Mitchell County Finance Officer Mavis Parsley told the Board of Commissioners last week that she is asking department heads to hold back on some budgeted expenses until outstanding disaster recovery funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency are received.
Transportation survey
The commissioners also heard an update on plans to build a new headquarters for Mitchell County Transportation.
A survey is underway to see how the Pine Line and other transportation services can better serve Mitchell residents. Those interested in participating can access the survey here: https://forms.office.com/r/pfpV5RUjeq
Finance woes
Parsley said that it would be better if, as employees occasionally leave their positions for other opportunities, the county simply did not fill those open positions until more ready cash is available.
The issue is that the county has spent money on disaster recovery, expenditures that are supposed to be qualified for federal reimbursement. However, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has been slow to pay out those reimbursements.
Parsley expressed confidence that the reimbursements that the county has applied for will eventually be paid. However, she does not want the county to run out of money while waiting for those reimbursements.
“I’m just being realistic,” she said.
County Manager Allen Cook said that even with some departments operating short-handed there will be support for emergency services and other essential services to citizens.
New EMS service
Cook said that the owner of Mitchell Medics, the private contractor that provides emergency medical service to Mitchell County, no longer wants to be in the EMS business, so the county is working towards organizing its own EMS service.
The commissioners voted to spend approximately $500,000 to purchase the ambulances and other vehicles currently being used by Mitchell Medics.
Cook noted that this does not equal purchasing the entire company or hiring all of its staff — staffing the new EMS service will be something the county considers at a later date.
“We are now an EMS service,” said Board Chairman Jeff Harding.
Inspection waivers
The commissioners voted to continue waiving building inspection fees (but only for hurricane recovery building projects) until the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene.
The hurricane (downgraded to a tropical storm after slowing down over land) struck Mitchell County Sept. 27, 2024.
In response to commissioners’ questions, Cook noted that so far, the county has lost nearly $41,000 in revenue owing to waiving inspection fees on repairs and rebuilding since the storm.