MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
FEBRUARY 8, 2005
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chairperson Stutsman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:00 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
FISCAL YEAR 2006 ROADS AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICE AREA
Secondary Roads (Department #49)
Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne said that the maximum transfer this year is $683,866. The minimum transfer is 75% of that or $512,900, and is the transfer that is currently budgeted. Horne said that there is a higher levy in the Rural Fund which makes the maximum transfer $2,971,720, or the minimum $228,790. The total maximum transfer is 3.655 million and the minimum is 2.741 million. Horne explained that it was Board policy for a long time to do the maximum General Fund transfer and the minimum Rural Fund transfer. Horne said that when they got into a pinch a few years ago they lowered the transfer in the General Fund to the minimum and in the Rural Fund they did the offset of the two. Harney said that if they keep giving the same amount to Secondary Roads they won’t get the roads, culverts, and bridges back into shape. Horne said that the transfer to Secondary Roads this year will be almost 2.4 million. Stutsman said that there are so many needs in the General Fund she doesn’t know that anything can be taken out of the General Fund and put into the Secondary Roads budget. Lehman said that they could pull money out of capital projects but then they would lose ground there. Horne said that there is room in the Rural Fund but if it is raised it is a bigger impact on the taxpayers. Horne said that the end of year balance is growing which helps. The FY 05 projected ending balance is over two million dollars. County Engineer Greg Parker said that two million dollars is a good reserve to have in the budget. He said that they don’t want to drop below a million dollars because they need a reserve for overage on construction projects, money for cash flow, and funds for replacement of structures due to natural disasters. Horne said that if the balance ever gets high they could possibly move a project up.
FISCAL YEAR 2006 ELECTED COUNTY OFFICES
County Recorder (Department #11)
Horne said that County Recorder Kim Painter is requesting an increase in staff development and reclassifying a Clerk I to a Clerk II, at a cost of approximately $3,000. Neuzil said that before he was against the reclassification because it was outside of the budget process. Lehman said that Painter’s revenues are going to drop. Horne agreed that the Recorder’s Office revenues aren’t as high as they’ve been in the past. The Board agreed that they would like to find a way to put the job reclassification in the FY 06 budget.
County Treasurer (Department #14)
Horne said that County Treasurer Tom Kriz has a slight decrease in his non personnel budget of $300.
FISCAL YEAR 2006 CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION
Central Services (Department #18)
Horne explained that all central County administration items are in the Department 18 budget. Horne raised the Central Services budget slightly for anticipated changes in fuel costs, postage, publications, and the animal control contract. R. Sullivan asked if any of the revenues in Central Services could be raised. Horne didn’t think so. Harney asked if there is a better way to publish the minutes. Administrative Secretary Casie Kadlec explained that publications rules and costs are set by State Code. Horne said that they brought the issue up with local legislators who had no interest in changing the issue. Stutsman said that the newspapers have a very strong lobby. Harney said that the postage should be decreased because there won’t be a presidential election in FY 06. Kadlec explained that the law has changed and the Auditor’s Office now has to pay for return postage on all absentee ballots. Neuzil said that is a perfect example of an unfounded mandate by the State.
Horne said that he is assuming a 4.5% salary increase for the Supervisors and a 3% increase for the deputies and elected officials. The Board discussed encouraging elected officials to reclassify the deputy positions in order to pay them more. The Board agreed to the 4.5% and 3% increase. The Board agreed that they would give the non-union employees the same increase as the union employees.
Horne said that health insurance has caused a large increase in the General Supplemental levy.
Horne presented a survey he conducted on the use of vehicles in County departments. Horne compared the cost of mileage versus renting a car for trips to Des Moines. Paying mileage to County employees is more cost effective if the Board doesn’t raise the mileage to $.32 per mile. If the Board raises the mileage then two out of the three rental companies in the area are cheaper. Horne said that it is more effective to pay for a rental if it is a one day trip but if there is an overnight stay it is cheaper to pay for mileage. The Board agreed to continue studying the issue in the future. The Board also agreed to raise the mileage to $.32 per mile.
Capital Improvement Plan and Capital Projects
Horne said that the Capital Improvement Plan FY 06 budget is at $844,000. Horne said that the goal is to save one million per year and if the FY 06 amount is averaged with the FY 05 amount it is above one million per year for the two year period. The Board agreed to keep the amount in the Capital Improvement Plan budget at $844,000.
DISCUSSION: FISCAL YEAR 2006 COUNTY BUDGET
Horne presented a chart of the proposed Human Services Reorganization. Horne said that if the proposed changes are made it will cost $40,000. The Board agreed to continue discussing reorganization of the Human Services department in the future.
Horne said that he just found out that North Liberty has requested an additional $13,000 for the Family Resource Center because they’ve added another position. Horne said that the County gave them $20,000 in FY 05 and they’ve requested $33,000 for FY 06. The Board decided not to fund the additional $13,000 because they weren’t involved in the planning and didn’t have any input into the plans.
Adjourned at 10:40 a.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary