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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance 07-07-954 AMENDED ST. CROIX COUNTY NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING TO: Robert M. Boche, Chair St. Croix County Board FROM: Donald Brown, Chair COMMITTEE TITLE: FINANCE DATE: July 7, 1995 TIME: 9*00 A.M. LOCATION: St. Croix County CALL TO ORDER Government Center ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING: August 9, 1995 ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Review of Vouchers 2. Pat Collins - DNR/Spa Site Cleanup 3. Maintenance Person for Jail 4. Reconsideration of Land Information 5. Transcripts NEW BUSINESS: 1. Administrative Coordinator Report 9 Policy 2. Finance Director A. 1996 Budget Instructions 3. Position Request for Judges 9:45 A.M. 4. Personnel Report 5. Computer Service Report A. Long Range Plan 10:00 A.M. 6. Corporation Counsel Report 7. Discussion on Hiring Freeze for St. 8. Clerk of Court Report ANNOUNCEMENTS & CORRESPONDENCE: POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNEMENT (Agenda DATE: 6/29/95 COPIES TO: County County County Croix County not necessarily presented in this order) Board Office Clerk Departments *ADDITIONS/CHANGES/CORRECTIONS News Media/Notice Board County Board MINUTES OF THE ST. CROIX COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE Meeting of July 7, 1995 The meeting was called to order by Chair Brown at 9:00 A.M. Roll call was taken with Brown, Bradley, O' Connell, Boche and Oemichen in attendance. Also in attendance for all or portions of the meeting were Supervisors Ron Raymond and Karen Bailey, Clarence Malick and Barb Blaisdell representing the Dept. on Aging, members of the press, Planning Director Dave Fodroczi, Computer Services Director Bruce Callen, Sheriff Paul Burch, Facilities Director Ralph Robole, Zoning/ Administrator Tom Nelson, Corporation Counsel Greg Timmerman, Administrative Coordinator John Krizek and Finance Director Rich Loney, who served as acting secretary. A motion was made by Oemichen, seconded by O'Connell, to approve the agenda, Motion carried. It was noted that the next meeting is scheduled for 9:00 A.M. Wednesday, August 9, 1995. Previous Minutes: Regarding the minutes from the previous meeting of June 9th, Loney noted that Nursing Home Administrator Carolyn Krieger had requested the follow- ing change: On page #2, the third paragraph under Health and Human Services, re- write the second and third sentence as follows: Some of these residents are from the Amery Hospital. The Amery Nursing Home is at full capacity. Also, Clerk of Court Lori Meyer had requested a change in the wording of the minutes regarding her report at the top of page A. The Committee felt the minutes accurately reflected the discussion and changed only the last word of the first paragraph on page #4 from "explanation" to "recommendation". A motion was made by Bradley, seconded by Oemichen, to approve the minutes as adjusted. Motion carried. Vouchers: Brown said he had reviewed the vouchers with staff and found no irregulari- ties. A motion was made by Oemichen, seconded by Bradley, to approve the vouchers. Motion carried. Depta on Aging Request: O'Connell noted that Clarence Malick was in attendance and asked that the Committee consider a Contingency Fund transfer request for Department on Aging van trepairs, Malick said that air conditioning units in two of their vans had recently failed with a firm cost estimate of $800 to repair one, the other expected to be approximately the same. Brown asked if the Departments capital replacement money could be used for this purpose. The issue was tabled until later in the meeting. Fortner Spa Site Clean-up: Mr. Pat Collins from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Mr. Scott McCurdy representing Cedar Corporation and Zoning Administrator Tom Nelson met with the Committee to discuss clean-up of the former Spa site in the Village of Hammond. In discussing the condition of the structure, Brown said he felt it to be poor and that consideration should be given o perhaps burning it and removing the debris. Collins reviewed the history of the site, noting that contamination had been an issue since early 1994. He said there appears to be an area of contamination existing which is four to six feet below the level which has been examined, noting that he is not sure how widespread this area may be as portions of it may be under the building. Also, the possibility exists that there may be a fuel storage tank(s) buried under the structure. McCurdy said he concurred with Collins, noting that a test pit which had been dug to a depth of eight feet by the water main at the front (west side) of the building indicated a level of contamination which exceeds acceptable levels. However, it is not possible to go lower with a hand auger or back hoe. Borings around the area do not indicate excessive levels of contamination. It is necessary to go lower in the described area with boring equipment to get analytical data necessary to define the area of contamination. He said it would be much easier to analyze with the structure removed. Collins also said that removal of the building would enhance the ability to examine the site, clean it up and ultimately lead to remediation. ®emlchen said he felt the County is bearing all of the responsibility here and that the DNR has not made an effort to contact other potential responsible parties (PRP's) under statutes. Timmerman agreed with this. Collins said he felt it is the obligation of the current owner (St. Croix County) to proceed with making such a determination. Boche asked what would happen if nothing further were done at the site. Collins said the situa- tion needs further analysis to determine the extent of the contamination and that the problem as then defined needs to be addressed. It was noted that, at one time, the Spa site did serve as a filling station. McCurdy said that, to finalize definition of the problem, an additional three to four borings would be needed. When complete, this would also identify any underground storage tanks) which may exist. Brown said he felt the goal here is to be able to grant clear title to the property. Collins said that would involve satisfying the DNR. He noted that exca- vating of the area would allow for a determination to be made of limits of the contamina- tion. Bradley said he felt the structure should be razed, borings completed and the contamination removed so the property can be sold and placed back on the tax rolls. Oemichen repeated his concern that all PRP's be identified and contacted so St. Croix Co. could get all the financial help possible for the project. O'Connell asked Collins what alerted the DNR to the site in the first place, to which Col- lins said the Village of Hammond water utility had made observations in the area and also that they were aware St. Croix County had taken ownership of the site. Brown said the County wants to be a responsible party and he felt should proceed in the easiest manner possible. Oemichen said he would like Corporation Counsel to speak with DNR staff and have other PRP's on record. Also, he would like the DNR to warranty that removal of the build- ing would not extend St. Croix County's liability at the site. Boche asked if the DNR would be satisfied when the County has cleaned up the site. Collins said that, upon conclusion, we would have to document the case and, assuming satisfactory review by DNR, they would issue a letter of no further action required and close the case. Boche noted the clean-up project undertaken some years ago by the Highway Department at their County Trunk Highway "N" maintenance site and this was discussed. O'Connell asked if any further action at the site would be necessary once the building was demol- ished, tanks (if located) removed and soil remediated. Collins said a close out letter would be issued after the scope of the problem was identified and action taken to elim- inate the contamination, if necessary. Bradley inquired as to the estimated cost of this. Collins said costs may be in the range of $7,000 to bore after the building is removed, somewhat less if excavation and a pit analysis were to be done. A site plan and report must then be assembled for review by the DNR. If soil remediation is necessary, it may cost in the range of $1,500 to remove and dispose of twenty to thirty cubic yards of contaminated material. Cedar Corp. has begun the process with the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations (DILHR) to qualify for contaminated site funding. After further discussion by the members, a motion was made by Bradley, seconded by Oemichen, to request the Highway Department to proceed with demolition of the former Spa site in the Village of Hammond at their discretion, taking action in this regard based on the warranty from the DNR that they will not extend liability should the County proceed in this manner, and to request Corporation Counsel to examine the issue of potential responsible parties, identifying any which may exist. Motion carried with all who participated in the discussion in attendance. Zoning Contingency Fund Request: Nelson requested Committee consideration of a Contingency Fund transfer in the amount of $2,703, the cost to replace the engine on the Zoning Department's 1990 Ford Ranger truck. The unit has approximately 88,000 miles and no warranty coverage for this exists. He said the unit had been repaired after con- sulting with Supervisor Dorsey and Krizek. Boche asked if the work could be funded through existing resources. Nelson said the Zoning budget does not contain money for this type of expenditure. A motion was made by Oemichen, seconded by Brown, to approve the transfer of up to $2,703 from the Contingency Fund to Zoning, pending the status of the Zoning budget at year end. Motion carried. The issue of Board of Adjustment filing fees was briefly discussed. Dept. on Aging Request (continued): Returning to the Dept. on Aging van repair issue, Malick noted that the Department's van replacement fund has two components* $26,000 in State Department of Transportation (DOT) funding and $43,330.75 in local money. Use of the DOT funding would require State approval. Malick said he did not feel that capital replacement money should be used for this type of expenditure, noting that the Department had ear marked this money to be used for 1996 and 1997 van replacements. O'Connell said he felt the Committee should be consistent in it's approach here, noting the just concluded action regarding the Zoning vehicle, to which Oemichen and Bradley agreed. Boche asked if capital replacement money could legitimately be used for this. Malick responded that this could be done, assuming State approval of a revised expendi- ture plan. Bradley suggested using capital replacement funds for the repairs with the understanding that the Department could return to Finance with a Contingency Fund transfer request at year end, if necessary. Brown said is seemed logical to him to handle this request in the same manner the Zoning request was handled with Aging's main- tenance line being charged when the repairs are paid for and transferring line items as necessary at year end. A motion was made by Brown, seconded by Oemichen, to authorize the expenditure of existing Dept. on Aging funds for the repairs and, should a deficit exist at year end because of this, authorize transfer from the Contingency Fund of up to $1, 600. Motion carried. Hiring Freeze: The Committee discussed a possible hiring freeze for St. Croix County. Bradley said he had requested that this matter be placed on the agenda and distributed wording for a possible motion for Finance to consider as followsa Noting that we will more than likely be operating under State imposed levy restrictions more stringent than the levy freeze of 1993 and that new position requests in the amount of $80,741.64 have already been received, Bradley suggested that the time was right for this type of action. A motion was made by Bradley, seconded by Boche, to freeze all requests for new and upgraded positions in 1996 and, furthermore, to request that the Personnel Committee review and plan for the implementation of Article 4, Section 2 of the Personnel Handbook, Review of a Vacant Position, which empowers the Personnel Committee to take actions, when determined to be necessary, to review a vacant posi- tion prior to its refill. The handbook permits Personnel Committee intervention for any vacant position to determine if the refill is "necessary, cost-effective and justifiable." The Personnel Committee would be charged with setting guidelines as to what circumstanc- es would prompt a position review. Oemichen asked if positions which received funding outside of property tax dollars would be treated separately. Krizek provided background on current property tax restraint language in the budget bill, noting that the restriction is the lower of the amount eligible to be generated under the tax rate freeze of 1993 formula or 4 % over the operating levy for 1995 operations, with the option to carry forward as a base up to 75 % of the amount a 4 % increase would generate to the next base year. He said that approximately $360,000 would be generat- ed by this 4 % constraint. The matter was discussed at length. Krizek noted that the budget bill also ties in extending binding arbitration with an arbitrator required to give greatest weight to local economic characteristics. Krizek noted that he felt the budget bill does contain some very positive items. O'Connell questioned Personnel Chair Bradley as to whether or not the freeze issue had been presented to the full Personnel Committee. Bradley replied it had not. O'Connell suggested it go to Personnel first, then to Finance. Supervisor Bailey, who was present, said she had not seen or heard of the issue and had not seen requests for new positions that Bradley had referred to. Bradley said it was not his intent to be obstructionist in this, noting the need for the County to continue to provide services, but said he felt departments could work within this motion. Oemichen said that, given the state -imposed restraints, he felt it necessary to move in this direction. The Committee recessed for a brief caucus. O'Connell asked about the effect of this motion on other items included on the day's agenda. If passed, they would be moot. Oemichen said he feels this motion would reflect the position of the Finance Committee prior to the Personnel Committee meeting scheduled for July 12th. Brown said that, should the Personnel Committee agree, the issue could go before the County Board at it's August session. The matter was discussed further. Bradley noted that the matter is on the Personnel Committee agenda under #1 for new business. Reclassification requests would not be covered under this language. Brown noted that this would tighten the budget guideline process and that we may have to shift resources based on the constraints and restraints we operate under, feeling that this is the reasoning behind the motion. Bradley said he feels that department staffing levels are internal matters which can be handled through the use of creative, resourceful solu- tions developed by departments and that we simply do not have the money to fund new positions. It was noted that a joint resolution from Personnel and Finance could be developed here for presentation to the County Board, depending on actions taken. A roll call vote resulted in Bradley, O'Connell, Oemichen, Boche and Brown all voting yes. Motion unanimously carried. Jail Maintenances Sheriff Paul Burch met with the Committee to discuss the level of maintenance services being received in the jail. Burch stated his position that, in light of the action just taken by the Committee, he felt it necessary for the jail to receive at least twenty-five hours of maintenance service per week. He noted that the jail has had no maintenance since July 1 because of the departure of a person working sixteen hours per week for Maintenance. Corporation Counsel Reports Timmerman presented the Corporation Counsel's report in which he reviewed year-to-date actions which involved additional monies flowing to the County through medical assistance actions, judgments and recoveries. Facilities Reports With Facilities Manager Ralph Robole in attendance, the Committee returned to discussion of maintenance services in the jail. Brown reviewed the previous discussions and actions of the Committee. Robole reviewed his Department's 1995 goals and activities of the Department in buildings under it's responsibility. He also noted plans for future renovations to make operations more efficient and effective. Regarding the jail maintenance issue, Brown asked how Robole could work to shift around, laterally transfer, etc., to accommodate the jail. Robole said he felt the Depart- ment was stretched as is to maintain approximately 80,000 square feet per day. O'Con- nell asked if pre-release people could be used to do outside maintenance, to which Robole replied that this has been tried unsuccessfully in the past because of limits of the personnel. Robole said that, by DILHR code, court room doors which open to the secure corridor which runs to the judge's chambers cannot be locked. This presents an issue of security which the judges are very concerned with. It is possible to request a DILHR variance, but this costs $450 to file with no guarantee of successful determination. Electric door strikes could be installed which would solve the problem, a position the Safety Commit- tee favors. Brown asked that the matter be placed on the next agenda for consideration. Reconsideration of Land Information Policy: Noting that he had voted in favor of the motion at the previous meeting, a motion was made by Bradley, seconded by Brown, to reconsider the action taken at the meeting of June 9th to endorse a Land Records Budget Policy. After a brief recess, Timmerman said a motion to reconsider is not debatable. Roll call vote resulted in Bradley, O'Connell, Oemichen, Boche and Brown in Favor. Motion carried. A motion was made by Bradley, seconded by Brown, to reverse the action taken by the Finance Committee at it's meeting of June 9th to endorse a Land Records Budget Policy as proposed by the Planning and Development Committee. Bradley said he based his concern here on the fact that Oemichen was not at the meeting and, as a member of the Planning and Development Committee, should have an opportunity to speak on the issue. Also, after speaking with Loney, expressed a concern that a policy such as this which has the potential to affect budget should be considered as part of the budget process and looked at in that regard. Brown asked Timmerman to clarify the issue of how Land Records money could be used to which Timmerman responded that the issue is covered in Wisconsin Statutes and administrative code. Boche reviewed some history on the issue. Oemichen recalled a discussion at the County Board a couple of years ago which also related to the topic. Brown asked if wages and fringe benefits are allowable use of these monies for ap- proved purposes of the fund. Oemichen noted he was not at the meeting when this was discussed but understood that the policy is intended to set up a process for projects to be presented, evaluated and budgeted for. Supervisor Ron Raymond agreed, saying that Planning and Development wanted to establish an internal process to establish guidelines to facilitate the use of money in this segregated fund. Brown asked why this was being brought to Finance when state statutes and administrative code exist which cover the use of money in the fund. Planning Director Dave Fodroczi discussed the issue, also noting that funds are dedicated here to implement the land information plan and that his intent was to ask Finance to affirm the policy developed. Oemichen said he thought it would be helpful if Finance had input to the use of the fund. Krizek expressed his concern that the fund be used to pay for personnel costs which are directly related to approved fund projects and that the Finance Committee not proceed in a manner which may tie it's hands at budget time. Brown said he still does not see why a policy needs to be developed to address an issue covered in the statutes. Oemichen said he feels this gives direction on how to implement the statute and administrative code in St. Croix County. Fodroczi said the policy also serves as a vehicle to deal with various proposals from various departments to implement the land information plan goals. Krizek ex- pressed his concern that the policy spoke of new projects, not those currently under may, and that this may result in no applicable personnel costs being charged to the Land Records Fund. Fodroczi said that staff costs would vary as projects come and go. Brown said he agreed with Krizek's concerns and did not want to do something at this time which would restrain the Committee at budget time. Roll call vote resulted in Bra- dley and Brown yes, O'Connell, Oemichen and Boche opposed. Motion failed. Computer Services Long Range Plan: Supervisor Ron Raymond and Computer Services Director Bruce Callen met with the Committee to discuss the Computer Servic- es Long Range Plan. Callen reviewed the work of the Computer Advisory Committee in this regard and focused on the aspect of a wide area network (WAN), what St. Croix County currently has, proposed WAN configuration to consolidate and centralize pro- cessing and the estimated cost of this project. He asked the Committee for authority to solicit proposals for the project so firm budget figures could be obtained. Bradley asked if leasing may make sense and Callen said he felt it did in that this would allow us tc make gains in productivity now rather than later. Maintenance costs associated with the WAN were briefly discussed. Oemichen asked if the Computer Advisory Committee had looked at the issue of increased efficiency and if it was. satisfied that this is the direction in which to proceed. O'Connell commented that the many people involved with the project all felt the direction made good sense. Boche questioned moving in this direction in the face of expanding technology in the computer industry. Callen said this is hard to estimate but that the WAN concept is sound. Raymond said he felt it to be a proposed solution adequate for five years, noting that the project would be modular in nature so that pieces can be replaced as needed. The solution may not be the cheapest or the most expensive but should serve the County well for five years. Brown moved back to Oemichen's question regarding increased effi- ciency. O'Connell said this is difficult to ascertain. Brown wondered if the system would pay for itself. Callen said the payback comes when we address individual department concerns and that the WAN gives us the building block necessary to do this. Raymond agreed that it is hard to quantify savings as we would like to and that attempts to do this have proven unwieldy. He suggested configuring the system, then getting the help of all departments to quantify the savings in their individual areas. A motion was made by O'Connell, seconded by Oemichen, to solicit proposals for implementation of the WAN to consider at budget time. Motion carried. Callen went on t® discuss the proposed budget guidelines for acquisition of elated equip equipment. He presented three options for department charges to address maintenance and replacement costs, charges based on an amount per unit in service. Oemichen said he felt it makes sense to consider this type of arrangement from the standpoint of charging to non -levy accounts. Callen proposed the guidelines reflect costs associated with Option #2. Loney suggested that, because of the nature of their operations, the Nursing Home and Highway Departments be allowed to choose between this charging method or purchasing Computer Services Department services on a time and materials basis. Krizek recommended going with Option #3 which would have the least budget impact. A motion was made by O'Connell, seconded by Bradley, to ap- prove the guidelines with funding under Option #3 as follows: Lap -top Computers: $ 75 Personal Computers: $ 50 Laser Printers: $ 50 Dot Matrix Printers: $ 25 Terminals: $ 13 After further discussion, the motion was carried. Finance Dept. Report: Having distributed draft #1 of the budget instructions to Com- mittee members earlier, Loney requested comments on both the content and direction of the instructions. Noting that the draft encourages departments to use the Lotus budget worksheet developed by Computer Services, Oemichen said that, for consistency purposes, he would like to see use of this required. Krizek noted that, based on the calendar, 1996 contains 2,096 hours rather than the usual 2,080. The potential impact of this was discussed. Regarding Staff Development guidelines, Krizek said this should be examined closely and suggested an amount of .5 % on personnel costs as the guide rather than the 1 % currently in use with departments required to demonstrate a compel- ling need to exceed this level. Bradley said the Personnel Committee could review this at their July 12th meeting. Brown said he felt the concept of "zero based" budgeting where all programs and costs must be justified to be excellent. Regarding budget goals, Brown said he would like to wait until the state budget has been signed by the Governor before discussing. After further review, a motion was made by Oemichen, seconded by Boche, to approve the budget instructions with adjustments as noted. Motion carried. A mot' n was{,,m�ade by Bradley, seconded by O'Connell, to adjourn at le30 P.M. Motion nnr a ,f \