MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:

MARCH 23, 2004 

DEPARTMENT HEAD MEETING

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) - Health Care Plan Compliance April 14, 2004; Leave Accrual Limits in Gems; and Uniform Payroll Schedule Update

• Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne: Performance Measures for FY 2005; and County Vehicle Committee

• Communications Committee: County Government Week

• Reports/Updates From Department Heads

• Scheduling Date And Time Of Next Meeting

Department heads present were: City Assessor Dennis Baldridge, Conservation Director Harry Graves, County Assessor Bill Greazel, County Engineer Mike Gardner, County Recorder Kim Painter, County Treasurer Tom Kriz, Facilities Director David Kempf, Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek, Information Services Director Jean Schultz, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, Public Health Director Ralph Wilmoth, SEATS Director Tom Brase, and Veterans Affairs Commission Director Leo Baier.

Staff present were: Board of Supervisors Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan, Board of Supervisors Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne, Human Services Accountant Kathy Lynch, Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Financial and Statistical Supervisor Debbie Guard, Sheriff’s Captain Keith Slaughter, and Auditor’s Office Recording Secretary Kate Darnold.

HUMAN RESOURCES ADMINISTRATOR LORA SHRAMEK: HEALTH INSURANCE PORTABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT (HIPAA) - HEALTH CARE PLAN COMPLIANCE APRIL 14, 2004; LEAVE ACCRUAL LIMITS IN GEMS; AND UNIFORM PAYROLL SCHEDULE UPDATE

Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said that last year Johnson County’s Privacy Officer, Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan, drafted Johnson County HIPAA Policies and Procedures and provided training for Johnson County Employees that have regular contact with Protected Health Information (PHI).  Training was provided to employees in the following Johnson County departments: Ambulance, Public Health, Social Services, and MH/DD.  She said that because Johnson County’s self-funding health care program is considered small in regard to the regulations because Johnson County pays out less than $5 million in a claim year, the County had an extra year to comply, and the deadline is April 14, 2004.  She said that she, Human Resources Coordinator Jen Feldmann, and Sullivan are scheduling HIPAA 15 minute training sessions for Johnson County employees enrolled in health, dental, and/or flexible spending plans.  The sessions have been scheduled with departments that have regular staff meetings.  Five general sessions are scheduled for all other Johnson County employees to attend, and an email will be sent to all department heads and elected officials by March 24, 2004 notifying them of the sessions.  Shramek said employees will be given a privacy notice and be briefed on HIPAA basics at the sessions.

Shramek reported that starting with the payroll after April 1, 2004 leave accrual limits will be in place according to the Johnson County Collective Bargaining Agreement limitations and Johnson County Policy in the employee handbook.  Human Resources has been monitoring employees who are close to, at, and over the vacation and/or sick accrual limits.  Since the first of the year, Human Resources has encouraged department heads and elected officials to have their employees take their earned vacation.

Shramek said collective bargaining negotiations for this year are complete.  She said employees from the Sheriff’s Office and Administrative Units will be converting over to the Uniform Payroll Schedule by October 2004, which means they will be paid in arrears rather than in advance.  Employees affected by the conversion will receive packets after July 1, 2003 similar to those received by non-bargaining employees last year.  Shramek said that there are a few employees through AFSCME that are still paid in advance, including Ambulance and Secondary Roads employees that have a one day differential.

BUDGET COORDINATOR JEFF HORNE: PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR FY 2005; AND COUNTY VEHICLE COMMITTEE

Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne said that the Fiscal Year 2005 budget is finished.  Horne said that starting July 1, 2004 they will track certain budget measurements with the goal being to have the measurements included with the budget materials by FY 2007.

Horne reported that the County Vehicle Committee will start meeting in April.  He said there will be a regular core committee, and all departments will be able to provide input at some point by means of a survey.  He said that the Committee will hopefully be finished in October or November for the next budget cycle.

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE: COUNTY GOVERNMENT WEEK

Neuzil said a Brown Bag Lunch is scheduled for Wednesday, April 21, 2004 during County Government Week from approximately 11:45 am to 1:00 pm in the Board room.  At the lunch, Neuzil will discuss the state of the County, and County Attorney J. Patrick White will provide a history of County government.  Neuzil said that on the national level, County Government Week is focusing on transportation.  Those invited to the lunch include the Board of Supervisors, department heads, elected officials, and those who serve on County boards and commissions.

REPORTS/UPDATES FROM DEPARTMENT HEADS

Neuzil communicated the importance of the reports and updates during Department Head meetings because part of the Board’s evaluations of department heads is based on communications from them.  Neuzil said these communications are taken seriously by the Board, and it is an easy opportunity to update the Board on activities in each department.

County Assessor Bill Greazel said this is an off year where they are assessing mostly new construction and some reevaluations.  Greazel said 3,500 notices will be sent out next week, and he doesn’t anticipate a large load to review.  Greazel reported that the Iowa Legislature killed the bill to transfer to a square footage assessment.  Lehman asked if there was a pilot of 3 counties that were going to be tested for the square footage assessment.  Greazel said it was not completed due to the $1 million cost of running the pilot.  Lehman asked if the dates for appeal of evaluation are set by statute or by the County Assessor.  Greazel said the dates are set by statute, and property owners have until May 5th to petition the Board of Review.  Lehman asked if an explanation of appeal dates is provided to owners of new construction that has been reassessed.  Greazel said the legal recourse information is listed on the letter.  Greazel said that once letters are sent out, the Assessor cannot change the valuation but the Board of Review can change the value up until they dismiss at the end of May.  Greazel said that after this time, no one can change the valuation even if it is wrong.  Harney said some property owners win valuation appeals between thousands to millions of dollars and asked about the reason for discrepancies in appraisals.  Greazel said discrepancies are not large when compared to the total property value.  City Assessor Dennis Baldridge said that appeals are a small percentage of the total value, even when the value of large properties goes down.  Greazel said, for example, a 10% refund of gross tax dollars can equal a very large amount of money on properties valued at $150 million, and owners of those properties would have a reason to appeal.

County Treasurer Tom Kriz said the other County Treasurers were happy that the Legislature killed the bill on square footage assessment.  Kriz reported that his department is busy with tax season.  He said the Treasurer’s Office will accept payment of motor vehicle registration by credit card through the Internet starting with renewals in May.  Kriz said that property taxes can also be paid over the Internet.  Kriz said that Johnson County is one of 10 counties in the state that does not issue drivers licenses.  He said the state will disenfranchise itself from the system requiring the County to have its own drivers license system.  Kriz said that Deputy Treasurer Debbie Jensen will be retiring in April.

County Engineer Mike Gardner said that they are doing a bridge replacement and culvert project on IWV Road, a culvert project on Rohret Road, 2 bridge deck overlays, buying right-of-way on Sand Road, and a widening project on Wapsi Avenue.  Lehman asked for an update on road embargoes.  Gardner said they removed a few because they were posted in error.  He said the embargoes may be put back on if there are any signs of problems.  He said the rock roads are showing signs of problems now, but they are not doing rock contracts right now.

SEATS Director Tom Brase said he is working with an Advisory Committee on a rider survey.  Brase said he is reevaluating contract renewals for Solon and Lone Tree.  SEATS is receiving 4 new vehicles that will replace the 1993 and 1995 model vehicles.  Brase said the MDT’s are working great, and they know where a driver goes and how long a driver sits in one place.

Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said that hopefully the Board will soon approve the County’s first Economic Development Plan.  Dvorak said on April 15, 2004 they will start to review the Land Use Plan.  He reported that there is a new electrical inspector for Building Inspections.

Information Services Director Jean Schultz said they are two-thirds done with MS Office 2003 upgrades, and the remainder will be completed within the next 2 weeks.  Schultz said they are in the process of installing new real estate software and training is almost complete.  She said they are almost completed with programs to pull data for the tax system that will go live the beginning of the next fiscal year.  Schultz said there have been 2 sets of training for GEMS installation on general ledger, accounts payable, and assets modules.  She said the target for these modules is to go live during the next fiscal year.  Schultz said a new link is on the County web site for printing public forms.  She asked for more pictures of Johnson County employees for the web.  Schultz said that there are new wireless communications between the Johnson County Courthouse and the Sheriff’s Office and Secondary Roads and Conversation.  Schultz said they installed a new exchange mail server with a spam filtering feature.

Sheriff’s Captain Keith Slaughter said they have openings for a control center operator for the jail and a deputy.  Slaughter said it has been difficult filling the Deputy Sheriff position because 3 people from their certified list are overseas, and are awaiting their return.  Slaughter said there have been a lot of speed complaints with the spring weather, and radar patrol will increase.

Public Health Department Director Ralph Wilmoth said National Public Health Week starts April 5, 2004.  Public Health is working with Conservation to set up a Fun Walk at Kent Park on April 10, 2004.  Wilmoth reported that Linn County is having a special measles vaccination clinic at Linn County Health Department.  He said 3 Johnson County residents contacted the Johnson County Public Health on Monday requesting a measles vaccination because they had been exposed to a person in the airport from Detroit, MI with active measles.

Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier said Governor Vilsack issued an Iowa Veterans commemorative medal on Veterans Day 2003 to help raise funds for the first Iowa Veterans Cemetery.  The medals will be sold to help raise the 450-500 million needed for the cemetery.  Baier said Iowa is one of 13 states that does not have a Veterans cemetery.  He said an article was published on January 23, 2004 that Johnson County would be receiving a food grant of $43,000.  He said he found out this money was going to the Shelter House.  Baier said this grant was sponsored by FEMA, and attendance was required to be considered for the grant.  Baier was in attendance.  He asked for a grant of $2,000 and was approved.  Baier said the Spring School is during the week of April 18, 2004 at the Sheraton Four Points in Des Moines.  He said his department is currently under the FY 04 budget.  He thanked the Board for approving the FY 05 budget.

Human Services Accountant Kathy Lynch said they finished training sessions for foster parents.  Lynch said there are nearly 100 foster and adoptive families in Johnson County.

County Recorder Kim Painter said the County website is going well for adding documents, and they are one to 2 months away from completion.  Painter said the State Recorder’s Office website prototype should be completed in 4 to 6 weeks.  They are looking at the website to be a potential portal for many kinds of business within the county.  It will be used for obtaining information as well as E-commerce where people and businesses can submit documents electronically to be recorded.  Painter said there was a bill passed by the Legislature extending the $5 fee for recording and $2 of that fee will go toward local housing trust funds.

City Assessor Dennis Baldridge said the 2 points he wanted to discuss had already been covered, which were 1) sending out assessments on new construction and 2) CMS real estate software installation and conversion.

Facilities Director David Kempf said the Physical Plant is starting their spring cleanup.  Kempf said they are doing preventative maintenance on A/C units, and to bear with them as they prepare the units for operation.  He said they are working on projects from last fall which include repairing broken slates on the Administration Building and Courthouse.  Kempf said they are moving forward on the Courthouse Security control.  He said Jail Maintenance Worker I James Shulista will be retiring in April.

Conservation Department Director Harry Graves said Johnson County Naturalist Brad Freidhof’s office has been moved to the new Conservation Education Center.  Graves said they are in the process of completing displays and plan a grand opening for June 12, 2004.  He said they started controlled burning today that will stimulate growth and remove dead vegetation from previous years.  Graves said they are getting parks ready to open by applying fresh rock to roads and assembling new picnic tables and fire rings.  He said the IWV Bridge was moved to Kent Park that will be used in a trail network throughout the park.  He attended a meeting for a planned dear hunt that will include a bow hunt in addition to a shotgun hunt.  Graves said 51 deer were removed last year and they will try to remove the same amount this year.  He said the wastewater treatment system for the campground will be completed around April 15, 2004.  Graves said new campground hosts were hired.  Graves said the Public Health Run Walk will be held April 10, 2004.  He said other activities include Earth Day, which they will celebrate April 24, 2004 with a prairie rescue.  He said there is a bike race with 60 to 70 cyclists on Sunday, and the proceeds go to Miracles in Motion.  Graves said the Old Settlers Association is having a festival at Walker Park.

Shramek said the Employee Handbook Committee is working at a consistent pace.  She reminded department heads to report any employees who are injured on the job to Feldmann as soon as possible.  Shramek said they are working on the merit budget amendment for eligible employees on the non-bargaining structure.

Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne said he is working with the Auditor’s Office and external auditor Eide Bailley on reporting financial statements in the GASB 34 format.  Horne said fixed assets values will be assigned to county buildings and roads.  He said the statements will look very similar to a corporate balance sheet.  The change in reporting statements was required by the Government Accounting Standards Board.  Johnson County will have to be GASB 34 compliant in 2 years.  Horne will train for GEMS budget the week of August 23 and will provide training for others.

Sullivan said they are in the process of appraising properties in the block north of the County Administration building.  He will work with the County Attorney as appraisals come in on negotiating the acquisition of properties.  He said appraisals should be in by the end of the first full week of April.  Sullivan said they are on target with the Capital Improvement Plan for the new Health and Human Services building.

Lehman reported that he went to the Washington County Courthouse and Administration Building to assess their operations.  He said he appreciates the Johnson County departments cooperating with document management.

Harney reported that on April 19, 2004 at 10:30 a.m. Colonel Rodgers will give an overview of the new readiness center for the National Guard.

Neuzil went to Washington, D.C. with Harney and the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce.  He said they discussed a new SEATS facility with a good possibility of funding for the building.

Greazel commented that the 2 night custodians are the best that they have had in a long time.

SCHEDULING DATE AND TIME OF NEXT MEETING

The Board and department heads scheduled the next meeting for May 18, 2004 at 1:30 p.m.

Adjourned at 2:45 p.m.

Attest:  Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Kate Darnold, Recording Secretary