Reconvened as a meeting with County Department Heads at 3:05 p.m.

Department heads present were: Ambulance Director Mike Sullivan, Conservation Director Rod Dunlap, County Attorney Pat White, County Assessor Jerry Musser, County Engineer Mike Gardner, County Recorder Deborah Conger, County Treasurer Cletus Redlinger, Department of Human Services Area Administrator Cheryl Whitney, Emergency Services Director Jim McGinley, General Relief Director Mary Kay Hull, Human Resource Administrator Lora Shramek, Information Services Director Jean Schultz, Iowa City Assessor Dan Hudson, Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Craig Mosher, Physical Plant Manager Pat Langenberg, Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak, SEATS Director Lisa Dewey, Veterans Affairs Commission Director Leo Baier. Staff present were: Board of Supervisors Administrative Assistant Carol Peters, Deputy Treasurer Deb Jensen, Disease Prevention Manager Kot Flora, Assistant Planning and Zoning Administrator R.J. Moore, Sheriff's Department Captain Duane Lewis, and Auditor's Office Recording Secretaries Jodi Hisel and Casie Parkins.

Bolkcom opened the meeting with discussion on the Communications Committee External County newsletter. He stated that one of the strategic goals of the Board of the Supervisors has been to improve communication within County government and with members of the public. Bolkcom said the internal County newsletter to employees was launched during the month of October with some success. The next project is the possibility of developing an external communication effort to members of the public through the use of the Community News Advertiser. He stated that the Community News Advertiser representatives had presented to the Board during the last week. Bolkcom said the Communications Committee had been discussing this option for months and now it was the time to bring a proposal forward. He introduced Linda Schreiber and Scott Swenson from the Community News Advertiser. Bolkcom stated that they were looking to put together a committee of staff members to generate content for the inclusion in the Community News Advertiser. Bolkcom said that possible content could be calendar of upcoming meetings/events, County Board and Commission openings and vacancies, agendas and minutes, volunteer opportunities, job openings, profiles on various departments, frequently asked questions, profiles on County employees, and other items.

Vice President/General Manager of the Community News Advertiser Scott Swenson, passed around a sample of the proposed County newsletter. He stated they had downloaded information off of the County web site to illustrate the amount of content that could be included. He stated that they would publish a one or 2 page newsletter in the Community News Advertiser which would reach about 75% of the residents in Johnson County. He said that one of the reasons they had selected the title Interaction is because the newsletter is meant to be a pipeline for communication between the community and County government.

Bolkcom said this item was on the agenda today to get the opinion of the department heads. Bolkcom said they had been talking with the Community News Advertiser because they have a wide circulation at a really low cost. He said it reached about 36,000 households at a cost of one page for $420 and 2 pages for $756 per issue. He stated that unlike the Cities, the County has no means such as a water bill or sewer bill to communicate with the County. He stated that if the County developed its own newsletter and mailed it out the postage would be more than $420 to reach so many households. He stated the Community News Advertiser was a good bargain if they were interested in a print media approach. He said they wanted to see if there was interest from department heads to be involved in a working committee that would organize the content and oversee development of the newsletter.

Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities Director Craig Mosher asked where in the Advertiser the newsletter would go. Swenson answered that it would be within the news section. He stated that they have 3 sections of the publication that would be in the news section. He stated that it would be a partnership arrangement. They would help a great deal with the editing and with the design and layout of the newsletter. He said that if they could receive the information or content, they could put it in a publishable form. Bolkcom said the Advertiser would be doing all of the layout, the County might provide a disk with the content they wanted. County Treasurer Redlinger stated that he liked the idea. He said he thought it should have a short reminder column about upcoming events, for example, driver's license due, property taxes and others. SEATS Director Lisa Dewey agreed that it was a great idea and volunteered to participate in the Committee. She stated something like information on the SEATS negotiations might be good to include. Ambulance Director Mike Sullivan volunteered for the Committee also.

Planning and Zoning Administrator Rick Dvorak asked if the rural residents were included in the 36,000 households that were mentioned. Bolkcom said they were. Dvorak said he had never seen the publication before. Community News Advertise Representative Linda Schreiber said some pockets of the County may not receive the publication currently, but they could check on it. Dvorak stated he lived south of Shueyville. Swenson stated that Swisher and Shueyville are not currently covered by the Community News Advertiser, but they are covered by its sister publication from Cedar Rapids. Bolkcom said they had discussed having an overrun printed that would be distributed in Shueyville and Swisher.

Bolkcom stated that he had received a call from KCJJ Reporter Tom Suitor, who expressed interest in presenting a proposal as well. Bolkcom stated that Suitor suggested that radio is more timely if there is something that really needs to get out. Suitor suggested that the Supervisors come on with the morning hosts or maybe have a noon appearance. Bolkcom said they had pretty much settled on print media because they can publish phone numbers, cleanup dates, and other things. He asked if people thought they should follow up on the radio idea or not. Bolkcom said his gut feeling was that radio was a good idea but it wouldn't ensure that everybody got information in the same way, a way that would hang around for awhile. Lacina stated that for some items, for example Family Farm Credit, there may be times over the noon hour when the farm community listen to the radio to catch the markets. He said maybe they could consider certain press releases which would be timely to that and targeted to specifically to that. Stutsman asked if they were talking about paid time. Bolkcom said yes. Lacina stated they had discussed including a section in the newsletter for public feedback that could be mailed to the County. Johnson County Assessor Jerry Musser stated that the Family Farm Credit has had a press release go out 3 weeks before the deadline since the credit had existed.

Conservation Director Rod Dunlap asked if they planned on having a full 2 page or just whatever news they want to put out whether it occupies a page. Bolkcom stated that it would depend on how much news was available, but that it doesn't take much to fill up a page. Jordahl stated he saw a link between the newsletter and the web site. He said if they published the newsletter monthly and updated the web page monthly there should be an ample supply of information. Jordahl felt the newsletter might stimulate people to produce news more current for the web page. Dunlap stated that the Conservation Board's interest in it would be publication of opening and closing of facilities. He said he thought he could see a lot of information going in the newsletter. He stated that the Conservation Board does have a page that comes out on a quarterly basis, but he was looking at things such as, upcoming special programs, road closings, beach opening/closing, campgrounds, and others. Bolkcom said the newsletter would be ideal for that.

Bolkcom said they looking for a committee of people that would oversee the project, but they hoped that everyone would be willing to provide content from time to time. He said the Committee might contact a department and request content. Jordahl suggested that when new information is posted to the web site that a copy of it could be sent to the Newsletter Committee. Redlinger asked if a decision had been reached as to when during the month the newsletter would appear. Bolkcom stated that that had not been decided on. Swenson stated that they would not want to supersede any of their regular news coverage. He said the newsletter would be an additional tool. It wouldn't replace any of the press releases that they are currently publishing or any other timely information that needs to happen on a weekly basis. Bolkcom thanked County Recorder Deborah Conger and the rest of the Committee that had been working on the newsletter.

Bolkcom introduced Treasurer Elect Tom Kriz and Recorder Elect Kim Painter, who will be joining the County in full capacity in January.

Human Resources Administrator Lora Shramek stated that the County had been accommodating family and medical leave requests since the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed in 1993. She stated that they have been in compliance with the Act and wanted to review what the Act requires. Shramek said FMLA requires employers of 50 or more employees to give qualified individuals up to 12 weeks of leave in a 12 month period for any qualifying reason relating to family or medical leave. She said for an employee to qualify for the Family Medical Leave Act they must have worked at least 12 months and have to have worked at least 1,250 hours during the last year of service. The reasons a person may have, cited by law, are birth of a child, the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, caring for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition, or the serious health condition of the employee. The employer must continue the employee's health care benefits during the leave period. Following their leave the employee must be able to return to the same job or similar job of equivalent status and pay. She stated that to date, leave requests had been handled on an individual basis by the County, utilizing a variety of forms. Shramek felt there was a need for a consistent County-wide Family Medical Leave Act policy that all departments can reference for consistency in handling leave requests. She handed out a packet which contained a draft policy, draft employee request form, position certification, and draft employer response form. She said the decision of how much paid time off an employee must use before unpaid time is granted is, by law, left to the employer. She stated they could require the employee to use all of that time or require them to take none of the time. She said it has been suggested that employees be required to substitute 50% of their paid vacation time, earned as of the date of the leave, for any unpaid leave. Shramek stated they also need to decide how often or in what circumstances would they want employees to complete the paperwork. She felt that they needed to strike a balance between the administration of the paperwork and having to keep track of the required leave. There has been a recommendation that employees complete the paperwork requesting leave for absences in excess of 2 weeks. For example, if someone was going to have outpatient surgery and would be gone for a week, they would not fill out the Family Medical Leave paperwork.

Department of Human Services Area Administrator Cheryl Whitney left at 3:25 p.m. and returned 3:27 p.m.

Dewey asked if a person did not have the sick time that they needed for that week, would they then fill out Family Medical Leave paperwork. Shramek answered that if they set a 2 week rule, they probably would not fill out the Family Medical Leave paperwork, but maybe an unpaid leave of absence form. She stated that perhaps 2 weeks is too far, maybe they should look at a week. She said they have been averaging one request per month since she had arrived in January. Sheriff's Department Captain Duane Lewis asked if the paperwork would be used after an employee had used paid sick leave. Shramek answered they would count their paid sick time, if it's under a 2 week time period then they would not. Lewis asked if they could not deplete any of their sick leave and request unpaid leave. He asked if an employee had 3 weeks of sick leave accumulated, would they have to use any of that up before requesting unpaid leave. Shramek said if they were going to be gone for 3 weeks, they would want them to use their sick leave, but once an employee has exhausted that sick leave, then they would want them to use half of their available vacation. Conger asked if the FMLA began when the employee's hypothetical 3 weeks of accumulated time are exhausted. Shramek stated that the 12 weeks begins at the point that the department head tells them they will begin counting the time as FMLA leave. Conger said that they could do it on the first day that they are sick. Shramek said that was correct and why they want to initiate the paperwork, so that there is a paper trail to show the employee has been informed. Shramek stated that part of the FMLA requirements is having a posting of employees' rights under the Act.

Jordahl stated that in the case of birth of a child, placement/adoption, etc. that a crafty employee could take vacation first so they would not have to substitute it. Shramek stated that many people want to take all of their vacation because they can not go without a pay check. She stated that very few people will be requesting unpaid leave. In response to Bolkcom's request for an example, Shramek stated that in the case of a female employee taking time off for birth of child, she might put in a request for the full 12 weeks. She might have 6 weeks of sick time, after her 6 weeks of sick time she would have 6 weeks of unpaid time. They would require her to use half of her available vacation. Conger questioned the 12 weeks of unpaid leave, she stated that unpaid leave assumes that it does not include sick leave. Shramek stated that the law requires an employee to be granted 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but because the County has good benefits and they have sick leave most of the employees' leave will be paid under the sick leave policy. It depends upon if it is a personal illness or if its family related. If it is family related it could be a 3 day limit. She stated that according to the law all of the 12 weeks could be paid if they wanted, but they do not have provisions to do that. Redlinger stated that it did not mean that you could take 6 weeks of paid sick leave and then 12 weeks of unpaid sick leave. Shramek said that was correct. That was what they wanted to avoid because an employee who had accumulated 120 days of sick leave, could use all of their sick leave, then use all of their vacation and comp time. Then they could ask for an additional 12 weeks of unpaid leave for either a family of medical request. She stated that because they have never informed the employee that they would count the sick or vacation as FMLA, the employee could take that time off also.

Dunlap asked if an employee has used up their sick leave and half of their vacation that counts against the FMLA. Redlinger and Shramek stated you could as long as the employee had been notified. Shramek stated that was why it was very important to inform her when an employee makes a request. Conger asked what would happen if the employee did not come to the department head requesting 12 weeks FMLA time until they had used their vacation and sick time. Shramek stated that they would have to grant that time. She said it was their responsibility to manage those circumstances and notify them, if they are off for a long period of time, that they complete the request form. Musser said the upside of this was he had just had an employee who had completely exhausted their sick leave and vacation time. He stated that the FMLA probably saved his widow from financial disaster. He stated that the employee was in about his 6th or 7th week of FMLA time. He said that the County was still paying for the 2 months that he was ill. He stated that if it were not for the 6th or 7th week of the FMLA time he would have been uncovered. Musser stated that he had to take him off of the pay roll, but he was still covered by the County. He stated that this was the upside of the FMLA and why the law existed. Bolkcom agreed it was a good law.

Board of Supervisors Administrative Assistant Carol Peters left at 3:32 p.m., returned 3:36 p.m.

Shramek discussed the FMLA request form that the employee would fill out. She said the employee would use multiple choice to fill it out, note the starting date of leave, estimated length of leave requested which could be corrected later if recovery was sooner or later than expected. Conger asked if the 12 weeks had to be taken consecutively. Shramek said no, that an employee could request intermittent leave. She cited an example from her previous job where an employee took leave every Wednesday to provide care for her father. Shramek said it could be half a day or hours. She said if the total of the intermittent leave would exceed 2 weeks they would want the employee to fill out FMLA paperwork. Bolkcom stated that the Board was moving toward adoption of this policy because it they felt it was important that all the departments start doing the same thing. He said that if anyone had concerns or question about it they should contact one of the members of the Board or Shramek. He said it was not currently on the Board's agenda, but they would try to do that shortly.

Shramek stated that the Certification of Physician or Practitioner is a formal governmental form from the Department of Labor. The doctor's office fills them out already. After the employee turns in a request form they will receive the Employer Response to Employee Request for Family or Medical Leave form which specifies how their benefits will be handled, what type of communication regarding their continued leave recommended by their doctor, and other information. Lewis asked if there was a form to notify the employee that they are on paid Johnson County leave. Shramek stated that she wanted to make it clear that this was not only for unpaid leave. She said that most of the employees will probably have all of their leave paid. She said they would definitely want to count that time if it was going to be 2 weeks or more. Shramek stated that in the example of an employee of Lewis' taking leave for 6 weeks the employee would fill out the same form. The employee would check the information applicable to them. Whitney stated that people do not want to do that. She said to them it does not seem important when they are going to have paid leave. Lewis said it might be an issue since employees are not requesting unpaid leave. Shramek stated that this was a way to implement a 12 month look back period to make sure the employee had not yet used their 12 weeks.

Jordahl asked if the FMLA form could be linked to the normal sick leave and/or vacation policy, in such a manner that if the employee's absence exceeds 2 weeks they could no longer access their regular benefit without filling out the form. Shramek said that would have to come from the managers. County Attorney Pat White said that the language in the Notice paragraph stated 1 week or more, rather than 2 weeks. He said that assuming the Board adopted this version or something similar the requirement would become a condition of employment. He said that every employee would be required by the policy to complete the form. Shramek stated that one week or more was her original recommendation, but after meeting with White she changed it to 2 weeks. Bolkcom stated that they really need to have department heads paying attention to completion of the forms. White agreed, forms need to be distributed and available. White stated this was one of the things they identified when they first discussed what the Human Resources Administrator was going to do. He said the County was getting by, but it did not have the oversight and consistency needed in records in case of dispute, lawsuit, or a challenge. He stated that it was very important that Shramek be notified so she would be aware and ensure records are in order. Shramek stated that the last sheet of the form was important for Auditor's Office Payroll Clerk Diane Kaster so she could process payroll. Bolkcom told the Board that they probably would be ready to go in the next couple of weeks on this. Bolkcom thanked Shramek for her work on FMLA.

Bolkcom stated that they had a contract that is being reviewed. He said the item is on the Board of Supervisors' agenda for Thursday night to approve the agreement with Synchrony. Shramek said that there was a subcommittee which evaluated different Employee Assistance Programs. The subcommittee recommended Synchrony and the University of Iowa. She said they were looking of an effective date of Monday, November 16th. Employees that would like to immediately receive services from the employee assistance program may do so beginning that day. She said that employees could refer to Synchrony even though the contract was not yet signed.

Shramek stated the first step in implementing the Employee Assistance Program is to inform employees of the benefit. Shramek stated that Paula Kelly of Synchrony, along with Ron Burg of MECCA, usually conducts employee informational sessions which usually run 20 to 30 minutes. These information sessions cover what employee assistance means, confidentiality of the program, and other information. Shramek stated that Kelly is available on a flexible basis except for Monday and Wednesday afternoons. Shramek said she asked Kelly to indicate major blocks of time perhaps full mornings or full days to present to the departments. She suggested that they pass this around so departments could begin signing up for times. Shramek listed the times Kelly would be available to meet with departments. Shramek stated that the information session could accommodate a large group of people. Shramek felt that the Employee Assistance Program is something that the County would benefit from greatly. She stated it was only $8,000 for all of the County employees. County Engineer Mike Gardner asked if the sessions could take place somewhere other than the Administration Building. Shramek replied that the session could be out at Secondary Roads or elsewhere if facilities were available. Shramek said that ideally it would be a good idea to have the sessions during regular staff meetings. Dewey asked if Kelly had other times than the ones listed. Shramek said that Kelly did. Lewis asked if Kelly had any kind of informational sheet. Shramek said that Kelly would be delivering some posters that would be put in department head mailboxes that can be displayed in each department office. Mosher asked how they should go about making a referral. Shramek stated that the employee could either call Synchrony or go directly over there. Stutsman said that Synchrony is located on Holiday Road in Coralville. White stated it is a division of MECCA, but it is located on Holiday Road not at MECCA. Sullivan said he appreciated the County beginning this program. Bolkcom agreed and Stutsman said they were glad to have it in place.

Bolkcom stated that the Board has scheduled a time for Thursday, December 3rd at 3:30 p.m. in the Board Room to meet with the State Legislators. He said that departments might have issues they could present and discuss with the legislators. He asked for topics from department heads in order to generate a list of topics. He said in the past they have put the issue on a piece of paper that describes the problem and a potential solution to that problem. He said maybe they could have 3 to 5 minutes for the department to present that issue. Stutsman stated that in the past the legislators appreciated documentation that could be included with the proposal because it helps them make a case before the Legislature. Bolkcom asked if anyone had any issues at the time that they might like to present.

Musser asked if they were thinking of presenting more specific/local issues or broader items, such as the ISAC priority, 60% amendment and others. White said that the closer they could come to ISAC's priorities the better. He said it will help ISAC and their item will have a better chance. White said they should do other things if they need to. Stutsman thought that they also need to address some local issues that are relevant to Johnson County, such as juvenile detention costs. She said it may not be an ISAC priority, but it was important. Musser said that was his question also. White said he knows the legislators will hear about ISAC priorities, but it's still a big help if the local delegation can hear from department heads how the ISAC priorities effect them. Bolkcom asked if the Board would like to receive the issues written on handouts from the department heads prior to the meeting. Stutsman said that would be most helpful in order to coordinate. Bolkcom asked that department heads give their handouts to the Board by December 1st so they could be copied.

Duffy left at 3:52 p.m., returned 3:54 p.m.

Board of Supervisors Administrative Assistant Carol Peters stated that they have heard back from 3 of the legislators so far that they will not be able to make the meeting. She said she was assuming that those she had not heard from were coming. Jordahl suggested the department heads submit issues and proposals electronically in order to use the computer projector. Bolkcom said that they did want to have paper copies for the legislators. Jordahl agreed, but said he was talking about others who might attend the meeting. Bolkcom said they should just make copies for the guests. Peters said she would send copies to those legislators who could not attend. Bolkcom said he hoped everybody could make it to the meeting and come up with an issue.

McGinley stated that he and Physical Plant Director Pat Langenberg had met a few times over the past few months. He said that within the last week they had placed indoor radios in the Administration Building and at the Courthouse. He said they cost $450 per radio. He said that if they were to install radios in each department it would be very expensive. He said he would appreciate it if the Board would consider assisting in the funding of the radios. He said the radios give information that apply directly to Johnson County, they are activated by the Sheriff's Department. McGinley stated that department heads could have information seconds after the authorities receive it. He said that he and Langenberg had also discussed assisting each of the department heads determine what they would want to cover in their building's emergency plan. He said he did not think it would be smart to have only one emergency plan for all of the buildings. He said the plan would probably consist of half a page to a page of information. He stated he would prefer not to pick out the safe areas in a building himself, but to reach agreement about safe areas for each building. Jordahl stated it would be nice to have a date by which they would have emergency building plans completed. He pointed out that they had had a couple of disaster situations in the last year and the County should get plans in place. McGinley said he had no objections to that. He said they could probably get the plans completed within the next months if department heads have time.

Bolkcom asked how many department heads would like help with this. Bolkcom said it looked like about everybody would want help with this. Langenberg stated that they had set radios up in the County Attorney's Office because they usually have people in the office during the day and night. He said he also placed one in the Auditor's Office because they are first in and last out, but Information Services also has people staying late. He noted that the Board has many night meetings and wondered if they would like one with them too. Lacina asked if there was an alternative, he said for the same cost as the radios they could have a cell phone system and phone tree. He suggested that they could use the phones for other purposes whereas the radios have only one specific purpose. McGinley stated that when their is a potential disaster the Sheriff's department is very busy. He said he did not know if they would be in agreement with accepting additional requirement for notification. Whitney stated that the cell phones did not work during the June 29th storm because the service was too busy. Lacina stated that they were probably not looking at one radio per department as much as one radio per site.

Bolkcom asked if it was possible to talk on the radios or if they were just informational. McGinley said it gives notification from the National Weather Service and/or the Sheriff's department. The Sheriff's department turns on each radio and relays the messages to the radios. He stated that there are also pagers that can be removed from the radios that can be carried to the safe spot so they could continue to receive messages. Bolkcom recalled that one of the issues of the June 29th storm was the ability to communicate between departments. Jordahl suggested regular radio communications. Sullivan noted that in a large disaster there would always be communication problems. He said that the idea of a building emergency plan was a good start so that employees would be aware of safe places to go.

Whitney and Jensen left at 4:01 p.m.

Bolkcom stated that radio communication would be an added component that they ought to research the costs on. Jordahl asked if citizens band radio would be disrupted during a storm. Sullivan said it might be as disrupted as typical communication, but networking that is more difficult than any other type of communication system. McGinley said they should keep in mind that the radios are strictly indoor warning systems. Jordahl suggested that they could conceivably buy a radio capable of 2 way communication that would cost less than $450 per site. McGinley asked who would alert them on that radio. Stutsman suggested that they identify what they are trying to accomplish and then focus on that.

Duffy left at 4:02 p.m. and returned at 4:04 p.m.

McGinley said that there were already about 100 of the indoor warning radios in place. He said every school and hospitals already have them. The Sheriff's department, by making one announcement, makes everyone who has a radio aware of danger. He stated that if they begin to look at the Sheriff's department making multiple announcements it may generate a problem. Stutsman said that after the June 29th storm the priority was just letting people know what was going on. She said it was important for the emergency services to have communication, but it was not really important for people at the Administration Building have the ability to contact other departments. McGinley said the did not feel they would have enough trained personnel and equipment to put 2 way radios in every building in the County. Jordahl asked about the status of the mobile generators. He said it was possible that there might be a disaster at a time when it was important to have the buildings kept warm. McGinley said he was under the impression that the Board thought that putting generators in each building would be financially impractical. He said they do have generators at the Sheriff's department and Secondary Roads. He felt that they could have mobile generators, but to purchase enough generators to service all of the buildings would be a waste of tax payers' money.

Jensen returned at 4:05 p.m.; Conger left at 4:05 p.m.

Mosher asked if they needed to have a committee work on this issue. Stutsman said yes. Dvorak said he supported placing a radio in the Board of Supervisors Office that the Planning and Zoning Commission could access also. He felt it would be very beneficial to have during their night meetings. Lacina summarized that they try to install the radios, department heads work with McGinley to locate safe sites in buildings, and continue to develop emergency plans for the buildings. Bolkcom said that the department heads should work with McGinley to develop a plan per building for safety in disasters. Jordahl asked if they should suggest a date by which that be completed. Bolkcom said he did not think it would only a couple of hours of people's time to get it accomplished. McGinley noted that the next big storm was that day, Lone Tree and Solon had no power that day.

Conger returned at 4:09 p.m.; Mosher left at 4:10 p.m.

Bolkcom noted that people could complain about the department head meeting and offer suggestions on how to make it a better meeting. Conger suggested that the Board allow more time since they were halfway through the agenda. Bolkcom asked if the department heads felt the meeting served a purpose. Dewey stated that the disaster preparedness item and Shramek's report was helpful. White stated that one of the Board complaints was that no one ever talks. Bolkcom noted that it was getting better. White said he thought it depended on the topic. Dunlap said it was important if they had more items on the agenda such as discussion of the Family Medical Leave Act Policy. He said those items could be followed up by Shramek with each department. He said that he learned that day and he had questions he would like to address to Shramek directly. Dunlap said if the meeting served to give department heads and elected officials together to give them an idea of what the Board is thinking, he would prefer not to do that. He stated he would rather see something that was close to action and give ample notice of the meeting.

Musser and Redlinger left at 4:12 p.m. and returned at 4:13 p.m.

Conger questioned whether they need 2 separate meetings. She stated that when one looks at the agenda items for the department heads and elected officials many of the items are the same. She said she would like them to rethink whether they need separate meetings between elected officials and department heads to discuss the same things. Lacina stated that there was one elected official that was quite insistent on the separation. But he felt if there was going to be meaningful discussion they could all be involved in it at one time as opposed to having 2 separate meetings. Jordahl noted that the elected officials are department heads and that's why they are invited to be at the department heads meeting. But he said the issues that pertain to department heads are discussed at elected officials meetings are still department heads issues.

Stutsman left at 4:13 p.m.

Bolkcom stated that he felt the meetings do serve a purpose. He felt they would probably serve a greater purpose if they have more input from the department heads on what to include on the agenda. He said that frequently the Board is generating items that are coming up or feel the department heads need to know about. He said that they had a couple good items that day, but they do not always. He said the department heads' help was important to creating a good agenda. Bolkcom said that the Board should probably do a better job of getting out a notice a few weeks before they meet calling for agenda items. He said they would send out the notice and encouraged the department heads to not be bashful about submitting items.

Lewis left at 4:14 p.m.

Lacina stated that in the past they had discussed having a new employee orientation procedure. He said the new employee might be briefed on payroll or maybe have a tour of the County. He said they have a good tape out on County government, but they could set up a kind of general orientation. He said they need to hear from the department heads on their opinion on that. Bolkcom told Peters that they need to get a notice out a few weeks ahead of the next meeting.

Bolkcom asked if there were any questions concerning the budget. Dewey asked where the process stood and what the next step would be. She asked if everyone had submitted their budgets already. The Board said no, there had only been one budget submitted so far. Bolkcom explained that they had scheduled a series of presentations for each department that would take place through mid December. He said that the SEATS department would come in and present their to the Board like all of the other departments. From there the Board will make decisions in January about what they can and can not afford. Their would be a public hearing in February and then have certification on March 15th. He said, in terms of amendments, that they are considered by the Board throughout the year as needed. Bolkcom asked for everyone to keep working on their budgets and get them in as soon as they could. He said they realized they had pressed it a little bit by trying to get some of it done in December. He said they are scheduled to begin reviewing departmental requests on December 2nd at 9 o'clock. He stated that if anyone needed a copy of the schedule they should see Board of Supervisors Deputy Administrative Assistant Deana Pillard. Bolkcom noted that the Board would be very interested to get department heads' analysis about how the budget process went. He encouraged everyone to keep notes on the process.

White stated that the Space Needs Committee made a report to the Board a couple of weeks previous, looking for guidance and direction. He said the Board had given them authorization to proceed on several fronts. The Committee has identified 2 short term priorities, the Department of Human Services (DHS) being the largest challenge. He said they had looked at a variety of options for DHS, some more permanent than others. He said in the coming weeks they would exploring whether it would be possible to acquire a site on Mall Drive for a building project. He said this did not mean it would work or the current owners would sell, or sell at an affordable price. He said it's a priority because they are in a lease that expires in 3 years. He stated the second short-term priority is jail location. He said it's clear to everybody that they need to act on jail overcrowding. He said they need to identify what a footprint would be for a larger, expanded jail for the University. He said they have contracted with someone to do that and they would take it back to the University to negotiate for more space at the current site. He said it doesn't mean that the jail building is a year or 2 years away. He said they are still trying to determine whether they can make a jail expansion work at that location.

White then listed longer term projects. He said the County should continue to discuss with the National Guard the possibility of acquiring the Armory site. He sees that as being a 5-10 year project because it would involve Department of Defense and legislative funding and they don't have any specific relocation plan. He stated the Board has agreed to position themselves to acquire property in the block immediately north of this building, surrounded by Benton, Dubuque, Lafayette and Clinton. He said they should position themselves by developing a financial plan and resources so that if and when people owning property in that block are ready to sell them, they could acquire them as a potential growth site. White said the Board has also supported the City of Coralville placing an ambulance in the Coralville Fire Department. He said a long term goal is to find a long-term site for an ambulance in the Coralville, North Liberty, or North Corridor area. He said the committee hopes to cooperate with Coralville to acquire a site, which Coralville could use as a fire substation and that the County could use as an ambulance substation. Bolkcom said there was a lot of activity going on and they just need to find the money.

Bolkcom stated the Board of Supervisors decided to keep their office open until 5 p.m. He said he hopes it will provide a little more service to members of the public. Conger asked if anything else is required to move from a 37.5 to a 40 hour work week, if the union contract was effective at all. White said there would be some individual employee issues but that doesn't effect how much a department is open. Lacina stated a difference would be if you were in the bargaining unit. He said they extended one employee 2 and half hours by flexing management. He said if you are doing it within the bargaining unit, you have to deal with the lunch hour and breaks. Conger said she was referring to moving to a 40 hour week, not flex time. Lacina said she needed to look at the lunch hour and the total hours of exposure to the public versus the work hours she's got. Lacina said they may have to pick up a part-time employee if they determine it's necessary. White said he recommends they start doing this with new hires or volunteers, rather than ordering existing employees to a longer workweek or different hours. He said they should talk about each individual employee. Jordahl said if you make the lunch hour an hour instead of half an hour, it gets you to 5:00. Conger said it looks like more than an issue of putting it in your budget. Bolkcom said voluntary is the key here. White said they could start new hires with a slightly different work day.

Duffy said it costs tax payers money. He said they need more help in the offices. Redlinger said the 4:00 closing is attractive to young married people because their kids get home from school around that time. He said his people would rather work from 7 to 4, than from 8 to 5. Jordahl stated the question was paralleling the normal work day when people expect them to be open. Redlinger stated his people take time off work. McGinley asked if it would be practical to be open one evening until 7. Jordahl said that was a good suggestion. Lacina stated that Linn County Secondary Roads Department runs 4 10 hour work shifts. He said they need to work with individual employees. Dvorak asked if there has been a needs assessment to see if they can justify the cost of increasing the hours. Lacina said Iowa City studied the City Assessor's Office. He said the study showed there was seasonal demand at appeal time but after 3, the external demand was minimal. Jordahl stated there were a variety of services provided by different offices that indicate different types of needs. Redlinger said the bottom line was if they were willing to pay for it. Bolkcom asked if members of the public were willing to pay more for better service. He said he thinks they are. Redlinger asked if they were going to let a minority decide their hours. He said they do almost 90 percent of their business by mail. He asked if they were going to charge those people more money to stay open longer. Bolkcom said he wanted to provide their services in the most convenient way. Redlinger said he thinks it more of a political question than a service question. Duffy said he did too. Bolkcom said he didn't think so and told Redlinger to stand in the parking lot at 10 after 4:00 any day of the week.

Lacina said Dvorak's point was valid and there should be a study to find the most efficient use of the dollar. Jordahl stated they were similar to bankers hours. Lacina said the banks changed with the needs. Bolkcom said the study would be easy to do with a postcard survey. Dvorak said they need to quantify it with some costs too. Lacina said they are doing that for SEATS because they have some riders who need rides late at night. He stated they were looking at cab rides as opposed to keeping a vehicle and a driver for one or 2 rides. Jordahl said it becomes a silly argument because they would save the tax payers money by being open from 9 to 3 too. He thinks it is a basic expectation to be open from 8 to 5. Dvorak said it was a basic expectation of the employees who were hired from 8 to 4 and it would inconvenience the employees because it would affect babysitters and carpooling. Bolkcom stated he's not aware of any job that has never changed. He said people need to be a little flexible to be a productive employee. Dvorak said they expect to work the same hours. Duffy said he gets more calls at home. Musser said they should think about when the public comes in. He said 10 to 2 is busy, rather than 8 and 4. He said he doesn't think people who can't make the time to come in want the service very badly. Dewey said sometimes you have to think about where those people are employed though. She said a needs study does need to be done. She said they did a needs assessment in transit and they found people wanted the phones open at 7:00 so they could make ride arrangements before work. Duffy said a lot of County employees stay late or come in on Saturday. Lacina said next year they might want to do some strategic planning and find out when the peak times are. Lacina cited Clerk of Court Ed Steinbrech office hours. Redlinger said those employees weren't really fond of that. Lacina said each department will be different. White said the Clerk of Court's Office hours was the most insensitive policy decision he had seen in years. Conger said she has had people call her at 10 at night and she has put together their marriage license for them. Jordahl asked who would do the survey. Bolkcom said they need another committee. Jordahl said they need some volunteers. He said Stutsman just went to a Reinventing Government course, in which they talked about customer satisfaction surveys. Duffy said they need to ask if they want to pay for it. Conger said it's not just a question of walk-ins. Bolkcom said they could have a survey in the Community News too if they decide to do that.

Schultz left at 4:30 p.m. and returned at 4:34 p.m.

The department heads and elected officials decided to meet again on Tuesday, January 26th at 1:00 p.m.

Recessed at 4:45 p.m.

(Continued in Part 6)