MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JANUARY 24, 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Introduction of Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch.................................................. 1
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Eap Services – (Counselor from Synchrony); and Travel Reimbursement Form................................................................................................................................ 2
Facilities Director David Kempf: Bulk of Buying Paper............................................................. 3
Training and Orientation of Boards and Commissions................................................................ 4
Members............................................................................................................................... 4
Reports/Updates from Department Heads................................................................................ 4
Scheduling Date and Time of Next Meeting............................................................................. 7
Chairperson Lehman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building as a Department Head Meeting at 1:31 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Department heads present were: Ambulance Director Steve Spenler, Conservation Department Director Harry Graves, County Assessor Bill Greazel, County Engineer Greg Parker, County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek, County Treasurer Tom Kriz, Disaster Services Director Tom Hansen, Facilities Director David Kempf, Interim General Assistance Director Susan Campney, Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek, Information Services Director Jean Schultz, Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, Public Health Director Ralph Wilmoth, SEATS Director Tom Brase, and Veterans Affairs Commission Director Leo Baier. Also present was Chief Juvenile Court Administrator Lloyd Smith.
Staff present were: Board of Supervisors Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne, Human Services Accountant Kathy Lynch, and Auditor’s Office Recording Secretary Mimi Van Ausdall.
Lehman introduced the new Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch. Lehman said that Hensch has had a lot of experience in the medical field and is working with Board of Supervisors Assistant M. Sullivan. Lehman thanked County Treasurer Tom Kriz for providing a location in which Hensch can work.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek introduced Synchrony Employee Assistance Program Representative Amanda Goodrich. Shramek explained that Johnson County provides free and confidential counseling services to employees. She said that Goodrich will review available services and address how to approach employees who may benefit from these services. Goodrich said she is a counselor with the Employee Assistance Program. She described that employees have access to six sessions per person in a household. She said that they are usually pretty loose about this, but it is usually six sessions on a particular issue per calendar year. If someone comes in for a couple of sessions in relation to a death in the family but then later that same year a child is having a difficult time in school, that would be a separate issue. That child would have six sessions even if s/he had come in for the grief sessions earlier. She said she would like to address some of the issues that she sees come in. Goodrich said that supervisors have the job of breaking down the stigma of seeking counseling services. Employees sometimes think that they can only seek counseling if they are totally depressed or have hit bottom. She said that they see people for a variety of reasons including losing weight, marriage counseling, depression, adolescents who are struggling in school, legal referrals, divorce, grief, and more. She said that they see the program more as a prevention program. Since it is free, they would like to talk to people before they get overwhelmed with a particular problem. If an employee has approached the supervisor about something going on personally or professionally that they are having a tough time with, the supervisor should feel free to mention this service and note that it is free and confidential. Often people want to know what kind of information gets back to the employee. She said that the agency is contracted by Johnson County to give these services, so all of the confidentiality that one would have with a mental health service, one would have with this service, with the general exceptions of cases when people are going to hurt themselves or others. She said it is important to normalize the service to employees. Goodrich said that Johnson County has 4.33% of its employees coming to see them, and the average overall is 5%. Goodrich said that it is important to normalize this service so they don’t feel they are the only ones using it. Plus, the supervisor doesn’t have to know what the issue is exactly to refer the service. She asked for questions and feedback from the supervisors about what is difficult about referring an employee.
Lehman asked if anyone has had to refer an employee. County Engineer Greg Parker said that his department just had Goodrich in for phone training and it was really helpful. Goodrich said they do train for things like customer service. They are available for consultations and follow up if a supervisor wants ideas on how to approach an employee. Goodrich said that even if a whole group of people are having problems, they can be trained as well. They could address issues of stress, time management, customer service, change management, and substance abuse in the workplace. This could include substance abuse evaluations. Ambulance Director Steve Spenler said that he attended a presentation on team building skills and he found it a very productive training. Shramek said that Johnson County pays a flat fee per person per year. Goodrich said that whether an employee comes just once or six times, they receive just one set amount for that.
Lehman said that the Auditor’s Office has brought it the Board’s attention that they have had some difficulty making sure that travel reimbursement claims are complete with proper documentation so that they can process them. Shramek explained that the Auditor’s Office has expressed that some employees are not providing the information that they need in order to finish up a claim, and Auditor’s Office Account Clerk II Mydge Krob has to call around to get the information. This leads to delayed reimbursement. Regarding meal reimbursements, the Auditor’s Office needs to know whether the trip was a day trip or an overnight trip. This affects the tax consequences of the benefit. If the trip is not associated with substantial rest or overnight stay, it is not a taxable benefit. If it is within the day, it is considered a taxable benefit. The Auditor’s Office need to know the names of all the individuals involved. If there is one meal ticket for several people, they need to know all the names associated with the meal. They need more than just a credit card receipt, but an itemized meal receipt. Shramek said that the main things in regard to travel reimbursement are the names of people involved, the name, location, and date of the conference, the date and time that the employee left and returned, and original copies of receipts and tickets. All of these are necessary to determine whether an item is reimbursable or not. She said that all of this information is on the form. The Auditor’s Office would certainly appreciate department heads reminding employees about this form.
County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek asked if Shramek was going to discuss raising the reimbursement rates. She said that they are in regular contact with the State about this. There is going to be a recommendation as far as mileage reimbursement during the budget process. Pulkrabek asked if this includes meals. She said that she is still getting information on that. Lehman said that department heads need to make their employees aware of what they need in order to get reimbursed. Pulkrabek submitted that he thinks that the per meal rates are too low especially if they travel to a larger city. He understands that the State sets the rates, so he doesn’t know if the County has to stick to that. Lehman said it may cost more than a person was planning to spend. Shramek asked if the concerns are more with the in-state or out-of-state. Pulkrabek said either one. Lehman said that maybe other agencies are looking into that. Shramek said that she is sure that the State would like to but given the state of the budget, that is difficult. Stutsman said that it is especially difficult to constantly address the mileage reimbursement.
Facilities Director David Kempf spoke about buying bulk paper and asked the department heads how much paper they use per year, the cost, and who their suppliers are, and whether they use recycled paper. R. Sullivan said that some have expressed fear that they are going to get a year’s worth of paper and they are going to have to find a place to put it. Kempf said that he isn’t going to do that. He noted that they get the bulk pricing but they bring it five cases at a time or so. A lot of companies are offering that as an incentive. Kempf said that they won’t be calling him to say that they need 5 cases of paper. They will just try to have a common vendor. Essentially, they want a common vendor in order to save money, if it does save money. Harney confirmed they they are just going to do the one product this time. Kempf agreed. Kempf said that he will bring comparison numbers to the Board in March.
R. Sullivan said that the Board didn’t receive much feedback about training and orientation of board and commission members. He said that County Attorney J. Patrick White said that the gift law is something that people need to be aware of. R. Sullivan said that White is busy with a number of things but he does plan on getting the appropriate part of the Code and giving it to Secretary II Jo Hogarty to provide information about open meeting laws and other useful information. Lehman said that for new employees, they have orientation meetings, but for board and commissions members, they don’t have such meetings and could use information on Robert’s Rules of Order or etiquette and so on. Lehman asked Shramek if committee members would be eligible for Synchrony. She said that they would not be. She said that there would be a benefit to a centralized orientation form for members of boards and commissions. Shramek said that once Human Resources is out of the collective bargaining season, they could put together an orientation for boards and commissions. They could do those meetings individually or as a group.
County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said that they are still working on their software upgrade. They did finally go live on CAD and their records. The civil aspect of the software is also up and running but it is continuing to be tweaked. They are about a month away from going live with the technology at the jail. Pulkrabek said that over the holidays, they were only shipping three prisoners out of county. He hasn’t seen it that low. Now, they are housing out ten people. Pulkrabek said that they are hopefully on their way to spending less than last year. He said that a lot of it can be attributed to the Crisis Intervention Program and the Mental Health Diversion Program, which has helped even though they are only talking about 18 people who have been affected. The MECCA program regarding assessments is up and running but there is no real way to measure the impact on the jail yet.
Shramek said they have achieved a two year tentative agreement with the Sheriff’s Office. They will also be working with Ambulance and later with Social Services. She said that they have four active grievances so far. Shramek continued that she would like to thank Kempf and the Board and James for their job remodeling the Human Resources offices.
Neuzil left at 2:15 p.m. and returned at 2:19 p.m.
Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier said that the veteran’s assistance package was signed by the Governor yesterday. The package pays any seriously wounded veteran from Iraq $10,000. It also provides a million dollars each for National Guard education and housing for veterans.
Chief Juvenile Court Administrator Lloyd Smith said that last year they had 780 referrals, which is a small increase that will impact the County. He said that means there is an increase in detention and detention stays. He said that thanks to the GAP program, it isn’t as bad as it could be. Another thing that might impact the County is that they are nearing the end of a grant with AHRC which does most of their substance abuse treatment for free. That grant is nearing its close, which means that it may or may not mean increases for the County. They are also struggling with the new sex offender laws. The 2,000 feet law and the electronic monitoring law include juveniles. It is causing them quite a nightmare in some respects especially those coming out into independent living. The Lawyers’ Association and Judge’s Association and others are addressing that situation to make a recommendation to the legislature regarding the new sex offender laws. They have a new electronic monitoring requirement to put on juveniles even if they are not put on the registry, but that is not funded, so none of the juveniles are on electronic monitoring. He noted that there might be a rise in Latino gangs in the County, but they are not sure. As the Latino population increases, that issue could become more of an issue.
Ambulance Director Steve Spenler said that he will be in Des Moines attending functions with the Iowa EMS Association. They will be discussing the best practices in benchmarking. Later, they will go to the Capitol to meet with some legislators to discuss issues important to EMS. In February, he invited the Board to South Slope at 8:00 a.m. for their annual EMS Saturday to provide training for EMS for surrounding counties.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said that they will soon be looking at the Land Use Plan. He said that it is an exciting time because they will be presenting their view of the Land Use Plan this evening. Parker said that it is going to be there and Dvorak would like to invite others to attend as well. If they don’t want to participate, they might ask some to present later on.
Public Health Department Director Ralph Wilmoth said that there has been a lot of talk about endemic flu and avian flu. He said that they can be assured that there have been no cases of avian flu in the U.S. at this time. Legislators and their constituents are meeting in February to discuss this. Wilmoth said that there are already plans in place if something like this comes up. The Secretary of Health will be in Iowa soon to discuss the pandemic flu plan. Harney said that Chamber of Agriculture Committee is meeting and the speaker is going to be on the avian flu.
Medical Examiner Mike Hensch said that he has actually done some of the job previously but is taking on more now. Their department has had 140 cases. He said it isn’t that the County is getting more dangerous. He said that he is totally willing to go to any of the departments to talk about his work. He asked people to keep his department in mind when they are planning any drills. He said that in any of the big events, someone dies, so they need to fit that into the scenario.
Kriz said that they sent out late property tax notices to about 2,200 people. He said that due to pressure they put on the Department of Transportation, the director of the Department of Transportation resigned and the top two people involved in the motor vehicle software project were reassigned. He thought that even though people lost their jobs, it shows that people’s voices can be heard and there is a better way to do this kind of thing. He said that the Department of Transportation is revising the drivers’ licenses system. Lastly, the County, working with Kempf, sold at auction another house that the County took back for unpaid taxes. This increased awareness of the need for the public to pay their taxes. The house on College Street sold for $100,000. Kriz said that the tax money will be distributed to the City and the School Districts and then to the County.
Kempf said that the weather has enabled them to get caught up on some of their projects. He said that one employee will be doing a project at Juvenile Probation next week. They have been doing some painting at Secondary Roads. He said he is hoping to be done with this year’s carpet replacement project in the Administration building. They are done in the Treasurer’s and the Auditor’s and still need to do the Board Room. That project is a little late because the carpet didn’t get delivered on time. He said that there is new money budgeted for carpet beginning July 1, 2006.
Conservation Director Harry Graves said that Sunday marked the end of deer hunting season. This is the second year of their bow hunting deer reduction at Kent Park. He said that they had 162 deer in January last year. This year, a total of 60 were killed. They will do another count after the snow clears. At the Conversation Center, two staff people were selected for a one day refresher course on controlling fire hazards. They trained 40-some people throughout the state. He noted that he just completed a grant application for a new boat ramp and an application for a grant for a Wildlife Improvement Program, which is a 60/40 cost share. He said that two employees are attending the annual Iowa Association of County Conservation Boards’ Winterfest program in Waterloo and are presenting on invasive species. He said that they received two warning signals from Coralville that they will use for campers. Graves said that they completed a tremendous amount of work in polishing off the autumn olive in Kent Park. They have used prison labor from Oakdale. This Saturday, they have the Iowa State University Insect Zoo coming that is aimed at children. This includes the movie A Bug’s Life. There is a whole series of interesting bugs that people can handle.
SEATS Director Tom Brase said that those who got the JCCOG report may have seen that SEATS was highest in the State for efficiency concerning passengers per mile. They got $100,000 for a facility. There are 8 or 9 new vehicles for SEATS that will be going soon. Brase said that the price of gas keeps him guessing.
County Assessor Bill Greazel said they have been seeing more foreclosures than usual by financial institutions, which is unusual to see in the real estate market. The value of the homes hasn’t been rising as fast the last three or four months as he would expect. He said they are finishing up their assessments for the year and they will be sending out their notices in the next month or so. They will have the Board of Review for anyone who is disturbed by that notice.
County Engineer Greg Parker said that they are now preparing for their 5 Year Road Construction program.
A Representative from MH/DD said that the Johnson County MHDD Mobile Crisis Coordinator Malinda Lamb and MECCA Substance Abuse Clinical Supervisor Kathy Guinness have been selected to present a program on mental health and substance abuse services within county criminal justice at a Mental Health National Symposium in Kansas City. MH/DD is looking at measures in response to allocations that will be decreased by a great deal, around $350,000.
Lehman said that he and Stutsman are going represent the County on the Chamber of Commerce Washington D.C. trip. They will be lobbying for a SEATS building. They will be traveling with representatives from the area including Coralville, Iowa City, Linn County, and North Liberty. Lehman said that the Board has started budget meetings. He continued that they had 3 or 4 departments covered. Some department heads came in and others did not. Having them attend the meetings helps so that the Board and Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne can ask questions. Stutsman said that she wants to make it clear that they don’t expect department heads to present their budgets but just to clarify things. She said it was helpful to have Spenler present for the Ambulance budget. Lehman said that it might be a question that the department head has to go back and research but at least they have heard the question first hand.
The Board and department heads scheduled their next meeting for March 28, 2006 at 1:30 p.m.
Adjourned at 2:55 p.m.
_____________________________________________________________________
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By:
On the _______ day of _____________________, 2006
By Mimi Van Ausdall, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on February 16, 2006 at 2:30 p.m.