MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
SEPTEMBER 25, 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
East Central Iowa Council of Governments Executive Director Doug Elliott: Contract for Facilitations Services for the Linn/Johnson Public Leadership Group............................................................................... 1
East Central Iowa Council of Governments Executive Director Doug Elliott: Semi-Annual Report to the Board of Supervisors...................................................................................................................... 2
Reports and Inquiries from the Board of Supervisors................................................................. 4
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Recommendation Regarding Wellmark’s New Ambulance Fee Schedule Effective October 1, 2008................................................................................................. 5
Executive Session: Collective Bargaining Strategy with PPME Units for 2009-2010.................... 6
Chairperson Sullivan called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:20 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan; absent: Terrence Neuzil.
East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Executive Director Doug Elliott said his semiannual visit is to give a basic report on activities that ECICOG is involved in Johnson County. Elliott said he brought a copy of the most recent annual report for members of the Board to see in printed form some of the projects that ECICOG works on. He said the date on the annual report is January but the report is not outdated because ECICOG only publishes the report once a year. Elliott stated the information is a good summary because many of the projects extend past one year. He added that today he has included an insert with updates and summaries on current activities. Elliott asked if any of the Board had questions. Stutsman asked for information about ECICOG’s role in the flood relief. Elliott said he would address the issue later in the presentation.
Elliott stated he wants to bring to attention two documents involving Johnson and Linn Counties pertaining to facilitation of Johnson/Linn County Public Leadership Group. He said the group has been active for several years with a separate contract for the last three years for $10,000. Elliott said the multi page document is an explanation of the provided services. The service agreement outlines the intent to move ahead with the project and shows an increase from $5,000 to $5,243. The project is split equally between the two counties. Elliott stated ECICOG has maintained the prevailing agency rate, which has been in place since they started doing the work. He said the hourly rate of $48 increased two years ago to $49. Elliott stated ECICOG would be adding additional hours. He noted that nearly half of the work is characterized as ‘other technical assistance’ and he thinks this assumption is quite accurate. Elliott said a lot of the activity he is involved with in the Public Leadership Group takes place outside of the meeting and the above classification is meant to reflect that.
Elliott said he tried to present this information to Linn County yesterday but his name was not on the agenda so the issue will be addressed in a meeting next week. Elliott stated he is confident the resolution will be approved in Linn County. R. Sullivan added working with Elliott he wants to offer his thanks for all the work he has done to bring various speakers and doing research. Elliott said he was open to inquiries about the flood. R. Sullivan said he wanted to make sure there was interest to put this item on the formal meeting agenda for next week. He said there seemed to be interest from other Board members so it is going to be on the formal agenda for next week. Stutsman asked why the report did not contain information about the work of ECICOG Transportation Planner Mary Rump on the Trails Advisory Committee. Elliott said it was an omission and they would put the work of the Trails Advisory Committee on the next annual report. Stutsman said that Rump has been instrumental in putting together grants. R. Sullivan added that two of those grants are going up for consideration tomorrow.
Elliott said the Governor announced Jumpstart programs for flood relief. He stated he has an ECICOG Board packet that contains a map showing the 11 disaster recovery areas. Five of those are entitlement cities, five are super COGs, (regions of multiple COGs), and one is a COG region unto itself, ECICOG. Elliott stated ECICOG will be responsible for administering and distributing assistance through both the Jumpstart Housing Assistance and Small Business Assistance Programs in the six county region, except within corporate limits of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, because they are direct entitlement grantees. He summarized that assistance programs offered in Johnson County occurring outside of corporate limits of Iowa City will go through ECICOG. Elliott said ECICOG hopes housing assistance could be available within the next week. That will be a contract directly between ECICOG and Iowa Finance Authority. He said the Small Business Assistance will take longer because part of the money is a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Federal funds and will be structured in partnership with Linn County who will be the actual grantee.
Elliott said that previously HUD only allowed cities and counties to apply for the State CDBG program. He said the State submitted a plan asking for a waiver so ECICOG could apply directly. The State realized that actually extends the environmental review process and ECICOG is looking for the most expedient way to distribute the money. Elliott said that using a lead city or county shortens the time frame and it makes the most sense to use the county closest to Johnson County. He said he is scheduled to meet with Linn County on September 29, 2008 to finalize everything and it may take longer because there are a few more contractual documents and one more party involved but Elliott estimates the matter will be settled in two weeks. Elliott said many particulars will be discussed at their board meeting today. In housing there are three activities eligible under the Jumpstart program: repair, rehabilitation, down payment assistance, and mortgage assistance. He added a fourth category as an allowance for energy efficiency such as buying energy efficient appliances where someone will be reimbursed.
R. Sullivan said Johnson County put in a large notice of intent for buyouts. He said that after the floods of 1993 the County did some buyouts and there was some participation from individuals who requested the buyout. R. Sullivan asked whether there was a possibility of some money going to people whose property is bought out. Elliott answered if an individual is on an existing NOI that person is not eligible for rehabilitation assistance through Jumpstart. He said people are eligible for mortgage assistance during the period they are waiting for their house to be purchased. He continued that another part of the State’s CDBG Supplemental Plan, not part of Jumpstart, is that a portion of those funds provide a match for FEMA funded buyout programs. Elliott said that for people on the buyout, regardless of their confidence if they want to move forward, they would be eligible for down payment assistance.
Elliott said that any assistance received previously is deducted from the amount eligible under Jumpstart which is $50,000 or 60% of the assessed value of the home prior to the flood but no more than $50,000, which is just for rehabilitation. R. Sullivan stated that a lot of the housing affected was in Iowa City but many of the businesses were in Coralville. He said Coralville is not an entitlement community so they will be working through ECICOG and asked if there are any individual limitations per community. Elliott said no. The money will be provided to the region in a lump sum over time and the region has $1,900,000 set aside for business assistance. He stated 25-30% will be received up front so assistance can be provided right away but afterward they will anticipate obligations and draw the money down. Elliott said the original allocation in housing was based on what percent of Johnson County FEMA claims represented of the total claims in the State. He said for businesses it was the Small Business Administration (SBA). He said if as the program progresses it becomes obvious that some regions received a greater allocation than was necessary, the State is reserving the right to shift funds to areas of greater need. Elliott said he is discouraging the Board from doing any sub-allocation within the region because of the way the numbers were determined. He said that some people might have need and previously had not applied to SBA and now realize there is a resource available which might make the demand greater. He said the applications will mirror the damage.
Harney said $1,900,000 does not seem like very much money for the area and asked if more money is coming. Elliott said this is the Jumpstart and they are still waiting for the $85,000,000 of the $100,000,000 of the initial $300,000,000 of CDBG supplemental funds. He said the process they will go through with Linn County to set up Jumpstart creates the process for CDBG supplemental funds. He added that Congress is currently considering raising the amount of assistance coming to disaster affected states. Elliott said if it turns out the formula used to allocate funds isn’t a true reflection of the demand or need then the money will be shifted. Stutsman asked Elliott if he had applied for a flood coordinator. Elliott said they have applied to EDA and are hopeful they will hear back in the next week. He said they were hoping to get one flood coordinator for Johnson and Linn counties, and another for the rest of the counties but that was before the advent of Jumpstart and now they would like to divide them by discipline, one for housing and the other for businesses.
Elliott stated they were looking at an opportunity of $1,500,000 from EDA to establish a revolving loan fund, which could be an additional resource to bundle with Jumpstart or the local program. He said that EDA has a two step process where first groups submit a pre-application and than they invite/deny groups to submit full applications. He added that an invite to submit a full application means they intend to fund the project and currently they have received a request for full application for the revolving loan fund. Elliott stated ECICOG has started advertising for positions because he feels they have to get started and anticipates good response once the public knows the money is available. Stutsman said one of the frustrations is waiting and she commends Elliott on forethought. Elliott said they are trying to expedite and simplify the process while maintaining an adequate level of accountability. Harney asked whether businesses who are already reestablishing themselves can qualify for funds. Elliott said as long as the damage to a business was flood related they can qualify as long as the business has loan approval from SBA, a chartered bank, or some other existing underwriting entity. R. Sullivan asked if they have to have registered with SBA. Elliott said no. Elliott said businesses must furnish the loan documents even if the business had not completed them.
Harney attended a meeting with County Engineer Greg Parker, the Chamber of Commerce Lead Off Your Day with Leadership meeting, a liaison meeting with Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek, and the Sunrise Optimists meeting. Harney also attended the Johnson County Emergency Communications Center bid letting, the Emergency Management Commission meeting, and a meeting with Colonel Reefer of the National Guard.
Stutsman attended a Targeted Case Management Advisory Board Meeting.
Meyers attended a meeting with County Engineer Greg Parker and the public information meeting publicizing the Durrant Study. Meyers announced the next public meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on October 8, 2008 at the Iowa City Public Library.
R. Sullivan wanted to remind everyone that September 25, 2008 is the first day for early voting. He explained the large screen in the County Administration Building lobby is running a continuous loop movie entitled The Oxford Project. These pictures were taken of Oxford residents by Peter Feldstein who is presenting the video on September 28, 2008 at the Englert Theater in Iowa City as a flood relief benefit.
Shramek said on September 18, 2008, she received an email from Wellmark Account Manager Lacey Lenton, giving the County a 12 day notice for an October 1, 2008 effective date concerning free standing ambulance provider payment changes. She said Wellmark is no longer going to pay 100% of this charge. They are now going to pay 155% of Medicare reimbursement. She said the change came because under the current system an ambulance provider can raise rates multiple times throughout the year and Wellmark will continue to pay the bill at 100%. This makes it difficult to project costs. Shramek said the change allows balanced billing. If the average charge for ambulance service is $865, Wellmark would pay $597 and the difference could be billed to members. Shramek said out of the 205 free standing ambulance providers, 22 are terminating contracts with Wellmark. One of these 22 providers is Area Ambulance which serves part of Johnson County. She added the majority of the County’s employees will not be affected. Shramek said that when a person calls 911 for an ambulance, they do not have time to shop around. She said the fees for 2007 were $7,364, about eight or nine trips. Shramek stated that year to date the fees are $4,560 for about five trips. She said that someone is going to have to pick up the balance, either the County or the members. She added because the County is self-funded it can override any changes Wellmark makes and pay at 100%. She said this is how the Alliance Select Program will be administrated beginning October 1, 2008 into the future.
R. Sullivan said this is a real frustration this is happening with just 12 days notice and the County has no say on when the changes take place. He said October 1, 2008 is not the start or end of the County's contract nor an open enrollment period for County employees. Shramek said she told Lenton she was disappointed with the fact there is an urgent email when Wellmark has known about this since early June. This does not give Shramek any time for formal action. R. Sullivan added the short notice does not give the Board time to comment or shop around, and doesn't give County employees any options. He said this is a bad way to do business.
Shramek said the changes could have waited until January 1, 2009. Stutsman asked if the changes were that big of an issue. Shramek said the services are subsidized with the County. Shramek said she thinks Wellmark is receiving a lot of negative feedback because Area Ambulance is the main provider for the City of Cedar Rapids. Stutsman added she wants to monitor the situation but she has no problem with the County picking up the rest of the bill. Shramek said if the County responds by picking up the tab, it may be hard to continue making the payments if the costs escalate. R. Sullivan asked if Shramek's recommendation is to pay the full amount up to a maximum. Shramek said the County could come up with a maximum figure but she does not know what that would be without Ambulance Director Steve Spenler's guidance.
Stutsman repeated she would like to continue to monitor this until the end of the year. R. Sullivan said he prefers to have the plan reflect what the County is going to do. He said he would like to have something more clear for January 1, 2009. Harney said that because of the short notice, the Board should go ahead as planned until January 1, 2009 and then discuss how to deal with this for the long term. Stutsman and Meyers agreed. R. Sullivan asked if expressing displeasure with the situation has provided any benefit for the County. Shramek said a letter from the Board will be more effective in expressing current displeasure with the situation.
Motion by Harney, second by Meyers, to enter into Executive Session at 10:02 a.m. to discuss collective bargaining strategy for the Sheriff and Secondary Roads units under section 20.17(3), Code of Iowa: “negotiating sessions, strategy meetings of public employees… shall be exempt from the provisions of chapter 21 (Official Meetings Open to the Public).” Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Sullivan, Meyers; absent: Neuzil.
Recessed at 10:02 a.m.; reconvened at 10:17 a.m.
Motion by Stutsman, second by Meyers, to leave Executive Session at 11:14 a.m. Roll call: aye: Harney, Stutsman, Sullivan, Meyers; absent: Neuzil.
Adjourned at 11:14 a.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By John Deeth, Recording Secretary