• Discussion: Fiscal Year 2004 Budget

• Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore and Lead Building Inspector Rueben Arsate: Planning and Zoning (19)

• Discussion: Fiscal Year 2004 Budget

Chairperson Harney called the Johnson County Board of Supervisors to order in the Johnson County Administration Building at 9:10 a.m. Members present were: Pat Harney, Mike Lehman, Terrence Neuzil, Sally Stutsman, and Carol Thompson.

Budget Coordinator Jeff Horne said that he originally planned to have the budget worksheet available for this meeting, but was unable to finish due it to the blizzard, but he will present it to the Board once Deputy Auditor Chris Edwards proofs it. Horne said that they are scheduled to talk about the Planning & Zoning Building Inspectors today. Lehman asked if County Recorder Kim Painter was going to hire from within due to her recent change in personnel. Horne said that she’s eliminating a position. Lehman said the turnover creates a new scenario, but it depends on whether she hires from within. Thompson said that she wouldn’t have to hire within, she’s just upgrading the vacancy to a deputy. Neuzil said that wasn’t her original intent, but it works out. Lehman asked if the Board then has to consider it. Horne replied that at that point, the Board had given him direction not to consider it, but he asked if they now want to reconsider it. Thompson asked how she’s doing on her budget. Horne replied that she’s doing fine. Lehman said that her revenues are way over, but that may not continue into the next year. Neuzil said that also the Board doesn’t want to get into the habit of giving an advantage to departments that are revenue generating. Thompson asked about her expenditures because she was right at 50% in December. Horne said that she’s imagining that there will be an open position for awhile. Neuzil said the idea is if she hires from within the vacancy would not be filled. Thompson said that there would still be a $15,000 difference in pay per year. Lehman asked what they have in the budget for her department now. Thompson asked if the Board wants to give her the extra $15,000. Neuzil asked if there are any operating expenses they can reduce to help pay for it. Thompson asked if the deputy would be paid $45,000. Horne replied that it would be about that because deputies make 80% of the elected official's salary. Horne said that the person who is leaving has been there for 10 years, but added that the position doesn’t pay that much. Lehman asked if the Board should wait until they see what the impact is without this.

Thompson asked Horne what the budget looked like. Horne replied that it’s looking better and one big thing that’s going to help the budget is that the Assessor’s re-valuations didn’t amount to anything, so there’s no upward increase in taxes due to that at all. He said that in a sense then the tax increases wouldn’t be as high. Lehman said that it doesn’t generate additional money either. Horne said that he hasn’t calculated a debt services levy this time.

Stutsman said that every other elected officials office has a deputy for each division so she wonders why the Board isn’t doing that for Painter. She said that there certainly is enough work to warrant having 2 deputies in that office. Stutsman said she wouldn’t have a problem with giving her the increase. Horne said that it is a position that was there, but was eliminated by a previous Recorder and now Painter would like it reinstated. Stutsman said that when former County Recorder Deb Conger eliminated it, the office didn’t have Vital Records. Horne said that Painter has also talked about taking on passports and it will be an income generator. Horne said that it would be similar to hunting and fishing licenses in the sense that the County would get a percentage of the fee. Stutsman asked what the Board thought about giving Painter a deputy. Lehman asked if the Board just wants to leave it on the table, because there might be a lot of things to cut. Stutsman said that the Recorder’s is one of the busiest offices in the building even if a lot of it is related to economic times. Thompson asked if on the first page of the budget sheets the Board would change the first decision package to $15,000. Horne replied that it would be whatever the difference is between the 2. Thompson said the difference would be an increase of $15,000 a year.

Neuzil asked if the second deputy has to be paid at 80% of the Recorder. Thompson said she thought it is 75% because first deputies are 80%. Neuzil said that it would be 75% of $56,000 because it’s specified by Code. Thompson said that the whole cost of the employee would be the $42,000 plus benefits, which comes out to $57,683, but now she’s saying the restructuring would have an annual cost of $15,000 and her vacant salaries goes to make up the difference. Neuzil asked if the Board wants to look at some of the additional operating requests that Painter asked for and tell her that she’s got to work with a little less since they’re giving her an employee, which is also the message the Board is sending to County Attorney J. Patrick White. Neuzil said that Painter could hire that person sometimes in October rather then July. Stutsman said that she’s basically just asking to restructure the office, not to hire anyone new. Lehman said that she is required to advertise and there could be inner-departmental applicants. Stutsman said that she wouldn’t have to hire those people for a deputy position. Lehman said that he would hope that since they’re talking about boom times right now, if things fell off and she had a vacancy in a clerk position then she may not fill it. Horne said that he didn’t know what kind of traffic the passports would create. Stutsman commented that she thought it would be a lot. Horne said that Painter feels her office would take a lot of the business from the post office because their parking situation is worse than the Administration Building. Horne said that people can have their photo taken any number of places, but they might apply for it at the office. Stutsman said that people fill out the form, return it and the office checks it over. Horne said that it would just be subcontracting for the Federal Government. Stutsman said she had to update hers and the only big problem was getting someone in the office because they’re not there full-time.

Neuzil said that Painter has requested a 26% increase in her operating budget, so he’s asking whether she gets that increase and a new position. Harney said that she is asking the Board to restore last year’s budget cut. Thompson said that she thought the Board had decided not to do that. Stutsman said that they would allow her to reorganize, but Neuzil added then they wouldn’t give her the operating request or reduce that. Stutsman said that her operating request was $8,500, which Neuzil said is 26% of her budget. He said it’s not very high. Stutsman said it’s deceiving in terms of percentages. Horne said like most departmental budgets, it’s personnel heavy. Neuzil added that she also did not receive as significant of a cut as the other departments did last year. Stutsman said that Painter generates a lot of revenue. Neuzil said he didn’t think the Board should get in the habit of looking at revenue as a factor. Harney agreed, but said that they do need to look at the size of the office and the services that they provide. He said that the Recorder’s Office is similar to the Treasurer’s in that it appear to be pretty efficient. Horne said they should look at whether or not the personnel shift will affect the revenue. Lehman said it’s like building inspections where they have to have the people to bring in the revenue. Thompson said that in Painter’s non-personnel line items, there’s some where she asks for $4,500 for the phone, but she only spends $3,500 and there’s also a similar thing with her maintenance budget.

Neuzil asked if they wanted to cut the $8,500 in half so that she still gets some operating budget increase and gets to restructure her office. He said that she might have to hold off on hiring that individual until October if she doesn’t think she can meet her needs. Horne said that he doesn’t know what Painter will do in the short-term because if she hires the deputy position now she wouldn’t have enough money to make it through the year, but if she doesn’t fill it she’ll be a person short. He said that she could probably do it if she waited a couple months. Neuzil said that she could shift and hire the deputy, but not hire the replacement position. Horne said that she couldn’t now because she only has the personnel dollars for the open position. Neuzil said that if she hires from within, then that other position would then be open, so it’s a wash. He added that she just can’t hire both now. Thompson commented that because former employee Beth Wick is going to another County office, Painter won’t have to pay out her vacation. Stutsman said they shouldn’t be surprised if there are internal candidates for the position. Thompson said that they still have to advertise, which Neuzil added will take a month and a half. Horne clarified that he’s hearing that the Board will allow the shift, but to cut her operations request to half of the $8,560. Thompson said that he should also check to make sure that her total decision package would drop to $19,280 instead of $66,243. Neuzil also asked Horne to check to see if second deputies get 75%. Thompson said they would also have to add whatever the COLA would be next year. Horne said that he would talk to Painter. Thompson asked if they have money for any new staff positions. Horne said that they do. He said that receipts are up, the revenue expense adjustments went back up this year and the interest loss was built into the budget already, as well as the jail situation. He said that there are increases in both, but not the shocks that they had before. Lehman said that the message is that the Board has to defend the fact that they’re giving this department an employee and not others that have asked. He asked how the Board will justify it, by revenue or because it’s not a full impact. Harney and Stutsman said they would justify it because it is a restructuring, not an additional employee.

Lehman asked what the COLA is for FY 04. Horne said he included 3%. Stutsman said that it too high. Horne said it was based on a recommendation from the County's Collective Bargaining Negotiator Judy Perkins. Thompson said that the Board authorized her to go to 3%. Horne said that 3% was what she told the Board during the meeting they had with her. Stutsman said that they have announced 3% to the world because this is a public meeting, so that’s what they’re going to get. Neuzil said he’s also like to see the scenario for 2%, 2.5% and 2.75% also. Horne said he can get those numbers. Horne said in the budget worksheet they can’t tell that he’s assumed a COLA. Neuzil said 3% is the worst case scenario. Horne said that he’s assuming that because the County tried to get concessions in the other areas. Horne asked what the Board wants him to prepare a worksheet to show for tomorrow. Thompson wanted a 1% COLA and said that the Board can do the math if he tells them what an additional 1% would cost. Horne asked if the Board intention is to try to budget everyone the same this year. Stutsman said yes. Horne said that the Compensation Board gave a uniform increase this year. Stutsman said that every is always complaining about management not keeping up with the bargaining units, so she thinks that they need to keep them all the same. Harney said everyone should get the same increase. Neuzil said that if the Board chooses to have everyone get the same increase, then for those deputies who work underneath elected officials, the elected officials would have to give themselves a higher increase because they don’t get longevity. He said that the Board would have to give them an equal percent up to about $700 or $800, which would show that the elected officials would have more than the across the board percentage increase. Horne said that the deputies would get a 1% increase too if that is what the Board settled on. Thompson said that is why the Compensation Board recommended 5% instead of 3%. Harney said that he isn’t sure that’s the rule, because the deputies don’t have to reflect what the elected officials get. Neuzil said that by law they cannot accept anything over the 80%, which is why longevity isn’t allowed for deputies. Neuzil said to be fair the Board has to give the elected officials more. Horne said that longevity is something the Board has been trying to get rid of. Stutsman said the only reason they had longevity was that County salaries were so low and it was an attempt by the Board to increase salaries. Horne said that to get rid of longevity they would have to bargain it out.

Horne said that he has several departments that have reductions not counting the COLA and personnel including Secondary Roads and Information Services. He added that Information Services Director Jean Schulz eliminated a position and County Engineer Mike Gardner must have too because before the COLA he was down about $10,000. Lehman said that Gardner might be cutting back on summer help. Neuzil asked if the Board has decided on any other personnel decisions for departments. He said he saw Ambulance’s argument because it saves them money on overtime. Horne said that should, but when dealing with over-time it’s difficult to tell. He said they are adding .8 FTE and cutting the overtime budget.

Thompson said that according to the Code, the annual salary of the first and second deputy officer of the Auditor, Treasurer and Recorder and the deputy in charge of the motor vehicle registrations shall each be in amount not exceed 80% and then offices where there are more than 2 deputies, each additional deputy should be paid an amount not to exceed 75%. Thompson said the Sheriff can have 85% for the first 2 deputies. Lehman asked if Painter did the math correctly then. Harney said that if the law states "not more than" they could pay them less. Horne said that it’s the discretion of the elected official. Neuzil said that the Board could say that they’re going to fund the position at 75% and if she wants to hold off hiring, then she can. Horne asked if that is what the Board wants. Stutsman said it is. Neuzil asked if in the future Painter could go up to 80% for that position. Horne replied that she’d have to ask the Board for the additional funds. Thompson said they can just give her the $15,000 and let her figure it out. Neuzil said that sounds good. Horne said that he’d talk to Painter about it.

Horne said that the Board has asked Planning & Zoning to attend the meeting to talk about the additional staff person in the Inspections department as well as the intern position. Horne said an additional inspector would cost $37,938 including benefits. Stutsman asked why Planning & Zoning needs another building inspector. Lead Building Inspector Rueben Arsate said that the inspection process has increased and the department is also proposing taking on remodeling and cell towers. He said that the demand in the office has increased and they have a lot more phone calls, so all of that put together has created a need for another inspector. Stutsman said they are a long way from inspecting remodeling, cell towers or trailer parks. She asked if the work group is still meeting. Arsate said that they will meet next Wednesday. He said at this point with all the overtime that the 3 inspectors are working the demand is there for another employee. He said that they could use the help and the cost would be covered. Harney asked if that will cut back the overtime. Arsate said that it would. Lehman said that Arsate doesn’t get over-time, but the other employees do. Thompson said that the budget doesn’t show it. Stutsman said that they don’t get over-time, but they get comp time. Arsate said that they get comp time, so as soon as it slows down, they have to take the time off so the Department never catches up.

Thompson said that when the Building Inspections department started they had a goal of getting to every request within a certain period of time. Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak said it was 4 hours for footings and 24 hours for normal inspections. Thompson asked what percentage of calls they aren’t able to reach in that length of time. Arsate replied that it would be a low percentage because they do what they can and they have included Zoning Aide Jeff Huff to help out with footings. He said they probably don’t get to about 10-15% of the calls on time. Dvorak said that as the Board is aware, they ask the public to respond to the County in a questionnaire and he said 80% of the responses they get are very positive. He said the only few negatives they hear is that there is a concern about Planning and Zoning staff's ability to answer questions regarding the Code. He said that during the summer months, the inspectors are inspecting and when people come to the counter there is no one qualified to answer building code questions. He said anyone can accept the paperwork, but to get a question answered, that person either has to wait until the afternoon or the next morning. Dvorak said this is one of the biggest concerns they've had.

Dvorak said that this year the number of building permits they’ve issued has increased by 60. Dvorak said said Linn County slowed down last year, but Johnson County, Iowa City and smaller communities increased. He said the vision they had was not to have 4 inspectors out in the field all the time, but to allow Rueben to stay in the office and do plan review. Dvorak said plan review is what slows down the process the most because every building application has to be reviewed and then inspected. He said what they are looking for because of the new amount of building permits is that the 3 inspections would go do the inspections and Arsate could stay in the office to answer questions regarding building codes. He reiterated that the biggest concern from the public is in the summer time there isn't an inspector in tehoffice to answer questions. Dvorak said inspectors in a catch 22 because they’re out inspecting, people come in and there’s nobody there to talk to or they’re sitting in the office and it appears that they’re not doing anything. He said the people with these comments aren’t just contractors, but lay people doing their own work who have a lot of questions because they don't understand the codes. Dvorak said that his and Arsate’s vision is to try to have someone in the office to answer the public’s questions, which is as much of a reason as anything for adding an inspector.

Dvorak said at the Building Code Study Committee Meeting, the members couldn’t understand how the Inspectors generate approximately $100,000 more in revenues than expenses, but they couldn’t spend $40,000 more to do things the public is asking for. Dvorak said it’s not the Department whining and wanting more staff, it’s what they are hearing from the public. Lehman said that they don’t understand that revenues don’t go back to the department. Lehman said that there’s another department that’s asked for a deputy, but their plan is to hire within by eliminating another position. He said that Dvorak mentioned an individual in Planning & Zoning, but he’d hate to see a new position created and someone put out of a job because they don’t qualify. Dvorak said that one of the misconceptions is the Huff sits in the office all day and does CAD work. Dvorak said Huff is the first person that gets involved in the process because he goes to the site to verify the location to make sure it meets setback requirements and then he takes the information and draws it into the computer to make sure that it meets the setbacks. He said that just by getting the dimensions it doesn’t show where it’s really at, so it has to be either manually drawn up or put into the computer to make sure the structure fits pursuant to the ordinance. Lehman said that Huff did that before there was a building code.

Dvorak said that he has asked the union for an upgrade to Huff's position because he is now doing footing and wall inspections, but he hasn’t heard back from them. He said that Huff isn’t in the office to answer those questions either. Dvorak said he talked to Shramek about this, but even if the department wanted to change Huff's job description so that he would then be an inspector/site plan review/CAD person, he would still be out of the office 50% of the day. He said that the Department can do that, but it may not resolve the issue. He said that they can create that new designation, Huff can apply for that position assuming he would get it, but they would then have to spend the money to train him. He said that he didn’t know if Huff would be willing to do that training because he’s been off for the past month with an illness. Arsate said that Huff doesn't have a construction background so he has to sit down with him to tell him what to look for at each inspection. He said that if they were to make him an inspector, he’d have to go to Kirkwood to take construction courses first to get the background and then get him certified on top of it.

Lehman asked if they would eliminate Huff's position if they were to hire an outside inspector. Dvorak replied that Huff's position is the first in line, so it would impossible unless they took the new person to do what Huff is doing now, so they wouldn’t really gain. Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore said that Huff also draws in all of the Department’s zonings and subdivisions into the database for the County as a whole. Lehman asked if some of the duties will transfer to GIS. Dvorak said that he’s already doing that currently. Dvorak said they've saved $30,000 by doing in-house migration of zonings. He said that he’s first line in the Zoning process too because he gets the legal descriptions from the surveyors for the plats and the zonings. He said that Huff used to work for MMS, which is why he hired him, because he has that knowledge of surveying that he can transmit to CAD work. Lehman said that if Huff quit tomorrow Planning & Zoning would still have to fill his position along with the request. Dvorak said that he went to the union because the position has changed. Harney asked if Huff will still do footing inspections if they add another inspector. Arsate replied that during the height of the season he would definitely help the inspectors by inspecting footings. Lehman said that Arsate may have to help, even though the intent will be to have him in the office answering questions, if the intent is to fulfill time goals. Dvorak said he has even gone out and done footing and wall inspections.

Thompson said not making the goal 10 to 15% of the time seems like a lot. She didn’t realize it was that bad. Harney said that one of the big issues with inspections is that there’s no sense expanding into trailer courts if they can’t keep up with the services provided now. Thompson agreed. Lehman asked if the Board was to approve another inspector what are the chances they’ll still be able to upgrade the CAD position. Dvorak said that he made that proposal to the union last month. Stutsman said that if the Board’s mission is to serve the public, she can imagine how frustrating it must be to come to the Administration Building to talk to an inspector and then not have any inspectors available. She said that is a disservice to the taxpayer.

Dvorak said that Harney and Stutsman sat in with Planning & Zoning’s Building Code Study Committee, which is made up of professional contractors that hear, see and do this work. He said the reputation of the County’s inspectors has increased, including their quality of work and public relations. Planning & Zoning hears very few complaints about inspectors other than them not being available. He said it has been a 2-year learning curve and they’ve progressed to where they were hoping to be when the Board first adopted building codes. Dvorak said he isn't hearing the complaints he heard the first 2 years. Dvorak said the Study Committee emphatically recommended to the Board that they amend the budget and hire a new person immediately. Thompson said that the Board wanted the department to be self-supporting and it looks like they are projecting enough income next year to cover the cost of an additional person. She asked Dvorak when he takes out inspections from Planning & Zoning if the department is paying for itself. Dvorak said that in 6 months they generated enough money to cover the cost. Neuzil said that the department was not supposed to make money on the inspections, only remain self-sufficient, so the Department is charging too much. Thompson said that when they calculate the fees, they picked an 80% year, not a year with the biggest revenues ever. Neuzil said that there has been a lot more building than what anyone imagined. Horne said that to set the fees, they looked at Coralville’s worst year.

Neuzil said he isn’t supportive of a new position because he doesn’t want the Department to expand and do more types of inspections than what they're currently doing. He's afraid that by hiring an additional person it’s going to mean more restrictions. Dvorak said that it’s impossible to be any more restrictive than they already are. Neuzil said they are talking about adding mobile homes and other categories. Lehman replied that this position is to efficiently accomplish what the County has already taken on. Stutsman said that Neuzil is right that if there is another inspector they will be able to take on more categories. She added that she didn’t know if that was so wrong. She said part of the role of government is public safety, and when she sees what rural people live in as far as mobile homes and rental properties, she thinks the Board has a responsibility to provide safe housing. Harney said that he sees both sides of the argument because he sees the issues with trailer courts and mobile homes, but on the other hand if the Board becomes too restrictive, then they eliminate low-income housing. Dvorak said that he isn’t sure if that’s correct, the inspectors aren’t inspecting the structure because that is done by the State and the Federal Government. He said there isn’t any impact on the structure because the County inspectors are only seeing if it is tied down safely pursuant to the manufacturer’s recommendation and are the water, sewer and electrical connections good. He said that adding a deck would be the same as adding one to a normal house. Dvorak said that he isn’t disagreeing with Neuzil, but he isn’t sure if that’s really on the table. He said that whatever the Department does the Board will make the decision. Neuzil said that once an additional employee is there, the Department will be able to have more responsibilities. Dvorak said that the Board gives them that responsibility. Neuzil said that the Board’s decision will be a lot easier if there are 4 inspectors instead of 3. Lehman said if new construction slows, the Board might say that they need something to keep them busy to generate income and justify the inspectors. Stutsman said that it is still a policy decision by the Board. She said the community will have input into that, but the community also had input in the building code. She said that there were a lot of people that wanted a building code, so it isn’t universal that it’s onerous because it’s for public safety.

Harney said that he’s hearing a lot from contractors who say they want the codes, but they want it to be more efficient. He said that they have some problems with not matching Iowa City and Coralville, which is something that needs to be worked out, but at the same time the County’s inspectors have to travel so much further than other inspectors. He said he would be supportive of another individual. Thompson asked how many inspectors Coralville has. Arsate said he thought they have 3 inspectors and 2 office staff that are just for building inspections. Thompson asked if they have a director. Arsate said yes. Dvorak said that he agreed with Neuzil 100% that the inspectors shouldn’t be making money, but the budget he requested is only for the 3 inspectors. He said that there are also other people in his department, including 2 secretaries and himself, whose time could also be included in some proportion in that budget if people think they are collecting too many revenues compared to expenditures. Thompson said that the Board told the Building Inspections Committee to calculate the fees so that the inspectors would make money in a good year to offset any bad years. Stutsman said she isn’t willing to give away the services for free either because it takes time and the fees should reflect the time spent in those inspections.

Thompson said that she wants the inspectors to be 100% on target for their hourly goals. She said if the inspectors are missing 10%, then they need another staff person. Lehman said that there aren’t complaints about the fees, it’s the timing that they receive complaints on. Dvorak said that Planning & Zoning gets complaints about the fees, but they come from out of County contractors because they have to get their own permits and pay their own fees, which are based on Federal Codes. He said that through the Planning & Zoning Department, they generate $33.5 million in valuation due to new structures built from the 328 building permits they issued last year. He said that each permit also receives 5 to 8 inspections. Lehman said that with 300 permits, each receiving 5 inspections that equals 1,500 inspections in 300 working days so that there are approximately 5 inspections needed per day. Arsate said that the numbers are actually higher because it takes closer to 8 to 10 inspections per structure. Dvorak said that there are also some quality of housing issues as well. He said they inspected 109 houses last year and 82 the year before and in that increase some of those 25 houses had 15 to 20 inspections. Moore said that part of the time problem is due to logistics because in a city it’s a confined area, but the County inspectors cover the whole 900 square miles in the county. He said it takes a lot of work on the inspectors part to schedule that many inspections and they’re doing a much better job, but they still travel all over the County.

Lehman said that another part of adding a new position is adding another vehicle as well. Thompson said this is an expensive position. Horne said the Board had him leave leave the vehicle on the table when they discussed it previously. Dvorak said that they need a vehicle even without another inspector. Lehman said that Dvorak has done a very good job of purchasing used vehicles, but with more vehicles they will have to update them more often.

Lehman asked if Planning and Zoning receives the inspector, will Huff sill inspect footings. Arsate said they can still use him during the busy season. Lehman asked if that creates a problem in his job description. Dvorak said that they’ve already changed his job description and he is working on moving the position up to a different pay grade. Lehman said the upgrade also wasn’t included in the budget and could also have an impact. Horne said that Dvorak might have included it in the payroll worksheet even though they didn’t know if they were going to get it or not. Horne said that it should be reflected in the payroll number he received from the Auditor’s Office.

Thompson said that Planning & Zoning and justified the need for the new position. The only thing she is cautious about is if the demand for permits would go down because they hate to have to lay people off. Lehman said that it could also lead down a path like Neuzil said where the Board is trying to find things for them to do, so they could expand into something they wouldn’t normally do. Stutsman said that it is a policy decision for the Board. She added that if building slacks off then layoffs are what it is going to be. She said nothing, including County employment, is guaranteed in this world.

Moore said that regarding applying building codes to manufactured mobile home parks for decks and accessory structures, he already has to do that as a private citizen living in a home. As a private citizen addressing the Board, Moore said that it's unfair that the County doesn’t require those people to have a building permit. He said it’s discrimination against him as a homeowner, because he doesn’t live in a trailer park. He said that the County always fights for being fair, but right now it’s not because the Board doesn’t make the people in trailer parks get permits for decks, while it costs him hundreds of dollars to add on to his house. Neuzil said that to improve his house he has to pay, but a lot of people would just choose not to. Arsate said that his concern is more for safety because people might not be building correctly, the vertical members are spaced too far apart so that children can get their heads stuck in between them, or they’re using horizontal members and children can climb over them. He said that there was a study that showed that children who are 3 years old can climb over 42-inch guardrails. He said that electrical connections are also important because fire is a major concern. He said in a tie down situation the structures can dislodge from the plumbing and gas lines. Thompson said that she doesn’t care as much about remodeling as she does about mobile homes because she agrees with the safety concerns.

Horne told Dvorak that the Board had questions about their request for a second intern. Moore said that Planning & Zoning gave up the intern position last year in order to cut their budget upon the Board’s request. He explained that this year the Board mentioned that they would like to move forward with recodification of the zoning ordinance to make it more up to date and user friendly. He asked ECICOG to submit a proposal, which they did, but their fees are $45 dollars per hour. He said that the $7,500 to $8,000 in the budget was only for the ordinance work assuming Planning & Zoning would do a lot of the groundwork for it. He said that they were counting on the 2 interns, who are paid a lot less than a consultant, to do that work. Moore said that the new Land Use Plan will also need to be reviewed later this year. Thompson asked how much the intern is paid. Moore replied that they get paid $2,500 per semester, which is half of the assistantship through the University. Thompson said that it comes out to $20 per hour. Moore said that they also get insurance from the University. Harney asked if Planning & Zoning was given the choice of an inspector or the intern, which would they choose. Moore replied that it’s two separate things. He said that down from that is the $7,000 increase in the comp planning line item, which is because they’re getting ready to do the zoning ordinance and the Land Use Plan. Stutsman clarified that the $7,000 wasn’t for the codification. Moore replied that the planning intern is $5,000 and they asked for an additional $5,000 to bring it back to the $10,000 where it was the year before. He said that the Comp Plan was reduced last year because they knew they weren’t going to review the Land Use Plan. He said some of the Comp funds would also go for any other planning project that will be done. He said both of those lines items went back to the original figures they were at before the Board asked them to make cuts last year. He said that these increases wouldn’t cover all their expenses, but it will give them more resources to work with. Stutsman said that she’s supportive of the inspector, but not of the intern. Lehman asked if the County pays the insurance for the intern. Moore replied that the University pays the insurance. Lehman said they’re kind of picking up their insurance by what they’re paying the University.

Dvorak said that the Building Code Study Committee is meeting next Monday night at 6:00 if the Board has time to sit in. Dvorak commented that the inspectors will start doing inspections in Swisher in the first part of March. Stutsman said that she’s still confused about what Planning & Zoning wants ECICOG to do. She said that she wants Planning & Zoning to make the ordinance user friendly and asked what it will cost to have that done. Moore replied that it will cost $7,500. Stutsman asked what the interns would do with the codification. Lehman asked if the intern would defray that cost or if the cost for ECICOG would be higher without the intern. Moore replied that if Planning & Zoning isn’t able to put in the man hours then the ECICOG proposal will have to be higher because they thought they would be able to do a lot of the groundwork for the codification. Stutsman said that regular staff would have to do the groundwork if the Board doesn’t approve the intern. Moore said they were already going to do the groundwork with the intern. Dvorak said that Planning & Zoning would get it done without the intern, it would just take longer.

Moore asked if the Comp Plan money makes sense to the Board. Horne said the Board left the Comp Plan money on the table at their last meeting. Thompson said the Comp Plan meets the Board’s goals. Moore said that they already had the line item at $3,000 and they increased it $7,000, the amount it was before the 4% cuts. Stutsman clarified that the Comp Plan money would take care of both the Land Use Plan and the re-codification of the ordinance. Dvorak said that they’re hoping it will. Moore said it probably won’t be enough, but they could stagger it off. Dvorak said that he’s hoping to pay some of it before July 1st out of this fiscal year up to $3,000 and then next year pick up the difference. He said whatever is left over they will devote to the Land Use Plan.

Harney asked if Planning & Zoning is asking for an additional $10,000 or $7,500. Thompson replied that they asked for an additional $7,000 to make the total request $10,000 for next year and they have an additional $3,000 for this year. Lehman said that Planning & Zoning is saying that if the Board gives them $10,000 that will take care of ECICOG and the Land Use Plan update, but that is anticipating having an intern to help with the work. Stutsman said that Planning & Zoning can do it. Neuzil asked if it seemed really expensive to anyone else because it is just editing what they already have. Thompson said it’s really tedious. Neuzil asked if it costs $13,000. Thompson told Neuzil to look at all the hours Chappell put into the ordinance book. Stutsman said that once it’s done it should be in place for a number of years. Thompson asked if they’re leaving the Planning & Zoning intern on the table. Stutsman said she’s comfortable with the inspector, but not the intern. Lehman asked about an additional vehicle for the inspector. Neuzil said that he’s not in favor of either. Lehman said that if the Board leaves the inspector, they have to leave the vehicle in as well.

Horne said that the Board has almost all the personnel requests still on the table because they put the Recorder’s request back on. Thompson said that they did change the Recorder from $50,000 to $15,000. She asked if the 2 paramedics are still on the table. Horne said that they are. Neuzil said Conservation is down to one employee instead of 3. He asked if there is any increase in the Election’s budget. Horne said the Board didn’t give him direction regarding Elections. Thompson asked if the legal assistant for the Attorney's Office is still on the table. Horne replied that the Board did approve the legal assistant, but weren’t inclined to restore the 4% cut. He said in talking to the Auditor’s Office, there won’t be a reallocation of funds and the Attorney’s Office is going to have a problem before the end of the year.

Thompson said the Auditor's Office requested a part-time temporary wage increase for the Elections and Accounting divisions. Horne said that the major request is the GIS Deputy. Thompson said she thought the Board declined that and Stutsman agreed. Horne said that he didn’t hear clear direction so he wanted to make sure. He said that the Auditor had the most personnel requests. Thompson said that they don’t want the Deputy, but there are a lot of little requests that will make a difference. Thompson said the first request is $1,900 to increase the part-time wages from $9.00 to $9.50. She asked if the Board agreed with the raise. Stutsman asked if it is for the minute takers. Administrative Secretary Casie Parkins said that it’s for the minute takers and also the part-time temporary real estate employees. Thompson said she approves and the Board agreed. She said that County Auditor Tom Slockett also requested $12,212 in overtime to implement the new financial software. Stutsman asked if anyone else is getting overtime for this. Horne said that he doesn’t know who he’s talking about, but he assumes he means Account Clerk II’s Linda Bennet, and Mydge Krob and the payroll position. Thompson said she’d rather wait to see if they need it and Stutsman agreed. Stutsman said Shramek and Horne will be putting in overtime as well. Thompson said the next request is for $30,000 to reinstate the temporary wages that were cut last year. Stutsman asked if the Board is reinstating the cuts for anyone else and added that they’re not for the County Attorney’s Office. Thompson commented that the Office is behind in the mapping, which will slow up everything including GIS. Horne said that Slockett has real estate, financial, and GIS mapping functions. Thompson said that the real estate mapping is what GIS uses to keep updated with. Horne said that there is a real estate financial function that computes all the TIFs, which Deputy Auditor Mark Kistler does. Thompson said that is why Slockett wants another deputy. She said the daily mapping, which is what these part-time people do, is behind and will hurt the County in other areas.

Harney asked why Slockett needs another deputy when the County has a GIS Coordinator. Horne said he spoke with GIS Coordinator Rick Havel about that and he thinks that the Auditor’s Office needs some support in GIS although not necessarily a deputy. Stutsman asked why the Board couldn’t just hire another GIS worker. Thompson said that Slockett is asking for a deputy, plus to reinstate 20 hours per week for a part-time temporary map delineator. Neuzil said that a deputy is a person that will oversee a division, but Havel is the GIS deputy for the County. Stutsman said that she agrees that they need help in keeping up the system, but not a deputy to run it. Thompson said that they are on thin ice with Kistler because he has the training and ability to do both, but if he would leave it would be really hard to find someone with the GIS skills and the accounting skills. She commented that it just wouldn’t happen unless they were trained in the Auditor’s Office. Horne asked if the Auditor’s Office needs a deputy for minutes. Stutsman asked who the deputies in the department are. Parkins said that Mark Kistler is the Real Estate deputy, John Deeth is the interim Elections Deputy, Chris Edwards is Financial, Joe Elder is Financial and there is an open Minutes Deputy. She clarified that Edwards is administrative and oversees payroll and Elder oversees the budget and general ledger side. She said that the Minutes Deputy also oversees the administrative functions of the office and acts as clerk to the Board, which includes a lot of legislative work and filing requirements. Lehman asked who is doing the work of the Minutes Deputy. Parkins replied that they are still doing the work and Kistler is acting as deputy until the position is filled.

Thompson said that last year for the 4% decrease, they cut 40 hours per week of part-time temporary recording secretaries and 20 hours per week of part-time mapping and they want to reinstate that this year at a cost of $30,102. Thompson asked if the minutes are behind. Parkins said that they are always a little behind during the budget season. She said that the reason the Auditor’s Office has been able to keep the part-time employees is due to office turnover, but if there isn’t turnover next year the part-time people won’t be there and then she doesn’t know what will happen. Horne said that the Office is one person short in the financial side. Parkins said that the Office has 4 open positions right now. Thompson said that she’d be inclined to give the Auditor's Office $10,000 to cover the mapping costs because they’re behind on that. Neuzil said he’s confused on the employees the Auditor wants to add. Horne replied that he’s mostly asking for hours and not employees. Neuzil clarified that the deputy is out, the Board will keep the temporary increase in pay, and then add back 20 hours for the map delineator. Horne said that Slockett is also asking for a secretary for himself. Stutsman said it’s a part-time temporary administrative assistant.

Lehman asked Parkins what her classification is. Parkins replied that she’s a full-time Account Clerk II/Administrative Secretary. Neuzil clarified that the Board would add $10,000 for temporary help in mapping, which would make a $13,000 increase. Thompson said Slockett also wants a part-time permanent administrative secretary/account clerk. Stutsman said that she would say no. Thompson said that this would allow the Auditor's Office to take committee minutes for the County. Stutsman said that Slockett's rationale is that Board members and other people are expensive minute takers. Thompson said that Slockett also requested part-time temporary student recording secretaries for 10 hours per week, which would cost $5,600. Neuzil said if the Board restores the part-time temporary map delineator at 20 hours per week for $10,000 and includes the wage increase it comes to $13,000. Stutsman said that the Board hasn't even talked about elections yet. Harney said that he didn't understand why the map delineator couldn't be placed under GIS. Horne replied that Slockett is responsible for maps in the Code. He added that Havel said that there is a need in the Auditor's Office to support the GIS function in the Auditor's Office. Thompson said that one of the reasons Havel didn't ask for a staff person for GIS, is because he was hoping the Board would approve this. She added that what slows Havel down is having to wait on the Auditor's Office. Thompson said that the Board is adding $12,888 to the Auditor's budget. Horne summarized that the Board approved $10,000 for temporary map help and the part-time temporary raises.

Neuzil asked how the personnel that they've added affects office furniture and other things. Horne said that Schulz didn't think that they needed it. Thompson said that the personnel approvals total $200,000. Included in the $200,000 is the Recorder's Deputy, the Planning & Zoning building inspector, 2 paramedics, a legal assistant, one Conservation worker, Horne's intern and the 3 things for the Auditor. Stutsman asked why the Board is approving the legal assistant. Horne said that the Board said to leave the legal assistant on the table, but said no to the restoration in personnel cuts. He said that in a sense the Board is putting back in part of the wages for White to do with what he wishes. Stutsman asked when the last time was that the Board gave White another staff person. Horne said that it was 3 years ago. Thompson said the legal assistant position will help with OWIs and Juvenile Court. Stutsman said that it's an expensive position totaling $47,000 for the package. Horne said it still wouldn't be as much as the cut from this year, even though White might not hire a legal assistant with the money. Horne said that currently White is an attorney short in pay. Thompson said that he'll have to keep this position vacant in order to pay for his attorneys. Horne said that it won't solve his problem this year either. Thompson said that the total in new personnel dollars is $242,793, which since they started at $480,000 is good.

Neuzil said that they're still talking about a $200,000 increase in new employees when the growth in the County covers only $300,000 without raising taxes to pay for employees salaries, insurance and other basics. Horne said that the insurance increase was 10%, or $229,000. Stutsman said that the personnel total isn't covering any vehicles or anything else. Horne said that a lot of vehicles are built into the budgets. Stutsman said that they added one to Planning & Zoning. Horne said that he means that it's not a full effect but there is some mitigation. Neuzil said that without considering employee salary increases the insurance is the growth in Johnson County. Thompson said that there is a $500,000 increase with the insurance and new employees. Thompson asked what 1% of salary increases is. Horne said it's about $130,000. Neuzil said that they do have more revenues, which will help. Horne said that there are some positive factors including increased revenues, and a higher revenue/expense adjustment, which will lower tax askings. Harney said that he wants to know what it's going to cost to add the personnel to departments. Horne said that he'd prepare a summary sheet for the next meeting.

Harney asked what obstacles Horne encountered in putting together the budget. Horne said that a better financial system is key. He said that there are too many transactions giving him the opportunity to make mistakes. He added that the Auditor's Office works with him well, but they're short staffed. He said that the Auditor's vacant financial position is one that used to help him during the budget. Lehman asked if the new software will eliminate the Auditor's work for him. Horne replied that it would because he won't have to wait for the Auditor's Office to deliver payroll numbers. Harney asked if he is able to get the number that he needs from the Auditor's Office. Horne said he gets the numbers, he only wishes that he had them a month earlier. Stutsman asked why it takes the Auditor's Office so long to provide information to Horne. Horne said they did have an election. He added that he also had to wait on health insurance numbers because Shramek didn't have them available. Thompson said that in the new system departments will enter their payroll information on the system and then they will get it in a usable format right away. Horne said that all of the information will be in the system and he will have access to it. Thompson asked how much Horne can increase the revenue expense adjustment. Horne replied it will increase by $500,000 to a more traditional level like $1 million or $1.1 million. Thompson commented that the Board could be in pretty good shape. Horne said that it won't be as bad as last year because a lot of the things that shocked the system are already built into the budget. Neuzil said if the Board gets close to the limit, then they can look to see if they want to bond for some items. Horne said that they don't have to set the bonds now, they just have to lower the tax askings with the intent to bond. Horne said that it would lower the transfer from the General Fund.

Adjourned at 10:48 a.m.

Attest: Tom Slockett, Auditor

By Casie Parkins, Recording Secretary