HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance 02-08-07 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING AND AGENDA
ST. CROIX COUNTY
FINANCE COMMITTEE
DATE AND TIME: Thursday February 8, 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: March 8, 2007
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: January 4, 2007
OLD AND NEW BUSINESS:
1. Review of Vouchers
2. Treasurer Report
a. Reconciliation Report
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 Status
C. Request from Potential Bidder to Conduct Soil Borings on County Property in New Richmond
d. Review of US Fish & Wildlife Interest in County Oak Ridge Lake Property **
5. Review of Space Study for Government Center
6. Request from Fair Board — Removal of Building on Fairgrounds
7. Resolution Re- Approving Fourth Judgeship 9:45 a.m.
8. Personnel Items
a. Review of Miscellaneous Pay Grid for Temporary, Part-time and Seasonal Positions
b. Consideration of Non - represented Pay Grid Step Options
C. Discussion of Paid Time Off Donation Pool
d. Proposed Compensation/Classification Specialist Position Description Changes
e. Review of County Health Insurance Plan and Plan Options — Sara Harries, Frank F. Haack &
Associates — 10:00 a.m.
f. At approximately 11:00 a.m., adjourn into closed session pursuant to 19.85(1)(c), Wis. Stats., to
hear a grievance filed by a former employee pursuant to the County's Personnel Policies.
Following the hearing, adjourn into closed session pursuant to 19.85(1)(a), Wis. Stats., to
deliberate regarding the former employee's grievance.
Reconvene into open session to complete other agenda items.
g. 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
h. 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.
i. Closed session per Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(f) for preliminary consideration of a specific personnel
problem. Reconvene into open session. **
9. Closed session per WI Stat. 19.85 (1) c for the performance of an employee; reconvening into open session
to complete agenda items. Positions to be reviewed:
a. Maintenance Director
b. Information Services Director
C. Corporation Counsel
d. Administrative Coordinator
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.
3:25 PM 2/6/2007
OFFICIAL
MINUTES OF THE ST. CROIX COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE
Regular Meeting February 8, 2007
Meeting called to order by Chair Krueger at 8:30 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, Richard Marzolf.
Media: Judy Wiff.
Motion by Malick, 2 nd by Caflisch to adopt the agenda. Carried unanimously. Krueger stated
the next scheduled meeting is March 8, 2007 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Campbell stated Timmerman requested the following changes to the January 4, 2007 minutes
under item 4.a.: County Government Property Status — Barsness Consulting, Inc. — 9:00
a.m.
...Timmerman eempl m °r* °a Bar -mess reported that the agreement w hie 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 t� to t inelud° r-el minar-y la a dev .. t ................) t,.... " i l
crc[c� cropiaT c
Timmerman added the agreement is °' °^r as to w * complimented Barsness on their willingness_
to be flexible will ,a a nd i ate c f Th r nt r to ate at 4
tpay. ia.v vvuii . .
Motion by Malick, 2 nd by Wentz to approve the January 4, 2007 minutes with the corrections
requested by Timmerman under item 4.a. 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. December reconciliation report was reviewed.
Motion by Malick, 2 nd by Standafer to accept the report. Carried unanimously.
3. Finance Director Report.
a. Financial Reports. General Fund Cash and investments balance as of December
31, 2006 was $27,378,080.99. 2006 Contingency Fund balance is $245,000. 2006 Sales Tax
received in January 2007 for November 2006 sales were $440,145. Year to date sales tax
received is $4,931,221.92. Pietrick stated $419,867 is needed to meet the budget. Expenditure
and Revenue Summary Reports reviewed. Pietrick noted some grants have not yet been
received and she is working with various departments on grant status. Motion by Wentz, 2 nd by
Malick to accept the Finance Director's report. Carried unanimously.
Finance Committee
February 8, 2007
Page 2 of 6
4. Administrative Coordinator Report.
a. County Government Property Status — Barsness Consulting, Inc. — 9:00 a.m.
Dennis Welsch and Kathy Bennett from Barsness Consulting were present. Welsch stated he has
met with several people and reviewed public and private uses for the site. Welsch presented
quadrant site maps of the Government Center site. Committee members and County Board
Supervisors present were asked to place dots on the site quadrants based on their judgment for
best, middle and not best uses on the options provided. Welsch reviewed proposed options with
the committee. Those placing dots on the maps were: Malick, Standafer, Krueger, Caflisch,
Speer, Marzolf, and Cranmer.
Welsch reviewed other county and city government campus uses. Welsch highlighted site layout
and land needed for parking and possibly sharing parking. He stated on February 28 at 7:00
p.m. a public information meeting is scheduled at the Government Center in the County Board
Room. Welsch will report back on March 8 1h with economics on the site and present information
to the County Board on March 20
Standafer suggested making this a collaborative process by bringing other major players together
to share their vision for this property and to look at future needs. Discussion regarding
organizing a roundtable meeting with major players. Barsness will work with Whiting to
organize this meeting.
b. New Richmond Farm Property Status. Whiting asked Management Systems
Specialist Dana Baker to provide a status of the New Richmond Farm request for proposal (RFP)
status. Baker stated a bid document was created including history of the land, conditions, terms
and conditions of sale, deed and earnest money. The survey was completed concluding this site
contains 18.69 acres. Bid documents were released on February 8 Baker stated she mailed
thirty packets and placed the bid information on the county's website and in area newspapers.
Bid includes soil conditions, plat map with legal description, and neighborhood information.
The City of New Richmond has determined additional improvements the purchaser would need
to do and the city has provided preliminary requirements which are posted. Baker is working
with the Highway Department to create and post a "For Sale" sign on the property. Bids are due
March 28, 2007. Discussion regarding the requirement of having a minimum bid amount of the
appraised value of $1,015,000 on the property. Caflisch disagreed with the minimum bid
requirement. Standafer stated he didn't think a minimum bid was necessary since we have right
to reject any and all bids. Bid opening is at 4:00 p.m. on March 28
C. Request from Potential Bidder to Conduct Soil Borings on County Property
in New Richmond. Fred Katter of Pineapple Management was present. Whiting reported
Katter, a potential bidder on the County Farm property, requested to do soil borings on the
property. Katter stated his request is to determine if the soil is buildable and added he will
provide the results to the Finance Committee. Malick asked if tests would be done by state
standards. Katter stated they will likely use Cooper Engineering, a certified company. Motion
by Caflisch, 2 " by Standafer to allow Katter to go ahead to do soil borings and to make the
Finance Committee
` February 8, 2007
Page 3 of 6
results available to the public. Whiting suggested checking with Corporation Counsel to get
something in writing. The committee agreed. Carried unanimously.
d. Review of US Fish & Wildlife Interest in County Oak Ridge Lake Property.
Whiting stated US Fish and Wildlife has expressed interest in county -owned property located in
the Town of Cylon. This property is landlocked. US Fish & Wildlife does not feel it is worth
having an appraisal done. Discussion regarding obtaining an appraisal and value of the land.
Caflisch suggested having US Fish and Wildlife make an offer on the property. Motion by
Malick, 2nd by Krueger to obtain an appraisal not to exceed $300. Motion defeated 3 to 2 (voting
against Standafer, Caflisch, Wentz). Motion by Caflisch, 2 nd by Wentz to ask US Fish and
Wildlife to give the County a bid on the property and the Finance Committee to make a
determination if acceptable. Carried (voting no- Malick).
5. Review of Space Study for Government Center. Bob Brown of Ayres Associates was
present. Brown stated he is reviewing space needs at the Health Center and Government Center.
Goals are to analyze the Government Center to gain better utilization of the space. At the Health
Center, he is determining space needed if the Nursing Home is sold. Brown stated he will
distribute surveys, collect and analyze the results. He will report the results to the Health and
Human Services Committee, Finance Committee and County Board. He noted the timetable is a
couple of months.
6. Request from Fair Board — Removal of Building on Fairgrounds. Present were Dick
Sullwold and Supervisor Gene Ruetz. Sullwold stated the Fair Board is seeking permission to
remove the house on fairgrounds. He stated the Fair Board needs to check for asbestos and
added there is a well in the basement which they want to save to obtain water for the animals.
The Fair Board and Land and Water Conservation Committee are in favor of this. Sullwold
stated this is part of the long range plan. Motion by Caflisch, 2 nd by Malick to give permission to
the Fair Board to remove the house on the fairground property after the Fair Board has made sure
asbestos and everything else is taken care of and this is done at no cost to the county. Brief
discussion regarding future ownership of the fairground land. Carried unanimously.
7. Resolution Re- Approving Fourth Judgeship 9:45 a.m. Judges present: Lundell,
Needham and Vlack. Judge Lundell stated the Director of State Courts recommended an
updated resolution from the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors in order to get serious
consideration for fourth judgeship in St. Croix County. Judge Needham stated the last resolution
was approved in January 2005. Since then, a time -study was done and it was determined St.
Croix County's need is 4.4 judges. There have been no judges added statewide since 1998. If
passed, this resolution would verify the County Board elected in April feels the same way as the
previous board. Motion by Malick, 2 by Wentz to approve in concept with details to complete
the resolution later. Discussion regarding the need to meet before the March County Board
meeting to make final consideration of completed resolution. Carried unanimously.
S. Personnel Items.
' Finance Committee
February 8, 2007
Page 4 of 6
a. Review of Miscellaneous Pay Grid for Temporary, Part -time and Seasonal
Positions. Scott Guinter was present. Whiting stated there are comparable positions in county
departments that are paid as much as $2.00 to $3.00 an hour difference. Whiting requested
Guinter prepare a review of these positions. Whiting stated in general they are looking at
Department on Aging positions which are paid lower than comparable positions in St. Croix
Industries, specifically the bus drivers and in the Nursing Home, specifically the cooks.
Department on Aging people are non - union. St. Croix Industries and Nursing Home positions are
union. Guinter distributed information with a recommendation to phase in 2007 and 2008
increases to bring the Department on Aging driver and Department on Aging cook positions paid
at rate equal to similar positions in St. Croix Industries and the Nursing Home. The proposal is
$1.00 an hour increase in 2007 and 2008. Pietrick stated these positions are permanent part-time.
Motion by Caflisch, 2' by Wentz move we adopt the grid for the permanent part-time
Department on Aging driver and cook positions. Carried unanimously.
b. Consideration of Non - represented Pay Grid Step Options. Whiting stated 14
positions are currently going through the pay grid steps. Employees in the lower portion of the
pay grid are realizing it will take them two more years to get to the top of the pay grid since the
move from a 5 to 7 step pay grid. Discussion regarding proposal to get people through the pay
grid quicker. It was noted if a condensed timeframe to five years for these 14 employees is done,
funds are not in the budgeted. Another option is to make adjustments in 2008 and include it in
the budget. Malick stated this does not cost the county more than it otherwise would have.
Caflisch stated when the county went from 5 to 7 step pay grid, the county should have taken
into consideration those 14 people that were going to be affected by this change. Motion by
Caflisch, 2 nd by Wentz to accept the proposal for the 14 non - represented pay grid step options.
Guinter stated the recommendation is step increases in 2008 for budgeting purposes, but some
will take place in 2007. Pietrick confirmed these 14 people will get to the top of their pay grid
when they would have. Carried unanimously. Speer asked if the Child Support position has
been taken care of Whiting will follow up with this.
C. Discussion of Paid Time -Off Donation Pool. Discussion regarding donating
Paid Time Off (PTO) and who approves of the transfers. Discussion regarding recipients need to
be defined, such as life - threatening illnesses. Discussion regarding minimum donation being
defined. Consensus to bring it back next month and review other policies currently existing.
Pietrick will gather the policies. Discussion regarding distributing the PTO policy to the County
Board and getting input from the unions regarding setting a policy. This matter will be discussed
at next Finance Committee meeting.
d. Proposed Compensation /Classification Specialist Position Description
Changes. Whiting stated he is looking at changing Guinter's position to include benefits role —
specifically monitoring benefit plans and monitoring the administrative side to assure the plans
are being administered correctly.
e. Review of County Health Insurance Plan and Plan Options — Sara Hames,
Frank F. Haack & Associations — 10:00 a.m. Whiting stated last fall the Finance Committee
asked Sara Hames to review and return to the county health insurance options. Hames provided
` Finance Committee
February 8, 2007
Page 5 of 6
a claim activity report for St. Croix County. Haines stated the data was provided by Preferred
One. The report showed a distribution of claims for the entire group and a breakdown by union
and non - union. Per the Claims Distribution by Dollar Amount Paid report covering activity from
November 1, 2005 to October 31, 2006, 73.3% of claim dollars were spent on 13.6% of
claimants. The second report provided data of comparables by St. Croix County to the norm.
Types of claims were reviewed. A report comparing St. Croix County's plan with Rock and
Portage counties was distributed and reviewed.
Haines provided plan design alternatives for medical and prescription coverage. Discussion
regarding offering alternative plans and wellness programs as well as providing financial
incentives. Haines provided a list of potential strategies for 2007 and suggested the county zero
in on strategies as the next step.
Motion by Caflisch, 2 by Malick to have Haines review and analyze alternative #6 -- $2,000
HSA Qualified Plan and alternative #3 under the Rx Plan Design and anything else she sees fit
for the county and ask Haines to come back with financial aspects. Discussion regarding
incentive and time of transition. Policy renewal is November 1 Carried unanimously. Haines
will report back in April.
f. At approximately 11:00 a.m., adjourn into closed session pursuant to
§19.85(1)(c), Wis. Stats., to hear a grievance filed by a former employee pursuant to the
County's Personnel Policies. Following the hearing, adjourn into closed session pursuant to
§19.85(1)(a), Wis. Stats., to deliberate regarding the former employee's grievance.
Reconvene into open session to complete other agenda items. (11:20 a.m.) Motion by
Malick, 2„d by Wentz to move into closed session pursuant to Wis. Statutes 19.85(1(c) to hear a
grievance filed by a former employee pursuant to the County's Personnel Policies; and
19.85(1)(a) to deliberate regarding the former employee's grievance. Roll call — all aye.
Motion by Caflisch, 2 by Wentz to reconvene into open session (12:46 p.m.) Carried
unanimously. Motion by Malick, 2 by Standafer to approve the letter to the former employee
representing conclusion from the hearing. Carried unanimously.
Discussion regarding completing the remainder of the agenda items. Finance Committee agreed
to meeting February 22 at 8:30 a.m.
g. 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. (3:30
p.m.) Motion by Malick, 2' by Standafer to move into closed session pursuant to Wisconsin
Statutes 19.85(1)(e) for the purpose of discussing bargaining strategy. Roll call - all ayes.
Motion by Wentz, 2 by Caflisch to reconvene into open session. Carried unanimously (3:40
P.M.).
h. 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.
This matter was not addressed at this meeting.
Finance Committee
February 8, 2007
Page 6 of 6
i. Closed session per Wis. Stat. §19.85(1)(f) for preliminary consideration of a
specific personnel problem. Reconvene into open session. (3:18 p.m.) Motion Malick, 2nd by
Caflisch to go into closed session per Wisconsin Statutes 19.85(1)(f) for preliminary
consideration of a specific personnel problem. Roll call — all ayes. Carried unanimously.
Motion by Wentz, 2 by Standafer to reconvene into open session. Carried unanimously (3:29
P.M.)
9. Closed session per WI Stat. 19.85 (1)(c) for the performance of an employee;
reconvening into open session to complete agenda items. Positions to be reviewed: This
matter was not addressed at this meeting
a. Maintenance Director
b. Information Services Director
C. Corporation Counsel
d. Administrative Coordinator
Meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m.
Esther Wentz, Secretary
Cindy Campbell, Recording Secretary