By Miles Layton

WINDSOR – Bertie County commissioners on Monday told a Stryker sales team they weren’t ready to sign off on a nearly $1 million financing plan for new ambulance equipment, asking for time to study the numbers after a back-and-forth over interest rates and the total cost. That was entertaining — hold that thought.

In other news, commissioners heard a report from Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin and other county staff.

And Commissioner Michael White bids farewell at his final meeting as a commissioner. He was presented a plaque for this time in office.

For other stories about Monday’s meeting, click here and here.

Anyone with news tips about Bertie County can reach out to me at mileslayton1969@gmail.com

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Forget about financing at 7-12% interest

Let’s start with costs and government spending…

Kyle Minogue, an emergency care representative with Stryker and a former Air Force rescue man, told the board he recently completed a ride-along and fleet assessment with Bertie County EMS. He said the county has 11 cardiac monitors in service, and nine are past their recommended useful life.

“Stryker recommends a seven-year useful life on these monitors,” Minogue said, adding that the company can no longer guarantee older units will perform the way they were designed. He showed photos of a broken handle, damaged ports and exposed screens.

Minogue said Bertie EMS covers roughly 700 square miles with four ambulances and three quick response vehicles, and runs about 4,500 calls a year. Some patients are transported as far as Greenville, which makes reliable equipment critical, he said.

He recounted a story EMS Chief Kimi Ann Corey shared with him about a neighboring county’s rescue squad. A cardiac monitor there stopped working properly. It could still take vitals, but it couldn’t deliver electrical therapy.

“We don’t need the first indication that these monitors need to be replaced to be when a provider is taking care of a patient,” Minogue said.

Stryker proposed 11 LifePak 35 cardiac monitors, five Lucas mechanical CPR devices and five MiniPro pediatric transport restraints. Minogue said the county currently has no pediatric transport device with a crash rating, because “nothing was available up until a couple months ago.”

The original quote was $1.06 million. Minogue said trade-ins and price adjustments brought it to $875,000, with a six-month payment deferral so “the county would have to pay zero dollars this fiscal year.” The plan calls for five annual payments of $218,000, starting in fiscal year 2027. He said the pricing is guaranteed through Dec. 15.

Commissioners pressed on the math — how much the equipment would cost in total because the mathing was mathing — five payments of $218,000 do not equal $875,000. Add all the payments up; that’s $1.072 million.

Minogue added that $60,000 in taxes sits on top of the $875,000, bringing the amount financed to $935,000.

A Stryker representative who joined Minogue explained that the plan is financed and includes interest, though she did not have a rate. “That varies,” she said, adding that the company’s financing arm uses a predictive model that typically lands “usually between seven and twelve” percent. The rate is set on the day the deal closes, she said.

Say that again — interest rate for this deal of a deal, lol … yeah… Seven to 12 percent!?

Thank God for Commissioner Ron Roberson — 7% to 12% didn’t sit well with him.

“I ask you to go back to your partners and say we ain’t buying nothing for seven,” he said.

The company representative said the quote includes on-site service for the life of the equipment, with technicians arriving within 24 hours. The warranty runs one year, but the service package covers seven years, she said.

“EMS equipment takes a beating,” she said. “And we know that, so we have our technicians come to you instead of them having to mail out equipment to get it repaired.”

The Stryker team encouraged the board to consider other financing options, and said commissioners were free to shop for their own. Board members said they would research the offer.

Sheriff’s report

Sheriff Tyrone Ruffin opened his report by addressing a news story about the board’s October meeting, which he missed. Ruffin said a WITN report said tensions were high.

“There are no tensions between anybody,” Ruffin said. “It’s all business.”

Moving on, Ruffin said arrests have gone more smoothly since last month. Deputies made 12 arrests, five of whom needed confinement, and the regional jail found placement for all five within an hour to an hour and a half.

Ruffin warned the department will likely exceed its budget this year because of fuel, vehicle maintenance and overtime costs.

The department has also taken a hit to its fleet. Five vehicles have been in collisions this year, he said. In one, the deputy was at fault and was cited. In the others, other drivers hit the deputies’ cars. Three vehicles were totaled, the other two are waiting on shop work, and the wrecks have used up every spare car.

Ruffin said 25 of the office’s 27 allotted positions are filled. He thanked commissioners for last year’s salary increases and praised finance staff for working overtime to make sure deputies received their state bonus checks.

At a commissioner’s request, Ruffin described two community programs. The sheriff’s office will do daily residence checks for up to seven days for residents who are traveling or who have a loved one at home. Residents can call the office to sign up. A separate automated service, “Are you okay?”, places a daily call to residents 65 and older who enroll.

Ruffin also said a suspected burglar is back in the county. “Our thief is back in Bertie County,” he said, adding that break-ins have increased in the Aulander area and that deputies chased the man on foot Friday.

Septic permits and soil

Ralph Hollowell, environmental health director for the regional health services district that covers Bertie and seven other counties, told commissioners he is nearing the end of a 36-year career and wanted the board to understand how septic permitting works in the county’s difficult soils.

Hollowell, a licensed soil scientist who issues septic permits, said clay and a high water table are the two main factors under state rules. East of the Chowan River, he said, installers can dig out clay and backfill with sand. In Bertie, Hertford and most of Gates counties, “you don’t ever hit a good sand beneath the clay.”

State rules have only gotten tighter, he said. He said he reviewed five lots in Bertie, and strict adherence to state regulations would have meant zero permits on any of them.

“I’ve been doing this for 36 years,” Hollowell said, “and it’s time for me to move on out of Dodge.”

Hollowell said he doesn’t want to see landowners lose their only asset.

“That one piece of property that their grandma left them or their parents have given them,” he said, shouldn’t be written off with a flat no. He said the health director is working to find a successor who will “use some good old common sense.”

He also described a new “provisional statement” he developed. Landowners will sign it to acknowledge that the soils have limiting factors, and that while modifications allow a permit to be issued, the system isn’t guaranteed to function.

Commissioners thanked him. “Based on the information you just shared,” one said, “you really could have said, ‘No.’”

Commissioner White Bids Farewell at Final Meeting

Commissioner Michael White said goodbye to his colleagues Monday night at his last meeting on the Board of Commissioners, where he was presented with a plaque honoring his service.

White, who served a four-year term beginning in 2022, told the board he had no formal report but wanted to thank those he served alongside.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve with you all and the people who call Bertie County home,” White said. He thanked the board for the trust placed in him and for the relationships built along the way, and said he was grateful for the opportunity to take part in decisions shaping the community.

“We may not always agree, but I’ve always believed that serving Bertie County is putting people first,” White said, adding that he would always be excited to call the county home.

County Commission Chairman Corey Ballance then presented White with a plaque, which read: “In appreciation to Commissioner Michael White, in recognition of your dedication, leadership, and commitment to serving the citizens of Bertie County. Years of service: 2022 through 2026.”

Money matters

Finance Director Willie Mack Carawan said the county is “doing about $1.6 million better than we were this time last year.” The cash management account stands at about $7.08 million, roughly $716,000 more than a year ago.

Carawan said expenditures exceed revenues in the general fund by $3,462,159.18, which he said is normal because tax collections typically arrive between November and February. Social services expenditures exceed state reimbursements and general fund transfers by $512,442.92. The water fund has been “really good this year,” with revenues running $381,083.22 ahead of expenses.

Commissioners then took up the budget amendments. Most were fund balance appropriations that carry unspent grant money into the new year, including $21,579 for a Mid-East commission program, $9,578 for a senior center PEAS meal program, $10,053.24 for the SHIIP grant and $11,930.68 for a MIPPA grant.

Amendment No. 6 moved $211,549.09 from Fund Balance utilizing the rollover Revenue Replacement APRA money to cover the county’s local match on broadband expansion as planned. It also applied $10,541.95 in insurance equity from a totaled water department truck to the lease on a replacement. A final amendment placed $49,745.03 in carry-forward funds in the right accounts for several Cooperative Extension programs.

The next meeting is Dec. 7.