MINUTES OF THE INFORMAL MEETING OF THE JOHNSON COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
JANUARY 5, 2000
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chairperson Stutsman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:06 a.m. Members present were: Charles Duffy, Jonathan Jordahl, Mike Lehman, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.
Director of Public Health Graham Dameron said that he wanted to cover 3 major areas. He said that the first was in relation to the Board’s question regarding the personnel costs that were in the Expenditure Budget. He apologized for not making the amount zero, but said that he tried to provide rationale for why it was zeroed out. Dameron said that with the exception of $16, for which the department could not find the source, they had removed the amount. He said that the department also looked at the revenues for WIC/MCH division and found that they were able to increase them by $21,467. He said that this would help with their budget this year. Jordahl asked where he got the document, and Dameron said it came as a memo that was not sent formally. Dameron said that they had eliminated the amount of some $20,000 that was in expenditure function of an old version of the budget and that they had increased the revenues. He said that this caused a positive change of about $40,000. Dameron said that the Board had suggested that the Board of Health review the fees, and that they will not be discussed in January but that they will be put on the Board of Health agenda in February after the Board of Health has reorganized. He said that they hadn’t looked at some of those fees in a number of years and that it was a good time to do it.
Dameron said that there was another question about the per capita cost and that he had a new comparison of 1999 and 2000. He told Stutsman that he did inquire about Dubuque County, but that they didn’t respond. He said they have a different situation because they have a City Health Department and a County Health Department, and this would make it hard to compare with. Dameron said that he thinks that the counties that are comparable to Johnson County are Cerro Gordo County, Linn County, Scott County and Woodbury County. He said that these counties have comparable Health Departments that provide comparable services. He added that in this scope he thinks Johnson County Health Department is doing an excellent job.
Dameron said that the last piece of information he had reflects what the department has adjusted in the budget and gives an overall picture of their tax requests. He said that their tax levy as a percentage of the expenditures in 1995 was 40.13% and that the projection now is 39.26%. Dameron said that they are staying comparable over a number of years. He said that he is fairly confident that their revenue of one million dollars is fairly solid. Thompson said that if they revise the fees then it would increase more. Dameron agreed. He said that there isn’t a projection for these, but that they are not a great amount of money for County fees. He said that it most often affects water and wastewater, but that they don’t have a substantial number of permits to cause a significant increase. Jordahl said that they had been talking about fees in Zoning, and using a lump sum fee, and wondered if the Health Department could do the same. Dameron said that the Health Department does not have responsibility for centralized wells. Jordahl asked whether it would be correct to stack the revenues on top of the tax levy to demonstrate that the Health Department is meeting their expenditures with a combination of the tax levy and the other revenues. Dameron said yes. Jordahl asked Pillard if this was correct. Thompson said that she had asked Dameron to see the numbers as percentages to see if the revenues were stable over time. Lehman said that they could switch the orientation of the figures and show that the department was paying for itself. Dameron said there was no reason they couldn’t present it in this way. Jordahl and Stutsman said that this might be a useful presentation.
Dameron said that one of the difficulties the department has with revenues is the grants that come in at various times, and that they do not necessarily follow the patterns of the fiscal year. He said that they have about $100,000 worth of HIV grants that started in January, that the HIV Consortium starts in April, and that the WIC and Child Health start in October. He said that the State grants start in July. Jordahl asked who keeps track of all of these things. Dameron said that Becky Mills and Rebecca Stockman primarily keep track of the grants, and that it does become complex. He said that they receive about 45 grants. Dameron said that another thing that adds a significant amount of time is the Empowerment Grant, and they are still trying to figure out how to put it in some form that could be read and understood by people. He said that there aren’t really any rules or guidelines for it. Dameron said that they put in an amount of money for Medicaid claiming and that he felt that it could go up or down. He said that he thought their greatest need was in relation to the administration, and that it is usually not funded because it has an impact on the tax levy.
Dameron said that they have been expanding Health Promotion, particularly with tobacco and the assessment function. He said that they need the vehicles that they have asked for. He said that they did not need a laptop computer now because they got additional funding from the HIV Prevention area, which allowed them to purchase one. Dameron said that Information Services Director Jean Schultz had asked him whether those funds could be used to cut down on the department’s computer requests. He said that the problem with this is that they get notification of the amount of money they have in November, and that they have to use it quickly instead of for program costs. He said that he has taken advantage of the money by buying computer equipment. Thompson asked if they should deduct the laptop from the computer page. Dameron said that the laptop is not a necessary item, but that the other 2 items on the page are needed.
Dameron said that he thinks they need to get started on the ArcView package. Thompson asked if the second computer Dameron requested was for a person being upgraded. Dameron said that one was for the Assessment and Health Promotion person and that the other was for Becky Mill’s Clerk II position. He said that there was not a computer for the upgrade. Thompson asked if they needed a new revenue page, and Pillard said that she had one. Thompson asked if there was a revenue that would offset the expense of the new Medicaid claiming person. Dameron said that he projected $15,000 in the budget for this person. Thompson asked if Dameron was saying that by June or July of 2002 the department will not have received enough income from the federal grant to pay the expenses of the employee. Dameron said that they will have enough to pay for Medicaid Administrative claiming. He said that what they were asking for was some more administrative time for that person to work with Becky Mills. He said about half of it would be used for claiming and the other half used for the work Becky Mills is doing in her division other than the Medicaid claiming. He said they put in one full-time clerk and asked for half of it to be done with Medicaid administrative claiming. Thompson said that they could also claim for the time spent by Becky supervising. Dameron said that it may be more then $15,000, but that they didn’t know for sure at the time and he thought it was a fair projection.
Thompson asked if Dameron was writing a contract with the participating agencies that said that the cost to administer the Medicaid claiming comes off the top. Dameron said that the remaining money is returned to the agencies, but that the Health Department gets their costs off the top. He said that they will not lose any money on the claiming. He says that they have lost time in trying to get it going. He said that they had done some contracting with Linn County and that they will continue to receive help from them for the claiming process. Thompson asked if they would get that time reimbursed also. Dameron said he assumes they can claim for this administration costs. Thompson said that she would like to see the revenue equal to the amount of reimbursement that they expect to get. Dameron said that it will happen, but that it hasn’t happened yet because they haven’t been able to make the claims. He said that it has taken Becky Mills about a year to set the system up. He said they are starting with Iowa City Community Schools. Thompson asked where she could find this information, and asked if there was an account number. Dameron said that it was in the Decision Package. Stutsman asked if this was because they hadn’t started to get the reimbursement yet. Thompson said that it should show up as an expected revenue for next year. ? said it was line 58 of the revenues. Thompson said she knew there was a lag because the Feds don’t reimburse until several months after claims are submitted. Dameron said they have had a contract since July, but that trying to get the whole process in order has been exhausting. He said that they have to spend money to make money. Thompson said that it is very worthwhile once they get it. Dameron said they can expend on it once they get a history. He said that the way they have it split up right now is that some of the funding covers their expenses and help with the Empowerment monies and with the agency that is participating. He said that the Feds also mandate that some of the money is put in escrow for claims that may be denied at a later date. He said that they have been looking into auditing Clinton because they have made substantial claims of around $400,000.
Thompson said that it looked as though their biggest fees are waste water inspections and swimming pool fees. Dameron said that the swimming pool fees are done by contract with the Department of Public Health, which is set by their administration. Thompson asked if it was unlikely that they would generate extra income through fees. Dameron said that that he thought it was. Jordahl asked if there were any tentative inclusions about vehicles. Stutsman said that they should keep it in mind to consider. Dameron said that they have 9 vehicles, but that they need at least 2 more this year and then one every year for 10 years in order to turn them all over. He said that he rarely buys brand new vehicles. He said that the current proposals are for brand new vehicles, Ford Focuses. He said that the advantage of them are that they are a little bit bigger than Ford Fiestas, which they do not think have worked out very well. He said that they also have hatchbacks, which is helpful for the Environmental Specialists to get their equipment in and out. Dameron said that they have always dealt with local dealers, which he thinks is good for the County. He said they usually got program cars, which cut down on the cost, but that they have more mileage and wear and tear. Jordahl said that the first year of a new model of car is risky for reliability. Dameron said that this is probably true, but hard to say. Thompson said that by separating the expenses into a separate budget they are allowed to keep track over time of what they spend on vehicles. She asked Dameron if his department would be able to come up with any amount over what the Board could provide him with for vehicles. Dameron said that it depends on the amount that is available. He said that last year they were able to find a vehicle for the amount that the Board provided them. Thompson asked if they would have amended their budget if they hadn’t been able to find a vehicle for the amount given them. Dameron said that they wouldn’t have to amend the budget, but that it brings up the issue of whether they should take the amount out of personnel costs. He said that they don’t necessarily want to do that unless the Board authorizes him to do so. He said that his flexibility has been much more limited in the past couple of years because the capital expenditures have been taken out of his budget and he can’t move money around anymore. He said that the contingency fund that they used to have was also helpful, but that he understands why they don’t want to do that anymore, but that by not having them he is restricted.
Jordahl said that they could give County-wide flexibility by having a motor pool, do central purchasing, and have departments requisition cars from that pool. Dameron brought up the issue of janitorial services. He said that he had to approach Pat Langenberg in the past about it. He said that they had to hire a new person to contract with which costs about $1,600 more than the previous one. He said that they have a 1.2 percent increase in non-personnel items, but that it has to do with an $3,100 increase in electricity, which he can’t do much about. He said that there is another increase of $1,000 for vehicle maintenance that he cannot do much about. He said that other departments don’t have this problem if they are not in charge of a building. He said they started the janitorial contract a few months ago because the previous contractor was not delivering what was needed. He said that the new contractor is better. He said they also contracted a new snow-shoveler, which has been providing excellent service. He said that they could combine all of these things, but it would need some initiative from the Physical Plant. Dameron said that the Physical Plant has been providing some small repairs which they are very appreciative of, and that they are putting down salt and sand for them in the driveways during icy days.
Jordahl asked about setting rates for the Ambulance Service, which would impact the amount Medicaid would reimburse. Stutsman said that this was an issue with Medicare, not Medicaid. Dameron said that he thought their goals were good, and that he hoped it gave the Board an idea of what direction they are going in. He said that it helped them to put them in the budget. Stutsman said that this was what the budget was intended to do. Thompson said that she understood the budget much better than she had previously. Dameron said that they had some problem with getting the figures in the Decision Packages. He said that they don’t have a column for their actual request, but that it is in the chart they provided. Jordahl asked if they want the entire amount. Dameron said that they certainly wanted their base budget, at $2 million, plus the additional requests. He said that they are asking for $2,216,689. He said that $1,300,000 is revenue they are expecting, so the actual tax levies are about $870,000. Jordahl asked if this included Decision Packages One, 2 and 3. Dameron said no, that it is just the current budget, without the changes. He said they also need some approval for the 2000 re-estimate. He said that they went through the first phase, which is in the certified budget, but that the second part isn’t and that it is a little bit higher.
Duffy said that the departments expenditures are almost the same for 2 years. He asked Dameron is it was feasible to have a 2 year budget. Dameron said that he thought this would be fine, but that his department has to come in with amendments every 6 months. He said that he didn’t think it would have much of an effect on them. Stutsman said she thought they would spend just as much time updating and reviewing budgets if they had departments do 2 year plans. Jordahl said that he would not want to change the budget process based on what the Department of Health looks like because their budget is so different. Stutsman said that the Board needs to get a consistent system so that it is the same 2 years in a row.
Recessed at 9:55 a.m.; reconvened at 10:05 a.m.
SENIOR DINING DIRECTOR MIKE FOSTER AND NUTRITION BOARD CHAIRMAN BOB WELSH: FISCAL YEAR 2001 BUDGET
Senior Dining Director Mike Foster said that he submitted a draft budget for consideration, and that it is very preliminary and not in the format the County uses, but in a format that they have to provide for Heritage. He said that they will put it in the County’s format once they negotiate with Heritage. He said that they have to have the budget signed by the Board and submitted to Heritage by January 28th. Foster said that they had a lot of questions for the Board, and Stutsman said that she wasn’t sure they could answer all of them. Stutsman said that with salaries, for instance, that they hadn’t made any decisions and that they weren’t prepared to make any yet. Nutrition Committee Member Bob Welsh said that the Board needs to advise them on what they should submit. He said that Jordahl suggested 3%, but that some of the union contracts are more. Thompson said that they told Senior Dining to submit what they had last year with no increases as far as personnel. Welsh said that by January 28th they have to submit a budget with figures in it to Heritage.
Thompson said that this has nothing to do with the County’s budget process. She said that the Board needed the numbers by the deadline, on the form they provided and that she was upset that they had not done this. Foster said that part of the problem is the timing between the County and Heritage. Thompson said that everyone else has to manage those things and that she wished they would do the same. Stutsman said that Senior Dining is asking the Board to state budget increases, but that there is no way they can do this. Welsh said that if they do not put something in, it will not be funded by Heritage. Thompson said that if they weren’t holding the Board up by not doing the process, the Board would be able to get them a number by the 28th. Foster said that the Board told them to enter zero for salaries. Thompson said that this doesn’t mean that they were never going to put a number in there. Foster said that they needed the number by the 28th. Thompson said that the Board’s deadline is the 28th, but that Senior Dining’s deadline was sometime in November and they missed it. Stutsman asked if they wanted to go through what they had available to them, or if they wanted Foster to re-write the budget in the requested format.
Jordahl said that this is not the only department that has not submitted budget materials on time and that he didn’t want to see Foster take all the blame. He said that Senior Dining has had problems with the utilization of Elderly Waiver Dollars. Stutsman asked how this was relevant. Jordahl said that the point is they have been struggling with how to do funding for the Nutrition Program. He said that this doesn’t completely excuse the situation, but that they keep this in mind. Thompson said that the department’s budget performance does not get them on an equal playing field with all of the other departments. She said that without any goals it is difficult to know what the department is trying to achieve, and hard to make a decision about what kind of increases they should be given. Welsh said that he thought Foster had submitted the same budget as the previous year. He said that this aside, they still needed some direction. He said that he thought the Board advised them last year to put all of the expenses related to Senior Dining in their budget this year.
Welsh said one of their questions is where the Board wants them to put this and how much. Thompson said that this has to do with the budget pages for Heritage, not to do with how much the County is going to tax people in order to support Senior Dining. Stutsman said that they will not know this until the department puts together the figures. She said that it sounds like they want the Board to do their budget for Heritage, and that the Board will not do it. Thompson said that this is a chance for them to ask for whatever they want for the program. She said that the Board wants to see what their vision is if the funds can be provided. Stutsman said that they will almost be done with their budget by January 28th, and that they will know what they can do with the Nutrition Budget, but that they won’t be able to do it with the current format. She said that she wasn’t sure if it was worth the Board’s time to review the budget in the format they had it in. Jordahl said that he had notes from December, which suggested that they may have agreed they would wait to hear something from Heritage before deciding on a budget.
Foster said that they had heard Heritage wasn’t going to provide for any increases in funding, and that they had to wait to hear from the State and the Feds on how dollars were going to be distributed. Jordahl said that if they assumed that Heritage was going to be flat, the Board still needed to hear what the budget would be for Senior Dining next year. Stutsman said that they need to be more specific in their budget. Thompson said that the Board worked hard to make a procedure that would give departments the chance to be more specific. Stutsman asked if they could fill out the forms and have the budget ready by Friday. Welsh said that he gathered from conversation with Jordahl that step raises would be handled on a lump sum basis and that the Board will deal with merit increases. He asked if they were asking for nothing in salary increases. Thompson said yes and that this was the same as the previous year. Welsh said that with making adjustments for salaries and raw food only, the budget comes to $415,000 rather than $410,000. He said that Heritage’s contribution this year was $382,000, and that it leaves a difference of $33,757. Welsh said that the County contribution this year is $26,183, which means an increase in County contribution will be required. Foster said that he thinks it would be good if the County could match the $25,000 the City is providing for the ramp skyway. He said that they have $25,000 in their coffers to do this.
Recessed at 10:30 a.m.; reconvened at 11:05 a.m.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said that they gave the Board handouts consisting of R.J. Moore’s work schedule, Dvorak’s work schedule, Moore’s comp time analysis for 4 years, and copies of the Zoning Ordinance Board of Adjustment. He said that there is some confusion on what exactly the Board of Adjustment does. He said they also handed out long range planning projects and an implementation schedule of the Land Use Plan. Dvorak said that they are asking for the additional staff members to help primarily with things the Land Use Plan spells out for their office to do.
Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore said they have prepared an analysis of their work load which is in front of the Board of Supervisors. Moore said that an average workweek for him and Dvorak consists of 56 to 58 hours each. He said that a brief overview of how these hours are spent is provided for the Board’s review. Moore said that in establishing this analysis they have used the last 5 years as a basis. He said that the majority of his time is taken reviewing platting applications. He said that the department has an average of 81 platting applications per year. Moore said that handout #1 shows how each application is processed, and the bottom line shows approximately 14.38 hours per application until completed or recorded.
Moore said that his other duties include a monthly hearing of the Board of Adjustment to hear Variances and Exception applications. He said that an Exception is given for a public utility, and that the advancement of technology has increased the applications for special exceptions for tower locations. Moore said that the department’s breakdown of these applications based on the last 5 years is 25 a year taking an average of 4 hours each. He said that this includes reviewing the application with staff, attending the meetings which last approximately 2 hours each month and writing a letter to the applicant regarding the Board’s decision. Jordahl asked if the handout shows how the functions are processed. Moore said that the spreadsheet Jordahl is referring to is a breakdown of each task and the time involved.
Moore said that he and Dvorak share the Site Plan Reviews for the planned commercial areas. He said that since the planned commercial area was established, they have averaged 4 applications per year. He said that it takes approximately 7.25 hours to review each application.
Moore said that currently Fringe Area Agreements are still pending for Solon, West Branch, Hills, Lone Tree, Oxford, Shueyville, and perhaps Kalona. He said that both he and Dvorak share this responsibility. Moore said that a breakdown of time spent on each Fringe Area shows that it takes approximately 40 hours to meet with each city and their attorney to work out the logistics of each agreement. He said that once the document is written, time is spent attending meetings and public hearings for the final draft. Moore said that most hearings occur in the evenings. He said that it is not unusual for a Fringe Area Agreement to take a year before adoption, and once adopted, a review process should follow and updates made as needed or required.
Moore said that other duties shared by the both he and Dvorak include updating and amending the Johnson County Zoning Ordinance, review of the Land Use Plan and the North Corridor Plan. He said that in addition to the monthly meeting for zoning and platting applications, they attend other Board of Supervisors meetings which have items pertaining to zoning and platting issues, the Sensitive Areas and Conservation Subdivision Design Ordinance Committee, and meetings with other municipalities.
Moore said that this does not account for the time spent on the phone or at the counter assisting the public with questions pertaining to the Zoning Ordinance, the Land Use Plan, the North Corridor Plan, and Building Permits. He said that the nature of their office is such that good public relations are important. Moore said that people in general do not understand the rules, regulations, or the process, and every attempt is made to insure that they go away with a good feeling.
Moore said that the review and the implementation schedule of the Land Use Plan should be a high priority in their office. He said that implementation of the Strategies of the Land Use Plan are outlined in the Land Use Plan beginning on page 25 and shows a timeline from "in progress to 20 years". Moore said that the Land Use Plan was adopted in 1998 and shows that within 2 years, an agricultural transportation plan, criteria for supporting farming and defining farming for land use purposes should be completed. He said that presently these goals cannot be met.
Moore said that another function of their office is dealing with violations and complaints. He said that it takes time discussing these with the complainants and/or violators, investigating the complaint and/or violation and then corresponding and working with the owner. He said that they try to do this in a friendly way and try to resolve it before taking it to the County Attorney’s Office, which is a last resort for them. Moore said that at this time, not much time is spent on the follow-up. He said that many times the Board hears about these because the public feels not enough is being done.
Moore said that handout #2 shows the time analysis for Dvorak. He said that Dvorak’s time analysis shows an average of 57 zoning applications per year (handout # 2). Moore said that with the geographical mapping systems, Dvorak spends a significant amount of time documenting and determining LESA totals, the soil types, floodplain, wetlands and slopes. He said that time is also spent on a parcel history study, verifying surrounding land uses and zonings and compliance with the Land Use Plan, and Fringe Area Agreements. Moore said that all this preliminary work makes for a more complete presentation of the application.
Moore said that Dvorak also coordinates the rural addressing system. He said that their department in the last 5 years has issued an average of 111.5 permits for single family dwellings. He said that this figure can be doubled to include addresses for farm houses, farm buildings, additions, commercial or accessory buildings. He said that Dvorak must determine the address for each new home working with the applicant, E911 Coordinator, the utility companies, and the post office. Moore said their office handles all problems associated with addressing.
Moore said that mobile home permits and building permit problems are usually turned over to Dvorak. He said that an investigation of the parcel history and zoning must be completed before being resolved. He said that building permit problems may be resolved through a variance from the Board of Adjustment, working with an attorney for a revised legal description, a boundary line adjustment or platting application. Moore said that reviewing these options and explaining them to the owner takes time. Moore said that boundary line adjustments are submitted to this office and must be signed by the Zoning Administrator and signed off by the Health Department. He said that these are reviewed for compliance with the Zoning Ordinance and sometimes require additional legal documents from an attorney and signed by the owner. Moore said that the average turnaround for these is 2 weeks.
Moore said that department head meetings, committee meetings, meetings with other public officials and individuals takes up a good portion of Dvorak’s time. He said that many people do not wish to deal with office staff, and request a personal meeting with Dvorak. Moore said that as the Board knows, Dvorak’s door is always open.
Moore said that this summary does not include the time spent on special projects the department is asked to do by the Board of Supervisors. He said that examples include: the Development Impact Study requested by some of the Board members, the application for Industrial Revenue Bond Financing by Rudi’s Bakery, a road management study (2 years), and the adoption of a building code. Moore said that Dvorak is uncertain of the impact of the proposed GIS system (Geographic Information System) on their office and Dvorak’s involvement. He said that at this time, Dvorak envisions that his involvement will be considerable in implementing a GIS system for Johnson County.
Moore said that they have preliminary review and discussion with a provider of document imaging which has estimated that $30,000 will complete just the records in the Planning and Zoning Office. He said that it does not include the cost of digitizing the building permits, which are stored down the hall. Moore said that they have submitted their request to the Document Management Committee, which currently has 3 proposals before it. He said that in order to avoid delays in accomplishing this and requests for budget amendments, Dvorak would like their budget to include the $30,000 this fiscal year.
Moore said that this is a major project for their office. He said that once accomplished, it will give them additional space for office staff and the interns who now share a desk and computer. Moore said that Document Imaging will allow access to the records used by staff and the public, and give them the added space to work efficiently together. He said that all of these records need to be accessible to staff and the public. He said that Document Imaging is compatible with a GIS system.
Moore said that the Implementation Schedule of the 1998 Land Use Plan identified 21 projects that should be started and completed within 2 years of adoption of the plan. He said that at this time they have finished 3 projects, including FAA with North Liberty, Swisher, and Coralville. He said that they have 10 projects in progress, that they have 7 that have not been started yet, and that they have one, the impact fees, which is ahead of schedule.
Moore said that they would like to aggressively pursue these goals. He said that present staffing does not allow time for research, review or submittal of drafts for any of these. Moore said that in addition, updating Fringe Area Agreements, amendments to the Zoning Ordinance and other related land use issues will be on an as needed basis. He said that they would like to establish a timetable showing when fringe area agreements need to be reviewed, renewed or amended. Moore said that a complete review of the zoning ordinance for compliance with state regulations, fringe area agreements, the Land Use Plan and needed amendments should be completed. He said this will require time to research and review with other entities for their input.
Moore said that the time analysis on handouts #1 and 2 shows in red the proposed duties of the new position. He said that the hours are broken down on a monthly basis per each major task, and that a total number of weekly hours for both the existing positions and the proposed position in red are given on the bottom line of the last page.
Moore said that handout #3 is taken from departmental payroll records showing comp time accrued by himself since he was hired in 1995. He said that in late 1998 they were directed not to keep records of accrued or used comp time of management personnel.
Moore said that handout #4 is the section of the Johnson County Zoning Ordinance pertaining to the Board of Adjustment and explains variances and exceptions applications. He said that they have included this section because not much is known about the process/purpose of the Board of Adjustment.
Jordahl said that Dvorak has mentioned to him repeatedly that the Board may get frustrated with applicants and think that the applications are inappropriate, but that there are many people who come in wishing to apply for things and he discourages them to keep them from wasting the Board’s time. He said that the hours spent doing that are not reflected on their handouts. Moore said that it was hard to quantify that time. Dvorak said that this time is accounted for in some ways. Administrative Assistant Mary Craig said that these are conservative figures, and that they have never kept a time analysis of what they do.
Stutsman said that their presentation was much more like what the Board wants. Thompson said that it gives the Board a much better way to evaluate their request. She said that the bottom line is that the department needs additional staff in order to meet the goals that the Board sets in the Land Use Plan. Dvorak agreed. Moore said that he and Dvorak don’t keep track of all of their hours, and that the numbers they provided are averages. Stutsman asked how they came up with the times. Moore said that they kept track of time in the latest round of evaluations. Dvorak said that they also used averages. Thompson asked if they showed the amount of time it takes to do all their tasks at a high quality level. She asked if there were times that they had to cut corners because of lack of staff. Dvorak said that they can’t cut corners. Stutsman said that the Board needs to recognize that the more they ask, the more time it is going to take to do it. She said that if they are going to continue to make more requests they need to provide the department the staff to do it. Moore said that he thinks they could improve their quality with more staff. Dvorak said that they are going to have to start saying that they can’t do things, but that this is not the philosophy of their office. Moore said that he is proud to be a member of the department.
Jordahl asked if they could give a ratio of the inappropriate applications they turn away to the ones that they wind up processing. Dvorak said that it is about 50 percent or greater. He said that this doesn’t include the ones that Mary Craig does. Dvorak said that the staff is telling people up front whether or not they have a chance. Jordahl asked if they see more applications that they turn away than ones that they process. Moore said that the ones they turn away never actually become applications. He said that when people come in with things that they want, staff goes over it with them and explains ordinances then gives them an estimate on its possibility of being approved. Moore said that they had someone come in that morning that 3 staff members had to spend 45 minutes with him. He said that they are more than likely to approve this particular application, but they did point out some problems that will have to be resolved before the application is brought to the Board. Mary Craig said that each staff member at least has one application a week that the Board does not see. She said that she spends an average of a half an hour to an hour explaining policies, procedures and what will and will not work on each of these. Jordahl pointed out that this means that they turn away triple the number of applications that they process. Dvorak said that this is a fair analysis. He said that a lot of this is because of the actions of the Zoning Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
Stutsman said that they need to look at ways to cut down the time they spend in case they cannot add another staff member. She said that they may consider handing applicants a checklist. Stutsman said that Pat White suggested that if there is a unanimous denial of an application it should stop there and not come to the Board of Supervisors unless the applicant specifically requests, in writing, that it comes before the Board. Dvorak said that he didn’t know who would say no, and that they’d all want to continue. Moore said that many people don’t like the options presented by the staff and that they then lobby the Board. Stutsman said that a few years ago they saw every application, but now this is decreasing because of the history of the Board. Dvorak said that this saves the Board a lot of time, but it means that their department is getting more questions because of it.
Jordahl said that since they charge people a fee for processing the applications, they could tell people that rejected applications stop at the Zoning Commission level unless they are willing to pay another fee. Mary Craig said that she thinks they have to remember that most of the general public does not really believe their department and that they want to hear information from the Board. Stutsman said that this is part of providing service to the community. Moore said that many people have come to acknowledge that what he says to them is the same thing that Dvorak would say to them.
Stutsman asked if they were going to the document imaging that afternoon. Dvorak said that he was going. Stutsman asked if they will bring a recommendation to the Board. Dvorak said that this was correct. Thompson said that the Board listened when they said that money could be saved if several departments were combined. She said that eventually they hoped to get one number for the needs of several departments.
Thompson asked how they set their revenues and fees. Dvorak said that they set them based on averages. Thompson asked when the last time they reviewed this was. Dvorak replied that they reviewed the fee schedule right before Moore started. He said that he thought they had done it again once since then. Moore said he didn’t think they had made any changes. Thompson asked if they thought it was time to review them again. Dvorak said that it could be time. Dvorak said that the last time they did it they were higher than other counties in the State. Thompson asked if they set the fees based on what other people charge rather than based on what it costs them to do the work. Jordahl said that they might do more work than other jurisdictions. He said that they might have much more staff time invested compared to what they are charging for fees. Stutsman said that they might have to review fees at a later time. She said that she has a hard time with the fact that tax payers are having to pay extra fees. Jordahl said that this is one way of discouraging people from filing inappropriate applications. Moore said that it is a way of making sure that people are serious when filing applications. Stutsman said that she doesn’t think that they should do away with fees, but that she isn’t sure if they should try to cover all of their costs with fees.
Dvorak said that ISAC is looking to allow the zoning administrators to become members of ISAC. He said that they have gotten information from their State Association and would appreciate any support to have zoning administrators as part of ISAC. Stutsman asked if they should write a letter to the ISAC Board. Dvorak said that in the late 1980s their possible membership was brought up, but that a lot of elected officials did not like the Board of Supervisors and they felt like zoning administrators would vote with their Supervisors because they were afraid of voting against them. He said that this is because they are appointed officials and not elected officials. Dvorak said that since then ISAC has lost members. Stutsman said that they should put it on their agenda to write a letter to the ISAC Board.
Dvorak said that they had talked with County Attorney J. Patrick White about sharing an employee. He said that one of things the department is weak on is enforcement. Stutsman agreed. Dvorak said that they do not have a lot of assistance from the County Attorney’s Office to prosecute. Thompson said that this is one of the problems with the County getting larger. She said that eventually, if they don’t enforce, people won’t obey. Mary Craig said that people openly admit this to her on the phone. Dvorak said that they are pretty good on building permit enforcement. He said that they have about a 95% compliance after they find out about illegal structures. He said that sign violation is the least enforced because they don’t have time. Stutsman said that this is part of their budget discussion, and the Board needs to decide what their priorities are and then reflect it in the budget. Stutsman said that the good thing about having an attorney to share would be that they could be dedicated to one thing. Dvorak said they have tried to do attorney work by reading and helping to write legal documents, but that they are not trained to do this.
Pillard suggested that they schedule reviews of the fee structure every couple of years. She said that they wouldn’t necessarily have to change them. Lehman said that he would just like to be able to compare rates. Stutsman said that Pillard needs to have a procedure to review fees for different departments. Jordahl said that they could put the fee structure and policies on the web, which could help deflect inappropriate applications.
Adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor
By Amie Kelley, Recording Secretary