MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
FEBRUARY 1, 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Discussion: Environment and Education Service Area of the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget................ 1
Conservation (24)....................................................................................................... 1
Sheriff (08)................................................................................................................ 8
Discussion: Fiscal Year 2007 County Budget.......................................................................... 13
Planning and Zoning and Building Inspections (19).................................................................. 13
Chairperson Lehman 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. Also present were:
Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne said the Conservation Department is at 55% revenues received and the target is 58%. Expenses are also at 55%, so the whole expense is down with the reduced revenues. M. Sullivan noted that the printing for the Conservation Administration is requesting a $1,500 increase over last year. The actual for the previous year was $6,000, so Conservation Director Harry Graves is trying to bring this back in line with what the expenditures actually are. Graves has a reduction in the telephone administration of $3,400 bringing it down to $3,500 for that line item. Lehman asked if they switched services. Graves said that the department started using cell phones more, so they adjusted the telephone line item. M. Sullivan said that overall there is a significant savings. The cell phone is up by $1,800. He thinks this is a pretty good strategy on Graves's part. Graves said he used the service out of Hiawatha that helps them select the best service and that was helpful.
Claiborne said that there is an increase in office equipment of $6,000. Graves noted that is for a copy machine. Stutsman asked if that is to save for a copy machine or to purchase one. Graves explained that it is to purchase. They had their original copy machine at the office and they bought a new one there a couple of years ago, and moved the old one to the Conservation Education Center (CEC). Graves said that the machine at the Conservation Education Center is about 10 years old and repairs are costly. Stutsman asked if this is one for the office or the center. Graves said it is for the Conservation Education Center.
M. Sullivan said there is $5,000 in pesticides park maintenance due to the fact that the specialized products have jumped sharply. He explained that they are making significant inroads controlling the woody invaders. Graves said that autumn olive and exotic honeysuckles and the native gray dogwood are significant problems that they have been dealing with at Kent Park for a number of years. He said that they are getting that under control, but they have a long way to go. When the park was first acquisitioned, it had previously been farmed and pastured. When that ceased, the woody invaders took over. In conjunction with that, Conservation personnel were planting autumn olive, a plant native to Korea that is supposed to be a great bird plant. He said it should have been a tip off that it is a non-native species. R. Sullivan noted that pesticides have gone up in cost. Graves concurred and stated that is why they have asked for an increase. He noted that in a perfect world they would prefer to use no pesticides, but there is no way to eliminate the woody invaders without treating them chemically. He explained that the idea is that they cut them off and then treat the stumps. Then, they can use fire management. R. Sullivan asked if they have more invasive species or just a higher product cost. Graves responded that they have more invasive species to take care of and higher product costs. This includes not only Kent Park, but Frytown and Cedar River Crossing. He said they have made great strides on those. They are at the point in Kent Park that the growth rate of these species was so overwhelming that it was shading out the herbaceous layer. Much of Kent Park has light soils that have started to erode. The other invader that is the toughest of all is garlic mustard. For that, they can use some chemicals and some mechanical cutting. The fear is that it will overwhelm the native wildlife community because none of the wildlife, save humans, eat it. So, that is another use of that herbicide.
Harney asked if they compared a lease cost verses a purchase cost for the copier. Graves said that they looked at both. They might want to look at moving the one at the office over to the Conservation Education Center. But the one that they have, if they don't do something pretty quick, is going to exceed cost in repairs. Stutsman said that someone mentioned to her that goats are good at eating weeds. Graves said that is true; they will eat virtually anything. He described a case where people brought goats into Amana forest. But, the goats require pretty tight fencing because they will go anywhere they want to go. He noted that he has entertained those ideas, but he wouldn't sign his name to that because it would require fencing the place better than hog-tight to hold the goats. Stutsman said she was thinking of Frytown. Graves said that they could have a shepherd with them, but that isn't practical. Stutsman said she has heard that people can rent goats along with the shepherd. Graves mentioned that in the work of novelist Barbara Kingsolver's Prodigal Summer, the character gets into the goat business and makes a lot of money selling to an ethnic market. That is a biological control but one that would require an awful lot of money for fencing. About ten or twelve years ago, Abe Epstein at Iowa State University came up with an insect that is a vector of rose rosette disease, so he was going to release these bugs to kill the invader. The problem is that these do not discriminate. A rose by any other name is still a rose, so they would eat a rose in the front yard as well, said Graves. Also, they found that they don't do well in Iowa. All these biological controls have unintended consequences. Graves provided the example of the silkworm that was brought over here and is now a moth that will probably defoliate all the hardwood forest in the country.
Neuzil said that they had quite a jump in the construction materials. Graves agreed, particularly in the repair of the ranger residents. They have two residences in Kent Park that have been put on the back burner for quite some time now, and they are at the point where windows and siding have to be replaced. He is proposing doing the worse of the two first, that is, the ranger one residence. He noted that in the photograph, there is serious perforation of the plywood siding that has to be replaced. The windows are all rotted out, and the seals of the double pane glass have broken. He replaced a window in a ranger's residence last year where a little boy was sleeping and the window was just about to fall out. After ranger residence one, they will go to the second one the following year. It also includes a construction of a storage shed at the CEC and some additional roofing repairs of various buildings around Kent Park. The storage building at the Education Center is necessary because it has no basement. He mentioned that they had about a hundred people at the Insect Zoo the other day. They had a full house but had no storage.
Stutsman asked if the rangers get a stipend and how that relate to the free housing. Graves said that he lived on site for many years. The rangers pay their own utilities and their own heat. They live on site because they are on call 24 hours a day. Stutsman asked how much they are estimating for replacing the windows. Graves said $7,268 for windows and the siding at $9,656. Those are prices that he got in November. Stutsman asked if that is all that needs to be done. Graves said that there needs to be continual maintenance. The carpets and the interior were replaced in 2001, both were in excess of thirty years old. These exterior repairs have been let go to the point that there is no coming back. Stutsman asked if all Conservation Departments have on-site rangers. Graves said that a lot do. Stutsman asked if it is a requirement. He said in the case of 1,000 acre park like Kent Park, it would be pretty difficult to operate without resident rangers. Lehman mentioned overnight camping. Stutsman said that they have people as camp hosts. Graves replied that they are simply there over the summer months and assist in the campgrounds. The rangers, in addition to working at Kent Park work at Hills, River Junction, and the outlying areas as well. With the beach and the six picnic shelters and the playgrounds, they have many activities in the park. They have hundreds of people in Kent Park on a nice day, and they have RAGBRAI coming through this year.
Lehman said that he sees the fuel has increased by $25,000. Graves said that they are now at about 120% of their fuel budget. He said he was talking to SEATS Director Tom Brase about being off the charts with motor fuels. Graves said that he adjusted that line to meet those needs. Lehman said that during 2006, they were at $11,000 and the year before, they were at $16,000, so part of it is to recover where it should have been. Graves agreed. The logic is that they were trying to make that money go as far as they could, but that, of course, is one of the most volatile lines they are going to be dealing with in any budget. Stutsman said that is a lot of money. Graves agreed, but said that when they purchase another vehicle, it will include E85 capabilities. He said that when they are ready to replace a tractor, they would like to look to bio-diesel as well. This year, they may be mowing grass in April. Stutsman mentioned that she is curious to know what budgets have increased on fuel in total. R. Sullivan said they might decide to increase the fuel budget by percentage. Stutsman said that would be difficult because the fuel needs across departments are so different. Lehman said it would not be a percentage of the overall budget but of that department's fuel budget. M. Sullivan said that the departments are looking at their actual use of fuel and that utilities like heat and electricity are impacted by that as well. Stutsman asked if it is an option to mow less or take fewer trips to Walker Park. Graves replied that that is an option, but basically, their purpose is to serve the taxpaying public to the best of their ability. They have reduced mowing in a lot of areas. They have utilized prairie plantings. Plus, he thinks they have the best erosion protection in their watersheds than any organization around. He noted that the State reduced a lot of mowing, but they got a lot of backlash from that. He said that ultimately, if a crisis situation arose, that is something they can do. Stutsman said that they can't keep assuming that they can increase budgets. Graves said that in the conservation field, they are constantly innovating. He mentioned that they are the only department in the County and maybe in the State that uses inmates for labor. He said that any new and innovative approach is the essence of conservation.
Lehman suggested they discuss the vehicle replacement. Harney said that he has a question about the $5,000 on equipment repairs. Graves said they could offset the increase in the cost of vehicle repair by repairing and replacing equipment in a timely manner. He said that they have a four wheel drive tractor that is twenty years old. It will cost about $750 to fix the front wheel drive, so that is the reason for the increase in that line item. Luckily, they do have people who have the capability to do mechanic work and that is a savings to them. He said he is proud to say that he has people on his staff who can fix just about anything. Lehman said it looks as if they moved that line to where it was in 2005. Graves said they move those back and forth to try to make that money go as far as they can. Stutsman said that Secondary Roads is getting rid of some dump trucks. Graves said he spoke with Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan and Claiborne about that. It turns out that once Secondary Roads is ready to trade in the trucks, they have worn them out. Graves said he has listed that on the replacement schedule as a possibility. M. Sullivan said that he asked Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Hackathorn if there is anything they are trading that Graves's department could possibly use, and Hackathorn said that anything their department is getting rid of they would scrap if they couldn't get any trade in for it because the vehicles are worn out. M. Sullivan said that they wouldn't have ongoing maintenance line items in the budget if they had new equipment because the new equipment would be under warranty. Moreover, it significantly reduces the risk taken on old equipment. Harney said that the size of the vehicles at Secondary Roads is too large for what Graves would need. Graves said that they have a vehicle that they don't even take out of the park because it is so unreliable. Claiborne mentioned that he went out to see Graves and one of the mechanics showed him the trucks and equipment. Claiborne was very impressed with how the mechanics know how to put in new transmissions and retrofit old parts to the equipment.
Stutsman asked how much Graves is budgeting for the trucks. Graves said he has got $62,000, $25,000 for the replacement of a ranger unit, which was originally budgeted in the 06 budget. Graves noted that he put the budget together in late October when the fuel prices were going through the roof, so he moved the purchase of the pickup ahead. Then, there is $37,000 for a dump truck, and they are going to do some internal moving. They are going to move A4, which is a nearly new 1977 GMC dump truck, to replace a 1967 Ford truck. This is a truck that is their water wagon. He said that fire management is the number one tool in their arsenal. Last year, they burned 250 acres in Kent Park and Cedar River Crossing Prairie management. The Ford needs kingpins and other expensive repairs that would be totally feckless to endeavor in. He said that they may be able to purchase that pickup out of that $62,000. However, he would recommend leaving that in the budget because it would allow him to catch up a little more quickly with the replacement schedule. Graves said that R. Sullivan had asked what it would take to replace the whole fleet, and that would be $240,200. As a practical matter, they cannot do that, but the $62,000 seems a reasonable number that will allow them to buy the dump truck and part of that for another tractor. Graves said that considering the lease purchase options that they have as a government agency, it makes a lot more sense to buy new stuff. Lehman figured that they probably wouldn’t get much for trade in. Graves said, they usually go through auction instead of trading. Lehman said that he knows in the past they have done some leasing but all that does is postpone the amounts they have to pay. Graves said that lease purchase is an option as a timed payment. Once that initial purchase is made, a tractor will go for eight to ten years. Lehman asked if they have any equipment under lease right now. Graves said that he has his lease payments made. In the proposal, Graves has the first lease payment of $17,000 on the 1985 John Deere 2750. That is the twenty year old tractor. Lehman states that a lease may get a tractor or vehicle this year but they have got to account for the payment and fuel. Graves said that the 1970 tractor has been overhauled once. It has some problems with the fuel injector and is just worn out.
Neuzil asked if they know what that particular request is going to do as far as the actual request, the levy. M. Sullivan said that they haven't looked at that yet. Neuzil said that all the Board is going to do is determine what the amount of levy is going to be. Specifically, as far as particular line items, the Board doesn't take those out. Neuzil said he is curious if they know how many people the County grew because that will obviously help as far as requesting the levy, and then after that, how much more would the levy need to go up. He also noted that would come out of the General Fund. Those are the factors they want to know, said Neuzil. M. Sullivan said that the State does not release their levy rates until June. So, Counties go back and use the levy rates they are currently at right now. They are working from last year's taxes since they won't see this year's money until later. Claiborne said the growth figure he got from the County Assessor is about 8.5%. M. Sullivan said that they will adjust that levy when they have it, but Neuzil is right about the approach. Stutsman said that even though they have flexibility with the levy level, she wants to remind people it is still a tax increase. Lehman said that what Neuzil is asking is where would that number be in relation to what they've done in the past. Neuzil said that all this has to happen but he was wondering if they knew if it is going to 27 cents rather than 25.5 cents. As soon as they know, they will have a better picture, said Neuzil. Harney said he doesn’t want to mess too much with the levies until they know what they are going to do with trails.
Graves noted he is glad to hear them mention the trails. He said that Lehman gave an excellent quote about promoting what they have regarding trails. To promote what they have, Graves stated that they need to take care of these infrastructure and the equipment needs for the Conservation Board before they can add additional expenses in the form of trails. The concept that he articulated to the Board with John Yapp of possibly using the Clear Creek Corridor in conjunction with improvements that may be made in the 319 project presents to him a much more unique and appealing trail to get to Kent Park as opposed to the right-of-way of Highway 6. Although Highway 6 has a 150 foot right-of-way, that is not uniform. The right-of-way is wider on one side than the other, so if they are going to use Highway 6, they are going to end up crossing the highway several times or purchasing land to run the trail uniform on one side all the way. With trails though, they have no power of eminent domain. Certainly Kent Park connected to the trail system in Coralville and Iowa City is an idea that is past due. Also, connection to the Amana colonies makes sense. Graves said that he wants to do that, but realistically, they need to take care of what they have got now.
Stutsman questioned the reduction in beach fees. Graves said that they had taken in $17,000 but spent it for life guards and expenses. They didn't lose any money on the beach, but they only made one dollar. Last year, they finally made the realization that they could no longer come up with enough life guards to successfully operate the beach. Part of this is due to the proliferation of water parks throughout the area in North Liberty, Coralville, Amana, and Williamsburg. So, the time of the old time outdoor beach has passed, unfortunately. Graves does think they will see increased revenues from camping at Hills, where they just put in ten electric sites. And there has been an increase in camping at Kent Park. Lehman asked if the $17,000 decrease is offset by wages. Graves said that is correct. Harney said that the uniforms are at $3,000 and then later another $400 is added for uniform purchase and interns. Graves explained that that is for the naturalist and any interns that he might have. When the conservation law was passed, it provided that up to $300 could be allotted per person for uniforms. When the employees leave, they give the uniforms back to County.
Lehman asked about grants. Graves said that he hasn’t got the official word from the DNR, but he has about $16,000 for a riprap project at River Junction through the Fish Habitat grant program. When a person buys a fishing license, they also buy a Fish Habitat stamp. The revenue from that goes to this program that has grants available at a 90/10 ratio. Stutsman asked if that has been approved. Graves noted that it has been approved at the district level but he hasn’t got the paperwork back from the DNR yet. He also submitted an application for a $30,000 grant for a new boat ramp at the Hills access. That is a 75% cost share. Lehman asked if he has that factored in. Graves said he has that factored in the trust account. The revenues go to the trust account. Stutsman asked how much is in the trust account. Graves said a little over $200,000. He explained that the trust account is for big projects like the last acquisition of property. Stutsman said she thinks they should take care of what they have instead of adding to what they have and wondered if they have any new acquisitions in mind. Graves said that he does have a Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program grant application in for brush removal at Kent Park. That is a $25,000 grant at 60/40 cost share. The probability of getting this is low because only 10% of those grants go to public entities, but Graves said he is trying to look for money under every rock.
Graves said that one of the things he would like to do is hire a large machine like the Bullhog or the Hydroax that can eat up big trees. There has been a $50,000 statewide limit on the available farm money for government agencies, but that has been adjusted according to Kevin Anderson, who administers this program. Still, only 10% of these applications get funded. Stutsman said that with the concern with trees in this County, they should be careful. Graves said he didn’t mean he would cut the big trees but just that the machine is powerful. Graves summarized by saying that they are talking about quality of life. They need to take care of infrastructure, equipment repairs and replacements, and space needs like office space. Graves said that the staff members have completed a needs assessment and they hope to develop a design for a new structure to house their office and shop. The existing office and shop would be used for storage to replace the one that is rotting. He said that he knows the Board has taken a very responsible and forward looking attitude to a County Campus, and these are County facilities as well that must be addressed. Neuzil asked if there any certain restrictions that the County would have with providing the Conservation Board outside of the levy. Graves said not at all. The County bonded to purchase about 770 acres of Kent Park in the 1970s and floated a bond issue for that purpose. So, that is a tool that can be used.
Graves said that there is no way they can take on the replacement of the office and shop within the existing budget. They do have the department 82 trust account, and part of that could be used. But, by the same token, similar County departments are not providing any of their own revenues for any of the replacement of the County Campus structure the Board is talking about. Stutsman said that Health is because they are selling their building. Graves said they do have the ability to provide some of that funding, but they cannot provide it all. Graves said they are at the point where their insurance inspector has asked that they move chemical storage to the north of the shop in a pole building. There is no running water there. All of those restrictions and requirements are going to force them to replace the building. Stutsman asked about the Knight shelter. Graves said that they made a token first installment of $10,000. What they are doing now is developing a thematic approach. The Knight Prairie Pavilion is money for a building that would be situated on the Tomash property that would be a launching site for trails that go into the prairie. The thematic approach is the riches of the prairie: medicinal uses, game, and rich soil. Now the draw is the restoration of the prairie to improve water quality, wildlife habitat, and aesthetic beauty. Stutsman said that she just wanted to know if that all is going to be paid for from the Knight family. Graves said the building itself will be paid for by the Knights. Harney said that just like the rest of the departments, this is going to be a tighter year than they anticipated, and everyone is going to have to look for places they can cut. But, they will do the best they can with the budgets. Graves said he was reading an article on City and County funding, and it said that the areas that often gets gored is the parks, recreations, and environmental projects. Graves added that the Conservation Department is their quality of life and this is a worthy expenditure of funds. Lehman thanked Graves for his input.
Recessed at 10:10 a.m.; reconvened at 10:20 a.m.
Claiborne said that this department is in really good shape. Revenues are at 70%, and the goal is 58%, so, they are 12% ahead of schedule. Expenses are at 55%, which is 3% below target. Sheriff’s Major Steve Dolezal said that they have made increases concerning finger prints and gun permits. Dolezal said that on the expenditures, they are below right now, but this can be deceiving because they have contracts that get paid during the spring. Their cars have recently been purchased through the State bid and are going to come in this spring. So, the expenditures are coming, but they feel comfortable that they are right on line. Dolezal said that they have tried to stay on top of the out-of-county housing. They have been monitoring the numbers daily to make sure they are bringing people back if there are spaces in the Johnson County Jail.
County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said that they raised the contracts for the towns last year, and in staying with history, what former County Sheriff Bob Carpenter had done in the past is raise them every other year. But, the problem is that they would only raise them 4 or 5% every other year, and they weren’t keeping up with the cost of living. So, last year, they increased them 6% and told the towns they would not increase them again this year. But next year, Pulkrabek anticipates a larger increase because he has been able to do some further study and see that the actual amount that the towns are paying on an hourly rate does not quite cover a tenured deputy at a sheriff’s salary. R. Sullivan said that he is glad to hear Pulkrabek say that. He said he knows that Public Health Director Ralph Wilmoth has talked to the Board many times and the Board agrees with his philosophy that they want to make sure that when the taxpayers are getting a service, they should be paying for the cost of that service so that they aren’t paying too much and subsidizing other things or paying too little so that the service is subsidized. R. Sullivan explained that he would like to see Solon and every town that is using deputies pay for the exact cost of that. Pulkrabek said that he researched and polled some other sheriffs and got some dollar amounts. Other than Linn County, Johnson County is the lowest in the area, explained Pulkrabek. He noted that the average town spends $23.30 an hour and a tenured deputy is at $23.70, which doesn’t include benefits. Or, Stutsman added that that does not include a vehicle either. Pulkrabek said that next year, they will adjust that. He mentioned that North Liberty is a little bit different because they were at a slightly higher rate than the rest of the towns and that had to do with the evolution of them getting their own police department. They were not scheduled to have an increase last year, but they are scheduled to go up the next fiscal year by 8%.
Neuzil asked why the anticipated FY07 budget goes down in terms of revenues on that one. Pulkrabek said that they made some adjustments on that because they wanted to make it more realistic. He added that Dolezal is working with Claiborne on that. Lehman inquired if any town said that they wanted fewer hours. Pulkrabek said no. Lehman asked if University Heights figured in. Pulkrabek said that is part of the adjustment because they stopped paying for dispatch services and went to the City of Iowa City. Dolezal said that was originally shown in the revenue. Neuzil asked if there is any talk about University Heights contracting with Johnson County in the future. Stutsman asked why they left. Neuzil responded that it had to do with Carpenter. He added that University Heights does have a new mayor. Pulkrabek said that he would be very surprised if they would be interested in contracting with Johnson County for again for dispatch services because when University Heights purchased the equipment to go to Iowa City, it was more expensive equipment and is a better system. That being said, Pulkrabek added, they are a player when it comes to the possibility of a joint communication system. He said that Johnson County can certainly meet with them and ask them if they are interested, but he speculates that it is not likely.
Lehman asked them to provide the highlights of other changes to the budget. Pulkrabek said that he updated the gasoline charts. He said that their consumption has remained at a very stable level for a 12 month period. He said it has declined now and then, but, for the most part, the level of gallons used is steady. But, the cost is what keeps changing and they’ve had to adjust for the cost. This year, they have 9% of their total annual fuel budget left to spend, and here they are in February. R. Sullivan asked if their cars are set up to take E85. Pulkrabek said that they are not but this will probably become more popular in the future and even become an automatic feature. Pulkrabek said that one of the things they are working on is putting in a new fuel dispense system. He explained that they pay Iowa City about a penny a gallon to get fuel from them, plus an administrative cost of about $10 or $15 a month. He had some discussions with County Engineer Greg Parker about the Sheriff’s cars fueling at Secondary Roads, and it doesn’t create a big hardship because most of the patrol deputies are coming at the end of their shift. Stutsman asked if Parker will be getting the same price as the City for fuel. Pulkrabek responded that he assumes so because it is bulk fuel. Stutsman said that the penny that they save might be offset if the County has to pay 5 cents more per gallon than the City does. Harney said that they probably take bids on it. Lehman noted that they might have to take into account that they usually lock their gates. Pulkrabek said that they will address that. Stutsman asked how many gallons they use a year. Pulkrabek said that in 2005, it was 45,434 gallons. In 2001 and 2002, the use was up to 49,000 or 48,000, which he would attribute to the different cars. The Fords are better as far as police cars because they are more spacious, but the Impalas have a lower up front cost, and they probably get 30 to 35% better gas mileage than the Ford. Pulkrabek said that the Coralville department does not like the front wheel drive on the Impala. Iowa City tried the Impala and has gone back to the Ford. Pulkrabek said that he just can’t justify that exceptional fuel mileage. Pulkrabek said that there is an increase in their budget on motor vehicle fluids and maintenance; these are petroleum related.
Pulkrabek said that they have not completed the process to switch to the new uniform. Dolezal said he is going to caveat that because it may be completed by the end of the year. They are having some issues with the vendors. Pulkrabek said that they did decrease that line item back down $20,000. Pulkrabek said that concerning uniform purchase investigation, the dollar amount is off. By Code, they are required to provide uniforms for the deputies. The investigators don’t wear uniforms, so they have a clothing allowance. Dolezal said that it is in the contract at $500 a year.
Pulkrabek said there is a new line item for the MDT communications, for the pilot project on the MDT they had talked to the Board about. It pays for the monthly cell card expense, which is basically data communication. This allows them to run the license numbers, wanted subjects, and draw up photos from jail records. R. Sullivan said that with something like this, sometimes they are guilty of not doing a good job quantifying the impact of it, so whoever has them in the cars should let the department know how much time they are saving. Pulkrabek said that they have a full presentation that will be coming to the Board because the Board has not yet formally approved the MDT pilot project. He is working with Information Services on a presentation for the Board to show what the project is going to track and to show the savings. Pulkrabek said he thinks it is going to be a great product and is looking forward to a joint communication system, which this software will be compatible with.
Pulkrabek noted a $900 increase on the radio contract, which is a cost-of-living increase at 3%. Pulkrabek said they did the same with the rental law enforcement communication. There was a modest increase for food and provisions for the jail, since the prices are increasing. Dolezal said that they moved it up 3% to $100,000, but if they look at last year’s totals for that, they came in at $103,000, so they will probably be absorbing some more of that into their budget this year. Lehman said it is important to think about how many meals they serve in the course of year. Stutsman asked how much the cost per meal is. Dolezal said that the figure is around $1.35. Lehman said that figures for State prisons are amazingly low. Neuzil asked if the out-of-county housing includes meals. Dolezal said that meals are included but medical care is not. The Board, Dolezal, and Pulkrabek had extensive discussion about the cost of meals and in the future looking into contracting meals out with a private vendor.
Pulkrabek said that last year they did an amendment of around $42,000 for inmate medical expenses. Dolezal said that they are at 73% or $27,591 right now, and they have $10,000 left. Pulkrabek noted that they are trying to adjust that to bring that in line with the cost. One of the handouts presented to the Board shows what other counties pay for medical expenses, and Johnson County is well underneath that, said Pulkrabek. Harney asked why there was such a difference between the 05 actual and the 06 on the medical expense. Pulkrabek said that they were trying to budget more realistically in 2006. R. Sullivan asked if they have talked to Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Elaine Sweet or anyone in her office about medical expenses. He said that some of those expenses, such as psychotropic medications, are costly, and that her office has been working with pharmaceutical companies to fund it. Pulkrabek said they are working very closely with her office. Stutsman asked if the Jail has any cost for a nurse or a medical practitioner. Pulkrabek said they have a contract with the UI where they send a physician’s assistant over twice a week. Dolezal said that it costs about $32,000 a year, which is reflected in the medical expenses cost. Stutsman asked if the medical expenses line includes everything having to do with medical needs. Pulkrabek said it includes everything but dental care.
M. Sullivan asked Pulkrabek to tell the Board about the fingerprint system. Pulkrabek said that that it had a $1,787 increase, which is an increase in the contract. He said that this is an electronic system. When the software is up and running, it will help them take some duplication out of the booking process.
Pulkrabek said that last year the County spent $500,590 on housing prisoners out-of-county. This year they put a 3% increase on that based on John Neff’s work, they saw the jail growing by about 3%. He said that they are on track to come in significantly under what they did last year on inmate housing. They have also separated the housing expenses from the jail alternatives. The jail alternatives line includes the contract with MECCA, which has been bumped up to $25,000 because it will be a full year of the contract as opposed to a partial year. Harney said that the 30 people who have been diverted from the jail because of mental health issues are saving a significant amount of money. Pulkrabek said that the actual diversion out of the jail has only been 18 people. Pulkrabek said it is difficult to see the actual savings, because they can’t predict how long people would be taking up a bed. Neuzil clarified that they would like to keep the cost at $481,000 in FY 06. Pulkrabek said it would be nice to come in at that number, although $500,000 was budgeted. Neuzil asked about the request for an additional $100,000. Pulkrabek said that when they were doing the budget, he was forecasting a 3% increase above what was spent last year.
Pulkrabek said that Story County pays for all of their patrol out of rural funds, and about 32.9% of Johnson County’s patrol budget is rural related. He said that it doesn’t take into consideration any of the investigator’s time in the rural area or the amount of time dispatching that goes towards that 32%. Neuzil said that there is justification for designating it to the Rural Fund. Stutsman said that Story County has had a number of appeals on their budget by the Farm Bureau. Pulkrabek said they went through the courts and the Farm Bureau lost their appeals. Stutsman said that the process would still not be publicly appealing. Dolezal said that when it comes to city contracts it is important to bill for what is used, and not to be subsidizing. He said that Johnson County voters could also ask how much is being devoted to rural. Stutsman suggested that they include vehicles and fuel in the aforementioned 32%. Pulkrabek said that he wanted to have a starting base, because there are lots of things that aren’t included in that 32.9%. R. Sullivan said that the ISAC magazine from two months ago had an article about this exact issue and he couldn’t agree more, hat this is a rural cost and that it needs to be billed as such.
Pulkrabek said that the jail issue is an enormous issue that everyone will look at, and they have to be able to defend it. The other thing he mentioned was that the emergency medical dispatch cannot be moved forward without the addition of two additional dispatchers. He added the deputy is self-explanatory: they are in a jam with their records and the sex offenders. He said they made that move and hopes that the Board of Supervisors will back them. Pulkrabek said that last year their revenue increased, and he hopes that it will come in ahead this year as well. He said that they returned over $100,000 to the County last year. Pulkrabek asked that the Board take this into consideration when discussing personnel issues. Pulkrabek said that the salary for the Deputy Sheriff would be $54,767.43. The cost for the two dispatchers would be $94,985.12.
Pulkrabek distributed a graph to the Board of Supervisors about the number of calls received by dispatch. The graph is designed to show how the level of demands on the dispatch center has increased. He said that it doesn’t include fire or ambulance, it is just law enforcement dispatches. Pulkrabek pointed out that that is the reason they were looking for the personnel, since there were lots of times where they only have one dispatcher in the room and he emphasized that one person is not enough. He said they want to have two dispatchers in the dispatch center, minimum, at all times. R. Sullivan said that when they talk about public safety, Ambulance Director Steve Spenler is adamant about how medical dispatching saves lives. M. Sullivan said that when the City of Iowa City did it, it had a lot of impact. Pulkrabek said they can’t put a dollar amount on a life saved. He said that he is passionate about this, and thinks that it is very important.
Stutsman asked whether hiring one dispatcher rather than two would be adequate. Pulkrabek said that one dispatcher would be helpful, but it wouldn’t get them to the point of being able to implement EMD. He said that one dispatcher would get them to the point where they would have two dispatchers on 90% of the time. Stutsman asked whether Pulkrabek would rather have dispatchers or patrol. Pulkrabek replied that there are ways to pay for different ones. He said that his plan is to help build patrol, if the Board of Supervisors is willing to change their philosophy on the Rural Fund, between that and his studies on what he’s done with the contract towns trying to boost the revenue there, there will be enough revenue increase that they could increase patrol. He said that they have to work together to do it. Lehman asked if the hiring of dispatchers would save money in the overtime budget. Pulkrabek said that it would. Dolezal said that they are paying a part-time dispatcher right now, and they could eliminate that position. M. Sullivan said that EMD makes a huge impact on mortality and morbidity. He said it’s an excellent program which has been used in the country for a long time. Stutsman asked about the Joint Communication system, and whether it would be a part of EMD. Pulkrabek said it would. Dolezal said that one dispatcher can’t deal with the volume of calls. Pulkrabek said that the Joint Communication System is still several years away to come to fruition. Lehman clarified that there are three shifts, and that two more dispatchers should cover that. Pulkrabek said that a large number of the overtime shifts are to cover dispatch. Dolezal said that they may be able to put a number on it, although he is not sure if he can provide a total number because of some other personnel complications.
Neuzil left at 11:45 p.m.
R. Sullivan asked if the Board had read the email from County Treasurer Tom Kriz regarding the budget process and cooperation between the Auditor’s Office, Claiborne and M. Sullivan. He suggested that the Board address it. Lehman asked Claiborne if he was having a problem getting the information he needs in order to make recommendations to the Board. Claiborne said that the entire budget process is not very clear. Claiborne said that there was no documentation for these procedures, so he is putting together a manual.
Claiborne said that he talked to several people in the Auditor’s Office to figure out the exact time when they want to have the budget finalized and the publication in. M. Sullivan said that Administrative Secretary Casie Kadlec will help with this too. Stutsman asked when the Board has to be finished deliberating. M. Sullivan said that they have to be done by February 14, 2006. Kadlec said the budget has to be certified and emailed to the State by March 15, 2006. At the point that the budget deliberation ends, Claiborne is going to need about a week to get all the numbers in and get the budget ready for publication, Kadlec noted. The Board decided to meet at 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 or 4:30 p.m. on February 14, 2006. They also scheduled a meeting at 4:00 p.m. on February 13, 2006. M. Sullivan said they will set the public hearing on February 23, 2006 for March 13, 2006. The Board decided to vote on the budget at 9:00 a.m. on March 15, 2006.
R. Sullivan asked if the County pays for the Planning and Zoning Department out of the General Fund. Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said that is correct. R. Sullivan asked if they should be looking at part of the Planning and Zoning Department being budgeted out of the Rural Fund. He said that he doesn’t see anything that Planning and Zoning is doing that is not rural. Dvorak said that he had gotten a bunch of information from other counties last year and sat down and discussed it with Horne, because many other counties pay for planning and zoning out of the rural fund. Horne was against this. Stutsman said that Johnson County has had a good relationship with the local Farm Bureau because they have not taken much out of the Rural Fund. She said there are fewer people to absorb a tax increase from the Rural Fund.
Lehman asked Dvorak and Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore to highlight any key changes in the Planning and Zoning budget. M. Sullivan said that most of the increases are incidental and cost of living adjustments. The intern and planning increase of $800 is because the cost of the intern from the University of Iowa necessitates that amount. He said that has been an invaluable program for the department. He continued that the intern has had a significant impact on the amount of work they get done. M. Sullivan said that fuel expense is increasing just as it is in every department.
Dvorak said that he discussed with Stutsman and some others that they have some of the best photocopying equipment in the County. They are voluntarily letting other departments use it which is great, but, at some point, they may want to discuss charging. Their office did all the photography for the Bentley trial. He added that sometimes Graves uses it, but he brings his own paper. Upon Stutsman’s recommendation, Dvorak has been having everyone sign in and sign out. Dvorak said that for a while they have been bartering and people will pay with paper or ink. The cost to Planning and Zoning is a lot. They pay $192 for a color ink cartridge. Stutsman said they should talk about this because people should be thoughtful about what they actually need to copy or not. She said she thinks people forget that color copies are very expensive. Dvorak said that it costs $14,000 for the printer and $8,000 for the plotter, plus maintenance. He said that the Board will see some additional cost in each of the three divisions for paper, copying, and maintenance. M. Sullivan said that his recommendation would be to do it that way since they don’t have a centralized printing department. Stutsman said she agrees because they want to know what the actual cost of running these departments is. M. Sullivan said that he didn’t think the department heads would mind budgeting that in at all.
M. Sullivan asked Dvorak to explain the refund of fees collected. Dvorak said that at Deputy Auditor Chris Edwards’s recommendation, because of the way the Code is written, if a person comes in and files for a building permit and gives Planning and Zoning a check for $2,000, they can charge them a percent that they keep for their time. That isn’t a problem because the County can just have the person write out another check. The problem happens when the County issues a building permit and the person chooses not to build, but the County has already cashed the check. The Code says that the County can keep up to a certain percentage. He said that at that point, they have only done plan review, and they haven’t physically done anything at the site. So, they could argue that they should keep the $2,000. Then, the County would reimburse the people a percentage back. Stutsman asked if the applicant would have received any services from Planning and Zoning at that point. Dvorak said that they do plan review, secretarial help, someone goes to the site, Dvorak reviews it, others review it, and so on. They have done all of their work and it is similar to the situation where someone applies for a rezoning that is later denied. Stutsman asked why the County would give back the fee. Dvorak responded that the Code says that the County should give back a percent back, but they don’t have to. Moore said that the County charges them for all the hours worked, but the customer has given them too much. Right now, the County doesn’t have a mechanism for giving it back that is easy. Dvorak said that he doesn’t feel comfortable saying to people that just because they changed their minds, he is going to keep their $2,000. Stutsman said that is what would happen if she went to a lawyer, for example. Dvorak said that they hadn’t done $2,000 worth of work. Moore said that they would not give back all of the money, but just the money for the work that wasn’t done.
R. Sullivan said that he didn’t see anything budgeted for the Land Use Plan. Dvorak said they just got their estimate last week after the budget was due. Stutsman said she thought this would come out of this year’s budget. Dvorak replied that he has $9,000 left out of this fiscal year, and the request is for $28,150. They can spread that out over two fiscal years. He said that they can pay the $9,000 from this fiscal year, but he has requested $10,000 for next fiscal year. He would need today to request another $10,000 to pay the total cost. So, where Claiborne put $10,000, Dvorak is requesting that they change that to $20,000. Dvorak said that he knows the Board does not give departments credit for what they did the previous year, but if they look under expenditures, they were close to spending less than $100,000 of what they had allocated. A lot of that was due to frugal planning on his part and to some turnover. Dvorak added that Planning and Zoning has a proposal to raise their fees, and Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell is looking at that now. Dvorak said that they did a study of all of the surrounding Counties’ fees and determined theirs in relation to those. So, next year, there will be some increase. Moore explained that they would ask the Board to adopt any fee increases by resolution instead of by ordinance because it is difficult to do by ordinance.
Stutsman said that the building revenues are down and asked if they are anticipating less building. Dvorak said that in using last year’s numbers, the numbers are about the same. But fall is very small because spring is the building season, so that could look skewed on the form. They don’t anticipate a decrease, but there could be one. M. Sullivan added that they received about 74% of their building permits budget already. M. Sullivan also pointed out that there are two lines that increased by $1,250 for staff transportation. He said that there is a more than corresponding decrease in staff registration, fees, building inspector. So, the cumulative increase is $1,500, but they are also cutting the other line item by $3,000. He said he thought this was good budgeting.
Harney said they are only showing GIS revenue of $500 and he would have thought that would be more. Moore said that might be what he was talking about in terms of cost of printing because a lot of that is done off of the mapping. M. Sullivan said that line item is not for time but for printing. Dvorak said that that might be their fault for not putting that receipt in the right fund. It is supposed to be for reproductions, said Dvorak. M. Sullivan said that the revenues jump over the expenditures by quite a margin.
Regarding vehicles, Lehman said it looks like they are wanting $35,000 to replace two vehicles. Lehman said that he likes that they documented what was spent in repairs. Lehman asked if the Chevy Cavalier is for the building inspector. Dvorak said that they find difficulty getting the Cavalier on job sites. R. Sullivan said that the Board had conversations with Pulkrabek and Graves regarding the possibility of hybrids and E85. Dvorak said that he went to a couple of dealers to see what the price was for a medium priced van, so that number is a little arbitrary. Harney said that he thinks the last time the Health Department discovered it was cheaper to take them to the auction block than it was to trade them. Dvorak said that he will look to used cars. Stutsman said that once Claiborne gets his feet on the ground with the budget, they need to revisit the lease purchase versus renting vehicles issue. M. Sullivan commended Dvorak on his budget.
Adjourned at 12:35 p.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary