MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
OCTOBER 26, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Review and Consideration of Budget Goals Identified in Strategic Planning................................ 1
Review of NACo Budget Recommendations............................................................................ 3
Department Budgets............................................................................................................... 4
SEATS (12)............................................................................................................... 4
Veterans Affairs (50)................................................................................................. 6
Planning and Zoning (19)............................................................................................. 7
Other....................................................................................................................... 10
FY 2011 County Budget........................................................................................................ 11
Budget Requests for Entities that Promote Economic Development.............................. 11
Annual Allocation for East Central Iowa Council of Governments................................ 12
Other....................................................................................................................... 13
Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building at 9:02 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson said the Board has a sheet with items they have been working on in strategic planning. The goals are what have been identified by the Board in the past for broad strategic goals. Johnson listed the goals and strategies the Board had considered at the last meeting and added the additions that were suggested. Johnson said the budget includes paying off the debt on the Health and Human Services Building which they should be able to do this year. They also included keeping tax increases minimal as well as addressing the level of service, ambulance response time, response time for deputies, and the maintenance of roads and the prioritization of projects. Two additional goals are building up reserves and developing the trust of elected officials and department heads.
Neuzil asked for clarification on the development of trust goal. Johnson replied that means the Board needs the trust of department heads and elected officials so no one feels the need to unnecessarily pad their budgets. Stutsman added that the Board hopes budgets will not overestimate expenditures and underestimate revenues and managers will trust that the Board will take care of any unforeseen expenses. Neuzil said it is important to understand what is meant by this to avoid any misinterpretations of the word trust.
Johnson said some strategies the Board discussed is funded but unfilled positions, and asking department heads and elected officials how they would implement a 2% cut in their budget if necessary. They discussed the plan for Economic Development and Quality of Life Block Grants at the Key Issues Meeting and have directed that to the Economic Development Committee. Johnson said they also want input from elected officials about the goals which is on the agenda for the afternoon meeting. He said the Board also wanted to discuss the mandated and non-mandated services and contractual obligations. Identified at the last meeting were the block grants, services, and libraries. Johnson thought those were the social services and economic development block grants. Sullivan thought they were talking about all things under block grants. For services he thought they were talking about non-mandated services the County provides. Neuzil said for services they were looking at level of service and what is the public's expectation. He said for example, when someone calls 911 they expect someone to show up, but if someone comes into the Recorder's Office, do they receive their requested document immediately or two days later. Stutsman said Secondary Roads is also included. Johnson said the last two strategies include tracking funds to verify expenditures have been approved, and he thinks there was a consensus at a prior meeting to not have an increase in non-mandated block grants.
Neuzil said in reference to the no increase in non-mandated block grants, he recalls the Board discussed setting up contracts differently to avoid the problems of 2003-2004 when the State refused to fund tax credits so the Board had to tell departments to cut 4% from the end of the budget year yet all the block grants were not affected because the Board committed to paying those in full.
Sullivan said the Board had discussed a mid-year review. Neuzil said they could commit to fund all non-mandated block grants for the first half of the year and then review after the third quarter, so that they would at least have the ability to cut back if needed. He said the City of Iowa City cut their block grants. He wants to do what he can to ensure fairness if cutbacks are requested. Sullivan suggested putting the other organizations and entities on notice that this could happen. Neuzil said that more often lately, payment for the block grant has been requested in full at the beginning of the year.
Stutsman said they should implement quarterly appropriations for all the departments as they used to do years ago. Sullivan said he thinks this might create a lot of work for Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne and suggested twice a year as an alternative. Claiborne said they should look at that. Neuzil said the block grants are mainly used to pay salaries and operating expenses. Johnson said many times donations at the end of the year get them through the beginning of the following year. Stutsman said the agencies may have to change their way of doing things.
Neuzil said he wants to avoid a situation where an agency gets paid in full when the Board is going to do a mid-year review and then have to ask the agency to pay back the County. Stutsman said she is concerned that some agencies are getting pretty dependent on County funding. She thinks they need to send the message that there are no guarantees. Neuzil said they have to honor their prior commitments to pay off capital campaigns for ICAD and the Historical Society. Sullivan added there are also a couple of CAT grants. Stutsman said it's not fair to expect others to make cuts while continuing to fund others. She thinks the Economic Development Group needs to meet to review those requests. Johnson said there is a plan to get the Economic Development Group together as budgets move along. Neuzil asked if there is interest in paying non-mandated funds in consistent installments starting in FY11. Sullivan said he would like to see consistency. Stutsman said she would prefer monthly pay outs versus quarterly.
Sullivan said he doesn’t want to add a lot more work for the Auditor's Office if quarterly installments would suffice. Stutsman said she would like to get Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia’s opinion about quarterly installments. She has never seen the legislature make cuts after a budget has been approved. Harney said he would prefer quarterly installments. They need to make it clear up front that they are going to make adjustments if the State makes adjustments.
Stutsman asked how serious the Board is about developing a Metro Transportation Plan and if it is worth putting time and attention to at this point. Neuzil said that was a goal identified at the end of 2007 as future goals and last year they were put on autopilot because of the budget issues. He is not interested in taking anything off but at some point they need to review where they are as far as strategic planning. Sullivan said it is important to remember that this is broad and includes many different services. Stutsman said she has always thought that when they put things on this list that means they are committing resources. Harney said East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) does the transportation plan once a year for the whole area and they need to work with them if they want to do something specific. Neuzil thinks they should go back to strategic planning in March or April 2009. Funding for these items is on hold because they said they don't want to increase any operational expenses.
Sullivan said he focused on attending all budget related sessions. Most of the National Association of Counties (NACo) presentations were done by county managers from places that have been hit hard. Some of those include Clarke County (Las Vegas), Nevada, and Maricopa County (Phoenix), Arizona. Sullivan said the resounding theme was that often the best thing to do budget wise and policy wise is the worst thing for an elected official because it is generally a very unpopular choice. Furthermore, they all said that furloughs are the worst thing for workplace morale and that it is much better to layoff a certain number of employees. Sullivan said he was interested in Snow Insurance. Some Counties pay a premium to cover overtime and extra rock. Stutsman said they talked about it but County Engineer Greg Parker didn’t seem interested and so she will follow up with him. Sullivan said he would like more information on snow insurance.
SEATS Director Tom Brase said the $4,000 increase in fuel is one he has no control over. Sharing a building with Secondary Roads this year has lowered his budget. Sullivan said that for FY10, Brase didn’t put in any rent but paid some rent. Brase agreed. Sullivan asked if he absorbed that into his budget last year and Brase said yes. Neuzil asked if fuel will go up. Brase said he has a feeling that by FY11 fuel will go up. Buying it at Secondary Roads is cheaper than when they were buying it at the City of Iowa City. A hidden cost that has been eliminated is deadhead miles going to fuel up in Iowa City.
Stutsman asked why there was an increase in the custodial budget and Brase replied that they pay Secondary Roads who has a contract with a local janitorial business and they pay per square foot. Harney said he has noticed that the shop area is in need of improved cleaning service. Brase agreed and said that last year during the winter, the drivers would clean up the snow that builds up against the doors but they can do it more frequently. Right now they pay Goodwill Industries to clean twice a week.
Neuzil asked Brase where he could cut 2% of his budget. Brase said 83.25% of the budget is benefits and payroll and operation costs, including fuel and maintenance, which are fixed costs, bringing the total budget to 95%. There is only 5% of his budget left where he could cut the 2% which would include paper and advertising. Neuzil said he could look at part time employees if he needed to. Brase said they will have about a $50,000 increase in revenue. He asked whether they could consider that as part of the 2%. Neuzil said it wouldn’t be fair for the departments who don't have any revenue streams. Neuzil asked about the maintenance coordinator position. Brase said through September they have saved $18,658 with comparable line items. Including payroll and benefits they have increased $14,750 by paying that position. Motor fluids have increased about $3,000, tires increased by $300, minor parts and accessories increased by $2,782, and minor equipment and hand tools increased by $1,700. Brase said the motor vehicle equipment repair and maintenance line item decreased $41,000 giving them a balance of an $18,000 savings. Harney asked if employee wages are figured in for the maintenance coordinator. Brase said yes, wages and benefits for a quarter is $14,750. Neuzil said that is remarkable and Harney agreed.
Harney asked if they have an agreement with Secondary Roads for snow removal. Brase said Secondary Roads does the drive and around the building. SEATS staff does the snow removal around the garage. So far that has been done by SEATS drivers or other staff. They haven’t paid for that yet but they have $1,000 budgeted. Harney said he is concerned about having drivers performing duties they shouldn't do. Brase said they do get paid to do it. Harney said he wants to avoid a situation where someone may get a back injury doing something that was not on their job description. Brase said he does not require employees to do snow removal, it is optional and only if the employee is done with their required work.
Stutsman asked if the sizable increase in electricity is because of the geothermal. Brase said yes. Harney asked what portion of that is SEATS and what portion is Secondary Roads. Brase said the figure in the budget is all theirs because they pay for a third of the building plus the garage. Neuzil said they haven’t seen a savings with that yet. Stutsman said there is an offset because they aren’t paying for gas. Brase said when they paid rent they had a lot smaller space and were paying about the same. Harney noted that geothermal heating only reaches a certain temperature and when the mechanic is working in the garage, Harney said he is concerned that it might be too cold. Brase said they adjusted it to heat to 68 to 70 degrees and they have floor heaters, approved by their insurance carrier, for when the mechanic is working.
Brase said they have a 3.5% to 4% increase for each year through FY13 with the Iowa City Transportation Grant. He said they have the same with Coralville Transit. They have seen State assistance gradually increase. He said the Medicaid waivers have been good but there is always a question whether it will come through year to year. The Federal Legislature has discussed whether they should just pay the fare which is $1.50 or the cost of the trip as they do now which is significantly more. Harney asked if they bill that out monthly. Brase said yes. Neuzil asked when they would make that decision. Brase said they haven’t decided that yet and the State may switch to a brokerage Medicaid service which would not be a good situation for SEATS. Right now SEATS bills Medicaid about $15.00 per ride and the only other private entity in the area charges $38.00 per trip. Brase said right now they save taxpayers $21.00. He said the reason they use the other entity is because it is more convenient and they just bill Medicaid. Brase said they are not supposed to do this because the first option is supposed to be public transit. Stutsman said last night's 60 Minutes television show had a segment on the incredible fraud in Medicare and that concerns her with this situation. Brase said the State is trying to get rid of some of the fraud and imbalance.
Neuzil asked if they are anticipating $80,000 from that fund. Brase said he is 98% certain that fund will not be touched. Neuzil asked if the County is required to provide rides. Brase said yes. Stutsman asked when the contract ends. Brase said 2013. Neuzil said he is comfortable with Brase increasing operating expenses since he is expecting other communities to pay 4% more. It seems more reasonable that he would get an exception because he has already anticipated some increases and now they are asking him to keep that while he is getting those extra dollars. Brase said if he cut 2% it would probably be the meal deliveries to Lone Tree and Solon where ridership is low.
Stutsman asked what they get interest on. Brase said they bank in a few local banks and get some interest from those accounts, they also deposit donation fares and at the end of each month, they cash that in and get interest for that time. Brase said they give all the money to the Treasurer at the end of the month instead of each day.
Claiborne said they are not funding any bus replacements this year because they have a balance built up. Brase said they have a stimulus package where three vehicles will be replaced in 2009 and they will receive one additional vehicle from Coralville at 100% so they don’t have to match anything. Sullivan asked if he is looking to spend $70,000 of the $196,000 or zero. Brase said zero this next year but the year after it's possible they will need to replace seven or eight vehicles. He was instructed to do that gradually by building those replacement dollars into the capital fund instead of asking for it all at one time. He said usually he asked for about $10,000 to $20,000 per year, but this year since three of them are being replaced with stimulus dollars, he didn't ask for anything. Neuzil asked if stimulus dollars will pay for three new SEATS vehicles. Brase said three replacement vehicles and one new one. SEATS will have 23 vehicles instead of 22. Harney asked if those three are funded through ECICOG. Brase said the three being replaced are through ECICOG and the one from the City of Coralville is being added by Coralville.
Brase said some costs not seen in the budget are costs of processing bills and administrative work. The spreadsheet does not show payroll savings from round trips to the repair shop, the time needed by employees to drive to and from the shop, wear and tear on the vehicles going to and from a repair shop, and extra repairs being done since the mechanic is in-house. He said through the three months, the total expenditures compared to a year ago are down $34,000 and that includes when they were paying rent. Brase said there is a possibility of increased funding from the State to increase rural service to five days a week. He doesn’t think that would impact them very much because they do three days in different areas currently.
Brase said for FY09 81.55% of the costs were payroll and benefits and for this fiscal year payroll and benefits are at 83.29%. Fuel and maintenance costs have steadily increased over the years but Brase is hoping to see this decrease next year. Brase said about 96.25% of his budget is tied up in payroll, benefits, fuel, and maintenance, and 3.75% of controllable expenditures. A 2% cut would come from training and cutting certain types of services.
Claiborne said Veteran Affairs usually has a pretty flat budget and is up slightly this year. Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier said the FY11 budget will need additional funds this year for rental assistance since the State Legislature mandated that effective July 1, 2010, all County Veterans Affairs offices will assist both peacetime and wartime veterans. Baier asked for an increase of $10,000 to help cover those costs. They didn’t use very much for utility assistance last year and have therefore decreased that budget to $3,250. Baier said he asked for additional funds to pay for Veteran Affairs Assistant Erin Good to attend the schools of instruction. He is also requesting another $2,000 for funeral assistance. They have already assisted three burials and only had three for the whole year last year. Stutsman asked how much they pay for a burial. Baier said $2,500 max minus whatever he can collect.
Harney asked if, with the increased number of Veterans they serve and the more disabilities coming back from service, will Baier be in a bind giving up the $1,000. Baier said that was the best area he could take a little less. Harney asked if that was his 2% reduction. Baier said yes. He reminded the Board that 45.5% of his total budget is for housing assistance and he does not expect that to change. Johnson County has the highest cost of housing in the State so that is the biggest need. Stutsman asked if Baier thought he might need more money in the funeral budget. She said she thought General Assistance pays $1,500 for funerals. Baier said they start about $2,250 and they start graduating it down depending on the need.
Claiborne said the $2,000 reduction Baier is showing is his 2% cut exercise and not a reality at this point. He has to service more people now and so Claiborne suggested he should put it back in for the time being. Stutsman said definitely put it back. Harney said to leave it in and if they have to cut 2% they will know where to get it. Stutsman is hesitant about a blanket 2% cut across the board because she thinks this budget is short. Sullivan said Baier has some line item flexibility if cuts will need to be made.
Neuzil asked if the State mandate change in hours was only a one time expense. Stutsman said she understood that it was supposed to be funded every year but it is up to the State's discretion. Baier said it was one time only, and the State isn't going to fund it anymore. Neuzil clarified that is an official example of an unfunded mandate by the State of Iowa that the Board needs to share with Iowa Legislators. Stutsman said Legislators had good intentions. Neuzil said their intentions were an unfunded mandate for the entire State of Iowa. Harney said the State may cut those funds, and they aren’t going to guarantee them. Neuzil said they are assuming that it is not going to be funded again. Sullivan said that even in 2009, it was an unfunded mandate because it cost more than $10,000 for Good to do it so they lost money this year. Neuzil asked if there is any anticipation of getting Federal grants or reimbursements. Baier said the FEMA money is year to year and that has been helpful to the food budget.
Claiborne said the bottom line is flat and there is no increase in Planning and Zoning. Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said something that is not reflected in this year’s budget is that Planning and Zoning Assistant Planner Josh Busard is required to get 34 continuing education units every two years. They added a little bit in last years budget for meals, lodging, and transportation, but did not include registration. Dvorak said they don’t know if it is going to be a major problem to facilitate. Most courses are not local and the ones that are local are more expensive than the ones further away. He said they included a request for CEU registration in the Planning and Zoning budget.
Sullivan asked if the Comp Plan is the ongoing costs of implementing the Land Use Plan. Dvorak said yes. Stutsman asked if that budget is always spent down. Dvorak said no and it depends on what the Board directs them to do. Neuzil said it gives them flexibility if they want studies. He asked if they are anticipating anything for FY11. Dvorak said the Transportation Plan is the only thing he can think of. Neuzil asked if it would be out of this year’s budget or next year’s. Dvorak said it could be a year to 18 months. Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore said he would say both years. Neuzil said that gets into some of the North Corridor road planning. Dvorak said it was a request in the 2008 Land Use Plan.
Dvorak said they did add $1,000 to continue funding an intern program with the University of Iowa. Moore said the total was supposed to be $7,800 for this budget year but when the University approached them, Planning and Zoning had already entered the budget process and Moore told them they couldn't meet that request so the University gave them a reduced rate. The next year's intern program costs will be about $7,500. Sullivan asked if that was for one intern. Moore said yes. Stutsman asked if they pay the intern a salary. Moore said they pay the University around $3,700 a semester for the intern. Dvorak said the County pays the University and the University pays the intern.
Neuzil said as he reviewed the line items in Planning and Zoning's budget, he found areas where they could easily come up with an extra $500 or $1,000 here or there. He said there is some room between what they are budgeting for and what they are spending. He said the Finance Committee has been asking departments to more accurately reflect line items. Neuzil suggested they review their budget to determine if they will need $1,100 for stationary and forms and if not, can they bump that money into LEED certification or intern planning. Stutsman asked what line item #27 is for. Dvorak said those are the official publications for legal notices. Sullivan said that is a hard one to control.
Moore said they are getting ready to propose amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance and that has to be published in its entirety. Dvorak said they do have a little flexibility in their budget. Neuzil said they could work with Claiborne to make some more adjustments so they don’t have to ask for an increase over the previous year. Harney asked if the periodicals and training include Inspections and Planning and Zoning. Moore said Inspections has to buy Code books every other year.
Stutsman asked why there is a huge jump in motor vehicle repair. Moore said they had to replace the engine in the Explorer and instead of replacing the Explorer this year they are going to hold on to it for another year. Stutsman said it shouldn’t be $5,000 again this year since they are not planning to replace that. Dvorak said the cars are averaging 40,000 to 50,000 miles right now. Neuzil clarified that they will not need another $5,000 to replace an engine because they just replaced the engine. Dvorak said all their vehicles are out of warranty and they have five vehicles. Neuzil replied that Dvorak is anticipating that they may need to use an additional $5,000 to repair vehicles. Dvorak said that is an ongoing request. He said if the Board wants them to reduce that, they will.
Dvorak asked if the Board is requesting them to reduce their budget $1,000. Neuzil said he is suggesting they look at line items from FY09-10 and what the request is in FY11, and they may find a few dollars here and there so they don’t have to over budget. Stutsman asked if they did the 2% cut exercise. Dvorak said they didn't want to pull from one division so their vision was to reduce the whole budget by 2%. Neuzil said it looks like there is enough room to do that. Dvorak said they took in $5,000 more than they had budgeted.
Sullivan asked if the cell phone line item would stay at zero. Dvorak said one inspector uses the County cell phone and the Planning and Zoning budget pays $40.00 a month for the other three inspectors' phones. Sullivan said that should be reflected in the budget. Dvorak said yes, there is an error there.
Harney said the other item he does not see listed is when the City does the commercial inspections. Dvorak said that is listed as an outside contract with Iowa City. Senior Building Inspector Rueben Arsate said the more activity they have the higher it goes because it is per mileage and inspection. Dvorak said that is only for commercial and industrial. Arsate said they do residential inspections, which is a majority of their inspections. Dvorak said Building Inspector III Neil Bombei just got his commercial electrical license and it would probably take him a year or two years to gain the experience to do the larger businesses. Stutsman asked if he will be doing small commercial inspections. Dvorak said he is working his way into that now.
Claiborne said there are no changes in revenues. Sullivan asked if they increased some of their fees in the last few years. Arsate said they expanded the fees. Dvorak said they have always had fees for residential, commercial, and industrial remodels. The Planning Division raised their fees two years ago. Sullivan asked if the new fees are more accurately covering their costs. Arsate said yes.
Dvorak said they moved into their new office space and he invited the Board to stop in to see the space. They are borrowing a computer from Information Technology and they are asking to replace that next year. The Building Inspectors would like to get a laptop for fieldwork so when they conduct inspections they have the capability of entering their findings on site. Dvorak said they are not capable of doing that yet and he didn’t want to ask for more than one until the software is available. Right now they have to use a cell phone line to get into the system. Dvorak said they are asking to put the software on the computer so they can enter the information in the field and then download it on to their system. Sullivan said it would be more efficient to enter all the information on site. Dvorak said the inspectors try to take a hard copy of the Codes with them to reference while in the field and with a laptop, they could access the Code online. Stutsman said a lot of other departments have laptops. Sullivan suggested they consider the Tough Books which are very durable laptops. Stutsman asked if they are requesting $14,000 to get three laptops. Claiborne said the $14,000 is for a truck replacement. Stutsman asked how much they are asking for the laptops. Dvorak said $1,000 to experiment with to see if it works properly. Last year they requested $4,000 in this line item and they reduced it this year. Moore said they requested three laptops at $1,000 each. Arsate said there are two inspectors in the field and he is usually in the office so it would be great to get two. Sullivan said it would probably cost $3,000 for the Tough Books. Claiborne asked if he should change it to $3,000. Stutsman said she was okay with that.
Dvorak said they all use GIS and so he asked for $200 for a larger screen. This will facilitate all the drawing work staff does. They are asking for $12,000 to replace the copy machines and have been asking for that money for the last few years. Currently the copy, fax, and printer machine they use isn’t compatible with their software programs. Dvorak said they are looking for one that has scanning capabilities which will be a savings because they spend about $1,500 a year on document scanning. Dvorak said they asked for $3,000 every year for four or five years to cover that. Johnson said he thought their decision package requested $6,000. Dvorak said his vision was $3,000 per year.
Harney asked why there is a drop for the Explorer from $38,000 to $36,000. Dvorak said that was to compensate for the laptop. Harney asked if that is enough to cover an Explorer. Dvorak said yes. Harney clarified if the FY11 Decision Package includes replacing one Explorer. Dvorak said yes, they are replacing the one with 109,000 miles on it this year and they can keep the other ones until next year. Depending on how it goes they may not be asking for anything next year. Sullivan asked what they are budgeting this year. Moore said they asked for $12,000. Neuzil said usually they ask for $18,000.
Claiborne said on the tally sheet the part time Social Worker position is vacant and not funded. Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek needs a decision about the Medical Examiner Supervisor position so she can determine times for posting. Neuzil said the position would increase in salary but would save in overtime expenses. Stutsman said this position is a reorganization of an existing one and wouldn’t have been included in the salary survey. Claiborne said the mortuary cot is still up for question. He said Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch redid his 2% reduction response and responded to the questions about the cots in the second section. Claiborne said they are waiting for the Board's decision about a desk top computer. Information Technology Director Jean Schultz is going to look at extending out the life of computers and not replacing them unless they are broken. He said Conservation Director Harry Graves asked for some computers and he would take used ones. There is the potential to save thousands and thousands of dollars using the older computers. He said the Board gave approval for Ambulance to order the Chassis.
Claiborne said they are still waiting to make a decision whether to keep the $130,000 or reduce it. He said the Board indicated they are not certain about the Road Safety Program for the Ambulance Department. Neuzil asked if that is for the black box and Claiborne said yes. The Board has also not determined yet whether to increase the hours of the four part time Ambulance employees. Sullivan said he is not sold on the Road Safety Program and in his opinion this is a luxury item. Harney agreed. Stutsman said she would like to keep it in for now and it would be good to know if the program could save the department some money. Neuzil asked if Hensch is requesting additional dollars outside of what he asked for in the previous year, with the cot included. Sullivan said he was able to keep his budget flat. Claiborne said the cot is a capital expense. Neuzil said there is a significant increase in the capital expenses even though he made reductions in other areas. He asked if the Seam Lights Generator is also a capital expense. Claiborne said yes. Harney said it would be nice to have the generator, but questioned the necessity.
Johnson asked, if in reorganizing the existing position for the Medical Examiner Supervisor, does that include adding another examiner to the pool. He said Hensch’s proposal was to shift and add another examiner to the pool, which as Johnson understood it that would not increase costs. He asked if the Board if okay with both of those or just wants to do the one. Sullivan said these are all part time people and there is a certain amount of work. The question is if they want five or six people to do the work. Sullivan said Hensch is saying he needs a sixth employee to help reduce the need for overtime. Neuzil said the only additional expense is going to be training and Hensch was able to add the training and still reduce the amount he spent last year.
Neuzil said he assumes that Correia's budget request for peacetime memorials would go down because Veteran Affairs is now doing it. Stutsman said maybe not. Sullivan said unless Correia sees an overall increase, it could go up. Neuzil said he thinks Correia will be adjusting her budget because now, another department has taken over the peacetime memorials. Stutsman said that even though they made a decision about the Medical Examiner, she asked Claiborne to keep the information in the tally sheet to serve as a reminder.
Neuzil said he thinks they solved that a little bit, the Economic Development Committee wanted to get together after receiving a call form Paul Heath. Johnson said it was suggested to put this item on the agenda because the Board received another request and there was in indication that there are probably several other entities and the Board needs to determine how to handle those requests. They should probably get the Economic Development Committee together soon if they want them to review the budget requests for this year. Stutsman said they may need to have a policy for reviewing requests for economic development. Sullivan said that Neuzil previously recommended that each budget request have someone who is in charge. Neuzil said for example, if the Board receives a request from a United Way type agency they are not currently funding, they direct those to Correia. He said they don’t currently have anything similar for economic development nor do they have a department head to oversee economic development.
Sullivan said they have to decide if it is appropriate for Iowa City Area Development Group President Joe Raso to be involved when his agency is one that can and does receive funding. Johnson said he recalls the Board had decided the committee would be in house and include Stutsman, Harney, Claiborne, himself, and someone from Planning and Zoning. Neuzil said Planning and Zoning would be included because of the Industrial Revenue Bonds and the identified growth areas for economic development. Sullivan said he wonders if someone from the Treasurer’s Office should be included. Sullivan thinks the Finance Committee would do it. Neuzil is he is comfortable with the group getting together to look at their resources and determine if they want to add additional people. Stutsman said they could also talk about if they want to restructure the committee. Claiborne said it would be very beneficial to add County Treasurer Tom Kriz to the committee. Stutsman suggested the current group meet first and then decide where to go from there. The rest of the Board agreed.
Neuzil said this discussion is to determine if Johnson County should fund all the cities that are currently spending dollars for membership to East Central Iowa Council of Governments. Johnson said this started with the indication that Iowa City is planning not to budget for their allocation. Sullivan asked if cities in Linn County like Mount Vernon, Center Point, and Palo pay. Stutsman and Harney said they didn’t know. Stutsman said Iowa City was basing their decision on the fact that Johnson County is the only one that requires the cities to pay. Sullivan said it wasn’t clear to him whether it was all the cities or just the big ones. Neuzil asked if Johnson could follow up with East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) Executive Director Doug Elliott to get the break down for each county that is part of ECICOG.
Stutsman said it is going to be difficult for her to pay Coralville's assessment. Neuzil agreed and said Iowa City and everyone else for him. Sullivan said that brings up the question if there is a purpose in Johnson County paying for JCCOG, after all, the County isn’t eligible for trails funding and other things. Neuzil said maybe their fee should be much less because of that and Stutsman said the fee shouldn’t be based on population. Johnson said when he was talking to Elliott he was trying to figure out who is legally responsible for this assessment. His understanding is that the difference is having a regional entity. In County's that don’t have a regional entity, the County covers the fee. Sullivan said that would be the difference for Jones County in that they don’t have a metro because they aren’t big enough. Neuzil asked if Iowa City sends anyone to ECICOG. Stutsman said they send City Council Member Connie Champion. Neuzil said Iowa City would lose that representation if Johnson County pays the fee, and Johnson County would increase their representation. He said if they are paying for others they would increase their presence on their Boards as they would then be representing Johnson County on ECICOG. Stutsman said Coralville City Council Representative Henry Herwig is the Chair of ECICOG. Neuzil said he wouldn’t be necessarily if they aren’t paying. Harney said they would run into the problem of having a quorum of the Board. Neuzil said if the County is going to assume the responsibility of paying for membership on ECICOG, then it is up to them to decide who their ECICOG representation is. Harney said it would be helpful to invite Elliott to a work session to go over that again. Neuzil said if there is an expectation that Johnson County is required to pay for Iowa City and Coralville then the Board gets to determine who their representatives are.
Sullivan said he finds this whole thing frustrating because to him it makes sense that everyone pays their share based on population. Stutsman said she thinks the cities think the County gets money from the General Fund for all those cities, and that the County can take it out of its’ General Fund and not the cities'. Harney said the County’s General Fund is getting overloaded like everyone else. Neuzil also wanted to know what would happen if the Board says no and Iowa City says no. Johnson said they look to Linn County and they look to JCCOG. He was trying to look for structures that make JCCOG responsible for the payment and he found that the communities have divided it up.
Stutsman said a lot of it has to do why those were originally set up and it was for transportation planning. She asked if they would be ineligible for grants. Neuzil said it would be their determination because it is Johnson County now and they would decide where the money is split up. Sullivan said this should be a topic at the next Joint Cities Meeting. Neuzil said it is January 20, 2010. Johnson said this could possibly be at the JCCOG Board Meeting if they are the entity ECICOG is looking to. Sullivan said they should request this be on the December JCCOG agenda. Stutsman said she would like to hear what the Executive Committee is talking about and for the Board to get a clear understanding of the assessments.
Neuzil said the next budget meeting is October 28, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. Stutsman asked who they will be reviewing. Claiborne said County Attorney Janet Lyness and Managing Secretary Dannelle Essing are out of town and so Claiborne might not be able to meet with them before the meeting. Stutsman asked if their budget is done. Claiborne said yes. Stutsman asked if they will be at the meeting. Claiborne said yes. Harney asked if all the budgets are in now. Claiborne said he doesn’t have the Auditor's budget.
Adjourned at 11:19 a.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Meaghan Mercer, Recording Secretary