County Administrator's Brief - January February March 2024

Photo courtesy of Camden County Animal Control, featuring the No Cost Adoption program.

Strategic Plan 2023

Throughout 2023, the Camden County Board of Commissioners, in collaboration with the staff, actively worked on implementing policy and management agendas specified in the 2023-2028-2038 Strategic Plan. Additionally, staff made progress in bringing major projects and ongoing management initiatives closer to completion.

Learn more about the 2023-2028-2038 Strategic Plan on the Camden County website at: camdencountyga.gov/StrategicPlan.

Goals 2023-2038

Board of Commissioners

District 1 Commissioner and Vice-Chair Lannie Brant, District 2 Commissioner

Martin Turner, District 3 Commissioner Trevor Readdick, District 4 Commissioner

Jim Goodman, District 5 Commissioner and Chairman Ben Casey

The mission of Camden County Government is to deliver DEFINED COUNTY SERVICES with EXCEPTIONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE in a FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE and TRANSPARENT MANNER.

Team Camden,

I encourage you to spend a few moments reading through our latest County Administrator’s Brief. This quarterly publication aims to provide you with a glimpse into the activities of your county government.

As you review the pages, kindly note the links that direct you to various sections on the Camden County website for additional details about our ongoing efforts.

Sincerely,

Shawn M. Boatright, MPA, CPM

EMPLOYEE HIGHLIGHTS

Cyrus Roberts (right) from Solid Waste was recognized as Employee of the Quarter. He has worked for Camden County Solid Waste for over 23 years and currently serves as Operations Manager for the Solid Waste Department, overseeing Heavy Equipment Operators and managing the mechanic shop for the Landfill. Cyrus’s nominations highlight his unwavering dedication and commitment to the landfill. Specifically noted in the nominations were references to his strong work ethic, helpful nature, and vast knowledge.

Cassie Turpin (below left) completed the necessary steps to become a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) through the Association of State Floodplain Managers (ASFPM). She joined the Planning & Development Department July of 2019 as the Planning & Development Technician before transitioning into her current role as Floodplain and Soil & Erosion Inspector.

Lieutenant Chris Goebel (below right), was sworn in as a local Fire Marshal for Camden County as part of the Georgia Firefighter’s Recognition Day services held at the Georgia State Capitol.

CONGRESSMAN CARTER SECURES FUNDING FOR RESILIENCY CENTER

Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter secured $1.24 million as part of the 2024 fiscal spending bill on behalf of the Camden County Resiliency Center. This funding helps provide a unified hub for addressing community needs and engagement, especially during emergencies. Phase I of the Resiliency Operations Center is expected to open Summer 2024.

PUBLIC SAFETY

1,040 EMS Patient Transports in 1st Quarter 2024

5 Stroke Alerts in 1st Quarter 2024

Average Number of Daily Calls by Month

EMERGENCY TRAINING

Camden County is committed to ongoing training for its staff in responding to medical emergencies.

MainPoint Health & Wellness staff participated in a practical training class taught by CCFR personnel. This course concentrated on CPR, Heimlich maneuvers, and emergency protocols.

A Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Class was hosted at Coastal Pines Technical College. This class focused on equipping participants with essential skills and knowledge for responding effectively to emergency situations.

323 cats have received services through Camden County Animal Control’s Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return (TNVR) Program.

TNVR is the most effective and humane method of controlling feral cat population growth. TNVR should not be used to create cat colonies but should instead be used as cat colony prevention, reducing overall numbers over time

Camden County Facilities Maintenance constructed new kennels for Camden County Animal Control to house dogs.

Above: Some of these friendly faces were offered through our NO COST adoption program.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT, CRS, CODE ENFORCEMENT, GIS

3 Focus Areas

Camden County Code Enforcement is actively addressing three key areas to enhance beautification and ensure properties are in compliance.

Map Gallery

Camden County GIS provides the public with access to digital and printable maps through the Camden County website

Above: The Planning & Development team review plans and show drone used for aerial images.

Class 6

CRS Program provides a 20% discount to unincorporated Camden County residents on flood insurance.

PUBLIC WORKS

FLEET SERVICES, ROADS & BRIDGES, MOSQUITO CONTROL

In March, Camden County bid a fond farewell to Public Works Director Shalana McNamee. Throughout her Public Works personnel spend hours each month maintaining unincorporated Camden County’s unpaved (127 miles) and paved (173 miles) public roads. nearly four-year tenure, Shalana diligently worked to provide safe roads and rightsof-way for motorists across unincorporated Camden County. Thank you, Shalana!

Blade Miles of Road Graded Brush Clearing Miles

ENTERPRISE FUNDS

CURBSIDE COLLECTIONS, SOLID WASTE, TWO RIVERS GUN RANGE

CURBSIDE COLLECTION

Starting July 1, 2022, Meridian Waste, the new curbside collection contractor, began collections for unincorporated residents. Since then, customer complaints related to waste collection issues have significantly decreased compared to the previous waste provider. In the first quarter of 2024, only two (2) complaints were received.

SOLID WASTE

Camden County's landfills cater to the disposal needs of municipal solid waste (MSW), as well as construction and demolition (C&D) and industrial waste.

The Solid Waste department is working towards an expansion of the MSW Landfill. In February 2024, the Camden County Board of Commissioners approved the acceptance of a loan from the Georgia Environmental Finance Authority (GEFA) to help finance the construction of Cell 5 at the MSW site.

Tuesday - Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Sunday 1:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Closed Monday

Two Rivers Gun Range has a 10% off discount on guest passes for members and 10% off day passes for non-members for certain groups on specific days.

“Awesome range and Awesome staff! All employees willing to help sight in your rig to help you have the most accurate time!“ - Google Review

Tuesday - Ladies Day • Wednesday - Senior Citizens Day (Ages 55+)

Thursday - First Responder Day* • Friday - Military Day* *Active or retired with credentials

1006 GA Hwy 110 1 Mile North of the GA 110 and GA 40 Intersection 912-510-4050 camdencountyga.gov/TwoRiversGunRange

DEPARTMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS

New Open Records Portal

Since its launch in mid-February through the end of the 1st Quarter, 37 Open Records Requests have been completed

New Hires

Human Resources led efforts to fill vacant positions in county government. 33 new employees began work for Camden County in the 1st Quarter of 2024.

Field Inspections

Safety & Risk conducts field inspections for Public Works and Fleet Services. This includes visual inspections as well as operator and repair logs.

Situation Reports

Emergency Management staff completed 26 situation reports in the 1st Quarter of 2024.

Registered Voters

68 active voters were registered with ctions & Registration in March 2024.

Safety Committee

The Safety Committee convenes quarterly to enhance safety measures and review Workers’ Compensation claims.

FINANCIALS

REVENUE

Hotel Motel Tax, LOST, and SPLOST are all collected one month in arrears.

Hotel Motel Tax collections for July 2023February 2024 total $84,692.

Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) collections for July 2023-February 2024 total $4,181,661, and are at 70.6% of the FY 2024 budget.

Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) VIII collections for July 2023-February 2024 total $8,944,807, and are 74.5% of the FY 2024 Budget. SPLOST VII collections began on July 1, 2019, and will cease on June 30, 2025.

Ad Valorem Tax collections as of March 2024 total $21,884,216, and are 83.4% of the adopted FY 2024 budget. Throughout the months of February through November, the county typically does not collect a significant dollar amount on property taxes.

$20,000,000

$15,000,000

$10,000,000

$5,000,000

$0

Ad Valorem Tax Revenue

FUND BALANCE

Fund Balance is often referred to as “reserves” or “rainy day” funds, but is defined as the difference between revenues and expenditures of the general fund. At the start of FY 2024, Camden County’s beginning Fund Balance was $16,273,648, or 38.04% of the adopted FY 2024 budget.

GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES

General Fund expenditures totaled $32,783,632 for July 2023 - March 2024. This is 74.52% of the FY 2024 Budget.

General Government includes, but is not limited to, Board of Commissioners, Elections & Registration, Finance & Budget, Human Resources, Information Technology, Insurance, Tax Assessor, and Tax Commissioner.

It is important to note insurances are more than 50% of the General Government total for any fiscal year.