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STATE OF WYOMING ) LANDER, WYOMING ) ss. OFFICE OF THE FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS COUNTY OF FREMONT ) June 10, 2008 The Board of Fremont County Commissioners met in Regular Session at 9:00 a.m. with the following members present: Chairman Douglas L. Thompson, Vice-Chairman Pat Hickerson, Jane Adamson, Keja Whiteman and Dennis Heckart. Also present was County Clerk and Clerk of the Board Julie A. Freese. Dennis Heckart moved, Pat Hickerson seconded, to approve the Agenda, as amended. Motion carried unanimously. Pat Hickerson, Dennis Heckart seconded, to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held June 3, 2008. Motion carried unanimously. Jane Adamson moved, Dennis Heckart seconded, to accept the bills for payment. Motion carried unanimously.
The Board adjourned from regular session and reconvened as the Board of Equalization. County Assessor Eileen Oakley, Deputy Tara Berg and Deputy County Attorney Jodi Darrough discussed several tax appeals. Oakley reported on a WCDA meeting that she and fellow Commissioners Thompson and Adamson attended the previous day in Casper. The meeting explained how restrictive rent housing projects were conceived, paid for, etc. Approximately eight other counties were in attendance to discuss how this affected specifically an appeal filed by College Hills Limited Partnership. Three of the counties in attendance had already submitted a Motion for Certification of Appeal to the State. Oakley stated her belief that all the properties should be assessed the same way and the Assessor’s have no clear answer at this point. Deputy County Attorney Darrough has been in contact with the manager of Fremont County’s College Hills structure who has indicated he did not believe the owner would have an issue with the Fremont County BOE certifying the protest to the State. She will report back later in the day with a firm answer from the owner. Later in the day, Jane Adamson moved, Dennis Heckart seconded, to approve the Motion for Certification of Appeal to the State. Motion carried unanimously. In a related issue, Eileen Oakley requested the Board of Equalization consider a Motion for Certification of Appeal to the State from John and Billie Jean Wirth. Their issue concerns the methods of valuation, specifically that the comparable sample size is too small. Deputy County Attorney Darrough stated this may be a legal question for the State BOE to consider. The Board stated they would take the matter under advisement and make a decision at their next meeting. A protest submitted by Tory and Meredith Taylor was discussed in that the date set for their hearing would not work for them. Several other dates were discussed; however, the Board requested that they try to make the July 9th date work as it is difficult to schedule a date when the hearing officer, assessor and county attorney’s office can all be available. In a related matter, Assessor Oakley stated she expects a protest to be filed later in the day as a result of an error in a deadline date sent to the taxpayer. The Board will need to determine if they will hear their tax appeal at their next meeting. The Board adjourned as the Board of Equalization and reconvened as the Board of County Commissioners Deputy County Attorney Jodi Darrough briefly reviewed a draft Order Taking Matter Under Advisement in the Application of Kenneth and Dorothy Thompson for a Private Road. She will research the options and report back. Sheriff Skip Hornecker presented a monthly report. Current Detention statistics show 187 inmates on the total roster, compared to one year ago of 172. Detention currently has nine certified positions open and three civilian positions vacant. One certified deputy is currently at the Academy and two new deputies will be employed in the next two weeks, both already certified. The Registered Nurse position in the inmate medical unit has submitted her two weeks notice. All Patrol positions are currently filled; however, due to internal changes, he anticipates a vacancy in the patrol ranks of either the Dubois or Lander section. A Fremont County Juvenile Detention Report indicates total juveniles held in May are 27. Revenue billed for these juveniles total $17,885. The cost to Fremont County if we did not have a juvenile justice act compliant, and state certified juvenile detention center, for the month of May 2008 would be $24,427. The Department has bought out vacation time for ten employees near the cap. He did state that due to the staffing shortage, these numbers will likely go back up again. Sheriff Hornecker discussed new employee hiring costs as follows: Patrol Section - $40,183; Detention Section - $28,115; Control Section - $16,418 and Dispatch Section - $18,630. He further documented that costs for new employees during the 2007-08 fiscal year were: four hires or reassignments in Patrol Section totaling $160,732; seven new hires in the Detention Section - $196,805; four new hires in the Control Section totaling $65,672 and six new hires in the Dispatch Section totaling $111,780 for a grand total of recruitment and training costs for the current fiscal year of $534,989. He noted that costs for new employees varies based on past knowledge and certifications. As a result of the high cost of training new employees, retention is very important. He subsequently met with Ernie Over, Director of Public Relations and Social Marketing for Wyoming, Inc., who was present to discuss his proposal to the Sheriff’s Department regarding the concern for recruitment and retention efforts. Mr. Over reviewed the proposal in depth by stating a solution to engage a comprehensive regional marketing plan to promote side benefits, total compensation package, location in great outdoors, and opportunities for professional advancement and quality of life issues. Budget discussion included comparing monetary costs of training and overtime to replace lost employees with safety and morale concerns as justification for marketing efforts. Attracting already certified and/or attractive applicants would reduce turnover and training costs, boost morale and increase safety inside the Detention Center. The total budget for this project ranged from $48,000 - $63,000, including video for website/TV, advertising, and website updates. He did state the updates would be less once the program was developed. Sheriff Hornecker stated he is very proud of the Sheriff’s Department, as they are used as a template for many other county facilities, and noted those need to be marketed. He further stated his appreciation for Commissioner Whiteman and Heckart visiting with him regarding recruitment ideas. Fremont County Library Board Director Jill Rourke and Business Manager Rebecca Thomas reviewed unanticipated revenues within their FY 07-08 budget. Jane Adamson moved, Pat Hickerson seconded, to authorize the Board to hold a budget hearing, with the amendments recommended by the Commissioners. Motion carried unanimously. The Library Board will advertise and hold a public hearing to finalize the budget adjustments. Emergency Management Coordinator Richard Klouda and Administrative Assistant Kathi Metzler joined Blackhawk Security representative Charlie Johnson to discuss courthouse security options. Klouda stated that a risk assessment should be completed, including input from Elected Officials. Sheriff Hornecker was also present and expressed his pleasure that the Commissioners were actively researching this issue. He reiterated to the Board that courthouse security is different from courtroom security. Mr. Johnson reviewed several options, from very basic (panic buttons) to very sophisticated (cameras). Metzger informed the Board that the county photo ID’s would expire in January of 2009 and, depending on the level of security the Board determines to be the best option, it would be good to merge ID’s at that time. The Board asked that Mr. Johnson be given a copy of an audit conducted several years ago and then come up with options and associated costs. Executive Health Committee members Jim Massman, Margy Irvine and Kristi Green reviewed an earlier request from Mountain View Cemetery District to provide benefits under the Fremont County Employees Medical and Dental Benefit Plan. The Committee had researched the request and stated they did not see any benefit for the County to offer the plan. As special districts were not part of County Government, they are not required to follow the County’s policies, which could create administrative concerns. They further recommended that the continued participation of all entities governed by Boards other than the Fremont County Commissioners be contingent upon annually completing a certification form. A suggestion to certify the amount of employee contributions on the form was requested by Commissioner Whiteman. Dennis Heckart moved, Jane Adamson seconded, to accept both recommendations by the Executive Health Committee. Motion carried unanimously. The Board reviewed one County Commissioners Scholarship renewal application. Dennis Heckart moved, Pat Hickerson seconded, to award the renewal scholarship to Christina Samuelson. Motion carried unanimously. The following items in the Signature File were reviewed: Fremont County Capital Revolving Fund Lease Memorandums for the Transportation Department for Motorgrader and Canon copier, Maintenance Department for three rotary lifts, Planning Department for plotter scanner, and Clerk/Planner/Assessor for a Xerox plat copier. Keja Whiteman moved, Dennis Heckart seconded, to approve the Lease Memorandums as previously approved through the Capital Revolving Fund. Motion carried unanimously. A letter accepting the resignation of Richard Klouda was signed. A Wyoming After School Partnership Agreement was forwarded to the following meeting in order to give the Commissioners time to review additional materials received regarding the program. A License for New Construction of Utility Crossing or Encroachment submitted by State of Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources for a water and sewer line for South Pass City Historic Site, High Plains Power for Hutchison Road and Application/Permit to Construct Access Driveway submitted by James Knight for Paradise Valley Road and Joe Facinelli for North Fork Road were reviewed. Keja Whiteman moved, Jane Adamson seconded, to approve the applications as submitted. Motion carried unanimously. Change Order No. 4 from GSG Architecture for an additional $6,896.78 for the Help for Health Hospice Home was reviewed. A flagpole with mounted light, vertical pipes with chain barricade, and additional pipes in sign base make up the expenses for the addition. Keja Whiteman moved, Dennis Heckart seconded, to approve Change Order No. 4. Motion carried unanimously. Pat Hickerson moved, Jane Adamson seconded, to accept Voucher No. 061008L to Lander Valley Medical Center in the amount of $9,100 for Title 25 patients. Motion carried unanimously. The Board acknowledged receipt of the Certificate of Assessment Roll for the Year 2008 for South Lander Industrial Park and Special Improvement District. The budget work session continued at 1:30 p.m. County Clerk Julie Freese outlined the salary and health benefit changes that the Commissioners had asked her and Financial Assistant Mike Stalder to process. The process was: 1) Giving each full time employee $2,000 and each part time employee $1,000 or a pro-rated share of $2,000; 2) Figure 3% for each employee; and 3) To figure each employee’s health insurance premium at a 12% increase. This amounted to a savings of $577,772. In addition, the Clerk was asked to indicate all new employees and their total cost. A final figure produced was the figure of operating costs and the amount of those increases in each department. Operational costs ranged from -29% to 60% increases. The Commissioners reviewed the Library Board budget again and decided to cut their contingency for health insurance by $31,414 as no other departments have this fund for possible health insurance adjustments during the year. It will be relayed to the Board that any adjustments that are not covered by their budget during the year are to be brought before the Commissioners for additional funding. The new custodial positions at $20,028 each were cut as well as cutting ½ of the additional substitute hours equaling $15,302. Their cash reserve was proposed to increase by $156,000 and was cut to $56,000. Indigent care figures were revised based on property tax figures provided by the County Assessor to $240,486 and with the addition of $6,000 for two indigent burials; this line item is proposed at $246,486. The Museum budget was cut by $225,000 which was to be set aside for the Dubois Museum. The request to move a part-time employee to full-time was also cut. Capital Road Projects were discussed again with Dave Pendleton, Transportation Supervisor. The $425,000 for the Burma Road project was moved out of this fund and into the Capital Road Construction Fund. The other half of the Dutch Ed Lane project was cut for this year. Twenty-five percent (25%) of the South Fork Project was moved into the Capital Road Fund as well. Other cuts included: 1) County Clerk was cut $5,000 in salaries for the temporary part time employee’s salary, allowing the Clerk to only hire summer help. 2) Detention was cut $60,735 for a new half-time nurse position. 3) Information Systems was cut $43,337 for an administrative assistant position. 4) The Fair Board’s revenue projections were increased by $42,595 as they intend to see their new marketing director make up her wages in donations to the Fair. Capital Revolving purchases for last year are complete and those rental payments of past and current rentals will be added to each department in the amount totaling $746,385 for all departments. All Commissioners will review the operations increases and any other salary adjustments they wish to change and a work session will ensue on June 17, 2008 beginning at 1:30 p.m. The mill levy currently sits at 11.998 mills with $1,669 available to reach 12 mills. Mike Stalder will use the salary survey and input the employee’s proposed, adjusted increases for Commissioner review next week. Julie Freese will review all figures, revenues and fund balances for any changes for the next meeting. There being no further business, Dennis Heckart moved, Jane Adamson seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 4:30 p.m. and reconvene on June 17, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. Motion carried unanimously.
/s/ DOUGLAS L. THOMPSON, CHAIRMAN FREMONT COUNTY COMMISSIONERS /s/ JULIE A. FREESE, COUNTY CLERK AND CLERK OF THE BOARD
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