REPORT (DUFFY): ATTENDED GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER
Duffy: Well it was a little windy yesterday. We had the ground breaking of the Juvenile Detention Center. I thought it was in a great place.
Stutsman: Isn't it though?
Duffy: It really is. I kind of looked out there. Did you go in the old house?
Stutsman: No, did you go?
Duffy: Yes, they only had a $325 bid on it, and the things in real good shape, the floors are beautiful, and I think they're going to just keep them for offices or something, but that seemed to impress me was that gee this is a great place for that.
Jordahl: Yes, that was a nice place.
Stutsman: You know they had so many obstacles in locating that facility, but as so often is the case, things seem to work out for the best. I think that's going to be a good location. It's bordered on one side by the County shed and then there's cornfields all the way around so it's not so much of a concern for neighbors as some of the other facilities that were proposed were.
Duffy: I thought they had some interesting speakers. (Inaudible) said about the little girl that was abused at home and in those days, they just had a cell for her and finally somebody adopted here, they were about 75 years old and it turned out very positive.
Stutsman: Steve? Do you have anything this morning?
Lacina: It was interesting that the ground just north of that 80 acres sold for a million dollars for commercial/industrial use.
Stutsman: 80 acres for a million dollars?
Lacina: That's what the farmer that was there told me. He said the ground around there has just exploded so obviously with that kind of demand and I don't know what infrastructure that laid into that as far as if they had sewer water, whatever...
Jordahl: I think they do.
Lacina: I think you're right, but with that demand and the growth of the airport, I really do think in time we're going to see expansion down into Johnson County, because at those dollars, and he said that the young guy that sold it, there was no way he could justify farming when he looked at the care of his family, the chance to put his kids through school and that versus farming. So, a lot of pressure up there when that airport expands. That's also a free trade zone. I think we'll start seeing a lot more international trade. Steve West is working with that. If they do some value added they can bring it in tariff free. I was invited and I missed the... First of all congratulations to Joe for being a Democrat of the Year at the County Democratic Convention down at Isaac Walton. Yesterday I missed the MH/MR working meeting at the library. I have been invited to participate in a program along with 30 other Iowans across the State in a mentoring program for small business. It's through the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center. The University will collect a fee from companies that they have identified as potential growth companies in terms of job creation and wealth creation for the State of Iowa. We will be mentors for those companies to help them make the next step. So I was very pleased that they would invite me to be included with people like Roy Carver, Darryl Erdman who runs the Entrepreneurial Center, Tom Cardella who created APEX and his personal wealth is now over 5 million in about 5 years, and Dean Gary Fethke who is in charge of the Business College, Hank Madden, Dean Price, and a list of people that was just very impressive to have that brain power in a room. People from McLeod's and Rockwell, and just some very dynamic people. So we're going to start a process of pairing up with companies...
Stutsman: Very good.
Lacina: ...and hopefully follow through in the concept of keeping local companies here and allowing them to expand and a good job so I'm really excited about being involved in that.
Stutsman: Well, congratulations, that really sounds exciting.
Lacina: Oh, yes. I was just blown away to be included in it, so it's going to be a real learning experience for us as we go through the process and learn how to help them.
Stutsman: Very good. How did they identify these companies? They make contact with Pappajohn? Is that...
Lacina: Working through the Entrepreneurial Center, companies will come to them and for example one company that wants to go public now, they're dealing with 30 million dollars in revenue a year. When they go from private ownership into public ownership, the whole mission changes. No longer does the individual have control of the company at that point when you go out, whoever owns the controlling stock in the Board of Director's directs the company. So there are some tremendous changes, the perception of stock buyers, the mission and purpose of the company, the Federal regulations that you have to adhere to, the reporting standards are very strict, and of course stock manipulation and those things are watched very closely. So those companies that come to the University for help or expertise can go to individual professors or now with us as mentors, we can help them or advise them to get the expertise from some just wonderful brains at the University in everything from statistics to you name it. So we'll just, again there's no benefit to us other than the intellectual stimulation. I think it's going to be a real thrill. The University will charge a small fee for this service which off-sets the cost of the program. They hired an individual from the east coast that did something similar and it just took their state and gave a tremendous support base for industry and helped them all move forward. Minnesota did a similar project with (inaudible) up there, and now Iowa's trying to do the same thing down here.
Stutsman: Anything else?
Lacina: No.
Stutsman: OK, Jonathan?
Jordahl: I wonder whether it's appropriate to mention the things that are of a more partisan political nature or not. I know Joe is acknowledges as the outstanding elected official of the year by the Democratic Party at the fall festival on Sunday. Just mention that Senator Wellstone was here from Minnesota and was very interesting to talk to hear him. He's a dynamic guy. I was going back to last week, I attended the Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Board of Directors meeting on Thursday. The most interesting thing to come out of that was a discussion of some possible changes in the way that funds from Heritage are going to be divided up in the future. This is a conversation I want to have with the Board at some point about our application and how we're going to deal with funding of Senior Dining. As Steve mentioned, the Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities session yesterday was 2 hours, it was videotaped for subsequent use and this was kind of an orientation for new members of the planning council and the working group to talk about basically what are these disabilities that we're dealing with. There was a wonderful point where Craig Mosher had 3 people, one person who suffered from an eating disorder who had been through years and years of treatment at institutions and was now successfully through some Johnson County programs, is successfully going to be moving out to independent living. Independent living I mean living on her own. There was a person who was mentally retarded who had made great strides again through educational programs to being involved in policy making, and another gentleman who had been brain injured and he complimented I think the Board of Supervisors needs to hear this that we were all complimented for the efforts the this Board has made including people with brain injuries in our funding for social services in Johnson County. So I was real pleased and I think it's going to be something that if you weren't able to make it, the tapes will be there and I guess it's a nice thing that Craig has put together. Today, 2:30, the Networking Subcommittee, making more progress toward the questions of what policy we might have for the use of technology resources. I hope to get that buttoned down today. At 4:30 Regional Trails and Bicycling Committee. Then tomorrow afternoon at 6:00 on Wednesday, we have the comprehensive plan work session here in this room which is primarily an opportunity for the Board to work together, but it is a public meeting and there will be opportunities for public comment at the end of the session.
Stutsman: Thank you, Joe?
Bolkcom: Yes, last week attended the JTPA meeting in East Central Iowa Council of Governments meetings, both generally pretty exciting meetings. Also, yesterday attended the Disabilities Forum. It was really well done, got there a little late and heard basically 3 stories from 3 different people that receive services in the County about their personal stories. I thought they did a very nice job and it kind of brought things home about the importance of these services. We, I don't know if we've heard formally back from Iowa City yet regarding SEATS or if we've had any communication, I guess we'll continue to watch that. That's it.
Stutsman: OK, thank you.
Stutsman: I attended the MECCA Board meeting on Thursday evening and there was discussion about MECCA's continued involvement with Project Safe in Cedar Rapids. It continues to be a source of real frustration and so I think they are probably going to enter into some dialogue with some people up in Cedar Rapids and see what Johnson County's involvement will be with that. Also spent a little bit of time talking about the Iowa Plan and about how that will impact Child Welfare Services for children in Iowa. This is a plan that's being proposed that will bring Child Welfare Services under a managed care plan similar to our mental health services. Along with that I will be going to Des Moines on Friday to meet with other supervisors and Chuck Palmer to talk about the Iowa Plan and our concerns with that. Also had a meeting with Jane Murphy from the Chamber, who is our liaison with the Human Resource Committee there. We talked a little bit about business involvement with needs of children and families in the community. We're just starting dialogue of informing businesses and human resource individuals how they can become more involved with children and unmet needs in the community related to young families. Attended the ground breaking yesterday, it was a good event, also went to the Mental Health Planning program yesterday afternoon, got there a little late, but I, too, agree that it was a real interesting program and a good format. One positive note, I would encourage all the Supervisors to take advantage of is that through the Wellness Program, you can get massages at the Health Department. I had my first one on Friday and it was time well spent. It was $15.00 and it was great so...
Bolkcom: Do you get bonus points, do you get points for the incentive program?
Stutsman: That bonus I don't need points so that's nice that we have a program available. I've never had one before and so it was nice to have it here.
Bolkcom: Good job.
Stutsman: Innovation Zone met Thursday afternoon too and we've continued to work on some initiatives with that program. That's been real exciting and a real positive thing to work on. I'm glad the County has been involved in that, has been real supportive on that. OK. I had on here work session for office staffing and when I put this on, I didn't realize, or had forgotten that Carol will be on vacation so I think we're going to have to put this on for maybe next Tuesday when she comes back and just maybe alert the Board to start thinking about how we want to handle office staffing, replacing Kim in that position I think should be the main topic of discussion for that. Pat had put on collecting bargaining strategy for Secondary Roads. I didn't know if the Board members had any questions. He is available to come over if we want to come over to talk about that. If everybody's pretty comfortable with what was discussed last Tuesday, we won't have him come over. He didn't have any other things for his part of the agenda. Discussion from the public? Any comments?
INQUIRY (BOLKCOM): SEATS STAFFING
Bolkcom: A question about SEATS, when we talk about staffing it's not on the agenda, but (inaudible) next Tuesday SEATS staffing and discussion about getting some more help and/or hiring a new director, or beginning the process of putting that back together.
Stutsman: OK, why don't we put that on for next Tuesday.
REPORT (DUFFY): UPCOMING 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARC
Duffy: Sally, there's one thing I forgot to bring up, the 40th anniversary is coming up for the ARC.
Stutsman: We've got a list of activities.
Duffy: Yes, this is a very nice thing to go to, that will be October 5, I guess that's next Sunday. If you haven't been to one of these, it's a good one to go to. They're going to celebrate 40 years of serving persons with disabilities in Johnson County. Lower City Park shelter number 16.
Bolkcom: What time is that Charlie? Noon to 4 or something?
Duffy: Noon...
Lacina: One question, I had Jo pull up the list of committees and we're getting, I'm getting information from ECICOG TAC committee besides the Engineer, Charlie, you're on that committee?
Bolkcom: Charlie's the main guy.
Lacina: OK, there we go, I'll shift it over, Charlie.
Bolkcom: I'm the alternate.
Lacina: We probably ought to have Joe add that then to the list of committees to the ECICOG TAC committee.
Bolkcom: It's on the latest list.
Lacina: No, she just pulled it off the computer, we couldn't find it.
Bolkcom: Really, because she asked me to look it up (inaudible) ago and it's on there.
Lacina: We had the Rural Policy and we had ECICOG, but we didn't have the time.
Bolkcom: I have a printed copy of it.
Jordahl: Sounds like there's 2 copies running around here.
Lacina: I'll check with her.
Bolkcom: The last one we filled out where we filled out what the times were where we thought each of those took.
Lacina: See that might be in Kim's files. Because the one... OK, so we'll take care of that and I'll just shift it over.
Stutsman: One other thing I was going to add too is that I'm going to go out with Mike Gardner after the Board meeting to look at Morse. I received a complaint there and so I wanted to go out and see...
Duffy: About speeding through Morse?
Stutsman: Yes, and then continue to get complaints and concerns about Amana Road and the dust around there so if anybody's available and wants to ride along, it's a beautiful day for a ride in the country.
Lacina: What was the other one we had? We had one up on Prairie Du Chien up on Timber Trails.
Duffy: Timber Trails.
Lacina: The curve up there and there was one down south too.
Duffy: The County is doing a good job of trimming some of the branches with that bucket truck, it was the best thing they ever bought.
Stutsman: Our infamous bucket truck. Discussion from the public? Linda.
League of Women Voters Representative Linda Whitaker: Yes, on behalf of the League of Women Voters I would like to make 3 comments on 3 of your topics today. First of all performance-based budgeting, very important concept. I'm glad that you're pursuing it, with or without consultants, needs to get done and if you choose not to get a consultant then maybe a blue ribbon panel much like your technology committee could help you with that. That may be an alternative. We have a very good track record in naming those kinds of panels and maybe you could use that if you choose not to go with a consultant route. But don't give up the concept. It's very important. Secondly, evening meetings, they may be a pain in the butt, but just the fact that you do see 2 different kinds of populations perhaps, whoever shows up during the day versus the evening, that's worth continuing and I would just urge you to continue it. Trust me, Steve, it's not like watching a movie.
Lacina: You do realize now that we don't have day hearings for any zoning or platting applications at all.
Whitaker: Right.
Duffy: They're at night so...
Lacina: So they don't show up during the day.
Whitaker: I thought that was in reference to who shows up for day meetings for this meeting versus who shows up for evening meetings in the other, anyway. Trust me, as an observer and one of many this is not like watching a movie, it's work. Lastly, just an observation about money, investment, the budgeting process. This is apart from performance-based budgeting and that is how do we, where do we park our money when we're not spending it. About 2 years ago when we interviewed the Treasurer, it was outlined for us that there were 6 to 8 CDs spread among the banks and that's where our money rested. I think that may be a dated concept these days. I think we can better returns on that if we looked around and so I think it's worth exploring independent of performance-based budgeting. The end.
Stutsman: OK.
Duffy: Would that be in Johnson County looking around or other counties or...
Whitaker: I think you can do some innovative things elsewhere.
Duffy: I think that...
Lacina: So your supporting our investing outside of Johnson County.
Whitaker: No, I mean by elsewhere beyond the concept of a CD.
Stutsman: That's what I heard you say.
Whitaker: Beyond the concept of a CD.
Lacina: Oh, we do far more than invest just in CDs. There's all kinds of instruments.
Whitaker: I (inaudible) and I just suggest that...
Lacina: Do you have any specific recommendations for us?
Whitaker: I don't, I don't, but I think it can be explored and I think perhaps, again, a blue ribbon panel, some outside consultants could assist you with that. By consultants I mean even consultants just right here in Johnson County.
Lacina: So did the League discuss our investing outside of the County? Is that what you're saying?
Whitaker: I don't know, it's a possibility, has it been explored?
Duffy: I wouldn't be for that because the banks pay taxes and other places in Johnson County and I certainly wouldn't be...
Whitaker: Maybe then you'd have better rate of returns.
Lacina: There are some restrictions in that we can invest in banks in contiguous counties, not outside of contiguous counties unless there are certain criteria met. For example, the I-(inaudible) or those types of funds, but again, you'd probably need to go back and talk to the Treasurer about some of that. But I think we're all saying that we need to look at...
Whitaker: That's right.
Stutsman: Yes, that's what...
Whitaker: I think that's what I'm saying. Look at it.
Lacina: We're doing it.
Whitaker: Explore it.
Stutsman: Because I think in the realm of investing, there's lots of options.
Whitaker: There are options.
Stutsman: Through local banks too; they have whole investment departments just to look at different ways to invest money.
Whitaker: I think we can use the expertise here locally to get some of that advice.
Lacina: And we need to be careful. Because we keep using Scott County as a wonderful example, and they do a wonderful job down there, they had a great investment plan and lost 25 million in investments.
Whitaker: We can learn from their mistakes.
Lacina: So as you look at greater returns, you also increase your risk factor. So whatever we do definitely needs to be in cooperation with the Treasurer.
Stutsman: Bob, did you have a comment?
REVEREND BOB WELSH: RECOMMENDATION FOR PERFORMANCE-BASED BUDGETING
Reverend Bob Welsh: Sally, in the discussion about performance-based budgeting, you gave 2 alternatives, and I heard a 3rd alternative presented in one of your earlier meetings. Doing it in house or hiring a consultant. I heard that there was an offer from Linn County for a person to come down and meet with you and with your department heads to help you walk through that process. I think having that expertise is helpful. I gather that was free of charge, the person was offering that. I think the other element I will mention is that it seems to me that you're department heads are going to have to fill in the blanks (inaudible). Maybe the person from Linn County could share with you all what the outline could be. To my knowledge, there's 3 components which is a mission statement, some key strategies, and performance measures. It seems to me that I might have a very high opinion of all of our department heads, but it seems to me if you give them those kinds of parameters, they're going to have to do that work. That's not something that a consultant can do for you. The consultant can prod at that point. So I guess I'm just suggesting that you might re-visit that in terms of what use or assistance can the person from Linn County give you and whether or not that is a process that you can start in this next budgeting year. Whereas getting a consultant on the Board is going to take a few months to do. So maybe what you do in terms of your steps which I agree whole-heartedly with is you have the person from Linn County share with you some of the parameters, skeleton outlines as to what departments can produce. Let the departments produce something and not be worried if some are real good and some are sort of vague. Just accept people where they are and use them as your first step this year and then see whether or not you go with an outside consultant as some of you suggested and Linda mentioned again that you make a committee. The other observation is that I think you all identified this, just to clarify. I heard you talking about 3 different things in terms of hiring persons to do in your discussion, one was the consultant on performance-based budgeting. Another I think Joe correctly identified is an efficiency study which is different at that point. The other is the one that I heard Steve mention in terms of a sense of spending the money you would use to hire a consultant to hire an in-house consultant. In a sense use of that money has been for Kim to be used for that I heard you right.
Lacina: Well I'm not supporting that, I'm just brainstorming Bob. This would be a way of doing it.
Welsh: Well I think that all 3 of those approaches can be looked at in terms of what you do. My experience has often been that consultants can help prod you to do things. They really can't do the work for you. They can't really write your mission statement. That's going to have to be done by the department heads and appropriate committees and I just mention that as a, I didn't hear that lengthy mention again, that person from Linn County and how you could make a very easy step right now of that. Take a good step forward and then look at then and decide what you might want a consultant or a committee.
Stutsman: Thank you, Bob. Joe did you have something?
INQUIRY (JOE GJOVIG): DEADLINE FOR HUMAN SERVICES TO REDUCE WELFARE FOR 2 MEMBER FAMILIES BY 75%
Joe Gjovig: Yes, I understand tomorrow is the deadline for Human Services to reduce welfare for 2 member families by 75% and if they don't they can possibly lose some of their Federal funding. I'm wondering are they going to meet that. From what I understand a lot of states are making their goals, those especially with low unemployment. The ones that are having (inaudible) are the ones with high unemployment. With unemployment as low as it is in Iowa, (inaudible) why they, if there haven't been, why they are having trouble meeting it.
Stutsman: That's...
Gjovig: Are they going to meet that goal?
Stutsman: All I know about it is what I heard on the news last night. That's more with the State Department of Human Services, dealing with that particular program. I think, and this is just probably what you heard on the news last night too, but according to Gwen Hall, who is the person that handles that income maintenance for this area I think they're trying to work with the Federal Government in realizing that this was a transition year, that it took a while to get this program up and running. Hopefully the fed's will recognize that and give them some grace period. So...
Lacina: Sally, locally with your work, aren't you working with the Chamber to help get business to cooperate and find jobs.
Stutsman: Right.
Lacina: So locally Sally's working on some of those things through the Chamber and local businesses to do what we can to make that transition.
Gjovig: So are you telling me that the County really isn't involved.
Lacina: We are.
Stutsman: Not as far as meeting the guidelines and things. That's the State's responsibility.
Lacina: But we are involved in trying to make this transition.
Stutsman: Right. Putting some things in place, so that locally we can try to get as many people into jobs as we can. Matching their skills with a job level and providing training where skills come short.
Welsh: I faxed (inaudible) a note yesterday on the work participation work groups that I served on to adjust the needs for a 2 family requirements. That group has not consistently met to monitor that. I raised that question regardless to whether or not that would not be helpful. There were some recommendations that we made as to alternatives if the State has some problems meeting that, such as the paid or unpaid work experiences of the State. You're talking about a, I forget Joe, the amount of dollars involved, but it's a huge amount of dollars that the State can be penalized for not meeting that requirement.
Stutsman: Oh, yes I think they were talking about was it 6 million or something?
Welsh: I think it might even be larger than that. It's the question as to whether or not you lose that money or you use that money in some other ways of helping persons become employed. I haven't heard back from Doug. As I say faxed him a note yesterday.
Stutsman: OK, anything else? OK, we are recessed.
Recessed at 10:48 a.m.; reconvened October 2, 1997 at 9:15 a.m.
Stutsman: Karen could you give Rick a call? He had a land use planning tool that he wanted to show us. Let's see, do we have any inquiries or reports from the public while we're waiting for Rick to come? Reports and inquires from the Board of Supervisors. Steve do you have anything this morning?
Lacina: Just that tomorrow I'll be in Ames with the Board of Supervisors resolutions committee meeting. We're going to be working on resolutions which then will be presented at the fall school for the adoption by the Supervisors. Again, I want to plug a new program from the University of Iowa, the John Pappajohn Center is establishing a mentor program. 30 have been invited to be mentors to small businesses that are growing. So we will try to help them make the next step. Some of which will be either going public or some of their small businesses that just will enhance their workforce. So congratulations to the center for setting up an innovative program which has worked out east, and also in Wisconsin, and they are going to apply it here. So I was very pleased to be invited in that and look forward to helping them.
Stutsman: Jonathan?
Jordahl: Well, I've got a number of things planned in the next few days. This Friday evening, tomorrow evening, a well known Environmentalist Wendell Berry is going to be speaking up in Cedar Falls. There's a conference going on up there that is not directly related to County business, but I think the theme of conservation is related to our comprehensive plan process. I want to alert people, I don't know if people are seeing this is time to make this Saturday, but we start the County clean-up week where we're going to help defray the costs of getting people's yards and fields and so forth cleaned up. So you can go to the landfill starting on Saturday and through the coming Saturday the 11th. So this is the 4th through the 11th of October. They have a form there that you can pick up and return to the Supervisors' Office for compensation. You'll have to pay when you're there, but you can get that paid back. We have on Sunday the 40th Anniversary picnic of the Association of Retarded Citizens and I want to encourage people to attend that. It's supposed to be a real good time. That's in City Park. I guess I'll point forward, a couple of things happening next week. On the 8th, on Wednesday, we're going to have another meeting with the department heads to bring forward another step in the process of refining our budget process, looking at performance-based budgeting. That's one of the strategic goals of the Board of Supervisors. Joe and I are chairing, also in line with another one of the strategic goals, the Communications Committee Meeting with department heads on Friday the 10th. So we're taking action on some things that are a result of our strategic planning process and I'm really glad to see that the Board is taking these directions.
Stutsman: Joe?
Bolkcom: Yes, I had a couple things. I had an opportunity to attend an open house. Or was it an open house? It was really a book signing. Lolly Eggers has recently completely History of the Iowa City Public Library and they had a little reception Tuesday and I got book signed by her. It's quite a document, a lot of work, a lot of history. About a 100 years of the history of the Iowa City Public Library. Supervisors are in it. Pat White is in it. It talks about contract negotiations in the last 10 years. It's a no holds barred kind of review, so it's good.
County Attorney Pat White: I better read it.
Bolkcom: No. It's good. It's good. You get a lot of credit in it Pat, actually. I haven't read it all but I did read about some of that. The Board met last night to continue it's discussion of the Comprehensive Land Use Plan. I think we made some progress last night in trying to keep this thing moving, spending a little bit of time over the next couple of weeks trying to decide what the next step is in terms of trying to develop a more comprehensive vision for what that plan is going to do. I thought that was a good meeting. Then, Saturday we're going to be going out for a tour of a farming operation here in Johnson County that's raising live stock and spend a few hours talking about hog production in Iowa. That's it.
Stutsman: Charlie?
REPORT (DUFFY): ATTENDED IOWA CITY CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES' DEBATE
Duffy: Some of these are, of course, about the same as what Jonathan and Joe said. So there is a lot going on. Steve and I, after we left last night, went out to the Westfield in Coralville and listened to the debate about the people running for the Iowa City City Council. I think they were glad to see us out there, because I always did say the city is part of the county. It's very interesting and a very good group of candidates. We came in kind of late, but we got there.
Bolkcom: Did anybody figure out why they're having a candidate forum for the Iowa City Council in Coralville?
Duffy: Probably, well, see it's the Chamber of Commerce plus the Home Builders and evidently it was a very nice room.
White: It's easier to park.
Bolkcom: It's kind of far away to go for Iowa City residents though.
Duffy: Oh, I don't know. Is Coralville that far away, I thought it was...
Bolkcom: Good parking.
Duffy: Anyway I thought that it was a pretty good meeting. A good place to park.
Lacina: By the time you line them all up, it took a long table.
Duffy: Yes. There were a lot of candidates.
Bolkcom: Yes, I know it.
Lacina: They had an overhead projector and it was quite a nice set up. A good facility. So the question was up, by the time you go through like, I don't know what there were, 10 or 11.
Duffy: 11.
Lacina: 11, by the time you go through the answers sometimes you forget the question. Or sometimes the answers can be who knows where, because they build one on top of the other. What they did was they would ask the question, put it up on an overhead and each candidate would write whether they agree or disagree and put it up in front of them before the answers started. Then, as they went through you could see the question and also you could remember what the question was and if they needed to refer back to it they easily could. I thought it was well, well done.
Bolkcom: Sounds good.
Lacina: I was really impressed with the job that John Beckord did in doing it.
Stutsman: Very good.
Bolkcom: Sounds like First Christian Church's format. Yes or no.
Lacina: Isn't there some game show too that does that too when you answer?
Stutsman: Charlie anything else?
Duffy: No Sally.
REPORT (STUTSMAN): ATTENDED FAMILY PRESERVATION GRANT MEETING
Stutsman: Yesterday afternoon I attended a meeting concerning the Family Preservation Grant here in Johnson County and they're going to do a site review on that grant on the 27th and 28th. This is a grant where we initially got $250,000 and are now getting $200,000. So it's a sizable grant. Anyway I have a bunch of materials that I need to hand out to some of the Board members concerning that grant, so that we're prepared when they do come and ask us questions about what the grant is doing and things. I'll be getting those materials to the Board members. That's all I have.
INQUIRY (LACINA): POSSIBLE LOSS OF FUNDS FOR DECAT PROJECTS
Lacina: Quick question Sally. There's some discussion about losing funds to our decat projects and I'm sure everyone will kind of want to watch this as we go through the legislative session but anything you want to add to...
Stutsman: I'm glad you brought that up. Tomorrow afternoon I'm going to Des Moines to visit with Chuck Palmer who is the Director of the Department of Human Services and talk about this Iowa Plan and that's where the concern is coming in about the loss of decat funds to counties. The Iowa Plan basically is a proposal to have Child Welfare funds come under managed care similar to what we're doing with Mental Health funds and Substance Abuse funds. There is a lot of concerns being expressed by that, not only with people that work with children in the Child Welfare system but also counties too because if there is a managed care and services are managed by an outside vendor, then there are some services that will not be approved and provided and so somebody is going to have to pick up those services and it probably will fall on the county. I have concern for the preventive dollars. We do a lot of programming in Johnson County with prevention programs. Those will not fit under our managed care plan, so I think we to express our concerns and see where we go from here so I think it is something that we need to follow very, very closely.
Lacina: If they do go to managed care and they're allowed to keep 14% of about 42 million dollars as their quote profit or administrative fee, that's a cut of 14% that will not go to the consumer. So there are some real concerns of while they may not be quote making cuts in the total budget process, the effect of the dollar getting to the consumer will be reduced at a minimum by what they're allowed to keep in this profit.
Bolkcom: Well the other piece... I think we're spending roughly 100 million dollars, I've heard that the contract is going to be for $75 million and if whatever they save, they only spend 60 million, they'll split with the State and the managed care company. So there is also these other incentives built in.
Lacina: But only the State portion would have to be reinvested. Their profit, they just...
Bolkcom: Right, it'd be gone.
Stutsman: Right.
Bolkcom: The RFP apparently is in draft form now for the company. It was indicated that there was language in there about funding Decat.
Stutsman: I think we need to get that clarified.
Bolkcom: But it didn't say if it would be one dollar or $10 or half a million dollars. Maybe percentages are part of that and maybe even preventive language. I don't know what stage the RFP is but I think it's been out for comment. But it's good your going to Des Moines. Thank you.
Stutsman: Right. I'm looking forward to it.
Welsh: Again one of the proposals would be one to do that statewide, the other is to have contracts that would be done in the 5 different regions. In other words there could be a managed care in this region, could operate differently than in the other 4 regions. Because Sally the whole thing doesn't make any sense to me. It's just adding another layer.
Lacina: Something in decat has been working very well and what it allows us to do is to take an individual with some problems and have flexibility in designing a plan instead of having to fit them into different categories. So it has been working and it's just unfortunate that they're going to start messing with something that isn't broken.