Notes -- December 2011 Council Meeting

Note: These are my personal notes from the council meeting. They are NOT the official minutes, nor should they be construed as an official record of any kind.

Boone County Council
12/13/2011
Present: All Council Members present, Secretary Heather Barton.
The council approved the minutes of the November meeting and the October Budget Hearing and Budget Adoption meetings.

RE-APPROPRIATIONS: All Approved.
Surveyor/Drainage Board(Kathy Clawson):
Requested $200 from meetings to office supplies for Drainage Board to advertise upcoming events.
Requested $100 from Photo Blueprint to Seminars to so Jim Swift, coordinator of the Cornerstone Perpetuation Project, can attend a training seminar.

Superior Ct. I (no one present)
Requested $1700 from Part-Time to Office Supplies. Requested $360 Judge Pro Tem, Other Operating Expense and Med/Psych to Library. Some discussion followed regarding the ongoing requests from all three court for Library funding.

Circuit Court (no one present):
Requested just under $6000 from various funds to Pauper Attorney Fees, and $200 to Library.

Re-Assessment (Lisa Garoffolo):
Requested $4700 from Aerial to Appraisal to cover appeals costs for Lebanon downtown appraisals. This is the third time this request has become before the Council this year, which led to lengthy discussion. The Council approved these funds as an additional appropriation this summer, then denied it as a re-appropriation this fall when it returned and Ms. Garoffolo was not present to explain why we should do it again. As it turns out, the state had denied the original additional appropriation request without notifying the council. Now it is being re-done as a re-appropriation, which should meet the state’s approval.


ADDITIONAL APPROPRIATIONS:
Auditor (Melody Price):
Requested $500 for OverTime to finish year-end work with open enrollment periods. No motion was originally made to approve. After further discussion, a motion was made and seconded, and then defeated 2-4
Requested $1325 to repair and rebind several plat and transfer record books. Several council members discussed the need to make this expenditure at year’s end, whether the funds should come from this line, if the records could be digitized or whether the task should fall to the Recorder’s office. The motion was tabled to await further discussion with the Recorder and other offices.

Sheriff (Ken Campbell):
Requested just under $1300 in various transfers for Part-Time (sheriff’s sales), Inmate Medical and Postage reimbursements. Approved.

County Corrections (Ken Campbell):
Requested $55 for transfer of a refund related to uniforms. Approved.

Prosecutor (Cindy Poore & Tonya Thayer):
Requested $202,000 to cover various salary lines designated for child support work which had been budgeted to be drawn from the Prosecutor’s IV-D incentive fund. The budgeting for that fund had been intended to rely on reimbursements from the state (at 66%), which it now appears are only going into the general fund. Additionally, the state has given very narrow guidelines for what the IV-D fund can be spent to support. Approved.

County General Health (Cindy Poore & Melody Price):
Requested $788,000 to cover a cumulative shortfall in the Health Department’s Insurance fund. The biggest part of that shortfall stems from a shift at the end of 2009. At that time, $412,000 budgeted for health insurance and unspent at year’s end should have been rolled over but instead reverted back to the general fund. In 2010 and 2011 budgeting, that money was assumed to be available in the fund, but was not. After several questions for Ms. Poore, Alan McCloskey of SIHO (current insurance carrier) spoke to the issue of the changeover. McCloskey also noted that the county’s expected costs for 2012 are currently $3M, while we have budgeted $3.1M, with a maximum exposure of $3.4M (including all premiums). MUCH discussion of insurance premium rates, costs, employee share, etc., followed. The county’s current health insurance cost per employee is at $1195, with a national average nearly $1000, though McCloskey noted that the county’s benefit plan and employee costs compare to many employers whose costs are in the $1400-$1500 range. Commissioner Marc Applegate also addressed the difficulty of estimating health insurance budgets in July with renewal numbers coming in January. Extensive further discussion followed regarding the extent of the county’s liability and whether the appropriation was necessary. Eventually a motion to appropriate the $788,000 for the Health Department, as well as $120,000 for the Highway Department Health Fund, which is similarly underfunded, both carried 5-2. Marcia Wilhoite and I voted no on both. (Personal note: While I accept some responsibility for not overseeing these funds closely enough, I cannot accept spending a total of over $900,000 to cover an error in the Auditor’s office, particularly in light of the herculean efforts by the council, department heads and employees over the past year to squeeze budgets and to accept cuts in light of significantly falling revenues.)

County Highway (Rick Carney):
Requested $40,000 from two different funds (Gas & Oil and Equipment Repair). Approved.
Requested $52,000 from CCD for radio upgrades, as discussed extensively at previous meetings, including last month’s joint meeting with the Commissioners. Approved.

NEW BUSINESS:
The Council approved meeting dates for 2012 on the second Tuesday of each month, with the exception of May, when we will meet on Wednesday, May 9th, due to the primary election holiday on the 8th.

Tonya Thayer of the Prosecutor’ Office addressed the Council regarding shifting of benefits from one employee to another due to moving the first employee’s benefits to a diversion fee line. Several questions were raised, but no action was requested or taken. The Council did thank Ms. Thayer for her years of service as office manager for the Prosecutor’s office, as she will be taking office as the Clerk-Treasurer of the City of Lebanon. (Thanks, Tonya! We’ll miss you!)

Sheriff Campbell introduced Morgan Stanley representatives Ed Painter and Elaine Beatty to address questions regarding the sheriff & merit deputy pension funds. Beatty had previously been employed at McCready and Keene, which oversaw the county’s pension funds actuarially. She gave an overview of the pension program, dating back to 1972. Gene Thompson asked for information regarding the county’s liability and projected exposure. The pension plan is pre-funded, based on a 20-year pay-off assumption. There was some discussion of how best to move the employee contribution and court filing fee portions of the county’s obligation, as well as how the council might determine possible long-term exposure. In recent years, the county’s contribution has steadily declined, if slightly, but with recent market volatility and especially interest rate returns, the longer-term picture would indicate increases will be required to cover the obligation.

Council President Jacob raised the issue of renewing board appointments. Some discussion of whether the Council needed to make a re-appointment to the Hussey-Mayfield Library board ended with consensus that we did not. Current appointments were renewed with the exception of the PTA/BOA, which may be shifting from five to three members, and Mapleview, where there is uncertainty as to the willingness of Tracey Hammel to continue serving.

Auditor Melody Price presented an overview update on the county’s financial position. With today’s actions, she estimates the county general fund will have an operating balance of roughly $2M. The Rainy Day and Economic Development Funds – the county’s two “reserve” funds – will total roughly $9.9M. This led to discussion of the possibility of budgeting a one-time lump sum payment to county employees. Several questions as to how such a payment would be distributed if it were approved ended with the item being placed on the Council’s January agenda and as a possible topic for the next quarterly joint meeting with the commissioners, which also likely will be in January.

OLD BUSINESS:

PUBLIC COMMENT:


Meeting adjourned after 11:00, which was when I had to leave, so these notes are incomplete.
Next regularly-scheduled council meeting will be Tuesday, January 10th, 2012.

Agenda -- December 2011 Council Meeting

BOONE COUNTY COUNCIL
BUSINESS AGENDA FOR DECEMBER 13, 2011
LOCATION: CONNIE LAMAR MEETING ROOM, ROOM 105
116 W Washington St
Lebanon, IN 46052

Call meeting to order – 8:30 a.m.

Approval of November 2011 Minutes, 2012 Budget Hearing and Adoption Minutes

Re-Appropriation Requests:
Surveyor, Drainage Board, Superior Court I, Circuit Court,Re-Assessment

Additional Requests:
Auditor, Sheriff, Prosecutor, Co Gen Health Fund, County Corrections, Highway, Highway Health Fund, Cum Bridge, CCD

New Business:
Ken Campbell and Morgan Stanly Rep – Sheriff’s Pension
Rick Carney, Highway Superintended – Narrow banding
Approval of 2012 Council Meeting Dates
Tonya Thayer, Office Manager Prosecutors Office – Benefits for Employee
Dax Norton, Director Boone EDC - Update
Melody Price, Auditor - Financial Update

Old Business:

Public Comment:

Document Signing:
Re-Appropriations, Additionals, November 2011 Council Minutes, 2012 Hearing and Adoption Minutes

Adjournment


This agenda is subject to change.