Issue 009 The Village Vibe Second Quarter 2023

The VillageVIBE

VillageofBaldHeadIslandEmployeeNewsletter HAPPYNEWYEAR!! (Fiscal)

SecondQuarter2023

TheVillageCounciladoptedtheFY24(fiscalyear24)budgetonJune16,2023.

What'safiscalyear,youmayask?Fiscalrelatestomoneythatagovernmentearns, spends,andowes.TheVillage,asamunicipalgovernment,hasafiscalyearthat beginsonJuly1andendsonJune30ofeachyear. Thebudgetshowswhatthe VillageexpectstospendandearnfromJuly1toJune30.PerNClaw,thebudget mustbebalanced,meaningitmustshowthesameamountofrevenuescomingin thatitshowsexpendituresgoingout.

This year's fiscal budget included:

Increased personnel costs with the recently approved MAPS pay and classification study (use QR code or click HERE to review the adopted pay and class schedule),

A (K) match of up to 4% in lieu of the Social Security benefit that did not pass this year (more on Page 2),

A Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) of 5 percent, and a merit increase of up to 3% for high performers.

FLOATING HOLIDAY!

FLOATING HOLIDAY!

Don’t forget that last year, the Village Council approved a floating holiday.  With the year halfway over, please make sure that if you have not taken that day off that you schedule a day off with your supervisor.

You must use this day before the end of the calendar year.  If you do not use this time off by December 31, 2023, you will lose it!

NEW 401(K) MATCH BENEFIT

Effective with the new budget year beginning July 1, 2023, Village Council approved a new benefit to enable employees to save more towards retirement.

Beginning with the payroll beginning on July 12, 2023, the Village will continue to contribute 5% of an employee's gross salary into the Empower, formally Prudential (K), in addition to matching up to 4% of an employee's individual contribution.

To participate in the 4% match benefit, employees need to follow these steps. Percentage amounts may be added or deleted at anytime by logging into your (K) account through Prudential.

1. Go to "Prudential.com" or use the QR code and log in, contact Mishanda if you need assistance.

2. Once you have logged in, the site will become "EMPOWER". Empower officially acquired the full-service of retirement business of Prudential in April 2022.

Click HERE or use the QR code to see what the screen will look like.

3 Scroll down to the Section Titled: NC (K) Plan - Village of Bald Head Island.

4. On the right hand side under the "Total Contribution Rate", is the amount that you are currently contributing each pay period to your (K) account.

5. Go to the blue button - Titled "Change" and enter in the percentage "%" amount you wish to contribute.

6. If you currently contribute a dollar amount you must change to a percentage.

7. The percentage amount can be any percentage from less than one percent to up to four (4) percent for a Village match.

8. You may contribute more than four (4) percent, but the Village will only match up to four (4) percent.

PERCENTAGE AMOUNTS MAY BE ADDED OR DELETED AT ANY TIME BY LOGGING INTO YOUR (K) ACCOUNT.

If you do not currently contribute to (K), you will need to follow these steps:

1. Follow steps 1-3 listed on the first page then,

2 Go to Manage Account: Click on Contributions

3. Select the Change button, next to the contribution type: Before Tax

4. Enter the% amount in the box you wish to Contribute.

5. Then Click ok.

Effective April 1, 2022, Empower officially acquired the full-service retirement business of Prudential.

Empower advises that changes may take up to two weeks to be processed, so do not delay if you want to make the eligible payroll contribution.

Once your information has been processed by Empower, payroll will receive a report with the change amount to enter into payroll.

If you enrolled but Empower did not process your enrollment before the payroll deadline, then you will have to wait until the next payroll deadline for your contribution to be matched.

Prudential Login

HR's 401(K) memo with screenshots.

Quick tips to protect yourself from the sun and summer heat

Adapted from BCBSNC Point of Blue

ByEmiliePoplett|August13,2021|HealthyLifestyle

What You Can Do to Protect Your Skin

Healthy Tips

Odds are we all know someone who has been affected by skin cancer. More than 1 million Americans are diagnosed with it each year, according to the American Cancer Society, including almost 60,000 people with melanoma — the most serious type. So it’s important to know how to stay safe in the sun.

When used properly, sunscreen — over 30 SPF — can help prevent skin cancer, skin aging, and sunburn. Here are some steps to remember:

Cover up: Wear sunscreen (SPF 15 or higher), hats, sunglasses and protective clothing. Avoid the sun when it is strongest – between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Keep kids under 6 months out of the sun completely. Tanning beds? Forget them!

Don’t trust the clouds. Cloud Coverage does not protect you from the UV rays that cause skin damage.

How to stay safe in the heat

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke pose a risk to anyone who is active in the heat. Certified Personal Trainer Michelle Rogers wrote about how to exercise safely in the heat – and how to know when you’re in trouble .

A few quick tips from her:

Wear breathable clothing. Lightweight and light colored clothing will help keep you cool. Stay hydrated. Keep a water bottle with you, and don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink.

Exercise in the morning or evening when temperatures are cooler. Stop if you have symptoms of heat exhaustion. These include feeling weak or dizzy, having a headache or an upset stomach. If you feel these symptoms coming on, get to a cool, air-conditioned location. Always seek medical attention if needed.

Tomatoes: Beautiful to the Eye, Healthy for the Heart

By Blue Cross NC|Healthy Lifestyle (June 2019)

Nothing adds delightful color and taste to cooking more than tomatoes. There’s a huge variety to choose from in a multitude of colors and sizes. From soups to salads… to salsas and sauces for meats and pasta… tomatoes are a delicious part of many diets. And they are plentiful in North Carolina. Our farmers grow 96 million pounds of tomatoes every year!1

It turns out that tomatoes are also a great ingredient for maintaining good health.

What’s in a Tomato? Lycopene

Tomatoes are high in a nutrient called lycopene (that’s pronounced “lie-Koh-peen,” by the way). According to the US National Library of Medicine (National Institutes of Health), lycopene is an antioxidant linked to important heart benefits including protecting against high blood pressure and stroke.2

Antioxidants in diet block some of the damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals are made when your body breaks down food or if you’re exposed to tobacco smoke. Over time, the buildup of free radicals is largely responsible for the aging process — and may play a role in causing cancer, heart disease, and conditions such as arthritis.3

So don’t be shy about eating tomatoes — lots of tomatoes. They’re good for you!

Continued on Page 6

There's nothing like eating a fresh tomato from your own garden!

GOOD STUFF

Continued from Page 3

EXCLUSIVE DISH: CHEF VIVIAN HOWARD’S STEWED TOMATOES

We recently reached out to Chef Vivian Howard (the innovative and award-winning host of PBS’ A Chef’s Life, and best-selling author of the book Deep Run Roots: Stories and Recipes from My Corner of the South). We were curious to see what Vivian might suggest as an interesting use of tomatoes. She offered up her recipe for versatile Stewed Tomatoes.

Vivian said, “I call it a Southern version of marinara. Like a classic marinara, it’s easy to make and it adds great flavor to so many dishes. It starts with sweating onions (sautéing them) in the pan, add your tomatoes, some basil, and a little bit of sugar — I guess the sugar is what makes it Southern. We also throw in some bread, in the end, to thicken it up a bit; but it’s not something you have to do. These stewed tomatoes should be a summer, fall, winter and spring staple in your kitchen!”

Stewed Tomatoes (serves 4)

2 cups onions, cut into small dice

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons butter

7 cups tomatoes, diced with juice

1/2 cup cornbread or rustic white bread, torn into smallish pieces

3 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/3 cup packed basil leaves

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

Add

Puree the stew if you wish. Otherwise, remove the basil, and serve as is.

https://blog.bcbsnc.com/2019/06/tomatoeshealthy-for-the-heart/

Sources:

1https://news.ncsu.edu/2018/09/top-vegetables-in-nc/

2https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5974099/

3 https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002404.htm

Dice the onions into small pieces and dice the tomatoes. In a medium saucepan, sweat the onions, garlic and brown sugar in the butter for about 10 minutes.

the tomatoes, pieces of bread (optional) and the other remaining ingredients and stew, covered for 20 minutes.

CONTEST

Decode the message below. Each letter in the list of words has been replaced with a random letter or number. Email or text the correct answers to: cfaulkner@villagebhi.org or (910) 368-6338. If you have the correct answers, you will be chosen in a drawing of all of the correct answers received by July 28, 2023.

Here's a hint, these words have to do with TRANSPORTATION.

And the winner is...

JASON JACOBS

He won the baby picture contest from the last issue.

The baby from last issue was CARIN FAULKNER

Carin grew up on Herndon, Virginia. She likes to see live music or comedy, sitting by the bonfire, and hunting for the best seashells. Her favorite food inlcudes nachos, peanut butter cups, and grilled anything. She earned the nickname "Villa" (after Bob Villa) because she is handy around the house.

Carin Faulkner spotted

first painted bunting and caught it on camera!