MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
SEPTEMBER 18, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Reports and Inquiries from the Board of Supervisors
Chairperson Sullivan 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, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia said she distributed an executive memo on agenda items. Correia explained agency funding for the Juvenile Justice Youth Development Program are agency grants that have been in place for ten to 12 years from Department 54. She said the amounts are already in the budget. She said up until now, these awards have operated on the Federal Fiscal Year. Federal Funds came from the Federal Department of Justice through the State Criminal Juvenile Justice Planning, and then through the County. Correia said the State has decided to let the funds go through the Chief Juvenile Court Officers. Correia stated that these funds that used to come through the County are now being transferred to County Social Services through the County's Chief Juvenile Court Officer through Decat. She said this is a new process and they are not losing funds and that about $46,000 has been transferred to Decat for some services that used to be routed through County Department 54.
R. Sullivan asked whether going through the Chief Juvenile Court Officer will allow the officer to place conditions on the funds or if the local Decat Board will continue to make those recommendations. Correia said Decat is allowed to accept funds from the Chief Juvenile Court Officer and the Service Area Manager. She added they can place earmarks on funds. R. Sullivan asked for further clarification. Correia said the Federal funds were already earmarked. She added the only difference is the program it runs through.
Correia said the FY09 recommendation is two pronged. She said the first is to move these grants into a County fiscal year so all the funds will be local. Correia said leaving these grants on the Federal fiscal year calendar creates budget and audit complications. She recommended a nine month subcontract award starting October 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009 that will make the transition to the County fiscal year. Correia stated the second part of the recommendation is to have the pro rated grant amounts be based on the previous year's award maintaining status quo funding. She said all services will remain the same. Correia said the zero balance for the Four Oaks Detention Alternative Program is because all money coming from Department 54 for that program had been a block grant from the State which is now going to Decat and currently operating but not funded through this pot of funds. Harney asked whether that was the Board's choice. Correia responded that the County supports the Detention Alternative Program (DAP) even though the funds come from Decat. She said the County supports DAP through the Juvenile Court Services department.
Correia explained that DAP is not a preventative program whereas Department 54 Juvenile Justice is for juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention. Stutsman suggested putting the item on the September 25, 2008 formal agenda. Neuzil stated he had no questions and he hoped the County could continue to maintain funding oversight and maintain the same level of funding. He said that he wants the Board to be posted on outcomes. Correia added that many of the programs funded with County dollars are leveraging outside dollars. She said for example, the $13,000 given to Big Brothers/Big Sisters helps support the school buddy program in about ten different schools around the county and that leverages another $40,000 to round out the funding for that program. Correia added she is collecting data on leveraging funds to inform the Board how County dollars are bringing in additional dollars.
Harney asked Correia about the Policy Board Activity Fund showing a $2,500 allocation for nine months but nothing for 12 months. Correia responded that the data issue was math related. She said she thinks it is related to the youth employment which is the same at a nine and 12 month allocation. These are dollars used to fund swim passes for the programs and other scholarship type programs for homeless youth and for kids involved in juvenile court for activities such as Babe Ruth baseball, soccer, and band instruments.
Stutsman explained that she attended a child abuse talk given by Karen Evans from DHS. Stutsman said she wondered if, because of all the programming offered in Johnson County, they were attracting people to come to the community. She said Evans said the biggest factor in attracting people to the community is housing vouchers. Stutsman said Evans stated people are more attracted to smaller communities to live and raise their families. The Federal policy decision to move housing vouchers out to communities instead of large urban areas has contributed to the influx of new county residents. She added that the County has done a good job in accommodating people who have come by implementing programs to maybe avert problems. Stutsman said when people move into a new community, they are expected to accept the local standards and through County programming, the County can help assimilate them into the community.
Correia presented the Juvenile Justice Youth Development Work Group and Policy Board's recommendation for the funding decision-making process. Correia said current funding decisions are based on last year's funding decisions which might not be the best way to make funding decisions. The Work Group and Policy Board reviewed four significant areas identified for delinquency prevention; disproportionate minority contact, substance abuse, bullying, and opportunities for pro-social activities during out-of-school time. She said DHS staff spent time reviewing data to gain better understanding of the problem in order to strategize suggestions for change.
Correia recommended a competitive request for proposal process for a three year funding cycle for future funding decision making beginning with FY10. She said everyone should know that the County budgets year by year, and there would only ever be a one-year promise of funds with the intention to fund the projects for three years. She said that she would like to develop a grants committee that she would staff, to develop a request for proposals.
R. Sullivan said some of the agencies have had a partnership with the County for 40 years indicating a strong working relationship and he approves of tapping the agencies expertise for best practices. He suggested including an individual who receives agency services and an adult from the Policy Board for added perspective. Correia said agency personnel are not allowed to be on the request for proposals board because of conflicts of interest. Neuzil asked how much money the organizations would split. Correia stated it was less than $200,000. Correia added that the Youth Employment Project receives outside funds.
Correia said the Community Partnership to Protect Children contract has been in place for four or five years and a new contract was entered into last year with the Department of Human Services. This new contract is a statewide initiative with 30 community partnership areas. Each community partnership receives funds determined by the State Legislature and this year communities will receive $20,000. The contract needs to be renewed to draw dollars down. Correia listed the major projects of community partnership for the coming year including after school programming in various locations. R. Sullivan said the items will be added to the September 25, 2008 formal agenda for approval.
Human Resources Coordinator Dana Winkowitsch stated last year the Workers’ Compensation Modification factor was 0.79 and this year it decreased to 0.77 which is positive news. Winkowitsch thanked the Safety Committee and Incident Review Committee. County Insurance Agent of Record Bob Saunders stated that the County has become a model for other counties. He said the Safety Committee is one example and he thanked County department heads and the Board for allowing people time off in order to participate on the committee. Since the formation of the Safety Committee the County's Worker Compensation experience mod was .97. Saunders said a Workers Compensation mod is the system’s way of rewarding or punishing those who take safety for granted. He explained that everyone starts with a basic rate of 1.00, and is rewarded or charged based on performance.
Saunders said five years ago the modification factor of .97 amounted to a $14,000 savings to the County. He said the next year, the modification factor dropped to .82 resulting in a $77,000 savings that year. Saunders added the following years maintained the same factor of around .83. He said two years ago it dropped down to .79 which amounted to a $99,000 savings. This year the modification factor is .77 and the savings is $140,000. He said if the County still had the .97 mod today, the County would pay $120,000 more for insurance with no extra coverage. Saunders said the Iowa Municipalities Workers Compensation Association (IMWCA) is the largest provider of workers compensation coverage for governmental entities in Iowa. Saunders stated that IMWCA give discounts to entities and currently the County discount is 4%. Over time the County will earn an additional $10,000 discount off premium. He said the program also offers a loss-experience discount, which is reflective of safety committees and the proactive approach the entity takes. The discount is worth an additional 6% adding an additional $28,000 discount. The County's total discount this year is $242,000 off the standard Workers’ Compensation rate. Saunders said the County's .77 mod is the second lowest of their 1,000 plus clients. There is no limit on how high a mod can go. The Safety Committees are extremely proactive in working with the entities reminding them how not to get hurt. Saunders said when an employee is injured they are asked to immediately call medical personnel at Company Nurse at an 800 number provided the employer. The Company Nurse program was successful and IMWCA is offering it to all entities beginning January 1, 2009. The program will be mandatory July 1, 2009. The Company Nurse program has cut average costs of claims by 22%. The number of work days lost to injury decreased 27%. IMWCA is offering the program to the County at no cost. Saunders thanked the County for cooperation and dedication to safety in the workplace.
Winkowitsch stated that Wellmark is the current administrator of the Flexible Spending benefit and has been for almost 16 years. Winkowitsch said HR created a Wellmark customer satisfaction survey. She said the survey indicated employees were neither satisfied or dissatisfied with service. Winkowitsch said the HR sent a request for proposals for the administration of flexible spending benefits and received eight responses. She said a volunteer committee evaluated each company and narrowed the field to three companies who were then invited to give a presentation to the committee. The committee learned of a transportation flexible spending account benefit which allows employees to set aside pretax dollars to pay for qualified transportation expenses such as parking or mass transit. Winkowitsch said that with the new Health and Human Services building and the addition of the parking ramp, this is an excellent opportunity to add this benefit. She said 116 employees participate in Flex. She said Wellmark charged the County $8,756 to administer the plan for 2008. Winkowitsch said these fees represent a 35.7% increase in administrative fees and 5.43% increase in monthly fees from 2007. She added that Wellmark offered a flex debit card and if the County chooses to add this benefit, the annual cost will increase to $10,148 assuming participation remains the same.
Winkowitsch said the Flexible Spending RFP Committee unanimously recommends American Administrators (AA) as the next flexible spending administrator effective January 1, 2009. Winkowitsch said the committee chose AA because the plan meets the County's needs at a reasonable cost. She added that American Administrators also offers automatic reimbursement which is a popular option previously offered through Wellmark. She said Wellmark will charge a fee for providing a claims feed to enable AA to offer automatic reimbursement. Winkowitsch explained AA offers a wide range of education materials for employees to explain their benefits and will hold employee education meetings. AA's website is user friendly and allows online claim submissions. Winkowitsch said she reviewed the cost differences between Wellmark and AA and that Wellmark’s annual administration fee is $2,005 versus AA's fee of $100. She said AA's discrimination testing is $200 annually. She added that Wellmark charges a $4.85 per participant monthly claims fee which totals $6,750, and AA's monthly fee is $3.00 per participant which totals $4,176. Winkowitsch said Wellmark's debit card fee is $12 per year totaling $1,392, versus AA's fee of $1.20 per person. She said Wellmark does not offer the transportation account and AA will not charge the County an additional fee for that account. She said Wellmark's total cost is $10,148 whereas American Administrators (without automatic reimbursement) costs is $6,196. Winkowitsch said she thinks employees prefer the automatic reimbursement option. She said Wellmark charges $10 per person on the health plan to send health information to AA. She said the maximum charge for this is $5,030 totaling $11,226. Winkowitsch reminded the Board that when employees participate in flexible spending the money is set aside pretax so the County does not pay FICA taxes on that amount. She added that with AA as the Flexible Spending Account Administrator, the County's FICA savings is $12,366.23.
Winkowitsch introduced American Administrators Marketing Vice President Kim Clayton. Clayton said AA is a third party administrator of flex spending account programs and Section 132 plans. He said AA has been in business since 1983 and is owned by Frank DeMarco of West Des Moines, who manages the company in the office every day. Clayton commended the committee for its thoroughness. Clayton said the debit card is a convenient way for employees or family members to make purchases without having to come up with dollars at the time of purchase. There is an inventory information approval system which identifies skew numbers and barcodes to identify qualified items. The debit card allows members to pay for qualified purchases with untaxed income and avoid filing a reimbursement claim. Clayton stated that if members do not use the debit card they can file a claim online or by mail.
Clayton said the transportation account is not widely used by clients in Iowa but it is commendable for the County to consider it. He said the transportation account will help employees who use public transportation or pay for parking because AA’s flexible spending program allows for these expensed to be paid with employee’s pre-taxed income. Clayton said the City of San Francisco mandated all employers within city limits to provide a Section 132 plan or pay for parking in full by December 20, 2008. He said this in an effort to reduce transportation congestion and smog in large cities. Clayton said $115 per month for a transit pass and $220 per month for parking is the maximum an employee can claim on a pre-tax basis. This amount is adjusted annually and will probably be set in October, 2008.
R. Sullivan said he has always thought the County's participation rate in the flexible spending benefit is low and that employees must be missing out on potential benefits. He said he thinks the transportation expense component of the flexible spending account might attract more employees to the program. Clayton agreed adding that employees do not realize the benefit and value of the program. He said if the County can schedule information meetings during work hours and allow employees time off to attend, it might increase participation. Clayton said employee education is critical to the Flexible Spending Benefit program's success. R. Sullivan asked Winkowitsch if this type of employee education can be worked into the Financial Wellness Time benefit program. Winkowitsch said yes, employees can use some of their three hours of financial wellness time for AA education.
Stutsman said the educational material provided by AA is most impressive. Neuzil asked if the process of deducting $25.00 for parking has been worked out. R. Sullivan stated that a subcommittee is working on the parking details. Neuzil added that having a system in place would be helpful when bringing in employees particularly if the process is easy. Winkowitsch added the vision expenses are a great way to utilize the debit card because employees do not have to pay out of pocket and wait for reimbursement. Meyers asked if the debit card could be used anywhere or if it there are limitations. Clayton answered that in 2006 the Federal Government gave retail stores one year to update their systems with the IIAS system software for cash register machines. He said the employee handbook includes a list of stores that have implemented the IIAS system. Clayton stated that many members go to their regular stores and discover by trial and error whether the store accepts the debit card. Clayton said he will provide the employees a list of stores that will accept the debit card. He said Wal-Mart, Target, Hy-Vee, and most Walgreen's are among the stores that accept the card. Clayton said if members want to go to a different store, such as Sullivan's Convenience Store, and they do not accept the card, then the employee can file a claim for reimbursement. Meyers asked if a member must separate items if they want to use the card. Clayton said an employee should separate the items that the debit card will buy. He added that trying to sneak in unqualified items will not work because the IIAS system will catch items that are not in the system. Meyers asked if an employee ran a load of groceries through a cash register at a store, would it only deduct the eligible item amounts. Clayton said yes, the debit card will only deduct eligible items, but he is unsure how all stores deal with the issue. R. Sullivan asked if AA could add other stores that do not currently participate. Clayton said the store owner must go to their software vendor to see if they could enhance their software, but AA cannot directly help a retail establishment implement the IIAS system.
R. Sullivan said he does not want employees discouraged from using the program if their usual pharmacy does not have the IIAS system. He asked how local merchants can get information on the IIAS system. Clayton said AA would be happy to contact any store owners names given to them and AA will point them in the right direction. Neuzil said the main question is how someone gets added to the list. Clayton said AA could give the stores information, the website, and the phone number in Washington.
Meyers said the transportation benefit portion allows employees to carry forward the amount to the next year whereas the flexible spending account does not carry over from year to year. Clayton said that is correct, that under the medical spending account an employee must use their funds by the end of the year or the money is forfeited. Stutsman stated that transportation is more predictable than the other accounts. Meyers asked who keeps the money leftover in the flex spending account. Clayton said employers keep the money and can decide how to allocate it. He said they may choose to offset administrative costs or to donate the funds to a service organization. Clayton stated the only stipulation is the money cannot go back to the employee. Stutsman asked if Winkowitsch knew how much money was forfeited in past years. Clayton said it is very unusual to have any money left at the end of the year. He said there may be some people that have obtained more than they have contributed and have left the organization. For example, he said if an employee pledged $1,200 and bought eyeglasses early in the year, they will have gotten their $1,200 back and then, if they leave employment after eight months the County is stuck holding the bag for $200. He stated that retaining extra money allocated into accounts helps offset deficits that could result from an employee using a portion of the health savings account then leaving the job and taking the full balance with them. R. Sullivan said Clayton’s argument is a good reason to retain the funds left over in flex spending accounts.
Winkowitsch said that HR does not have a large balance at the end of the year. Neuzil asked what the timeline is in regards to applications. Clayton said AA would like the County to have meetings in late October or early November so employees can fill out election forms. Then he said he'd like the forms in by December 1, 2008 to meet processing and mailing deadlines for employees to have cards by January 1, 2009.
Clayton summarized the manual saying Section 4 has information about the transportation account, Section 3 includes a list of stores who have implemented the IIAS system, Section 2 contains an early addition of a sample employee announcement, and Section 1 has information about the assigned dedicated service team members who serve as day to day operations contacts for the employer. He said Gloria Kramer is the employee's dedicated claims analyst. Harney complimented the committee on their work and asked if there is a lock-in on the overall costs for RFP over a time period before an increase, or if having a certain number of participants locks in cost. Clayton stated the quote was for a one-year contract. He said that if prices were to increase it would be a modest increase. Winkowitsch said AA's reference checks support this; past and present long standing clients reported that there has not been a significant increase in fees. R. Sullivan reiterated the County had seen considerable increases in fees working with Wellmark. Harney asked if the fees are based upon participation. Clayton said that increased participation keeps prices set at current rates. He said the technology associated with flexible spending accounts keeps AA overhead costs down because fewer claims are filed. Stutsman added AA is appealing because they have the ability of automatic draw-down through Wellmark and although the County gets charged by Wellmark, it is well worth the money. Winkowitsch added AA does not make money on this, it is a pass-through cost. Clayton said the cost will be billed to the County by Wellmark. R. Sullivan proposed to put this item on the September 25, 2008 meeting agenda.
Trails Committee Chairperson Janelle Rettig reminded the Board that it pledged the same amount of money for State Recreational Trails and pledged the matching funds for in-kind engineering. She said the dollar amounts are actually the same. Rettig said the total cost is $784,000, with $200,000 being paid from the FY08 carryover and $84,000 would be in-kind engineering. R. Sullivan said the paper reported the project would cost $675,000. Rettig said the number was an estimate from last year. She said she is unaware of any escalating cost from July 1, 2008 to the present day. Harney said that asphalt and oil prices will increase. Rettig said that asphalt has now become more expensive than concrete. She said that concrete lasts longer and most people would prefer to have concrete. Meyers asked what the length of the Dubuque Street trail is. Rettig said it is approximately 2.9 miles. She said this is an approximation depending on what side of the road the engineers put the trail. Rettig said the desire is to put the trail on the west side of the road, to take the trail from below West Overlook Road all the way, so there is no crossing over West Overlook Road to get back to the trail. She said if the designers decide it should be on the east side of the road, than there would be that crossover and a section of trail would not have to be rebuilt. Rettig said there are problems on both sides, but in her opinion the west side seems more convenient.
R. Sullivan said it is important to remind folks that the city councils of North Liberty and Coralville have been clear about their full, wholehearted support of the project and will not interfere in the project. Rettig added that Iowa City is supportive but the trail has already passed Iowa City. R. Sullivan said that any kind of annexation that takes place in that area will not impact the project at all. Rettig said the annexation is why she prefers the project be on the west side of the street. Meyers asked if all of this is in the current right-of-way. Stutsman said public opinion must also be considered. Rettig said the public has weighed in and also prefers the west side. She added that the west side has only a few problems and the east side encounters more problems because of driveways and a ravine. R. Sullivan asked Rettig to remind everyone about the fact of these grant proposals. R. Sullivan said the Board was told it has an excellent application but to reapply next year.
Rettig said on the State Recreational Trails she was told that Johnson County ranked next highest on the list and if there was more money, they would have been funded. She added that this year, there is more money but it remains to be seen what the State will do with trails money because the entire budget is $3,000,000. She said part of the money is earmarked so everyone must compete for about $1,800,000. Rettig said that they are asking for $500,000 of that money. She stated there is over $10,000,000 worth of damage to State trails. Rettig said Cedar Valley Nature Trail from Cedar Rapids to Cedar Falls has over $5,000,000 damage. She reminded everyone how last year the government held up State Recreational Trails grants. Rettig indicated she did not expect to hear from the government anytime soon because they are trying to figure out how to repair the trails they already have. R. Sullivan said he thinks the flood damaged trails should qualify for public assistance dollars. Rettig said FEMA and other flood relief initiatives are currently covering 90% of costs but that the State must come up with the other 10%.
Rettig said the Statewide Transportation Enhancement Funds only difference is the required match. She said one has a 20% match, another 25%, and the last has 30% matching. Rettig said that at the June meeting they decided to use the same numbers for all three applications hoping this would increase the chances because the Trails Committee is putting up a 36% match. Rettig indicated she is hopeful they will receive the funds but she is unsure because of the floods. R. Sullivan said he notices more information from the Trails Committee than the Board can review. Neuzil said the Board is scheduled to meet with the Conservation Department on October 15, 2008 and he indicated trails will probably be discussed. Rettig said the recommendation heads in that direction. Rettig announced the Washington County River Boat Foundation Grant is due October 10, 2008. Rettig asked to be included on a future agenda to discuss reapplication of the grant. R. Sullivan proposed to put both of these items on the September 25, 2008 formal meeting agenda.
Meyers attended the Salary Survey Committee meeting.
Harney attended the canvass of votes for the School Board Elections, a Housing Fellowship Meeting, the Coralville and North Liberty combined Chamber Roundtable, a Communications Policy Board Meeting, the Iowa City Chamber Roundtable, the Board's public meeting with Durrant in Coralville, the East Central Iowa Council of Governments Technical Advisory Committee meeting, and the Johnson County Community Foundation Board of Directors meeting.
Stutsman attended a site visit to the Central Iowa Detention Facility in Eldora, a Secondary Roads projects site visit, a Decat Board meeting, a liaison meeting with Executive Assistant Mike Sullivan, the public meeting with Durrant in Coralville, and the Department Head Meeting.
Neuzil attended a meeting with MH/DS. He has a listening post scheduled for September 19, 2008 at the Depot in Oxford. Neuzil congratulated the Eagles Club of Iowa City on receiving a grant from the National/International Eagles Foundation to work on Juvenile Diabetes with the University of Iowa.
R. Sullivan attended a site visit to the Block Grant Agencies in Johnson County, a site visit to Uptown Bills and Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, and the public meeting with Durrant in Coralville. He said the next Public Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23, 2008 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the North Liberty Recreation Center, and a third meeting scheduled for Wednesday, October 8, 2008 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Iowa City Public Library. R. Sullivan reminded the public and the Board that September 25, 2008 is the first day for early voting in the County.
Adjourned at 10:38 a.m.
______________________________________________________________________
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on October 6, 2008 at 12:30 p.m.