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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance 10-20-08 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING AND AGENDA 'x ST. CROIX COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE DATE AND TIME: Monday October 20, 2008 —1:30 P.M. LOCATION: Room 1281, St. Croix County Government Center, 1101 Carmichael Road Hudson, Wisconsin CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING: November 6, 2008 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: October 9, 2008 OLD AND NEW BUSINESS: 1. Review of Bond Sale and County Board Resolution 2. 2009 Budget Review and Preparation 3. 2009 New Positions 4. Closed session pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 19.85 (1) (f) for preliminary consideration of specific persorulel problems which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of persons involved in the problems. Reconvene in open session. ADJOURN (Items may be taken in different order) * * Additions /Changes /Corrections Items for County Board approval must be submitted to the County Clerk's office by Wednesday morning preceding a County Board meeting. 12:58 PM 10/17/2008 MINUTES OF THE ST. CROIX COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE October 20, 2008 Official Meeting called to order by Chair Standafer at 1:30 PM MEMBERS PRESENT: Daryl Standafer, Esther Wentz, Clarence Malick, Dave Peterson & Sharon Norton - Bauman. Absent: None OTHERS PRESENT: Administrative Coordinator Chuck Whiting, Finance Director Michelle Pietrick, Human Resources Administrator Tammy Funk, Corporation Counsel Greg Timmerman, Director Building Services Art Tobin, Manager Director Health & Human Services Fred Johnson, Manager Department on Aging Brad Beckman, Supervisor Dave Ostness, Supervisor Dick King, Supervisor Julie Speer, Supervisor Buzz Marzolf, Norm Matzek, Shirley Matzek, Amy Sabelko, Recording Secretary. ADOPTION OF AGENDA: Motion by Wentz, 2nd by Norton - Bauman to adopt the agenda, motion carried unanimously. DATE OF NEXT MEETING: November 6, 2008 APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING: Motion by Norton - Bauman to approve the October 9Th meeting minutes, 2nd by Malick, motion carried unanimously. OLD & NEW BUSINESS: 1. Review of Bond Sale and County Board Resolution The County received 6 bids on the sale of the Counts bonds with the low bid at a pre - interest cost of 4.02 %. The coupons will range from 4 - 4 1 /2% and the company is providing premiums which reduce the total of the Countys interest cost. Low bid was Robert W. Baird & Company out of Milwaukee. The 2nd lowest bid was 4.08 %. Pietrick and Springsted are recommending that the bond sale be awarded to Robert W. Baird & Company. This will be brought to County Board for approval tomorrow. Malick made motion that Finance Committee recommend award of bonds to Baird & Company at 4.02 %, 2nd by Wentz, this will include the interest rate and the company, motion carried unanimously. Marzolf asked question about the Counts current bond rating and how the new bond sale will affect our bond rating. The Counts bond rating has not changed, it is a Aa3. 2. 2009 Budget Review and Preparation As of today the Counts deficit in budget requests is approximately $98,044. The LAW union is not included, step increases for non - represented employees are included but flat dollar increases for non - represented employees are not. Health insurance numbers have been finalized and are included in the current budget summary. The original premium numbers show up separate from the health insurance numbers and also includes the amount for funding of the Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). The current budget summary has non - represented employees funded with the HRA medical plan, and at this point Human Resources believes that most represented employees will take the HRA medical plan. The Committee discussed the health insurance premium policy. Calculation of health insurance premium rates has been based on annual exposure that the County has or 125% of anticipated claims. The policy that the County has for calculation of claims states that the premiums should be calculated based on 100% of anticipated claims rather than 125 %. The difference is approximately $270,000. Whiting brought up 2 concerns: 1) that the County could see a rebound in premiums next year with less of an available fund balance, and 2) The reduction could offset the $70,000 HRA liability and act as seed funding of $200,000 for the Retirement Health Savings Account (R[ or could be used for other purposes in the budget. Malick indicated that perhaps a good plan would be to apply half of the money to the 2009 budget and half to the 2010 budget. Timmerman stated that under the present policy the County is funding the account in excess of what the plan allows. Timmerman said the County could change the current policy to fund the health insurance account at 125% or fund it at the 100% limit. The County is covered for 15 months of claims and pay for this in the 12 month period. Whiting would not recommend changing the plan for the transition. Funk indicated that enrollment forms received to date show that preliminarily most union employees are selecting the HRA medical plan. Malick said that he would encourage a change in the plan which would require funding at 112.5% the first year and 100% the second year. Timmerman said there is no concern regarding the liquidity of the health insurance fund. Norton -Bauman asked Whiting to explain how the $270,000 is reflected in the current budget. Whiting explained that it is currently reflected in the medical premium cost. The County is self- insured and the money in the medical fund is to 1 pay for any claims that are incurred, and still allow for reserves. Timmerman explained that the reserve amount has nothing to do with paying claims, the funds have been set up should the County change carriers, go from self - insured to fully insured, pays for consulting fees, etc. To increase or decrease the funding percentage would not be advisable at this time, but Timmerman said it warrants further discussion. The reserve is considered a contingency fund for laser claims. Peterson asked whether taking the excess amount of money out of the account would affect the County's health care fund negatively and Whiting stated it would not. The County's actuary sets a dollar amount for the County estimating the cost of claims for the next year. On an annual basis the County funds 125% of the estimated claims cost. Marzolf asked about the current health insurance fund balance and whether or not the funds are invested in an interest bearing account. Pietrick explained that all County funds are deposited in interest bearing accounts. Standafer said that the Committee needs to determine whether or not to reduce the health insurance premium further per the policy to decrease the overall budget. King asked what the health insurance premiums will be for 2009 and how they were determined, and how the Finance Committee came up with the sales tax amount. King said that if there is excess money in the health insurance account then the County should take this money out and utilize it to balance the budget. Whiting explained the health insurance numbers to King, and Standafer explained how the Committee came up with the sales tax amount. Malick made a motion that the County re- calculates health insurance premiums using the health insurance reserve fund over a 2 year period, 2nd by Norton - Bauman. Clarification of motion from Standafer stated that the County would calculate an increase of 12 1h % from the current policy to 112 1 /2 % of anticipated claims in 2009, and reduce to 100% in 2010. Motion carried unanimously. Policy will be brought to the Committee on November 6th prior to the County Board meeting on the 11th. Building Services Tobin submitted information to the Committee regarding Roof Specs analysis of the Government Center building. When Roof Specs did infiltration tests on the roof, problem areas were located on the east and west side of the building. On the east side of the building cracks were located that could not be explained from the roof. There are 3 areas of concern around the building: 1) Transition between brick and limestone, 2) Lintel areas over the windows, and 3) Through -wall flashing which is between the Government Center wall and the lower flat roof area over the jail, there are leaks in all 3 areas. At this time Tobin and Roof Specs have not looked at the interior of the building, however, all testing will be completed by October 31St. On the west side there are concerns regarding the lintels over the windows and the walls. There are water problems on the walls. Standafer asked what the dimension of the problem was and Tobin said it was on the whole west side. Tobin said that he does not have cost numbers for the Committee at this time but will provide a partial answer to the Committee by November 6, 2008. Pietrick said the County would have to borrow for this project since it is not in the budget at this time. Tobin said that Roof Specs is going to look at the entire building. Standafer said the Finance Committee needs to know the dimensions of the problem, magnitude of the fix, time frame of the fix, dollar amount to complete the project and that Tobin and Roof Specs have looked at the integrity of the entire building. Whiting explained the County Board power point presentation and what the Finance Committee has done to eliminate the deficit. Whiting went to other departments in the County and received additional decreases for the budget. The current budget does not include any improvements for the Health & Human Services building. LAW salary negotiations and non - represented employee increases are not included in the budget. Malick indicated that Whiting should add the Hudson building problems which Tobin brought to Finance to the presentation. There are still 2 new positions in the budget. The Committee discussed options regarding the LAW negotiations & capitol outlay for the County Fair. Motion by Malick to remove the capitol outlay item for $27,955 from the County Fair budget, 2nd by Norton - Bauman, motion carried unanimously. Pietrick stated that she had already taken 5% from the County Fair's budget prior to the removal of the capitol outlay item. Wentz asked if the rest of the entries on the minutes from October 9th were taken out of the budget summary provided today and Pietrick provided information to the Committee regarding the items removed prior to the summary received in today's meeting. Motion by Malick that the County Board meetings for February and July be canceled to save approximately $4,100, 2nd by Peterson, motion carried unanimously. Motion by Norton - Bauman that the Committee reduce the Parks department budget cut by $11,000, 2nd by Malick, motion carried unanimously. (Return $11,000 so Parks cuts equal $50,000) Pietrick said that a copy of the budget summary and detail sheets will be provided to the County Board and then walked the Gommittee through the current budget summary and detail sheets explaining the entries made since the last Committee meeting. Clerk of Court budget has been reduced by approximately $32,000, the Finance Committee previously approved the 5% Medical Examiner budget in September, County Clerk budget was decreased by the cost of 1 computer due to the computer cuts that were identified by the Director of Information Technology (IT), additional budget cuts came from Human Resources, IT, Finance, County Treasurer, Child Support, Veterans Service budget was reduced by $3,300, Economic development budget was reduced by 5 %, a $10,162 decrease has been posted to the 2 Register of Deeds budget, Building Services budget was decreased by the capitol outlay items noted at the meeting on October 9th, Risk Management reductions were a result of health insurance and WI retirement changes which also reduced the revenue for this department, the Sheriff's budget was reduced an additional $6,000 due to the cost of additional computer cuts, Emergency Management budget has increased because employee is electing to take health insurance in 2009, County Jail budget was reduced by the cost of 1 computer, by removing the capitol outlay item in Building Services for the air condenser unit this also reduced the Nursing Home budget by $34,000, and computers identified by IT also reduced the Nursing Home budget by $12,600. Johnson provided information to the Committee regarding the reductions made to meet the requested reduction of $350,000. Economic Support budget was decreased by $15,000, increased revenue by approximately $20,000, in Administration decreased budget by computers, lowered purchased services, reduced 2 staff members, 1 with a salary of $95,000 and the other with a salary of $44,000, elimination of 1 vehicle totaling $15,000, Children's wrap around program (YCSS) decreased by $50,000 & purchased services were decreased by $25,000, decreased purchased services in the Behavioral Health department by $55,000, Family & Children's purchased service contracts decreased by $20,000. Motion by Norton - Bauman to remove the tabled motion from the October 9th meeting, 2nd by Malick, motion carried unanimously. The Committee discussed the budget request for the Register of Deeds office. Speer brought up the EDC and that they could continue these duties in a different location. Speer complimented their work but does not see a need for this department in the Government Center building. Standafer stated that one of the comments in the narrative of the bond rating is that the County is heavily reliant on taxes that come from households as opposed to diversification of the tax base on industrial and commercial. Because of this negative in the County bond rating it would not seem pertinent to drop the one thing that is diversifying the commercial and industrial tax base and improve our posture. Standafer asked for a vote on the motion to remove $50,000 from the Register of Deeds budget, motion carried 3 -2 with Wentz and Peterson voting no. 3. 2009 New Position Johnson, Funk and Beckman presented a job description and information regarding the need for a Nutrition Program Coordinator position for 19 hours a week Motion made by Malick to approve the Nutrition Program Coordinator description & position, 2nd by Peterson. Discussion regarding the need for the position, how it will be funded and what the position will do. Motion carried unanimously. Johnson & the Committee discussed the Economic Support position and the opportunity to add 1 additional staff member to assist with the current work load, and to allow the County to meet performance standards. Wentz stated that the County is currently out of compliance with the State. Standafer asked if there were other ways to come to the same result without adding staff and Johnson said that he was not aware of another way. The need for the position is purely due to volume and completing processes correctly and timely. Malick suggested that the County hire this position at this time rather than waiting until January 11t pending County Board approval. Motion by Wentz to move the Economic Support position forward, 2nd by Malick, motion carried unanimously. 4. Closed session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes § 19.85 (1) (f) for preliminary consideration of specific personnel problems which, if discussed in public, would be likely to have a substantial adverse effect upon the reputation of persons involved in the problems. Reconvene into open session. Motion by Norton - Bauman to go into closed session, 2nd by Peterson. Role call indicated Committee voted to go into closed session at 4:42 PM. Reconvened into open session and adjourned at 5:44 PM Sharon Norton - Bauman, Secretary Amy Sabelko, Recording Secretary 3