GRANVILLE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS: The Granville County Board of Commissioners held a regular meeting on Tuesday, January 2 at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center. The meeting featured the approval of a partnership with NC Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) and Spectrum under the Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program that will fund the construction of fiber-optic broadband infrastructure capable of servicing at least 1,530 addresses in Granville County. Granville’s contribution to this project will be $10,000, while the State of North Carolina will contribute $4 million, and Spectrum will invest $7.9 million. Additional information on broadband expansion in Granville County can be found on the Granville County website: https://www.granvillecounty.org/government/administration/broadband-initiative/.

In other business conducted on January 2, The Board of Commissioners:

• Approved recruitment and retention bonuses along with salary adjustments for Department of Social Services (DSS) employees. This includes a sign-on bonus of up to $4,000 for new DSS employees along with retention bonuses of up to $4,000 for existing employees earning an annual salary of $50,000 or less and $1,500 for those earning more than $50,000 per year. The approved plan also includes salary adjustments and a new classification plan for all DSS employees.

• Approved a recommendation from the Fire Commission to modify the part-time staffing plan for the 12 volunteer fire departments in Granville County. The new plan will allow flexibility for days of the week and the number of paid fire fighters staffing each station based on the availability of qualified candidates and departmental needs. The Fire Commission will evaluate the modified staffing plan in April 2024.

• Approved a scrap metal/white goods recycling contract with Mike’s Auto Salvage at $100 per ton. This contract produces approximately $50,000 per year in revenue for Granville County.

• Approved a proposal from Paul Williford Builder, LLC to complete interior alterations for the Berea Branch Library to convert a storage room into an administrative office and meeting space at a cost of $23,600.

• Reappointed Mark Pennington to the Town of Butner Board of Adjustment.

• Reappointed Mike Wood and appointed Kate Sellgren to the Citizens Advisory Committee for Environmental Affairs.

• Reappointed Karen Alley and Amy Wester to the Library System Board of Trustees.

• Reappointed Sharon Pittman, Carolyn White, and Bridget Waters and appointed Kelly Claiborne to the Granville-Vance District Board of Health.

• Reappointed David Smith and Carol Jo Harris to the Senior Services Advisory Committee.

• Approved budget amendment #5 for fiscal year 2023-2024.

• Approved tax refunds ($4,915.41), releases ($1,799.82), and write-offs ($10.84).

• Approved an amendment to the fiscal year 2023 audit contract with Thompson, Price, Scott, Adams & Co.

The next meeting of the Granville County Board of Commissioners is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16 at 7:00 p.m. at the Granville County Convention and Expo Center.

To stay informed about upcoming meetings of the Board of Commissioners, visit the Granville County website www.granvillecounty.org where you can sign up for the “Sunshine List” and follow the county on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/GranvilleCountyGov.