MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JANUARY 4, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Discussion: Fiscal Year 2009 County Department Budgets.................................................. 1
Auditor (03).............................................................................................................. 1
Central Services (18)................................................................................................ 4
Insurance (22).......................................................................................................... 7
Institutional Accounts (41)....................................................................................... 7
Elections (33)........................................................................................................... 7
Block Grants (20, 23 and 54)................................................................................. 11
Discussion: Fiscal Year 2009 County Budget..................................................................... 13
Discussion: Board Meeting Schedule for Events and Holiday’s Throughout the Year for 2008 15
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:02 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Deputy Auditor Dana Aschenbrenner proposed a $7,000 decrease for stationery and forms due to sharing these expenses with the Elections Department. He said that another reduction is for plat books which were over budgeted in the past. Aschenbrenner said the Johnson County Atlases are a new item and there are related expenses to them. Stutsman asked if the expense is for printing the atlases. Aschenbrenner said yes. Deputy Auditor Mark Kistler explained that the expense is actually for selling the atlases and noted that the printing is budgeted in the GIS budget. Kistler added that in order to sell the atlases they needed a line item to receive the funds and noted that the GIS department would be reimbursed with an offsetting expenditure. Aschenbrenner said that there is a $3,000 reduction for data processing supplies due to sharing these expenses with the Elections Department. Aschenbrenner proposed a $50 increase to staff mileage reimbursements, a $200 increase for telephone costs, $150 increase for officer registration fees, and an $800 increase for office equipment service contract.
Aschenbrenner said that the sale of the Johnson County Atlases is the most significant revenue item for the department. He added that they are setting aside money under Capital Expenditures to purchase a new central mailing system. Aschenbrenner said that Federal standards for mailing systems are changing due to security issues and the current mailing system will not be in compliance. He said they budgeted $5,000 to be transferred to the Capital Expenditure Funds for the future purchase of the mailing system and added that they are proposing purchasing the top-end system at a maximum cost of $12,000. Stutsman asked if they are anticipating additional mailings after the construction of the Health and Human Services Building. Aschenbrenner said that the offices in the Health and Human Services Building will use the mailing system also. Stutsman said that she is not supportive of every department having their own mailing system and if there are any efficiencies that could be gained by having the offices in the Health and Human Services Building use the Administration Building’s mailing system they should use it. Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan said there are no plans to add another central mailing system in the Health and Human Services Building.
County Auditor Tom Slockett said that they have security cameras on the apparatus and it would not be a good idea to mail ballots off from another building. Harney asked Slockett to explain the Federal security requirements. Aschenbrenner said that on the mailing system stamps there is a red box which is encoded with security items. Slockett said the changes are Homeland Security related and are meant to ease the tracking of items. Slockett said the current mailing system does not meet the Federal requirements. Aschenbrenner said there is a unique fingerprint for each mailing system.
Acting Deputy Auditor Casie Kadlec proposed a total increase of $5,515 for Soniclear software or $65,387 for Granicus. Kadlec said the software would allow for the audio recording of Board meetings to be put on the web directly after the meetings and would eliminate the need to record the meetings on cassette tapes. Kadlec said Recording Secretaries would summarize the minutes from the computer recording and not from the tapes. Slockett said that the meetings would be stored digitally on the computer drive instead of on tapes.
Kadlec said that Granicus would allow the public to access a video of the meeting rather than just the audio, but noted that the cost would be considerably higher and recommended the purchase of the Soniclear digital audio software. R. Sullivan asked if they purchase Soniclear and the company added video to their software would they be able to upgrade with minimum adjustments. Kadlec said that Soniclear did not mention a plan of adding video. She said the audio software is a lot cheaper. Kadlec said that Granicus stores the video and charges a $22,000 yearly maintenance fee. With the Soniclear software the data is stored on the County’s network.
Neuzil said that they should not get into the situation of not being able to do digital video recordings because the technology would get better and hopefully cheaper. Neuzil said that it is hard to accept a $65,000 expense for software plus $22,000 yearly for storage. Kadlec said that the Soniclear software would be on the laptop and would use the existing microphones and sound system so no changes would be made in the Board room and therefore will not impede any future Board room updates. Neuzil asked if the software would transfer the audio in words. Kadlec said they are not aware of any software that would do that. Neuzil said that TV stations use such software, but the words do not necessary meet the audio. Kadlec said that the University of Iowa has speeches where the words come up on the screen, but they use a closed caption transcriptionist and not software. Slockett added that it looks like a computer is doing the captioning, but there is a high-tech person doing the transcription. Aschenbrenner said they make a lot of mistakes. Kistler said the software that converts speech to words, Dragon Naturally Speaking, needs to be trained to a particular voice and would not work in a group format. Kadlec said she talked with a Dragon Naturally Speaking Representative and they said the software would not work for Board meetings.
R. Sullivan asked if Information Services has any concerns about Soniclear. Kadlec stated there are no concerns. Neuzil said the recording can be added to the webpage and Slockett agreed. Slockett added that the software is used by the City of Los Angeles. He said that it has the capacity to be used to record individual meetings and can also work in off-site meetings, where there is no sound system, by hooking a microphone to the laptop. He said that another advantage is that the meetings could be put on the website right away. Slockett said that sometimes they are asked to provide the minutes instantly and it takes time to transcribe them, and the recordings might satisfy some people that request that. Slockett said they are still intending to do the transcript like minutes.
Aschenbrenner said the software has the ability to partition the recordings in pieces to link particular items on the agenda solely with the audio about that item. Neuzil said that this would allow interested parties to listen to the recordings for a specific item without having to listen to the entire meeting. Aschenbrenner said the software can rewind and forward like an audio tape. M. Sullivan said he likes the idea of keeping the recordings on the County’s server and maintaining custody of the records. Slockett said they are recommending Soniclear, but are flexible in doing what the Board wants.
Kadlec said the second decision packet is for the Auditor’s Office to start doing committee minutes. She explained producing minutes is an established function of the Auditor’s Office and doing committee minutes would be a consistent, efficient, and professional way to facilitate communication. Kadlec requested 30 additional hours per week for part-time Student Recording Secretaries to aid in the production of the committee meeting minutes. She said the individuals currently producing committee minutes are paid at a much higher wage than part-time student recording secretaries. Kadlec proposed doing the committee minutes on a request basis for boards and committees including, but not limited to the Spacing Committee, Parking Committee, Communications Committee, Employee Handbook Committee, Safety Committee, Computer Committee, Document Management GIS and the Real Estate Division Committee. Kadlec said they would also like to add a part-time permanent Administrative Secretary/Account Clerk II if the amount of requests got to an un-manageable point.
Stutsman said they are not required by Code to record the minutes and adding 30 hours per week to take committee minutes would be an unnecessary cost. Neuzil said that if the Board would like transcribed minutes for the committees, additional help would need to be hired to produce the minutes. Slockett said that there are minutes being taken for all these committees by individuals that are paid significantly more than the Student Recording Secretaries and added that the 30 hours would be used only if needed. He noted that no one would be hired unless there were requests to start taking the minutes. Slockett said that taking minutes takes a significant amount of time. Stutsman asked if other counties offer this service and Slockett said that most Counties do not take extensive minutes.
Aschenbrenner then reviewed the Central Services Budget. He recommended a $10,000 increase for reimbursement of other governments for Animal Control. Stutsman said that they alerted the small cities that the County will not be picking up their responsibility. M. Sullivan said the 28E agreement has not been signed off by the City yet, but the fee structure would be completely different. R. Sullivan would support the proposal of having at least a $10,000 increase in that line item. Aschenbrenner said they have not seen any billing for the current fiscal year.
Aschenbrenner said he made slight adjustments to townships officials' reimbursement for the items related to meeting time. Aschenbrenner said there is a significant increase of $75,000 for non-bargaining merit per the recommendation of Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek. Neuzil asked what the increase was for and Aschenbrenner responded that the increase was for non-bargaining merit. Neuzil asked if it would include the deputies. Aschenbrenner said that it would not. Stutsman said that the increase is for people that are not in the bargaining unit and receive a merit increase based on evaluations. Neuzil asked if deputies were allowed to receive the merit increase and Slockett said that deputies are not allowed merit increases.
Aschenbrenner proposed a $500 increase for Miscellaneous Supplies/General Accounting Management and noted that the Deputy Sheriff/General County is an item under budgeted every year. Stutsman asked why the Deputy Sheriff/General County item is under Central Services and not under Sheriff. Aschenbrenner responded that it has been like that for years. Stutsman asked if that is a Code requirement. Aschenbrenner said that it is not. Slockett said that the Civil Service Commission made an error in the past. Aschenbrenner said that another similar item is the Civil Service Testing for Deputy Sheriff Candidates. Stutsman said those should be in the Sheriff’s budget and explained that Central Services is a global department, addressing issues for the entire County. R. Sullivan asked Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne to check with the Sheriff and see if he has any input on this. Claiborne said that all the money comes from the General Fund. Stutsman agreed and said that there should be more accurate accounting of what it costs to run each department. Stutsman said that things specific to one department should be included in that department’s budget.
Aschenbrenner proposed a $1,000 increase for publishing minutes and noted that the item is under-budgeted. Aschenbrenner proposed $10,000 for the GASB 45 Actuarial Study that Eide Bailly Consultant Dave Cahill would do for FY09. Aschenbrenner said that this would be a recurring cost every two years so it will be an item that disappears for one year and comes back the next. Aschenbrenner proposed a $1,000 increase to Civil Service Testing and noted that this is an inconsistent cost, but in general is under-budgeted.
Aschenbrenner proposed budgeting $8,000 for the Planning Consultant/General Management/Board. Harney asked who uses these funds and Aschenbrenner said the Board uses the money. Stutsman said the money is used for hiring consultants. Neuzil asked if they could bond for the Jail Consulting Services. R. Sullivan said they were talking about a minimum of $10,000 for Jail Consulting. Claiborne said they bonded $168,300 for the FY08 planning. Neuzil said that was for the Communication Center. Neuzil asked if they could bond for consulting services for the Jail. Claiborne said they were able to do it for the Communication Center. Stutsman said they should leave it at $8,000 for now because they hired Brennen in 2000 and could handle doing it again. R. Sullivan said they should anticipate having a follow-up with University of Iowa Institute of Public Affairs Associate Director Jeff Schott. Neuzil added they could also have to follow up with Durrant. R. Sullivan said they should double the amount budgeted for this line item. Aschenbrenner asked if the Board wanted to increase the line item from $5,000 to $10,000 or from $8,000 to $16,000. R. Sullivan proposed an increase from $8,000 to $16,000. Stutsman asked if they would tax for $8,000 more even if they are not sure what they are going to do. Neuzil said yes. Stutsman said that if they would hire somebody, they could get the funds from the reserves because there would not be a lot of money. Neuzil said it would be OK to increase the item up to $10,000 because that would at least get to the lower estimate of the cost for the jail consulting. Stutsman asked if they would hire the Brennen Group or Durrant. Harney said the Brennen Group has only been looking at doing the phone calls and the studies. R. Sullivan said that the follow-up with Schott would cost at least $2,000. Stutsman asked if the follow-up would take place this year or next year and R. Sullivan said that is an ongoing process.
Aschenbrenner said the next increase is for property taxes the County is liable for. Harney said these taxes are for Health and Human Services and DHS rental properties. R. Sullivan said the Fisher Apartments fall into this category as well. Aschenbrenner said the property taxes have increased and the budget was increased proportionally. Aschenbrenner proposed a $30,000 increase for flexible spending claims and noted that is a neutral expense. Stutsman asked if the increase is due to increased participation. Aschenbrenner said the increase is due to higher participation or higher dollar amount participation.
Aschenbrenner said there is an increasing trend for dues for the Iowa State Association of Counties (ISAC) and the National Association of Counties (NACo). He said there is some cost inconsistency because in 2006 the expense was $7,100 and in 2007 the cost was over $12,000. Stutsman asked if this item covers just the Board’s ISAC dues and Aschenbrenner clarified that the dues are for the County. Stutsman said the title was confusing and it should just say Dues ISAC/NACo instead of ISAC/NACo/Board. Aschenbrenner said that he could change that.
Aschenbrenner proposed an increase for Postage/Central Mailing/Auditor. He said this would be just for postage and would be reduced if the Board decides that Elections would get a share. Neuzil asked if in the past the mailing costs for Elections were coming out of the Central Services budget. Aschenbrenner said that was correct. Aschenbrenner said the Office Equipment Service/Central Mailing/Auditor item is under-budgeted, and proposed a $500 increase. Neuzil asked if the expenses for postage increased because more people use it. Aschenbrenner said that is true and added that there was an increase in mailing costs during the past year. He added that there would be a significant mailing cost due to the General Election. Stutsman said the County pays for the postage of absentee ballots whether the people send it back or not. Slockett said the return postage on ballots is a legal requirement.
Claiborne said that the Board amended $100,000 as a first payment for the Employee Salary Review Study. Stutsman said the Board would pay for part of the study this fiscal year and the rest in the next fiscal year. Neuzil asked if that was in the budget and Claiborne said he had not included it in the budget because there was no cost estimate and no start time. He added that they would just amend the cost in. R. Sullivan asked if there is any money set aside for the study and Claiborne said there is $100,000 set aside. R. Sullivan said that Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek estimated that the study would cost $200,000 and Harney said they should put the money in the budget. R. Sullivan said that he would like to see it in the budget. Neuzil asked what the expense is for 2008. Claiborne said they amended $100,000,but the money is not showing up in the books. Neuzil said that for 2008 there is $100,000 in the estimated amendment line item and Meyers said that adding another $100,000 should cover the study. M. Sullivan said the idea was to pay half of the cost in 2008 and the other half in 2009. Neuzil asked if they could get an official cost for the study before adding $100,000 to the budget. R. Sullivan said that Shramek estimated that a survey of every position in the County would cost $200,000 and suggested that the survey be conducted every five years. Stutsman said the $200,000 cost was just for the study and not for any salaries increases. M. Sullivan said the difference in wages should be handled in the wages and benefits part of the budget rather than in Central Services. M. Sullivan said the function of the survey itself should be paid for from the Central Services Budget and added that it would be a good idea to keep the $100,000 and amend the amount as needed. R. Sullivan said they should revisit the item and have Shramek on the agenda for the next budget meeting. Stutsman said they need to be realistic and determine if they can even get started on the survey this year. Neuzil said that even if the study is not started this year it could be started in the actual fiscal year. Harney said they should still put money aside even if they will need to amend the amount later. Stutsman agreed. M. Sullivan said that half of the estimated cost is already budgeted for.
Stutsman asked what the $40,000 in the line item Reimburse Other Government/ISAC Legal Affairs was for. Aschenbrenner said that in the past years there was a significant expense ran through that line. He said it was a one-time expense. Stutsman asked why the item continues to be included in the budget. Aschenbrenner said they had agreed last year to insert the item into the budget based on the frequency and the significant cost that it was in the past. M. Sullivan was unsure if the cost had to do with a lawsuit or HIPPA. Slockett stated that it was a one-time expense where ISAC took on legal expenses for all of the counties and billed the counties accordingly. Stutsman said that $40,000 is a large amount of money and commented that reducing it would free up money somewhere else. Aschenbrenner said the only significant thing on the revenue side was a $250,000 increase in General Interest Revenue.
Aschenbrenner said there were unusual activities in Insurance Funds over the past few years due to the effects of storms, but said that the significant revenues from the claims offset the increase in expenditures. Aschenbrenner said that the FY06 accruals were $884,000 and in FY07 there was a 50% increase that was largely due to the effect of the tornado and the fact that the Courthouse roof had to be rebuilt. Stutsman asked if the County made money on those claims. Aschenbrenner responded that he has not evaluated that. Aschenbrenner said that the cost increase from FY06 to FY07 was approximately $350,000 and added that the revenues for FY06 were $54,000 and in FY07 the revenues were $615,000, higher than what was laid out. Aschenbrenner said the insurance costs should be less than what was budgeted and recommended a $15,000 decrease in insurance expenses from FY08 to FY09. He noted that the benefits of being in the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool (ICAP) system are beginning to show.
Aschenbrenner said that the accrual expenditures will be under the budgeted amount and is not recommending any changes from FY08 to FY09. Aschenbrenner said that it would be better to be more conservative and make sure sufficient funding exists because the cost is hard to predict and there is nothing on the revenue side to offset the expenditures. Aschenbrenner said that the County budgets on a cash basis so when the claim is paid it is budgeted as an expense for that year. Aschenbrenner said that from a reporting perspective it is very difficult to report on an accrual basis when the billing is not done in a timely manner. Stutsman said that it may take threatening not to pay outside a twelve-month period or a class-action lawsuit to get something done. She pointed out that the County is putting a lot of money into a budget because no one has any idea what expenses will show up later.
Deputy Auditor Sarah Reisetter recommended adding $400 for fuel cost because the fuel prices are going up. She added that the department is starting to modem the election results, which could require going out to some of the sites to test phone lines. Reisetter reduced the budget for Stationery and Forms by $100 because it has been over-budgeted in the past and reduced the voter registration by $2,100. Reisetter said she increased the budget for DP Supplies by $2,000 to reflect the shift from Department 3 expenses. She noted that Ballot Stock Supplies is a new expenditure as a result of the ballot-on-demand system. For the Minor Equipment line item the FY08 amount of $33,500 was reduced by the Election Supply Amount that was added in FY08. Reisetter clarified that after the October amendment for the approved new election supplies she reduced the line item by $22,500 back to what it has been in the past.
Reisetter said that the budget for Officer Transportation for Elections and Officer Meals and Lodging was slightly increased because she and Slockett will complete their Certified Election and Registration Administrative (CERA) training in July and will graduate in August. Reisetter said that in 2006 the County paid $700 for mileage reimbursement and with the General Election on the horizon, she proposed to slightly increase this expenditure. She proposed an increase of $2,000 for telephone costs because of additional phone lines in the office for modems and a testing phone line in the back office. Reisetter recommended $200 for clerical expenses. She reduced the budgeted amount for Officer and Staff Registration Fees for finishing Election Center classes from $10,294 to $7,500. Reisetter said that in December 2008 they would destroy the ballots from the 2006 General Election and school election ballots to make room for the next big election. Reisetter would like to keep something budgeted for office equipment purchase in case the Office is in need of envelopes or letterhead.
Reisetter said that there are several reductions because there would not be a Primary Election in FY09 and noted that the majority of cost increases are in the General Election line items. She said that in the 2006 General Election, the Department spent close to $9,000 for official publications. Reisetter said they would have to publish changes in precinct boundary lines for the 2008 General Election and therefore she increased the cost to $10,000. Reisetter proposed $35,000 for printing and programming, and said that the in-house programming would save the department significant costs. Reisetter recommended $500 for mileage reimbursement for office staff who have to go to polling places on General Election Day to drop off extra supplies. She proposed an increase in Election Official miles up to $10,000 because of additional pieces of voting equipment and election day registration. Reisetter estimated the need for 533 poll workers for next November, an additional 135 poll workers from 2006.
Reisetter said the expense for telephones for the General Election was increased because they had to install phone lines in some polling places and pay two-month service fees. In addition they would need two cell phones per precinct for the General Election, for which Reisetter recommended $2,000. Stutsman asked why they are not using only cell phones and Reisetter said that poll workers can not use cell phones to send the results by modem to the office. Stutsman asked if they would install telephones in every voting place and Reisetter responded that some polling places have existing telephone lines that could be used. She noted that there are places that have digital phone systems to which it is impossible to hook up a modem. Slockett said that fax analog lines are compatible with modems so if a polling place has one like that, poll workers can use it.
Reisetter said that in 2006, $850 was spent for polling place rent and she recommended increasing that to $1,200 because additional polling places would be needed for the 2008 General Election. Reisetter said they would review existing polling spaces in anticipation of preparing for election day registrations, but said that she wants to be sure that there is money available in case they would need to pay more in rent. Reisetter added $1,000 for van rental based on a recommendation from a previous Elections Deputy that there be at least four vans available on Election Day. Reisetter increased the expenditures for Satellite Publication and for Election Official Miles for satellites for the General Election. She added that the cell phone costs would be $10 per site and the total cost would be around $300.
Reisetter said the figure for the school elections is based on actual expenditures for 2008 and noted that these are reimbursable expenses. She added polling place rent because more than $200 was paid in 2008. R. Sullivan asked if there has been any discussion as to why the school districts do not have more polling places available and Reisetter responded that for every election the school districts are given the option to “de-combine” precincts, but they chose not to do so. Slockett said the main reason to have un-combined polling places is to get a higher turnout and in places where they did that there was no impact on turnout. Slockett said that combining polling places creates a permanent state of confusion because every year people have to vote in a different precinct. Harney asked why the printing program for schools dropped from $9,550 in to $3,500. Reisetter responded that the programming has been done in-house. Slockett said the budget does not include the cost of poll workers, temporary office help, and additional satellite research. He said that the students have figured out how to get 100 signatures pursuant to State law to get a satellite polling place and they are going to see more of it. R. Sullivan asked if those requests can be denied and Slockett said that if they receive a request from a private business, the request does not have to be honored, but all other requests must be honored. Slockett noted that it is great that the students are voting and have turned out to caucus in record numbers.
Reisetter said that it costs $2.11 to mail an absentee ballot and estimated a budget of $85,450 for next year. Stutsman asked if there is a total increase of $85,000. Slockett responded that it is just a shift because it is subtracted from Central Services. Talking about purchasing ballot-marking devices in lieu of touch-screen voting machines Reisetter said the equipment would qualify as an essential County purpose and could be funded by the Service Levy. She proposed that the funds be budgeted in the Technology Account. She noted that the touch-screen voting machines purchased in 2006 continue to be attacked by voting integrity groups around the United States. Reisetter said that the decision package includes an e-mail that was sent out by a member of Iowans for Voting Integrity, which discusses the review of voting systems conducted by the Secretary of State of Ohio. She noted that the Colorado Secretary of State de-certified some of the voting systems that had been certified by the state.
Slockett said that last year the Iowa Legislature passed a law outlining the purchase of Direct-Recording Electronic Voting Systems (DRE) in the future and proposed funding to switch all voting systems in the State to ballot-marking devices. He said that the governor did not agree and limited it to counties that did not have paper trails on their equipment. Slockett said the Auditor’s Association is recommending full funding to switch the whole state. Stutsman asked if the amount of money discussed is to replace the machines. Reisetter said that they are looking to purchase 67 AutoMARK Ballot-Marking Devices at a cost of $5,000 per unit, with a total cost of $335,000. Neuzil asked what would happen with the other machines and how much was spent on them. Slockett said the County spent $200,000 on all voting systems. Neuzil asked if the State was considering aiding the County with this expense and Slockett responded that the Legislature budgeted for it last year, but the Governor took it out of the budget.
Reisetter noted that because there is a national trend to move toward AutoMARK devices, there is limited availability at this time and in order to obtain them as soon as possible, it would be good to budget for the machines soon. She said that one of the significant advantages of the AutoMARK is that in the long-run, training costs will be significantly reduced. She noted that there might be mandatory handcount audits of a certain percentage of precincts. She said that the AutoMARK technology fills in ovals on a paper ballot for the voter, who then takes the ballot and puts it in the ballot scanner where all of the hand marked ballots are placed and if a handcount audit is necessary, all of the ballots would be in the same medium. Reisetter said that the current technology does not print a summary ballot so a handcount requires weeding through a voter’s selections to decipher the final vote.
Stutsman asked what happens if the Board budgets for the cost and then receives money from the State. Aschenbrenner said it would most likely be receded in the expenditure side. Neuzil said that money for the new systems would need to be taken from a General Supplemental Dead Services Levy and Slockett added that it could be levied against the TIFs. Slockett said that there is a nationwide trend to switch to this equipment even though it is not currently manufactured and noted that there would be a backlog of orders. He added that the Elections Department would like to be on the list before the Iowa Legislature approves the funding and all of the other counties get on the waiting list to get the equipment. Slockett said that if the County gets on the list right away the earliest they could get the equipment would be in April. He said that it would be ideal to use the new equipment in the June Primary Election so that the poll workers are trained before the Presidential Election.
Slockett said that he is talking to Election Systems & Software about the possibility of an upgradeable lease-purchase agreement for this equipment to cut down on the costs. Slockett noted the concern of some voting activists of the vulnerability of the system to magnets and to blackberries that could easily corrupt the information on the equipment. Slockett added that the people testifying in this regard are University of Iowa Computer Science Professor Doug Jones and Iowans for Voting Integrity Co-Chair Sean Flaherty. Slockett said that County Officials will have to decide if they wish to withstand the criticism and make the argument that these devices are good enough even if a certain amount of the public will not buy that argument. He added that the County could spend what is required to make the public confident of what the County can offer.
R. Sullivan asked about the requests from agencies who wanted to be added as Block Grant Agencies. Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia said the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP) put in an application with a request for $1,000. Correia did not recommend funding HACAP because they did not show a specific purpose. Stutsman asked what the $1,000 request was for. R. Sullivan recalled that they asked that the funds go to the STAR Program. Correia said that $77,000 was transferred from Department 45 to Home Ties in the 4C's item line. She explained that the funding is matched and added that Empowerment puts money into Home Ties so the total amount going to Home Ties is $136,000. Correia explained that Home Ties funds free childcare spaces for homeless persons, persons looking for work, and emergency foster care childcare.
Correia said the County gave Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County a big jump last year, so this year she is recommending a small increase. She said that there continues to be a high need for mentoring, as it is an evidence-based practice that is certified through the U.S. Department of Justice because they do have very positive long-term outcomes with their matches. She noted that the Johnson County program has a really good track record with keeping those matches going for one year or longer, which is how the most positive outcomes result.
Correia recommended an increase for the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County because the needs for the targeted population that they serve continue to grow. She added that the Centers also respond to needs in new neighborhoods throughout the county where there are identified needs. Correia recommended a small increase for United Action for Youth (UAY). She said that UAY is reaching out to locations in North Liberty and Solon to provide community-based activities for youth.
Correia proposed a decrease for Youth Homes/Four Oaks and noted that Youth Homes no longer legally exists and that the name has been changed to Four Oaks Children and Family Services. She said here was a big decrease last year because Four Oaks provides services that are third-party pay and not free. R. Sullivan said he believes that unless Four Oaks can show what the County’s funding is used for, the Board should not budget any money for them. Correia said that part of the funds would be used to support the Pursuing Adventures in Learning (PAL) Program, which is an after-school childcare program for youth with emotional, behavior, and social developmental problems who have been expelled from other after-school programs. She added that PAL receives State Childcare Assistance, but some families have become ineligible for the state assistance. She added that those youth would still benefit from being in the program because they are difficult for the parents to handle. Harney asked if United Way contributes to Four Oaks as well and Correia said that in FY08 Four Oaks received $27,000 from United Way.
Correia proposed an increase of $76,737 for services that enhance family and child well-being, but because of the $75,000 transfer into Home ties the actual increase is only $1,737. Correia maintained the amount for general Crisis Center services at the same level as last year and noted a slight increase in the Crisis Center Food Bank budget due to increased services and a small increase for the Domestic Violence Intervention Program (DVIP). Correia said the level of funding for the Housing Trust Fund remained the same as last year. She increased the Victim Advocacy Program at the level requested. She said that the Victim Advocacy Program has made significant progress in reaching out to special populations, particularly persons with disabilities, persons who speak English as a second language, and high school students, in collaboration with UAY. Correia recommended a small increase for Shelter House because homelessness continues to be a significant issue in Johnson County.
Correia recommended no change in funding for Uptown Bill's. She added that the services that they provide are different from the other non-profits that the County funds and added that Uptown Bill's offers a more organic, grass-roots economic development program, including job-training and non-traditional services, which are used mostly by homeless people. Uptown Bill's routinely provides homeless persons short-term work and projects. Correia reported that Alcoholics Anonymous groups often meet at the Uptown Bill's facility and they also work creatively with youth by providing an alcohol-free space for bands to perform. Correia said that they are paying high rent costs at their current Gilbert Street location and they are looking for a less costly space in the near-downtown area. Stutsman said she thought they owned the building on Gilbert Street. Correia said that Uptown Bill's owns a building on F Street and stated that they are hoping to find a new location near the new Health and Human Services Building. Correia proposed a slight increase for Elder Services, a 4% increase for the Free Medical Clinic because health services for uninsured and under-insured in the area continue to grow, and a decrease for the Social Services Flex Account because of low use. She recommended funding an Aging Specialist for an additional year and not funding HACAP. She noted that there is an increase of 8.17% for Department 20, but with the shift from Department 45 the actual increase is only 1.22%.
R. Sullivan said that North Liberty has started to put some funding towards Shelter House Food Bank and other services. He said that should be reflected in the comparison attachment. Correia said that is not reflected because she has listed only what Johnson County funds. Neuzil said that the County is not adequately recognized for the contributions it makes to United Way. Stutsman agreed and added that goes back to basic courtesy. Neuzil said that often times Iowa City and Coralville are listed before the County. Stutsman said that maybe United Way needs to be notified that the Board is monitoring that.
Neuzil said that in keeping in line with 1-2% increases is exactly the kind of oversight the Board wants while addressing the needs of the community. R. Sullivan said the Board would not have had the information to cut back in specific areas. Neuzil would like more information about Four Oaks. Correia said that she met with Mary Chavez after the last funding allocation and showed her all the ways that the County is supporting the services that Four Oaks provides in the community. She noted that the County’s significant commitment to Four Oaks is evident. Correia said that Four Oaks receives a Juvenile Justice Youth Development Program Grant and added that there are multiple Decat contracts between the County and Four Oaks.
Correia thinks that DVIP is leveraging local dollars for some of their State and Federal Violence-Against-Women contributions and thinks the County is leveraging more there. Neuzil asked about the Livable Community Program and Correia said it is at $25,000. R. Sullivan asked if Big Brothers Big Sisters gets any leverage. Correia said she gave them a letter of support because they leveraged an anonymous donor. Neuzil said the Board took some money out of the Flex Account. Correia said the Board took $500 that was used for the Summer Food Network.
Correia said that the Board has maintained a $200,000 General Fund commitment in Department 54 and added that all other expenditures are budget-neutral. Correia said the work-group is going through an extensive needs-assessment and planning process in FY08 and there could be some changes in the funding recommendations for FY09. She said that she will propose that the work group move to the County's fiscal year therefore the agreements in FY09 would run from October 1 through June 30.
Claiborne said that the Joint Disaster Services budget went up $21,185 because Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson wanted to get to an even $100,000 for the year. Stutsman asked what the increase was for. Harney said that he recently received an e-mail from Wilson. R. Sullivan asked about the Vision Iowa Grants that are about to expire. Neuzil said the final payment was received from the Englert Grant. Neuzil said that the Highway 965 Underpass is not completed and asked why the County is not making a payment to the underpass. Neuzil wanted to find out if the County has pledged funding to the Tourism Home of North Liberty. He asked when funding would end for the North Liberty Pool. Stutsman asked if the Board pledged to the Coralville Pool. R. Sullivan responded that the Board funded that through a bond and not through Vision Iowa. Neuzil asked if the Board pledged money to the Coralville Library. Stutsman asked if a search could be done of the minutes for “Vision Iowa Grants” to see what was funded and for how much. Claiborne said that he is not involved with these Block Grants, but R. Sullivan commented that Claiborne is the point person for these.
R. Sullivan said that Johnson County Historical Society Representative Shaner Magelhaes had requested $20,000 per year for five years in addition to what the Board has granted in the past. Neuzil said the five Block Grants need to be figured out. He added that Magelhaes' request for existing budget needs should be put in as well as Magelhaes’ additional request if the Board is going to agree to do it. R. Sullivan asked if Historical Preservation had put in a request for money and Claiborne said no. Stutsman said they do not usually request any money. Neuzil asked when the final payment of the First Capital Development funding is done and Harney said that was a five-year commitment that was broken into two different sections. Stutsman said there should be a tracking system of pledges that track the year and amount given to-date and suggested that Claiborne come up with an Excel spreadsheet to track all this.
Neuzil asked if the Fair Grounds or the Senior Center had made any requests. M. Sullivan said the Fair Grounds requested to maintain funding as is. M. Sullivan said that he has the agreement ready to be signed if the Board agrees to the funding. R. Sullivan said that the Fair Grounds has done a complete turn-around from two years ago. M. Sullivan said that once Building C was finished and opened, it has been very easy to schedule meetings there. Stutsman read aloud an e-mail from Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson requesting an adjustment to the department's four quarterly payments from $19,000 to $25,000 per quarter. R. Sullivan said that Wilson is new and may not know what the Board expects. Stutsman said that although the department may not be getting grants, they should readjust their budgets accordingly. She added that it is a false assumption that if a department cannot get a grant the County will pick it up. M. Sullivan said he will e-mail Wilson and tell him to get in contact with Claiborne to provide a definitive explanation for additional funding. Neuzil asked if the Senior Center has made a funding request. M. Sullivan said they had not made one.
Talking about Department 23, Claiborne said there was $300 cost for professional dues for Planning and Zoning for the American Planning Association. Stutsman asked why that was included in this package and not in the Planning & Zoning budget. Claiborne said that would be a rural expense for Johnson County Soil Conservationist Adam Galluzo. He added that there was a request for a 3.5% salary increase for Galluzo. Claiborne said he adjusted some of the libraries based on the population and usage figures and included $500,000 for trails. R. Sullivan said the money would be used for capital improvements and not for trails. Claiborne clarified that the funding appears as an expense for discussion purposes, but in the software, $500,000 was added to the fund balance. Neuzil asked why the $500,000 for trails was not included in the Secondary Roads' budget. M. Sullivan responded that the Board made a decision last year to put it in the Rural Block Grants. M. Sullivan said that according to Correia the Regency Community Center would soon spend the money allocated last year.
Stutsman said the funding for the landfill was down. M. Sullivan said the landfill expenses were funded out of Department 23 as well. M. Sullivan said that going to the year-round system has helped a lot because there were no spikes in the spring and fall and the accountability system was much better. R. Sullivan said that the landfill is basically operating itself and JCCOG moved Assistant Transportation Planner Brad Neumann to 95% traffic planning and 5% solid waste work. Stutsman wondered if the County was contributing to waste management overall. Claiborne said he would double check if the County is paying for the management of the landfill.
Stutsman asked when they would talk about health insurance. M. Sullivan said that would be discussed with Shramek. Claiborne added that Shramek sent out an e-mail recommending a 5% increase. Neuzil asked about insurance funding. M. Sullivan said that is under GASB 45. Neuzil asked for an update on the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) software funding. M. Sullivan said it was already paid for. R. Sullivan said there has been a request from another group, of which Story County is a member, which is on the agenda for next week. He added that the January 11, 2008 Budget Meeting would include discussions on Department 20 and other catch-all issues. Claiborne said that last year there was over $5.5 million available in the General Basic Fund and noted there would be around $6.5 million in FY08.
The Board rescheduled the following meetings for calendar year 2008:
Spring School of Instruction - (The week of March 9, 2008) - Formal and Informal meetings are rescheduled to March 11, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.
Key Issues and Strategic Planning Meetings - Rescheduled to March 18, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.
Strategic Planning Meeting - Rescheduled to April 16, 2008 at 1:00 p.m.
Department Head Meeting - Rescheduled to July 8, 2008 at 1:30 p.m.
Key Issues and Strategic Planning Meeting - Rescheduled to November 12, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.
ISAC Fall School of Instruction - (The week of November 16, 2008) - Formal and Informal meetings are rescheduled to November 19, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.
Thanksgiving - (The week of November 23, 2008) - Formal and Informal meetings are rescheduled to November 25, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.
Christmas - (The week of December 21, 2008) - Formal and Informal meetings are rescheduled to December 23, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.
Week after Christmas - (The week of December 28, 2008) - Formal and Informal meetings are rescheduled to December 30, 2008 at 9:00 a.m.
The Board designated the floating Christmas holiday for Board of Supervisors Office as December 26, 2007.
Adjourned at 12:25 p.m.
_______________________________________________________________________
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By:
On the _______ day of _____________________, 2008
By Casie Kadlec, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on May 9, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.