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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance 08-09-07 NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING AND AGENDA ST. CROIX COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE DATE AND TIME: Thursday August 9, 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: September 6, 2007 APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS: July 12, 2007 OLD AND NEW BUSINESS: 1. Review of Vouchers 2. Building Space Study Status Report — 8:30 a.m 3. Treasurer Report a. Bank Reconciliation 4. Circuit Court a. Request for additional judicial assistant — related to 4 Judge 5. County Clerk a. Statewide Voter Registration Memorandum of Understanding with Relier Municipalities 6. Clerk of Cetn4s Repei4 7. Building Services Report a. 2008 Budget New Position Request 8. Corporation Counsel a. Workload Update b. Request for additional position — Assistant Corporation Counsel 9. Risk Manager- Repo# 10. Finance Director Report a. 2006 Audit Report — 11:00 a.m. b. Finance Reports c. Direct Deposit for Non - represented Employees and New Hires d. Barn RFP clarification e. 2008 Libraries Funding — 9:30 a.m. 11. Hudson Area Joint Library Foundations Request re: Reservation of Government Center Property for New Library** 12. Administrative Coordinator Report a. Government Center Property Status b. Emerald Tower Site c. Review of County Responsibilities for Lake Mallalieu Dam and Options for Consideration ** 13. Personnel a. PTO Donation Request b. PTO Donation Policy Revision c. PTO Service Credit at Hire Policy d. Multiple Position/Reporting Policy 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. 4:19 PM 8/7/2007 OFFICIAL — approved 916107 with Corporation Counsel corrections MINUTES OF THE ST. CROIX COUNTY FINANCE COMMITTEE Regular Meeting August 9, 2007 Meeting called to order by Vice Chair Standafer at 8:30 a.m. Present: Clarence Malick, Daryl Standafer, Esther Wentz, and Tom Caflisch. Absent and excused: Stan Krueger. Staff present: Administrative Coordinator Chuck Whiting, Corporation Counsel Greg Timmerman, Finance Director Michelle Pietrick, Human Resource Administrator Tammy Funk and County Clerk Cindy Campbell. Others present: Art Tobin, Bye Barsness, Jim O'Connor, Fred Johnson, Denise Gunderson, and Julie Speer. Media: Judy Wiff. Motion by Wentz, 2 nd by Caflisch to adopt the agenda. Carried unanimously. Date of next meeting is September 6, 2007 beginning at 8:30 a.m. Motion by Caflisch, 2 nd by Wentz to approve the July 12 and July 18, 2007 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. Building Space Study Status Report — 8:30 a.m. Bob Brown of Ayres Associates distributed revised plans including an addition to the Government Center. Brown stated the addition is 31,000 square feet per floor designed for Health and Human Services and additional courts. The basement plan included medical records storage for Health and Human Services and an additional elevator. Discussion regarding elevators and evidence storage for the Sheriff's Department. Floor plans and parking were reviewed. Preliminary project cost estimate provided by Brown totaled $8,662,000 at $120 per square foot and $10,558,000 at $150 per square foot. Additional miscellaneous costs for engineering fees, storm water design, plan approval, etc. were $9,243,044 to $11,256,596. Discussion regarding heating and chilling. Wentz requested plans for a standalone building in New Richmond to be reviewed at the next Health and Human Services meeting. Malick requested plans for use of the present secure elevator. Motion by Malick, 2 nd by Wentz directing the architect to develop an option that uses the existing secure elevator and locating one or more courtrooms on the first floor. Carried unanimously. Malick requested information regarding space for storage and the communications van. Brown will get a recommendation from the Public Protection and Emergency Management /Emergency Communications committees. Discussion regarding consideration of storage attached to the Government Center to provide cold storage for evidence and the communications van and the potential for outside storage to be hidden in the cul de sac of the building. Tobin stated one reason a separate storage building was explored was for the possible space needed for the generator and fuel tanks and also for security which the Sheriff's Department would have sole access for evidence storage. Malick suggested using part of the Huber addition for storage. Motion by Malick, 2 nd by Caflisch directing Ayres to prepare a plan which includes an unheated addition suitable for the communications van and necessary evidence storage. Carried unanimously. Fred Johnson stated at the August 29 Health and Human Services Board meeting they will review the concept plan for the standalone building. Discussion regarding creating an ad hoc building committee which reports to the County Board and takes needs from all users and creates Finance Committee August 9, 2007 Page 2 of 7 recommendations for the County Board. The ad hoc committee would move forward in overseeing construction. Discussion regarding ad hoc committee membership. Brown stated architect and engineer fees may range from $537,000 to $654,596 to take this to the point before construction begins. Discussion regarding space needs for Clerk of Court, District Attorney and Child Support and moving the proposed the Department on Aging office in the proposed plans near an entrance. 3. Treasurer's Report. a. Bank Reconciliation. June reconciliation report was reviewed. No questions. 4. Circuit Court. a. Request for Additional Judicial Assistant — Related to Fourth Judge. Judge Lundell explained in the event the county gets a fourth judge, there will be a need for another judicial assistant. He stated he is hopeful the additional judgeship will pass this fall in order to get it on the Spring Election ballot with the successful candidate to take office on August 1, 2008. He stated it is prudent to start the judicial assistant one month before the new Judge takes office. The timing coincides with budget time and is contingent upon fourth judgeship approval. Malick confirmed position description is the same as the others. Motion by Malick, 2 °a by Caflisch to advance this position into the budget process. Carried unanimously. 5. County Clerk. a. Statewide Voter Registration Memorandum of Understanding with Relier Municipalities. Campbell indicated in 2005 a Memorandum of Understanding was entered with municipalities relying on the county to maintain its voter registration information in the Statewide Voter Registration System. The county currently has eighteen relier municipalities. Campbell presented a revised Memorandum for Understanding for 2008 — 2009 and highlighted changes to the duties of the county and the fee increase. Motion by Caflisch, 2 nd by Wentz to approve. Carried unanimously. 6. Clerk of Court. No report. 7. Building Services Report. a. 2008 Budget New Position Request. Art Tobin requested the committee review the request to create a new position in the Building Services Department titled Maintenance Utility Worker. Tobin stated this position's responsibility would be both custodial and light maintenance and would float as needed between county facilities. The proposed hours would be 12:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. This position would provide better coverage on weekends and have better response time when there are problems in the jail. Tobin stated the proposed union position pay range is 5. Tobin indicated the goal is to lower overtime cost and this position will replace the current position which is a temporary position working in the jail Saturdays and Sundays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tobin highlighted current backlog in responding to work orders. Standafer asked for overtime comparisons. Wentz requested the job description be reviewed by Finance Committee August 9, 2007 Page 3 of 7 Funk and Guinter and pointed by PAWG. Motion by Caflisch, 2 nd by Wentz to move forward in budget process. Carried unanimously. 8. Corporation Counsel. a. Workload Update. Timmerman provided a list of tasks his office has been requested to do which have not been completed. Timmerman explained the process when submitting requests to the Attorney General for opinions. Timmerman perceives his position as being reactive but also would like to be more proactive as much as possible. When the county or Department Heads are presented with an issue, his office would like to be able to develop a policy to deal with the issue in the event it happens again. Discussion regarding parent committees requesting funds to pay for outside counsel but Corporation Counsel will serve as the gatekeeper to manage outside referrals. b. Request for Additional Position — Assistant Corporation Counsel. Timmerman stated increases in workload continue, including emergency detention cases, child support matters and personnel issues leads to a request for an Assistant Corporation Counsel position. Proposed pay grade information was provided. Timmerman explained the child support office would like to utilize an additional 15 hours per week of Corporation Counsel attorney time. He added the county obtains reimbursement for 66% of the time his assistant spends on child support matters. There is some reduction of the new position cost based on state reimbursement for work done for the child support office. Timmerman provided amounts paid to outside counsel since 2003. He stated these amounts were primarily for personnel work with an average per year of $48,389. Timmerman stated the new assistant position would make more time for working on personnel matters and there would be more time available for actually negotiating contracts, not just reviewing contracts negotiated by others. Timmerman believes in -house counsel provides quicker responses than outside counsel. Timmerman explained the Assistant Corporation Counsel is involved in child support cases and the collected amounts the Child Support Department reports to the County Board are heavily influenced by what the Assistant Corporation Counsel does for that department. Timmerman highlighted the increase in emergency detentions and increase in court hearings necessary. Timmerman recapped the number of subrogation cases his office handled for 2006 and 2007 including personal injury and worker's compensation. Motion by Wentz, 2 nd by Malick to put the Assistance Corporation Counsel position in budget process. Carried unanimously. 9. Risk Manager Report. No report. 10. Finance Director Report. a. 2006 Audit Report — 11:00 a.m. Steve Tracey of Tracey and Thole presented the 2006 Audit Report. Tracey highlighted year end balances with breakdowns for the General Fund, Health and Human Services Fund and Debt Service Funds and Outstanding Debt. Discussion regarding the transfer of fund balance in Health and Human Services. Debt Service Fund and Outstanding Debt reviewed for the Government Center Debt, Retirement Liability Debt, and Lawsuit Settlement related Debt totaling $1,334,478 for 2006. Year end debt outstanding is $14,283,274. Year end balance for the Nursing Home Fund reviewed. Highway Department Fund reviewed. The county tax levy for the Highway Department is $3,586,003. Finance Committee August 9, 2007 Page 4 of 7 The Management Letter was reviewed. Tracey highlighted changes related to auditing and reporting standards. Reportable conditions included segregation of duties and Human Services programs third -party billings. Discussion regarding HHS receivables that do not show up on finance statements because of being on a cash basis. Tracey stated ideally HHS needs to reconcile a subsidiary billing system and have control of the accounts on the books. Discussion regarding GASB requirements. b. Financial Reports. General Fund Cash and investments balance as of June 30, 2007 were $30,576,939.58. Pietrick clarified the cash balance is balance countywide of all funds and does not relate to spendable resources. The balance encompasses amounts designated, reserved and health insurance fund. 2007 Sales Tax received in July 2007 for May 2007 sales was $440,417.81. Year -to -date sales tax received is $1,983,682.72. Pietrick stated she received sales tax estimates for 2007. UW- Extension has projected revenues $300,000 lower than what is budgeted. Pietrick stated there is $300,000 in a designated fund balance in the event final sales tax amounts are below budget. Pietrick indicated projections for 2008 are about equal to 2007. Contingency Fund balance is $250,000. The report provided unbudgeted items with a total of estimated costs of $137,545. Expenditure and Revenue Summary Reports reviewed. C. Direct Deposit for Non - represented Employees and New Hires. Pietrick explained she is requesting the Finance Committee allow mandatory direct deposit for non- represented and new hires from September 1 St onward. Motion by Wentz, 2 by Caflisch to approve request to make direct deposit mandatory for all non - represented employees and non - represented new hires. Carried unanimously. d. Barn RFP Clarification. Dana Baker requested clarification regarding a motion made by the Finance Committee at the May 7, 2007 meeting which was, "Motion by Standafer, 2nd by Caflisch to get an RFP out as soon as possible and get any salvage value from the equipment, silos and buildings on the County Farm property." Baker requested direction from the Finance Committee on specific structures on the farm property. Baker presented pictures of structures and land in question. • Chicken coop located on the property which is posted as containing asbestos. Baker indicated appropriate disposal would need to be done according to DNR and state standards. She indicated Building Services placed this sign on the building sometime ago. Motion by Malick, 2 by Caflisch to exclude chicken coop and proceed with immediate removal of the structure. • Chimney used for power supply, central pump and trash burning. The Finance Committee agreed to exclude it from the RFP. • Hog barn in which the building is in bad shape and questions regarding foundational concrete. Baker asked if the purpose is liability or to repurpose the land and does the committee want concrete included. Malick suggested including it with the removal of the barn floor and to include it in the RFP as an option. Include the building and concrete in RFP proposal as an add -on. Baker stated the proposal will list all items. Finance Committee August 9, 2007 Page 5 of 7 • Outside well pump on concrete base. Standafer stated the well should be sealed. This is a Finance Committee issue and Baker was directed to not include it in the RFP. Malick requested Baker work with Bob Heise at Land and Water Conservation to address the well. • In ground silo bases. Baker asked if the committee wanted to include it in the RFP. The committee agreed to do nothing at this point. • Barn and concrete feedlot to be included in the RFP. • Review of equipment in the barn. All equipment will be "as is" in RFP. Baker reviewed barn equipment. • Manure pit contains a concrete base and a compromised barrier. Per Finance Committee do not deal with it now. • Incinerator remains. Per Finance Committee ignore for now. Baker stated there is a gate in the fence surrounding the incinerator grounds which remains open. Malick requested Building Services wrap a chain around the gate to keep it closed and review this area in a few months. e. 2008 Libraries Funding — 9:30 a.m. Local librarians present: Nancy Miller of River Falls, Rebecca Dixen of Baldwin, Norma Scott of Somerset, Linda Donaldson of Hudson, Scott Vrieze of New Richmond, Doris Ronnander of Spring Valley and Jim O'Connor, president of the Hudson Area Library Foundation. Nancy Miller requested the county maintain as status quo for libraries and would like to have the county increase the 70% payment to something more. Miller explained the services provided to citizens and the increase in services and the decrease in cost per circulation. Miller confirmed rural residents pay strictly operating costs. Standafer expressed the concern of the county's levy cap. Miller stated rural residents should pay 100% of the library service they receive. Pietrick confirmed library fund is under the county wide levy limit and is apportioned to those municipalities that do not have library funding. Caflisch questioned rural resident participation. Donaldson stated libraries have to absorb 30% and cover capital costs and debt retirement covered by city residents. Scott stated the Somerset Library fundraised when it built the new library and the bulk was from rural residents. Motion by Caflisch, 2 °a by Malick to forward this request to the budget process with a 1% increase for funding next year. The librarians in attendance confirmed other counties are paying. Carried unanimously. 11. Hudson Area Joint Library Foundation Request re: Reservation of Government Center Property for New Library. Bye Barsness and Jim O'Connor were present. Malick explained he received a letter dated August 1, 2007 from the Hudson Area Library Foundation requesting the county determine whether or not a site on the county property can be reserved under mutual terms for the joint library project. Barsness explained the project phases and timeline. Malick suggested creating a three person committee to negotiate with the Hudson Area Joint Library. Wentz stated nothing has been voted on by the County Board with regard to selling this land and suggested taking it to the County Board to see if they have an appetite. O'Connor suggested creating a small committee to work with the library the next month and, if the Finance Committee agrees, take it to the County Board in September for a decision. He confirmed this is for a reservation or option not immediate sale. Standafer confirmed there is no specific policy by the County Board that they are prepared to sell the land. Malick explained the city is dealing with developing a plan for the Carmichael corridor which may delay city action on the rezoning request by the county. O'Connor stated zoning is not an issue for the library. Malick suggested committee members to negotiate with the library be non - Hudson residents and suggested Supervisors Krueger Finance Committee August 9, 2007 Page 6 of 7 and Awsumb, providing they are willing to serve. Whiting stated he is willing to staff the committee to work with the library's timeline. Discussion regarding making the proposal to the County Board in August. Motion by Caflisch, 2nd by Malick to move forward with Malick's recommendation of the two members to negotiate with the Hudson Area Library Foundation. Carried unanimously. Add to the County Board agenda: Resolution authorizing people to proceed in developing a proposal with the Hudson Area Library Foundation. 12. Administrative Coordinator Report. a. County Government Center Property Status. Whiting reported the city of Hudson is holding its meeting next Thursday. There will be a neighborhood effort to attend the meeting and Dennis Welsch of Barsness is the only person attending that meeting on behalf of the county. b. Emerald Tower Site. Malick explained the Emergency Management / Emergency Communications Committee want additional time on Emerald Tower site as Dairyland Power may be interested in having something at the site. Since Baker had not issued an RFP, Emergency Management / Emergency Communications Committee asked she not act at this moment. Motion by Malick, 2„d by Caflisch to suspend activities to sell this site until not earlier than November 1St Carried unanimously. C. Review of Court Responsibilities for Lake Mallalieu Dam and Options for Consideration. Whiting explained county staff met with city of Hudson staff in June regarding the Lake Mallalieu Dam. Discussion regarding maintenance on the dam and costs involved and holding a meeting of elected leaders of respective entities that have responsibilities and decision making on maintenance and costs of the dam. Pietrick confirmed the county owns fifty percent of the dam and the county paid part of the balance owing for maintenance costs. Discussion regarding meeting with the city to discuss options. The committee agreed Standafer and Krueger should meet with the city. Pietrick asked if the balance of $15,000 be budgeted for 2008 or paid out of the contingency fund. Standafer suggested not to place it in the 2008 budget but to deal with the city now. 13. Personnel a. PTO Donation Request. Funk confirmed receipt of two requests for PTO donation from Charles (David) Dykes and Richard Koenig. Funk stated Dykes meets the requirement of the current policy. Koenig does not. The policy states requests must be approved by the Finance Committee. Motion by Malick, 2 by Wentz to approve Dykes request to have the PTO donation program apply. Carried unanimously. b. PTO Donation Policy Revision. Funk's proposed changes to the PTO Donation Policy were reviewed. Discussion regarding changing "life threatening" to "serious" and defining "serious ". Malick suggested this type of change should go to the County Board and having staff in the decision making rather than coming to the Finance Committee for approval. Wentz asked about urgency for a decision. Funk asked why the committee was overly cautious in PTO donations as the donor is the one giving away earned time. She also expressed concerns regarding waiting for approval by the Finance Committee if time is an issue. Whiting stated this is a policy matter, not Finance Committee August 9, 2007 Page 7 of 7 administrative matter and requests should continue to come to the committee. Funk confirmed she will come back with definitions of "serious" for the policy and continue submitting donation requests to the Finance Committee. C. PTO Service Credit at Hire Policy. Funk provided a draft of the PTO Service Credit at Hire policy. Discussion regarding making this part of the compensation package. Wentz indicated the policy must be consistently applied. Caflisch suggested having a policy that starts PTO at zero. Whiting stated union comes in a zero PTO. Motion by Malick, 2 nd by Wentz to approve policy as presented. Carried (voting no — Caflisch). d. Multiple Position /Reporting Policy. Julie Speer and Denise Gunderson were present. Funk prepared a draft of a policy for Department Heads reporting to multiple committees. Whiting explained there is currently a situation in which an individual who serves as a Department Head and county contracted position who reports to two committees. Malick stated the County Board should take action on this policy. Caflisch feels there should not be multiple reporting. Malick suggested the last paragraph of the policy be changed to read: "Exceptions to this policy shall be approved by the County Board on a case by case basis to consider the specific circumstances." Discussion regarding overtime and to treat overtime specific to that individual and deal with it if necessary. Standafer suggested taking back under consideration and come back with a clean draft that everyone has reviewed and deal with it in September. No action on policy. Gunderson and Speer expressed concerns regarding issues the Finance Committee has with regard to the Emergency Communications Direction and Medical Examiner situation. Gunderson stated Public Protection and Emergency Management / Emergency Communications Committees have not expressed there being a conflict of interest. Malick stated his concern is divided loyalties and in an emergency situation is the time when there would be problems with divided loyalties and decision making. Standafer stated any policy ought to be personality neutral. Speer stated Swetlik submitted a letter of resignation for the Medical Examiner position and Public Protection is not considering it until its next meeting. Meeting adjourned at 12:45 p.m. Esther Wentz, Secretary Cindy Campbell, Recording Secretary