County Sheriff Robert Carpenter and Major Duane Lewis: Fiscal Year 2002 Budget

• Sheriff (08)
• Court Services – Sheriff (47)

County Treasurer Tom Kriz: Fiscal Year 2002 Budget

• Treasurer (14)

Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak: Fiscal Year 2002 Budget

Department of Human Services Area Administrator Cheryl Whitney and General Relief Director Kay Hull: Fiscal Year 2002 Budget

Chairperson Stutsman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:00 a.m. Members present were: Charles Duffy, Mike Lehman, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson; absent: Jonathan Jordahl.

Sheriff’s Major Duane Lewis said the 2001 budget amendment they are requesting includes 1/2-time wages for 4 Deputies, 1 control center for the Jail, a video arraignment phone line that will run court monitoring, and gasoline. He said the overtime and benefits are an adjustment because it was accidentally missed on this year’s budget. He said there are also 2 squad cars and equipment included for Jail use and a replacement and update for the prisoner alarm system in the Jail because it is 1/2 to non-functioning most of the time. He said this allows the prisoners to contact the control center if a medical, health or endangerment emergency occurs. He said the total for all of this would be about $500,000.

Stutsman asked what the 4 Deputies do. Lewis said there are 4 shifts to staff the Jail and this would add one additional person on each shift. He said they want to staff it this way rather that addressing a transport unit because they are seriously understaffed in the Jail for court services, routine duties and time off. Lewis said they maintain a minimum of 3 for each night shift and 5 or 6 for the day shift. He said there are times when they aren’t able to have 3 at night because someone may get called for a transport. Sheriff Carpenter said transporting isn’t their only role. He said there are also shifts with no supervisor due to low staff and this may enable them to have one at all times.

Lewis said another item that goes into the amendment figure is 1/2-year of funding for relocation of prisoners. He said they are running at 92 and they are reducing it to about 70, figuring the 22 people they will transport out of County. Stutsman asked why they decided to reduce to 70. Sheriff Carpenter said the last State Jail Inspector that was here gave that number when asked what number to reduce to. Carpenter said this is necessary to classify, which includes male and female, minimum, medium and maximum-security inmates. He said 70 gives them breathing room and isn’t far off from their maximum. He said in-house security would add 15-20 to the count in the Jail if these people weren’t out on their own. Lehman said the Board of Supervisors has to answer the question of why this is coming up now if this has been an ongoing problem. Carpenter said that last year they tried an in-house security system and it did help. He said there is a lot of talk about alternatives, but he hasn’t heard one thing yet that is within their power to utilize to reduce the population. Stutsman said the Sheriff’s Office is charged with housing the prisoners and they don’t get to decide who gets put in Jail. She said the Sheriff’s Office is unduly criticized for a lot of what is not their responsibility. Carpenter said if there are people who can take care of getting the count down to the 70, then the Sheriff’s Office doesn’t have to worry about spending this money, but he does have to worry about running a safe jail because that’s why he was elected.

Lewis said he spoke with the State Jail Inspector last night and was told he won’t set a minimum because it’s the Sheriff’s responsibility. Lewis said the Inspector is willing to talk about alternatives, including transporting to maintain safety. He said the original inspector gave them a ballpark number and now this one says that only the Sheriff can decide this.

Jordahl arrived at 9:20 a.m.

Stutsman asked if 70 is going to be the population goal. Carpenter said that in order to get the needed classifications separated in the Jail, they can operate with about 70. He said having 72 in there isn’t going to make him transport anyone though. He said the Sheriff’s Department has done a really good job the last 12 years since he has been Sheriff. He said he has made the commitment to operate a safe facility. He said it bothers him that someone can tear down the reputation that his department has, in such a short period of time, and people believe it. Jordahl said the Sheriff’s Office has been doing electronic monitoring and he would love to see alternatives, but they have to exist first. He said they have to look at alternatives, communicate with the University and with the City to see what alternatives there are and how they can work. Thompson asked if transporting prisoners would buy time while these other alternatives get worked out. Lewis said absolutely.

Lewis said Decision Package I for 2002 reflects a lot of continuation of the budget amendment. He said Carpenter received a grant from the State that they would install the print track phone system that allows for electronic printing of prisoners that’s hooked directly into the State system. He said that was $180,000, but they have to maintain the phone lines from here on out, so the $3,200 is for that. Lewis said there is a maintenance agreement of $16,000 annually, which they had to agree to pick up. Lewis said video arraignment phone lines are in the process of being instituted and hopefully installed shortly. He said the judges have agreed to this and it is progressing well. Carpenter said it would mostly assist them with the prisoners that are in overnight, rather than the initial appearances. Lewis said the number of inmates won’t change, but hopefully the workload on the staff will be minimized. Carpenter said there are a lot of possibilities with initial appearances. Lewis said there are standard increases with the package, like gasoline, advertising, maintenance contract increases, wages for the 4 personnel they hope to add, training equipment and jail alternatives. Thompson said several of the expenses are above what they were last year. She asked if the transportation, training and equipment are due to the new staff. Lewis said yes and that these items should mostly be a one-time thing. He said their technology requests are mainly contracts. Stutsman asked if the contracts have to be in place. Lewis said yes because they all handle law enforcement software programs. He said the AS 400 project to upgrade their box was a 3-year project and this will be the final year, entailing $6,000. He said the system upgrade is actually the 2nd Decision Package. He said the revenues they increased about 5% on all radio and law enforcement contracts.

Lewis said Decision Package II brings them to the system upgrade. He said they are working with those in Information Services. He said IBM and CIS, their software and hardware providers, are changing. He said the language they write in is changing and within the next few years they’ll quit supporting what the Jail’s entire software program for Jail Civil CAD is written in. He said plans to update to Web Base are being made and they should be saving $300,00-600,000 in the next 3 years in order to address that. Jordahl said he would like to arrange a meeting with a Lettie Praile, who was at the ISAC meeting on jail overcrowding and solutions. He said she in charge of getting the State’s new system in place where there will be a uniform reporting among all jurisdictions. He said this system is now online and wonders to what extent the pressure for change here reflects an awareness or pressure to articulate with the new system. Lewis said Information Services Director Jean Schultz could probably answer this best. Lewis said he is more than willing to see what is out there. Lewis said the last item is a voice recorder that is over 10 years old. He said it is scratchy, it skips, and it should be replaced since 911 call recordings are requested more and more. He said the estimated replacement is $30,000.

Lewis said they have very little control over this budget and that it’s mainly controlled by the County Attorney. He said it is for out-of-state transports and bringing prisoners back. He said it has to be looked at as the year goes on because nobody knows how many will be transported. He said there is money in it for this year as long as there aren’t any drastic changes.

Thompson said in their personnel request on the question of exploring other options, electronic monitoring, work release and alternative sentencing are mentioned. She said it occurred to her that the Board doesn’t always appreciate all of the years they have dealt with this. She said one of the big items for federal programs that reduce jail population was Release on Recognizance. She said she realized the Sheriff’s Department has done this for so long that they don’t even see it as an alternative, but just as a standard operating procedure. She commended them for doing so much over the years to reduce the jail population. Carpenter said they have looked at alternatives within their power and if there is one they can utilize it has to be something that the courts come to them to do. He said the double bunking they came up with 12 years ago was their day of dooms because now people expect them to come up with another miracle. Jordahl said there is a day of reckoning and it isn’t about transporting prisoners, but rather about the people of Johnson County paying the costs of housing the prisoners.

Stutsman asked how their budget is running this year. She said there are big increases in the line items. Carpenter said it is going fine. Thompson said a lot of those are probably only a one-time expense. Stutsman asked if there is any opportunity for additional revenues. Carpenter said they brought in $57,000 for the housing of outside prisoners and were beat up for that. He asked what the Board would like for him to do. Thompson said she thinks Stutsman is referring to whether the County could charge other entities for using the Jail, but there is the possibility of a booking fee. Carpenter said the County Attorney would have to make the decisions on that. He said that Iowa City and Coralville pay taxes to the County, so he doesn’t know if they can be charged a booking fee. Stutsman said the Code requires the County to provide certain services and vice versa. Thompson asked if they would get the revenue from the reimbursement grant next year. Carpenter said they are going to apply for it.

Carpenter said that over the years he doesn’t feel he has asked for what he doesn’t need. He said he isn’t asking for anything that he doesn’t feel they need now and they need to be able to operate in a safe and reasonable way for not only the inmates, but also the employees.

Recessed at 10:03 a.m.; reconvened at 10:10 a.m.

County Treasurer Tom Kriz said that everything in the Treasurer’s Office is pretty well fixed, so their biggest thrust is to be as efficient as they can from the operating and investing side of the County dollars. He said they are asking for a reduction of $1,200 in the actual operating cost, not counting salaries. He said bar code scanning in the tax department and grant money for computers has made the department efficient. He said the line items in the actual operating costs that they asked for increases in are for Motor Vehicle Postage and Treasury Services. He said January 8th the postage will increase, costing the Treasurer $500 and $300 increases in each category.

Stutsman asked how they could eliminate the Clerk I position. Kriz said they have had 2 in the past and were always people who just filed and they have computerized more things and eliminated a lot of filing. He said the State doesn’t require keeping as much documentation as they used to. Kriz said they now cross train, which makes people more efficient because if they have a slow time they can help someone else out. He said he doesn’t think there is a problem with attrition in this position. He said they are also now into document imaging, which reduces paperwork.

Thompson said it appears as though the Motor Vehicle revenues wouldn’t exceed the amount received in prior years. He said this is the one item that has been left conservative, but tries to leave room if the DOT changes something. Stutsman asked if there is talk of moving the DOT Drivers License Bureau into the Treasurer’s Office. He said at this time he is not planning for it. At the last Treasurer’s Conference he spoke to this issue because people in the communities like it, but Marshall County lost $20,000 last year doing it. He said there isn’t room to do this and it is an unfunded mandate. He said he isn’t interested until everything is in place to where it is feasible to do it, but ultimately they will have to do it. Kriz said that over 50 counties also run drivers licenses and some counties do a share type thing, which does creates problems due to different salary scales, different hours of operation and different work ethics. He said he is only interested in this if it is a win-win for both the State and the County.

Kriz said the cost of the Clerk I position is about $27,755 and of that the Treasurer’s Office wants to use $18,000 to do imaging, which would be contracted out. He said it may take 3 years, but he thinks it could be done quicker. Thompson said the Board needs to look in the Union Contract to see what it says about outsourcing funds. Kriz said they are posing this with Janet Lyness in the Attorney’s Office. Thompson said the Treasurer’s Office has a 3% decrease in expenses and a 5.2% increase in revenues for their budget.

Jordahl asked Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne about efficiencies in centralized mail processing. Horne said they could do a cost-benefit analysis by taking the postage line item and totaling the object code to get a total. Kriz said you need huge amounts to get the postage down with bulk mailings. Stutsman said it is worth it to look at this since postage is increasing. Kriz said email is being tested in a couple of counties on DOT registrations. He said the statement can be emailed, but the item would have to be mailed out. Kriz said they send out mailings to 47,000 parcels and of those some are as high as $4.00 and hundreds cost $2.00. Kriz said they get complaints about sending $2.00 bills out. Stutsman said to keep looking for efficiencies. Kriz said he would like to look into having taxes paid monthly. He said there are people that want to do it and he knows that with electronic banking it can be done.

Recessed at 10:35 a.m.; reconvened at 10:40 a.m. with Jordahl absent.

Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said that in this budget they chose to leave some money that actually would be coming back in late December for the budget amendment for the new division in their department. He said he left it in there because he didn’t quite know how much money they had for the budget amendment if they didn’t get some of the items that they asked for. Thompson said she thinks they would already be in there because they would be in the re-estimated and also in the Fiscal 02 budget. Dvorak said they are the one-time items. Thompson asked if they are in there twice. Dvorak said they are in the budget amendment and in the proposal. Assistant Planner Dan Swartzendruber said the reason for this is to cover the department incase they don’t get the budget amendment amount.

Swartzendruber said that under the Technology Worksheet Request, for the Decision Packages, they are asking for $1,000 for ongoing digitization of files, which is mostly for the Building Permits. He said they are also requesting a digital camera to coincide with the digitization effort, allowing more documents to be viewed over a computer, rather than having hard copies of them. Dvorak said this is useful when going through houses for building inspections to take a picture of defective items and then it can be attached to the file to show it needs to be repaired. He said it could also be used for presentations of areas for rezonings and plattings. Swartzendruber said that right now they are clipping in hard copies of the photos but sometimes they get lost. He said this would enable them to have a full electronic record in one file. Dvorak said that this would eliminate a lot of the photo processing line item.

Swartzendruber said they are asking for 4 additional 19-inch monitors to enable the use of the Paperclip Software, for the digitization software, that would allow for more staff members to be able to manipulate the software and use it in the office. Dvorak said this software requires a 19-inch monitor. Stutsman asked if they spoke with Schultz about this. Dvorak said they have and the 1st $1,000 comes out of Document Management, which isn’t Planning and Zoning’s expenditure. Swartzendruber said that some of these costs are dropping and lowering.

Swartzendruber said the PMC Soils Analysis Package, for $3,000 would enable more analysis to be performed on much of the zoning and platting applications they are getting. He said it would be a benefit in time saving and would pay for itself down the road. Lehman asked if this is something they do themselves now or if consultants come in. Swartzendruber said the developer does it, but the department has the ability to do it as well, which enables them to cross check and cross-reference as to how this is being performed. Dvorak said that right now there is one version and they have to take turns using it. He said that the way the licenses are set up through PMC it can’t be on the server to share.

Swartzendruber said they are also asking for a new laser printer. He said the printer they have now is about 6 years old, is very slow and jams a lot. He said they have problems because of the additional staff and a new printer would benefit the office. He said they are also asking for 5 additional Site License copies for the Paperclip Software program. He said this enables all staff members to be able to access the program and utilize it. Dvorak said they put all of their files on Document Management. He said they have 4 licenses now, which is really inadequate, because without sharing computers not everyone can access the files to look up case files. Swartzendruber said that some of these are stiff costs, but they are one-time costs that they will benefit from down the road. Thompson asked which are under the amendment. Swartzendruber said only the camera.

Swartzendruber said that under Capital Expenditure items, they are asking for a new copier for the Building Inspections Division, so it can be more of a self-contained unit with its own printer and copying capabilities. He said they also want to budget for a new vehicle, for $10,000, for the Building Inspection Division. He said this is to replace a vehicle, giving them 3 vehicles for each staff person to do inspections. Thompson asked why it’s a Building Inspection expense rather than a P and Z expense. Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore said it would replace a vehicle that is used for building permits right now. Thompson asked if they could pay the employees to use their own vehicles. Dvorak said they would have to ask the employees if they want to do that. Stutsman asked if they could coordinate their schedules. She said the van sits in the parking lot a lot. Dvorak said they could attempt to do what the Board wants. Stutsman said that having a vehicle ready is certainly convenient, but they also have to look at efficiency when it comes to adding another vehicle. Dvorak said the Auditor also uses the van. He said that a contractor may call wanting a footing inspection and they have to get there within a time frame. He said the problem with someone using their own car is that often a 4-wheel drive is needed to get to the sites because there is no driveway or anything. Lehman asked if some of this would be offset by revenue. Dvorak said it all will be. Moore said that if they have to wait on a vehicle, they will have to find ways to increase their efficiencies since they didn’t hire people with the idea they would have to use their own car. Dvorak said they probably just wouldn’t replace the truck, even though it is costing more in repairs than it is worth.

Swartzendruber said they are requesting a new position for Office Manager. He said this person would facilitate the coordination of duties and assignments of office staff. Moore said that what they really need is support staff. He said it might be more appropriate to replace this request with one for a full-time Secretary I to be added to the staff for support. Dvorak said they have someone who works about 24 hours a week and they would like to change that position to a full-time position. He said then they would have a support staff person and wouldn’t need the Office Manager. Thompson asked what the difference in cost is. Dvorak said they would have to refigure it.

Thompson asked about the revenues for the Building Inspector. Dvorak said it was a wash. He said they guesstimated about $130,000 for the department. Swartzendruber said it is located on the Building Permits line item. Thompson said it doesn’t show it on there though. Stutsman said the department needs to show that it is paying for itself there. Thompson asked if they anticipate the Building Department bringing in enough additional revenue to cover the additional staff. Dvorak said they easily anticipate on generating more than they are spending but they are trying to do it as a wash. Thompson said the revenue page needs to show this.

Recessed at 11:15 a.m. Reconvened at 1:05 p.m.

Department of Human Services Area Administrator Cheryl Whitney said this is basically the same budget they presented to the Cluster Board at their November meeting. She said that in the Decision Packages, under Operating Budget Request, the 1st item has to do with rent increases and she believes they will still be at Governor Street. She said the $1,000 increase at Eastdale has to do with tax increases. She said it is still under $7 a square foot there. Lehman asked what the office improvements for the $738 per month increase are. Whitney said she had talked to the landlord about the improvements, including the heating and air conditioning system and carpeting in the hallways. She said the rent would increase but the landlord would bear the cost. She said the rental end date is March 31, 2002. She said that if they are going to remain there then she wants to renew the lease early so they can get the improvements done.

Whitney said she is interested in knowing what the County wants to do with Volunteer Services. She said they have had a line item of $18,000 for about 10 years. She said they have managed with this amount of money and have been able to increase some money from the State of about $7,000. She said that if they are going to continue with this though they really do need to add money to the line item. Whitney said the big item is the Chatham Oaks amount of that $18,000, for the additional consumer the Board approved about a month ago. She said they have budgeted with these within and left them in their budget because of the LAE.

Whitney said for the technology related items they need to buy at least 5 computers next year and replace a large printer that prints for all of MH/DD. She said the capital expenditures item they would reduce to $12,000. She said it is time to replace a copier in their office. She said they hope to do a little refurbishing of the furniture, which is about 25 years old. She said this would be the 5th year for the $12,000 for future office relocation someday. She said Space Needs is aware of this and she wants to continue to build this money up.

General Assistance Director Kay Hull said that more and more people are in need of help with burials. She said that only $1,500 of the current budget is left. Hull said she is going to take money from the hospital line item, which she is able to. She said she can authorize a County clinical paper and if she can get the bill up she can switch it to State and save the County money there. She said more people are getting help on Title XIX. She said that if they can take $2,000 and $3,000 out of each of those and then put that $5,000 total into the burials, they should be fine without adding any more money. She said they have had 9 burials this year and the norm is 4-5.

Whitney said she brought along a new goal sheet. She said the only change is under the benchmark success. She said their absolute number 1 goal for Social Services and DHS is to keep kids safe. She said they are continuing to work on public awareness, increasing access to social service programs that promote family stability and self-sufficiency, targeting Medicaid and Hawkeye. She said there has been some increase for expanded Medicaid for children. She said Hawkeye increased from 29 enrolled children in July 1999 to 89 in October 2000. She said these numbers are not as high as she would like. Whitney said the 3rd item deals with their Family Foster Care Program. She said they increased from 63 homes licensed in July 1999 to 92 in October 2000 and one person in their office became full-time. She said that sometimes having extra staff pays off because they can accomplish their goals. She said they have made changes with how they see people when they come in. She said that in the past when people came in they were eligible for expedited Food Stamps, they set up an appointment with them within the next 5 days. She said that now they are being seen immediately so that people aren’t struggling to make the 2nd appointment. She said the totals have increased, with the 6-month totals in July of 1999 being $2,400, whereas in July 2000 it was $16,000. She believes this is due to getting the Food Stamps to people quicker. She said the 5th item under benchmarks is they are finally at the point where they can obtain some 4E, which is federal money to offset their foster home recruiter. She said they would need to update the 28E Agreement so that it has specific language about a position that is doing foster home support and recruitment. She said they did not put any additional revenue in this budget because she is leery of doing that until they actually have it. Stutsman asked how much they anticipate getting for the 4E match. Whitney said she hopes to get $20,000, which would be about 50%. Lehman asked if the $46,000 swing in expenditures and revenues are all County dollars. Whitney said the increases in the Decision Packages are all County dollars. She said the decrease in revenue has to do with the MH/DD decision to not be part of the 28E Agreements after July 1st. She said they have identified the loss of revenue at about $17,000. She said this administrative budget continues to include administrative costs for MH/DD, but they won’t get the federal revenue for it. Stutsman asked when this was decided. Horne said the last he knew they were supposed to do the agreement. Whitney said that at the last meeting she attended her understanding was that it would not go into effect until July 1st. Stutsman said she didn’t think anything was finalized. Lehman said that Whitney is just making preparation plans. Whitney said that she thought she should reflect it because if they don’t have that revenue then their revenues will be off. Bob Welsh said that decision hasn’t been made by the Board of Supervisors. He said that group sought to weigh some pros and cons and Whitney is right in reflecting the consensus of that group. He said Horne is also right that the 28E Agreement has not come through the Board of Supervisors for a decision.

Whitney said they need to update the 28E Agreement language for the foster home recruiter. She said she doesn’t want to miss out if there will be federal money coming in. She said she sent a draft to Assistant County Attorney Janet Lyness and if Lyness approves it then they need to share. Thompson asked if this is an amendment to the current one. Whitney said it is just changes to the original one. Jordahl said he wants to raise the issue of childcare. Stutsman said she wants to know what it will cost in County dollars to address all of the childcare needs in Johnson County. He wants to know what the goal for childcare is exactly. Whitney said the department spent $1.3 million in State and Federal money last year. She said the childcare assistance programs that are federally funded with some State match covers people who are working at least 28 hours per week and some who are enrolled in an education program. Stutsman added that this is all according to the State childcare guidelines. Jordahl said he understands that there is a shortage of childcare, childcare workers aren’t paid enough and asked if the County can do anything with dollars short-term. Thompson asked how much it would cost to pay for the waiting list. Whitney said that even still they would be at the same payment rate and the 140% or below, which is really low. Jordahl asked if a County daycare facility could be established. Whitney said licensee requirements have to be met, as well as about a 1 to 4 ratio of staff to kids. She said that if they want to pay people at a decent rate that is going to have to be about $25,000, which means that for every 4 kids the County serves, it will cost the County $25,000 for just the salaries, not including the building, director staff and utilities. Stutsman asked how many kids are on the waiting list. Whitney said there were 22 at the end of November, which isn’t a good indicator of need since many choose not to apply. Stutsman said the Board needs to decide if they are interested in putting more dollars into childcare. Jordahl said he is interested.

Thompson asked what the $143,000 projected in next year’s budget is for. Whitney said that about $93,000 of that is used for Home Ties, which is an emergency drop-in type of childcare for homeless. She said there are a few children whose parent has a disability, an MH/DD worker and the child is not eligible otherwise for daycare, but it is thought to be in the child’s best interest to do the daycare. Stutsman said they could put in the $1.3 million and still not have enough to address all of the childcare needs in the community. She said she thinks the State should be responsible for some of this so it isn’t just Johnson County’s problem. Jordahl said that until the State does take responsibility for it, these kids still need cared for in many ways. He said that withholding childcare from Johnson County kids isn’t going to have any kind of real force in enforcing the State. Thompson asked for Whitney to send a memo with some scenarios showing what it would take to cover all of the families up to 140%.

Whitney said that for the Volunteer Action Center they’ve been able to fund a 1/2-time person, with the $18,000 from the County and the $7,000 from the State. She said the position is currently vacant. She said the person is housed at United Way, partly because of space and a partnership. She said there is a fair amount of time spent working with the United Way agencies, the University, students who need volunteer experience, disabled persons who volunteer and also persons who need to do volunteer community service. She asked if the Board wants some of this money to be used to bring volunteers into Johnson County or how. Thompson asked if there is any revenue to this. Whitney said the $7,000 from the State they contract separately so there really isn’t any revenues. Stutsman said the County departments don’t receive any direct benefits from the investment put into this. She said she has talked at meetings about whether volunteers are something they need to explore and if volunteers are needed. She said a good use of tax dollars, on the other hand, is providing the County with volunteers. Whitney said that much of the volunteer time is spent working with United Way agencies and making referrals. Thompson asked if they had $19,000 for a staff person would the department choose to have them be a volunteer person or would they do other things. Whitney said probably other things. She said they have kind of cultivated their own relationships with different areas. She said a thought is for Johnson County to contract with DHS and get the $7,000 as revenue to the County and then assign it to one of the County’s social workers.

Stutsman said they need to decide if there is a place for volunteers in the County, do they want to use them, do they want to continue this as a community wide service or just put the dollars elsewhere. Whitney said there are so many needs for dollars. She said that there are issues related to the Empowerment Project as a whole. She said she wonders if they would be better off using this as administrative money related to Empowerment as a whole and then enhancing those service dollars from the State making those more effective. She said this is a good time to think about this since there is a vacancy. Stutsman said a policy decision needs to be made about the volunteer program in Johnson County, if they want to continue to fund it and if they are getting what they want from it. Whitney said she would recommend looking at Empowerment first and the administrative costs they are seeking. She said there is unused money in Empowerment because there isn’t anybody doing administrative things that need to be done. Stutsman agreed that Empowerment has suffered by not having a lead person. Whitney said it is important to look at maximizing other money with County dollars.

Whitney said there are few follow-ups she wants to do quickly. She said she wants to get the 28E done, she’ll talk to United Way about terminating the contract and contracting with DHS and Johnson County for the $7,000. Jordahl said he encourages bringing things together, the multiple non-profits, Empowerment, DECAT and childcare all into one picture. He said he would be willing to put in more County funds if it would help. Welsh said a problem is always in how to maximize dollars and bring dollars in. Stutsman said that childcare is tricky because you get what you pay for. She said it is a dilemma because people will pay what they can afford. Welsh said the Board has to be willing to say that in Johnson County they want standards for childcare so that when people put their child into a registered childcare center it means something.

Adjourned at 2:05 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Mark Kistler and Casie Parkins, Recording Secretaries