HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance 01-04-07 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING AND AGENDA
ST. CROIX COUNTY
FINANCE COMMITTEE
DATE AND TIME: Thursday January 4, 2007 — 8:30 A.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: February 8, 2007
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: December 14,2006; December 19, 2006
OLD AND NEW BUSINESS:
1. Review of Vouchers
2. Treasurer Report
a. Treasurer's Reconciliation
b. Optical Imaging
3. Finance Director Report
a. Finance Reports
4. Administrative Coordinator Report
a. County Government Property Status — Barsness Consulting, Inc. — 9:00 a.m.
b. New Richmond Farm Property Disposition — Next Steps
5. Review of Space Interest in Government Center Room 1259
a. EDC
b. Corporation Counsel
c. District Attorney
d. Veterans Services
e. Health and Human Services
f. County Clerk
6. Personnel Items
a. New Position Description: Social Worker — Emergency Services (HHS) **
b. Life Insurance Issues Follow Up
c. Department Head Performance Evaluations Discussion
d. Closed session per WI Stat. 19.85 (1) e for the purpose of discussing bargaining strategy.
Reconvene into open session to complete other agenda items.
e. At appr-eiiimately 11 ., adjoufn into elesed session pufsua-m to 19.950)(6), Wis. Stats
Following the hearing, adjoufn into elesed session pur-stiant to 19.85(l)(a), 10. T s. stats., to
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R eeonvene t Y e s t 'x plete othe agend ,to
f. Adjourn to closed session pursuant to s.19.85(1)(f) to investigate possible discipline against an
employee related to the County's email policy. Resume 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.
5:01 PM 12/29/2006
OFFICIAL
Approved 2/8/07 with corrections to item 4. a.
MINUTES OF THE ST. CROIX COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting January 4, 2007
Meeting called to order by Chair Krueger at 8:33 a.m. Present: Clarence Malick, Daryl
Standafer, Tom Caflisch, Esther Wentz, and Stan Krueger. Staff present: Administrative
Coordinator Chuck Whiting, Finance Director Michelle Pietrick, Corporation Counsel Greg
Timmerman and County Clerk Cindy Campbell. Others present: Julie Speer, Bill Cranmer, Bill
Rubin, Dave Fodroczi and Fred Johnson. Media: Judy Wiff.
Motion by Standafer, 2 nd by Caflisch to adopt the agenda. Carried unanimously. Krueger stated
the next scheduled meeting is February 8, 2007 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Bill Rubin requested under the EDC Proposal for Office Space in the minutes of November 9 d '
be corrected to reflect Standafer and Krueger voted no rather than Malick and Wentz. Motion by
Malick, 2 nd by Wentz to correct the November 9 th minutes to show Standafer and Krueger voted
no to the motion under the EDC proposal for office space. Carried unanimously. Motion by
Malick, 2 nd by Wentz to approve the December 14 and December 19, 2006 minutes. Carried
unanimously.
1. Review of Vouchers. Malick reported he did not find anything to bring to the
committee's attention regarding voucher review.
2. Treasurer's Report.
a. Treasurer's Reconciliation. November reconciliation report was reviewed. No
questions.
b. Optical Imaging. Treasurer Cheryl Slind and IT Director Tom Boron were
present. Boron indicated they met with Cities Digital, a vendor from Hudson, regarding optical
imaging. Boron stated he received a quote for the basic software, scanner and web interface for
$25,000. Web interface is not necessary immediately per Boron. Boron checked with other
municipalities that currently use Cities Digital. Slind stated she would like to start scanning in
March 2007. Discussion regarding RFPs and getting input from Management System Specialist
Dana Baker. Whiting will report back to the committee after Baker is satisfied that this has been
an open process. Timmerman will need to review the final contract. Motion by Malick, 2nd by
Wentz to proceed with a contract with Cities Digital after Baker's appropriate review. Carried
unanimously.
3. Finance Director Report.
a. Financial Reports. General Fund Cash and investments balance as of November
30, 2006 was $21,906,801.04. 2006 Contingency Fund balance is $245,000 showing $5,000 for
Lake Mallalieu Dam maintenance payment. 2006 Sales Tax received in December 2006 for
October 2006 sales are $424,260.13. Year to date sales tax received is $4,516,772.33. Pietrick
stated sales tax is on track. Discussion regarding getting the audit report earlier. Pietrick will
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January 4, 2007
Page 2 of 5
ask Tracey and Thole for interim report possibly by April 30. Expenditure and Revenue
Summary Reports reviewed. Question regarding Planning and Zoning down $900,000 in
revenues. Pietrick stated the county is waiting for grant funds. Discussion regarding Sheriff's
Department expenditures and grant funds.
4. Administrative Coordinator Report.
a. County Government Property Status — Barsness Consulting, Inc. — 9:00 a.m.
Dennis Welsch from Barsness Consulting was present. Welsch provided a discussion report and
timeline regarding the Government Center property. Procedures and timeline for reporting to the
Finance Committee and County Board were reviewed. Discussion regarding establishing an
action plan. Barsness stated next month there will be a discussion regarding alternative site
concepts and zoning requirement with the city. Barsness asked the Finance Committee for ideas
for other public and private users. Standafer stated the market may make the decision and
stressed he does not want the county to be the developer. Malick asked step 3A of the timeline
regarding information meetings with local government and property owners be moved up to
possibly February or March rather than May. Discussion regarding Barsness Consulting conduct
information meetings. Timmerman reported that the agreement was written in a way that locked
the County into receiving and paying for all services identified in the agreement, including
preliminary plats and developer's agreements. Timmerman and Whiting met with Barsness and
Timmerman said after meeting with Barsness it was clear it was not Barsness's intent to lock the
County in and Barsness agreed to add a provision to the agreement to allow the County to
terminate it at any time. Timmerman complimented Barsness on their willingness to be flexible.
b. New Richmond Farm Property Disposition — Next Steps. Whiting stated this
is a follow up to the report of the appraiser. The property has been rezoned by city of New
Richmond. Caflisch reminded the committee the county does not need to be involved in the
development of the land. Whiting stated the county surveyor is surveying property. Whiting
reported Fred Katter made an inquiry to Whiting about taking soil borings on the property. If
county is open to allowing Katter to do soil borings, he would share the results with the county.
Discussion regarding soil borings. Malick stated the county ought to let anybody interested get
soil borings from this property but they must give the county the results and the county will
make them public. Malick stated the county should give up on crop next year on this parcel.
Malick suggested setting up an RFP process and give interested parties a fairly long time so they
may get soil borings. The committee recommended Baker work with Whiting to come up with
an RFP.
Rubin stated whether land is given or sold at market value it would be poor public policy if the
county does not somehow demonstrate that an RFP has been presented. Rubin added it is also
poor public policy if the county fails to enter into a development agreement with the buying
party which outlines the terms and conditions. Rubin asked what would happen if county sold
property and half way through construction project it's abandoned. Discussion regarding a
developers agreement with the municipality in which the work is being done. Standafer
confirmed the county is not considering giving the land away. Timmerman stated the developers
Finance Committee
January 4, 2007
Page 3 of 5
agreement would be between the city and the developer. Standafer confirmed the agreement
does not decide what's going to be done, it states whatever you've agreed to do will be done.
Whiting indicated it would be more in the county's interest to know what development is going
to be if it has any potential negative impact on future development on the County Farm property.
Whiting will proceed with the RFP and bring it back to the committee.
5. Review of Space Interest in Government Center Room 1259. Krueger stated EDC
requested one -half of Room 1259 in the Government Center for office space. Those who have
expressed interest in the room were asked to be present to support their request.
a. EDC — Bill Rubin stated by splitting the room in half it would be used for two
office areas for EDC plus a general conference room for other departments to use. EDC is
willing to pay for the improvements up to a certain maximum with assurance they would be here
for a specified number of years. He stated if EDC cannot find office space at the Government
Center, it will need to make other arrangements. He said the other half could potentially be used
as the Victim/Witness protection room.
b. Corporation Counsel — Greg Timmerman proposed to convert the room into
office space for Corporation Counsel and make part of it a conference room accessible to others.
Timmerman added EDC could use Corporation Counsel's space in the Administration suite.
Timmerman stated he is not proposing alternatives for other departments. Corporation Counsel
is requesting this space because it perceives a need. Discussion regarding alternatives and the
potential for sharing a reception area with Veteran Service office.
C. District Attorney — Eric Johnson requested use of this room for the
victim/witness waiting room. Johnson explained the need for a secure place for witnesses and
victims and stated the District Attorney's office is very crowded now. By using this space for
this purpose it gets victims /witnesses away from exposure to jurors, defense attorneys and
defendants. Whiting suggested converting the sick room for this purpose. Johnson stated state
statutes require the county shall provide safe refuge for victims during court proceedings.
Johnson added the victim/witness room is grant furnished. Standafer asked about needs of other
departments and the potential solution. Johnson stated he would not need the entire space and
would be willing to split it. Malick suggested checking into the Register of Deeds office space
or convert the end of the hallway.
d. Veterans Services. Lorin Sather stated his department would use part of this
space for storage. He added he does not need a lot of space.
e. Health and Human Services. Fred Johnson stated there is currently an office in
the Government Center which houses two social workers on a pilot basis. He stated a larger
space or the current space could be reconfigured to accommodate staff on a routine basis when
they have court. Johnson stated the Drug Court Coordinator is now in one of the Health and
Human Services office spaces at the Government Center.
f. County Clerk. Cindy Campbell stated her request is to leave the space as is for
conferences and training. If necessary she suggested converting the space south of the pillar into
two offices for EDC.
Finance Committee
January 4, 2007
Page 4 of 5
The committee toured the areas discussed including the Health and Human Services offices.
Discussion regarding the urgent need to find office space for EDC. The committee discussed the
need to have a study done for present and the foreseeable future office needs and what is over
and under utilized. Discussion regarding using Ayres as it has this information on a CAD system
and having Ayres evaluate the building space issues. Motion by Caflisch, 2nd by Standafer to
have Facilities Manager Ralph Robole work with Whiting to get a space utilization study
underway for the Government Center as soon as possible and get a reasonable price from Ayres
not to exceed $10,000 to be paid out of the contingency fund; and to bring this back to the
committee at its February 8"' meeting. Johnson stated Health and Human Services requested
space needs be reviewed at the Health Center and the preliminary amount to have this done was
$14,000 - $18,000. Carried unanimously.
6. Personnel Items.
a. New Position Description: Social Worker — Emergency Services (HHS) **
Johnson explained Health and Human Services approved this position description which is a
redraft of a job description that reassigns a social worker by taking the duties of a community
support social worker and adjusting the workload to handle emergency and diversion services.
Johnson confirmed there is no pay grid increase. Motion by Caflisch, 2nd by Wentz to approve
the position description and forward it to the County Board for approval. Malick asked why new
position descriptions to to the County Board. Timmerman stated historically the County Board
approves new positions. Whiting stated this is a judgment call if this is a new position or not.
Discussion regarding procedure. Reserve this question with more research if it needs County
Board approval. Carried unanimously.
Timmerman read procedures for establishing a regular position from the employee handbook.
Timmerman asked the Finance Committee if they would like the process clarified. The
committee agreed this be done with Whiting and Timmerman working on a new policy.
Wentz stated Supr. Cranmer suggested members of the Finance Committee review RFPs relating
to the Nursing Home. Wentz indicated as Chair of the Health and Human Services Board she
has no objection. Discussion regarding the value of having Krueger and Standafer being
involved. This will be placed on the County Board agenda. Johnson assured the committee of
full County Board involvement with utilization of Wipfli through the scoring of the RFPs.
b. Life Insurance Issues Follow Up. Whiting stated at the November Finance
Committee meeting, life insurance issues were discussed. Whiting contacted Ray Polen who
recommended concluding this issue by the county determining appropriate employees and
provide a refund back to the time the county started with Aetna in 2004. Pietrick stated this
includes only employees where both spouses work for the county and had additional life on each
other and dependent coverage on each other. Pietrick indicated employees cannot have cross
coverage and cannot collect as an employee and a dependent. Pietrick confirmed approximately
twelve employees have been paying for this and should get a refund. Discussion regarding union
contract. Timmerman explained when the policy was revised the Personnel Department may not
have passed this information to the employees.
Finance Committee
January 4, 2007
Page 5 of 5
Pietrick explained the second issue relates to the policy requirement that additional life must be
taken on the employee in order to get dependent coverage. Aetna grandfathered these employees
through October 31 so they had coverage through that period. Pietrick requested direction on
how to handle the Highway employees who did not pick up the additional coverage during the
open enrollment period. Motion by Standafer, 2nd by Caflisch to require employees obtain
additional coverage on themselves in order to obtain dependent coverage to comply with other
employees which have done this; and this must be done by January 31, 2007 or coverage will be
terminated. Carried unanimously.
C. Department Head Performance Evaluations Discussion. Krueger stated the
Finance Committee evaluates Robole, Boron, Whiting and Timmerman. Whiting stated Guinter
is revising the evaluation form and it will be distributed to committee members. It was
suggested Whiting evaluate Boron and Robole since he works with them on a daily basis. The
Finance Committee will evaluate Whiting and Timmerman. Discussion regarding announcing
evaluations of Whiting and Timmerman be submitted to Krueger. Anonymous comments will
not be observed and the deadline is January 31. Krueger will have a draft ready for the February
8 meeting and a closed session will be on the agenda. Discussion regarding evaluations not
done by other committees and creating a method requiring annual performance evaluations are
done for department heads. Malick suggested getting the County Board consensus that
evaluations need to be done. The form will be a template based on job description.
d. Closed session per WI Stat. 19.85(1)(e) for the purpose of discussing bargaining
strategy. Reconvene into open session to complete other agenda items. Motion by Malick, 2 nd
by Wentz to move into closed session per Wisconsin Statute 19.85(1)(e) for the purpose of
discussing bargaining strategy regarding unit clarification. Roll call all yes. Carried unanimously
(12:12 p.m.). Motion by Wentz, 2 nd by Caflisch to reconvene into open session. Carried
unanimously (12:55 p.m.).
_. At appr i .nn add into ,.t oa ter; �� � 1° 85(1)( )
., "JUG . .:, .. .,� i��
., to hear- a gr-ievanee filed by a former- employee puHr-Q.4—lan-t- te�ffie Goui4y's Per-sefuiel
Poheies. Following the hearing, adjeum into elesed session pu-r-suafA to 19.85(l)(a), Wis. .,
to deliberate fegard the fefmer employee .
f. Adjourn to closed session pursuant to 19.85(1)(f) to investigate possible discipline
against an employee related to the County's email policy. Resume open session. Motion by
Caflisch, 2 nd by Standafer to go into closes session pursuant to 19.85(1)(f) to investigate possible
discipline against an employee related to the County's email policy. Roll call vote all yes.
Carried unanimously (12:56 p.m.). Motion by Standafer, 2 nd by Malick to reconvene into open
session. Carried unanimously (1:25 p.m.)
Meeting adjourned at 1:25 p.m.
Esther Wentz, Secretary
Cindy Campbell, Recording Secretary