MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JANUARY 13, 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Health Care Self-Funded Rates and Non-Bargaining Employee Contributions Effective July 1, 2011................................................................................... 1
Reports and Inquiries from Executive Assistant Andy Johnson.................................................. 4
Board of Supervisors: Parking Policy Update........................................................................... 4
Reports and Inquiries from the Board of Supervisors................................................................. 8
Chairperson Harney called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 7:21 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Terrence Neuzil, Janelle Rettig, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said she met with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Wellmark) representatives in December 2010. The County’s self funded rates for next year’s plan are going up 8.5%. The projected claims are at 8.79% and the administrative and stop-loss fees are increasing a little over 6%. The County has 508 enrollees on the plan, 203 on the single plan and the remainder on the family plan. During the past year the County’s claims alone exceeded $4.5 million. The estimated suggested funding for next year is $5.7 million. She said to put that amount in perspective the Auditor’s Office will be cutting a check for $110,000 every week in order to cover the County’s weekly draw.
Shramek said the County had another tough year concerning claims. There were 96 claimants of over $10,000. Eight of those are over $50,000 and that is the County’s specific stop-loss. Wellmark’s book of business would expect 39 claimants over $10,000 with five over $50,000. She said the County’s health is a little bit worse than Wellmark’s standard book of business. Stutsman asked if this number is climbing every year. Shramek said it has been steady the last couple of years. She said that is bad because the County can have a bad year but with a few bad years in a row that tends to be the new trend.
Shramek said the County’s current monthly rates are $420.26 for a single plan and $1,166.24 for a family plan. The health care pool has a little over $3 million in it. She said that amount is pretty steady. The County is funding right at the estimated suggested rates. She said this means the County does not include compliance fees for 513C which alone is $38,000, or for 509A which is the County’s actuarial costs. The County has received recommendations from Wellmark to decrease health care costs. The recommendations included increasing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums, implementing a three-tier pharmacy plan, and implementing an emergency room co-payment structure. Stutsman asked Shramek if pharmacy is included in the claims. Shramek said the pharmacy is included and rolled into the medical.
Shramek said this past year’s revenues exceeded the claims with the Medicare Carve-Out by a little over $20,000. The County’s current monthly rate is $388.52. Wellmark has always noted that other companies assess retirees the same amount as their single plan. She said all things considered, her recommendation is to apply the same increase of 8.5% for the Medicare Carve-Out.
Shramek said when looking at employee contributions they look at a balanced approach to manage the self-funded plan. She said this is because the health care costs continue to increase and they like to balance that between the users and the whole population. Contributions are automatically taken out on a pretax basis. The monthly rates are divided by two and deducted from the first two paychecks of every month.
Shramek said effective July 1, 2011, the County full-time benefit rates for the Administrative Unit will be $0.00 for single and $40.00 for family, Ambulance is $7.50 and $40.00, SEATS is $7.50 and $40.00, Secondary Roads is $0.00 and $40.00, the Sheriff’s Office contract is open, and Social Services is $7.50 and $40.00. Stutsman said currently the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t pay anything for single or family. Shramek said the Sheriff's Office is currently at $0.00 for the single plan and $35.00 for the family plan.
Shramek said her recommendation for health care is for the Board to approve the following rates which represent an 8.5% increase at a Formal meeting. The single plan rate would be $4.56, the family plan would be $1,265.42, and Medicare Carve-Out would be $421.54. Historically the County has always followed the Administrative Unit for non-bargaining employees. Shramek said she thinks now is the time the County needs to take a leadership role. The County has been trying to negotiate employee contributions with Public Professional and Municipal Employees since 2003 and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees has been paying single contributions since 2005. Shramek said she recommends the Board approve an FY12 arrangement of the single plan at $7.50 per month and the family plan at $40.00 per month for non-bargaining employees at the next Formal meeting. She believes that is still a good deal for the County.
Rettig asked Shramek if the County is considering going to a three-tier system in single, couple, and family plans that more adequately reflects the cost for the County to deliver the services. She asked if there is a reason the County has never considered that option. Sullivan said the County has considered it in the past. Shramek said she has looked into this option, but because the County is self-funded, the three-tier system would force family contributions to be significantly higher. In the past the Board has always taken a pro-family approach and kept it a two-tier plan. Shramek said the County can look at making a third tier. It would obviously be in between the two existing tiers and would be employee plus spouse or employee plus dependant child. Neuzil said he thinks it is worth looking into. Rettig said she thinks it would more adequately reflect what the actual costs are and what employee contributions to those plans should be. She thinks non-bargaining units should be contributing what the County is asking other employees to contribute and the $7.50 and $40.00 rate makes sense and she thinks it is going to have to go higher in the future. Neuzil said he thinks it is a good idea to make that recommendation for this coming week. He also thinks that it should be considered during the salary adjustments for FY12. There should be the potential for not following the Administrative Unit for non-bargaining employees.
Stutsman said she is interested in looking into the recommendations from Wellmark. She thinks the County needs to do whatever it can to try to keep health costs as reasonable as possible. If there is anything the County can do to help itself, it should do that. Shramek said next year the County will have all six collective bargaining units open and the County will be able to look at plan design changes.
Sullivan asked if Shramek arrived at the Medicare Carve-Out because to the best of her knowledge that is going to cover the need. He said the other places that are paying for a single plan know that the cost of the single plan covers it. He asked if it would save the County work to agree to charge a single-plan rate. Shramek said it would save the County work but she feels that the County should not make money doing it. She wants to have costs equal expenses as much as possible.
Rettig asked how many people are in the Medicare Carve-Out group. Shramek said 27 are in the group. Sullivan said he does not think the County would want to go there in a single year because it would be a big bump but it may be a worthwhile goal to get there over three years to make them the same. Stutsman said the County has been bumping it up all along. Shramek said last year the County did contribute to the plan. It varies every year. Rettig said before the Board goes into contract negotiations it would be helpful to learn more about how to control health care costs.
Shramek said one thing to consider with the Medicare Carve-Out is that those individuals have Medicare as their primary plan and the County is a secondary payer. Sullivan said he is thinking more along the lines of the amount of work that Human Resources (HR) staff puts in to determine those rates and if the County can save 10 or 20 hours of work by saying the single rate is the standard rate. Shramek said HR has to keep track actuarially on some of the reports and they would still have to complete the work.
Stutsman said in years past the County has sent information to employees because sometimes they lose sight of how much the family plans cost. She said she hopes the County will send out the information to the employees again. Health care is a great benefit for County employees. Sullivan said at one time the Board talked about creating a benefit sheet that summarizes salary and insurance coverage. He thinks the County should do that again. Stutsman agreed. Rettig said she thinks every County employee with health insurance should read the executive summary. The report sums up the amount of money it is going to cost and for example, for $7.50 someone is getting $456.00 of coverage. She thinks the summary is very telling. Shramek suggested putting the summary on the employee Intranet. Stutsman and Sullivan agreed that is a good idea.
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson said the Board’s Budget Work Session is scheduled for January 14, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. The Community Leadership Program's class for Human Services Day is scheduled for January 14, 2011, all day in the Health and Human Services (HHS) Building in Room 203. He said Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia is the leader for that event. County offices other than emergency services are closed on January 17, 2011, for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day holiday. A Budget Work Session is scheduled for January 18, 2011, at 9:00 a.m., a Key Issues Meeting is scheduled for January 18, 2011, at 1:30 p.m., and the canvass of votes for the University Heights election is scheduled for January 18, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. The Board received an email that the Compensation Board has scheduled their meeting for January 18, 2011, at 5:00 p.m. He asked the Board to send him any input they would like to add to the letter to the Compensation Board. The Board could approve the letter at the Budget Meeting scheduled for January 18, 2011 so it is approved by the Board before the Compensation Board Meeting. A Strategic Planning Meeting is scheduled for January 19, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. and an Elected Officials Meeting is scheduled for January 19, 2011, at 1:30 p.m. The Formal and Informal Board Meetings are scheduled for January 20, 2011, at 9:00 a.m.
Sullivan said there are a couple of items that the Parking Committee suggested which Facilities Manager David Kempf wants to make sure that the majority of the Board is in agreement with before he moves forward. He said the parking lot next to the Administration Building is ready to be opened. The hardware is installed and functioning, the paving is done, and cars could park there. Sullivan said Kempf wants the Board to give him the go ahead to allow cars to start parking in the lot. He said Kempf suggests opening the lot and leaving the gate arms up for a short time while employees get used to parking in the lot. Within around two weeks, the arms would come down and employees would have to use their access cards to enter the lot. Sullivan said Kempf suggests that when the County makes the move to the new lot the Board eliminates employee parking in the reserved parking spaces in the Administration Building lot and those employees would be asked to move their vehicles to the new lot. The Parking Committee agreed with the suggestions and Kempf wants to make sure the Board is in agreement.
Harney said this should be discussed at a Key Issues meeting. Rettig said she does not mind discussing this item at a Key Issues meeting but does not understand the purpose of investing money in the parking lot and having it sit for a month. It has been available for use for a month and simply removing the cones would allow people to start using it. She asked why not start using the parking lot. Harney said he does not have a problem with that. Neuzil said he thinks the main issue is whether the lot is shoveled. Stutsman and Sullivan agreed. Neuzil said if the lot is ready to be used they should give the go ahead to Kempf sooner rather than later. Sullivan said he talked to Kempf and they wanted to put it on a meeting agenda and he is not sure if it needs to be discussed at a Key Issues meeting. He said Kempf just wants direction. If Supervisors are OK with the suggestions, the Parking Committee would like a letter sent from the Board to all the employees in the building informing them they would need to move their vehicles. Neuzil said the public will appreciate the fact that there will be more parking in the Administration Building parking lot, especially during certain times of the month that are busy for the Treasurer’s Office and for the Auditor’s Office as well. Stutsman said there are going to be times when it will look like the Administration Building is not even open because the lot will be empty.
Sullivan said the other piece that requires Board consideration is that Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell informed the Parking Committee that the Parking Ordinance is out of date. The Ordinance only addresses the Courthouse. Chappell said it addresses the Courthouse and the Administration Building. Sullivan said OK. He said they talked about the need to amend the Parking Ordinance so it includes the 855 South Dubuque Street location as well as the new lot that will be added. There may be other changes that Chappell needs to consider. Sullivan said if the Board is interested in asking Chappell to update the ordinance, he can get a clear sense from the letter of what the changes will be, and then the Board can ask him to update the ordinance. Neuzil said he is OK with having Chappell update the Ordinance. Harney said he is OK with it too. He said he has no problem opening the new lot but he thinks the Board needs to have a discussion on these changes during a Board meeting. Stutsman asked if Harney is talking about the Key Issues Meeting. Harney said yes. Sullivan said he believes that was the intent of having it on the agenda for today's Informal Meeting.
Stutsman said she thought that at one time the Parking Committee said the first row in the new lot would be for department heads and elected officials. Sullivan said he thinks that is still the case but Kempf can not put up those signs now because of the weather. Stutsman said OK. Neuzil said it looks like the Parking Committee is still targeting April 4, 2011 as the start date for charging employees the parking fee on the County campus. Stutsman said that is the target. Sullivan said the Board does not need to act on that item right now, there is plenty of time. The somewhat urgent item for the Board to discuss today was if there is agreement to use the new lot in the way Kempf suggested. That will mean that the employees who park in the Administration Building lot will be loosing their reserved parking spots and that Chappell would need to update the Parking Ordinance.
Rettig said this does beg discussion regarding whether department heads will have reserved parking spots in the new lot. The Board has already been approached by a department head in the HHS Building who would like a reserved spot in the parking ramp. If department heads are going to receive reserved spots in the Administration Building lot then why would they not do the same for the HHS Building ramp. Stutsman said she does not have a problem with having reserved spots. Neuzil agreed. Rettig said if that is what the Board wants to do that is fine but they need to decide that department heads would have a reserved spot in the ramp also. She said Kempf indicated that there would be room to have reserved parking spots on the first floor of the HHS Building parking ramp.
Neuzil said the idea is that there are certain employees, including the Board of Supervisors, who are on numerous committees and sometimes have only five minutes between meetings. Currently, he is on 41 committees and it would be nice to know he will have a parking spot available to him during all the traveling back and forth to and from meetings and community events. Rettig said she has no problem saying that is what the Board is going to do and saying the first row will be assigned to elected officials and department heads because they come and go quickly. She thinks the Board also needs to direct Kempf to find spots in the parking ramp for department heads that work in the HHS Building. Stutsman said she is OK with that.
Neuzil said it would be nice to have direction from the Parking Committee regarding employee parking after hours or on the weekends. He asked if employees will be charged to park if they enter the lot after business hours and on the weekends. Sullivan said on a week day an employee can only be charged $1.25 one time no matter how many times they enter and exit the lot on a given week day whether it is 5:00 a.m. or 11:00 p.m.. Neuzil said OK. Sullivan said there is no charge to park on Saturdays and Sundays. An employee would probably not even have to use their swipe card and could park in the Administration Building's public parking lot. Neuzil asked if an employee can park in the Administration Building public lot after 5:00 p.m. Stutsman said yes. Rettig said she thinks employees should. She said for an example, Administrative Secretary/Clerk Nancy Tomkovicz has to be with the Board at this night meeting and at 4:30 p.m. Tomkovicz should have retrieved her car and parked in the Administration Building lot as close to the front door as possible because the Board is asking her to leave work late at night.
Neuzil said for example, the Board will often have meetings outside of the Administration Building until 5:00 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. He will not spend the $1.25 to come in 15 minutes earlier. He is not sure if others will be in the same situation. He asked if employees should have to pay to park after hours in the employee lot or if the public lot at the Administration Building is available after 5:00 p.m. Rettig said she thinks there is a reasonable time when the building is shutting down that an employee should take whatever public spot is available. Neuzil asked if that would be 4:30 p.m. and that he would like to get some clarity. Sullivan said the Committee has not spent a lot of time on that issue and this is the first time it has come up. He thinks when there is a specific situation like what Neuzil said it is not bad to have the Committee consider it. The advantage to the Committee is that it is composed of 15 people from all walks of County life.
Neuzil said it seems reasonable to him that after 4:30 p.m. employees can park in the Administration Building's public lot. Sullivan said to some extent no matter what the Committee does there is a certain amount of common sense that applies. Neuzil said he would assume after 4:30 p.m. the public lot at the Administration Building would be available for any employee. Stutsman agreed. Rettig said she is not sure if anyone will be there ticketing an employee because they are in the lot at 4:29 p.m. Stutsman said if an employee parks in the lot at noon there will be a problem. Neuzil agreed and said that is a different deal. Rettig said if employees are flaunting it then that is a different matter. She is prepared to move forward and get the new lot open. Employees are parking in random spots and even though the details are not worked out on the finances and legalities, it should be opened and Kempf should be directed to mark the reserved spots informally until spring when he can paint the pavement.
Sullivan said Parking Ordinance update should include a provision for the County to ticket and or tow vehicles in violation of the parking policy. He said if the Ordinance does not allow cars to be ticketed or towed then the County does not have the power to tell employees where they are able to park. That is why the Ordinance should be updated. He asked Chappell if that is correct. Chappell said that is correct to an extent. Harney said another issue is who would be in charge of enforcing the Ordinance. Chappell said that is under consideration, the Ordinance has not been updated in a long time.
Rettig clarified that the Board wants Kempf to get the lot open, have the reserved spots marked informally and have the cones removed soon. Sullivan said in terms of proceeding, the Parking Committee had imagined that Johnson would be writing a letter for Harney to sign that the Board would approve at the next Formal Meeting. The letter would be sent to all employees and would include dates of what is happening and when. He asked if that is what the Board would like to do. Rettig said if the lot can get plowed, the cones get taken down, and the spots get marked, then employees can start parking there immediately. After the Board votes on the item, then Johnson can send employees an email informing them of the requirement to park in the new employee lot.
Neuzil said the spots at Car Quest would not be used either. Rettig said Car Quest spots can definitely not be used after April 4, 2011 when the County starts charging employees for parking. Neuzil said if the County is going to start plowing the new lot then the Car Quest lot does not need to be plowed also. He said the Board should look into those costs. Rettig said the County is not going to plow the Car Quest lot. Sullivan said Kempf can chain the Car Quest lot off; it is just a matter of timing. Rettig said that is a good point and the Board can say that after a certain date the County will no longer be plowing the Car Quest lot and the employees will need to be parking in the lots that are plowed. Neuzil said that will save Kempf a little bit of time since he is going to be having extra work.
Johnson asked for clarification regarding the reserved spots. He asked if there would be reserved spots in the new employee lot just for elected officials and department heads and some reserved spots for department heads in the ramp. Neuzil said that seems reasonable. Rettig said Johnson’s letter could state which spots will be reserved and direct employees not to park there.
Sullivan said some of the other items in the letter are not as time sensitive and the Board can discuss those items in a month or two.
Neuzil said the next Listening Post is scheduled for January 21, 2011, at 7:30 a.m. at Bruegger’s Bagel Bakery in Coralville. The topic for discussion on this month continues to be about the Iowa Legislature and the impacts that some proposed legislative agendas could have on County government.
Rettig said she had liaison meetings with Mental Health/Disabilities Services Director Kristen Artley and Information Technology (IT) Director Jean Schultz. The suite door to IT is now locked, a buzzer will be installed, and a camera is installed, per recommendations from the Department of Homeland Security. She had a Recycling Committee meeting with Planning and Zoning Assistant Planner Joshua Busard and Kempf.
Sullivan said there was the discussion on the Property Management Code. He continues to work on the Communications Committee which is still working on a media plan. The Board had several Budget Meetings. He is serving on the United Way Income Committee. Since Sullivan now serves on the Empowerment Board he met with Early Childhood Specialist Laurie Nash to learn more about the Empowerment Board. He had liaison meetings with County Engineer Greg Parker and Medical Examiner Administrator Michael Hensch. Sullivan said he would like to reflect on some things that have benefited the people of Iowa, the Smokefree Air Act, 99% of the children in Iowa with health insurance, same-day voter registration; Iowa is at the top of the Country in terms of wind power and renewable energy, and the fiscal house is in good order. He thanks Governor Chet Culver for those accomplishments as he leaves office and wishes him well in whatever he ends up doing in the future.
Stutsman attended a Social Networking Committee meeting and an Agriculture Committee meeting. The Board should have received notices about the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce Economics of Agriculture Breakfast Series which will discuss organic foods and their impact in the County. Plans are continuing for the extension building and they are considering a May 31, 2011 move in date. The 2011 Agriculture Tour will be at Scattergood Friends School. Stutsman attended a Livable Communities for Successful Aging Transportation meeting. She had liaison meetings with Parker, Hensch, and SEATS Director Tom Brase. She attended the retirement reception for Assistant Attorney David Tiffany and spent January 12, 2011 in Des Moines at an Iowa Department of Human Services Council Meeting.
Harney said Tiffany has done an excellent job during his 26 years working for the County. Harney attended the East Central Iowa Council of Governments Transportation Technical Advisory Committee meeting since Stutsman was unable to attend. Social Services' "You Earned It! Now Claim It!" free tax service for qualifying residents begins January 30, 2011 and goes through April 16, 2011.
Adjourned at 8:03 p.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Nancy Tomkovicz, Recording Secretary