• Discussion: Fiscal Year 2004 Health and Human Services Area Budget

  • Public Health (04)

  • Department of Human Services and General Assistance (45)

  • Veteran Affairs (50)

  • SEATS (12)

  • Human Service Block Grants (20)

• Discussion: Fiscal Year 2005 County Budget

Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:02 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne said that there is no new programming from Public Health this year. He said that adjustments were made for grants and mandated services. Most policy comes from the State Health Department or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the form of grants to work on specific problems. The Health Department did request 2 replacement vehicles, one of which is included in the budget. This will still allow them to carry out the goals and objectives set forth by the Board of Health. Horne said that the County levy is falling from .2768 to .2739.

Stutsman said there was a time that it wasn’t a given that vehicles were on a replacement schedule, with the exception of Sheriff, SEATS, and Ambulance. She asked how many miles are on the Health Department cars and how much they have been spending on maintenance. Thompson said that the Board has been putting pressure on them to have a replacement schedule. Horne said that what Stutsman wants to know is when is it cost effective to replace a vehicle. Stutsman agreed. Harney said that they should have a set time of miles and years of service. Stutsman said that when times are tight she can’t see replacing vehicles when they are cutting other programs. Stutsman asked for Horne to look into the Health Department vehicles. Lehman said that it would be nice to work from a proposal rather than it just being a given that the vehicles be replaced. Horne asked if the Board would be interested in developing a standard for replacing vehicles to be used as a guideline. The Board said yes.

Stutsman asked if the Health revenues and expenses are consistent with the past. Horne said that he watches out to make sure that the grant offsets exist. Horne said that the only County program within the Health Department that is not mandated is the Wellness Program. Thompson asked if there is a plan to fix the high number of line items in the Health Department budget when the new financial software is online. Horne said that grant management will come in the future. He said that if the Health Department raises their fees as has been discussed, those fees would go towards the County’s cost. Thompson clarified that the 17% increase in their budget is not from new tax monies. Horne agreed and said that their levy has decreased slightly.

Horne said that the Department of Human Services is requesting no new programming for Fiscal Year 2005. This department contains the mandatory local administration budget for DHS, General Assistance, and Johnson County Social Services. Funding is continuing for daycare and the community centers in Hills and North Liberty through Johnson County Social Services. There is also funding for clients housed at Chatham Oaks. He said that the General Assistance budget has been sufficient to meet demands and the administrative budget covers the cost of DHS functions in Johnson County. Horne said that this department generally comes in under budget mainly due to surplus funding from General Assistance. He said that they are almost ready to acquire their new phone system, which currently has $30,000 in funds saved, but are waiting on the possible construction of a new Health and Human Services building.

Stutsman said that the Board has discussed grants to resource centers and how they are being handled. She asked if the grants have been opened up to other communities, such as Tiffin. Johnson County Council of Governments Human Services Coordinator Linda Severson said that currently there are not services or oversight and last time Tiffin made a commitment and didn’t follow through. Thompson asked when the last time was that the Board asked the small cities to participate. Severson said that it was 2 years ago. The Board agreed to ask the cities if they are interested. Severson said that payment isn’t issued until the cities have paid their share. Stutsman asked if there is a contract. Severson said yes and she visits a couple of times per year. The Board discussed the increase in the Chatham Oaks line item. Thompson explained that other parts of the budget were lowered to accommodate the increase.

The Board discussed that General Assistance budget usually comes in about 10% low. Lehman said it might be something to keep in mind if they get tight with budgeting. Lehman asked if the Board would be interested in seeing a history of expenses. He said that they normally require other departments to budget more accurately. Stutsman said that this budget is hard to predict. Thompson said that the State making changes to the Title XIX optional programs can dramatically affect the General Assistance budget. Lehman said that General Assistance Director Kay Hull’s replacement might spend the extra 10%. Neuzil suggested they look at the position when Hull retires.

Horne said that the Department of Veteran Affairs is requesting a major change to their guidelines. They are asking to have them permanently indexed and make payment of assistance related to index levels. Horne said that for this, they requested an additional $4,500. Due to budget constraints, $1,000 more was included to handle inflationary pressures. Stutsman said that there has to be some way to project what kind of impact a guideline increase will have. Neuzil agreed and said that they need an answer to that question. Thompson asked that Horne discuss with Hull how the General Assistance guidelines are indexed. Thompson said that Horne needs to know the minimum veteran benefit, SSI, and Public Assistance so the County doesn’t acquire people that meet the standards for other forms of assistance. Stutsman said that permanently indexed means that there would be automatic cost of living increases, which she is not interested in. Horne said that Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier is comparing his service to other counties, but there is no standard set of guidelines. Stutsman agreed and said it is not a fair comparison because other counties don’t have other services available. Thompson said that the last time he raised his guidelines he went over budget. Horne said that Baier has been doing well budgeting over the last few years. Stutsman agreed. Horne said that he will try to get more information on the Veteran Affairs budget.

Horne said that SEATS’ major budgetary item this year involves vehicle replacement. More than 50% of the SEATS fleet has over 150,000 miles. He said that the SEATS Director Tom Brase feels that they could replace up to 6 vehicles this year and 6 in Fiscal Year 2005. He said that there will be savings in maintenance costs. He said that revenues are up 4% mainly due to adjustments in the contracts with the cities and agencies such as Pathways. Per strategic planning, revenues and expenditures have been steady. Horne said that this ties in to the Board’s goal of limiting tax increases. He said that investment in the vehicles ties into the Board goal of promoting and enhancing the quality of life for all citizens. He said that like the Medical Examiner, regionalization of the SEATS service will be explored over the next year. Horne said that there is no major change in the operating budget.

Stutsman said that Brase did a good job of laying out his needs. Horne agreed and said that Brase did an outstanding job. Stutsman asked if ECICOG is on board for replacement of the vehicles. Horne said yes. The Board discussed the fact that the SEATS lease is up in 2 years. Thompson said that the Board has not set aside money for a SEATS building because there is a chance for Federal money. Neuzil asked that something regarding a new SEATS building be put together soon for his upcoming trip to Washington D.C.

Horne said that the block grant budget is frozen at current year level for Fiscal Year 05. He said that budget constraints in the General Fund due to the loss of tax credit funding and interest proceeds make increased investment difficult at this time. However, the investment is maintained in jail alternative/crime prevention programs such as United Action for Youth at $100,193, Youth Homes at $63,407, and Big Brothers/Big Sisters at $27,037. Horne said that per the strategic planning, the County will conduct a more extensive look at the services provided by area agencies during the upcoming year.

Horne said that there are several agencies requesting funding that are either new or weren’t funded the last few years that includes 4Cs, MYEP, Pathways, and Red Cross. The Board agreed to add $1,000 to the Johnson County Housing Trust. The Board also agreed to add $4,400 to Iowa Workforce Development since the request is based on a population formula. Stutsman said that she would like to include 4 Cs. Severson said that Pathway’s is not a high priority because their ending year balance equals their yearly budget. She said that the Board was going to phase out their funding before deciding last year to cut it all together. The Board agreed to not give money to Pathways because of their large carryover balance.

Neuzil asked if MYEP works with groups of people other than MH/DD clients. Neuzil said that he’d be willing to fund the $2,000 they requested since they started working with disadvantaged teens as the Board previously indicated they should. Severson explained that the Red Cross is no longer affiliated with the United Way, but they also receive funding from the cities. She said that local Red Cross Funding is used for emergency services such as food, shelter, and clothing as well as emergency military communication and support. She said that they have also developed a Local Advisory Committee to help with programming and resources within Johnson County. The Board agreed to reduce the request to $500 to the Red Cross since they have a strong national presence. Thompson asked if they are going to reduce the other budgets by $9,900 due to the increases.

Horne said that after anticipating the cut in property tax credit funding, he reduced the budget by $740,000. He said that he made several cuts through several different departments. He said that if the Board wants to add these new organizations, then they have to reduce funding in other places. Neuzil asked if the County will need to make up the entire $740,000 in credit cutbacks. Harney said that from previous discussions with Legislators, the State is going to try to salvage the credit cuts. Horne said that he prepared the budget cautiously assuming the full cut. He said that the Board can pass on the credits for Elderly and Disabled, Military, and the Homestead, but must absorb all the others. Thompson said that she’s concerned with not giving the block grants a cost of living increase. She said that if they don’t the agencies’ employees probably will not get a raise. Neuzil said that in the end, it is a matter of priorities. Stutsman said that in tough budget years, the Board should not assume a cost of living increase. Thompson said that she would rather cut the number of agencies back and increase the funding to the others so they can operate properly. Stutsman asked which agencies she would like to cut. Thompson said that she has concerns about the Shelter Center and the Senior Center’s funding. The Board decided to add the new agencies and freeze the others.

Horne said that the Nutrition Trust is being closed down during the current fiscal year and moved to Elder Services control since they now manage the Senior Dining program. He said that the SIH Consortium Trust is program specific funding from the State Institute of Health that the Health Department needs to keep segregated.

Horne explained that he investigated the Ambulance Department’s request. He said that Ambulance Director Steve Spenler increased his revenue fees and decreased his part-time line by $10,000 to offset the new position. He said that per the Board’s request, he incorporated the 2 new positions into the budget. Stutsman asked how often supervisors are called in. Horne replied that Ambulance has 4 field supervisors, each taking a week of calls each month. He said that their responsibilities are to be a resource for on duty staff, respond when busy or they’ve run out of ambulances in a mass casualty situation. He said that they currently use personal vehicles or the 5th ambulance if available. Horne said that the supervisors would use the vehicle when on call to respond to the service or to an emergency scene. Harney said that he is not in favor of funding this vehicle. Stutsman said that it’s an issue of fairness because the County provides vehicles to others employees who are on call. She said that she supports the vehicle. Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan explained that if a supervisor is in an accident in their personal vehicle while on call, that person’s insurance is liable first and then the County’s. Neuzil said he’d lean towards replacing another vehicle first. Harney asked why someone would need to report from home to the scene if there are already qualified personnel there. Sullivan replied that they report when there are not enough people at the scene. Thompson said that if the on call paramedic supervisors aren’t called to the scene at least once a week she isn’t interested in funding the vehicle. The Board agreed.

Horne explained that he spoke with the Sheriff regarding an initial budget for Courthouse Security. Thompson asked why the Sheriff’s Department has over 20 vehicles, but only 2 are on patrol at any given time. Horne replied that there are many other types of vehicles besides the 2 patrol vehicles. Harney said that he doesn’t question the amount, only the types of vehicles that the Sheriff’s Department purchases. Horne said that the Sheriff is not against purchasing central vehicles, but he is concerned with County employees wanting to take patrol cars for unnecessary uses.

Horne said that the Medical Examiner will have a resolution before the Board to change their fee. He said that in the next few weeks they will also be starting to allocate expenses back to other counties. Horne said that Linn County has tabled their discussion regarding their Medical Examiner for the time being. He said that they’ll approach the smaller counties to see if there’s interest in a regionalized service.

Horne said that per the Board’s discussion, he added the Mobile Crisis Coordinator position back into MH/DD’s budget.

Horne explained that a General Fund increase or decrease of $100,000 is plus or minus .3% for rural residents, .4% for Iowa City Residents, and .4% for other cities’ residents. He said that if the Board adds $200,000 for the Courthouse Security, it will increase taxes .6% for rural residents. Horne said that he’s also waiting for specific figures for bonding numbers, but it is figured in the budget.

Horne said that the Board has 4 more budget meetings, wrapping up on February 17, 2004. He said that the budget public hearing will be held tentatively on March 8th, 2004. The Board set up a practice budget public hearing during a separate work session on March 4th following the informal meeting. The Board discussed the effects of TIFs on the County.

Adjourned at 10:55 a.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary