December 5, 2024, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

I attended the December 5, 2024, Camden County Commission meeting at 10:00 a.m.

All commissioners were present.

The first agenda item was “Rescind motion approving Pros. Atty’s budget amendment made 11/21/24 for $27,811.59.”

The original budget amendment moved money from the CLERF account to the Bad Check Account, but it was discovered that CLERF money must be spent directly from the CLERF account.

The Commission unanimously agreed to rescind their previous budget amendment.

The second agenda item was “Bid Award – 241203 Printing.”

There was only one bid submitted for county printing from Lake Printing.

The Commission unanimously accepted this bid.

The third agenda item was “Bid Award – 241203 Sign Materials.”

The bid from Custom Products Corporation was recommended by E-911.

The Commission voted unanimously to accept their bid.

The fourth agenda item was “LEST Trust Account.”

Presiding Commissioner Skelton expressed his disbelief that it had taken them so long to resolve this issue.

Commissioner Gohagan asked where the County Auditor was and Jordan went to go look for him. She returned and informed the Commission that the County Auditor was on the property, but nobody in his office knew exactly where he was.

Commissioner Gohagan told the other commissioners he had spoken to Sheriff Helms and they had agreed that there should probably be $3 million in unspent LEST-2 sales tax in the Sheriff’s LEST-2 trust fund. He pointed out that the Commission had been unable to get an number from the Auditor for how much LEST-2 money was owed to the Sheriff. The Sheriff’s representative at the meeting agreed that his office felt that $3 million was close to their estimate.

Commissioner Skelton said that the Auditor did not seem to have any desire to set up a trust fund at all. He complained that the Auditor had not provided a number and did not want to transfer what he considered an arbitrary amount of revenue into the trust.

County Attorney Green stated that the ballot language for the LEST-2 sales tax increase did not mention anything about a trust.

County Auditor Laughlin finally arrived and Commissioner Gohagan invited him up to the speaker’s table to talk into the microphone. The Auditor declined to sit at the table and preferred to speak from his seat in the back of the room. Laughlin stated that there is no requirement that LEST-2 money be kept in a special trust. LEST-2 has collected $8.5 million since it was passed and in his estimate, the remaining LEST-2 is $4.5 million. Laughlin opined that the LEST-2 should pay the Sheriff Department’s expenses before other funds.

Commissioner Williams asked Laughlin what would happen to the LEST-2 money at the end of the year?

Laughlin responded that there wouldn’t be any LEST-2 money left. He estimated the county would generate $3.5 million in LEST-2 and it would all be consumed by the Sheriff’s budget.

The County Treasurer asked Laughlin if there was a rollover for Fund 10? Laughlin answered that there was a rollover, but those funds would pay first.

Laughlin explained that the money from the 2007 Half Cent Sales tax is divided among different funds. The TIF’s are taken out of the 2007 Sales Tax first. Then the revenue is divided in half and 50% of it goes to LEST. Laughlin mentioned that a portion of this money went to LEST, but it was hard to follow him.

I’ll quote him so you can see what I mean, “”Those [the TIF’s] get paid out first. Then we take that and we divide it in half. And 50% of that goes, and there’s like 3.6 or 8 goes to Road and Bridge , no, no, 3.8 goes to Assessor and 5.something, almost 6 percent goes to Road and Bridge. And then 50% of that then goes to LEST. And this is where it gets funky.”

Commissioner Gohagan interrupted Laughlin by reading off from a paper the percentages of the tax that went to the various departments. He told the County Auditor, “Our question we have been asking you repeatedly is how much money needs to go into the LEST-2 trust fund?”

Laughlin responded that the statutes don’t require the county to have a trust fund. Gohagan signed loudly with irritation. Laughlin asked the County Attorney for verification and Green stated that LEST-1 requires a trust fund, but not LEST-2.

Presiding Commissioner Skelton verified that Laughlin was saying the Sheriff’s costs should be first paid by LEST-2 money, then LEST-1 money, and when those were exhausted, whatever remained unpaid should be covered by County Revenue?

Laughlin answered that County Revenue is transferred quarterly into the LEST (Fund 10) budget to cover any shortfalls. The County Treasurer spoke up and confirmed that the LEST Fund 10 had a current balance of 4.5 million.

(One of the most confusing aspects of these conversations is the county’s use of LEST (Law Enforcement Sales Tax) to describe any budget item related to law enforcement. In short, the county has a variety of funds that are used to hold revenue and pay appropriations. Fund 10 (LEST) is the law enforcement fund.

It pays appropriations (what you and I would call “the bills”) for Building and Grounds, Human Trafficking, the Circuit Court, the Juvenile Detention Facility, the Circuit Clerk, the Associate Circuit Court, the Prosecuting Attorney, Child Support Enforcement, the Sheriff, Sheriff Corrections, the LANEG Drug Task Force, Sheriff Overtime Grants, E-911, and Debt Service.

The revenue placed into this fund comes from County Revenue, federal task force grants, the Village of Four Seasons, the 2007 County Half Cent Sales tax, LEST-1, LEST-2, and a variety of grants, fees, and reimbursements.)

Commissioners Gohagan and Williams asked Laughlin why there would be an objection to establishing a trust fund for the LEST-2 money? What negative impact could it have?

Laughlin replied that the negative impact would be that revenue placed in the trust fund would be more restricted. Laughlin explained that is was standard accounting practice to pay the expenses first with the most restricted funds.

The representative from the Sheriff’s Office mentioned that the public voted for the LEST-2 sales tax increase because they were told that the money would be used for only a few specific costs for the Sheriff’s Office. It was not intended that the revenue would be co-mingled with general tax revenue.

(Always nice to hear a good law enforcement use of the word “co-mingled.” It brings back old investigation memories.)

The County Auditor said that the amount of county general revenue transferred to supplement the Sheriff’s budget has not decreased since 2022.

Presiding Commissioner Skelton calculated that the Sheriff’s previous budget was $8 million. The tax was then passed (LEST-2) that was supposed to bring in $4 million more for Sheriff’s operations. Currently, the budget is $14 million for the Sheriff so the supplemental LEST-2 would have been used up by that budget increase. He expressed some confusion regarding where Commissioner Gohagan was getting the $3 million amount to put in the trust when by Skelton’s calculations, the Sheriff’s budget had already subsumed the LEST-2 increase.

Commissioner Gohagan asked County Auditor Laughlin if Laughlin had a specific dollar amount for LEST-2 to counter Gohagan’s proposed transfer of $3 million into the new trust fund? Laughlin said he did not.

Gohagan then confirmed his motion to establish the LEST-2 trust fund and transfer $3 million into it.

Presiding Commissioner Skelton seemed supportive of the establishment of the trust fund, but was more concerned about the amount of revenue that was proposed to be transferred into it.

Commissioners Gohagan and Williams voted to establish an LEST-2 trust and move $3 million into the trust.

And that was that.