Horne said that the biggest change in this budget is that Veteran Affairs doesn’t have to pay rent. He said that Veteran Affairs Administrator Leo Baier didn’t reestimate his rent going down this year. Thompson said that he will need those funds to cover his budget. Horne replied that he would because he’s already over budget. Thompson said that Baier spent $31,000 last year, but he only has $26,000 in his budget. Horne said that he’s spoken with Baier numerous times about it. He explained that he’s over budget now with the rent saving. Thompson said that Baier and his board want to raise their guidelines so that people would get an amount equal to what it would take to be on a veterans pension. Stutsman asked if these increases are reflective of raising the guidelines. Thompson said that she didn’t know. She added that the Veterans Affairs Commission shouldn’t think that they can just come in and say that they want to raise the guidelines for next year. Stutsman asked if they understand the process. Horne said that he and Thompson have met with their Commission and there’s varying degrees of understanding. Stutsman said that they don’t understand that if the Commission is talking about raising guidelines that she wants to see what impact it will have on the budget. Horne replied that the Commission didn’t talk to the Board about raising their guidelines. Thompson said that the Commission talked to her about it when she attended their meetings. Horne said that to him, raising the guidelines isn’t part of this budget request. He said that these increases are just what they think they’re going to be spending in usage. Thompson told Horne to make sure the Commission understands that the Board doesn’t want to hear them talking about raising their guidelines if this is their budget request. Neuzil said that every ’03 request is much higher than their ’02 actuals. Horne said that he spends almost all the additional from those line items and spends it in the client rental assistance line item. Neuzil said that every item has a giant cushion, which is why he’s not worried where the money will come from. Lehman said that he’s shifting his funds. Horne said that he’s over with all the cushions this year.

Stutsman asked if the Board wants to send Baier a message that they will not give him a budget amendment. Horne said he talked to Baier about it, but he isn’t willing to shut the door. Thompson said that he should send the people to General Assistance. Horne asked if all the veterans qualify for General Assistance. Thompson replied that most of them don’t. Harney said that he didn’t know what would happen because the Veterans Hospital is also cutting them off now at a certain income level. Horne added that several Federal programs have been cut as well. Stutsman asked why the Johnson County taxpayer has to pick up what the Federal government should be paying for just because there is a Veteran’s Hospital in the County. Thompson said that the County doesn’t pay for their medical bills, only their rent. She added that Baier was at 55% of his budget at the end of December, but some of the people will have received their 4 months and won’t be back. Horne said that he’s thought that, but he keeps showing up ahead regardless. Harney asked what the Board told Baier to do with his budget last year. Stutsman said the Board told Baier to budget for what he thought he was going to need in each item. Horne commented that he came in within budget last year. Thompson said that he says that he’s going to again this year. She added that in December he spent $4,800 but he was budgeted for $5,300. Horne added that he is down a little and by April they should have a good picture. Thompson said that he’s gone from 7% over to 5% over and if he’s down to 3% next month, then she can believe that he’ll end on budget. Horne said that he’s sent the message that there won’t be an amendment. Stutsman said the Board has to have the political will not to pass an amendment. Horne said that Baier has certainly done that to the Board in the past.

Thompson asked if the Board wants to give him a 10% increase for next year. Neuzil said he didn’t see a 10 to 15% increase as being necessary when he never meets the amount he’s already requesting in the line items. Horne asked why Baier would pay for people’s prescriptions even if it’s a small amount. Thompson said they pay if somebody isn’t eligible or hasn’t signed up in time at the VA. Horne said that there’s a difference because his veterans are veterans of war eras, while the VA serves all veterans, period. Harney said that he thinks the veterans have a choice, either rent or medication. Horne said that veterans have 4 assists: rent, food or utilities. Horne said that they all take rent because it’s the largest assistance. Neuzil said that he doesn't have a problem letting him put more money in rent, but dropping the other items. Stutsman said that he has come in on budget, so he’s obviously shifting the funds to rent. Neuzil said that he’d prefer he just put the funds in rent instead of padding the other line items because every year he’s shifting them over anyway. Stutsman agreed that they should have an accurate budget. Horne said that he knows. Thompson said that she isn’t in favor of a 10% increase before salaries. Horne said his salary won’t increase very much. He said that the other salary line item is to pay for someone to answer the phones while he’s gone.

Neuzil said that Baier is still at $7,000 after the non-rent items. Stutsman asked how much the Board wants to increase the budget. Thompson replied that they should increase it by 1%. She added that she’d let him have the $4,000 that he saved on rent though because he’ll feel put upon otherwise. Stutsman said she didn’t have a problem with that going somewhere else in his budget. Horne commented that the funeral service line item could be a problem in a given year. He said that it doesn’t take many funerals to skew the fund. He added that Baier’s been able to have Hull cover some of those funerals in the past. Neuzil suggested freezing the funeral line item at $3,500 since he’s never gone over $3,400, which decreases it by $1,000. Thompson clarified that the County pays $1,200 for a burial now. Horne asked if the Board wants to put the $4,000 towards rent. Neuzil said that the Board would make the rent item $4,033 and eliminate $1,000 from funeral services.

Horne asked about the Veterans Home, to which Thompson explained that Baier just makes referrals, not contributions. Thompson said that when the Board argues that these expenditures are large, it has personnel expenditures of $20,000 to spend $62,000. She said 50% of Baier's budget is non-personnel. She said that when the Board says it’s too high of an administrative cost for the amount of service expenditures, he says he does other things as well like helping veterans to apply for the Veterans home in Marshalltown and completes the grave registry. Horne said he performs all kinds of tasks. Thompson said that she would guess that he’s helpful to a lot of people. Stutsman said that the County has quite a few veterans in Marshalltown now. Horne summarized that the Board decided to put his rent into the client rent item and leave the $1,000 for utilities.

Horne said Institutional Accounts is from the Supplemental Fund and is an expense only account. He said that these monies go towards chemical dependency commitments as well as for juveniles in the youth home at Toledo. He explained that this expense has increased this current year. Thompson commented that the County pays for any Children In Need of Assistance (CINA) children that go to Toledo, not for delinquents. She said that CINA are children that are abused or neglected. Horne said that the increase could be due to the increase in chemical dependency, which is increasing due to State cuts in those areas. Thompson clarified that the Toledo line item increase as well. She said that by accident the County had 2 children at Toledo at once, which almost never happens. Horne commented that this increase was large enough to be included in the amendment in a few weeks. Thompson asked why the County pays for chemical dependency treatments. Horne replied that anything before the commitment hearing is the County’s responsibility, so if they need any treatment before the hearing, it’s the County’s responsibility. Neuzil asked if the State used to cover this cost. Stutsman replied that there used to be placements for these people. Thompson said the County benefited for years because Oakdale took substance abuse patients at no cost because the University paid for it. She said that chemical dependency is only a few thousand dollars a year, it’s Toledo that costs a lot of money. She commented that getting children in is almost impossible since it’s so crowded. Horne said that it’s a budget where they don’t make changes because they don’t know what expenditures they will have from year to year. Thompson said that these are the only chemical dependency expenses that can be paid out of the Supplemental Fund. Harney asked if these use a family’ insurance before charging the County. Stutsman said that the County only pays for it if no one else can.

Recessed at 11:54 p.m.; reconvened at 1:10 p.m.

Horne said that they will be going over the block grants dealing with Human Service Agencies because they’ve already talked about the block grants in other areas. He added that the Board met with the Board of Health, they talked about the Visiting Nurses Association, Free Medical Clinic and the health component of the Elderly Service Agency. He suggested just going down the list to discuss each request.

Horne said that Red Cross asked for restored funding this year, but staff hasn’t recommended that it be replaced. Stutsman said they would received 0 then. Harney asked why the County doesn’t give to the Red Cross. He said that the way the world currently is, residents everywhere currently depend on them, particularly military families. Johnson County Council of Governments Human Services Coordinator Linda Severson said that it was a decision by the Board last year not to fund the Red Cross. Stutsman said that part of the reason was the response to 9/11 and the public’s response regarding donations so that they didn’t need County dollars as much as some of the other agencies. Horne said the County’s funding went for swimming lessons or CPR. Severson said that the money does also go for disasters like natural disasters, fires or any national disaster. She added that the Red Cross is connected to local Fire Departments, so that when there is a fire the Red Cross offers assistance to those affected. She said that other programs, the CPR, First Aid, and swimming lessons, are to prepare people and those programs they do charge a fee for. Thompson said that they used the County’s money for swimming lessons and CPR last year and the Board thought there were other sources in the Community to get those things that the County doesn’t fund. Horne said it wasn’t a large grant to begin with. Lehman added that they apparently got along OK after the funding was cut. Horne said that they never heard anything from them. Harney clarified that the Board was satisfied with nothing.

Horne said that next request is from the Food Bank, which when added to the Crises Services makes up the funding for the Crisis Center. He said that they didn’t ask for an increase this year, so the staff did not recommend one. Neuzil clarified that they saw a 10% decrease last year. Horne said that they left their funding at last year’s level.

Horne said that HACAP also did not request an increase for this coming year. Harney clarified that the Board is leaving both of those program’s funding as is. He said that both he and Harney met with Severson to discuss these items and their recommendations are as shown.

Horne said that the next request is from the Emergency Housing Project. He said he’s had discussions with various members of the Board and the consensus they found was a reduction of 1/4. Stutsman commented that she was OK with that and Lehman agreed.

Horne said that are looking at a 3% increase for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. He said that 3% is common across many of the block grants this year although many of them requested more. Thompson commented that Big Brothers, Big Sisters asked for $787 more than last year. Severson replied that the request is $787, which is a 3% increase. Harney said that the justification for increased funding for Big Brothers, Big Sisters is that they do an awful lot in the County, particularly in the rural areas.

Horne said that they taken a wait and see attitude towards the Mayor’s Youth Program because they’ve changed their direction. He said that staff wanted to reevaluate it in a year’s time to see whether it’s going to become an MH/DD provider or continue to provide non-MH/DD services to youth.

Horne explained that SibShip is a program for siblings of children with disabilities. He commented that they didn’t ask for an increase this year. Thompson said this program is not a United Way program, so they only get the amount of money that the County gives. Severson said that County dollars are the only source of funding for that group because the leaders are all volunteers and they use the Community Rec Center as a meeting place. She said that this money is used for entry fees or food when they meet once a month. She added that either every year or every other year, they get T-shirts. She said it a program for children with a sibling that has a disability to meet with other children to realize that others have it as well and they can talk about their situations. She said that sometimes they do fun things and sometimes they have speakers about life with a disability. She said that it’s give them an outlet to talk about having a sibling with a disability. She said that the group is pretty efficient with their money, which is managed by the City Rec Center so that there is a checks and balance. She added that the year before last they received $1,200 and last year it was reduced to $1,000. She said that they told her that they could work with that again.

Horne said that next is the Domestic Violence Intervention Program which they’re recommending a 3% increase for. He said they haven’t received an increase since at least FY 00. Severson said that they requested a 5% increase for this year, but they only recommended 3%.

Horne said the next request is from the Senior Center. He said that what is on the budget worksheet reflects what was sent to him by the City of Iowa City, which is a request for $75,000. Neuzil asked if it is $75,000 because that’s what the Board has previously said they would receive. Horne replied that when the Board discussed it earlier that was the number they arrived at for rural per capita. Thompson said that 11% of their members are rural, so the Board would have paid 11% of their budget, which is somewhere around this. Neuzil said that the Board is taking the money out of block grants then. Thompson said that she would argue that they shouldn’t because if it’s a participation fee, which they insist it is, then the Board is taxing everyone so rural residents can go. Stutsman said that they haven’t made the decision whether or not to move it to the Rural Fund. Thompson said that they’ve taken the funds out of this area before because they thought of it as a partnership with the City in offering this service, but they don’t want that. Neuzil said that he has a problem with the idea of cutting the Senior Center by 25% when the biggest cut other than that has been Emergency Housing. He said that the Board had already cut the Senior Center significantly last year and then by another 25% this year. He said that he could understand that if they’re cutting everybody, but this is 2 giant years in a row. Thompson replied that what the City wants the County to do is pay a participation fee for everyone who doesn’t live in Iowa City. Stutsman said that it would be for Coralville, North Liberty and other Cities. Lehman said that if the Board takes it out of the Rural Fund, then the other incorporated areas will have to be approached to fund their own members. Neuzil said that it didn’t happen though. Harney said that Coralville has already said they would not participate.

Thomson said that even if the Board paid for everyone outside Iowa City from the General Fund, then they would be taxing Iowa City residents twice. Neuzil said that doesn’t seem right and Thompson agreed. Thompson said that she thinks it should come from the Rural Fund. Neuzil said that he wouldn’t have a problem with that if everyone was playing the same game. Harney said that he feels the same way, but on the other hand one can argue that the Board would be forcing the other communities to make a decision. Harney asked how the Senior Center would track that. Neuzil said that it’s also who gets penalized that matters. Thompson asked if the Board doesn’t want to charge the rural residents to pay for Coralville or North Liberty residents. Neuzil said that the Board can’t. Thompson said that regardless of what the Board is willing to do, she doesn’t see that their taxing structure gives them a way to do anything but the participation fee for rural. Neuzil asked if it’s been determined that that’s what is going to happen in the Senior Center. Horne said that the Board doesn’t have an agreement stating that they have a participation agreement at this point. Thompson said that a potential agreement has been floating around their office. Harney said that it is what Iowa City has budgeted for. Thompson said that the Board told them that amount. Stutsman said that the Board has told them an amount and they now have to decide where it’s going to come from. Neuzil said that he doesn’t agree with the amount. Thompson said the amount is equal to the rural usage. Stutsman asked who doesn’t agree with the amount. Lehman said that Iowa City already has it in the budget. Neuzil said that it’s because the Board threw that number out there. Lehman replied that they’re going to make it work then. Stutsman said she isn’t interested in changing the amount. Neuzil asked if they’re going to make it work on the backs of the seniors who have to now pay more. He said that it’s ludicrous that they’re cutting one budget by 25% and no one else. Stutsman said that their budget is bigger than most peoples budgets, so comparable would be VNA who gets $100,000. She asked how many people want to make the cut. Neuzil said that he wants to keep it at $100,000. Stutsman, Thompson and Lehman were comfortable with $75,000.

Horne asked if they want to take it out of this fund. Stutsman replied that that is the next question. Horne said they have no participation agreement with the City yet. Harney said that he thinks it still has to come out of the General Fund because the Board hasn’t stipulated that it’s just for rural residents. Lehman said that the Iowa City has to be the instigator of arrangements with other incorporated areas otherwise the Board is asking for rural taxpayers to pay for the incorporated areas. He said that it should come out of the General Fund. Thompson said that the Board is then taxing Iowa City people for the participation of rural residents. Lehman said that is right, but if he’s an Iowa City resident who is being taxed twice, he’ll go to the City Council to tell them to get arrangements made with other incorporated areas. Horne said that he doesn’t buy the double taxation theory because Iowa City residents are being taxed in one area for part of it and one area for another. He added that they’re not being taxed twice for the same thing. Thompson said that if it is a participation fee for rural residents then why would Iowa City taxpayers pay. Horne said that the Board doesn’t have a participation agreement. Thompson said that this isn’t just something Iowa City dreamed up, it’s something the accreditation people pointed about, saying that partnership isn’t a good arrangement and should be based more on participation. She said she didn’t know if staff brought it up and the accreditors agreed, but they were very pointed about it in their evaluation of the Senior Center. Stutsman clarified that Thompson is saying that the Board’s role is to pay for a participation fee for the rural residents. Thompson commented that it’s the same arrangement as with libraries with no say in how the programs are administered and no representation on the Senior Center Commission.

Jim Dane said that until a participation arrangement is agreed to, he’d hate to see just the rural residents participating in the fee and not the other towns around the County. He said he thinks that if the Board takes the funding from the General Fund this year, it will force Iowa City to obtain agreements with other towns. Thompson replied that it won’t because they have their money and if it’s a participation fee for rural residents, it’s limited to the number of rural residents who participate and are the only ones who benefit. Dane said that if the $75,000 represents that rural resident’s participation, until there’s an agreement he hates to see it just come out of the Rural Fund. Thompson said that the Board would make an agreement before paying any money. Harney said the Board is far from that point because there is no factual numbers on how many rural residents actually use the Senior Center. Thompson said that they’ve done a study and of about 3,500, 11% live in the rural areas. Lehman said that he’s doesn’t think that they clarified if one person from North Liberty used the Senior Center 44 times or if there’s 44 people from North Liberty. Thompson said that it is 44 individual people. She added that it could be that the 3,500 number isn’t accurate or doesn’t represent all active members, but those are the numbers they provided. Stutsman said that if the Board doesn’t pay this out of the Rural Fund, then they’ve paid for Coralville’s participation again in funding for programs that Coralville residents take advantage of. She said that she would support it coming from the Rural Fund, but added that she wants to see what will happen to the Rural Fund.

Horne said that when the Board makes the agreement with the City, they need to get a strict definition of what constitutes participation. Thompson said that it would be the number of registered members who are rural residents as a percentage of the total. Stutsman said that the Board is going to pay for those in the unincorporated areas that use the Senior Center. Thompson said that it won’t be like the library where they pay for book usage because they say they can’t keep track of that. Stutsman called it a membership. Lehman commented that if he goes once, his membership will cost the same as Harney who goes 100 times. Neuzil asked if the Board has heard that agreement yet. Stutsman said that the Board has to decide before they make the agreement. Horne said that the Board has to make an agreement by July 1st before they pay out anything. Harney asked how much the would pay per person. Thompson replied that it’s about $350. Reverend Bob Welsh said that he thought it was closer to $500 based on their projections. He said that since the Board’s original discussion the Senior Center Commission has come up with a plan for membership fees, which he thinks become a barrier. He said that their membership fee that they’re projecting is $50 per year from those from areas that are contributing and $75 for those from non-contributing areas. Thompson said that in effect, everyone is paying a membership fee to make up for the fact that Coralville and North Liberty don’t contribute. Stutsman asked why should residents in unincorporated areas pay $300 for a membership. Harney said that if the incorporated members are paying $75, then why wouldn’t the Board pay $75 and they pay for whatever extra services they receive. Welsh has said that the mayor of North Liberty has indicated that the City Council may consider that proposition. Thompson said that if they charged the full fee, which is about $200 per person based on the 11% membership, so if they charged the full $200 then it wouldn’t be to anyone’s advantage to pay the membership rather than the percentage, but instead they’re charging $75.

Thompson asked if the Board should try to get an agreement where the Senior Center wouldn’t charge any other fees to rural residents if the Board pays. Stutsman said that the Board should definitely do that if they’re going to pay that kind of money. Harney said that he would leave these funds in the General Fund and try to reach this agreement before the next budget session. Thompson said that they’d have an agreement before July because the Board has agreed not to do anything without contracts anymore. Welsh said that once the membership fees are implemented, they’re projecting that there will be 153 members from rural Johnson County. Thompson clarified that the number is after the 40% because people won’t want to pay membership fees. She said that next year they would pay more per member. Welsh said that from the current membership of 2,315, they’re projecting that only 1,389 members will pay fees and estimating the rural residents will still be 11%. Thompson asked where the Commission got the 2,315 number from because it was 3,500 a couple of months ago. Welsh said he couldn’t tell, he could only tell what the sheet says, which is based on 11% from rural Johnson County. He said that the Board arrived at the $75,000 on the basis of the 11%. Thompson said that they are using a different set of numbers. Welsh said that he’s using the Senior Center number and Thompson replied that she is as well. Thompson said that the Senior Center is anticipating that when they start charging a fee that there will be a lot of people that won’t buy a membership. She said that the Senior Center Commission has a lot of bugs to work out of the fee system. Welsh said that one of his concerns regarding the Nutrition Program is that the Commission is linking the membership fees to the parking rates so that a person who wants to attend the dining program would have to pay a $50 membership and $50 in parking.

Neuzil summarized that there are 153 people that use the service that live in the rural area and the Board decided to give $75,000, which comes out to $490 per person. He asked if that’s what rural taxpayers want to pay. Thompson said that the number Senior Center Commission member Jay Honohan gave the Board was 11% of 3,500, which is 385 residents. Harney asked Welsh if he had a date on his figures. Welsh replied that the date on his figures is 12/17. Thompson said that based on her number there are 385 members, which is 11% of the 3,500 total and then the $75,000 comes from taking 11% of the Senior Center’s total budget. Thompson said that even if they had the agreement that would say that the Board would pay the percentage of rural residents who are members and the members go down, the Board would still pay their percentage based on the membership numbers. Neuzil said that any smart agency will realize that they should recruit rural residents to increase their budget. Stutsman said that she didn’t think the Board could afford more than $75,000. Lehman said that they’ve already made the $75,000 work. Neuzil added that they have by adding a fee and Thompson agreed. Neuzil said he just thought that cutting the Senior Center and only the Senior Center, sends a really poor message. Stutsman said that they could give them a 3% increase too. Thompson said that the Board could give them $114,00, which is the $57,000 plus the $75,000, which is a 14% increase. Stutsman said that she wouldn’t agree on anything but $75,000, because that’s what they requested and what they have based their budget on. Neuzil said that they requested what the Board told them they would give. Thompson said that it was the City’s choice, because they’re the ones that wanted it to be a participation fee. She added that in 20 years the Board has never wanted a participation fee, they wanted a partnership. Neuzil said that he’s saying the $75,000 is a number the Board gave the City. Thompson said that the City came up with it because it was 11% of their registered members at the time. Neuzil said that at the meeting he attended, the Board came up with that number. Stutsman said the Board agreed on a number that was based on their rural participation. Horne commented that that was the number the Board would give if they chose to pay based on rural participation.

Harney said that he’s hearing Neuzil say that the Board should freeze the amount at $75,000 and work out the contract for next year. Thompson said that the Board never gives anybody more than they ask for. Neuzil said that he isn’t suggesting that, but reiterated that the Board is cutting the Senior Center 25%. Stutsman said that the Board is giving everybody else a 3% increase, so the Board could give them the same. Neuzil said that some people are not requesting increases. Harney said that they may adjust some of those numbers yet before the budget is finished. Neuzil said if the Board wants less of an impact on people with participation fees, then it has to come from the General Fund. Lehman said that they are also in the situation as some County Departments, where instead of trying to recoup revenue, they should be trying to cut expenses. Stutsman said these are tight budget times. Lehman said that although the Senior Center made changes last year, there might be more changes they have to make. Thompson said that in the last 2 years, there’s probably been more real change than in the 20 years previous because of the pressure of this. She said that she didn’t know if the real changes were good or if they’re working. Lehman said that most of the people’s he’s talked to haven’t said that they’ve seen a change in quality or number of events they want to go to, although that may have to happen rather than trying to recoup revenue. Harney clarified that there’s consensus to leave $75,000 of funding in the General Fund.

Horne asked if the Board is going to move forward with the agreement over the next year. Stutsman said they thought they should just keep it as a block grant. Horne said that he thinks it’s important that they have a contract in place. Harney said that it’s important to have a contract for all of them. Thompson asked if they want to say that they won’t charge rural residents any other fees. Horne replied that the Board doesn’t have an agreement now, so right now it’s purely a block grant without an agreement. Stutsman agreed. Thompson replied that the County has a 28E agreement until July and added that the Board will write a new one for July 1st. Harney said that the Board won’t give the money until they write a contract. Stutsman asked what the Board will have in the contract. Horne said that is his question because if the Board makes a contract for the rural people they will have to transfer the money. Stutsman said she didn’t hear the Board saying just for the rural people, but for everybody. Horne said that the contract changes then. Neuzil said they cut them 29% last year and 25% this year. Thompson asked if the Board wants the contract to say that the Senior Center can’t charge extra fees to rural residents. Stutsman agreed and said that it would take care of it. Welsh clarified that the Board’s requesting that they won’t charge rural residents, but they’re going to take it out of the General Fund. Neuzil said that isn’t fair. He asked how it’s fair to the taxpayer that pays into this. Thompson said that she doesn’t think it’s fair, but they have 3 votes to do it that way. Neuzil commented that it’s fundamentally wrong in his mind.

Horne suggested extending the current agreement for a year. Thompson said they can’t because it’s 20% of the operating costs. Horne said that they should come up with a 1-year agreement for the General Fund then as a block grant for services. Harney asked Honohan what he saw the contract for $75,000 bearing. Honohan said that the Commission was thinking of that as the Board’s 11% contribution that the Board discussed at a previous meeting. He said that what the Commission has planned to do to raise the deficit is based on levels of participation. He said that at the first level anyone can use the center by attending all the agencies, special events and have use of the lobby. He said at the second level, they’ve proposed that the Center charges a membership fee, which is $50 for City and County residents, and $75 for residents of the communities that do not contribute. He said that the membership fees would raise the $58,000 they are short in the budget. Stutsman asked if the $75,000 would go towards the first level. Honohan replied that it would go towards everyone. Stutsman asked if there would be no membership fees. Honohan replied that there would be membership fees for City and County residents of $50. Stutsman asked if the $50 would be in addition to the $75,000 County contribution. Honohan said yes. Harney added that they would charge $75 for other incorporated communities. Neuzil asked if that’s an incentive for a community like Coralville or North Liberty to ever participate if it’s only a $25 difference. Thompson said that it isn’t. Honohan said he didn’t know. Thompson said that it would be smarter to pay the $25 difference or even the whole $75 fee because it would be cheaper. Stutsman said that if the County is paying the $75,000 then they should stipulate in the contract that there are no additional membership fees for rural residents. She said that the Board should get more for their $200 per person then just a special rate. Thompson explained that the difference in numbers she and Welsh were using is that she was using the current membership and Welsh was using the numbers they expected after implementing the fee. Welsh asked Honohan what the current membership is. Honohan replied that it’s 2,300 to 2,400 registered participants. Thompson told Hohonan that he told the Board previously that total membership was 3,500 with 11% being County residents. Honohan said that it was never 3,500, the 11% was the 2,300. He added that the Commission projected a loss of 40% in those calculations to be on the safe side. Neuzil said then if they include the project loss taking membership down to 160 people, they’re back at $490 per person again.

Thompson asked if the Commission is going to keep track of basic members who just use the public areas and then ask the County to pay their percentage of that number instead of people who pay memberships. Stutsman commented that it’s too much for Rural, but not enough out of the General Fund. Neuzil said that his point is if it costs $470 for a rural resident, the problem is a Coralville resident is only paying $75. Honohan said that he understands the problem, but the present cost is about $325 per person and it’s difficult to charge a membership fee of $325. Stutsman said that $470 plus $50 for a membership fee is ridiculous. Honohan replied that the City of Iowa City pays more than that because they're paying 80% of the budget. Neuzil said that it comes down to residents from Coralville and North Liberty or Tiffin. Stutsman said that it's a deal. Honohan said that it's not necessarily fair, but it's the best that the Commission can think of at the present time. Stutsman said that it's obviously not acceptable and that everyone need to come up with a alternative. She said that the contracts the Board has with the other Human Service Agencies, the Board says they'll fund them in return for specific services. She asked why the Board can't do that for the Senior Center by saying they would give $75,000 with further negotiations next year. She said that this is out of whack because there's no way the Board can go to the rural taxpayer to tell them that they're going to spend $469 tax dollars per person plus members have to pay an additional $50 fee.

Thompson asked if the Commission would keep track of the people that use the Center on a day to day basis with level one membership. Honohan replied that they would be participants at level one. Thompson asked if the Commission is asking the Board to pay the rural percentage of level one participants. Honohan said that the rural participant usage was based on their discussions with the Board and that the Commission wanted to stay with the 28E agreement at some amount of money. Thompson replied that the Commission wanted the Board to pay for all the non-Iowa City residents. Honohan said that the Commission wanted the Board to help fund the Senior Center. He said the Commission didn't care how the Board presented it and that the 11% figure was a figure the Board asked for. He said that at the one discussion that he was present at, it appeared the 4 Board members wanted to fund through the Rural Fund and one member wanted to fund through the General Fund. He added that the Commission felt they had a commitment of $75,000 at that time, but they weren't sure where it was coming from. Thompson replied that that's what the Board thought too.

Lehman said if the Board gave $75,000 that came from the General Fund and based on 2,300 members, 11% or 253 people, multiplied by $50 fees equally another $12,650. Lehman asked if the Board could pay the $12,650 out of the Rural Fund. Stutsman said that way rural residents would not be charged to use the Senior Center. Horne said that would be more justifiable. Neuzil said that it would make it easier to figure out the rural side of the budget. Harney asked what the incentive is for the other communities to participate. Honohan said that rural residents would get in free and other entities residents would be paying $75. He said that rural residents would have all levels of membership for what Lehman just suggested. He noted that they have proposed scholarships for people with low-income levels as well. Stutsman said that Lehman has found a compromise. Thompson said that isn't really fair because the membership fee is for the fact that Coralville and North Liberty aren't participating so now they're paying the full cost for rural residents, plus an additional $12,000. Neuzil said that Coralville would be paying if the $75,000 comes out of the General Fund and Stutsman agreed. Thompson said that Iowa City pays for that too. Neuzil said that they do, just like SEATS. Horne said that they're not double-billed, it's just part from each tax bill. Neuzil said that he could argue that an Iowa City resident would pay more than a Coralville resident. Horne said that they would because 80% of the Senior Center budget is paid by Iowa City. Thompson asked if the Board will pay the rural fees if the Senior Center raises them to $125 next year. Stutsman said that they would reevaluate it next year.

Thompson summarized that it will be a 1-year contract. Honohan said that the present proposal is that the membership fees they're proposing would be for 3 years. Stutsman clarified that they'd be frozen for 3 years. Neuzil said that the $12,650 is assuming no one would drop their membership. Stutsman wondered if there would be an increase. Neuzil asked if residents from the rural areas who are financially disadvantaged would still be eligible for the scholarships or not have the County pay. Honohan said that they would be because that's their present plan right now. Neuzil said that they wouldn't give out a scholarship if the County's paying for it. Harney clarified that the Board is figuring the fees they'd pay based on the 253 number. Honohan said that the other number is based on a 40% drop rate that probably wouldn't apply to rural residents if the County is paying the fee for them. He added that the fee is a guess but when they instituted a parking permit fee and thought there would be a drop as well, but that hasn't been the case. He said that they're still anticipating that some people won't pay a fee even if the Commission provides free memberships to those that can't afford them. He said that he's hoping the 40% figure is wrong.

Thompson summarized that Board is talking about $75,000 from the General Fund and a membership fee from the Rural Fund for each resident who applies. She continued saying on a 3 year contract for the participation of rural residents in the unincorporated areas. She clarified that they will pay out the $75,000 like they pay block grants. Stutsman said that the $75,000 will take care of the first level special event. Honohan added that it also includes all the agencies, and common areas. Stutsman said that if people want to participate beyond that, then they will have to, if they don't live in the unincorporated areas, pay a the $75 membership fee. Thompson asked if the Board has decided to put a maximum of $12,000 in the rural budget and as the Senior Center gets members, they'll bill the County at some point during the year, say June 1st. Stutsman clarified that Rural is now very carefully defined. Lehman said that the only problem is if participation increases to 300 rural members. Stutsman said that they'd need a clause saying that the contract can be evaluated at 30 days notice. Thompson asked if the City would be agreeable to wait until the end of the year to get the money. Honohan said that he can't speak for the City. Thompson said that they'd write it that way and if they don't like it they can say so. Horne said that the Board has to budget for that and they have to know what membership is by the end of the year so they can amend if they have to. He added that he'd like to have the number in January. Thompson replied that she's saying that they'd reimburse for up to $12,000, so they might have to reject any further applicants. Stutsman asked if the County doesn't adjust the SEATS contracts. Horne replied that those numbers are set. Horne commented that with the SEATS contract, it's money coming back to the County. Horne asked if he's budgeting for $12,650 out of the Rural side. Lehman suggested increasing it somewhat. The Board agreed on $13,000.

Honohan said that he's assuming by what Thompson has said that the County will enter into another 28E agreement. Thompson said that the agreement they had originally anticipated didn't have any representation on the Senior Center Commission. Stutsman asked if that is OK with the Board. Harney asked if Honohan is asking if it will be a 3-year contract. Honohan replied that he would like a 3-year contract for stability for the Board and the Senior Center. Stutsman asked if the Board wanted to put into the 28E agreement that they have a representative on the Commission. Honohan said that he hasn't envisioned any changes of membership on the Commission. Stutsman said that they just appointed someone short-term with the idea that it would only be until the end of the fiscal year. Stutsman said that for that amount of money it's appropriate that the Board have a representative on the Commission. Honohan agreed. Thompson asked if the Board just wants one representative or to keep the 3 representatives they have now. Honohan said that they might need to replace some representatives because they're not from the rural areas. Neuzil said that the block grant is from the General Fund. Honohan said that membership would be the Board's choice. Stutsman suggested specifying that one member needs to be from unincorporated areas and 2 from the incorporated areas. Harney asked if this is something that would be acceptable to the City. Honohan said that he doesn't see how they could complain because he told them at their budget hearing that they'd have to trust the Commission as to where they'd get the other $60,000. He said that now that the County is paying the $50 for the rural residents, they just have to raise the rest from the Iowa City residents, which the City should be comfortable with. He added that he hasn't given up on North Liberty yet. Stutsman suggested telling them what the County has done. Neuzil said that the communities are going to ask why they're being charged $25 more when the County is pulling it out of the General Fund. Stutsman said that it's for them to work out. Severson said that it would be important for the Senior Center and staff to courteously and in person approach these communities. She said that when a community reads in the paper that they're supposed to contribute their fair share, it's taken badly. Honohan said that he made a presentation at a North Liberty Council meeting. Severson said that she only knows about Coralville. Honohan replied that Commission members personally talked to Jim Faucet and Kelly Hayworth and they were told that they weren't allowed to be on an agenda. He said that he didn't know what else he would have done. Thompson commented that the Board discussed it in several Joint Cities Meetings as well, so they knew that it was coming. Stutsman said that the Coralville City Council just doesn't want to fund it.

Neuzil said that it again comes back to the question of why would a person from Coralville or Tiffin pay $75 instead of $50. Honohan said that his position is that those entities are not funding the Senior Center. Neuzil said that they are though because it comes out of the General Fund. Honohan replied that the City of Iowa City people are paying 80% and they're paying $50. He said that now for special classes people have to pay a fee even though they pay their taxes. Neuzil said that as long as Honohan's ready to take the heat he's OK with it. Honohan said that he is. Stutsman said that quite frankly the residents of North Liberty and Coralville need to work with their City Councils if they want their tax dollars to go to the Senior Center so that they can use it. Honohan said that once the approval is finalized, they will run it past both the City Council and the Board of Supervisors. Lehman said that the only criticism the Board will receive is from people who aren't users, but are still getting taxed. Thompson clarified that it would freeze the budget for 3 years at $75,000 and $13,000 and isn't tied to a percentage of the budget. Stutsman said she's OK with that. Severson said that they could base the new contract on the one already in place and just make adjustments. Harney said that it's what they've tentatively decided on these figures, at least until the budget closes.

Horne said that the Elderly Services Agency asked for an increase of $25,000 to support the Senior Dining Program, but staff only recommended a 3% increase. Stutsman asked if they just gave a 3% increase across the board. Severson said that there was a maximum and Harney added that they only gave increases to those they felt were worthwhile. Thompson said that they would get 3% plus the interest of the Sterba Fund, which is what the Board gave them this year. Horne said that they're getting $8,300 this year and they'll get $6,700 next year. He said that it's much lower due to the falling interest rates. He said that right now Elderly Services is sending a letter to request the Sterba interest for this year. Stutsman asked if the funding is enough. Horne added that they also get $12,600 in funds through the Health Service area as well. Stutsman replied that that money is for Chore services. Thompson said that they received considerably more from Heritage for the meals. Horne replied that they got a little bit less actually. He said that this year Elderly Services is receiving $335,000 from Heritage. Thompson asked how much funding the County received the prior year from Heritage. Horne replied that they gave $370,000 to the County the final year. Thompson said that the $370,000 included $50,000 from the County. Horne replied that it didn't. Stutsman said that the Board should leave it with the interest monies.

Neuzil said that MECCA and United Action for Youth have 3% raises for the coming year. Horne said that it should be 3% between the 2 line items, treatment and prevention. He added that United Action for Youth should be 3% and he will change it. He said that instead of $4,725 it will be $2,918 giving a new total of $100,193 for block grants.

Horne said that Neighborhood Centers were increased 3% as well as RVAP and MECCA. Neuzil asked if the 3% should be equal across MECCA's prevention and treatment. Horne said that it isn't equal, it's based on what ever percentage they had in each of the previous years.

Harney asked how much they gave the Mayor's Youth Program. Stutsman replied that they didn't give them anything this year. She asked for a new list of changes. Neuzil asked if, after these changes, Johnson County is giving more money to United Way agencies than United way is giving. Severson said that last year the United Way's FY 03 allocation was $948,000 and Johnson County's allocation was $938,000. She added that the figures don't include the Senior Center. Horne added that it also doesn't include SibShip. He said that MECCA is the big discrepancy. Harney asked if the Board wants to fund MECCA at the same level next year. Stutsman said that she did because MECCA has become an agency where people go if they have no where else to go. She said that if the County has a commitment to substance abuse, it has to be to MECCA. Thompson said that if they keep anyone out of the jail, it helps the Board. Neuzil asked if United Way's funding dropped. Severson said that it's State staff and they're anticipating the same funding increase as last year, which was 1.7%. She added that they then take off administration increases. Neuzil clarified that Johnson County Government would be giving more to the United Way than the United Way gives to it's own programs. Severson said that she would say Johnson County allocates more dollars to service agencies than the United Way. She said that she gives the County and Cities credit for funding those agencies as well so she doesn't refer to them as United Way agencies. She said that she advocates that the County funds these agencies. Thompson said that the County also funds things that United Way doesn't fund. Neuzil said that it has to be a first that Johnson County allocates more money to these agencies than the United Way. Thompson said that it's been true for a number of years. Neuzil said that it wasn't last year or the year before. Thompson said that the County cut their funding last year, but it was true the year before.

Stutsman said that the Board forgets what they get for their dollars by funding these agencies. Horne commented that MECCA has become a regional agency and now also gets funding from other counties. He said that he does question whether some other counties actually participate enough. He added that Iowa and Cedar Counties contribute a small amount. Thompson replied that they allocate based on time because while Johnson County might have numerous staff in the office 5 days a week, that County might only get 1 staff person a half a day. She said that those Counties get what they pay for and no more. He said that there are other counties involved that don’t contribute at all. Severson explained that it may have to do with State or Federal funding, because many times funding isn’t limited to county geographical areas, so part of the agreement may be that they serve people in the larger region.

Thompson commented that the total number for next year $1,326,189 which is about $500 less than last year. She said they also added $12,000 in the Rural Fund. Horne commented that the North Liberty Pool and the Englert Theater funds are already included in this budget as well due to agreements that are already in place. Lehman said that North Liberty’s funding is pretty set, but the Englert is still questionable. Horne replied that the Englert did get an extension on their fund raising. He said that the County wouldn’t have to make a payment until after their deadline passes.

Harney said that he has issues with MECCA because they only list their salary ranges and not what they’re actually paying in salaries. He said that based on their amount of staff, the dollars they’re paying out seems outrageous. He understands that it’s a good service, but at some point they’re getting top-heavy. Thompson asked if the MECCA application lists all the staff or only Johnson County staff. Severson replied that this year they asked MECCA to list all their positions, how many people are in each position and the salary ranges for that position. She added that 71 of their 94 person staff are full-time employees for Johnson County. Horne explained that about 57% of their expenses are from wages and salaries. Harney said that this group stood out to him as a possible problem. Stutsman said that MECCA is required by law to have certain staff because they run a residential treatment facility. She added that they were having problems admitting clients because they didn’t have enough nursing staff. Horne asked where MECCA’s net sales of service revenues comes from. Severson replied that it’s money they receive for services, either being a combination of public dollars, private dollars or insurance monies. She commented that this year’s salaries are estimated at $2.8 million with almost $600,000 in benefits.

Neuzil asked if the workgroup looked at fund balances with the block grant agencies. He said that he had concerns since in the past much of the Free Medical Clinic’s budget was sitting in the bank. Severson said that MECCA is projecting a carryover of $500,000 and Horne added that he thought their carry-over is 10%. Thompson said that the fund balance may include restricted funds that they’re saving for specific items. Severson replied that the County asked them not to include those funds in the carry-over balance. Neuzil asked what the carry-over for Free Med will this year. Horne replied that it has gone down from $113,000 to $78,000 for next year. Severson said that a 60 to 90 day balance is recommended in case of a loss of income. Horne said that he was worried about the VNA’s because they were projecting a negative carry-over. Harney said that the revenues from MECCA are skewed towards the County because Iowa City contributes $31,000, Coralville $2,000 and the County contributes $324,000. Thompson replied that it’s because the County has some statutory responsibilities regarding substance abuse, but the Cities don’t. She added that the County names a gatekeeper agency and the one they’ve named is MECCA. Stutsman suggested having the MECCA Director come in and explain how much money it saves the County because they don’t have to send all these people to treatment somewhere else. Harney said that he didn’t know that it would be a bigger cost. Stutsman said that it is a good question to ask. Severson said that he’s coming up on the list of speakers to address the Board.

Stutsman asked Severson to see copies of the contracts for the block grants. Horne asked if the County had been contracting with Emergency Housing for overnight shelter services, because if Emergency Housing has changed its services to transitional housing, they might have to make changes to the contract. Severson replied that in the current contract she thought they only specified general shelter, but the Board may add specification to the current contract if desired. Stutsman said that Severson is monitoring the service agencies to see that they’re fulfilling their contracts. Stutsman asked if the Board wants to have Severson report on these contracts on a regular basis so that the Board knows that they’re being monitored. Stutsman said the County, like Iowa City, could require that these agencies submit paperwork before receiving their quarterly checks. She said this way the County would have to send the check to her office first and then they would be delivered to the agencies upon receiving the information. Thompson said that it is a great idea and Stutsman agreed. Thompson asked Horne to set it up. Horne said that they don’t pay every block grant on a quarterly basis because some of the smaller grants they only pay once a year. He said that he would need to talk to the Auditor's Office about it. Stutsman asked if the Board was in agreement to change the way the agencies are paid. Thompson asked if a claim has to be written to initiate the checks currently. Horne replied that he sends a memo to Elder with a schedule of payments for each agency. Stutsman commented that there isn’t a system of checks and balances to whether these agencies are complying before the money is sent. Horne asked if Severson is having problems with the checks. Severson said that there are several agencies that are a little slow, so when they are late, she’s had to submit a check request to the City, instead of having it automatically sent on a quarterly basis. Horne suggested that Severson could tell Horne when the Auditor's Office can send the check to the agencies. Severson said that they can work something out. Stutsman said she just wanted to make sure that the agencies are complying. Horne replied that there’s no rhyme or reason stating that they have to do it that way.

Harney asked if the Board needs contracts for these grants. Severson explained that this year is the first year they’ve been in place. She added that Assistant County Attorney Janet Lyness will review them before sending the new contracts to the agencies to sign. Thompson asked Severson to write a list regarding the scope of services for each agency so the County knows what they’re buying. She agreed and added that the scope of service is flexible in terms of what the Board would like.

Neuzil summarized that the Board eliminated $7,500 from the Red Cross, kept $25,000 for VNA and reduced Free Med back to 3%, which is $2,768. Thompson said she thought they were giving Free Med the full 5% because of the Board of Health’s recommendation. Neuzil summarized that Big Brothers is $787, Emergency Housing is down $2,850, United Action for Youth is down $2,918, Youth Homes is $1,847 and all the rest are staying. Severson commented that the Board hadn’t discussed the Youth Homes. Horne said that they increased them by 3%. Neuzil clarified that the only United Way agency that’s receiving an increase greater than 3% is the Free Medical Clinic. Neuzil said that the Board rubber-stamps their recommendations. Severson said that the Board reduced them last year by 10%. Horne said that the Board of Health makes the recommendation, but the Board has the final say.

Harney said that 15% of the Free Medical Clinic’s clients are not from Johnson County. He said that some might be going there after not getting treatment at the Hospital. Neuzil said that the reason the Board cut them last year was because they had such a high carry-over and a lot of money. Neuzil said that even though they reduced that carry over some, $78,000 of their total budget is a lot of money sitting in the bank. Thompson explained that the County does require that they use the County’s money to pay for Johnson County people. She commented that sometimes they get grants, like a previous one to serve Hispanic people. Harney said that they hadn’t received enough outside dollars and were looking for ways to do that. Neuzil said that all this is on the table and tomorrow the Board will find out what the real numbers look like.

Thompson asked if United Way made its goal. Severson said they raised about $157,000 in their last campaign, so they ended at about 93% of their goal. She commented that donors can designate that money as being removed from the allocations, so the Citizen Panel looks at general donations if they’re not specified. Neuzil commented that the increase to human service agencies from Johnson County is about 3%. He asked what the increase was from other municipalities. Severson replied that she didn’t have any information from Coralville yet, but the City of Iowa City is maintaining their funding, but not increasing. Neuzil commented that the County’s block grants will decrease, but the United Way Agencies will receive a $28,000 increase from the County, although no increase from Iowa City. Stutsman and Thompson said that they were fine with the decisions they made. Harney said that he might want to revisit it depending on how the rest of the budget turns out.

Welsh said that the Johnson County Task Force on Aging has had an ad hoc committee looking at the Senior Center issues. He said that one of the things they were looking at is how to reduce their expenditures in contrast to creating a barrier by membership fees. He said they have a meeting this Monday and will have some information to share with the Board. He said one interesting thing they may or may not know is besides the operating budget the Senior Center has a gift fund. He said that at the end of last year they had a balance of $159,000. He said that $21,800 was designated, but the balance, $138,000, is undesignated. Lehman asked what the Senior Center has used that money for in the past. Welsh said that the major expense from that fund last year was to pay for the skywalk. He said that there are some people who see membership fees as a barrier, particularly when tied to parking permits. He said that these decisions are still a work in progress.

Thompson asked SEATS Director Tom Brase is reestimating an additional $2,000 and asking for an amendment to his budget. Horne replied that Brase is reestimating his expenses $109,000 less total. He commented that the rent for next year wasn’t high enough, so that’s adjusted for and more vehicle repair for equipment. Thompson said that the vehicle repairs are $30,000 more this year and Horne added that it’s only $18,000 next year. Thompson said between this year and next Brase will get new vehicles, which will decrease his repair expenses.

Horne said that Brase reduced his salaries by $111,000. Lehman asked if that was because he had open positions. Horne replied that it was, including the Systems Administrator position. Lehman explained that he’s filled the Admin position, but he has a full-time Driver position open still because he hired from within. Horne said that he’s not asking for any new personnel this year. Thompson said that Brase has a 14% increase in revenues. Harney asked if Brase built into his budget the fact that the Ambulance left their building. Thompson replied that he asked for an additional $15,000. Horne said that it’s in the other government line item, which was decreased by $5,000. Stutsman asked where the increased revenues came from. Horne replied that it’s from the Iowa City contract. Thompson said that Brase wants to sublet the space. Harney said they’d have a hard time subletting it. Horne said that Brase was talking about doing some activities with Iowa County, which might account for the increased revenues. Stutsman asked Horne to check and let the Board know. Horne said that it mostly reflects the Iowa City, University Heights, Coralville, and Lone Tree contracts. He said that Brase did note the loss of the Solon contract. He said that he also included lost funds, down to $30,000, from the State Transit Assistance. Thompson explained that it’s variable because the money they receive at the beginning of the year is from the following year ridership and next year he will receive more because rural ridership will increase under the new Iowa City contract. She said it should increase back to $60,000 the following year.

Horne said that SEATS tax asking overall will be lowered. He said that the Iowa City contract will more than take care of the payroll increases. Thompson asked how SEATS is on their replacement schedule. Horne said that he’s requesting another $20,000 for vehicle replacement because he’ll be spending $40,000 next year of County funds. He commented that the rest of the funds for new vehicles are Federal funds that are passed through ECICOG. He said that there are some designated funds and Capital Expenditures that he’s also requesting for next year. Neuzil asked if he wants to continue to put money towards construction. Horne replied that Brase asked for a minimum amount of $25,000. Neuzil asked what he has in there now. Horne replied that’s it the first time. Lehman said that he asked for $100,000 in the past, but the Board never approved it. Horne said that the Board was afraid that SEATS wouldn’t be able to get the matching funds if they already had money set aside. Harney said that he knew ECICOG has $500,000 listed for construction, but asked if there was a match required. Horne said that he felt the County had to match the funds, but if so then the Board felt they could cash flow the match. Neuzil commented that SEATS has $475,000 in grant funds, so the Board would have to come up with $125,000. Neuzil asked when SEATS can get out of the lease they're in now. Harney said it is a 5-year contract. He added that he didn’t know if the County could get out of it and there’s no ceiling on what he can charge for rent. Horne said that FY 08 is the last year of the contract. He said that Brase is anticipating having the building ready for when that contract ends. Thompson said $600,000 is a lot of money and he should be building right now. Neuzil said that if the contract ends in 2 to 3 years and he needs 5 years to get to $125,000, then he’s going to have to add more each year than $25,000. Horne said that the Board can put more in than $25,000 in a given year.

Lehman said that SEATS asked for $100,000 in the past, which the Board didn’t grant, but there was also a discussion of trying to bring in Iowa City to the project. Thompson said that Iowa City requested it this year. Harney said that Iowa City would like to be involved. Lehman said that they could place the building on Sand Road, set up offices and house the vehicles there. He said that the Board has 5 years to work with Iowa City on a contract. Neuzil asked if there is enough room to build this facility on Sand Road, considering all the space they use now with the trucks. Thompson said that whether there’s enough room often depends on whether they want to build it or not.

Horne said that the Department of Human Services budget includes the Local Administrative budget and General Assistance. Thompson asked why Human Services was only at 39% of their budget at the end of December. Horne said that they’re always consistently under and Stutsman agreed. Horne said that the biggest expense in this budget is for 19 hours of service per month at Chatham Oaks for non-MH/DD residents. Stutsman asked why they pay for those services out of this budget and not MH/DD. Thompson said that it pays for a person with a disease that doesn’t qualify as a mental disability. She said that Sweet at MH/DD reviews the cases first, so out of this fund they pay for the people Sweet rejects. Neuzil said DHS covers 5 slots, but this was the 6th slot. Stutsman asked if this is for services or for the person to live there. Thompson replied it’s for the person to live there. Stutsman said that it’s listed in the budget under support BI and new. Harney said that new brain injuries were at $10,500 this year, but it was $5,000 last year. Thompson said that it isn’t the person they were discussing. Horne said that it’s listed under brain injury in decision package one. He commented that the person with Huntington's Disease is already included and this is for an additional person. Stutsman asked why, since this new request is for a person with brain injuries, these funds don’t come from MH/DD. Thompson replied that it might be a brain injury that MH/DD doesn’t cover. Horne said that brain injuries are mandated through MH/DD. Stutsman said that there is still money in there for them. Horne replied that they do for some services. Thompson said that the additional $10,500 is for a person that they’re already funding at Chatham Oaks to go to supportive employment. She said that in addition to paying for Chatham Oaks, they would also be paying $10,500 for the additional program. Stutsman asked again why the Board isn’t paying for it through MH/DD. Stutsman directed Horne to ask Whitney why it’s being funded through DHS. Thompson said that in the decision package she calls it a non-MH/DD resident. Horne replied that it doesn’t fall under the services that are in the Management Plan. Stutsman asked why it was listed as a BI then. Horne replied that there’s other BIs in the budget. He said that there’s already $100,000 for a supported community living BI. Thompson said that the $100,000 covers the 6 people living at Chatham Oaks.

Lehman asked if the $10,500 in the decision package includes the $5,250 reestimate. Thompson said that it should. Horne said that Whitney reduced the amount for RCF Elderly this year. Neuzil asked about several line times that had amounts that were not close to what was spent historically in those lines. He said that client utility general assistance was $2,400 in ’01, $1,200 in ’02 and she asked for $5,000 in ’03. He added that Johnson County Groceries was $1,200 in ’01, $725 in ’02 and $5,000 requested in ’03. Thompson said that was Hull’s budget and when the Board asked her if she could budget more conservatively, she replied that she was worried about losses in Federal funding that would increase her expenditures. She said that she wanted to have the money so that she wouldn’t have to ask the Board for an amendment. Neuzil said that the Board didn’t give anyone else a 400% increase. Welsh said that the General Assistance budget had always been under speculation, which has always bothered him. He added that once the County has guidelines for General Assistance, they’re required to fund it, so if the expenditures become more than budgeted for, the County has no alternative but to fund it. Neuzil said that he didn’t have a problem with that, but like they’ve been talking about through this budget process, if it’s most likely not to be spent, then why is the Board taxing for it.

Horne said this budget is consistently under every year by a sizeable amount. Stutsman suggested they decrease it. Thompson suggested decreasing it by $50,000. Neuzil said that funeral service will go up a little. Stutsman said that she’s concerned about prescription drug funding. Neuzil suggested cutting it from $6,560 to $5,000. Stutsman said that she didn’t ask for an increase in it this year and asked how much in the line she spent this year. Neuzil said that in ’02 she spent $656. Thompson commented that she spent $6,000 the year before. Horne replied that it’s under for this year as well. Stutsman said that Hull always talks about being responsible to pay for prescription drugs. Horne said that she’s worried that Federal and State funding cuts will hurt her.

Neuzil asked about building maintenance and repairs, which spent $200 in ’01, $55 in ’02 and requested $1,000 in ’03. Thompson said that the money is to fix the leak that they’ve talked about. Neuzil asked when she will fix it. Horne said that it’s for income maintenance out at the mall. Neuzil said that he’s just saying that if she’s going to budget for it, then spend it, but if not, then don’t budget for it. Stutsman said that they’re giving Kempf $25,000 in case and this is the same thing. Thompson said that Kempf would have to keep track of reimbursement, but for this budget it’s automatically paid out of each items, which makes it easier to recoup money on small items. Thompson said it is on the Board’s list of things to look at.

Neuzil asked if the Board is going to keep funding the 2 Human Service employees the Board pays for the State. Thompson said it is on the Board’s list of things to discuss. She added that there are actually 3 social workers, the receptionist and the custodian. She added that the custodian is no longer included though because he retired so now the Board pays for 4 people plus Human Services Accountant Kathy Lynch. Stutsman said that Lynch’s time now is mostly spend on DHS work instead of MH/DD work. Neuzil said that MH/DD is putting 2 positions together to make their own budget person. Thompson asked if they decreased their salaries to subtract the custodian. Horne said that their total salaries have been decreased by $38,845, but it doesn’t show in the summary worksheet. Neuzil asked if custodial supplies should come out of this budget. Thompson replied that it’s easier to get reimbursement if it is in the budget. Horne replied that human services administration items are codified and the County receives of percentage of those items for reimbursement.

Neuzil said that last year when they began saving money under Capital Projects, he thought it was silly that they were saving for a new building. He added that the relocation costs are one thing, but for the Human Services Health Building construction, the Board saved $9,200 in ’01. Horne replied that the Board took those funds out of the CIP Plan. He reiterated that it’s silly to start raising money for a new building at $10,000 a year. Lehman asked if he wanted to bond for something like that. Neuzil asked if the Board wants to keep both of the costs in this budget. Horne said that it’s not included in this budget now. Thompson said that it’s on the sheet. Horne replied that they didn’t put it in the CIP Plan though. Horne commented that they didn’t include the $12,000 for relocation costs either. Neuzil said that if they’re going to pay for it, then they can include the cost as part of the bond. Horne said they can include it in whatever way they decide to structure the larger financing agreement. Neuzil said that the Board already has $72,000 in the bank for relocation. Horne said that the Board could also use the $72,000 to offset tax askings when they decide to move forward.

Stutsman asked if there are any large increases for this budget. Horne said no. Neuzil said that if the County ever gets to the point in budgeting where they have to cut employees, those 5 shared employees are at the top of the list. He added that the Board isn’t in that position this year. Thompson said that if the County needs to do that, then the Board has to plan ahead because the 3 social workers they fund are in the same bargaining unit as MH/DD workers and they’re all listed as social workers. She added that they’re the most senior people in the bargaining unit, so if they were to be laid off, they would bump people in the MH/DD unit, which they might not be qualified to fill. She said that the Board needs to change the union contract so that there are 2 separate classifications. Neuzil said that the Board can argue that for whenever they chose to decide if they ever have to cut employees. Thompson replied that if the Board feels they might ever have to, then they should start working on it now. Harney asked why it matters if they bump other people. Thompson replied that they may or may not be qualified to hold that position. Neuzil said that if the Board eliminates a position, the person with seniority cannot just go and fire someone else. Thompson replied that that is how the contract works. Harney said that when someone left the Treasurer’s Office this year, they went and bumped someone at the County Attorney’s Office. Stutsman said that she isn’t sure that the social workers wouldn’t be qualified. Thompson said that the MH/DD workers usually have to have experience working with people with disabilities. Neuzil said that the only way to avoid it would be to separate their job categories.

Horne replied that at tomorrow’s meeting, he will present the overall worksheet to the Board. Thompson asked if Horne knows yet what it will look like. Horne replied that it won’t be as bad as last year. Horne said the budget has to be done by the end of next week.

Adjourned at 3:15 p.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary