County Auditor Tom Slockett began the Auditor’s Office budget presentation by saying that the Auditor’s Office is fully aware of the tough economic situation. He said his office has real needs, and said they are going to show those needs, despite the tough budget year; he said he understood the Board might not be able to solve all of the needs this year.

Slockett said the goals in Accounting were to process payroll and accounts payable checks accurately and within deadline, to develop a plan for implementing GASB 34, purchase and implement new payroll and financial software, to perform annual departmental cash counts according to a monthly schedule, and to compile an up-to-date accounting procedures manual. He said in Fiscal Year 01, all payroll checks were issued on time, and 99.7% required no additional rework. All accounts payable checks were issued on time, and 99.5% required no additional rework. Staff has attended GASB 34 training, but has not yet developed an implementation plan. Slockett told the Board that the County has issued an RFP for new payroll and financial software. In 1999, Slockett said the unannounced cash counts were performed for 100% of applicable County departments, but due to employee turnover, no counts were performed for calendar year 2000. In 2001, Slockett said, they have performed 100% of the cash counts, to date, and are preparing the reports to be given to the Board of Supervisors. The Accounts Payable and Payroll positions do have up-to-date procedures manuals, and other manuals are in the process of being updated and developed. Thompson asked if these procedures manuals are the ones that get mentioned in the County audit? Slockett said they are the manuals for the Auditor’s Office. Thompson thought there are still manuals to be done for other offices, and Slockett agreed, saying the auditors want each office to have procedure manuals.

Slockett said the goals for Minutes were for the formal meeting minutes to be completed by the end of the day after the meeting, regular informal meetings up to 3 hours in length of verbatim minutes should be completed 2 days prior to the next formal meeting, and for up to 2 additional meetings scheduled each week, the minutes of each meeting should be completed by the end of the following week. Slockett reported the percentage of the meetings in which the minutes were completed in the allotted time. Formal meetings, 78.3% of the time; for informal meetings, 94.7% of the time; and for work sessions, 3.2%. Slockett said they’ve revised the goal to be completed by the end of the following week, and that goal was reached 62.7% of the time.

In Real Estate, Slockett reported the goals were: increasing the percentage of plat maps and transfer books updated within 24 hours of receipt, perform real estate splits and subdivision updates submitted before May 1st before tax roll update, set up GIS workstations for public access, importing County data into the State software for monthly valuation reporting rather than using existing County printouts. Slockett said they have processed over 85% of platting and transferring within 24 hours of receipt, and performed all the real estate splits and subdivision updates submitted before May 1st before the tax roll update. Slockett said problems were encountered with importing the County data into the State software, and these problems have not been resolved, due to changes in the State software.

Slockett said another large goal was to increase the availability and usage of public information on the Auditor’s Office’s website. He reported they currently have 3,032 pages available, compared to 2,226 a year ago, and have posted 553 new pages and 2,733 updated pages. He said there have been 15,182 home page requests on their website in Fiscal Year 01.

Slockett said the Board had requested information about the per capita cost of the operation of the department; he reported the cost is $6.31 per capita.

Slockett said the budget would be $715,948 if left at the same level as last year; if all the decision packages were approved, it would go to $788,967. Slockett said he wanted to repeat that he understood, realistically, that this probably wasn’t going to happen, but said he wanted to tell the Board what the needs are in the Auditor’s Office.

Deputy Auditor Mark Kistler and Deputy Auditor Brian Cover detailed the first decision package, which included a number of separate items. One item, Kistler detailed, is an increase in the wages of the part-time temporary workers; this would only amount to $1,904, raising the wages of the part-time temporary positions from $9.00 to $9.50 an hour. Kistler said they are extremely lucky with the quality of people they currently have employed in the part-time positions, said they need to keep them, and attract quality applicants to any future hirings. Kistler noted the positions do not include benefits, so $9.50 an hour is not unreasonable for a livable wage.

Cover continued that they were asking for $500 for 2 workstations where the public could look up real estate information. He said by June of 2002, the GIS information should all be checked and ready, so they need a place for the public to come and sit with newer computers to access the information. Cover said they’ve also requested $5,800 for the computers. Currently, Cover said, all they have is an old Pentium that accesses the real estate database in the HP 3000, and this machine does not have GIS capability. Cover said they have also asked for an increase in the number of hours in the part-time permanent accounting clerk, from 10 to 20 hours a week, a $9,902 budget request. He said the extra hours would be used in the real estate department doing necessary daily functions, and noted that Kathy Kasson, who holds the position, has done several of these jobs, and her additional hours would be a great resource for the real estate department. Cover said they are also requesting a 6-drawer file for parcel cards, at a cost of $1,023. He said the 3 files they have now are packed full, and explained that some of the drawers have been ruined by being overloaded. Cover said the Auditor’s Office has asked the Document Management Committee for funds to scan the parcel cards, but because of other priorities, that may not happen in the near future. Cover said Decision Package One also includes $1,000 for continuing education; Cover noted that he and Deputy Auditor Joe Elder are both CPAs, and need continuing education credits to keep their certificates. Cover said this money might also be used for GIS training. Cover said they are also requesting $2,749 to preserve some fragile historical atlases and maps housed in the Auditor’s Office; this money would be used for binders and acid-free protective pages.

Kistler continued the explanation of Decision Package One, explaining the request of $1,725 for a computer in the boardroom. He said the machine currently housed in the boardroom is prone to locking up, performs slowly, and is not on the County’s 5-year replacement plan. Neuzil asked about the possibility of buying a laptop, and Kistler said they would work with the Board on this. Slockett pointed out that laptops are more expensive, and Neuzil agreed, but said this configuration might allow the Board to install a permanent projector in the Boardroom. Neuzil said the Auditor’s Office could use the laptop when the machine was not in use during meetings in the Boardroom, and Kistler said this would help in the office. Kistler detailed a $925 request for top-quality voice-recognition software, a computer sound card, and a desktop microphone. He said the software would be used to verbally transcribe or summarize Board of Supervisors minutes into Microsoft Word documents. He explained this software is able to recognize and accurately transcribe continuous speech, and could help prevent repetitive stress injuries. Kistler also said that the software became more effective over time, as it adapted to people’s speech patterns. Finally, Kistler said, the software is also an adaptive tool that the Auditor’s Office can use for people with a disability. Kistler said they would track the productivity of this new software to see how it works.

Slockett said the final pieces of Decision Package One are $1,000 for saving for copier replacement, and $1,000 for fax machine replacement. He noted their previous requests for copier replacement have only been $500, but said the copier was purchased in 1986, and is starting to have a number of breakdowns and service visits, so they are raising their requests. Slockett said they are still going to try to keep the copier until Fiscal Year 06. The fax machine was purchased in 1990, he said, and is nearing the end of its useful life. He noted it is used very heavily, and the new model is much better. Slockett said Elections is also asking for $1,000 for the fax machine; the machine costs $2,000.

Cover explained that Decision Package 2 is a request for $60,717 for a Mapping Deputy position; this includes salary, office furniture, computer and software, and other equipment. Cover said they also requested this position last year, and the need is still there. $54,792 would be for wages and benefits. Kistler said the position would supervise the function of the map delineators in the Auditor’s Office in processing the daily workload. This would include updating the GIS topology converted from CAD, integrating new survey information into the system, and updating records that reflect information from deeds and other recorded documents that come through the Auditor’s Office each day. He said this would also involve working with attorneys and surveyors to resolve problems with legal descriptions and ownership; the office constantly deals with mistakes that occur in the updates. Kistler said the Mapping Deputy would work with the GIS Coordinator. Kistler explained the duties of the position, including identifying and maintaining database information for TIF districts, school districts, etc; producing mailing lists; computerizing information now only accessible manually in the road books; and establishing an online point and click map for precinct and polling place locations.

Cover said these are new and expanded duties, because computerized mapping was nonexistent until added to duties in the Auditor’s Office in the early 1990s. He explained that the sophistication of the real estate and property tax systems has grown to be too complex for one person. Cover said the position requires expertise in both accounting and GIS; he said he has an accounting background, but not the expertise to perform the needed maintenance in the real estate department. When the conversion is completed in the spring of 2002, the parcel maintenance will be done in the Auditor’s Office, using NovaLIS software. Cover said the demands on the accounting part of his job, including valuation requests, are such that he doesn’t have sufficient time for the mapping duties. Cover said that Kistler has the technical background to help in mapping, and he does help when needed, but as Minutes Deputy doesn’t have time to frequently work on real estate. Cover said knowledge of GIS Technology would be required for the new employee, and wages are competitive in this area. Cover said the number of deeds and surveys received in the Auditor’s Office has been steadily increasing over the past few years. He said the TIF districts have also added complexity to real estate, valuations, and mapping in Johnson County; there are now 39 TIF districts in Johnson County, including over 2,300 parcels valued at over $523 million. Cover said the accounting requirements of these TIF districts take up a great deal of his time. He noted that accurate mapping is the basis for much information used by other departments in the County, and this position would help assure and improve accuracy in the mapping area.

Kistler continued, saying that adding this position would allow the Real Estate/Property Tax Deputy the ability to address the management needs for the real estate database and accounting functions, and also recognize the need to establish ongoing management for the mapping function within the office. Kistler said visits from the GIS Coordinator are not sufficient; the Auditor’s Office needs someone on-site assuring accuracy and quality control. Slockett added that the GIS Coordinator does not have time to do the necessary supervision. Kistler detailed a variety of projects that need attention in the Auditor’s Office that this position would work on, including updating outdated plat books and maintaining the accuracy of the permanent parcel number system. Overall, Kistler summarized, this position would work with the GIS Coordinator to develop applications for the Auditor’s Office and facilitate the Auditor’s Office’s ability to provide better services to other County departments, the public, and other governmental agencies. Without the position, he said, the mapping function lacks sufficient management, resulting in a significantly increased risk for errors in mapping accuracy. Kistler said there are currently 5 full-time, 1 part-time permanent, and 2 part-time temporary employees in the real estate/mapping/GIS area. He said the last position added was 2 fiscal years previous, when they added a Account Clerk II to the property tax area. Kistler said this position has helped, but did not meet the management needs.

Thompson asked how many people this person would supervise; Kistler answered there would be 2 full-time Map Delineators and a half-time Map Delineator under the supervision of the new position. Thompson asked what percentage of the time would be spent doing supervision, and said the State told the County they are looking for a 1:12 supervisory ratio. She said this makes a 1:2 ratio look inefficient, especially when Cover would then also have 1:2. Thompson thought they would have a lot of chiefs and no Indians. Slockett replied that there’s also the matter of the complexity and sophistication of the job duties; they need someone to understand and maintain the GIS, as well as manage. Slockett said they can’t hire another Clerk who has the types of skills needed in the office. Kistler said the management structure proposed for the Auditor’s Office is similar to that used in both the County Assessor’s Office and the City Assessor’s Office. Kistler said 2 supervisors, each with a different skill set, are needed in the real estate area, because of the wide variety of information that comes through the Auditor’s Office. Kistler said they have tried adding part-time and temporary positions to keep up with the workload, but these initiatives have not addressed the need for additional management in the GIS area. Slockett summarized that the County has made a decision to move to a new level of complexity in its mapping, and the Auditor’s Office supports this decision. He said, though, that additional skills are needed in this area, because the Auditor’s Office is still doing the line drawing in the GIS format. Harney asked if they have room in the office to add a position? Slockett acknowledged they could use more space.

Kistler began the explanation of Decision Package 3, expenditures of $25,354 for personnel and equipment for the Auditor’s Office to take over the duties of taking minutes for additional committees that exist throughout the County. He said the function would be an extension of the minute-taking duties already performed for Board of Supervisors meetings. Kistler said in utilizing their personnel to do this, it would be consistent, efficient, and cost-effective. 2 additional positions would be added: a Part-time Permanent Administrative Secretary/Accounting Clerk II, to work 20 hours per week and earn $18,591 total wages and benefits, and a Part-time Temporary Student recording secretary, to work 10 hours per week and earn $5,038 total wages and benefits. An additional computer with Microsoft Office software would also be necessary, and would help with an already-tight computer situation in the Minutes area. Kistler said these duties would be expanding a current function into a new area. He said this is a worthwhile proposal because currently, department heads and management employees produce committee minutes, and are typically paid a much higher hourly wage or salary than the proposed part-time positions. This would free up their time. Kistler thought they would pick up minutes such as the Computer Committee, GIS Subcommittee, Document Management Committee. Kistler said they last changed their recording secretary hours in FY 99, when they added the full-time position and reduced the part-time temporary secretary hours.

Slockett said the goals in Elections were to increase voter registration, increase voter participation, respond to the increased demand in early voting, and to accumulate funds to replace voting equipment. Slockett showed the levels they were trying to exceed, numbers drawn from the 1998 General/Gubernatorial Election. He noted they are asking the Board to fund 100% of the desired funds to replace voting equipment, due to anticipated problems with the current equipment.

Elections Deputy Julie Bartholomew began her Department 33 budget presentation by detailing Decision Package 1, asking for a new voting system, at a cost of $496,500. Bartholomew said the current equipment is from 1984, and they would like to replace it with 64 precinct counters, 2 early voting central count systems, 30 early voting electronic voting terminals, 5 early voting electronic voting supervisor terminals, 2 ballot-on-demand printers, and software systems. Bartholomew noted that purchasing the voting equipment would meet Goal #4. She noted that $200,000 of the required $696,500 has already been saved, and asked the Board to put aside another $100,000 if they chose not to fund the entire amount of $496,500. Bartholomew said it is allowable for the Board of Supervisors to issue bonds without an election for the purpose of voting equipment.

Thompson asked about the learning curve on the equipment: from the time they got the equipment, what would be the next election they could use it in? Slockett said it would be great to get it as soon as possible, and said it would be nice to have it the year before they used the new equipment in a big, general election. Bartholomew said they could start it in a smaller turnout election, and Slockett agreed, saying they could use it in a School Board or City election. Slockett said this wouldn’t be nearly as big a change as the last time they changed equipment; the concepts would be the same, only better technologically. Bartholomew agreed, and she and Slockett pointed out that the new system would have an override button to allow poll workers to better handle blank ballots, or ballots with over-votes. Slockett thought that if they did an RFP, it might be less than the $696,500 cost on the budget request.

In Decision Package 2, Bartholomew requested $3,084 to fund 3 items: to increase the part-time temporary clerks and technicians from $9.00 to $9.50, $1,000 for saving towards a new copier, and $1,000 to buy half of a new fax machine. Thompson asked if the pay increase involved non-bargaining unit positions, and Slockett said yes. Thompson asked if there were other employees in other positions that make less than $9.50? Slockett said only the elections officials. She wondered if they were going to get requests to upgrade somebody somewhere else because the part-time temporary employees would make more than they do. Slockett and Bartholomew said no.

Bartholomew said Decision Package 3, a request for $20,400, is partly an effort to encourage voter registration. For $10,200, they would publish a voter registration form in Johnson County newspapers and mail voter registration forms to non-registered students. Slockett said they did this in the Presidential election, and Johnson County exceeded the State average with 60.1% participation. Also, Bartholomew said, to respond to the increased demand for satellite voting, they would like to purchase 6 laptops and label printers, which are easier to transport and set up than the desktop computers. This would cost $10,200. Thompson asked if they would still need this if the Board allocated the money for new voting equipment, and Slockett replied yes.

Bartholomew noted that one item, a software and hardware agreement for the current voting equipment, did not appear in either of the decision packages. She said this is an ongoing expense.

Neuzil asked if the old voting equipment would be worth anything to anyone, and Slockett thought probably not very much. Slockett said they bought 10 machines for $500 each, several years ago. Bartholomew thought the memory packs might be worth a little to someone using similar equipment. Lehman wondered about phasing the equipment in, buying half of what they need. Slockett said setting up the ballots, administering them, and counting them is very complex, so running elections with 2 different systems would be too complicated.

Neuzil asked about storage of the ballots; he said he was concerned about security. He wondered about installing a safer system, other than wood, and asked if Slockett has thought about making a budget request for this. Slockett thought this was an excellent idea. Neuzil asked if Slockett has been working with the Space Needs Committee regarding additional space, such as in the Fisher Building. Slockett said there isn’t a square inch left unused in his office.

Thompson asked Bartholomew if she is going to be asking for a budget amendment. Bartholomew replied yes, because Iowa City had a primary election for which her department did not budget. Slockett said that has always been the Board’s instructions, to budget only for the elections they knew for certain would occur, and not estimate for any special or optional elections. Slockett said in this case, the City is charged for the election, so the overall outcome will be revenue-neutral. Thompson pointed out that the revenue was not readjusted, and Bartholomew acknowledged this mistake.

Slockett said there is more bad news about State budget cuts, and the information he has is that the total cut from the State for the current fiscal year is estimated to be $133,215, and next year it’s projected to be $137,154. Slockett said this is much better than the original estimates. Neuzil asked if this was a County-wide estimate, and Slockett said yes. Neuzil said this is not as bad as he thought it was going to be, either. Horne asked if this estimate included the Roads fund, and Slockett said no. Horne reported that County Engineer Mike Gardner had told him that Secondary Roads lost $340,000 in Roads, just for the current year. Slockett said they don’t budget for roads, so that isn’t included.

Deputy Auditor Joe Elder said he wanted to go over 3 more departmental budgets. He said he wanted to briefly discuss the tax revenue funds: Central Services, General Supplemental, Rural Basic, and MH/DD. Elder began with Department 18, Central Services, and reminded the group that Central Services is a conglomeration of all different types of accounts that are general in nature; none are specific to any one department. He said there are no decision packages for this department. Elder highlighted some of the accounts that had significant changes. He explained that the categories of Non-Bargaining Merit, and Employee Benefits/Health Insurance are usually budgeted late in the budget session, not allocated to individual departments until, usually, the 2nd budget amendment. Until then, Elder said, the money stays in Central Services. Neuzil asked when that 2nd budget amendment occurs, and Elder said around April. Elder said it was unusually large last year, $384,000 for health insurance. In the Non-Bargaining Merit column for FY 03, Elder reported that Shramek recommended an additional $10,000, because the Conservation Department was added to this category. Slockett said the ideal would be if they could get the number early enough to put it in the individual departments. Neuzil asked what happened last year, when health insurance went way up? Thompson replied that they changed one of the ways that they fund it, and it saved them some money. Horne said they changed their stop loss policy.

Elder pointed out another item, Deputy Sheriff Advertisement; for FY 03, this was increased $1,500. He said the Sheriff’s Office wanted to increase this to $2,500, because they spent $2,600 last year; this budget is hard to predict, because it depends on turnover. Elder showed 8 line items for Minutes and Publications for the County’s official newspapers; with a net decrease of $500. Neuzil asked the officials newspapers are picked. Slockett said there’s a required formula, whereby papers with certain subscription levels submit requests, and the top 3 are selected. Neuzil asked how this occurs, and who makes the recommendation? Slockett said the Board of Supervisors makes the recommendation; Kistler said the Board votes at the first organizational meeting of the year, based on who sends a letter requesting to be the official newspaper. Neuzil said someone at the Gazette was upset last year; Kistler said the Gazette has not applied. Slockett thought they might be eligible now that they are in Iowa City. Thompson and Horne noted that they would have to apply, by sending a letter.

Elder explained that the Employee Mileage line item works like health insurance; all the money is first put in Central Services, and later allocated to individual departments. This will be affected if the County increases the mileage rate from $.24 to $.28 per mile.

Elder said he and Sullivan worked together on the Labor Relations Management Board line item which was increased $15,000. Elder said that many of the union contracts will be coming due, resulting in increased expense. Lehman agreed, and said that at least 5 of the 6 contracts will be renegotiated, and possibly all 6. Neuzil said that at this point, the County Attorney has been taken off this duty, and Thompson noted that they didn’t decrease their budget.

Elder said that the $6,000 account for a Grant-writer from last year will not be funded this year, so it is decreased by $6,000. Elder said he talked to Sullivan and Horne about this. Elder said Central Services is decreasing $361,000 from last year’s budget, but a lot of that is the health insurance. If this item is excluded, Elder said, they are up about $22,000 in this department. Harney asked if they are taking out the grant-writing funds because no one has used it? Thompson said they told all the department heads about the grant writing money, and nobody has requested it for 2 years. Neuzil referred to an earlier discussion about the Staff Development-Board line item; Horne said changes could be made on this item. Thompson said they’ve added $1,150, for a total of $3,000. Thompson noted that in the 2 prior years, they had $350 one year and $3,400 the next, and said it’s a little hard to make a projection from those numbers. Thompson asked about the bee inspection, and Elder said he wasn’t precisely sure, but it was a State survey or study, and the County was charged for mileage, and perhaps meals. Neuzil noted that the State beekeeper was cut out of the budget. Thompson asked about the Employee Computer Purchase, which would be an additional expense, but would also show some revenue, because part of the money would be paid back that year. She said they should consider whether the County wants to do that.

Elder continued with an explanation of the revenue sheet. Overall, he said, the re-estimated numbers for 2002 showed a net decrease of $209,000. One of the 2 primary culprits, he said, is the interest accounts. Elder said that County Treasurer Tom Kriz estimated that the County is going to receive $130,000 less in 2002 than what was budgeted last year. Elder said another cause of the revenue shortfall is the Equipment Credit Replacement, a tax account, which is projected to be $73,576 less. Elder pointed out that between these 2 accounts, there is $200,000 less. Neuzil asked about the contract to pay for the parking at City Carton; he thought this was coming out of Central Services. Horne and Neuzil said they will have to create a new line item, and Neuzil added it would be fairly revenue-neutral. Thompson said there is a line item for staff recognition, but there’s no money in it. Elder said the FY 03 budget shows a net decrease in revenues of $242,000. Again, Elder said, Interest and the Equipment Credit Replacement are the 2 biggest culprits. He noted that the Equipment Credit Replacement is being phased out by the State, with sharp decreases this year and next, and completely gone in FY 04.

Neuzil brought up the carryovers that the Farm Bureau has publicized, and asked where Johnson County is? Is it still around 11%? Horne said they are at 6% of the budget in the General Fund. Horne said that with all funds together, it’s 20%-25%, but many are restricted. Horne and Slockett said this would include Reservoir Roads Trust Fund, Capital Projects, and Technology. Neuzil said at some point they are going to have to be prepared to come up with a pretty good answer. Slockett said they have the answer. Harney said as long as the money is earmarked, there is no problem. Lehman said some counties don’t have the projects that Johnson County does. Slockett said every time the Farm Bureau has looked at Johnson County’s numbers, they have come away very impressed. Neuzil said that ISAC’s proposal is 25%, and Horne said that is only for the General Fund, and Johnson County is only at 6%. Slockett said they would have to have massive tax increases to go up to the level that ISAC recommends going down to. Neuzil asked if he could, then, tell someone who asks that they are at 6%? Horne said that was what was budgeted; Slockett added that this depended on the budget spreadsheet, and he wanted to talk about this, as far as who is doing what.

Thompson asked Neuzil if $4,120 was enough for Communications Committee for next year? She said they spent $4,483 last year. Neuzil said Shramek has asked for an additional increase, and they are also looking into coming up with a better, year-end summary of what County departments do. He said they might come up with a nice brochure that could be handed out, with pictures of elected officials, department heads, and a breakdown of some of the things that have changed. Neuzil said Iowa City and Linn County have excellent resources in this area, and Johnson County does not. Neuzil said they might also add 2 new displays cases as you walk into the Administration Building, which would include pictures of the elected officials and department heads, so people could identify them. Another could be used by elected officials or department heads to display what they do in the County. Neuzil wondered if that could come out of the Communications Committee also, or would it be from Physical Plant? He said Shramek was going to look into that. Thompson thought it might be equipment purchase.

Recessed at 4:44 p.m.; reconvened at 4:49 p.m.

Elder continued with the Insurance budget, Department 22. He said he has met with the County insurance agent, Bob Saunders, and gone through all the accounts to see what needs to be changed. Elder said that Highland Insurance, the current provider, dropped the County, so they have to pick up another insurance carrier. Elder said they got a carrier through ISAC. There will be few changes in expenses this year, Elder said, but next year, there is a proposed premium increase, included as Decision Package 1. This decision package covers 2 amounts: $11,250 for an increase in rural property insurance, and $17,000, which is the projected increase for Worker’s Comp Insurance. Elder said that both of these increases are general and nationwide. Elder said one of the difficulties in budgeting for this department is that insurance companies won’t give quotes this far ahead; they would rather give quotes only a day or 2 ahead of the purchase, so a year-and-a-half ahead is very difficult. Elder said Saunders added 15% to last year’s figures to get the above figures. Elder said they don’t anticipate any changes in revenue; revenues are largely dependent on how many claims are processed. The more claims, the more revenue comes in. For 2000, the County made $26,800 from recoveries on insured losses, and last year there were $60,300.

Elder continued with an explanation of Department 41, Institutional Accounts, with an overall budget of $38,450. He said this department is kind of like 2 budgets in one. One is the Youth Toledo Facility, and the other is the Mount Pleasant Facility. Elder said there is one account for the Toledo facility; Johnson County has traditionally budgeted about $26,000 in that account, and noted that the last 2 years, the County has not spent much out of that account, only $5,700 2 years ago, and $2,900 last year. Elder reminded the Board that in 1998 and 1999, they spent very close to $26,000, so this is an account that is very hard to predict. Elder said the budget for Youth Toledo this year is again $26,000, so $12,450 is for all the other accounts in Department 41. Elder said they exceeded the budget in this account last year, but since the County had not spent all the money out of the Toledo account, there was a cushion, avoiding a budget amendment. Thompson clarified that all the other accounts are related to chemical dependency, statutory requirements; Elder affirmed that this was his understanding. Elder projected that this account will be over budget by about $8,000 on all accounts except the Toledo. Elder said they have spent about $500 out of the Toledo account this year, and projected that there would again be a cushion from the Toledo account.

Elder said they are not going to be able to keep doing this forever, so in Decision Package 1, the Auditor’s Office is proposing an increase in the accounts they use to pay the Mount Pleasant facility. This decision package would bring the Mount Pleasant accounts up to $15,350, which is still less than in FY 98 and 99, when the Mount Pleasant accounts were above $17,000. Thompson said the $26,000 at Toledo would be about enough to pay for one kid to be housed there for the whole year, but added that this would almost never happen. Lehman asked if this account is taxed out of the General Fund, and Horne said no, from the Supplemental Fund. Slockett clarified that the Supplemental Fund, historically, was set up for things beyond control, such as utility prices, court proceedings, etc. Then, they put a number of limitations on the counties, making the distinction between the General Fund and the Supplemental Fund seem kind of silly.

Elder said that the County has 4 tax revenue accounts. In these, the taxes levied by the County are collected. The 4 funds are: Central Services (discussed above), General Supplemental Block Grants, Department 21, Rural Basic Block Grants, Department 23, and MH/DD. As in Central Services, Elder said, the Equipment Credit Replacement was a lower amount in General Supplemental, Rural Basic, and MH/DD, impacting overall revenues. In Department 21, they had budgeted $24,000 to be received in Equipment Credit Replacement, but revised it down to $900, resulting in a $23,100 budget shortfall. For next year, Elder said, they expect to receive $23,000 less, as well. The situation is similar in Rural Basic, where they expect revenues to be down $4,300, and next year down another $700. Elder said it was the same in MH/DD; they revised the Equipment Credit Replacement down $19,000 this year, and expect another shortfall next year of $27,000 overall. Lehman asked if Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Elaine Sweet is aware of this change in her revenues? Thompson asked if this will show on her revenue page, or only this one? Horne and Elder said it will be on hers, the MH/DD revenue sheet. Elder said they’ve typically budgeted those in Sweet’s budget. Slockett said she would see it on her budget sheet, but might not know why, and asked Elder if he has communicated with her about this. Elder said he wasn’t sure if Sweet is aware of the situation. Lehman said it is going to impact what she can spend. Slockett noted she does get monthly reports on her revenues.

Slockett thought that, while the group was all together, it might be a good time to go over who does what in the budgeting process, and dividing up the duties between the Board’s Budget Coordinator, and the staff in the Auditor’s Office. Slockett said he wants to know what his office is responsible for, and what they are not. Elder showed what happened in last year’s budgeting process, what has already happened during this year’s budgeting process, and a proposed division of duties. Elder noted that both he and Horne were new last year, so they have been feeling their way through the process. Elder showed another column of proposed, future duties, that have not been done in the past.

Slockett said he would like to focus on what they are doing this year, and said his office is open to changing it in any way for the future. Slockett said the current budget cycle, FY 03, was the highest priority, as to who was going to do what, from this point on. Harney asked if the proposed column referred to FY 04, and Slockett said no, it was from this point on, for the remainder of the FY 03 budget cycle, and into the future. Slockett said he didn’t want to give the impression that his office was trying to hang on to certain duties; he just wanted to get it decided. Thompson said none of the Supervisors have any objection having Horne learn how to do Slockett’s proposed duties, but said he doesn’t know how to do them right now. Thompson suggested that Horne and the Auditor’s Office do these duties together for the current year, and Horne could take them over next year. Horne said there are some things he needs to learn, such as calculating some of the transfers and how the Auditor’s Office uses some of the State forms. Harney asked if this information is available to Horne, or is the information housed in the Auditor’s Office? Slockett said the information is mostly stored in his office. Thompson thought that if Horne could learn these duties, it would be fine if he prepared the binder that comes to the Board.

Slockett said the problem he sees is that Horne has to be available, to spend the time to get the job done. Harney said one of his concerns is overload for Horne; where the Auditor’s Office had people to fall back on, Horne does not. Neuzil thought another year of transition is necessary, as Horne learns what he needs to. Neuzil said he would like to see Horne’s ideas on this issue, and asked Horne what he proposes? Horne answered that he has no problem or disagreement with Slockett’s proposal, but noted the roles will probably be reevaluated once the new financial software is in place. Slockett thought it would be a little unrealistic to expect Horne to be present while all the work is being done, and asked about Horne’s schedule. Horne said if he could get an idea of when they would be working on it, he thought he could make himself available. Slockett thought it might be taking up too much of Horne’s time.

Thompson asked how else Horne could learn it; could Slockett have someone available to help him whenever he is ready to learn it? Horne said he didn’t think there are a lot of things he doesn’t understand. Harney said he is very uncomfortable not having a backup person; if Horne got sick, and the Auditor’s Office didn’t understand what was going on in the budget process, what would happen? Slockett said this was a big concern to him, as well. Thompson said the Board was hoping Sullivan could do some backup, and suggested that between Horne and Sullivan, they could work out that at least one of them would be present whenever the Auditor’s Office was working on the budget duties in question. Slockett said he didn’t think it was a real good idea to have one person doing it; Neuzil agreed, and said a lot of these duties still need the Auditor and the Budget Coordinator working together, during the transition. Thompson and Horne said this might have to occur until the County purchased the new financial software system. Thompson said many of the computations were based on formulas, and Horne and the Board don’t know the formula. Slockett said it is a lot of work; there’s a FoxPro database system linked to Excel spreadsheets, an entire, complex budget system on the computer. Slockett said that in his view the $44 million budget is not something one person can just sit down and whip out.

Lehman asked if Slockett’s document is a draft, and asked Horne what he thought of it. Horne replied he feels pretty comfortable with it; he just needs to learn a few things. Horne said he does a lot of the duties already: the preparation for the public hearing, the State budget forms, presenting the data to the Board of Supervisors. He said the hardest part will be getting the valuation figures and equalizations. Horne said he would want someone to check his work, as well. Lehman said he didn’t want to get to the point where Horne would ask for an assistant, and wondered if, then, Slockett would have a free person in the Auditor’s Office? Slockett said Deputy Auditor Chris Edwards and Elder are very busy; they would not have free time on their hands, even if they did less work with the budget.

At the same time, Slockett said, he said he feels uncomfortable checking over and supervising Horne, who is not in his department. Slockett said he can’t fire or discipline, resulting in a bad management situation, where he has to supervise an employee in another department. Thompson noted this would only for one year; after that, the Board would have responsibility for it. Thompson said the Board needed Slockett to train Horne; Slockett said he didn’t understand how this was true. Thompson said it made sense to her to have the Auditor do everything where numbers needed to be checked, as a safety net. Slockett suggested that Horne’s supervisor check his work; Thompson said they might get to that, but they weren’t there yet. Slockett said he is a little uncomfortable with the situation, because Horne isn’t his employee. Thompson replied that if Slockett is uncomfortable transferring any of the tasks over, the Auditor’s Office could keep them. Slockett said if the Auditor’s Office is going to be responsible for doing it right, then he’d rather do it. He said it wouldn’t be fair to say that someone is going to do it, but if they screw up, it’s the fault of the Auditor’s Office. Thompson asked how else could Horne learn it? She said the Auditor’s Office knows how to do the tasks, so if someone else is going to do them, the Auditor’s Office will have to train them; there is no other way to train someone. Slockett said training involves being there to take the time and interest to learn. Slockett said he can’t tell an employee outside his office when and what to learn; Horne is going to have to take the initiative. Thompson said Horne is willing to learn if Slockett tells him when to show up. Slockett said no one has ever not made himself available when Horne asks. Thompson said the best situation would be if Slockett would tell Horne when they’re going to work on a certain task, and he would be there. Horne said he was trying to be flexible. Neuzil said he didn’t think the situation would evolve into exclusive duties; the Auditor’s Office and Horne need to work together, as 2 departments who do some of the same work and check each other. Thompson said they need to have a relationship where mistakes can be made without blame.

Slockett said the problem is that the Auditor’s Office might not have the information. In the past, he said, when the budgets came to the Auditor’s Office, they made copies and sent them up to the Board. Now, Slockett said, they don’t have the budgets, because they go to Horne. Slockett said it would be difficult, then, for the Auditor’s Office to check the budgets after Horne has been over them, because they would not have seen them. Harney asked if the Auditor’s Office needs copies of the budgets, then? Slockett said it depends on what his office is going to do, but probably, yes. Harney said it isn’t that he doesn’t trust Horne, but said he’s uncomfortable having only one person with all the information. Slockett agreed, and referenced a mistake in his own budget presentation, and said mistakes can and do happen. Thompson said she, Sullivan, and Horne had recently gone through the budget line-by-line, and found a number of issues showing that it would be good to do the budget together one year; after that, Horne could take it over. She said Sullivan was also going to learn to be the backup. Horne said the worksheet is the biggest problem. Neuzil hoped the new financial software would make things easier for everyone.

Adjourned at 5:25 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary