• Discussion: Fiscal Year 2002 Budget

• Deputy Auditor Joe Elder: Fiscal Year 2002 Budget

Medical Examiner (10)

• Discussion: Fiscal Year 2002 Budget

Chairperson Lehman called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:08 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne said he reconciled the sheet handed out and this should include changes the Board made. Lehman said they made changes to Personnel and corresponding technology requests. Horne said there are a few items he wasn’t sure of and will have a harder number by noon. He said there are new numbers in General Basic for the Senior Center and new numbers in the Rural Basic for the Iowa City Library. He said there is an increased request of $12,154 for the Senior Center. He said there is a total increase in Block Grants of $102,330. Stutsman said that this is a contract and there is no deliberation on this number. She said it is based on usage and the contract has to be honored. She said that Johnson County has a commitment to strong libraries and they are strictly funding the usage. Neuzil said this is something they might want to look at down the road. Harney asked how the Senior Center grant works. Thompson said Johnson County pays 20% of their actual budget. She said the contract says the County can negotiate about the percentage paid, but the City Council approves the budget, and if there is going to be a dramatic change the City Council would talk to the County about it.

Thompson asked if there should be another brief run through meeting. Thompson said they are pretty close, and need to cut about $300,000 to 500,000 or so. Thompson said the things she feels are still on the table include salary increase, mileage increase, Courthouse security and the technology and capital expenditures. Horne said mileage is at $.28 so that it matches the State. Thompson said $6,000 would be added to Central Services then. Horne said he increased Central Services and put the jail alternatives, the phone, and the employee computer purchase program in there, too, and can add $6,000 to that.

Thompson said salary breaks down into what the Compensation Board recommends for elected officials and the percentage for non-bargaining. She said the Auditor’s Office built in 2% for everyone into the budget, plus whatever the Board knew was contracted already. She said if they add 4% to bring the elected officials to the 6% recommended by the Compensation Committee it totals about $124,000. Stutsman said that’s too high and should be closer to 4.5%. She said unions are at 3.5% right now and she would put bargaining units and non-management at 4% and elected officials, deputies and management at 4.5%. She said non-management doesn’t get the longevity so they need to keep up ahead of the union. Thompson asked Elder if he made any difference between the people that are non-bargaining and the people that are in unions that haven’t been agreed upon yet. Stutsman said he did list Administration, Secondary Roads and non-management as the ones that aren’t in. She suggested putting Administration and Secondary Roads at 3.5%, assuming that is what the contract will say, then putting non-management at 4%, and elected officials and deputies at 4.5%. Neuzil asked how they got 4.5% last year. Lehman said the Compensation Board recommended 5% and the Board came to a common ground of 4.5%. Neuzil said he thinks elected officials should be higher with the amount of time put into this now and to come. Thompson said that if there is too much of a difference it will look like they are giving themselves more than they are giving people who work for them. Thompson said a union employee is protected by their contract from having increases in hours and if they work overtime they get paid overtime and if there is a duty increase they get more pay. She said the Board has had their duties and hours increased over the last 10 years amounting in a vast change. Stutsman said the Board has a lot more flexibility than the salaried person does. She said they are still bargaining with 2 units. Lehman said a number has to be penciled in to certify this budget. Stutsman said they did 5% last year. Harney said he can go either way. He said he sat in on the Compensation Board meeting and they recommended 10% but knew the Board always cuts it so they cut it to 6%. He said this is fine and his concern is for the elected officials and their deputies who are based on the pay raise on the Supervisors get. Lehman said you feel caught between what you feel you are justified for and what you feel your impression is going to be to the public. Stutsman said the cost of living increase is 3.7%. Neuzil said that when inflation is higher there is less money. He asked how the numbers looked when the Board was deciding this last year and if they were going to have to raise taxes quite a bit. Lehman said that last year they got caught in the equalization order and if they hadn’t changed anything from the previous year it would have been a 15% increase but they lowered it to 11%. Thompson said that if they are going to do it one year then this is the year to do it. Lehman said next year will be an equalization order. Neuzil asked what the role of the Compensation Board is if the Board of Supervisors doesn’t follow their recommendation. He asked why they even have it if their recommendation isn’t followed. Thompson said they look at the jobs and compare private industry, knowing what people in these fields are doing.

Stutsman said there are 2 proposals on the table, 4% for non-elected and 4.5% elected, then 6% for across the board for elected and non-bargaining. Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek said there are over 100 people who fall under department head positions and last year they received 3.25% and the year before was 3%. Shramek said that right now there are 3 AFSCME contracts, all 3-year contracts at 3.5% and she doesn’t feel they can go below that. Neuzil said going from 3% to 6% seems high. Stutsman said she suggests 4% for non-bargaining and 4.5% for elected. Neuzil suggested 4% for non-bargaining and 6% for elected. Shramek said she was at the Compensation Board meeting and they lowered the recommendation from 10% to 6%. Lehman asked if they lowered it feeling that 6% is what they felt the Board of Supervisors should take or did they lower it to 6% thinking they would take 4.5% of 5%. Harney said when the Compensation Board spoke of 10%, they were trying to get the Supervisors comparable to others around the State and then came down to 6% knowing the Supervisors wouldn’t take the 10%. Neuzil said that if non-bargaining gets 4% then maybe elected officials should get 5.25% and that is the same spread as last year. Neuzil said this justifies but also compromises. Lehman agreed with Neuzil. Stutsman said she feels this is too high for elected officials. Neuzil, Thompson and Lehman agreed on 4% for non-bargaining and 6% for elected. Shramek reminded the Board to think about the message this sends and that there are 6 bargaining units currently and if the elected official salary is set at 6% and non-bargaining at 4%. Thompson said the duties of the Board increase every year and they aren’t compensated for this. Harney said keeping 1% between the 2 is fine with him. Neuzil suggested everyone putting in a number and averaging it out. Lehman said they need to put a number in to have Horne work with. Thompson said the cost on 4% and 5.25% is $207,190. She said the cost of 4% and 6% is only $8,000 more. Stutsman said she is thinking about the impact it is going to have on negotiations for salaries. The Board decided to write their proposed increases on paper to discuss later.

Thompson asked if mileage is agreed on. Horne said it’s $6,000 more. Lehman said the State is using $.28 a mile. Neuzil said they should keep consistent with the State.

Thompson said White sent a memo about Courthouse security. Neuzil said there is security for certain cases. Thompson said security there is tedious because you stand there all day and if something happens your life is in danger. Harney said he doesn’t feel Per Mar Security is in a position to deal with instances that may arise at the Courthouse. He said it should be someone trained in law enforcement. Thompson said Linn County has scheduled all of their domestic cases on one day and the deputy is there on that day. She said they have also restricted access to one door and installed a metal detector at the door so everyone going in passes through that. She said the staff has key cards to use the other door. Thompson said this wouldn’t work here since the Handicap access is in the back here and there aren’t enough courtrooms to schedule all of the domestics on one day. Stutsman said there are limits as to what can be done with this building because it is an older building. Neuzil said that due to the amount of deputies they are considering increasing, instead of hiring someone else ask White about increased money for certain circumstances. Stutsman said that White requested this to come out of Carpenter’s budget and they should talk to Carpenter about it. Thompson said it’s hard to budget without a plan. Stutsman said a plan includes some changes in the way the courts operate. She said she isn’t supportive of putting staff over there until some other things are in place like perhaps having night courts or domestic cases all on one day. Thompson said this should be a partnership.

Neuzil said his top priority is still the jail. Thompson said the total approved budget for the Sheriff is $5,424,921. Neuzil said they are talking about 5 additional persons for the jail in this budget and arranging for more holding space. Thompson said some money was put into Central Services for jail alternatives, but they wouldn’t have to budget for that if they agree to use the million saved to pay for alternatives. Stutsman and Harney said they would like to see the money stay there for capital projects and then leave the money in Central Services. Neuzil said there would have to be some money for remodeling and some for transporting the prisoners at this time. Stutsman said she would like to leave $100,000 here down from $200,000. Horne said that money can be put into the Sheriff’s budget without it being designated for expenditure and it doesn’t have to be put into Central Services first. Stutsman asked about the $50,000 in the Sheriff’s budget. Harney said it’s for transporting prisoners. Stutsman asked what is in the Sheriff’s budget now besides personnel. Thompson said there are 5 staff and a substantial increase in the operating budget. Horne said he would print off an updated sheet on this.

Thompson said that in technology there are many items with zeros because Information Services Director Jean Schultz moved money into GIS. She said the $200,000 for GIS will cover these items plus others that the new director identifies. She said the numbers left still need considering. Thompson said agreements are at $108,000 to cover service contracts on software. Thompson said Schultz moved the document management project over into the $78,000 approved for document management. Thompson said the billing software for the Ambulance Department will replace their old one. The Board discussed a laptop for the Attorney. Thompson said there is $700 for the minutes deputy and general ledger deputy for the Auditor Reflections Software. Thompson said they are saving up for the payroll software. She said they saved $100,000 and were talking about matching that. She said Horne and her thought this year’s contribution could be decreased to $50,000. She said it’s a huge changeover and is unlikely that they would change all 3 systems in one year. She said the Sheriff’s Office is the AS400 upgrade and the system upgrade they are saving for. She said the Board decided Monday to change that to $75,000.

Thompson said Schultz felt SEATS had their request in the budget already. She said their other request is for odometer sensors for $1,140. She said that instead of having drivers call in their mileage it automatically records their mileage. Stutsman said this would help with their reporting to the contractors. Thompson said for P & Z the document management went into the other budget, leaving a $3,000 expense for some special software they use. She said the original request was higher but Schultz decreased it to $3,000. She said they wanted some 19-inch monitors that would be covered in her 5-year plan, and the Paperclip software was moved to document management, leaving $3,000. Thompson said she put zero in for Conservation because Thompson thought the Board agreed they would buy their things out of their levied budget. She said the Board would have to give them permission to buy equipment out of it. Thompson said $100,000 was put in for voting equipment. She said the computer hardware is for the new County Engineer position. Thompson said there is $200,000 for GIS and $78,000 for document management bringing it to a total of $970,000, then minus the $50,000, comes to $920,000. Lehman said this is down from the last time they looked at the budget where it was $1,641,000. Horne said they are adding $165,000 from last year.

Thompson said the capital project amount is $950,000. Stutsman asked what the $950,000 is for. Thompson said they had discussed saving $1.5 million and they have worked their way up to $950,000. She said many of these are repairs that have been postponed for years. She said the Space Needs Committee recommended money going in for land acquisition. Thompson suggested adding $50,000 for this. The Board agreed to add the $50,000, bringing the capital project amount to $1,000,000.

Stutsman asked if the Conservation Board is asking below the levy. Horne said it is a little below. Stutsman said she thinks money should be put in for trees because when they came in with the insurance the Board made it clear that they weren’t going to use any of that money for trees, but left that meeting feeling it would be considered during the budget process. She said it’s not fair to not give them any money for trees. She said they should acknowledge that they did consider this and should put some in their for trees, even if it’s only $5-$10,000. She said they requested $25,000. Lehman said their requests are under the levied amount. Stutsman asked Horne to double check if the money given them allows them money to buy trees because she wondered if they turned in their budget and the trees aren’t included in it.

Recessed at 10:47 a.m.; reconvened at 11:02 a.m.

The Board discussed budget items with Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak and Assistant Planner Dan Swartzendruber from Planning and Zoning. Swartzendruber said that without the decision packages it’s at $480,000. Horne said he has $493,000 for their FY02 budget total. Dvorak and Swartzendruber agreed on that figure. Dvorak said they want to have a full-time person in there instead of a halftime. Stutsman said the Board has no problem with this change.

Thompson said there is a transfer from general and rural basic to Secondary Roads. She said that for at least the past 2 years they have been transferring the maximum amount from general basic and the minimum amount from rural basic. She said they can’t do this every year without figures getting off. She said they could reduce the amount that they transfer from general basic to less than the maximum. Neuzil asked how they could do this and still get supplemental. Thompson said they could spend it on other general basic functions so they would be taking less than the maximum levy for roads. She said they could do $50-150,000 and would be in a better position to go into the rollbacks next year. Stutsman said the only problem with this is what the legislature will do with a property tax freeze because they will base it on base years and if it’s kept low they will be penalized. Thompson said they could still tax for the maximum and use the difference in general basic. Stutsman said she would like to involve County Engineer Mike Gardner in on this discussion. Thompson said by that by moving the money they could afford to fund the extra person in that department. She said they could go up to $2.6 million in the rural and down to $449,000 in general basic. Thompson reminded the Board that by decreasing general basic and increasing rural basic Gardner’s budget still stays the same.

Horne said salaries, technology and the budget are left. He said he calculated the Conservation number and came up with their levy to be $787,887. He said this gives them about $8,000 for trees.

Recessed at 11:45 a.m.; reconvened at 1:00 p.m.

Medical Examiner Administrative Associate Jeffrey Gauthier said his role as Administrative Associate is to provide administrative support to the program in emergency medicine, which is the academic unit for the physicians that staff the emergency treatment center within the College of Medicine. The function of Forensic Investigators is to take forensic science with the actual evidence at the scene and the history surrounding any given case. He said the ultimate investigation involves the autopsy. An autopsy must always be requested under the State guidelines in a homicide or suspected homicide, and cases where the manner of death is undetermined, all unidentified bodies and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome cases. He discussed further deaths deserving an autopsy. Gauthier discussed autopsy rate determinants. He listed age, social factors, traffic behavior, medical and hospital resources, preventable deaths, and special considerations. He said that preventable deaths always drive the forensic investigations into wondering how this could have been prevented.

Gauthier said that in their approach to provide this service to the County have looked at some ways of being unique and cost effective that serve a number of goals. He said they propose as a contingent developing a non-physician medical examiner component to the office. He said there are a number of reasons why this should be done. He said this would enable existing examiners more coverage and less burnout. He said some totals from January 1-24 of this year so far include 10 cases receiving medical investigation including 7 natural causes, 1 homicide, 1 suicide and 1 yet to be determined. He said 6 autopsies were performed with 5 of those being ordered by Dr. White and 1 ordered by the family, and only 3 were Johnson County residents. He said 24 cremation certificates were issued. He said there were 19 autopsies paid for by the County in FY 99/00. He said that of the actual medical investigations it’s a 13% rate. He said they think the maximum investigations receiving autopsies should be 28%.

Gauthier said that with field investigators they could minimize the number of physician labor hours at a total of 325 hours per year. He said that without field investigators and with just physicians, they feel more physician hours will be needed at a total of about 625 hours. He said the budgeted autopsy fees, which are about $31,000 represent about 29% of the budget. He said the medical examiner fees budgeted, which is about $61,000, represent 54%. He said the remaining expenses of printing etc account for the remainder of the 16%. Gauthier said they put together 2 budgets that include the use of clearly less expensive non-field investigators. He said they are projecting 42 autopsies per year based on past years. He said there are some startup expensed related to the field investigators. Gauthier talked about the revenue side. He said that based on the current budget there appears to be annual autopsy fees reimbursed to this County from other counties. He said the cremation certificate is a new source of revenue, at the rate of $35 per cremation certificate issued were paid directly to the medical examiner. He said there is now a new revenue stream of about $14,000. He said that under the other he depreciated it over 5 years at $10,560, so for the first 5 years there is a net margin of $114,485, then after recovering those expenses it drops back down to the $103,925. He said adopting the budget A concept would probably result in the most professional and cost-effective medical examiner services in the State. Lehman said that they should be picking up half of the cremation certificates that they didn’t have. Gauthier said this is true and he hasn’t addressed the current 6 months and since the budget was already in place they were going to try to work within it.

Thompson asked if they are going to be taking charge of the billing process to other counties. Gauthier said this is done by the Auditor’s Office and they have a system that he is unsure of how it works. He said the details are yet to be worked out. Thompson asked if there is going to be communication on what to bill for. Gauthier said absolutely.

Stutsman asked where the vehicle fits into the budget. Horne said it is in the startup expenses and isn’t part of the normal operating budget. Gaulthier said that there are 2 vehicles involved. He said that for the field investigators, when that component gets implemented, they could assist in transportation resulting in savings of about $7-8,000 per year. He said the 2nd vehicle is under transportation vehicle lease and they are requiring that the physician investigators have a vehicle available to them.

Thompson asked where the field investigators will come from and who will employ them. Gaulthier said he is unsure and it is fundamentally a decision to be made by the Board of Supervisors. He said they could be employees of the County or the University. He said it is their proposal, as set forth in the written agreement shared with White, that this final decision be explored with the understanding that it would be resolved on or before November 1st.

Neuzil asked what the projected cost for the medical examiner is. Gaulthier said it is the figure in Plan A, $153,925, excluding startup expenses since the County works that out.

Stutsman asked what the advantage of a lease is. Gaulthier said the vehicles leased through the University motor pool are all inclusive of fuel maintenance and access to the vehicle, usually limited by so many miles per month. He said this might be a bit different in the private sector regarding fuel and maintenance. He said he doesn’t know what resources the County has available. Thompson asked if there is the ability to lease a 2nd vehicle from the University if the County doesn’t want to buy one. Gaulthier said it’s quite possible. He said it doesn’t matter if they want to buy 2, lease 2, buy one and lease one as long as it’s 2 vehicles.

Gaulthier said that what they have envisioned for the medical examiners or physicians, is a 4-wheel drive utility vehicle. He said what they are seeing for this vehicle is a pickup truck with a fiberglass top like a camper that mounts on that back, but more similar to an ambulance module, very unsophisticated. He said 2 stretchers would be able to roll into it and there would be external compartments for equipment storage and it would be easy to clean. He said he isn’t thinking of an ambulance really, but more of an industrial ambulance at a much lower cost than an ambulance. He said a pickup can be leased through the University, but the module would have to bought and it’s about $10,000.

Thompson said that the concept with the field investigators is state of the art and probably the best thing going forward. She said the problem she has with this is that Johnson County’s medical examiner has operated almost the same way for 100 years. He said he feels like this is going from horse and buggy to space travel, in one jump. She said that she wants this to be successful and to be something that everyone, including neighboring counties, can be proud of. She said that in order for this to happen there needs to be input from the County Attorney, local medical practitioners and law enforcement. She said who does what at a crime scene is political and controversial. She said that going with the plain approach the first year, even though it is more expensive, and then use that as a means to talk to others about the concept, is the way to go. Gaulthier said he also feels there needs to be balance and planning time. He said he feels a deadline does need to be put on it though, which is why November 1st is in the agreement. He said the debate that might occur at the scene, since these people would be trained forensically at the same level as the physicians are, is that for a portion they might be the surrogate physician. He said that between now and when the program is implemented, the same tasks would be done by the physician that are done by the non-physicians. He said the role of the physician is to direct the investigation as it relates to where these circles overlap. He said the law does require certain things to be signed by a physician. He said that when they were approached to provide this service, they made it clear that there were positions to be met for them as well, and he had hoped to have this meeting before the appointments were made. He said that now the appointments are made and they have to make up for lost time, bringing everyone up to the same page. Thompson asked if November is when the assistants would be hired and ready to go or if that is when the plan would be in place for them to be hired. Gaulthier said it was implemented giving folks 2 classes, one in April and one in October, and then implemented by November 1st.

Stutsman asked if the budget A proposal means a $94,000 increase from what they currently have budgeted for this year. Horne said approximately and the more autopsies there are revenues will increase. Neuzil asked what the estimated revenues are. Stutsman said she thinks it’s $50,000. Neuzil asked what the total expenditures is including the startup. Horne said it’s $206,725. Neuzil asked what the difference in revenue is for this plan as opposed to what they’ve estimated in the past. Horne said it’s going to vary because if they have more autopsies they will bring in more money.

Harney asked if there has been a meeting with White and law enforcement officials. Gaulthier said there was a preliminary meeting before January 2nd, to introduce and explain a little bit about the whole concept and gave similar reports as the Board is getting.

Thompson asked if this budget would be accurate even if they use the target date of November 1st, but still operate for half a year on budget B. Gaulthier said it would be. Thompson asked if Gaulthier would be taking the lead in getting the meetings for this organized. Gaulthier said he isn’t sure what the best way to handle this is. Thompson said that unless he takes charge she doesn’t think it can be done at the rate the Board moves. Stutsman said she thinks that if they are given a deadline then the Board has to make every effort to meet that deadline. Harney asked what would happen if Dr. White can no longer do the service. Gaulthier said Dr. White has been appointed and because of his affiliation with them they are bringing a more institutional relationship because the physicians’ other responsibilities. He said that if Dr. White was unable to fulfill his term or elected not to receive an appointment for the next term, then someone else has to be found. Gaulthier said he is hopeful that White will be with them for a long time and that he doesn’t have an employment contract with the University. Stutsman said she has faith that Gaulthier can get people together to discuss this. Thompson agreed that if he takes the lead it would work.

The Board and Gaulthier discussed the different budget versions.

Recessed at 2:22 p.m. Reconvened at 2:35 p.m.

Lehman said they are allowed to tax $3.50 per $1,000 of the general basic. Joe Elder said that for FY02 it’s $12,534,562. Lehman said that of the $3.50, $.16 7/8 can go to Secondary Roads. He said that gives a maximum of $598,808. He said to get to the minimum they have to stay within 75% of that and have to stay within that range for taxing. Gardner said that they would like to keep the carryover to $1 million. Lehman asked if they anticipate being there now with expenditures. Gardner said the projected for the end of this Fiscal Year is going to be $330,000, but the carryover at the beginning of this year was more than anticipated, also. He said that to start FY02 they project at coming in under $1 million. The Board discussed how to get Secondary Roads’ figures to balance out with general basic and rural basic.

Neuzil asked what the decision for the County Medical Examiner came to. Thompson said roughly $190,000. The Board reviewed some of the different dollar figures for different departments. Stutsman suggested doing a needs assessment for the Employee Computer Purchase Program. Thompson asked about the County Attorney phone system. Elder said they asked for $17,757 and the Board approved $10,000 of that this year and told them to see if they could find the rest in their budget. Thompson said Ambulance wants to fund their phone system that they have been saving for. Elder said the Ambulance Department spent more than they saved for it. Thompson said the County Attorney is requesting a phone system and copy machine that they have been saving for. She said there is half of a copy machine approved for the Auditor and the Health Department is saving up for 2 vehicles. Horne asked if Dameron’s parking lot should be added for about $16,000. Stutsman asked if that has been saved for. Thompson said that Dameron has talked about it for several years but the Board hasn’t approved or disapproved it. She said the exact cost is $15,645. She said there is $150,000 for vehicles for the Sheriff. Stutsman said they Sheriff’s Department is on a regular replacement schedule like the Ambulance Department is. The Board discussed the tape recorder system for the Sheriff that is 10 years old and decided not to do it this year. Thompson said the Board could also zero out the medical examiner’s car. Thompson said there is a whole package for SEATS, including 2 phones and $5,000 for a phone system that began being saved for last year. Stutsman said to ask SEATS about it. Thompson said there is $10,000 for office relocation expense but since they aren’t moving for 7 years it’s premature to start saving now and it should be taken out. Thompson said the $20,000 for a vehicle purchase was in their plan. Thompson said Department 17 wants $4,000 for a truck they are saving for since the other Physical Plant truck is old. Stutsman said she is hesitant about this until there is a new person in place. Horne said this whole column comes to $316,554.

Lehman asked if capital projects is OK. Thompson said they should wait to discuss that when they have the whole budget. Stutsman said they might not really need to put in as much as they did for it. Lehman asked about the technology to match Personnel. Horne said the sheets handed out should be accurate. Harney said they are $665,000. Lehman asked if the approved technology was adjusted. Horne said it was.

The Board discussed the bridge funding at the Reservoir. Lehman asked if Secondary Roads knows how much of the interest for this will go towards their budget each year. Horne said it is between $100-110,000 and they should know about it. Thompson said they could afford the staff that Roads is asking for if it’s from the road fund, but not from the general fund because money is tight there. Neuzil asked if everything that goes with a new staff person is included in the $79,199. Horne said that is salary plus benefits. Stutsman said the maintenance position would help out Henze with what he does and the person could help out with vacation coverage. Stutsman said she is more supportive of giving Secondary Roads their maintenance position than the engineer position. Thompson asked how much they are adding back in. Neuzil said $37,148.

Lehman asked how many full and part-time employees are being added. Neuzil said there is the Human Service person. Lehman said that is a part-time position. Neuzil said there are 5 in the Sheriff’s Department, a Secretary I at Planning and Zoning. Stutsman said that is a half-time addition being added to an already existing half-time employee. Neuzil added there are 2 MH/DD’s, 2 Secondary Roads and the Recorder’s adjustment. Thompson asked if that is dollar neutral. Neuzil said it is very close. Lehman said he counts 9 total. Horne asked about Nutrition because the Board indicated they wanted to hold that at $30,000 but the amount of their decision package is different and needs to be converted. Thompson said the difference in there is that the money still needs to be amended in the budget. She said if you take the amendment plus their budget, then it’s over what was budgeted last year, but it’s $30,000 in money for next year.

The Board discussed the percentage increase for elected officials. Neuzil said he considers this decision part of the whole budget package. Stutsman said she is comfortable with 4% and thinks the elected official is too high, but it’s up to a Board majority. Neuzil said he likes the idea of taking the average of what the 5 Supervisors say.

Elder asked about the decision package in Department 22 for insurance. Thompson said it’s $20,000 and asked if it was something Saunders asked for. Elder said it is a budget similar to the medical examiner where the Auditor puts it together. He said he met with Bob Saunders and that’s what came out of the meeting. Thompson said she is fine with this and it brings the total $558,000.

Adjourned at 3:45 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Nancy Phillips and Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary