MINUTES OF THE JOINT MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND JOHNSON COUNTY DEPARTMENT HEADS:
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Work Session with Department Heads..................................................................................... 2
Update/Report/Discussion of the Following:.............................................................................. 2
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek: Review of Healthcare Coverage Costs 2
Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne: FY 2012 County Budget........................................ 4
Board of Supervisors: Blizzard Response...................................................................... 5
Board of Supervisors: Draft Inclement Weather and Emergency Policy........................ 15
Board of Supervisors: Policy Governing Weapons on County Property......................... 18
Board of Supervisors: Employee Parking.................................................................... 21
Board of Supervisors: NACo County Government Month – Serving Our Veterans, Armed Forces and Their Families.......................................................................................................................... 22
Board of Supervisors: Johnson County Strategic Plan.................................................. 22
Reports/Updates from Department Heads.............................................................................. 23
Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak......................................................... 23
Information Technology Director Jean Schultz............................................................ 23
MH/DS Director Kris Artley..................................................................................... 23
Iowa City Assessor Denny Baldrige........................................................................... 23
County Treasurer Tom Kriz....................................................................................... 24
SEATS Director Tom Brase...................................................................................... 24
County Recorder Kim Painter.................................................................................... 24
Public Health Director Doug Beardsley...................................................................... 24
Conservation Director Harry Graves.......................................................................... 24
Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier........................................................................... 25
Ambulance Service Assistant Director Dave Dvorsky................................................. 25
County Auditor Tom Slockett..................................................................................... 25
Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek......................................................... 26
County Attorney Janet Lyness................................................................................... 27
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia................................................................... 27
Emergency Management Director Dave Wilson......................................................... 28
Supervisor Terrence Neuzil....................................................................................... 28
Supervisor Sally Stutsman.......................................................................................... 28
Supervisor Rod Sullivan............................................................................................. 28
Supervisor Janelle Rettig........................................................................................... 29
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson............................................................................. 29
Supervisor Pat Harney.............................................................................................. 29
Date and Time of Next Meeting............................................................................................ 29
Chairperson Harney called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Health and Human Services Building as a meeting with department heads at 1:30 p.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Terrence Neuzil, Janelle Rettig, Sally Stutsman, and Rod Sullivan.
Department heads present were: County Attorney Janet Lyness, County Auditor Tom Slockett, County Recorder Kim Painter arrived at 2:50 p.m., County Treasurer Tom Kriz, City Assessor Dennis Baldridge, County Assessor Bill Greazel, Conservation Director Harry Graves, Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson, County Engineer Greg Parker, Facilities Manager David Kempf, Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek, Information Technology Director Jean Schultz, Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch, Mental Health and Disability Services Director Kris Artley, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, Public Health Director Douglas Beardsley, SEATS Director Tom Brase, Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia, and Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier. Staff present were: Ambulance Assistant Director Dave Dvorsky, Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne, Board of Supervisors Executive Assistant Andy Johnson, and Auditor’s Office Recording Secretaries Nancy Tomkovicz and Cynthia Courter.
Human Resources (HR) Administrator Lora Shramek said at the last Department Head Meeting she reported she had just met with the Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield (Wellmark) representative and was informed that the County’s healthcare rates are going up 8.5%. New claims will be going up 8.79%, and administrative and stop-loss fees will be going up 6.08%. There are 508 enrollees on the plan with approximately 200 enrolled in the single plan and 300 enrolled in the family plan. The County’s claims in 2010 exceeded $4.5 million. As shown on the handout, the County’s suggested funding is $5.7 million. That dollar amount breaks down to an estimated monthly single rate of $456 and a family rate of $1,265.
Shramek said the value of the single plan rate equates to $2.63 per hour and the value of the family plan rate equates to $7.30 per hour. She said minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, so the value of the family plan rate is actually $0.05 per hour above the minimum wage.
Shramek said if anyone thinks the 8.5% increase is not too bad, keep in mind that this is the third year in a row the County has had high claims. In 2010, there were 96 claims over $10,000. Eight of those were over $50,000, which is the County’s individual stop-loss. Wellmark’s book of business would expect 39 claims over $10,000 and five claims over $50,000. The County’s claims are over twice that amount. The 8.5% increase for 2011 represents a $99.18 increase per month for the family plan rate and a $35.74 increase per month for the single plan rate.
Shramek said on the back of the handout she provided a history of all of the County’s monthly rates, starting in 1998. From 1998 to 2003 the County’s rates doubled. From 1998 to July 1, 2011, the rates have tripled. The County has done many things over the years to help control costs with significant contributions from the County’s Wellness Program. These cost controlling measures include the formation of an Insurance Committee, moving from a comprehensive major medical plan to a preferred provider organization plan, and increasing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums. The County also approved implementing a monthly contribution for family plans in 2006 and will be requiring a monthly contribution for single plans for non-bargaining employees in 2011. The Board of Supervisors approved a $7.50 per month contribution for non-bargaining employees effective July 1, 2011.
Shramek said the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) has been paying for single coverage since 2005. The County just got the Public Professional and Municipal Employees (PPME) Sheriff’s Office arbitration results back and they will begin paying $5.00 per month on July 1, 2011. She said no one likes to see costs go up on the employee side, but clearly the County has to continue to look at ways to control rising expenses.
Shramek said an employee on the family health care plan pays $40 per month, or $0.23 per hour of the $7.30 per hour total cost. The County pays the remainder. This is a significant benefit that the County provides for its employees. The County has maintained a rich plan for a long time, but will probably have to start looking at other cost-saving measures. Some of the cost-containment recommendations from Wellmark include higher deductibles and higher out-of-pocket maximums, implementing a three-tier pharmacy, and an emergency room co-payment of approximately $100.
R. Sullivan said Wellmark is not the County’s insurer; they are a third-party administrator. Shramek confirmed. R. Sullivan said the County is actually self-insured and asked Shramek to talk about what that means in terms of creating a plan. Shramek said the County is self-funded, which means the County pays for its own healthcare claims internally. The County hires Wellmark as a third-party administrator to process those claims. The County also pays Wellmark $9.24 per month per employee for the network access fee. This network consists of doctors that have contracted with Wellmark to provide discounts on services. These discounts are reflected on the explanation of benefits statement. Shramek said there is a significant return on this $9.24 fee.
Shramek said these insurance costs do not include monies the County is required to pay to the State for re-insurance. Re-insurance is required for self-funded plans in the State of Iowa. Those 513C.10 fees are not included, as well as the actuarial fees which are not included either.
Stutsman said there was an article in the Des Moines Register newspaper this weekend about people accessing healthcare at Mayo Clinic. She asked Shramek if she sees that happening with County employees. Shramek said the Mayo Clinic has never been near the top on the list of providers used by County employees. Certainly, some people receive treatment there, but it does not happen often. She knows Wellmark does not have a good discount network with the Mayo Clinic. With the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics located in Iowa City, most County employees seek treatment locally.
Harney clarified this is not a problem with the County’s plan. Shramek said it is not. Stutsman asked about the emergency room co-pay and if it is for every emergency room visit, or just non-emergency visits. Shramek said if an emergency room visit results in admitting the patient to the hospital, then the emergency room co-pay is waived. Shramek said if someone goes to the emergency room and is having a stroke, for example, then the co-pay will be waived. The emergency room co-pay will be applied to situations that are similar to treatment received in a walk-in clinic.
Shramek said they do not know for sure what is going to happen, but certainly the cost of healthcare has outpaced other economic indicators. Stutsman asked Shramek how she is going to proceed. She asked if Shramek will form a committee to review the recommendations from Wellmark or if she will look them over with HR staff and then make recommendations. Shramek said HR purposely has all six collective bargaining agreements open next year so the County could negotiate a change. There is also the possibility of reviving the Insurance Committee. The County will want to get actuarial numbers on these plans to see how much each of these options would save the County.
Conservation Director Harry Graves asked Shramek if the Wellmark recommendations will be implemented or if HR is still investigating. Shramek said these are just recommendations and nothing has been approved. R. Sullivan told Graves the $7.50 per month charge for the single plan will be going into effect.
Budget Coordinator Rich Claiborne said he passed out a list of the proposed FY12 County Budget highlights. He said for Ambulance the Board has approved an inventory and scheduling system. The Board has approved an Assistant County Attorney position for the County Attorney's Office and they are expected to increase revenue by about $51,000. The Board has approved a part-time Account Clerk II position to help Account Clerk II Carla Scherbring in the County Auditor's Office. The addition of this staff person is expected to save the County $8,170 in overtime pay.
Claiborne said the Board is initiating several new programs: a fleet study, a grant writer/responder position, and mobile home safety and health. The Board has approved a patrol deputy position for the Sheriff's Office. Currently there are 26 patrol deputies and the Sheriff's Office has a goal to have 30 patrols, which equals one patrol deputy per 1,000 residents in the non-incorporated areas.
Claiborne said the Board has approved an investigator position for the Medical Examiner's office. It is expected that that position will save the County $9,273 in overtime pay. SEATS implemented an employee van pool. Planning and Zoning will start a partnership with AmeriCorps. The General Basic Block Grants, along with Social Services, has started up an Innovation Fund. Capital Expenditures include a West Side Ambulance location and a County Attorney’s Office reception upgrade. Claiborne reminded the department heads that the budget public hearing is scheduled for March 2, 2011 at 6:00 p.m. The Board will vote on the budget at the Formal Meeting scheduled for March 10, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. He will file the budget with the State by March 15, 2011, if not sooner.
Rettig asked County Attorney Janet Lyness when an Assistant County Attorney position was last added. Lyness said one was added in the criminal division in 1996 or 1997. Rettig asked what the purpose is in adding this position. Lyness said the revenue is going to come from increased collections on past due fines and financial obligations of which the County can receive 35% or 40%. If the County collects over $400,000 per year, then the County can receive an additional 12% of the remaining 60%. This is where the County Attorney’s Office is hoping to gain the $51,000. This individual will work as a case expediter with defense attorneys and the court system, and will try to get people out of jail sooner. The goal is to make this a budget neutral position by decreasing costs at the Sheriff’s Office and increasing revenue and collections.
Rettig said with the combination of the additional Assistant County Attorney and remodeling of the dispatch area of the Jail, the Board hopes the County will be able to save some costs in inmate transport, or at least slow down rising costs.
Harney said most department heads received a copy of the draft inclement weather and emergency policy. Emergency Management Coordinator Dave Wilson said he does not have any negative comments regarding the implementation of the policy. He thinks it looks good and it is advantageous for the County to act on this fairly quickly. For a number of years, county leaders have talked about having a policy for emergencies as it relates to County business and office closures. He knows this is always an area of concern for employees. Blizzard events present some huge challenges for government leaders and the message they send to the public. Over the past 11 years, there has been an average of two serious weather events per year. Those include blizzard warnings, ice storm warnings, freezing rain warnings, and heavy snow warnings. There has been 100% accuracy in issuing these warnings.
Wilson said the severity of the emergencies varies. Since 1893 when they started keeping track, there have been five record snowfalls in Iowa City with three of those occurring within the last 11 years. There were record snowfalls of 14 inches in 2000, 10 inches in 2008, and 14.5 inches on February 1, 2011. The message the County sends to the public as it relates to the inclement weather and emergency policy is very important. It sends a serious message to the community when the County says travel is not advised on the roadways and County offices are closed. This message lets people know that the County is not doing business and wants people to be safe. The Joint Emergency Communications Center (JECC) processed over 1,100 calls for service and received 2,000 inbound calls over the 24-hour period on February 1, 2011. These numbers are equivalent to what the JECC receives during a football game on a University of Iowa homecoming weekend. Emergency Management normally has eight dispatchers for those football Saturdays. On February 1, 2011, six dispatchers were on duty, with a minimum of five in dispatch during that time, so they were extremely busy.
Wilson said the message the County sends in a severe weather warning situation is very important. In the winter there is nothing more serious than when one of the four winter warnings is issued. A winter storm warning is the equivalent of a tornado warning during the summer. He strongly recommends the Board adopt the policy. Emergency Management takes weather warnings very seriously. The accuracy of winter warnings is much more reliable than tornado warnings, which may not affect all of Johnson County. The Iowa State Patrol looks at road conditions, the Weather Service looks at weather systems and receives a couple of calls per day regarding the estimated impact, and Emergency Management always sends out at least one email per day for those. The February 1, 2011 snow event was forecast three or four days in advance, so there are a number of factors they all take into account.
Wilson said when County offices remain open people think the emergency event must not be too bad. That is not a good message or the right message for County employees, especially those with safety and health issues, or for the public. Most of the calls to Emergency Management are generated because people are out doing what they should not, which is being on the roads. Wilson said he thinks it is important the Board adopt this policy, move forward, and implement some type of mass notification system using CodeReds and reverse 911 so County employees can be notified of the County’s choices.
Social Services Coordinator Amy Correia asked about a situation where a County building or department would be closed to the public, but employees would be permitted to work. Rettig said that is her question too. She said what the Board talked about the previous week has been changed in this draft that was sent out. She is not sure it was necessarily changed for the better. She stated that the current discussion is actually on agenda item "blizzard response" and asked if they are now moving on to discussing the next agenda item which is "draft inclement weather and emergency policy."
Shramek said during the floods of 2008, buildings were closed to the public but open for employees to come to work. She said there were around three days when County employees worked, yet the doors were not open to the public. Rettig said in that case, there should be a third category added. If a building is closed to everyone, it means that if any person enters the building, they should be disciplined or arrested for trespassing. For example, this could apply in situations where there is a chemical spill, a gas main leak, or some other situation that no one should be near.
Rettig said on February 2, 2011 the Administration Building was closed to the public and the offices were not closed although it was not communicated correctly amongst Board members and some people were not informed. In her opinion, closing the building and closing offices are not the same thing. She does not think an employee should be disciplined if road conditions improved and a professional employee decide to come to work. However, the way the draft inclement weather and emergency policy is worded, if a building is closed to the public, employees would be expected to be at work. Therefore, Rettig thinks there should be a third category.
Rettig said in the first category, if a building is closed, employees are not allowed to come to work. In the second category, if a building is closed, employees are not supposed to come to work, they will not be held accountable to come to work, but if they happen to come to work, they will not be disciplined as long as they do not open the building. The third category is that the building is closed to the public, but the County still operates like normal even though they may be operating off site. Employees were told not to come to work on February 2, 2011.
Correia said if the County is closed to the public, she thinks the question to answer is whether an employee will have to use vacation leave or personal leave if they are not able to come in to work. She asked if the building is closed to the public because County officials do not want people on the road. Employees need to know they will or will not be penalized if they live close to work and are a non-bargaining employee and decide to walk in to work. She wants it to be clear that if County offices are closed to the public and it is not safe to be out, and employees do not come to work, they do not have to use vacation or sick time. Also, if employees do come to work they are not going to get overtime, they are just putting that time on their time sheet.
Rettig said that was removed from this draft, so the draft from last week and the current draft are two completely separate documents. What actually happened to the County in the most recent blizzard would not be covered in the current document at all. The Board did not intend to close the building to everyone. The Board intended that nobody, but essential personnel would come to work and others would not be held accountable for being at work. That was done retroactively and they made everyone whole by agreeing to pay employees for their normally scheduled hours.
Rettig said she thinks County Auditor Tom Slockett’s edits to the draft policy have some validity. She said Slockett’s big concern is a weather-related building closing occurring during an election. What is considered essential on one day may not be essential on another day. She thinks the changes that have been made to this document have made it weaker, less clear, and more problematic.
Lyness said several county buildings, including the Health and Human Services (HHS) Building house state offices as well as county offices. She said that is not addressed in the current draft policy, and she does not know if any discussion has occurred with any of the state entities regarding what they want to do. It is possible they could say a county building will be closed but court is being held, or a county building is being closed but Juvenile Court Services and the Department of Human Services (DHS) will still be open. This is something that is not addressed in the current draft policy either, and in an effort to avoid discrepancies, Lyness thinks a discussion should occur with those entities prior to finalizing a policy.
Harney said there are several issues to consider and he does not know how the Board will be able to address every circumstance. The intent is that county government does not close down unless it is absolutely necessary, and the recent snowstorm is probably the second time that Harney is aware of that this has occurred. The other instance would be the flood of 2008. If there is any way county offices can still operate then he thinks they should, but when it comes down to safety issues, such as when people are stranded in ditches for hours before being rescued, those need to be taken into account. That will only happen in an extreme situation.
Harney said his opinion differs from Rettig because he thinks if there are essential people that have work to do in the buildings, they should be able to come in to work if they can get to work safely. Rettig said she hopes this never happens but there will be a day when an airplane crashes into a county building, a chemical spill occurs on the road outside, or a gas main leaks, and the building will have to be closed to everyone. Under those circumstances, if someone enters the property they will be arrested for trespassing. During the recent blizzard, the buildings and offices were closed except for essential personnel. She read the following line from the draft policy: “all other county employees are expected to make reasonable effort to report to work.” She said that is not what the Board asked them to do. They asked employees to stay home. What they actually did is not covered with this new language in the draft policy. There will be a time, unfortunately, that a local governmental body will have to close a building. The Board is not going to allow someone to come in the building just because they work for DHS for example, if there happens to be a chemical spill.
Correia said she thinks that is a different situation than bad weather, which is the issue at hand. Rettig said this policy covers both emergency and inclement weather situations. Correia agreed, but the inclement weather part is different than an emergency situation. Harney said those instances can happen and it could involve an individual building where something unforeseen may very well happen, which occurs around the country all of the time. A particular building may be closed, but other buildings stay open.
Rettig said the current draft policy does not cover what the Board actually did. The only two options presented in the draft are: 1) that the building is closed to everyone and if someone enters the building they will be subject to disciplinary action; or 2) the building is closed to the public and employees are expected to make reasonable efforts to get to work. What the Board intended to say was that only essential personnel were expected to make reasonable efforts to get to work. So, what the Board actually did has been removed from the current draft policy.
Slockett said he agrees with Rettig that there is a lack of clarity in the draft policy. He said he would argue that if they are discussing Inclement Weather, item "B.1.", it is really misstating what paragraph "B" says when it says county buildings are closed to everyone. Paragraph "b" includes essential personnel. That is why Slockett suggested that number one be changed to what the County actually did, which is close county buildings to everyone except essential personnel, unless there is an authorization from the Board Chairperson for a specific individual to be present. He also suggested that item "b" under number one defines who is essential personnel by adding the following words, "essential personnel is defined as those employees performing…" and continue with the rest of the wording as it is now stated in the draft.
Slockett said as Rettig pointed out, an election day is a special situation where the election can only be postponed by the County Auditor in consultation with the State Commissioner of Elections or the Secretary of State. Slockett said he knows the Board Chairperson would always take that into account. There are 12 cities and 12 school districts in Johnson County, so there could be an election the Chairperson is unaware of, so he would like to have that specified.
Slockett referred to item "A" of the "Inclement Weather" section where it is defined that the Board Chairperson, or Vice Chairperson in the absence of the Chairperson, sets the policy. He would like it to include every possibility because the Chairperson and Vice Chairperson could be out of town or in different places. He does not care what the method is, but he suggests that if neither the Chairperson, nor the Vice Chairperson, are available then the next Supervisor available according to seniority in office, would set the policy. He does not care if it goes by seniority, alphabetically, or some other way, but he thinks it would be good to have it clear in everyone’s mind who will be making this decision in case people are out of town or unavailable.
Slockett said he agrees with Rettig that another option should be to have the building closed to everyone. He suggested that would be more appropriate to include in the "County Emergencies" section of the policy on page two. Slockett said Harney has pointed out that the degree to which the weather affects employees' ability to get to work depends on the individual and where they live. For example, Slockett lives on Highway 1 and owns a four-wheel drive vehicle so it might not be dangerous for him to drive into work.
Slockett also suggests adding some of the same language used for the "Inclement Weather" section to the "County Emergencies" section, such as who will be responsible for making decisions and definitions of essential personnel. He also recommends creating three categories and said the policy would have to be slightly rewritten to accomplish that. One category would be to close the building to everyone with no exceptions, because it is too dangerous due to a chemical spill or similar situation. The second category would be to close the building to everyone except essential personnel, and the third category would be to close the building to the public.
Harney said an issue with some of the language regarding emergencies relates to security. If the building is open for a minimum number of people it becomes a security risk because there is no one to monitor activity in the other parts of the building. This is especially a concern because the skywalk connects the Administration Building and the HHS Building. It also becomes problematic for the maintenance staff when they are trying to clear the parking lots and there are cars in the way. He thinks if the building is closed it should be closed for a purpose.
Wilson said though he does not disagree with most of Slockett’s comments, endorsing the mentality that a policy does not apply to one person, or that a particular situation is not that dangerous, is exactly what causes accidents. He said a man in Mt. Pleasant died of hypothermia within sight of his house because the snow drifts were so high. People who think a four-wheel drive will keep them safe, or that since they don't live very far from work they can get there safely, is exactly what gets people in trouble and generates over 1,000 calls for service.
Wilson said he agrees the County needs to define more clearly when certain actions will take place and the trigger points. However, when the Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management has identified that a situation is serious, then that needs to be made absolutely clear to everyone involved. People need to know that they should not come into work and it is not essential that they renew license plates on that day, and most of that business can be done online or by telecommuting.
Wilson said the ability for the County to have continuity government is important. He has sent out continuity government plan templates to the County before. They should all have the ability to remote work from home for at least a period of 24 hours. That would take a lot of the burden off Facilities Manager David Kempf and the Physical Plant staff if they were able to clean things up uninterrupted. February 2, 2011 was a great example, because by 12:00 p.m. or 1:00 p.m. Physical Plant staff had things looking pretty good and employees could come back to work. Emergency Management is not saying this needs to go on for extended periods of time, but they really need to address what are essential staff and essential government functions and what are not. The reality check is that bills can be paid remotely or they can sit for 24 hours. If a department’s operation does not work on weekends, then they perform important but nonessential functions.
Rettig said it depends on the day. During the flood of 2008, payroll became an essential purpose. Wilson agreed. Rettig said during an election, Elections staff could be essential. When a bus load of 40 individuals travels to Johnson County to be married, then the Recorder’s Office could be essential and services may have to be performed offsite. The problem is the Safety Committee draft policy from the previous week and the current draft do not address what the County actually did. Whether the County wants to adopt the current draft is a whole different matter.
Stutsman asked where the Board goes from here. She asked if they refer the policy back to the Safety Committee or set up another committee. She said they can argue all day long and asked what the best way is to handle this. Lyness said she would encourage discussion about pay and compensation because she thinks many people came into work on February 2, 2011 because otherwise they would have to take vacation or compensatory time. If the Board deals with that upfront, at least employees will know what is going to happen.
Wilson reminded people to keep in mind this happens, on average, twice per year during the winter. During the summer, it has happened twice within the last 15 years. It is not that it happens all the time, but it does happen with some frequency, so the County needs to accommodate that. The trend does not show that these extreme weather events are going to go away. The National Weather Service and other entities say the trend is for more of these events to occur, not less of them.
Rettig said she thinks these two draft policies are close to what the County actually did. She thinks a small group could put together a draft for consideration that would incorporate Slockett’s ideas. She does not think they are far away from a suitable policy. Whether three Supervisors agree to it is a different matter. R. Sullivan said there is a Safety Committee and the Board should utilize it. Stutsman agreed.
Executive Assistant Andy Johnson said the Safety Committee is not necessarily charged with addressing the compensation issue if that is going to be included. He worked with HR to add two parts because the last draft was not clear.
R. Sullivan said one of his original concerns is that employees can be placed in a really bad position if they only have two hours of vacation or sick leave and all of a sudden there is a day where the employee is told not to come to work. He does not want that employee to think they must report to work or they are going to lose their job. This would also apply to an employee who is on a disciplinary performance improvement plan. Potentially, the Board puts employees in a compromising position. That is why he likes the idea of telling employees that if the County is closed, then it is closed. That way, employees are not penalized for the fact that the Board decided to close.
Correia said if the County wants people to be safe and stay home, then they should want County employees to be safe and stay home. They do not want employees making a decision based on their available vacation time. In situations like this, certain employees who have worked for the County for many years have a lot of vacation time and a greater ability to use eight hours. However, a new employee may have only two weeks of vacation, so they may try to come in to work and end up calling 911 because they get stuck in a snow bank on their way.
Rettig said she thinks they are really close to a final draft. She is not on the Safety Committee anymore, but she thinks they may say this is above their pay grade. The Safety Committee did the preliminary work and investigation, they submitted the draft, and somehow within the last week that draft has been dramatically changed. R. Sullivan said he thinks in emergency and inclement weather situations, employees should be excused from work. He thinks that is the fairest for employees. There really have only been two instances in the last six years where this would come into play.
Harney said this policy is regarding building closures. This does not apply when there is a storm approaching and some department heads allow employees to go home early because they live a long distance away. In that case the employee takes their own vacation time to do so. He thinks the County still needs to allow that. Johnson said this topic could be addressed at an upcoming Key Issues Meeting.
Slockett said his cell phone battery died so he did not receive the message that the Administration Building was closed on February 2, 2011 and he had a meeting that he had to attend. He thanked Kempf and the Physical Plant staff because they worked very hard. They started at 3:00 a.m. on February 2, 2011 and worked themselves to exhaustion. By the time Slockett reached the Administration Building at 9:00 a.m. on February 2, 2011, the public parking lot was clear. He said the Physical Plant staff should be congratulated on the great job they did.
Slockett told Wilson that he has sympathy for the emergency workers who want everyone to behave in a way that is both safest for everybody and easiest for emergency workers. He agrees with that. County auditors would love to have voters come to polls in alphabetical order, for example, but it may not happen. Sometimes human nature must be taken into account.
Slockett said he wants to add the perspective of what the public thinks. He said R. Sullivan is one of the best, good-hearted liberals that he knows and of course R. Sullivan wants to give everyone a day off if there is any possible reason it should happen. However, there are a lot of taxpayers who are working during those situations who do not get paid when they do not come to work, so that is something that needs to be taken into consideration. He was told by a teacher that the Iowa City School District’s policy is that employees must take leave if there is a snow related cancellation. He is not arguing for that. The problem during the recent storm is that the County did not have a policy and the policy that had always been in place was changed unexpectedly by the Board. It was really admirable that Johnson put in all of the ways that the Board will inform people. Employees can find out if they need to go into work by listening to the radio and checking for that information.
Slockett said he told the Auditor’s Office employees what the old policy was, which works quite well. He said there are situations where there is a new employee with limited vacation time, but in his experience, employees really do take leave from work if they feel any sense of danger. The employees who do show up are the ones who live close by and it is not a problem for them to come in. He thinks it is admirable that the County has a policy and he is glad that it spells out the ways that people are notified of closures. He agrees with Rettig that with a few tweaks the policy will be ready to implement.
Harney asked if there is consensus from the Board to direct the Safety Committee to rewrite the basic part of the policy. At some point Harney would like to have it reviewed by the elected officials and some of the emergency services departments. Rettig said she does not think the policy should go back to the Safety Committee. They did their research and made their proposal. She thinks there should be two or three people who put all of this information together, make a draft, and get it on the agenda for a Key Issues Meeting for final discussion. The Safety Committee did over a year’s worth of research on this. The majority of the members of the Safety Committee have not heard any of these discussions on it, so they have no idea what the Board is thinking. Stutsman agreed with Rettig's suggestion.
Kempf said he thinks the policy needs to address what will be done with the State departments located within County buildings. He thinks it is within the County’s right to close buildings to the public, but it is fine if a State employee wants to come in. Harney said the Board will have that rewritten. He said he would like to take Lyness’ suggestion and discuss the pay portion of it.
Medical Examiner Administrator Mike Hensch said on holidays, members of the general public try to conduct their business at County buildings. He thinks as part of the notification they need a better way to let the public know that County buildings are closed. An option may be a scrolling sign in the building’s entryway that states the building is closed. It seems that the County can do a better job of notifying the public than placing a piece of paper on the door. He said this is probably a topic for the Communication Committee.
Harney said it is thanks to County Treasurer Tom Kriz that the signs were put in the windows as a last minute way to notify the public of the building closure on February 2, 2011. Hensch said he is just talking in general. When the County was closed for the floating holiday on December 23, 2010 there were quite a few people from the public who showed up thinking the Administration Building was open. Hensch said the sign could be something simple that is readily viewable from the parking lot so people do not have to get out of their cars. He thinks it is a good idea for the Communications Committee to pursue that because for a very small investment the County could probably make people less irritated.
R. Sullivan said he talked with Wilson and in terms of notifying people, regardless of what policy the County adopts, there is a Code Red system. That system is similar to the Iowa City School District’s. For example, parents receive calls that notify them if school will be dismissing early. The County has that system. Wilson has the ability to create a list of all County employees and it can include more than one phone number, such as a home and cell number for each employee. Then, if the County has one of these emergencies, everyone could be informed. That way the County would not have to worry about an employee not knowing that a building was closed. It is an optional service, so if an employee does not want to provide their phone number then that is their choice. However, R. Sullivan thinks this is something the County could implement right now at basically no cost and he thinks they should take advantage of it. Harney said a potential issue could arise if an employee's phone service is connected to their cable and their cable was out due to a storm.
Wilson said the system is a reverse 911 mass messaging system. The entire County can be notified in 44 minutes. The last time it was counted there were 41,000 phone numbers in the database. The message can be sent via voicemail, email, or text message, but employees have to opt in. It pulls from public domain resources. He can send the spreadsheet to Johnson regarding the required information Emergency Management would need. He asked that department heads circulate that amongst their staff. One large group would probably be created for all County employees, unless people see the need to create department specific groups.
Harney asked who the Board would notify for a last minute closure. Wilson said the Board would contact Emergency Management. Harney asked who would be contacted if Wilson is not available. Wilson said they have a continuity operation, so the next line of contact would be Emergency Management Planner Billy Dvorak. If B. Dvorak is unavailable, next in line is County Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek, and then Sheriff’s Major Steve Dolezal. If Dolezal is not available, then JECC has the ability to do it. R. Sullivan said those are the people who will be at JECC anyway. Wilson agreed. He said any of the dispatch centers or Emergency Management staff can do it.
R. Sullivan said the County should encourage employees to take advantage of Code Red. Wilson said the County could always send out a spam message saying all County government offices are closed. That can be sent out to the entire database. He is reluctant to do that because it has the potential to be perceived as a telemarketing call. It is one of the tools that the County tries not to overuse because it can be annoying.
Neuzil asked if Code Red would only be used for nonessential staff. The County does not want that call to go out to Secondary Roads or Ambulance staff, so they have to be careful which County employees would be included. Wilson said he thinks the message would be sent to all County employees and say that the buildings are closed to nonessential employees, which is done according to job class. Then department heads need to identify which of their staff are essential and nonessential, which they will know. Harney agreed that Code Red is a good way to notify employees of closures.
Wilson said there was an after action on the blizzard response last week. There are a couple of the things that Emergency Management could have done better as a system. One of them was public messaging. The County has a public information officer and they really did not announce that this was a serious situation via social messaging, websites, and etcetera. Emergency Management is looking at how they can message the public better and utilize their resources. In addition, every Public Safety four-wheel drive vehicle got stuck at least once during the response, including Wilson's vehicle. They are looking at how they can have some type of joint team with Secondary Roads. This includes looking at different proposals for pre-staging assets or pre-staging a type of highway assistance team in extreme situations, so that during those types of critical emergencies they are prepared.
Wilson said Ambulance had two and three hour response times to a couple calls. Some people, including a trooper, were stuck on the roads for up to 13 hours. It was a very harrowing situation and luckily nothing bad happened. If someone did not have a plow and a high-clearance vehicle they were going to get stuck. Even the snowmobile had trouble getting around.
Wilson said Emergency Management increased staffing for the Emergency Operations Center (EOC). They did not feel it was safe to have the staff come to work at EOC due to driving conditions. Instead the employees did all of their work remotely. Emergency Management is looking at better ways to have their key players work remotely in a virtual situation during emergency operation. The most important things Emergency Management does are public messaging and coordination, which can be done over conference call bridges and web EOC.
Wilson said the Sheriff’s Office, Ambulance, Secondary Roads, State Patrol, the Army National Guard, and the JECC met on February 8, 2011. He said Neuzil was there as the Public Information Officer (PIO). They went through the events of February 2, 2011, and have identified some areas for improvement. Harney said it was a last minute thing, but now they will get a policy in place. The self-evaluation and room for improvement is what the Board needs to address and then work from there.
Harney said the Board wants to look at the compensation issue. He thinks everyone knows what the Board did. The Board closed the building and there were some employees that probably could have made it in to work, but the Board did not want them taking the risk. Lyness said employees want to know if they have to use vacation time for a February 2nd absence from work and if they do not have any vacation time available, will they still get paid. Also, they want to know if they were told not to report to work but they came in anyway, will they be paid. Lyness said she has always thought this should be decided on a case-by-case basis, but after the recent snow event she thinks that should be addressed in a written policy about closings.
Rettig said it seems like there are levels. One level of events is what occurred on the afternoon of February 1, 2011, when the Board did not choose to close County offices, but Pulkrabek sent an email to Board members suggesting they urge employees who live out of town to leave early due to the bad weather. However, if people choose to live 30 miles away on a gravel road that drifts shut all the time, they expect to take time off for inclement weather conditions that impede travel to work. These employees could be told they have permission to leave, but must spend their leave time. However, when the Board closes the workplace and instructs employees they are not allowed to come in, this is a different situation because the County engages in emergency management.
Rettig said on the morning of February 2, 2011, the Board heard that patrol deputies were stuck in a ditch for four hours with a pregnant woman in the backseat; deputies could not respond to any more emergencies; Interstate 80, Highway 218, and Highway 6 were closed; the City of Iowa City and Johnson County were not plowing; and buses were not running. The Board made the decision to close the workplace. It happened on the fly, which will not happen again because they will have better communication. However, the Board did not give employees the option to work. In theory, the Board told employees they are not allowed to come into work. The difference is the level of the event. While Wilson says two snow events happen per year, that does not mean the County will close the building. As far as everyone knows there have been only three days that the County has closed the building. Rettig asked hypothetically, should the Board have closed the building on another afternoon, and said maybe they should have closed it.
Rettig said while these instances are going to be more frequent, they are still going to be extremely rare. There are two different levels and that is why she thinks this policy needs to have different triggers. One level instructs employees to stay home if they do not feel safe traveling to work, and in this situation they must use vacation leave. The second level is the Board closes the workplace and says employees must stay home. When the Board does that, she does not have a problem with not making employees use vacation or sick leave. When the Board tells employees they are not allowed to come into work, the employees have no choice. She likes the decision the Board made on February 2, 2011 that employees did not have to take a day off. What ends up happening is that the next day employees work twice as hard and stay late to make up the work. She thinks these events will be so rare that the economic impact will be minimal. In many circumstances in which these events would occur, the County would be declared a disaster area and receive reimbursement anyway. It does not appear this will occur for the current event.
Wilson said the State did not reach the minimum of $2.5 million loss for a Federal disaster declaration. Johnson County did receive local and state disaster declarations which freed up some State resources, but the State has to hit a cap, not just the County. Most of the time in these extreme events they will receive a Federal declaration. He agrees with Rettig that everything is in stages. Emergency Management always tries to roll out EOC operations in phases and stages. There are variables in all of this.
Harney agrees that if the Board closes the building, Johnson County can certainly compensate those individuals who relied on that decision and did not report to work. However, if there is only one location that is closed for whatever the reason is, then he thinks each department needs to have a policy for employees who could work remotely and get paid for that. There are others who probably could not come in and the Board would have to address how to compensate them also.
Wilson said Johnson County is not the only place that deals with this. Washington, D.C. closes Federal government and works remotely during inclement weather. These situations happen and it is not unique to the County. If the Federal government can close buildings, reimburse their employees, and work remotely then the County should be able to do these things also.
R. Sullivan said he does not want to create that perverse incentive. He does not want to have a situation where an employee dies stuck in a blizzard while trying to get to work because they have just a few hours of vacation leave time available. He thinks the County is better off telling employees to stay home when County buildings are closed.
Shramek reminded the Board and department heads that in the employee handbook there is an emergencies policy that mirrors the Administrative Unit’s collective bargaining agreement so if there is an emergency due to weather, the employee can make up the time, such as working through their lunch, coming in early, or staying late. She would certainly hope an employee would not risk their life to get to work for one day.
Rettig said she has heard employees say it is their own fault they are short on vacation or sick leave. Rettig said she is the spouse of a cancer survivor, and during cancer treatment her spouse was down to zero sick time at the absolute worst moment for them to afford an unpaid day of leave. She thinks if the Board closes a County building then an employee should not have to take that time off. Employees should not have to work an unpaid day of leave or risk their life to come in to work. She thinks these situations will be so rare that this is almost an easy decision for her. It is a much easier decision for her because the County does Emergency Management and it is County employees from the Ambulance Service and Sheriff's Office who are out trying to save all of these lives. She thinks the Board should set the example. She does not think the information in the employee handbook is adequate.
Shramek said she does not think the employee handbook addresses every situation either. She is a little concerned because she does not see the County’s situation as being very dissimilar to Linn County. Linn County closed for several weeks during the floods of 2008. It could be problematic if the County says they are going to pay employees for a several weeks of building closures. A couple of days are different from a couple of weeks or a couple of months. No one knows what situation they may encounter. If it is addressed in a policy, that will bind the action of future Boards.
Harney said that is a good point. Shramek said she was the one that recommended that the County pay for employees for the flood of 2008, so she agrees that when the County closes, employees should be paid. However, she is hesitant about addressing every situation in a policy, because then it is binding. Harney agrees that the Board needs to have some discretion on that because of the potential length of time in individual situations. Neuzil said the County is paying extra for all of the essential employees who worked on February 2, 2010 and he asked if that would become a practice also.
Kriz said he would like the policy to be consistent; if a building is closed then it is closed. In the case of the Administration Building, it was closed and then reopened. He received a call from someone asking why the Treasurer’s Office is so important that they did not have to be open when other departments in the Administration Building were open to serve the public. That is ludicrous and things like that should not happen. Kriz said he did not have a good response to that question of why he, as an elected official, was not there to serve the public. The policy needs to be consistent and followed by all. Harney said hopefully the policy will address that.
Lyness asked if the policy will be redrafted or if the Board would like another committee to work on it. Rettig said she does not think the draft policy should go back to the Safety Committee. She volunteered to serve on a redraft. Harney said he thinks someone from HR should be a part of that committee. Rettig agreed. Harney said maybe someone from the County Attorney’s Office should be on the committee. Lyness said that is fine. She suggested that she, Rettig, Shramek, Wilson, and Johnson serve on the redraft committee.
Conservation Director Harry Graves asked if there will be a blanket announcement regarding building closures until the policy is worked out. He did not know the HHS Building was closed on February 2, 2011 until he got to work. He said that was not universally known either. He needs to be able to tell his staff what to do. Conservation has always had a policy that staff should not risk their lives to come into work and they can use their vacation time. He said the inclement weather policy is not clear to him. R. Sullivan said the Board does not have a policy yet. Graves asked if the County will maintain the current policy until a new one is approved.
Harney said attempts were made to reach all of the department heads and elected officials on February 2, 2011, but some issues came up. Neuzil said the Board decided that because of the uncertainty in regards to the County’s policy, the Board would make an exception. That is why the Board made an exception regarding employee pay. Until the Board has a policy in place, department heads and elected officials will have to continue with the status quo. R. Sullivan told department heads and elected officials to encourage their staff to sign up for the Code Red service.
Harney asked if the Board is going to implement a time line for the redraft and consideration of the policy. Johnson said the next Key Issues Meeting is scheduled for February 23, 2011. Neuzil said the policy discussion can be added to the agenda of almost any meeting.
Kriz said he has gone over the draft copy of the policy concerning weapons on County property and he wholeheartedly supports it. He thinks he has an obligation to Treasurer’s Office staff to do anything possible to make the workplace as safe as possible. He said there is not another County office where more angry people come and go than the Treasurer’s Office, with the exception for the County Attorney’s Office.
Kriz said he has listened to all of the comments about this policy and heard people say they have a right to carry a weapon to protect their family. He thinks the County has the right to protect its employees, and he has the right to protect members of the public in line at the Treasurer’s Office next to someone who might be violently opposed to a decision made by the Treasurer's Office. It will not stop the people that are really angry, but often at least half of the angriest people end up apologizing after the situation has deescalated. He thinks the County will generally not know if someone is carrying a concealed weapon. However, he knows there are people who would like to use a weapon to intimidate others in order to get their way.
Harney said he wishes the penalty for disobeying the policy could be harsher than asking the offender to leave or charging them with minor criminal trespassing. Stutsman said she thinks the Board is on track to vote on this policy at the Formal Meeting scheduled for February 17, 2011.
Rettig said she knows the Iowa City City Council was contacted by at least one office saying they hope this policy is passed because of the volatility of their clients. The Board has heard from individuals in the hallways asking if the Board is going to pass this weapons policy. She asked if there are any department heads or elected officials that have heard that having weapons at their department’s front counter is a good idea. Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said his staff has. Rettig said if the public can have weapons, the staff wants to have the same right.
R. Sullivan said he has heard County staff say the County has a policy that prohibits weapons in the workplace, but if the public can be armed then maybe the employees should be allowed to be armed too. Stutsman said there were a lot of good comments at the February 10, 2011 Informal Meeting. She thinks Hensch had some of the best comments speaking from his professional experience about the consequences of people being volatile and spontaneous. As Hensch said, once the bullet leaves the chamber there is no taking it back.
Harney said while he cannot speak for the Sheriff's Office, he thinks Sheriff Lonny Pulkrabek had some concerns about the language regarding the potential for the Sheriff to use discretion to make exceptions for certain individuals who would be qualified to carry a weapon. Harney said he has concerns in that area about whether the language should identify "qualified individuals" but he is not sure who they are.
Lyness said she wrote the weapons policy in such a way that it gives a lot of discretion to the County Sheriff. The example she has given is the individual who fills the automated teller machine (ATM), who carries a gun for protection because they deal with a lot of money. It is a very limited exception and she thinks the Sheriff is going to grant very limited exceptions to people who are required and need to have a gun on County property for that County business. It should be a fairly minimal exception with specific time frames or specific allowances. She thinks when she communicated with Pulkrabek at the end of the week he was fine with the policy.
Rettig said the Board took out the word “professional” because the Board wanted the discretion to grant exceptions to someone else for a reason they hope to never have to envision. She asked how the Board would handle that if it involved a County employee. If a County employee felt the need to get personal protection because their life was being threatened, they would not be allowed to do so according to the employee handbook and Pulkrabek would not be able to grant that. She thinks it is worth understanding what the Board would do. She said the Board removed the word "professional" from Lyness’ first draft of the weapons policy because they could envision a time where a life was so threatened that personal safety needs might require an exception to be granted. She asked how that would be handled in the employee handbook.
Lyness said the policy in the employee handbook would probably have to be changed, or the Board would have to decide that no action would be taken for a violation of the policy. She thinks if an individual is in that much danger, then County officials should look at some better alternatives to carrying a firearm. Rettig asked if Pulkrabek granted the individual an exemption in this policy, can the employee be granted an exemption in the handbook. She asked if there is a way to bypass that. Shramek said yes. Rettig said that is all she wanted to know because that is the reason the Board removed the word "professional" from the draft policy.
Slockett said that in the paragraph numbered "five," the words “other” and "safety" are vague. He asked what is meant by "safety of personnel." He suggested writing more precise language in the policy. Harney said he thinks the intent is that the policy is addressing safety from weapons. If the Board wants to implement a scanning machine to scan the public as they enter County buildings in certain locations, they could implement that without changing the policy.
Slockett referred to the draft weapons policy and said that in the paragraph numbered "five" the word “whereas” is not preceded by anything about firearms. Harney said perhaps a title should be added and he asked Lyness if that is something she can do. Slockett said maybe something could precede it that points out that all of the numbered items that follow pertain to firearms. Lyness said number five on the draft weapons policy was put on there to make it clear that the Sheriff’s Office is not limited from taking other necessary measures to protect the public. For example, this could include needing to close a building. If someone makes a bomb threat, the Sheriff’s Office would be able to conduct searches. She did not want to limit that to firearms specifically. She does not object to the line that says they may implement other safety measures. She thinks the word “other” meant "in addition to" what is included in items one through four. Slockett said he does not have any problem with what Lyness meant for the policy to say; he is just being a little picky about what it actually says.
Harney said if anyone has any changes to the weapons policy, they should suggest them soon since the policy is on the agenda for the Formal Meeting scheduled for February 17, 2011.
Johnson said since some changes have been made since the opening of the new parking lot next to the Administration Building, this item is on the agenda to see if there are any questions or concerns. R. Sullivan said members of the Parking Committee are happy to talk to those who have questions. It is hard to make sure that all of the correct information makes it to all of the right people, so people can feel free to email or call Parking Committee members any time if they have questions.
Public Health Director Douglas Beardsley asked if a final draft of the policy has been prepared and circulated. R. Sullivan said the final draft is not out yet. There is a parking ordinance which Assistant County Attorney Andy Chappell is in the process of reworking. Then the parking policy and the ordinance would be considered at the same time. Beardsley said the word is out about an April 2011 start date regarding charging for parking and some staff members are asking to read the parking policy. R. Sullivan said HR is going to have to contact everyone because flex benefits will be available for parking. If there is something the Board can send out along with HR's communication, they will do that too.
Correia asked if employees will pay for parking automatically through a payroll deduction. R. Sullivan said yes, County employees will but State employees will be charged the flat rate. Correia asked if the Board has communicated with the State about how employees sign up and pay for parking. R. Sullivan said he thinks so. Kriz said he is supposed to receive a list of State employees and then they will be advised that parking will cost $25 per month. No determination has yet been made regarding whether payments will be quarterly or monthly, and if an employee is terminated, how a parking fee refund would occur. That information will all be collected through the Treasurer’s Office and information pertaining to County employees will go through payroll in the Auditor's Office. R. Sullivan said the State employees are aware of the policy. Individuals from Juvenile Court and DHS serve on the Parking Committee.
Correia asked if there will be parking ramp access for people who do not drive to work, but often use a County car during the day for business. For example, when Correia drives a County car, she enters the ramp with her personal key card. Johnson said he thinks County cars already have individual key cards. Beardsley said Public Health’s vehicles have had key cards in them for some time, so he assumes other departments’ vehicles have them too.
R. Sullivan said the Parking Committee will try to get everything incorporated in the policy and send out that information when HR sends the flex benefit information. Harney said once the parking policy is implemented, it will be considered theft if someone other than the employee uses the key card to gain access to parking. He said the Sheriff’s Office has made that clear. The cards are assigned to individual employees for their use only.
Neuzil said the Communications Committee is putting together an idea to honor County employees who are veterans. This could potentially include a ceremony with refreshments. Hopefully the weather would be good enough toward the end of April 2011 to hold that ceremony outside in the area of the former National Guard Armory building (Armory). There is also the potential to commemorate the Armory building near where there is planned to be a picnic area. Communications Committee members are trying to figure out which County employees are veterans, and wonder if the department heads and elected officials would be able to assist in gathering this information. The idea would be that those individuals would be listed by name and recognized during the ceremony. He thinks everyone would be pleasantly surprised with the number of employees that have served the country.
Stutsman asked if they are supposed to let HR Office Assistant Susie McAreavy know if someone should be on the list. Neuzil said yes, the current list is just a start. He said the Communications Committee is in the very early stages of planning this event.
Harney said when the Armory building was torn down the County salvaged the insignias off the front of it. He said if they are going to create a park on that site, then perhaps the insignia can be included in it. If not, the County could give it to the military. Stutsman asked if the Board ever decided what would be done with the flag pole from the Armory. Neuzil said he thinks Graves received the flag pole. Stutsman said she knows there was a Veterans group in Oxford that was inquiring about the flag pole. Neuzil said Harney is correct that there are a few special mementos of military significance from the Armory that could be used to honor that location.
Graves said if the Communications Committee plans to interpret an interesting piece of history, the National Guard included a mounted cavalry unit when it started in 1938. He said there was a mounted cavalry in the Armory until around 1944, when it was determined no longer feasible. Neuzil said the event seems like an opportunity to interpret this history.
Johnson passed out a schedule of the Strategic Planning Meetings through June 2011, and the goals and topics to be addressed. The Board has another Strategic Planning Meeting scheduled for February 16, 2011. The session at which the Board was going to discuss staffing and span of control issues has been rescheduled to March 2011 due to recent inclement weather conditions. The Social Services and Economic Development Block Grants will be discussed at the February 16, 2011 meeting.
R. Dvorak said he will pass. Neuzil said Planning and Zoning's annual report is available on Planning and Zoning's webpage.
Information Technology (IT) Director Jean Schultz said IT is looking to upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 soon. There are a few options for training and IT would like to have a couple of volunteers evaluate some of the training options and let IT know what they think would be helpful. Since IT staff knows how to use Microsoft Office, they are not necessarily good judges of which training option would be best.
Schultz said IT has some encryption software, so they want to encrypt County laptops and Universal Serial Bus flash drives. This ensures that the County will not lose confidential information, in case laptops or USB drives are lost.
Mental Health and Disability Services (MH/DS) Director Kris Artley said there is a Senate File which may result in some money for the County and she is hoping someone present understands what it means. Artley read from Senate File 17: “County Enforcement Surcharge: Tickets are included from the Department of Public Service in the $10 County enforcement surcharge…requires the surcharge to be split between the County General Fund and Mental Health/Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities Services Fund.” She asked if anyone has heard about this. Neuzil said no, but he will look into it. Artley asked where that money would come from. She asked if there is currently a $5 surcharge. Harney said that would be law enforcement by the Sheriff’s Office on tickets.
Lyness said when Sheriff’s deputies write speeding tickets, she thinks the County gets the surcharge. Artley asked if another $5 would be added on and then the County would get the $5. Lyness said she will have to look at Senate File 17. Artley said MH/DS could use the money.
Iowa City Assessor Denny Baldridge said this is a reassessment year, so everything is being reassessed. Assessments are being sent out to all residential, commercial, and agricultural properties. He thinks the County Assessor is working on the same thing. R. Sullivan asked when those notices are mailed out. Baldridge said probably around April 1, 2011. April 15, 2011 is the deadline, but the City Assessor’s Office tries to get the notices out a little early.
Kriz said people will continue to see more about the Iowa Department of Transportation’s (IDOT) roll out of new license plates for vehicles. The license plates will look exactly the same as the current ones. The only change is that the lettering on a white license plate will be changed from blue to black lettering. There may also be a different sequence to it. The Treasurer’s Office is still working with the IDOT to try to stop them from possibly spending $13 million to roll out the new license plates when there is no change, and instead only switch the plates if people change license plates or vehicles.
Kriz said he has an appointment with Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds to discuss that issue. This change has been initiated because the IDOT has run out of the three-letter and three-number license plate sequences. There are many ways to get around this without spending that kind of money at this time, let alone burden the consumer with spending $2.60 per license plate to be mailed out, rather than $0.50 for a sticker.
SEATS Director Tom Brase said the number of riders is increasing. There has been an average of about 635 more trips per month during FY11. He has just posted an annual progress report on the SEATS website. Also, he participated on a panel for a program called "When Driving Becomes a Challenge." The program airs on Channel 4 and is targeted to the elderly.
County Recorder Kim Painter said the Recorder’s Office continues to have a lot of local activity. In December 2010, total fees paid to the County were up almost 100% from December 2009.
Beardsley said Public Health staff is busy with many grants. One of Public Health's major grants, the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Grant, is opened up every five years. The Board of Health is in the process of upgrading nuisance regulations and receives feedback from the County Attorney’s Office.
Graves said the Conservation Department currently has a lot of activity including timber stand improvement work, pruning, the removal of dead trees, and providing wood for the public firewood pile. Fire prescriptions for controlled burning have been written for about 500 acres. On February 14, 2011, Conservation installed a sign on the 520th Street bridge, which is the first sign Graves has seen in the county for the 72-mile Iowa River Water Trail, which extends from Sturgis Ferry Park in Iowa City to Ferry Landing in Louisa County. That sign gives the distance to the next out, which is 9.8 miles away at River Junction Access. Ultimately there will be signs at three locations in Johnson County, including Sturgis Ferry Park, Hills Access, and Highway 22, which will be down by the IDOT. There will be a ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony in spring 2011. He will provide details at a future meeting.
Veteran Affairs Director Leo Baier said the U.S. Treasury Direct Express Debit Master Credit Card Pilot is a new program, effective March 1, 2013. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will no longer issue any paper checks for compensation or pension benefits to veterans. This is a free service and letters will be sent to veterans to invite them to sign up for this program. Baier said last year he was advised that $69 million in Treasury checks were forged.
Baier said regarding the Iowa Veterans Home current bed capacity, there is approximately a 21-bed vacancy currently. If anyone knows of someone who may be eligible or may be considering long-term care, Baier would like to know about it. The current bed capacity is 672. Johnson County has 21 certified residents at the Iowa Veterans Home right now.
Baier said the third thing he wants to address is the brand new disabled veteran lifetime hunting and fishing license. Any veteran who has a service connected disability rating who received an honorable discharge is able to receive this license through the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for $7, which is a great deal. If anyone wants to know more about that, Baier has the forms in his office and he said the information is available on the Veteran Affairs' website.
Baier said he is looking forward to meeting and working with the new Iowa Department of Veterans Affairs Executive Director Jodi Tymeson at the spring school.
Ambulance Assistant Director Dave Dvorsky said Ambulance Service just completed their annual education conference. Every March, all of the emergency medical services providers have to be certified, which is a big deal for Ambulance. He thanked Rettig for attending to support the services.
Slockett said the committee he is on to evaluate the claims process started out as a committee to evaluate travel reimbursement forms. It has broadened into evaluating the claims process and how that might be done in a nearly paperless manner. He said the committee has checked with the State Auditor’s Office and it does not look like there are any insurmountable problems there. It is turning into an interesting process which Rettig is leading.
Slockett said in the State House of Representatives the Republicans unanimously passed a voter ID bill that requires a voter to present photo identification in order to vote. The Democrats unanimously voted against it. The Iowa State Association of County Auditors (ISACA) sent a delegation to Florida and Indiana to look at their voter ID laws. ISACA is currently researching this and has determined that the places voter ID requirements have been put into effect have had one party in the governorship with control in both houses. ISACA feels that this is a solution looking for a problem.
Slockett said ISACA membership is 60% Republican. Of the Executive Board, the President, and the first and second Vice Presidents are Republicans. ISACA held a statewide meeting to talk about this issue because this bill because it is a big deal. This legislation had been lopsidedly passed by one party in the House, and when the topic for discussion arose on ISACA recommending how the Executive Board should vote on this legislation, not a single county auditor voted to register in favor of it. A heavy majority voted against it and a small number voted to stay neutral. This is a recommendation to the Executive Board which actually makes the determinations during the legislative session. All of the Republicans on the Executive Board voted unanimously to oppose it.
Slockett said the problem is that the voter ID bill is a bumper sticker idea. While it is so easy to explain why voters should be required to show IDs to eliminate fraud in elections, it takes a long time to explain why it is not needed. He said Indiana has spent $2 million on a public relations campaign to tell people that they need to have an ID to vote in an election. Indiana spends $2 million per year in producing the voter IDs. It is not without expenses.
Slockett said that to give everyone an idea of why it is not as simple as it seems, the notion is that the IDOT can issue IDs to people who do not already have one. However, that which is considered appropriate and acceptable eligibility to a driver’s license station is an entirely different concept because driving is not a right and many people do not drive, and many people who do not drive are disabled and elderly. If it becomes mandatory to produce an ID in order to vote, then those people have to have an ID and accessibility to getting one. No one is against eliminating fraud, but this is an idea that needs a little more thought before further legislative action.
Shramek said last week HR received the Sheriff’s Office arbitration results, so she has started processing that contract and updating it with the changes. On February 14, 2011 and today, Shramek received notification that one of the grievances is also going to arbitration, so she will begin preparations for that. She also received the 513C.10 notification, so she will begin the reporting process for that compliance. HR has also been dealing with many employee relations issues recently.
Lyness said Assistant County Attorney Dana Christiansen started his job a couple weeks ago. Christiansen is from Iowa City and was previously the First Assistant Muscatine County Attorney for 18 years.
Lyness said the County Attorney’s Office periodically receives information concerning blood alcohol levels. The average blood alcohol level has been around 0.145. In January and February 2011, it has been 0.159, so it is considerably higher. Lyness said this does not seem to be a January/February trend, but people seem to be drinking heavily so far in 2011.
Correia said the “You Earned It! Now Claim It!” free income tax help program is now available at the Iowa City Public Library. This is a volunteer tax assistance program eligible to any household that earned $49,000 per year or below. There is a link to the schedule on the Social Services webpage.
Correia said she just returned from spending four days in Baltimore, Maryland where she attended a Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance Grantee Orientation national training event. This is a Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Planning Program grant that the County received during FY11. She said Sixth Judicial District Juvenile Court Officer Christopher Wyatt and Mid-Eastern Iowa Community Mental Health Center Executive Director Stephen Trefz attended the training with Correia. It was well worth the time and the Federal grant paid for all the expenses.
Correia said Erin Sullivan is a local person who will be inducted into the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame. She said E. Sullivan started her volunteer work with Social Services in 2008, when she contacted Correia about doing some youth programming right before Social Services Community Projects Specialist Latasha Massey was hired. As soon as Massey was hired, Correia paired her with E. Sullivan and they started doing great work in North Liberty. She said E. Sullivan then joined AmeriCorps, working with the Community Corrections Improvement Association and continued her work with Massey in North Liberty. She said E. Sullivan was nominated to the Iowa Volunteer Hall of Fame by a fellow AmeriCorps member.
Correia said the Decat Board was informed in January 2011 that they had $87,000 of carryover funding that needs to be spent by June 30, 2011. These are State child welfare carryover dollars. A committee made up of Rettig, Wyatt, and Decat Board Member Paige Casteel, will meet to figure out how to spend those dollars locally on youth and families.
Wilson said Emergency Management pursued the Federal Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act based on the record snowfall, which is one of the triggering events that will normally allow for that. Unfortunately, they not only have to meet a county threshold but also a state threshold, and there were not enough eligible counties that had the county match to make a state declaration. Therefore, they will not receive a state declaration for the most recent blizzard event, though it was a record snowfall.
Wilson said Emergency Management made the initial payment on a replacement for the rescue truck. The second payment will be deliverable to them upon delivery of the truck in mid-October 2011. It will replace the current rescue truck which is old and has mechanical issues.
Wilson said that other than the recent blizzard, it had been a relatively quiet winter for Emergency Management. They have a spring flood meeting scheduled for February 18, 2011 in Des Moines with the State Weather Service, and several other forecasting bodies.
Harney asked if Emergency Management has a Weather Spotting training coming up. Wilson said yes, a weather spotting class is scheduled for April 2011 at the Coralville Public Library. The flyer is on the Emergency Management webpage and he can send that out to department heads.
Neuzil thanked department heads and elected officials for doing the jobs they do.
Stutsman said last week she was in Des Moines for the State Supervisors Meeting and attendance was over 150. She thinks there were a lot of newly elected county supervisors present. She said Governor Terry Branstad and Reynolds spoke. She said Branstad gave a good overview and she cannot help but feel that there is going to be a profound transformation in Des Moines.
Stutsman said Artley will be proud of her because she brought up 24/7 and Branstad said he is going to get rid of it. She said they should hold Branstad to his word.
Stutsman said two children of Johnson County employees have been named Iowa State Association of Counties (ISACA) scholarship winners. They are Johnson’s son and Social Worker II An Leonard’s daughter.
R. Sullivan thanked everyone for their efforts during the recent snow storm. He said McAreavy and Webmaster Gary Yoder have done a great job of updating the County brochure. It is located on the Employee Intranet and people can print as many as they want. It is a really nice thing for department heads or elected officials to hand out at any public relations event. He recommended the brochures be set out on office counters for the public to take.
Rettig said the Green Team has come up with a regular meeting time. They have a lot of work on their shoulders with the Strategic Plan, Bike to Work Week, and Earth Week. The Green Team has found great speakers for Earth Week, and they are Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Urban Conservationist Wayne Petersen and Johnson County Soil & Water Conservation District Urban Conservationist Amy Bouska, who will talk about urban and rural storm water management. Rettig hopes everyone will get involved. The County has a lot of work to do if they are going to meet their sustainability goals, and the Green Team could use some new team members if any staff is interested in joining. Rettig said County Assessor Clerk Emily Fitzpatrick recently joined the Green Team. She thanked those department heads and elected officials who make their staff available to serve on the Green Team.
Johnson said there is a sign-up for the display case and he thinks there are still five months available. He said for an upcoming Security Committee Meeting, people may be asked to provide information. Every office is different, including structure and clientele. The Security Committee would like to get some information about what the department heads and elected officials would like to see regarding security and technology.
Harney thanked Parker and Secondary Roads staff for clearing the roads during the recent blizzard. He took a tour of the Secondary Roads’ shop facility today, which gave him renewed respect for what Secondary Roads staff do and the size of the equipment they are working with.
Harney said the next Department Head Meeting is scheduled for April 19, 2011 at 1:30 p.m.
Adjourned at 3:29 p.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Cynthia Courter, Recording Secretary