MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
DECEMBER 14, 2009
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Fiscal Year 2011 Department Budgets..................................................................................... 1
Information Technology (07)....................................................................................... 1
Technology (40)......................................................................................................... 2
Board of Supervisors (05).......................................................................................... 14
Human Resources (06)............................................................................................. 17
Discussion: Resolution 12-17-09-T1 Transferring From the General Basic Fund to the Secondary Roads Fund 18
Discussion: FY 2011 County Budget...................................................................................... 18
Chairperson Neuzil called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building at 9:00 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Terrence Neuzil, Janelle Rettig, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Information Technology (IT) Director Jean Schultz said the budget for Information Technology has not changed a lot. The overall total is the same, but she tried to make the numbers more accurately reflect the actual total expenses. There is one major increase under dues, however, as the result of joining a company called NOREX, which provides input regarding different types of software and hardware for various situations. The company also offers on-line meetings, from which IT staff can benefit from the experiences of other people and agencies.
Schultz said she increased the budgeted amount for motor vehicle repairs and maintenance slightly because their van is getting older, and there are no current plans to trade it in. Rettig asked if IT has a single vehicle. Schultz said yes, they have a van. Although they do not use it as much as they did before moving into the Health and Human Services (HHS) Building, they still use it to transport equipment to other locations. Stutsman said IT staff was transporting equipment in their personal vehicles before they had the van. Schultz agreed and said it was difficult to fit the equipment into smaller staff vehicles, and it is not good to lift heavy equipment out of a trunk. Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne said County Insurance Agent of Record Bob Saunders prefers that County vehicles be used for County business. Sullivan said one of the hidden benefits of the HHS Building is a decrease in the number of equipment transports. Schultz agreed and said the opening of the skywalk will also be beneficial, as the van is currently used to transport equipment to the Administration Building.
Schultz said a correction will be made to the proposed budget to reflect a $2,000 increase in County Assessor data processing (DP) fees. She said more money is received from the County Assessor than the City Assessor because they do more work with them. The County Assessor uses pictometry and oblique photos, and IT provides assistance and storage. IT also assists the County Assessor with software that utilizes Geographic Information System (GIS) for the purpose of putting values on agricultural property.
Harney asked if the computer programming comes back into revenues or stays in its own line. Schultz said it stays within its own expenditure column and basically results in a reduction of expenditures. As a result, the money does not have to be reallocated every year.
Schultz said money is being saved under Capital Technology for future replacement of the van, although there are no current plans for replacement because it is running well. They previously purchased a used van, and they will probably do so again if they find a good deal. Sullivan asked if they will have saved the estimated amount of the purchase by the end of the fiscal year. Schultz said yes.
Schultz said the budget includes $6,000 for software that mainly assists programmers and the web area. The GEMs software maintenance and the real estate software maintenance come out of the software packages used.
Schultz said she will talk about Technology next, which is in Department 40. She said it involves technology requests submitted by various departments. She indicated that there are some changes that have not yet been entered. She recently realized that the Auditor’s Office had forgotten to include the maintenance on their Minutes software, and she just sent the changes to Claiborne on December 11, 2009. Claiborne said he will provide the Board with the corrected version.
Schultz said the line for Ambulance includes the various types of software used within the department. The line for the County Attorney includes the management fee for their ProLaw software. She said Johnson County is part of a State project, which provides management. The participating counties share the cost, and some additional counties were recently added. As a result, the cost was lowered to $9,000. She said there is a separate cost for maintenance on the actual ProLaw software. Schultz said an additional position has been requested for the County Attorney’s Office, and she has budgeted for the additional laptop and software. She said two additional positions have evidently been requested for the Auditor’s Office, including an accounts payable position and a minutes clerk. A request of $1,800 was initially made, but she feels $1,400 is a more realistic request for the cost of a desktop computer and software.
Schultz said that the IT expenses were covered under the Technology worksheet previously discussed. Schultz said she included the cost of upgrading the phones in the Administration Building to a voice over internet protocol (VoIP) phone system. Following the change, the County would save approximately $9,250 per year, which would result in savings after five years. Schultz said a lot of phone lines in the Administration Building could be eliminated. Eight departments have fax lines, and there are also a lot of private phone lines. Rettig asked if both the HHS Building and the Administration Building would then be using the same phone system. Schultz said yes. The system was purchased for the HHS Building with the expectation that it would eventually be used countywide. Stutsman asked if the VoIP system has worked well. Schultz said yes. Vendors are no longer paid to make programming changes to the system because IT staff is able to make the changes. Schultz said the system has a lot of features.
Stutsman asked if the additional phone lines and fax lines could be eliminated. Schultz said the HHS Building does have a few traditional phone lines that are used by the VoIP phone system and for disaster recovery purposes. However, most of the phone lines come in through a primary rate interface (PRI) circuit, which includes 23 lines that can be used by anyone in the building. The traditional phone system used in the Administration Building involves a set number of lines that can only be used within each department. Sharing PRIs is more efficient. Schultz said she will need considerable advance notice if the Board approves the change to VoIP so she can sign up for a special price offered by the phone company only once or twice a year. The regular price for the PRI is $975/month, and the special price for the PRI used in the HHS Building was $555/month. Schultz said a minimum one year contract is required. Harney asked how long the County would be eligible for the reduced price. Schultz said they can choose a one, two, or three year contract. Stutsman asked what the annual savings would be with the new phone system. Shultz responded that the annual savings would be $9,250/year.
Schultz said the Auditor’s Office currently adds additional phone lines during elections due to increased call volume. They would not need to do so following the change because they would have the option of using more of the PRI instead. A phone representative would not have to be paid to make the necessary changes because IT staff would be able to make the changes. Stutsman asked if 23 lines would be enough for both buildings. Schultz said no, a PRI would be added. People working in the HHS Building could then use 28 lines at once if they needed to because all of the lines would come through a central phone system. Schultz said some private lines would be kept in case the PRIs go down during an emergency. Remote call forwarding could still be done. That was taken into account when the amount of cost savings was determined. Schultz said the cost would come out of Department 44 Capital Expenditures.
Rettig asked for the expected life span of the equipment. Schultz said it basically involves a computer server. Rettig asked if the cost includes the actual phones. Schultz said yes. Rettig said her point is that there would be costs associated with replacement equipment and asked when that would occur. Schultz said she is not sure, but the phones wouldn’t be replaced unless they stopped working. Stutsman said it seems like the technology changes more often than the equipment. Schultz said the system is software based. The server may need to be updated at some point, and Rettig is right that the cost for updating has not been included. IT does have a backup server for the system, however. Sullivan said it makes sense to him to be only one generation behind in technology rather than three generations behind and assumes the related upgrades would be less expensive. Schultz said advanced software support is included in the cost paid by the County. The County receives new software-related features as they are developed.
Stutsman asked if the entire system would cost $46,000. Schultz said that is an approximate cost, and a phone committee would be necessary. Although some features are valuable to some departments, they may be unnecessary for others. For example, there is a feature called Presence that was purchased for the HHS Building, but it is not used by all departments. The feature allows people who have been provided access to view messages such as ‘gone to lunch, back at 1:00’ or ‘gone to Administration Building’. Schultz thinks the feature would be beneficial for use by Board members to specify their availability; however, it may not be necessary for the Treasurer’s Office. The committee could determine the features needed by specific departments.
Stutsman asked if it is better to buy the whole system at once or if it would work to put $23,000 toward the system in FY11 and $23,000 in FY12. Schultz asked if they would wait to convert all of the phones or if they would convert some now and some later. Stutsman said they would wait to convert them all at once. Schultz said it is certainly an option. Stutsman asked if they can ask vendors for options for the amount of money that has been set aside. Schultz said they would certainly shop around for the best deal. Computer Solutions provided the cost estimates, and that is where the current VoIP system was purchased.
Sullivan asked if the system changes are fairly easy or if they should be made during the current remodeling process. Schultz said they have been preparing for the change. For example, there will be one network wire in each Board member’s office. A phone can be installed anywhere there is a network connection. Sullivan said his point is that the contractors may currently be installing phone jacks in every office that won’t be needed following installation of the new system. Schultz agreed. Schultz said the features of the system itself mainly involve software, and they are being obtained by the County without additional cost. However, it’s true that the phones would get old, and there will be some costs associated with replacements and upgrades. The system has a lot of additional features, however. All of the phone lines would come through the network if they are on the same system.
Schultz said costs for the Sheriff’s Office include the maintenance contract for SMART software. She said the amount will be adjusted after the dispatchers move to the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC). The cost for the MDT Data Connection is for the wireless cards for communication with patrol cars. The initial cost of the car video system was $26,000, and the cost of yearly maintenance is $2,000. There is money set aside to save for an upgrade of the Forensic Recovery of Evidence (FRED) system, which is used to analyze hard drives. Money is also budgeted for miscellaneous hardware, if needed. Schultz said the grand total is $63,136. The Sheriff’s Office does have some money from their initial project, which would carry over since it is in Technology. These other costs involve ongoing maintenance-type costs.
Schultz said the money has been budgeted for a desktop computer, printer, and licenses requested by the Medical Examiner’s Office. The Recorder’s Office upgraded their Cott software, and the associated cost is more than it was in the past. There are more available features, however. Sullivan asked if the Medical Examiner’s Office needs another printer because it doesn’t seem like the office is big enough to require two printers. Schultz said she doesn’t know the details. Harney asked if the SMART software was installed in all cars. Schultz said a pilot study was initially done with six patrol cars, and it is now available in all 22 patrol cars. She doesn’t know if it has been installed in all of the civil cars yet, and she will have to check. There is some carryover money, which would go toward the cost of installation in the civil cars.
Stutsman asked who tracks the carryover money. Schultz said she tracks it by department. Stutsman said she wants to make sure people aren’t taxed for additional money if carryover money is available. Schultz said they try to ensure there is a use for carryover money. She and Claiborne have attempted to reallocate money and reduce the transfer from General Basic to Technology when there is extra money that is not being used. Schultz said money is sometimes carried over from document management because scanning for a particular year is not fully completed until the following year. Claiborne said he uses a similar system to track all of the savings and purchases for Capital Expenditures. Schultz said she thinks there is about $40,000 in carryover under the real estate system. She and County Treasurer Tom Kriz discussed the situation but decided not to give the money back because a new version of software will need to be purchased in the near future, and they do not want it to result in a significant increase in money requested.
Schultz said money has been budgeted for the Mobile Data Computer Automated Vehicle Locator system hardware for communication with the various vehicles used by SEATS. Additional expenses for SEATS include rental of a voice radio tower and the cost of software and its maintenance. Schultz said SEATS Director Tom Brase can explain the items in greater detail as they are yearly expenses.
Schultz said a new computer with a 22 inch monitor has been requested by Planning and Zoning for use in a conference room. A Toughbook was also requested, and her understanding is that it was previously approved by the Board. Sullivan said the Toughbook will allow inspectors to enter their reports on site. Schultz asked if there are three inspectors. Sullivan said it is thought that only two Toughbooks will be needed because one person is always in the office.
Schultz said Planning and Zoning also requested a second monitor for an employee. Stutsman asked if a used monitor could be used. Schultz said IT used to automatically replace computers and monitors every five years; however, monitors are no longer automatically replaced. Although IT has been replacing PCs, an additional monitor would need to be purchased. She said having two monitors saves a significant amount of time for employees in certain positions, particularly those that utilize GIS. Stutsman asked about the expense of the monitor. Schultz said a widescreen monitor was requested so more can be seen with GIS. Schultz said having a second monitor is nice, but an alternative is to use a printed copy. Stutsman said she thinks there are a lot of employees who have two monitors.
Schultz said Mental Health/Disability Services (MH/DS) Director Kris Artley is thinking about replacing all of the PCs in the department and providing two monitors to each employee. She doesn’t know how often both monitors would be used because she isn’t very familiar with the applications used. Sullivan said it seems excessive to him. Stutsman agreed and asked for the number of employees. Schultz indicated the change would involve the purchase of 40-50 monitors. Voice recognition software is used within the department, and they have been having problems with it. An IT employee is attempting to find effective strategies to resolve the problems. Schultz said Financial and Statistical Supervisor Deborah Guard told her that MH/DS may currently have money for the purchase, and there is concern that they will have to wait a long time if they don’t do it now. Schultz said she needs to discuss it with Artley, however an official request has not been received. Stutsman said MH/DS will have to prove that the additional monitors will significantly improve efficiency. Neuzil said his understanding is that two separate computer systems are being used, and one is thought to be slowing down the other. Schultz said it is thought that the voice recognition software is slowing down the system. Sullivan said he wonders if having two monitors will have any impact on that. Schultz said she doesn’t have enough information to make a judgment. Stutsman said the computer needs of MH/DS come out of their budget, and those needs should be weighed with service needs. Schultz said MH/DS is concerned about their funding. She thinks the current computers were purchased in 2005 and 2006 and are not very old.
Schultz said Conservation Director Harry Graves has requested three computers for Conservation. One of the computers is for a new position, and she thinks the other two may be used for the additional workspace in their new building. Claiborne said Graves would be satisfied with used PCs. Sullivan said he thinks five Conservation employees are currently sharing a single PC.
Schultz said a list of expenses for Elections was recently submitted. The cost of Voter software maintenance is $14,000. Additional expenses include contracts for voting machines and software maintenance.
Schultz said the sum of the total regular and decision package columns equals $339,000. Of the $339,000 total, $293,000 would come out of the Technology budget, and $46,600 for the VoIP system would come out of Capital Expenditures.
Schultz said she will cover GIS and document management expenses next. She said the County Treasurer’s Office has been at $18,000 for several years. Previously, two employees filed registrations manually, and the need for those positions has been eliminated through the use of manual scanning. Registrations that must be kept long-term are scanned.
Schultz said $1,000 has been requested each year for Planning and Zoning. She said she asked Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak if the work could be done internally if the department had a scanner. She thought the inspectors could do scanning during the winter when they are not as busy. She said Dvorak was open to the idea.
Schultz said Ambulance is up to date with scanning, and they are not requesting money for FY11. She said she asked Ambulance Director Steve Spenler if document scanning could be done within the department, and he indicated that it would be an option. Schultz said the amount of electronic information used by Ambulance is increasing and less paper is used.
Schultz said County Auditor Tom Slockett decided that priority one scans, which include road easements and highway plans, will be completed, and aerial photos will not be scanned. There will not be carryover. The request is for $1,940.
County Attorney Janet Lyness’s request for Central Technology is $19,900, and the majority of that amount is for PaperClip software, which is scanning software. The initial cost of the software comes from departments, and the cost of maintenance is paid centrally. Exceptions include the County Assessor and City Assessor, who have their own funding source and are billed by Central Technology. It was decided within the Document Management Committee to keep the request the same as it was for FY10, which was $93,500. Schultz said the County Attorney’s Office has a lot of scanning to do and a lot of storage problems. It was decided to add the difference between the subtotal of $76,900 and the requested amount of $93,500 into the request for the County Attorney’s Office, which would result in a request of $52,660.
Rettig said the County Attorney’s Office clearly needs the additional money. Schultz said if the amount of money budgeted for document management has to be reduced, it will come out of the amount set aside for the County Attorney’s Office. Sullivan asked if the County Attorney’s Office will have enough employees available to spend the money budgeted for scanning. Schultz said she thinks so, and it can be carried over if the project is not completed by the end of the year. The County Attorney’s Office has been using two different scanning vendors, however. There are not enough employees to do scanning within the department. Schultz said she thinks the Clerk of Court’s Office is doing pilot testing to eventually go paperless, and she is not sure what impact it will have on the County Attorney’s Office. Hopefully, less paper data will come into the Office, although there will still be some paper data, such as photographs.
Rettig said she thinks the move towards paperless data is one of the reasons dual monitors seem to be increasingly needed. When she toured the County Attorney’s Office, she noticed that employees were viewing forms on one monitor and typing documents on another screen. Schultz agreed and said dual monitors do save time in some cases. She said some departments request larger monitors, but then keep the resolution the same. As a result, the amount of information displayed does not change, and two smaller monitors could be used instead. IT employees are trying to monitor those practices.
Neuzil asked if the requests for FY11 are similar to those received for FY10. Schultz said the requested amount has slightly decreased. Neuzil asked if that includes the change in phone system. Schultz said no, that involves the Capital Expenditure Budget rather than the Technology Budget.
Schultz said she will cover the budget for GIS next. Although aerial photos were scheduled to be done in FY11, it has been agreed to delay them for one year in an attempt to save money. There is not as much development as there has been in the past. Schultz said IT pays for maintenance on GIS software used by various departments, with the exception of the Assessor’s Office. The budgeted cost is $30,000. IT sometimes purchases GIS software for other departments, and money has been budgeted for that potential software. Aerial photos and oblique photography take up a lot of disk space so GIS sets aside money to add additional disk space. IT also buys GPS units for departments to use in their work. Both types of purchases are included under potential hardware purchases.
Schultz said a County Road Map was previously produced and sold. The Communications Committee discussed promoting the County website, and it was suggested that the maps include an advertisement for the website and be provided free of charge. She said the Communications Committee was in favor of the idea. Stutsman and Harney agreed. Schultz said she found out last week that the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce (The Chamber) is considering development of a County roadmap. She and Dvorak discussed whether it makes sense for the County to do it. Schultz said the County provided costs to the Chamber for the County to lay it out. The Chamber intends to sell advertisements and provide the map free of charge. The map would only include municipalities that are members of the Chamber. It would not include Tiffin, Lone Tree, Shueyville, or Swisher. There is a question of whether the County should still produce a map that includes all areas.
Rettig asked if the Chamber of Commerce would put out a countywide map that doesn’t include all areas of the County. Stutsman said she thinks it would involve the detailed inserts only. She asked if the Chamber is planning to sell their map. Schultz said no, they are planning to sell advertisements. The County has an index for street names for rural areas but not for Iowa City. The Chamber’s map would include that information, but it will take more space. As a result, some of the areas in the County will not be included. Schultz asked if the County should go ahead with the plan of printing the County map for $4,000 and using it as an advertisement for the County website or if people should be referred to the Chamber for a map. Stutsman said she thinks the County should provide a complete County map, and she thinks the Chamber should be charged for the amount of time put into developing their map. Schultz said a rough estimate of $3,000 to $4,000 was given to the Chamber for the time involved. Rettig said she thinks the County should print a map, and the amount paid by the Chamber should be used to offset the cost. Schultz said she thinks the Chamber is obtaining other estimates, but they will be charged if the work is done by the County.
Stutsman said she is supportive of the County map but worries that individuals will request a large number of them because they are free and will waste them. If there is a nominal charge, people will only request one. She said the map can be provided free of charge this year, and they will see if it becomes a problem. Stutsman said people take better care of things when some cost is involved, even if it is only $.50. Harney said that it would be very time consuming for the Auditor’s Office to write receipts for every item. Sullivan said the number of maps per person can be limited to two.
Neuzil said the current issue is whether or not the Board is still prepared to fund a map, and he certainly is. He thinks there are four or five companies that provide County maps, but he thinks an official County map will allow for the promotion of things happening in County government. He thinks people will pick them up wherever it is convenient, and the County map can be distributed at the Johnson County Fair. If the maps are kept behind a counter, it will probably deter people from taking a large number of them.
Schultz said IT has been trying to keep their requested amounts level so they budgeted $20,000 for savings for orthophotography. There is enough money currently saved for a round of orthophotography, which costs between $100,000 and $110,000. They are trying to avoid having a large spike in the future. If a mandatory budget cut is implemented, the money would come out of the savings for orthophotography. Harney asked about the possibility of teaming up with other communities for them. Schultz said they previously teamed up with Linn County, and they will check with neighboring counties to see if they get a better deal. Harney said he was wondering if Linn County was going to do theirs this year. Schultz said no.
Sullivan asked if Schultz expects the current FY10 balance to be spent down by June 30, 2010 or if there will be carryover. Schultz said it is likely there will be some carryover, but it depends on other departments. Sullivan said there obviously won’t be a large amount of carryover. Schultz agreed.
Schultz said she will talk about Central Technology networking requests next. They involve the overall, central network and communications. The grand total amount is the same as last year. There are seventeen servers, and efforts are being made to reduce that number. Positive changes are being made now that there is an off-sight disaster recovery room in the SEATS/Secondary Roads Building. There are servers located there now, and they could take over if there was a fire affecting the other servers. There is also a Storage Area Network (SAN), and a backup for the files is located at SEATS/Secondary Roads. Snapshots are taken every 15 minutes, and it copies any changes that have been made to records without recopying the entire database. As a result, even recently modified documents can be recovered in the event of a problem with the system. Schultz said there is a lot of space and a lot of documents are stored. IT has been reorganizing their storage space, and the SAN space is the best and most expensive. They are putting information that doesn’t change often on archive drives. They are not backed up frequently, but doing so is not necessary because the data doesn’t change. Orthophotos are an example. Schultz said they are trying to save as much money as possible.
Schultz said IT has been trying to replace PCs every five years, and the price has decreased considerably. The budgeted amount is $82,000 and could probably be reduced if PCs are not automatically replaced after five years. Some money needs to be budgeted, however, because PCs that stop working will need to be replaced. In addition, departments sometimes obtain software that requires more powerful PCs. GIS software is one example.
Rettig asked whether the amount of $82,000 is paid into a fund that can be used for replacement of PCs as needed or if a certain amount of PCs will be replaced during FY11. Schultz said the amount is based on the current practice of replacing PCs every five years. Stutsman asked for the benefits associated with replacement every five years. Schultz said a lot of businesses replace PCs every three years because the new PCs are a lot faster. However, IT staff are okay with not automatically replacing them as long as they are not having to do a lot of repair work. She thinks the budgeted amount can be reduced by half if automatic replacement is stopped.
Sullivan said the effect of the technology on the work of employees should be considered critically. If the current technology is not decreasing efficiency, he sees no reason for replacement. However, if it is causing significant problems for people, it may be worthwhile. Stutsman said the Board has previously discussed that tight budget years involve changes, and this may be an area for change. Perhaps PCs should not be replaced unless they stop working or perhaps a six year replacement schedule should be implemented. Justification for replacement should be required. Schultz said the change would probably not affect the work of employees who mainly use Microsoft Office. Windows XP is currently in use, however Microsoft will eventually stop supporting it. As a result, upgrades for existing PCs will have to be purchased if the PCs themselves are not replaced. Windows 7 has been ordered for some computers in IT so potential problems related to its use within the County can be identified and resolved.
Neuzil said he is okay with reducing the amount of the line item, and he will defer to Schultz to determine the necessary amount. He would like it to be in the range of $50,000, however. Sullivan said Schultz may have to consult department heads first because he can foresee specific departments saying upgraded PCs are necessary for specific software they use. Schultz said some departments have requested that their PCs be replaced with laptops when they are next due for replacement. It makes sense for some employees who need to take work home. Stutsman said justification should be provided in those instances. She supports moving away from automatic replacement. Schultz said the change is acceptable to IT staff.
Schultz said the amount budgeted for printer replacement is also based on automatic replacement every five years. Although she is okay with eliminating the automatic replacement of printers, she does think there are printers in some offices that could be replaced. She said some printers were purchased out of departmental budgets and Central Technology subsequently took over maintenance and replacement. Printers have gotten a lot faster, and most departments are now obtaining high speed printer/copier/fax machines. She personally thinks the amount of personal printers can be reduced. IT staff share printers. Stutsman agreed and said she wishes the printers did not automatically print color copies. Rettig agreed that the printers should default to black and white. Schultz said she would need to check to see if that option is available on all printers. Sullivan said he thinks some departments can share printers.
Schultz said there are eight fax lines in the Administrative Building and questioned whether that many are needed. They cost $27.50 per line for a total of $220/month. She suggested that a fax machine could be located on each floor. She thinks one of the reasons there are so many fax lines is because there are so many high speed printer/copier/fax machines. IT doesn’t have any input into their purchase. She thinks personal printers are not needed when there is a high speed printer available in a department. Stutsman agreed and said one of the reasons for consolidating the buildings was to reduce the amount of equipment. She remembers a time when there was only one fax line in the Administration Building. Sullivan said he would prefer that no personal printers are replaced unless the individual can justify why it is necessary. Schultz agreed but said some individuals may be unhappy about a change. The members of the Computer Committee could be asked whether they agree, and specific decisions could be appealed.
Claiborne asked if the Board wants to consider creating a policy regarding personal printers. Stutsman asked for the number of plotters. Schultz indicated that the following departments have plotters: Secondary Roads, the Auditor’s Office, Planning and Zoning, and IT. She said plotters are no longer automatically replaced. Stutsman said she questions whether it is necessary for each of those departments to have one. She said the machines are used more often when they are nearby. Stutsman said she thinks the Board should send a message to departments that replacement of equipment will no longer be a given. Sullivan agreed. Stutsman said she thinks a policy is necessary and should be enforced. Executive Assistant Andy Johnson asked if the item should be added to a future Elected Officials/Department Heads Meeting.
Claiborne asked if individuals with personal printers buy their own ink or if they order it through IT. Schultz said some departments buy their own ink, and some departments purchase it through IT. IT staff does not currently have time to purchase cartridges, but it may be an option if the number of printers is reduced. Claiborne said he is just wondering if there is a protocol. Stutsman said she thinks purchasing issues should be considered by the Board next year. She thinks changes could result in significant savings.
Schultz said backup server maintenance includes the server at the SEATS/Secondary Roads Building for disaster recovery and Disaster Prevention Monitoring software. Networking replacement includes switches, hubs, and routers. She said some columns are labeled ‘to savings’, and indicate that the full amount is not expected to be spent during the Fiscal Year. For example, a better rate can be obtained if three year software contracts are purchased. More software contracts are due for renewal during some fiscal years than others. There is a chart that illustrates which software contracts are due for renewal each year.
Schultz said ‘Web Software’ refers to a content management system for the County website. ‘Internet Connection’ refers to the high speed internet connection. She said IT is no longer saving towards a Microsoft Office upgrade. A lot of counties pay a yearly maintenance fee so they can obtain new versions of Microsoft Office as they are developed. However, it is approximately $40,000 to $50,000 less expensive for the County to repurchase it every four or five years. With the number of licenses and the number of employees in the County, it will cost over $100,000 to repurchase it. Schultz said it has been discussed that a committee should be formed to consider using OpenOffice instead. Rettig said she thinks there is a reason the software is free. She has used it and thinks it has a number of limitations. She would be surprised if OpenOffice could be used in place of Microsoft Office throughout the County. Rettig said some departments may be able to use it, but it is not well suited to detailed work. Schultz said there would be complications involved with having both versions. Use of OpenOffice will be considered due to the significant, potential savings involved.
Schultz said the ‘Wireless New Project’ has involved savings. Initially, having towers around the County was discussed; however, the technology has improved so significantly that she doesn’t know that it will be necessary. There has been discussion about potentially using some of the JECC towers.
Rettig said she is concerned that people visiting County buildings cannot access Wi-Fi. Schultz asked if Rettig thinks it should be provided throughout all County Buildings at a cost to the County. Rettig said she thinks visitors and reporters should be able to access Wi-Fi in the public meeting rooms. Schultz said it is available at the Courthouse, in the conference rooms of the HHS Building, and in the Board Room and first floor conference room of the Administration Building. Sullivan said he is not currently able to access Wi-Fi in Room 203C of the HHS Building. Rettig said she was not able to access Wi-Fi in the Board Room last spring, and she does not think it is available. Sullivan said it never really worked in the Board Room. Schultz said she will check into the issue. She thought it was available because people have done presentations for the Board in the past. Sullivan said he is pretty sure the computers were plugged in because Wi-Fi could not be accessed. Stutsman asked if there is a cost associated with providing Wi-Fi in public meeting rooms. Schultz responded that there is a cost, but it is not very substantial. She will make sure it is available in the Board Room. Rettig said people expect access to Wi-Fi when they attend meetings, and reporters are now reporting live from meetings. Neuzil asked Schultz to obtain the cost of providing it in County buildings.
Schultz said savings from ‘Disaster Recovery’ was carried over, and $30,000 of it will be used for the fiber ring at Secondary Roads. It is a joint project with the Iowa Communications Network, the Department of Transportation, the City of Iowa City, the City of Coralville, the University of Iowa, and the County to develop a fiber ring. The City of Iowa City ran fiber from the downtown area to their landfill and allowed the County to become part of the project. As a result, the County has fiber to the SEATS/Secondary Roads Building and the Armory Building. The project involves developing an alternate route so the connection is not lost if the current fiber is damaged. It is much less expensive to complete the project jointly. Sullivan asked if $30,000 is the County’s share of the cost of the project. Schultz said yes.
Harney asked if checks are done periodically to ensure the backup equipment at the SEATS/Secondary Roads Building is working. Schultz said an IT employee checks the equipment almost every day. In addition to the 15 minute backup she previously discussed, a nightly backup is done on tape. The system can also be checked from the HHS Building.
Schultz said a Board member previously asked if the overall budget has increased or decreased. It has decreased to $721,000 for FY11 from $872,512 in FY10. Part of the decrease is due to the previous expense of the hardware for Elections. Sullivan asked if that amount includes decision packages. Schultz said yes. The actual amount transferred in will be about $768,000 due to carryover, but the amount has still decreased over $100,000 from FY10.
Schultz said she will address the question regarding a potential 2% budget cut next. The orthophotos will not be done during FY11. If a 2% cut is implemented, the amount of money being saved for future orthophotos would be decreased. For document management, money could potentially be saved if Planning and Zoning and Ambulance completed scanning within the departments. Schultz said both Dvorak and Spenler are open to the possibility. If a 2% cut is implemented, the money would come out of the budgeted amount for the County Attorney’s Office document scanning. The Clerk of Court’s goal of going paperless may also decrease the amount of paper used within the County Attorney’s Office in the future. For Central Technology, the 2% reduction would come from the Wireless Savings line item. Schultz said the majority of the IT budget is employee salaries so a 2% cut would need to come out of training expenses. She would rather cut more than 2% from Technology than cut training due to the need to keep up with current technology.
Schultz said there was a request for an ELMO Digital Visual Presenter for the Board Room. She said the price of an ELMO was given to Johnson. It is similar to an overhead projector, but it is electronic and can be displayed on a screen or video recording.
Schultz said additional savings would come from not replacing PCs, printers, and plotters without justification. The amount of personal printers could be reduced, and PCs could be loaned from other departments when possible to avoid the new purchases. The amount of fax lines and multifunction copiers could also be reduced. In addition, central purchasing of printer and copier cartridges could save money.
Schultz said employees can currently send and receive faxes through the network at no cost. The drawback to doing so is that paper copies must be scanned prior to faxing. Schultz said not all departments have scanners, and it may be better to fax paper copies from a shared fax machine. Sullivan said an in-service may need to be done at an Elected Officials/Department Heads Meeting to demonstrate how to send a fax through the network. Stutsman said it would also be helpful to provide a list of departments that have scanners so employees know where they can go to use one. Sullivan pointed out that many documents can also be emailed and he said strategies to reduce costs should be implemented. Neuzil said the number of fax lines would need to be reduced. Schultz said high speed printer/copier/fax machines can be connected to VoIP without requiring a separate line. Stutsman said the Board often talks about taking action, but it seems like coordination is needed. She asked if the Board wants to give direction to Schultz to start pursuing some of these changes. Neuzil suggested that the changes be discussed at the next Elected Officials and Department Heads Meetings.
Harney asked about security and confidentiality issues associated with sending faxes through the network. Schultz said faxes received through the network are obtained by a specific IT employee who opens them up and forwards them to the appropriate department. She said documents can be emailed rather than faxed, although not all email is confidential. Sullivan said he was thinking that people can scan documents and send them by email. Neuzil said he thinks the confidentiality issue involves the receipt of faxes. Stutsman said she looked over the list of departments that have fax lines and thinks arguments could be made regarding why they are needed. Schultz said the associated monthly fees will be eliminated when the new phone system is in use, and the cost of connecting them will also be lower. As a result, it probably won’t be as much of an issue.
Neuzil said notification of potential changes will be given at the next Elected Officials and Department Heads Meetings and asked if Schultz would mind presenting. Stutsman said she thinks the presentation should come from the Board. Neuzil asked which Board member would have the knowledge to do so. Stutsman said Schultz can fill in the details, but she doesn’t think it is Schultz’s responsibility to decide what changes will be made. Neuzil said he and Schultz will coordinate the presentation together.
Johnson said the proposed budget for the Board of Supervisor’s Office is not flat because he is still learning how specific items are handled. He said the process for cell phone reimbursement has been inconsistent. Although not all employees in the department have been seeking reimbursement, he thought he should budget for them all to receive it. Individuals can subsequently choose whether to take it. Neuzil said it doesn’t look like there have been any changes when readjustment of the FY10 budget is done. Johnson agreed.
Johnson said he thinks the line currently titled Minor Equipment should be changed to Supplies because the $1,600 expense is for supplies other than paper. Neuzil asked if FY10 would need to be readjusted for supplies. Claiborne said that the Board should hold off on readjustment. Neuzil suggested that the change should be made in the FY11 budget as Supplies. Johnson said that the entire $1,600 is made up of expenses to Frohwein's. Stutsman recommended lowering the amount to $1,000 for FY11. Johnson said he would go back and examine whether the line is misnamed.
Sullivan asked about the Chamber of Commerce D.C. trip line. Johnson responded that the expense for that was moved to Transportation. Sullivan asked if the whole $3,400 is all transportation expense or if it included registration fees and other expenses. Neuzil pointed out that the expense is a package which encompasses various costs including registration fees. Johnson said that the entire amount is for the trip. Claiborne stated that the Auditor’s Office classified it as Transportation. He continued that the Auditor’s Office maintains separate line items for the expenses of each Supervisor. Sullivan pointed out that he spends below the total but is over in three of the four line items and is frustrated by the separation of the line items. Johnson suggested that the GEMs system may help resolve some of the issues in the future.
Rettig suggested that the budget just be one line or the amounts of each line could be adjusted to resolve the overage on certain lines. Sullivan said he prefers one line but at a minimum he would like to adjust the budgeted amounts. Neuzil suggested moving $800 from the Registration Fees line to the Meals and Lodging line to make the budget closer to actual expenses. Sullivan agreed. Claiborne adjusted the items on the budget spreadsheet. Johnson said he would check with the Auditor’s Office to see if it could be done differently.
Sullivan asked about the budgeting for various dues. He said that the budget for dues is currently less than what is actually being spent. Claiborne responded that the Chamber dues of $722 were taken out of that line but should have been taken out of Central Services. Other dues also come out of Central Services. Stutsman asked about Claiborne’s membership dues to the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Claiborne responded that the dues are $350 per year. Neuzil noted that the GFOA dues are a countywide expense.
Johnson said that the expense for magazines, periodicals and books is high. He said that in meeting with the County Attorney it was clear that an updated set of the Iowa Code was needed for the Board and he ordered a set. He said he later found out that he could order the set for a lesser amount since the order was for a board of elected officials and the excess paid was being returned.
Stutsman asked about notary fees. She said the fees are not a large amount but wondered if it is necessary to have notaries in every office. She asked why there is not just one notary in a central office such as the Auditor’s Office. Johnson noted that the notary expenses are currently for himself and Claiborne. Neuzil said that notary fees are an area where more efficiency can be created.
Rettig asked if the adding of the $1,600 for supplies made this budget different from the previous year’s budget. Johnson agreed.
Johnson said he will look into the expenses budgeted for printing and binding to see if he can balance the Board’s budget. Sullivan suggested a more generic name for the expense category that would include all office expenses. He said he thinks the Board has an obligation to come in with a flat budget since all of the other departments are coming in flat. Neuzil said that the Board is only over by $1,000. Claiborne pointed out that savings will come out of personnel. Sullivan said that the Board is asking other departments to be flat outside of personnel. Johnson responded that he should be able to offset the increase in Supplies by adjusting the Printing and Binding and the Office Equipment Purchase budgets.
Rettig asked about the National Association of Counties (NACo) trip to Washington D.C. and whether it would be better to send two people but in two different trips to Washington D.C. so that there would be multiple contacts with Iowa’s Senators. Neuzil said that he goes to Washington D.C. in a trip funded out of his own budget. He said that it is hard to go to NACo D.C. and the NACo National Conference out of one budget.
Johnson said that he calculated a 2% savings in two different ways. He said that there had been previous discussion about whether the 2% savings included personnel or not. The first calculation was assuming that personnel expenses were not to be included. He recommended taking a small amount of out of registration fees to save $755. Another area where savings could be made is the budget for magazines, periodicals and books. Some of the publications the Board receives are now available online. Sullivan agreed that if the paper is online there is no need to receive it. Neuzil said that the Iowa City Press Citizen is different online than it is in print. Stutsman said that maybe there could be a consolidation with publications just as they have discussed with other services. She asked if there could be one subscription for the entire building as opposed to multiple subscriptions for different departments.
Stutsman thinks that if the County is in a budget crisis then things should not be done the way they had been done before. She said it is time for thoughts on how to change things. Sullivan asked why the County pays for weekend papers when they are not read. He suggested adjusting the subscriptions to be Monday through Friday.
Johnson said the other calculation that he performed included personnel so a total savings of $11,000 would need to be identified. He said that to save $11,000 he reduced the budgets for travel and registration fees. He said that when compared to what is used it is not really that large of a cut. Sullivan asked if the Chamber trip to D.C. is worth it for two people or if the Board should only send one person. Neuzil said that starting next year he is comfortable with only one person attending the trip. Other individuals can go if they so choose but the costs should come out of their personal budget.
Stutsman asked if it is worth the amount of money required to lobby for Iowa City and Coralville needs. Rettig said she thinks it would be beneficial to send individuals in two different trips. Neuzil said he thinks there is benefit to having at least one person from the County at the table in whatever discussions the Chamber has with representatives. The Board discussed how the budget for the Chamber trip should be divided between the Transportation and Chamber D.C. Trip lines. They decided that $1,700 should be put into each line.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek presented the Human Resources budget. She said that the budget is a straight line budget with a few line item changes. She said the County Assessor has provided a $3,000 stipend in the past years. Rettig asked about a statement that said that the Human Resources Budget represents 0% of the Johnson County Budget. She said that such a statement would mean that there are $0 being spent by Johnson County and such is not the case. Shramek agreed and stated that it should be less than 1% and not 0%.
Shramek said that if the stipend from the County Assessor would not continue she would look to Central Services for outside negotiation assistance with Collective Bargaining Negotiator Judy Perkins. Stutsman asked Shramek how that would work. She asked if Shramek would take more of the responsibility for that. Shramek said changes would have to be made so that the negotiation would be over certain units like Public Professional Maintenance Employees (PPME) or the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
Rettig asked how the possibility of the Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC) coming into the County system should be reflected, whether it should be stipends or reimbursement for services. Shramek said that her recommendation would be that it would cover actual costs and that the County would not make any profit on those HR services. Rettig asked if there would be an overhead cost. Shramek responded that it would be no more than the current overhead cost. Stutsman asked if the JECC would be billed for those costs. Shramek confirmed that it would be billed for actual costs. Rettig asked about how the difference in actual costs would be distinguished from overhead costs. Shramek said that the total budget for HR could be divided by the number of employees and get a cost per employee and then add 12 more employees because currently 12 of the employees in the JECC are employees of Johnson County. Stutsman asked if a different budget would need to be used to calculate the cost per employee if all of the employees at the JECC were included in the billing. Shramek agreed. She said that the direction taken thus far is that only the County employees would be included so a different budget would not be needed right now.
Rettig said that she has an interest with the County providing HR services for the JECC. Shramek said that the issue is scheduled to be discussed on December 17, 2009. Stutsman asked whether the health care costs have come in. Shramek said that those costs have come in and that they have increased by 7%. She said that there had been 14 individuals on the high claim list in the last year and those will result in high expenses in the future as well. Rettig asked what constitutes a high claim. Shramek responded that over $35,000 in claims will place a person on the high claims list. She said that 14 individuals is a substantial number compared to the past.
Claiborne said that Deputy Auditor Dana Aschenbrenner has requested a resolution showing the transfer of $175,000 for a replacement truck in Secondary Roads. Claiborne said that the money from the sale of Prairie du Chien Road property and insurance money will cover the cost. He said that the transfer is part of the Fall amendment but a formal resolution is needed. He asked that it be put on the Formal Meeting agenda for December 17, 2009. Claiborne said that no discussion should really be needed since it was discussed with the Fall amendment. Neuzil asked that the issue be placed on the agenda. Johnson agreed.
Sullivan discussed an email sent by Deputy Auditor Mark Kistler regarding Tax Increment Financing (TIF) information. He recommended presenting the information to the Legislators when they come on December 16, 2009. He said that the bottom line is that the County dollars are $4.8 million that the County does not receive. Rather the money goes to the General Fund. Stutsman said that she would like to see a cumulative document. Claiborne said that he usually provides that in a budget presentation. Stutsman wants people to know that the Board balances the budget without that money.
Claiborne said that the deadlines for the budget that he provided are set in stone to comply with publishing needs of the Auditor’s Office. Publishing is scheduled for January 11, 2010.
Neuzil pointed out an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette which discussed how the roll-backs affect budgets and property assessments.
Adjourned at 11:39 a.m.
______________________________________________________________________
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By:
On the _______ day of _____________________, 2009
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary
Sent to the Board of Supervisors on February 18, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.