MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JUNE 18, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek :Sheriff’s Contract for the Provision of Law Enforcement Services to the Town of North Liberty.................................................................................................................. 1
Liveable Community for Successful Aging Policy Board Members Reverend Bob Welsh, Mary Wiemann, and Kate Getty: Livable Community Update................................................................................. 2
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Domestic Partner and Same Sex Marriage Benefits 4
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2008-2010 With Public Professional and Maintenance Employees (PPME), IUPAT Local 2003 Regarding the Administrative Unit....................................................................................................................................... 6
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2008-2010 With Public Professional and Maintenance Employees (PPME), IUPAT Local 2003 Regarding the Secondary Roads Unit; and Collective Bargaining Agreement for 2008-2010 with Public Professional and Maintenance Employees (PPME), IUPAT Local 2003 Regarding the Sheriff's Office Unit.................................... 6
Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier and Social Services Administrator Amy Correia: Part-Time Veteran Affairs Position........................................................................................................................... 7
County Engineer Greg Parker: Quotes Received for the Crack Sealing Program (Various Roads) 8
County Engineer Greg Parker: 120th Street Through the City of Shueyville......................... 8
County Engineer Greg Parker: Replacement of Wrecked Tandem Axle Dump Truck for FY 2010 11
Medical Examiner Michael Hensch: Medical Examiner Fee and Reimbursement Policy.... 13
Washington Economic Development Group Executive Director Ed Raber: Update on Grant Possibilities for Road Improvements to Facilitate Sale and Expansion of Chicken Processing Plant at 1956 520th Street, Kalona, Iowa..................................................................................................................................... 14
Johnson County Mental Health/Disability Services Director Kris Artley Re: Progress Report 15
Board of Supervisors: Appointment to the Johnson County Board of Health for an Unexpired Term Ending December 31, 2009...................................................................................................... 18
Reports and Inquiries from Executive Assistant Andy Johnson.......................................... 19
Reports and Inquiries from the Public................................................................................ 19
Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:29 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Larry Meyers, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek said the City of North Liberty has requested to continue their contract for law enforcement services. Legal work has been completed and it will be on the Board's Formal agenda on June 25, 2009. Sullivan asked if there are coordination problems with the North Liberty Police Department. Pulkrabek said this situation is a hybrid of the normal system and it is not uncommon for North Liberty to have a car patrolling while a Sheriff’s Deputy is in town. Sheriff’s Major Steve Dolezal said three or four cars could patrol a community that size at one time. Pulkrabek said that the Sheriff’s Office generally knows when North Liberty’s officers are not on duty so they try to fill those hours.
Stutsman asked what the $48,360 includes. Pulkrabek said this contract includes law enforcement coverage, with a separate contract for radio coverage. Stutsman asked if most communities have separate contracts. Pulkrabek said that contract is separate because other communities, except the City of Coralville, do not require dispatching services. Dolezal explained that the contracts are separate because Johnson County dispatches for the North Liberty Police Department. Both contracts will no longer be necessary when the new Joint Emergency Communication Center opens. Harney said the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t make money on these contracts so North Liberty should look at adding officers instead. Pulkrabek said North Liberty wanted to add two officers and eliminate the contract, but given the recession decided it was best to continue the contract.
Sullivan asked if the North Liberty City Council voted to approve the contract. Pulkrabek said he thinks the Council is ready to approve it and supports it, but the North Liberty City Attorney had questions so they’ve been working with the County on language changes. Although the municipality normally approves the contract first, July 1, 2009 is coming soon and the Sheriff’s Office wants to move forward. Neuzil asked if this is the last contract. Pulkrabek said it is.
Liveable Community for Successful Aging Board Member Reverend Bob Welsh said the County’s Livable Community Policy Board made a decision in January, 2009 to ask Elder Services to house and provide staff to support for the initiative. Elder Services Executive Director Mary Wiemann said her organization is very pleased to be housing and subcontracting with Public Health for staff support of the Livable Community Initiative. The PowerPoint she will present to the Board was a required deliverable for the Iowa Department of Elder Affairs (IDEA), which was one of the three original projects funded along with Johnson County and the Heritage Agency on Aging. The IDEA funding was provided to create a replicable model to be shared statewide and nationwide.
Wiemann said in September 2007 a community planning event was held where Iowa Department of Elder Affairs Head John McCalley was quoted as saying “many communities in Iowa are addressing the needs of seniors, but only in Johnson County is a comprehensive approach being made.” There is a demographic imperative because approximately 25% of the population in the State of Iowa is over the age of 65. People participating in finding a solution included Sullivan, the Department of Public Health, and the United Way. Former Public Health Director Ralph Wilmoth and Former United Way Executive Director Connie Benton-Wolfe brought a vision to the original planning process that affected the group dramatically when they left. However, the group has been able to move on. Wiemann said that another goal setting community event is schedule for September 17, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. The actions teams were devised from the original event based on input from the public and are still active.
Wiemann said the Community Partners and Engage Team was helpful in leveraging the initiative for national recognition where the group was awarded Excellence in Building Healthy Communities for Active Aging by the Environmental Protection Agency. They will host a second employment seminar for people over 50, have produced a book entitled Ageing Without Limits that is in its third edition, distribute a monthly newsletter distributed largely by email, and held television panels on several topics. Wiemann thanked the Board for issuing a proclamation for Older American’s Month in May. Wiemann said the Health Action Team has done training in rural Johnson County that included Eat Better, Moving More, a Train the Trainer: Successful Living with Chronic Disease, and Fall Prevention. The team will be at the County Fair promoting the topics. The team is also trying to leverage the initiative through a Wellmark grant. She said she saw several Board members at the town hall meeting with Senator Harkin, which the team cosponsored with AARP. Wiemann said the Housing Action Team has done a voluntary certification program with the Greater Iowa City Homebuilders Association, worked on code amendments, and had partners in the Parade of Homes.
Wiemann said the Transportation team has been one of the most active teams. Johnson County was one of 15 communities nationwide to receive scholarships for five individuals to go to a national training institute in Washington, D.C. to address the problem of transportation for seniors. Their transportation guide is in its second printing of 1,000 booklets. Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG) added senior users of the transportation system to their planning documents. JCCOG produced a survey showing that one of the major concerns of older adults of Johnson County is lane marking and the visibility of road signs. Wiemann said if changes are made for seniors, they benefit everyone.
Wiemann said one of the Livable Community for Successful Aging Policy Board’s deliverables to date is their website. It has several unique features including an interactive map for housing options and links for decision making advice. There is a large section on home and community based resources as it is Elder Service’s goal to keep people safe and independent in their own homes. The new site was introduced on television and in one month there were 569 visits with over one third being new visits that spent almost eight minutes on the site. There are currently 84 service providers listed on the site. The Policy Board’s tagline is ‘Where Persons Can Grow Up and Grow Old.’ It is based on the census projection that the senior population will reach 9,600 by 2010 and then 10,300 by 2015, but that figure was already reached in 2008. Wiemann said that not only are seniors a demographic imperative, but an economic engine in this community because it is a destination point for retirees. Those people will need access to home and community based services, assisted living facilities, and ultimately institutional care.
Wiemann said that in Fiscal Year 2010 the Policy Board’s funding will be $6,500 for the first half year with the possibility of another $6,500 in the later half. She said she was making some assumptions based on problems experienced in the original grant. Since Elder Services has become the subcontractor for this project, they have done a great deal with a part-time person as they have a larger synergy invested in this issue. There are funds to be carried over from FY09 showing the Elder Services can work with what the Board has allocated.
Wiemann said the Policy Board wanted to show the Board what it has accomplished in the last two years and note it has momentum now. If they were able to use the FY09 carryover in FY10, it would cover ten hours a week of an aging specialist needed at Elder Services. That doesn’t access the $25,000 from FY08 that is scheduled to return to the Board. She said if the Policy Board is not able to access the FY09 carryover, then they will only have two hours of website maintenance per week, and the September 2009 community planning event would be at risk. There is no focal point for future funding opportunities. They are currently participating with the Heritage Area Agency on Aging for a grant from the Administration on Aging that is looking for communities that have both aging and disability resource center experience. Johnson County is unique as a Livable Community that has been funded locally. There were five Administrations on Agency Livable Communities funded so Johnson County is in a good position to gain the funding if they maintain the momentum. The Policy Board is looking for other funding options as well so they do not need to ask for funds from the Board every year. The initiative is moving forward, but the baby boomer bubble is coming and they will need resources available. The initiative is helping with those resources, answering the phone and moving the agenda forward.
Sullivan said that this initiative has benefited from a tremendous amount of volunteer hours from dozens of volunteers. He thanked Eve Casserly and Reverend Bob Welsh who were in attendance. Elder Services Livable Community Coordinator Kate Getty said she has only been with the initiative a short time, but there were hundreds of hours by volunteers any time she has needed assistance and people have dropped everything to help. She said this is an amazing community.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said she needs direction from the Board as it relates to collective bargaining and employee benefits regarding the continuation of domestic partner benefits now that same sex marriage is legal. She asked if the County continues same sex domestic partner benefits, if they would extend domestic partner coverage to heterosexual couples who do not want to enter into a common law marriage affidavit. Iowa legalized same sex marriage effective April 27, 2009. Marriage is considered a qualifying event whereby employees may, within 31 days, come to the County and add their spouse to the benefit plan. To date, the County has had one same sex spouse added to the benefits. The County has offered same sex domestic partner benefits since July 1, 1997. Opposite sex domestic partners could obtain health benefits by signing the common law marriage affidavit for coverage with Wellmark, but the marriage is legally binding and a divorce is needed for dissolution. Same sex domestic partners did not have this option legally until April 27, 2009.
Shramek said the County patterned their affidavit of domestic partnership after the University of Iowa and the City of Iowa City. No official decision has been made at Iowa City, but their most likely course of action is to discontinue domestic partner benefits now that all employees have the ability to marry. They would give employees who are currently covered domestic partners a reasonable time to marry, approximately a year, before removing them from insurance. The University of Iowa will continue domestic partner benefits to both same sex and opposite sex couples as they have in the past.
Shramek said the County bargained same sex domestic coverage into all collective bargaining contracts with coverage being offered through June 30, 2010. Currently one employee has a same sex domestic on the benefit plan. Historically employees who receive domestic partner benefits were taxed on the difference between the single and family plan. In effect of January 1, 2009, the County changed the way the benefit was taxed to the value the change brings to the plan. For example, if someone adds a partner, they are taxed on the value of a single plan. Shramek said there is an issue of fairness. Under the County Affirmative Action Employment Opportunity Policy, it states the County treats employees fairly without regard to sexual orientation. Limiting domestic partner coverage to same sex couples brings up a fairness issue for opposite sex couples.
Shramek recommended the Board approve direction to discontinue same sex domestic partner coverage effective July 1, 2010 with a signed letter of agreement stating that in the event same sex marriage was constitutionally banned, domestic partner coverage would automatically be offered again. Regardless of what the Board decides, she recommends the County grandfather employees that are currently on a domestic partner plan through July 1, 2010 rather than forcing them to get married. Stutsman asked if there is only one person using the option. Shramek agreed, but said that anyone could be added up until July 1, 2009. Stutsman asked if Shramek’s recommendation is to only offer insurance to married couples. Shramek said that she recommends the County offer the common law marriage affidavit because now everyone is able to take advantage. County Attorney Janet Lyness said that Iowa has no time period requirement for a common law marriage. Sullivan said he likes the idea of grandfathering individuals in because it will take people over a year to plan a big wedding. Stutsman asked for clarification on what change was being requested. Shramek said that they want to bargain the domestic partner benefit currently offered in all six contracts back out after June 30, 2010 because now everyone has the right to be married.
Neuzil said he believes domestic partner benefits for county employees are unique to Johnson County. Fairness really hits at the heart of the issue so if the County continues to allow the benefits for same sex couples, they should also allow it for heterosexual couples or none at all. Neuzil said that Shramek’s recommendation allows for flexibility for employees that choose to have the domestic partner coverage currently. Harney said although he agrees in carrying over the couple already with coverage, he thinks July 1, 2009 would be the designation of who could be covered by insurance. Shramek said that like the budget process, the County starts the collective bargaining process over a year in advance so those contracts are already in place for next year. The change would need to begin on July 1, 2010. Harney said that as the law has changed, the County would follow that instead. Shramek said that as the law has changed, same sex couples have the choice of either way to get coverage. Sullivan asked if anyone who receives their insurance through this option is aware the Board is discussing this and asked if they have concerns or comments. Shramek said they are not aware. Sullivan asked Shramek to ask for comments from those individuals. Shramek said that the Board does not need to take a decision at the next formal meeting and she believes it’s important to get input from employees.
Shramek said the County settled three one year agreements with Public Professional and Maintenance Employees. All three contracts had a 3% cost of living adjustment and insurance changes effective January 1, 2010 including increased deductibles and out of pocket maximums, a vision coverage contribution, and enhanced dental benefits. Specifically, the administrative unit contract also added a sick leave payout.
Shramek said the Secondary Roads Unit and the Sheriff’s Office Unit had an increase in the family health rates of $5 per month per family which puts them in line at $30 per month with everyone else. Everything else is the same. Neuzil asked if Shramek would like to place them on the formal agenda. Shramek agreed. Harney asked if there were any changes in coverage like in eye care. Shramek said the vision benefit is new, with employees paying $6.50 per month starting January 1, 2010 although with the enhanced dental.
Social Services Administrator Amy Correia said in her discussions with Human Resources, the best way to increase the Veteran’s Affairs coverage to 40 per week is to establish a 10 hour per week part-time Veterans Affairs Assistant position to supplement Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier’s 30 hours per week. It would be housed in the social services contract. Once finalized the job description would be posted internally within the Social Service Unit for anyone who is part-time to move to full-time. If not, they would open the position to the public. Neuzil said increasing to 40 hours per week was a change made during the last legislative session, signed by the Governor as an unfunded mandate to dictate what county government can and cannot do. The County explored a possible exception as the County has different opportunities for Veterans than other counties. Correia said they received a letter from the Governor’s Office saying the County needs to comply. Baier said he hoped raising his hours to 30 per week would suffice.
Stutsman said the Board does want to serve Veterans. Baier said the only other county with a Veteran Affairs Hospital, which also offers services, is Polk County. Stutsman said the County is receiving $10,000 from the State to help cover the cost. Correia said it won’t cover the full cost. Meyers said the funding is only for one year. Baier said they don’t know beyond this year. Harney said the $10,000 is also to help pay for the mandatory training. Baier said it is only for salary. Correia said that whoever the County hires will be required to be accredited. There is training in October 19-23, 2009 in Des Moines. Sullivan said the Board does want someone to sit there for 10 hours without anything to do if people are accessing services through the VA Hospital. Baier said that there will be plenty of work to do and if there is any additional time, they could do general administration work for social services. He said he and Correia are going to work together.
Correia asked for the job description to be placed on next week’s formal agenda. She said the job description is similar to the General Assistance Assistant with items from the Veterans Affairs Director job description unique to that department. If the description is approved Thursday, it would be posted internally for five days and then go from there with hopes of the position starting in July. Harney asked if someone from Social Services is going to take the position or if they will need to hire someone new. Correia said there is a part-time person in General Assistance who is interested in the extra hours, so it is likely she will bid on this position. She said when considering the possibilities for establishing the 40 hours, there was thought of moving the General Assistance position to full time, but there are HR reasons why they cannot so the recommendation is to create a new position at 10 hours per week. Neuzil said the Board will put the item on next week’s formal agenda.
County Engineer Greg Parker said Secondary Roads has put a request for quotes together to crack seal pavements that are needed to minimize damaging water intrusion. They received four quotes, the lowest from Ilowa Investment out of Bluegrass, Iowa for $54,366.50 with the high quote from Dynco Corporation for $110,084.84. The engineer’s estimate was $67,250, so it may allow Secondary Roads to complete some additional sealing. Parker asked the Board to place Ilowa Investment from Bluegrass, Iowa on next week’s formal agenda for a contract at $54,366.50. Sullivan asked if the company has worked with the County or other secondary roads departments before. Parker said all companies that submitted quotes are certified on the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) bidders list. Typically if a company is certified through the DOT, Secondary Roads has been happy with their performance so there is no reason not to proceed.
Parker said during the 5 Year Road Plan discussions, the City of Shueyville petitioned the Board to consider 120th Street from Curtis Bridge Road west to the bank. Shueyville established a blight area and are now back for input from the Board where they should go from here. Shueyville City Engineer Dave Schechinger said Shueyville has been updating the Urban Renewal Plan to include 120th Street in the blighted area so the County could bond for improvements without meeting some of the usual requirements. Shueyville has been working with bond counsel to create a draft 28E agreement and there is a meeting tonight with the school district, County, and Shueyville to look at the Urban Renewal Plan before Shueyville can adopt it. Schechinger said Shueyville has prepared all the information they can. Now the County’s Bond Council needs to see if there is any additional procedures required. Bonding Attorney Bob Jostens and Treasurer Tom Kriz need directive from the Board in order to move forward. Schechinger asked the Board to give direction to the Bond Council to work with the City on this project.
Stutsman asked if Shueyville has chosen a design for this road. Schechinger said they have not because if the County can’t bond for it, Shueyville cannot afford to proceed. Shueyville would like to make sure the project will more forward before spending funds on design. Stutsman said they don’t know what the cost will be beyond estimates then. Schechinger said there was a preliminary design to lay out the road for a cost estimate, which was $2,000,000. Stutsman asked if the County should bond for this project or if they could borrow the money. Kriz said this project would be $2,000,000 to $2,300,000 bonded over 20 years, meaning it will be a $6,000,000 project payback with the interest. The County Finance Committee talked about looking at different funding options with the money to be paid back by Shueyville over that time. The County cannot bond in this next fiscal year so the soonest they could bond for this project would be July 2010. Kriz asked who will pay the fees for the next year if the Board directs it to bond counsel. Kriz said he did not want to commit the County to those fees until the Board considered the various options. It is not common to bond for that amount over 20 years, but it has been done. The stumbling block is who will fund the project over the next year for design work and bond counsel fees. The County Attorney’s Office would also need to approve the 28E Agreement.
Neuzil said the Board would also have to consider that bonding would be a significant change of policy as rural roads are normally paid out of the Rural Fund rather than the General Fund. Also, this project is not on the Five Year Road Plan and if the Board uses Rural Fund monies to pay for this, another road that is on the Five Year Road Plan will be removed. He said the design would have an impact on his decision making, especially if it is being primarily funded by the County. The Board also needs to consider the impact this project will have on the County’s ability to bond for other projects.
Stutsman said Shueyville is asking the County to upfront this project with a large expense, while a large portion of Shueyville is in a TIF district. She asked what Shueyville is doing with those dollars. The Shueyville City Council members are elected officials and have their choice where to use those funds. She asked if the County doesn’t get any tax increment from the area, how much should the Board spend so Shueyville doesn’t have to. Schechinger said the majority of Shueyville is TIF financed with the monies from the TIF district being allocated currently to the community center. Once that project is finished, the remaining funds will be spent on 120th Street.
Sullivan said the reason the County is responsible for this project is the size of Shueyville, but if the population was 500 people or more it would be Shueyville’s responsibility. Schechinger said transfer jurisdiction doesn’t revert until the City reaches a population of 750 because Shueyville was not larger than 500 people at the time the law was changed. Johnson said that Shueyville is not providing any sewers or water like the County. Shueyville could easily annex population to 1,000 if desired as the surrounding area is developed and their assessments would not rise for city amenities. Schechinger said before much of the development surrounding Shueyville took place, the area should have been annexed, but now the people that live there have no reason to want to be annexed. Schechinger says the situation is unfortunate. The road is heavily traveled by both county and city residents and there is no reason to think the area will stop growing. He said if the City merely resurfaces this road, it would be doing a disservice to residents 25 years from now. A major project is necessary to add shoulders and may require a sidewalk and sewer for the future. Schechinger said that if the County doesn’t want to plan for those things, he doesn’t want to be involved in the project because it’s just putting a Band-Aid on.
Parker said that early in this project, he and Schechinger discussed the level of improvements needed. It became apparent that for the road to be safe and drivable, the majority would need to be repaired yet it would still be fairly unsafe without the shoulder. That is why Secondary Roads is not proposing a patching process or reconstruction. Secondary Roads is proposing putting six foot asphalt shoulders on the sides of the rural section and adding curb and gutter so it fits in the JCCOG master trail plan. Secondary Roads is planning this so they can ultimately expand to reach the three lane road JCCOG recommends. What they are planning and can currently afford will be a drastic improvement. The preliminary design estimate includes the costs for those elements.
Harney said he would like to see a good design in that area. It is easier to buy needed property up front than to go back at a later date. He said he receives more complaints about this section of road than anywhere in the County. The County needs to come to some type of agreement as Shueyville is offering to pay for their section and it is in everyone’s best interests. Stutsman agreed the road needs to be redone, but there are several issues to think through as to what the County is taking this project on for the benefit of Shueyville. She asked if it is in the County’s best interest to assume the expense and postpone other projects. Neuzil said that is really the question. If the County bonds for this project, the Board would not need to postpone any projects, but he is not sure that is the best route. After yesterday’s Finance Committee meeting, he believes another approach may be necessary. He said he likes the idea of Shueyville investing in that road. He said if the Board does not use bonding, they will have to reprioritize the Five Year Road Plan. If the County doesn’t bond, he still believes this is the right opportunity to make that investment, with the County funding that project and being paid back over a period of years. He said even if that means bumping projects back, the Board should move forward.
Harney agreed, but said the reason the road is not on the Five Year Road Plan is there was not a design in place. He said the Board keeps pushing it back, but it needs to be addressed. Schechinger said that there has been an issue previously with the County owning one side and the City owning another. By improving the road, the yearly maintenance expense will offset some of the cost. Maintenance Supervisor Kevin Hackathorn said it would require approximately $330,000 to repair. If the County does too much patching, it may appear to the DOT, Secondary Roads is trying to get around their design guidelines.
Stutsman said she wants to know how much it will cost the County to bond for this project as proposed versus other options where Shueyville would put more money into this project on a shorter time frame. She said the Shueyville City Council may have to decide their taxpayers are going to have to contribute more to this project than originally anticipated. Neuzil said when the County has done projects for communities, the County has been paid back. The time frame for this project is farther out then usual. Kriz said the Treasurer’s Office can look into the details of the County spending paybacks or other funding options, but has had no direction to do so. The County has been trying to take the debt down and needs to consider they have a $20,000,000 Conservation Bond even if they don’t know how much that will add. He said there is a lot of serviceable debt, but the County can see spikes as a result.
Stutsman said that the elected officials of Shueyville made a decision to fund a community center before this road and now they are almost asking the County to pick up the slack. That puts the Board in a difficult position as they didn’t have a say in the community center decision. She said all that enters into her decision making process. Neuzil said the Board needs to give direction and possibly place the issue back on a future agenda. If the County is spending $300,000 in repairing the road and maintenance versus making an investment to improve the road and being reimbursed, it’s a pretty good deal. Stutsman said she doesn’t have an issue with amending the Five Year Road Plan, but the Board needs to work out the details.
Harney said he doesn’t want to build more debt, but the Board has directed the County Engineer to research the bonding possibility. The County still hasn’t contacted their bonding agent to see exactly what it’s going to cost, what the restrictions would be, what a good timeframe for repayment would be and even if it is feasible. There was a breakdown between the County Engineer, the Treasurer and Shueyville as to who had the authority to direct someone to do so. Either the Board should give that direction or decide to taking on the funding themselves.
Schechinger said his initial inclination is to fund the project through the Five Year Road Plan with an agreement with the City that the funds are repaid. He would want to make sure they improve it to the JCCOG standards rather than replacing what is there. Neuzil said the Board needs to look at the Five Year Road Plan to see what wouldn’t be funded then and what the timeframe would be. Stutsman said that speaking for the taxpayers in the southern part of the County, she receives more complaints on the areas around Lone Tree.
Kriz said he needs direction to look at alternatives to bonding, including County funding. Stutsman said she would like a spreadsheet comparing both options. Kriz said he could have Springstead and Associates put together figures for bonding and put together internal numbers looking at changing investments and the impact of maintenance. Neuzil directed Parker to work with Kriz to determine what funding is available and what projects would be put on hold. Stutsman said it sounds like the Board wants to proceed with the project, but needs to determine how to fund it. Kriz said he would speak with Josten about alternatives to bonding as well and suggested Schechinger to forward the 28E Agreement to the County Attorney’s Office. The Board directed everybody to investigate the options and place the item back on the informal agenda for an update.
Parker said Secondary Roads discussed the possibility of replacing this piece of equipment in 2010, but the budget recommendation was to remove all new equipment replacement from the proposed budgets so there is no funding to replace it. Unfortunately this vehicle blew the front right tire on Highway 218, totaling it. No one was hurt. Secondary Roads is down a dump truck which would normally be part of their operational activities like rock hauling, snow plowing, and ditch cleaning. The vehicle was ten years old with 150,000 miles on it. In the past, there has been a plan to replace equipment around the 10 year mark because of the cost of repair and maintenance. Secondary Roads took quotes to replace the trucks with the low quote returning at $101,691.58. The insurance payout for the totaled vehicle was $22,125. Secondary Roads sold a piece of property remnant off Prairie du Chien Road purchased for that project and is asking the Board if the $65,000 could be allocated for this purchase. With those two sources of funding, the difference would be $15,000 to cover the purchase. Parker said if the Board approves, the $15,000 would be amended in new equipment but absorbed by the Maintenance Budget.
Harney asked if it is possible to downsize the new purchase. Hackathorn said that if the Board wants to continue using it for rock hauling and snow removal, the larger size is necessary. He is said if the vendor can reduce the truck’s turning radius, he would recommend it. A Volvo already meets all Secondary Roads’ specifications, but is $3,700 more. Hackathorn said that he is trying to get the cheapest truck possible, while getting it to function as they need it to. Sullivan asked if Secondary Roads has a backup truck available or if they have been down a truck since the accident. Hackathorn said Secondary Roads has been down four trucks as they lack the maintenance funding to fix them until the new fiscal year. As the County postpones replacing the vehicles, the maintenance situation won’t improve. Secondary Roads usually runs with two extra trucks, which they use in winter and still run a little short. Winter operations takes the biggest toll on their vehicles.
Stutsman asked if the $14,000 would have to come out of reserves. Parker said he hopes it will be absorbed by the maintenance budget because they’re hoping for a less than average winter this coming year. If the County has another extraordinary winter or spring, Secondary Roads would likely have to tap into the Residual Cash Reserve Account to cover other expenses.
Meyers asked how important the turning radius is. Hackathorn said when the County first started providing better service in the winter, Secondary Roads had single axel trucks. To step up the service, they had to purchase bigger trucks. There are a lot of dead ends where operators need to turn around, so the bigger the radius the more jockeying they have to do. It is difficult in the County’s narrow right of ways to get a truck that size turned around. It helps operators do their job better. Meyers asked if the $101,000 truck has the questionable turning radius. Hackathorn said the Volvo is 30.1 feet and the International is about 31 plus currently. Meyers asked if the better option is the Volvo if the turning radius can’t be changed. Hackathorn said the next best one is a Kenworth with a 39 foot turning radius. Neuzil asked how replacing this vehicle now would affect the current schedule of vehicle replacements. Hackathorn replied that Secondary Roads has no money in their equipment budget and half the equipment repair budget was lost last year. He said the schedule is currently on hold. Harney asked if the proposed truck will be compatible with the current equipment. Hackathorn said they plan to use parts from the wrecked truck.
Neuzil asked if Secondary Roads needs official direction to use the $65,000 from the land sale. Stutsman said the Board does not always assume a department receives the insurance money from a vehicle. Secondary Roads has also assumed the Board will give them money from the land sale for this project, but those monies usually go back to the General Fund. She is concerned about departments assuming they will get certain monies and would like the Board to think about how to spend the money. The insurance money from the hail damage a few years ago did not automatically go back into the Secondary Roads Fund. Stutsman said she is also concerned about the Secondary Roads budget. She has heard complaints about the right-of-ways not being mowed. She said the Board needs to consider the unintended consequences of not funding the Secondary Roads maintenance budget. She said she has to tell irate tax payers the right-of-way can’t be mowed because a mower is out of service. Hackathorn said this time of year being a truck short is not a big problem, because they’ve finished rock hauling. If the truck isn’t replaced though, the Board may get similar calls about plowing roads this winter.
Sullivan said he doesn’t believe Secondary Roads is being presumptuous, but was presenting possible options to the Board. He said he doesn’t see how the County can go without the truck because there’s a baseline level of service expected. He said the funding options Secondary Roads has proposed sound like a good investment. Sullivan said he would like to see the Board move forward. Neuzil said the Board will need to see how to shift the funds procedurally before they make a final decision. Parker said Secondary Roads was not being presumptuous, but is trying to come up with creative ways to cover expenses. Hackathorn said to get a truck in before it is needed, Secondary Roads needs to order it shortly because there’s a 120 day ordering timeframe. Stutsman said the Finance Committee discussed what level of service the County can provide with budgets getting tighter. She said the County is always putting things off for another day and will have tough decisions to make eventually. The Board directed Secondary Roads to work with Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne and place the item on another informal agenda.
Recessed at 11:10 a.m.; reconvened at 11:18 a.m.
Medical Examiner Michael Hensch said the Iowa Administrative Code requires the County to pay the investigative fee and actual expenses to the medical examiner appointed to the county. The County has three medical examiners, a Chief Medical Examiner and two Deputy Medical Examiners, the Board appoints every two years. They are not employees of the County. Presently the medical examiners receive $125 for every 24 hour period they are on call rather than a call out basis, which was determined in 2004. By law the examiners are the only people who can sign a death certificate as a licensed physician is required. The fee amount was last increased in 2004 and he would like to add an inflationary increase this year to $150 per 24 hour period. That amount of money was included in the budget for Fiscal Year 2010. Hensch also asked the Board to formalize the examiner’s reimbursement policy stating although the examiners are not County employees, they would adhere to the same requirements. He said Chief Medical Examiner Michael Scheckel has approved this proposal.
Neuzil asked if this increase would be affective July 1, 2009. Hensch agreed. Sullivan asked how Johnson County compares to other urban counties in process and payment. Hensch said the only fair comparison is with Polk County as there’s only two Level 1 Trauma Centers in the state. Polk County has their own forensic pathologist who is paid approximately $230,000 per year with a larger staff and their own facility. Most counties charge a flat fee of $200 or $300 for an investigation without breaking down actual expenses. When the County medical examiners bill other counties, they bill based on actual expenses for time spent. Meyers if there is an examiner on duty at all times. Hensch agreed.
Stutsman asked if anything more has been done to allow for reimbursement by counties out of state. Hensch said there has not, but their department gets 100% remittance to other counties and from the Department for Corrections. It is stated in the Code of Iowa that the Medical Examiner can only bill another state, and then through the Public Health Department only if a police offer directs a person to come to Iowa. As EMS always picks them up or they are flown to Iowa, the Medical Examiner does not have access to that mechanism. Neuzil asked if Hensch could show the Board how much lack of out of state payments cost taxpayers per year in a future report. Hensch said as The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) is a regional trauma center, people from Illinois routinely come for major traumas. Stutsman said that the Board may need to make this a legislative priority to have the language in the Code changed. Hensch said this only likely applies to Johnson County as Polk County is in the center of the state. He said the hospital receives people from Missouri, southwestern Wisconsin and western Illinois. The Board placed the item on next week’s formal agenda.
Washington Economic Development Group Executive Director Ed Raber said since the last update, the client has been working with the Federation Bank in Washington County to secure financing from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). He met with County staff from Planning and Zoning and Glenn Meisner of MMS Consultants to iron out some issues. One issue is the County has not yet selected a route for improvement so Parker asked JCCOG to provide a recommendation that will be ready in a few weeks time. Unfortunately the County will not be able to apply for a RISE Grant until the Board has decided, so that application could not be heard until the August DOT Commission meeting. For it to be considered at the July meeting, it would have to be submitted in the next week.
Raber said the possible gap between procured funding sources and the actual cost of the road was discussed with the client at last week’s meeting. He asked for direction from the Board as to how to approach that question in the coming weeks. Neuzil said the Board will need to know what kind of County investment is needed versus other sources for fully funding the project. He said again if they’re looking at amending the Five Year Road Plan. Stutsman said the County will directly benefit from the tax dollars invested. Raber said he is not advocating for the clients, but suggesting the client meet with the Board to discuss possibilities. Neuzil said the meeting would have to be in a public setting with an agenda, but the Board could add them to next week’s informal agenda. He said possible routes should also be added to the agenda.
Harney asked if the Board could submit their application without the route and add it later. Raber said he has not submitted an application for RISE funding previously, but after consideration at their last meeting they felt that would not be a good choice. Sullivan said it was his impression there were some Johnson and Washington County haulers who had contractors with this plant previously. He asked if it would be wise contacting them to see their preferred route as those routes may be the best option. Parker said one of their routes was straight off Highway 1 so there weren't any turns. Stutsman said it depends on the direction from which the trucks come.
Neuzil asked if anything had been determined about the possibility of using Industrial Revenue Bonds. Raber said it could be done at the Board’s discretion, as in the past, through the Industrial Property Tax Exemption as outlined in the Code. The Code does not require a special district, but is based on usage. The County can make an agreement with the company that whatever tax exemptions the County provides, will be required towards the cost of the road. Neuzil said the Board should hear from Planning and Zoning who worked with Syngenta Seeds on the previous project. Raber said currently it is difficult to estimate how much the increase in property value would be, but the client likes the idea.
Mental Health/Disability Services Director Kris Artley said many initiatives were started in early 2008 that were resolved this fiscal year. The Mental Health/Disability Services (MH/DS) Management Plan, which was approved by the State of Iowa, was updated to incorporate residency laws that were effective July 1, 2007. The counties were left to iron out the issues of residency versus legal settlement in determining who will pay and whose management plan guides the service plan for individual clients. Services also had to be redefined as some of the previous Management Plan definitions were outdated. MH/DS also delineated some of the County’s expectations of contracted preferred providers locally. The Planning Council assigned a taskforce to do this work during early 2008 before holding a public hearing and submitting it to the State for approval.
Artley said in the same timeframe, MH/DS was due for the Targeted Case Management Program accreditation where they received the highest level of State certification through November 2011. The policies and procedures were changed to the newest language for the guidelines. In that process of reviewing, MH/DS started looking at the Mental Health side and the targeted case management side to determine what type of internal system accountability could be developed. The objective of targeted case management is to produce a billable service securing payments. Tracking payment is problematic because there are a myriad of reasons why requests are denied by Iowa Medicaid Enterprise or Magellan for reimbursement of services. MH/DS reconciled the previous year’s receipts to make sure what was received was what was billed for. Magellan is the State’s approved provider for reimbursing case management for people with chronic mental illness. Each application has to have a prior authorization by Magellan or it is not paid. Prior authorization was assigned to the quality assurance specialists to track everyone coming into the system, which is working well. MH/DS started a spreadsheet tracking the targeted case management billable services on a monthly basis. This spreadsheet also shows deficits by case managers so they can better determine billable results.
Artley said since she began in 2007, they have started to part the ways between the Central Point of Coordination (CPC) application process and the services of the targeted case management process. MH/DS has tried to specialize staff and realign the staff structure to meet that division of labor. They created an intake team rather than the two people, one person in the office and another sharing time with the court system. Now there are four people who work in intake. One person handles the intake for the Mental Health Center and another specializes in court commitment cases and the other two focus on intakes at UIHC before patients reenter the community without services. They can also cover for each other. When that isn’t necessary they work on maintenance cases, which are people who don’t have things like interaction goals.
Artley said MH/DS also designated an approved case management position to start the targeted case management casework as there is a lot of preliminary work and assessments required before MH/DS can bill Medicaid. If it was assigned to a case manager, the assessments would likely sit on their desk as they have other clients in crisis. This person is dedicated to get the cases opened before they are assigned. This person averaged three new cases a week in March 2009, but now it is down to two.
Artley said MH/DS updated job descriptions to reflect current verbiage and reclassified a word processing position to a Clerk I position. Currently MH/DS has three positions open, but due to budgetary constraints, they are trying to handle the workload without filling them.
Artley said the management staff has tried to become familiar with local provider’s services to identify holes in the service system. One identified issue MH/DS had was securing injectable medications easily that aren’t covered by Medicaid. They also identified a need for a midlevel service to provide the educational component of medication monitoring management so they’ve been working with the Mental Health Center to provide the psychiatric nursing piece as a step in between the psychiatric level. MH/DS also identified several available prevocational services, which is a Medicaid funded service with the Federal share only being offset by 31.18%. A year ago the offset was 62%. The reduction is an effect of stimulus dollars. Goodwill Industries offers the service, so MH/DS is going to phase as many people currently receiving 100% County funded services over, which may save the County $150,000 over time.
Artley said MH/DS found the previous Service Management Plan was too rigid in the allotment of capped dollars for vocational and supported community living services. MH/DS took a ceiling figure and gave case managers the flexibility to switch back and forth based on the client’s needs.
Artley said the FY10 budget was her greatest challenge since 1988. She said the State Legislature took monies away in December and January, but have since reinstated them. All system growth for FY10 is now predicated on stimulus dollars, which won’t be around in future years so MH/DS needs to be careful how much growth they allow in their system. Artley said MH/DS has finalized rate negotiations and added two new provider contracts for services. She said there is a good roster of providers with most needs being met except the issues identified earlier.
Artley said MH/DS is focusing on quality assurance measures, like changing their filing system from manila folders to systematic indexed binders. An index committee went through the rules and regulations to implement it. Record reviews are now able to be completed using a systematic approach. MH/DS promotes waiver services whenever feasible as it saves cost to the County. They have also been providing on site intake for CPC services at the Community Mental Health Center two afternoons a week. MH/DS recently had two staff members invited to speak with residents at the Psychiatric Department of UIHC on the MH/DS process in Johnson County.
Artley said over the last twelve months, MH/DS has focused on working with the Budget Coordinator and the Auditor’s Office staff along with their her Financial and Statistical Supervisor to understand the whys of what is required to be submitted to the State. They are also trying to eliminate unused chart of account numbers that didn’t work with new services.
Artley said MH/DS worked with Facilities Manager David Kempf, Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia, and the Department of Human Services to move MH/DS to the new building. A copier and industrial shredder was purchased for the new office. A new vehicle was purchased to replace a vehicle that staff no longer felt was safe to drive out of town. MH/DS holds a weekly meeting with staff to review exception to policy requests to investigate any additional funding options. They created a new emergency contract form for staff member’s contact details. Artley said administrative staff report meetings have started and the cohesiveness of the group is growing as staff starts to share responsibilities. Staff schedule changes are now coming to one central location rather than individual supervisors and are input onto a master calendar everyone can access. MH/DS has dedicated staff to assist the prescription assistance applications to track updating prescriptions and check for appropriate signatures. MH/DS recontracted with area pharmacies to operate the Johnson County Medication Formulary, which has saved a tremendous amount of money. Artley said MH/DS has ordered voice recognition software for staff to avoid hiring the Clerk I position for the targeted case managers.
Artley said a future need for MH/DS will be to add case managers if the program continues to grow as it is. The three open positions are a Contract Coordinator, a Supervisor, and a Clerk I. Artley said there are initiatives she would like to implement, but she is not able to due to the workload of the two supervisors currently working. The Community Services Network is the management information system currently being created for MH/DS. Neuzil said he is on the Iowa Access Advisory Council funding the project. Artley said the goal is to have a system that centralizes county information so the Iowa Department of Human Services has access to information without having each county send it individually. State billing through this system would save paper and provide better coordination. The pilot phase begins this summer. MH/DS also wants to tie into the ISIS System that lists all people who are using waiver services.
Artley said the State is insisting the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the Federal level is requiring a change from monthly billing to a 15 minute billable unit. To track that necessitates case managers track their time minute per minute, which is a nightmare. Currently MH/DS is trying to take six months of history to develop a projected cost report to determine an hourly rate that will be billed in 15 minute increments. The State has not yet officially taken action on this decision so there are no definitive guidelines. There is also an interpretation by the Department of Human Services that case managers are on call at all times, which will be taken to the Targeted Case Management Advisory Board next Monday for discussion. MH/DS is reviewing their encumbrance methodologies so after July 1, 2009 any bill showing the service is being underused by 10% or more will be forwarded to the case manager to review client need. They want to bring the encumbrance down to reflect the service need rather than the hoped for level of service. As of July 1, 2009 psychiatric services from the Mental Health Center will be billed in 15 minute increments, which may elevate many exception to policy requests. The State will be reviewing the concept of regionalization yet again and Artley thinks it will be approved eventually.
Board of Supervisors Executive Assistant Andy Johnson said Laura Reed has resigned. There were three applications for her position. The recommendation is for Dr. Mary Kanak of Coralville to be appointed. The Board placed the item on next week’s formal agenda.
Johnson said the Board is confirmed for the township trustee training on September 14, 2009 along with the County Attorney’s Office and the Auditor’s Office. There have been inquiries about the I-Jobs program. There is a regional meeting on June 29, 2009 on competitive grants for cities, counties and non-profit organizations and will discuss job creation, financial feasibility, sustainability, benefits to disaster recovery and readiness to proceed. Next week’s meetings include a Key Issues Meeting on Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. with the Board meeting on Thursday at 9:00 a.m.
Reverend Bob Welsh said he wanted to express his appreciation to Artley for her work since assuming the MH/DS Director’s position. He wanted to stress the importance of legislation changing the cap from a dollar figure to a percentage figure because as the dollar is caped inflation decreases services available. He asked the Board to make it a top priority in their discussions with the State Legislature.
Adjourned at 12:08 p.m.
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary