• Executive Session: Evaluation and Goal Setting of General Assistance Director Kay Hull

• Executive Session: Pre-Evaluation and Goal Setting of Facilities Manager David Kempf

• Site Visit: Discussion with County Sheriff Bob Carpenter, Chief Deputy/Major Keith Slaughter at the Sheriff’s Department

Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:05 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

Motion by Lehman, second by Thompson, to enter into Executive Session at 9:05 a.m. for an annual evaluation of General Assistance Director under section 21.5(1.i), Code of Iowa, "to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session." Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Motion by Harney, second by Stutsman, to leave Executive Session at 9:47 a.m. Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Recessed at 9:47 a.m.; reconvened at 9:57 a.m.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: PRE-EVALUATION AND GOAL SETTING OF FACILITIES MANAGER DAVID KEMPF

Motion by Thompson, second by Stutsman, to enter into Executive Session at 9:57 a.m. for an annual evaluation of Facilities Manager under section 21.5(1.i), Code of Iowa, "to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session." Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Motion by Harney, second by Thompson, to leave Executive Session at 10:50 a.m. Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Neuzil, Lehman, Thompson.

Recessed at 10:50 a.m.; reconvened at 11:10 a.m.

SITE VISIT: DISCUSSION WITH county sheriff bob carpenter, CHIEF DEPUTY/MAJOR KEITH SLAUGHTER AT THE SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

County Sheriff Bob Carpenter said that the cost of prisoners being housed in Linn County is $100,000 below year to date budgeted amounts with 2 months remaining in the year. However, it is not unusual for the Sheriff's Office to have expenses of over $40,000 in one month, he explained. He offered to provide the Board a report of prisoner relocation expenses by month, so they can get a better of idea of the history of the expenses. Neuzil asked how many more years Carpenter feels this arrangement can continue before it is a serious situation. Carpenter said that the State removal of the transportation cap helped his office a great deal, but the next challenge will come when Linn County can no longer take prisoners. He said that they currently watch other counties like Muscatine, Cedar, and Jones for availability. Lehman asked if there are established criteria for transportation of prisoners. Sheriff’s Captain David Wagner replied that the whole picture determines whether or not prisoners are transported. Carpenter explained that they would like to have approximately 70 prisoners, so if after a few days the prisoner count is lower than 70 they will begin to bring prisoners back to Johnson County’s jail. He said that they do consider the weekend trend they see in deciding whether or not to move prisoners.

Lehman asked how they choose the individual prisoners to transport. Wagner replied that they consider upcoming court dates, medical concerns, and appointments before deciding which prisoners to transport. Lehman said that Linn County would prefer not to receive the problem prisoners as well. Wagner said that they do bring prisoners who would prefer not to be transferred, but they have not had many problems with Linn County being unhappy with prisoners. Harney asked if Linn County guarantees a certain number of beds. Carpenter replied that they do not, but he does not believe the County should try to because they will pay for empty beds that they are not using because of the fluctuation in transportation of prisoners. He said that there are also additional expenses than that occurred with Linn County due to some juvenile prisoners held at other jails. Thompson asked Carpenter if he feels the transportation arrangement is currently allowing him to run an orderly jail. Carpenter replied that he believes the jail is running very well while staying under the National Department of Corrections recommended limit. He said that there are also situations where the beds are not utilized to their fullest extent, which they need to be concerned with as well. Neuzil asked how much longer Carpenter believes transporting to Linn County can continue. Carpenter replied that he feels Johnson County has already been bordering on no longer using Linn County’s beds for months. Neuzil said that if Linn County is becoming less of an option the Jail Committee must begin to look closer at the facility question. Thompson said that the transportation costs have been lower than the projections, having not yet equaled the interest cost of a $20 million loan, which is when it will become more cost effective to build. Carpenter said that the County will always be able to find somewhere to house prisoners, but the cost will increase as the location moves farther away. Thompson asked how much more inconvenient it would be to house prisoners at multiple locations. Carpenter replied that it depends on the situation when retrieving the prisoners. He said that currently they switch prisoners between jails as needed, but facilities do not appreciate that because prisoner processing is time consuming. Carpenter explained that the housing cost does not reflect the true cost of transporting and housing prisoners because the cost of gas and other items come from the Department’s overall budget. The Board agreed that the Sheriff's Office needs to track the true cost of prisoner transportation. Carpenter replied that it will be difficult to track those numbers fully. Neuzil said that the Board needs to show that the cost to transport prisoners is higher than what is shown.

Stutsman asked if there are only 2 officers patrolling the rural areas. Carpenter replied that it depends on the time of day because that there are approximately 20 deputies to cover the 24 hours a day, seven days a week schedule. He said that they generally have 3 officers patrolling, except during the late evening hours, but can have as many as 9 officers patrolling at a given time when everyone is available. Carpenter said that they schedule officers to patrol at times when they see the most need, generally starting mid-afternoon until approximately 2:00 a.m. Wagner said that officer training, sick leave and vacation days can cut into the amount of officers on patrol at a given time. Carpenter said that the Department has a minimum number of required officers during certain times as well.

Neuzil left at 11:30 a.m.

Carpenter explained that his office interviewed 2 servicemen before they were sent oversees and are currently trying to hire them to fill either the 2 vacant positions or the courthouse security positions. Stutsman asked if the decision has been made to fill those positions with deputies. Carpenter replied that it is up to the Board. Thompson said that the Board has made that decision, but Stutsman replied that they had not. She said she believed the Board was checking into other alternatives. Carpenter replied that he believed the Board had approved 2 individuals to begin security tasks at the Courthouse as of January 1, 2004, but added that he could be wrong because he never received anything official. Thompson explained that the Board gave Carpenter half the requested amount in his budget for Courthouse security. Stutsman said she thought the Board would look into private security companies. Thompson replied that on Stutsman’s request the Board sent the security company proposal back to the Task Force, but they replied that they would only support deputies. She added that the Board decided they would be bound by the Task Force’s decision. Lehman said that the Board needs to take formal action regarding the 2 positions. Stutsman said she thought Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan was going to present a report to the Board on the alternatives. Sheriff’s Major Keith Slaughter said that the Committee made a presentation to the Board regarding their recommendations. Harney said he thought the majority of the Board decided to use officers. Thompson said that the reasoning behind the decision was that the purpose of security was to make the Courthouse staff feel more secure, but staff said they would not feel more secure with a private security force so it did not make sense to pursue that avenue. Harney said that Stutsman may have been absent.

Slaughter said that the Sheriff's Office wanted full time deputies, because if there is an incident additional staff would not need to leave their patrolling duties to assist at the Courthouse during an incident. Stutsman said she understands the Sheriff’s reasoning, but does not know when the decision was made. Lehman said that the Board needs to follow up on the decision. Carpenter explained that his office dealt with Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne in the process and submitted proposals through him. He said that the $100,000 for January 1, 2005 will not allow his office to have people in place on that day because of the training that will be needed. Thompson replied that the Board discussed a March start date with County Attorney J. Patrick White. Carpenter asked the Board to look into the matter because his department has held off hiring for the positions, especially because of the servicemen who they would like to hire. Harney asked if the 2 additional vacancies are because Carpenter never filled the additional positions the Board authorized. Carpenter replied that he had to keep those positions open after 2 officers retired because their retirement required approximately $20,000 in additional benefits they had accrued. He said that he believed he had visited with the Board in the past to let them know the staffing situation. Carpenter said that to be fully staffed it would require a budget amendment, which he has only had to request once in his 16 years as Sheriff. Harney said that he believed the Board authorized $100,000 for July 1, 2004 so they could have their officers properly trained to begin work in January. Lehman said that the money is available, but the money would not last the entire year if they began in July. Carpenter said his understanding is that the money would not be available until January 1, 2004. He said that the $100,000 would go towards training, equipment and wages, but that would not last very long. Wagner asked if security improvements will also be taken out of those funds. Thompson said that those funds are in a separate budget.

Stutsman asked if it was the Board’s decision to use deputies for Courthouse security. Carpenter said that it was his understanding was that 2 deputies could start after January 1, 2005. Slaughter said that the Sheriff Department requested $151,000 for 2 deputies, benefits, uniforms, training, and an additional request for the card system through the Facilities Department. Lehman said that the Board needs to formalize the decision. Thompson said that the money is in the Sheriff’s budget, available July 1, 2004. She said that the Department could hire one deputy for the whole year. Wagner said that they wanted 2 deputies, because even with vacation and sick leave there should be one officer on duty. Harney asked if Carpenter would allow officers with longevity to apply for the position. Carpenter said that they will have a hard time finding people to fill the positions, so he does not believe current officers will be interested. He said that the current officers seek action and will not want to be confined to one building. He said that since security will be under his department any officer has to know that security is their only responsibility. Stutsman wondered why a deputy is needed instead of a security company.

Carpenter said that some concern has been expressed to the Board regarding officer safety and their radio equipment, but he would hope that the Board would discuss the matter with him if it is a concern. He said that the system was just replaced in 1999 and is as up to date as any in the country. Stutsman said she has also heard the statement, but has not found any reason for concern. Lehman said that the public may believe there is concern because no other opinion has been expressed. Carpenter said that what he had heard was that his deputies expressed to Neuzil a concern for their well being, but he is not aware of any problems. Stutsman replied that no one has expressed any concerns to her. Carpenter said that if there is a problem, he would like to know. Lehman asked if Johnson County Council of Governments Executive Director Jeff Davidson has spoken with the Sheriff’s Department. Carpenter replied that he has and reported that they have not found any major problems. He said that while the area dispatchers may desire one frequency, there is not the desire for one call center. Carpenter said that Davidson could not say any point in the system that was of concern. He said that he cannot find any facts to support that his dispatch is missing calls or taking too long to respond. He said that he felt that someone is pushing an agenda item that is not needed, but the County may want to look into it if a study is available to participate in. Carpenter said that a unified call center could be problematic because there would not be a backup, which is what Iowa City and Johnson County have in place currently. He said that he is adamant about not losing contact with the Highway Patrol and the surrounding counties because they currently are available for backup. He said that there could be ways to combine forces without spending millions of dollars and the law enforcement center is currently working on a less expensive way.

Carpenter said that currently his department dispatches the Johnson County ambulances. He said that there was a situation in the past where Iowa City has had to call twice in order to get an answer for an ambulance, but upon investigation they discovered that for $400 to $500 Iowa City could add a direct line of communication to the Ambulance Department. He said that he even offered to pay the cost. Carpenter said that Iowa City wants to move forward, but it would cost $25,000 for the type of improvement that would allow them to simultaneously alert their fire department as well. He said that Iowa City is going to move forward and should be upgraded by July 1, 2004. He said that any other calls from outside Iowa City would still be handled through the Sheriff’s Department. Lehman asked if the Sheriff will be able to track those calls. Carpenter replied Iowa City will begin to track that, but his department felt that getting the call to the Ambulance Department is more important.

Carpenter said that another issue that has risen is whether or not patrol cars will be taken out of use because of the increase in gas prices. He said that the Department has not had to increase their budget for gasoline and automobiles because they have changed from Crown Victoria’s to Chevy Impala’s, which has allowed them to decrease their gasoline and automobile purchase costs. Carpenter said that he is proud that he has been able to save the County money throughout the years.

Adjourned at 12:05 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary