Traverse County Commission

Traverse County Commission

Regular Board Meeting

November 3, 2015

The meeting was called to order by Commission Chair Kevin Leininger. Other commissioners present included Dave Salberg, Tom Monson, Mark Gail, and Todd Johnson. The pledge was recited. The agenda was approved unanimously, upon a motion by Monson and second by Gail. The Board added the issues of Broadband Meeting, Child Support/Legal Secretary Position, AMC Meeting and County Program Aid Resolution, and West Central Community Action.

Larry Haukos/Highway Engineer- Haukos requested authorization for payment to Serocki Excavating, Inc., in the amount of $72,422.08, which represented an increase from the original bid. Haukos explained that the reason for this was on three different projects they underestimated the amount needed for the repairs. In Dumont the original bid was based on filling a crack by the elevator, 75 and 6 but there was no real approach there so they made one. Leininger asked if the Elevator might help with some of the expense, Haukos will approach them about it. The second project was on 76, the pavement was broke up by 27 and the bridge, there was more that needed to be fixed than projected. The third was a project in Browns Valley, initially intended to pave up to the Care Center and the intersection by the Catholic Church, it was over ran due to the width. Two holes by the Care Center were also filled. Haukos said it has needed to be done for a while and he feels it was a good investment. Upon motion by Monson and second by T. Johnson, authorization was granted unanimously. Haukos also updated the Board on several activities going on, as well as status of projects.

Lynn Siegel/Emergency Manger– Siegel informed the Board that this year the Emergency Operation Plan needed to be looked over and approved. She will get this out to them so that they can have it approved at the December meeting.

LeAnn Peyton/Recorder– Peyton informed the Board that they have picked out new office furniture and paint. The money will be paid out of their technology fund. The Assessor’s Office and Law Enforcement Center are taking their old furniture. Peyton also informed the Board that their documentswill be put on-line, so the public will now have on-line access to all the Recorders documents for an undetermined fee.

Sara Gronfeld/Planning and Zoning/Soil and Water– Gronfeld informed the Board thatsince August there have been 14 new Land Use permits issued and 8 new Septic permits issued. Gronfeld is still working with the City of Tintah to get a sewer system evaluation done, and said that the City is looking into an assistance program to get help. There is a Planning Commission meeting scheduled for November 18thregarding an addition to Rosebud RV park.

Greg Forcier/Chief Deputy Sheriff– Chief DeputyForcier read a letter written by Sheriff Trevor Wright updating the board on his department about the following; the jail has been at or near capacity for the past month with 75% being Traverse County inmates, which means revenue will be low. Jeff Conrad was hired as a part-time Communications/Correction Officer. The Appleton Prison Resolution,which is asking for support for the State of Minnesota to reopen the Appleton prison, was discussed. Sheriff Wrightsupported the Board approving the resolution, as it would not impact us and we wouldn’t lose any potential revenue to them. Upon a motion by Salberg and a second by Gail to adopt the following resolution the motion was unanimously carried.

WHEREAS,accordingtotheMinnesotaDepartmentofCorrections,theStateofMinnesota'sprisonpopulationexceedscapacity;and

WHEREAS,theMinnesotaDepartmentofCorrectionsishousing560inmatesincountyjailswheretheycannot receive critical rehabilitation services available in State correctional facilities; and

WHEREAS,theMinnesotaDepartmentofCorrectionsprojectstheStateofMinnesota'sprisonpopulation will grow by at least 500 inmates by the year 2020;and

WHEREAS,theMinnesotaDepartmentofCorrectionsisseeking$141.5millioningeneralobligationbondstofinance theconstruction ofa500-bed expansionat MinnesotaCorrectionalFacility-RushCityto accommodate projected prison population growth;and

WHEREAS,the State of Minnesota would incur additional costs such as interest, debt service,maintenance, and annual operating costs associated with expanding Minnesota Correctional Facility­Rush City;and

WHEREAS,theCityofAppletonishometoavacantandwell-maintained1,600-bedprison;and

WHEREAS,350peoplefrom24surroundingcountiesworkedattheAppletonprisonwhenitwasinuse,generating an estimated $15.2 million for the regional economy; and

WHEREAS,manyancillarybusinessesintheregionandtheirworkersbenefittedwhentheAppletonprisonwasinuse;and

WHEREAS,theregionoffersrobustinfrastructuretoprovide rehabilitationservicesforStateofMinnesota inmates and a great quality of life for working families; and

WHEREAS,thecosttotheStateofMinnesotatoleasetheAppletonprisonisestimatedtobe$6-8million per year, plus annual operating costs - substantially lower than constructing andmaintainingnew, permanent correctional facilities; and

WHEREAS,itispracticalthattheStateofMinnesotadoitsduediligencetofairlyconsiderthecostsassociated with leasing and operating the Appleton prison before constructing new,permanent correctionalfacilities;

NOWTHEREFOREBEITRESOLVED,thatonNovember 3, 2015 the Traverse County Board of Commissioners declareditssupportforaproposal

fortheStateofMinnesotatoleaseandoperatetheAppleton prisonwithStateofMinnesotapublicemployeestoprovidemuch-neededjobsandeconomicdevelopmentforthepeopleofWestCentralMinnesotaandtoprovideeffectiverehabilitationservicesforinmatesneededtoreducerecidivism.

Law enforcement agencies are mandated to start e-filing and e-charging pretty soon, this is an unfunded mandate. Wright would like a motion to go with ZuerchereCitations for $24,188, plus maintenance and support for year 2 at $2,828. Upon a motion by T. Johnson and second by Monson to go ahead with ZuerchereCitations, the motion was unanimously approved.

The Browns Valley law enforcement contract was discussed. There was recently a meeting involving 2 Commissioners (Monson and T. Johnson), Sheriff Wright, County Attorney Matt Franzese, and Coordinator Rhonda Antrim with representatives from the City of Browns Valley. The City asked for increased coverage. We currently have been providing 56 hrs/week of coverage and they would like to increase it to 70 hrs/week. They would continue to pay us $143,000 per year plus extra for the lease payment for a squad car, but they want us to take over the lease payment of the squad car. The lease payment is $7,800 per year. There was a motion by T. Johnson and a second by Monson to approve the contract with those provisions. Discussion followed about the fact that they will be getting more hours while we will be taking over the $7,800 per year lease payment, resulting in the County losing $15,600 from the previous contract. The Board concluded that we should only lose one-half of that, so there should be more money upfront. Based upon this discussion, T. Johnson rescinded his original motion and made a new motion to amend the current proposal to $150,000 per year,with the county paying for the squad car lease, and to only make it a 2 year contract.The motion was seconded by Monson and unanimously approved.

Lisa Siegel/Human Resource Tech - Sat in for Rhonda Antrim/County Coordinator. On a motion by Salberg and second by Monson, the Board minutes from October 20, 2015, were approved unanimously with the change of Allison Krenz to Allison Frisch. Upon a motion by Monson and second by T. Johnson, the following bills were approved unanimously:

BIG STONE COUNTY HIGHWAY DEPT / 3,369.73
True North Steel / 11,253.64
Anderson Law Office PA / 3,120.00
Zuercher Technologies / 24,774.75

Per M.S. 375.12, the number of claims totaling $2000.00 or less were 37, amounting to $15,104.83.The Board looked over the annual MCIT report. K Johnson added that MCIT currently has Salberg as the voting Commissioner and T. Johnson as back up. The Board agreed that this is still correct. The Board looked over the Office of State Auditor Letter, no discussion.

There was a motion by T. Johnson to approve and sign the Rainbow Rider Contract, seconded by Gail, and approved unanimously.

Marg Schmitz informed the Board that Traverse County Social Services Office Support Specialist Val Seifert had submitted her resignation, and asked the Board for approval to advertise and hire a replacement. Upon a motion by Monson and a second by Salberg, the motion was approved unanimously. Schmitz also asked for approval to hire a full-time Financial/Eligibility Worker for Social Services. This would replace a position that was two days a week. Schmitz gave some history on this position and talked about all the added responsibilities that the Financial Workers are taking on for example the MN Sure Program. Leininger said it feels like we are doing a lot of hiring. Schmitz explained that this position would be on the income maintenance side of Social Services,where we do get reimbursed 50% by the State. Upon a motion by Monson and a second by T. Johnson, the motion passed 4 -1. Voting in opposition was Gail, as he was not aware of the reasons for the vacancy and wanted more information.

Siegel brought up the Resiliency Training being held December 16, 2015.She asked the Board if they would like to make it mandatory for employees to attend. The Board was against that suggestion,and asked that it be advertised as a positive training to attend.

Siegel asked the Board if they would like to do a budget work session with the Department Heads before the Truth In Taxation meeting to get a better understanding of the budget. There was discussion, and they decided to schedule a meeting on November 30, 2015, at 5:00 p.m. to go over all the budgets again. If they have questions for the Department Heads, they will get a hold of them specifically. They will be asking Department Heads to trim as much as possible before the November 30thmeeting.

Leininger discussed the Broadband Meeting.He believes it would be a great benefit to Traverse County. If Traverse and Grant counties apply together, the grant will have a 50% match. The Board agreed that it should pursue the grant for Broadband. Leininger believed that we didn’t have an option whether to go with Runestone or Frontier; he thought we had to go with Frontier because they are our service provider and he said that the County will need to take the lead.

Siegel informed the Board that the position of Legal Secretary/Child Support Officer has been offered to Carisia Ellingson. Ellingson is presently the secretary for the Probation Office, a position she has held for 7 years. That position, which is non-union, is funded through a Joint Powers Agreement between Traverse, Grant, Big Stone, Stevens, and Wilkin counties. Since her office is in Traverse County, she has followed all of Traverse County’s benefits and policies, even though Traverse County only pays 1/5 of her salary and benefits. An issue has arisen about her accumulated sick and vacation hours, and whether those would carry over to her new position. Right now it appears that she would have to cash in her accumulated vacation hours, with Traverse paying 1/5 of the total hours. And she would lose all of her sick leave hours. Upon a motion by Gail, seconded by Monson, the Board unanimously approved the carryover of her Vacation and Sick Leave hours. Another issue for Ellingson is that her monthly vacation hours will be reduced from 12 to 8 hours a month. However, the Board could agree to deviate from the union contract and start out with 7 years of service and earning 12 hours of vacation a month. If they did, then the issue would be presented to the union for them to vote. Upon motion by Monsonand second by Gail, the Board unanimously approved Ellingson’s request that she start at 7 years of service and earn 12 hours of vacation a month, and that this issue should now be presented to the union for final approval by them.

There was discussion about the AMC meeting. There is also a resolution regarding the formula for County Program Aide, which states there would be more money for Traverse and it would be a more consistent, stable allocation formula. Upon a motion by T. Johnson and second by Salberg, the following resolution was approved unanimously:

Affirming TraverseCounty’s endorsement of the revised County Program Aid formula developed by the Association of Minnesota Counties’ County Program Aid Work Group.

WHEREAS, Minnesota’s counties are mandated by the state to provide essential services in many program areas including human services, public safety, and transportation; and

WHEREAS, counties depend on County Program Aid (“CPA”) for the financial sustainability of these state-mandated, county-administered services; and

WHEREAS, the current structure of the CPA formula, pursuant MS Chapter 447A.0124, creates considerable volatility in the fund’s distribution, interfering with counties’ abilities to accurately budget for essential services; and

WHEREAS, the current formula’s inadequacies have also resulted in the dramatic reduction of funding for one-third of counties, that have lost at least 50 percent of their funding since 2005; and

WHEREAS, despite fluctuations over the past ten years, the state appropriation to the 2015 CPA is equal to the 2005 appropriation making it greatly depressed in terms of inflation; and

WHEREAS, a revised CPA formula in conjunction with additional funding will enable counties to continue to provide quality services that may also translate into reductions in county levies, decreasing the tax burden of Minnesota residents; and

WHEREAS, in October 2014, the Association of Minnesota Counties assembled the CPA Work Group including leadership from twenty counties and representatives from the Metropolitan Inter-County Association and the Minnesota Rural Counties Caucus to analyze and develop a CPA formula that reflects the pressing needs of Minnesota’s counties; and

WHEREAS, the CPA Work Group unanimously approved a revised CPA formula that benefits all Minnesota counties by reducing volatility and ensuring a fair distribution of CPA; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Association of Minnesota Counties that represents the diverse interests of Minnesota’s 87 counties, voted to support the proposed CPA formula revisions; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED, Traverse Countyendorses the following revisions to the Minnesota County Program Aid formula:

• A funding increase of $40 million;
• The creation of a funding floor that guarantees each county $350,000 in tax base equalization aid (“TBEA”);
• Adjustments to the TBEA formula factors to slow down counties’ loss of TBEA funding, including: an increase of the per capita factor to $190 and a decrease of the county adjusted net tax capacity (ANTC) factor to 9 percent;
• The elimination of special funds and transition aid; and
• The creation of a 5% cap on annual CPA losses; ensuring no county will lose more than 5% of its funding each year.

Salberg informed the Board that the West Central Community Action is looking for a donation for a Work Group to come to Traverse County.We have given donations in the past. There was a motion by Salberg to give $3,000 if they do the work in Traverse County, second by T. Johnson, and approved unanimously.

Attested to by:

______

Lisa Siegel/Human Resource TechKevin Leininger/Board Chair