randal Boston was reappointed as the CountyAttorney in a 16 – 1 vote with Commissioner Lynch voting no, and Dr. Mark Fox was unanimously reappointed to the Cumberland County E-911 Emergency Communications District Board of Directors with a term set to expire on August 31, 2016. Joyce Rorabaugh was reappointed as the CountyArchivist for a term set to expire September 18, 2013. David Simcox was recently reelected as Property Assessor, and his required $10,000 public official bond was approved by the Commission.
The Commission was again presented with offers to purchase property owned by CumberlandCounty due to delinquent taxes. Resolutions were approved 15 – 2 (Larry Allen and Terry Carter voting no) allowing US Assets, Inc purchase 35 parcels of property and allowing Robert and Gloria Lockhart to purchase five parcels of property. Approving these purchases allows the County to move the property back on to the property tax rolls for future collections.
For some unknown reason in 2008, the Warpath Circle road name was changed to Calusa Circle without approval from the Planning Commission or the CountyCommission. A resolution was adopted by the Commission changing the road back to the proper name, Warpath Circle.
Director of Finance Nathan Brock reported that sales tax collections were up five percent, or $35,000, over August of last year. The Hotel/Motel tax collected was $102,000 which is up from $90,000 last year. The ongoing saga of EMS collections from Medicare continues with improvement showing a clearing of the backlog of payments due to the County.
Your feedback is important to me. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. Thank you for allowing me to serve the 4th District and Cumberland County.
Sincerely
Allen Foster
Board of Commissioners
4th District Representative
http://allenfoster.net
allenfoster.com 