JEKYLL ISLAND — The 2008 Annual Retreat for the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners, held at Jekyll Island, began Thursday with a thorough overview of the goals and plans to be discussed over the next few days.

“We put together some useful information for the commissioners to help them evaluate some important challenges from the budget to project decisions such as road paving and project development from information technology to planning and human resource services. We’ll also hear from the finance director, engineering, and utilities regarding upcoming needs and challenges of the citizens of Lowndes County,” said County Manager Joe Pritchard. “This retreat is always a useful time for both staff and the elected officials to plan and implement projects and programs for the coming year.”

Lowndes County Commission Chairman Rod Casey said, “We cover all the standard operations of the county and deal with the most current and pressing county and state issues. This is our opportunity to have concentrated time away from daily pressures that we encounter at home; therefore, we cover a lot more material in a short amount of time in a much better environment more conducive to getting business accomplished.”

The Commissioners reviewed methods to improve animal welfare by reducing the stray pet population and euthanasia through support of low-cost spay and neuter programs.

“We are euthanizing 500 animals a month and paying $40,000 for a veterinarian,” said Casey as he discussed the euthanization of animals and proper facilities and the use of carbon monoxide gas chambers. Lowndes County has seen an increase in the stray population and is working to maintain or increase the rates of pet adoptions as well as reducing the number of calls to Animal Control.

Public Information Officer and County Clerk Paige Dukes explained the possibility of presenting disaster preparedness videos in efforts to conduct aggressive public awareness campaigns to educate citizens. Within emergency management, the county has successfully completed debris management contracts as required by FEMA, obtained emergency manager certification and implemented CodeRed.

“The citizens’ component of the emergency management system will give citizens an opportunity to be effectively involved during an emergency,” said Dukes.

The Commissioners addressed plans to host a 2008 Health Fair to include dentists, orthodontists, weight control, dermatologists, blood pressure checks, cholesterol checks, and stress management.

With human resources, officials discussed the implementation of a new employee orientation program to include a presentation that gives an overview of all county departments, service delivery, and customer service expectations.

The human resources turnover rate was discussed for various departments, including the Sheriff’s Office with a 16 percent turnover rate, state court with a 15 percent turnover, and E-911 with a 26 percent turnover rate.

New items to be considered for the Commissioners include the paving list for SPLOST VI, facility naming policy, planning data, district specific goals, and other solid waste management improvements.

Finance Director Stephanie Black presented the Commissioners with a financial report. Through a series of graphs and charts, Black displayed the general fund for fiscal year 2008 including revenue, expenditure, and fund balance history. Commissioners reviewed taxes for the general fund from 2004-2007, 2008 budget, and 2008 YTD including property, intangible, alcohol, LOST, insurance premium, business and occupational, franchise, and financial institution. Black is striving to create a revenue manual to assist in the explanation of documents, placing information in graph-form to enable an easy understanding.

“I was very pleased with the amount of information we were able to cover in the number of departments and their goals and projects … I think the Commissioners got an excellent view of the financial status and department goals,” said Pritchard of the first day of the retreat, which continues through Saturday.