BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS'
REGULAR MEETING
April 16, 2008
9:00 a.m.
Commissioners’
Conference Room
APPROVED
4/30/08
Commissioner Faye Stewart presided with Commissioners
Bill Dwyer, Bill Fleenor and Bobby Green, Sr., present.
Peter Sorenson was present via telephone.
County Administrator Jeff Spartz, County Counsel Teresa Wilson and
Recording Secretary Melissa Zimmer were also present.
1. ADJUSTMENTS
TO THE AGENDA
None.
2. PUBLIC
COMMENTS
George Goldstein, Swisshome, talked about his property taxes.
He said he filed an appeal and it was rescinded.
He asked why a report was withheld from him.
He said the Appeals Board denied his appeal and he thought the decision
was fraudulent.
Green wanted the Assessor’s perspective to hear the other side.
Bob Peters, Florence, discussed Second Avenue in Florence. He said there are 22
properties on the street. He
distributed information (copy in file). He
noted that tax lot 5300 and 5303 ended up in private ownership and the current
owner applied for a legal lot verification.
He said it has been public right-of-way.
He added that it is for fire and emergency access and is the only route
in and out. He recalled that he
brought this in front of the Board on December 12 and at that time they had
appealed the preliminary decision and County Counsel suggested letting the
matter run out. He said they lost
on appeal of the hearings officer. He
indicated that the intersection needs to be protected for beach access.
Fleenor indicated there were five or six options but only two are
affordable. He said they could have
legalization of the road, condemnation or taking the road by declaratory
judgment. He said it was up to the
Board to get involved as a County.
Wilson thought it was appropriate for staff to bring this back.
She wanted to discuss the matter with Stephen Vorhes and Land Management
staff and to bring this back in May.
Victor Stathakis, Eugene, stated that this is their 16th
year at the courthouse for free speech. He
said the County is cooperating and they have a good relationship with them. He
said they do not have a good relationship with the Eugene Police Department.
He wanted a meeting with David Suchart and the Eugene Police Department.
Green indicated that Chief Leiner and his lieutenants were open to meeting
with him. He said he would
facilitate the meeting with Strathekis. He
commented that the people operating Saturday Market need to work with the
police. He noted there is an antagonism toward the police.
He indicated the police are there for security and they make sure the
people who come to Saturday Market will have a good experience.
Mia Nelson, Lowell, said no one believes that if they use the LCOG study under
options 1 and 2 that they would have the same result as Option 5.
She wanted the forecast to be done over.
She commented that she has not been allowed to participate in the
process,
Fleenor indicated that he spoke with DLCD and he was told the forecast is
not a land use decision. He said
they are not required to have public testimony or public involvement, other than
what the forecast would be based upon. He
indicated that there was little citizen input.
He didn’t think the forecast was written correctly to match Goal 1.
Stewart said when Nelson came to them the first time, they asked LCOG to
have additional public process and they did.
He said Nelson was allowed to make comments at Lowell.
He said Nelson handed in her letter at the last public hearing and the
next meeting the Board of Commissioners held. He understood her frustration but
the Board had gone out of the way for public process.
3. CONSENT
CALENDAR
A. Approval of
Minutes:
March 12, 2008,
Regular Meeting, 9:00 a.m.
March 12, 2008,
Regular Meeting, 1:30 p.m.
April 2, 2008,
Regular Meeting, 9:00 a.m.
B. Health and Human
Services
1) ORDER 08-4-16-2/In
the Matter of Adding a 0.5 FTE Temporary Physician in Fund 286 of the Department
of Health & Human Services at the Community Health Centers of Lane County.
C. Public Works
1) ORDER 08-4-16-3/In
the Matter of Authorizing the Appointment of Public Works/Land Management
Division as Receiver and Allowing the Expenditure of Waste Management Abatement
Funds of Approximately $17,346 to Abate Nuisance Conditions at 26056/26060 Fleck
Road, Veneta, Oregon.
2) ORDER 08-4-16-4/In
the Matter of Entering into a Contract with Morris P. Kielty General Contractors
for Public Works Facilities Improvements in the Amount of $130,819 and
Authorizing the County Administrator to Execute the Contract.
D. Workforce
Partnership
1) ORDER 08-4-16-5/In
the Matter of Re-Certifying the Lane Workforce Partnership Board of Directors as
the Local Workforce Investment Board Under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
E. Youth Services
1) ORDER 08-4-16-6/In
the Matter of Moving a .48 FTE Community Service Worker 1 Position from Fund 124
to Fund 260 in the Department of Youth Services.
MOTION:
to approve the Consent Calendar.
Green, MOVED,
Dwyer SECONDED.
VOTE:
5-0.
4. EMERGENCY
BUSINESS
None.
5. COMMISSIONERS'
REMONSTRANCE
Stewart announced
that Ron Pettiti the Mayor of Creswell passed away.
Stewart said Pettiti was a great leader in the community and he will be
missed. Stewart stated that Alex
Cuyler, IGA, has a card to welcome John Ruiz, the new Eugene City Manager.
He asked the Board to sign the card.
6. RESOLUTIONS
a. RESOLUTION 08-4-16-1/In
the Matter of Recognizing the 60th Anniversary of the Lane County Law
Library on April 24, 2008.
MOTION:
to approve RESOLUTION 08-4-16-1.
Dwyer MOVED, Green
SECONDED.
Stewart read the
resolution into the record.
VOTE:
5-0.
7. COMMISSIONERS'
BUSINESS
a.
DISCUSSION/Public Health Authority.
Green requested
that Clyde Saiki and Michael Skeels of the Department of Human Services discuss
the County’s budget situation. He indicated that the County could possibly
surrender its Public Health Authority.
Clyde Saiki, State
Department of Human Services, commented that the best service is provided at the
local level because local people know the local issues. He said their approach
is if a county is in a situation where they want to have a discussion about
Public Health authority, he wants to get with those counties and do everything
they can to arrange for the authority to stay at the local level.
He said they want to work with Lane County to either help relieve the
administrative burden or streamline things for Lane County to continue to be the
local Public Health authority.
Green asked what
would happen if Lane County surrendered the Public Health authority.
Mike Skeels, State
Department of Human Services, stated that the state public health system is a
shared government arrangement. He indicated that Public Health is a local
activity until the County relinquishes it.
He said if the County decides to relinquish it and the state becomes the
Public Health authority, they would have to appoint someone to administer and
make sure everyone in Lane County has access to Public Health services. He added
that they have the authority to bill to recover the costs.
He said this had never happened to the state of Oregon before.
Rob Rockstroh,
Health and Human Services, said if they surrender animal services and if they
don’t have an IGA or contract and the same service is picked up, the
government agency that picks it up has to guaranty wages and salary for one
year. He indicated by law it is considered a transfer, even if the intent was
not to transfer He said if they do
the work, they have the obligation to take the employees for a year.
Fleenor asked for
Skeels and Saiki’s recommendation.
Skeels commented
that Lane County had nothing but bad options. He said whether they cut WIC or
family planning, there might be short term savings but he thought ultimately the
County would pay later in public safety and special education. He stated that
the state would not be taking authority, the County would be relinquishing it.
He said the state would have the authority to bill as they are
required to deliver Public Health.
Dwyer said that
Public Health gets little of the general fund compared to public safety and most
comes through grants. He said they
have a budget crisis and it will affect public safety. He commented that the
people in Lane County knew it would affect public safety. He said they have to figure out how to pay for all of it or
give the mandates back to the state.
Sorenson asked if
they would be better off giving the authority back to the state and bill Lane
County or to provide the services to the best of their ability and not getting
billed by the state. He asked what
the best decision was on behalf of the community.
Saiki said that
they have never had a county relinquish their Public Health authority.
He said it would be new ground and there are unknowns.
He believed having the services delivered locally is most effective.
Wilson said Skeels
made the point that it isn’t the state taking the authority, it is the local
government giving the authority back. She
asked if the decision by the local authority was that they are not going to fund
some pieces of Public Health, what the state would do.
Skeels responded
that there are five requirements in the statute. He noted one is that a local Public Health authority must
provide services. He stated that
they also have administrative rules that delineate each of the five areas. He
indicated that there is nothing in the administrative rules specifically that
mentions the current programs. He
said they have worked with the Congress of Local Health Officials and they
agreed upon a set of programs that are considered to be the core requirements to
be the local Public Health authority. He
said Lane County couldn’t selectively give back programs to the state.
Wilson asked if
there were rules about the state rejecting the County’s plan and the
consequences.
Skeels indicated
that there is an administrative rules process, but he didn’t know the answer.
Rockstroh
understood they had to do all five elements, even if they went ahead with the
proposed $1.2 million. He stated that it is the budget that they believe
minimally meets the five program elements that are required.
He commented that if they can’t do the five elements, then they have
given up the authority.
Skeels said when
they review the County plan, they don’t review how much money is put into it,
they are reviewing whether the program elements are there.
He indicated that county health departments are funded in many different
ways.
Karen Gillette,
Health and Human Services, said their staff went through all of the program
elements to see what is basic in all programs and they came up with a bare bones
budget they could fulfill minimally. She added the annual plan reflects changes
from last August. She indicated
some services they will choose not to continue because it is not mandated.
Green asked how the
state could step up to be a partner. He
asked what the threshold is for the County to provide services and still meet
the mandates with limited funding.
Gillette stated
that there is already a positive relationship with the state.
She said there are many clients they can’t serve.
She said they have resources at the state they call for epidemiology.
She said they have to be available 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
She said there have been more e-mail sharing and conference calls.
She said they don’t travel as much as they used to.
She added they are not doing best practices because there are so many
referrals they have to deal with.
Skeels said they
will review Lane County’s health plan and will see what they are proposing to
do for the next year to fulfill the five requirements.
He if they think there is a problem for Lane County they will get back to
help solve the problem. He said they look at the outputs, not the money in the plan.
Rockstroh commented
that at the minimum level they would be able to meet the requirements of the
state.
8. COUNTY
ADMINISTRATION
a. Announcements
None.
b. REPORT/Budget
Process.
Spartz gave an
overview of the budget process. He
indicated that the goal of the presentation is to discuss the programming
requests, the outcomes expected and the differences between next year and this
year’s budget.
Green hoped the
presentations would be consistent with the budget direction that the Board gave
to Spartz with regard to service levels.
Sorenson wanted the
presentations to be as succinct as possible.
c.
DISCUSSION/Internal Auditor Annual Work Plan.
Stewart Bolinger,
Internal Auditor, reported that Lane Manual requires him to present an annual
work plan to the Board . He
indicated that last week he went to Finance and Audit to screen the proposals.
With regard to
personal property tax payments, Bolinger said the requirements from an internal
auditor’s perspective is a system of management rules and practices that
relate to protection of the County’s assets, compliance with laws and
regulations, efficiencies and effectiveness and accuracy of the record.
He added he then determines what has the greatest significance and risk.
He noted the total dollar impact tends to be the dominant consideration.
He said he checks to see if there is a major compliance risk. He thought
there was nothing about the routine operation that would highlight someone’s
failure to pay a tax that is due. He
said they are trying to identify how they can have an improved system of
controls that could catch that problem.
With regard to
accounts payable purchase control, Bolinger said he was concerned about what
will happen when staffing goes down. He
noted that was already happening in the purchasing area.
He said they used to have someone who did all purchasing and it was more
economical. He commented that
accuracy and compliance could come into question with the loss of staff.
He said he needs to find out if the existing control system still works.
With regard to
Short Mountain, Bolinger stated that they had never audited the payment stream
for methane sales. He noted there
is a question whether they are going to terminate that agreement.
He said it was a good time to review how the payments have been
calculated with the assets and valuation
With regard to
custody controls, Bolinger explained that it was similar to what happened with
the Riverstone Clinic last year. He
found control weaknesses but no abuse. He
said because of all the pressure to reduce the budget and change in the County,
he did not propose a long time risk assessment and audit claim.
He said as soon as they go through the reductions, he will come back to
the Board. He wanted to work on a five year plan.
He indicated he would review the task controls at the Central Justice
Court. He said there is a major cash flow and it had never been audited.
Bolinger said he
has been working with the State Mental Health Department staff in responding to
their audit. He indicated that
County Counsel has someone who is working on Lane County’s response.
Stewart asked
Bolinger to send him an e-mail with last year’s work plan and the status.
He remembered that Bolinger was going to work on the car rental tax.
MOTION:
to accept the Internal Auditor’s report.
Fleenor MOVED,
Sorenson SECONDED.
VOTE:
5-0.
9. MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
a.
DISCUSSION/Potential Uses of One-Time Funds.
Kay Blackburn,
Finance, recalled that during the goal setting in March, the Board expressed an
interest in exploring options for potential uses of one time Secure Rural
Schools renewal funds to address the structural deficit by reducing ongoing
operating costs. She noted page 2
(copy in file) is the list of the outstanding liabilities. She indicated the
only long term outstanding liability they have they could pre-pay is the retiree
health liability that has an estimated balance of $70 million.
She noted the best way to address the structural deficit would be to
target the cost that is outpacing inflation at the greatest amount. She said the
largest County cost they have is health care. She noted the retiree health care
liability represents ongoing health and Medicare insurance for retirees.
She added that they could target that amount but by paying down the
retiree health care, they get the benefit of using investment earnings to use
the liability and the increasing investment earnings, but they aren’t
addressing the underlying health care costs.
She noted the only way to do that is through plan design.
She listed different options. (Copy in file).
Wilson asked if
they were to pay the $15 million into the trust fund, what it would be on their
liability.
Blackburn said that
is an issue. he stated they are
funding the liability by a payroll assessment and they are able to assess grants
and other funding sources that come from other agencies because it is a flat
percentage on their payroll. She
noted the PERS liability is similar to the retired health liability.
She said if the general fund were to pay down the liability, she didn’t
believe they would be able to charge a different rate for programs that are
funded by external funding sources. She
said in effect, the general fund would be subsidizing a portion of it.
Sorenson was in
favor of paying down the obligations. He
thought it was the best use of single one time money.
Spartz asked if the
Secure Rural Schools funding comes, if the Board wanted to invest some of the
money for long term expenses. He
asked if they want to make it irrevocable or have a future Board be able to undo
it.
Stewart said he
would be willing to invest some of the money if it could get the County to a
point where they are not cutting services and are able to live within their
means.
Green said they
have to still work on options. He
thought even if they got multi-year money, they need to think of a strategy.
10. CORRESPONDENCE
TO THE BOARD
None.
11. COMMISSIONERS'
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Fleenor announced a community dialogue in Junction City at the Rodeo
Restaurant. He said his guest will
be Sheriff Russ Burger.
Stewart said he served on the Saving American Dream Committee formed by
the United Way. He said they are
working on improving people who are falling into poverty and on the verge of
homelessness. He noted one
initiative was to improve the earned income tax credit and claim more of the
money available for Lane County. He
recalled that this year they had a 25 percent increase of $1.2 million in funds
that were brought in. He announced
a candlelight vigil at Wayne Morse Plaza to recognize the victims of violence.
12. EXECUTIVE
SESSION as per ORS 192.660
Per ORS 192.660 (2)(d) for the purpose of consulting with labor
negotiators.
14. OTHER
BUSINESS
None
There being no
further business, Commissioner Stewart recessed the meeting in Executive Session
at 11:35 a.m.
Melissa Zimmer
Recording Secretary