CAUSEWAY — The Baldwin County Commission and the Board of Education met Friday to discuss issues of collective importance, which strengthen the working partnership between the two governmental agencies.

This meeting is part of the strategic planning initiative started in February 2007 to determine related areas and how they can work together in jointly-funded projects.

Presentations were made by representatives of both organizations related to joint projects, the impact of ad valorem property tax appeals, partner programs with the Sheriff’s Office and anti-violence training, Baldwin County Call Center, new “School Information Center” Web site, construction projects status reports, and concurrency efforts.

Superintendent Faron Hollinger discussed the “Request for Financial Assistance” process developed by the Board of Education to ensure a more efficient method of funding community and education projects.

Through the process, a request will go directly to Hollinger for review. He will determine whether discretionary funds can be used or whether the County Commission needs to get involved. The process will give both the Board and the Commission insight into how much financial support is given throughout the community by both organizations, from small to capital project requests.

Jean McCutchen, BOE director of business and finance, county administrator Michael Thompson and Hollinger presented the current joint capital projects, which included Daphne High stadium ($2.4 million), Spanish Fort sports fields/facility ($3.5 million), Fairhope High School’s fine arts project ($1.4 million), and Foley High School athletic project ($2.1 million).

Additional enhancement projects in the Foley and Orange Beach zones were also reviewed.

McCutchen and Ron Cink, county director of budget and purchasing, have worked together to develop their 2007-2008 budgets, determine the infrastructure needs, and to coordinate efforts to monitor the status of the ad valorem tax issues and its impact on Baldwin County.

The ad valorem tax is a critical source of revenue to fund both operations and infrastructure needs, as well as new projects, they noted.

McCutchen indicated that although the BOE budget for 2007-2008 is $406 million, most of the budget is restricted by state spending mandates. Cink discussed major projects of the County's FY 2007-2008 Budget totaling $204,004,686, showing $38 million in new construction projects, the opening of the new Robertsdale Probate office, and development of a new county Web site.

Any adjustment in tax revenues will greatly impact both groups and their ability to maintain current budgetary levels.

Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack discussed the role that the sheriff’s department played in providing a presence on the school campuses in Baldwin County.

Coordinated programs include the DOC program, where uniformed officers visit schools, talk to students and personnel, walk around the campus during the school day and talk to classes about bullying and substance abuse; Red Ribbon Week, which emphasizes “Don't’ Use Drugs”; the School Resource Officer program in which a lawman is assigned full-time to the alternative school; conducting on-campus drug searches with K-9s; and distributing over 14,000 fingerprint kits to elementary and middle school children.

He also highlighted areas for improvement including scheduling joint meetings with all school administrators, sharing of information on property layouts and movement of portable classrooms, and increasing the 30-days notification of needing an officer for special events.

Further expansion of the role of law enforcement in the educational system would involve a round-table discussion with teachers, students and board members throughout the county, and expansion of the SRO program.

Mack, Leigh Anne Ryals and JaNay Dawson briefly discussed an anti-violence training simulation project being planned for 2008.

Shannon Spivey, Baldwin County Call Center director, gave an overview of the Baldwin County Call Center and its ability to deliver correct information to its callers.

The center averages 30,000 calls monthly, with 80 percent of the calls transferred to another department (an average of 1,594 calls are transferred to the Board office), and 20 percent of the calls handled by the center’s customer service representatives.

A new telephony software system will be installed at the BOE, allowing all calls to be tracked by both the center and the Board office, thus increasing the ability to provide more efficient service to Baldwin County customers.

Future communications plans include a 311 center for Baldwin County that will provide a “one-call” resource for consumers.

Derek Roh (BOE) and David Pimperil (BCC) discussed “GoLive,” the new school information web site, linked to the County Revenue Commission site, which will make its online debut within the next several weeks.

The web site will combine data from the county and the educational system, providing an easy way to access information from one site including board member information, topographical view of schools and neighborhoods, and answers to questions about the county.

Wayne Dyess and Bill Harbour detailed the concurrency efforts that the Board has taken to determine the district’s student statistics. Based on housing types and data obtained from the Revenue Commissioner, each attendance zone has been analyzed, and statistics based on the data have been developed.

The purpose of this analysis is to prepare for growth trends in all areas, and to assist in determining capacity levels, and to establish new review procedure criteria for future building expansions.

Michael Thompson, County Administrator, announced the 2008 meeting dates: joint staff meetings - Jan. 25, May 2, July 25, Oct. 24; joint preparatory meetings - Mar. 14 and Sept. 12; formal meetings - Mar. 28 and Sept. 26.