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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 2008.09.11 - 36296MIKE ROGERS Chairperson EILEEN KOWALL Vice Chairperson HELAINE ZACK Minority Vice Chairperson September 11, 2008 Chairperson Rogers called the meeting of the Finance Committee to order at 9:00 a.m., in the Board of Commissioners' Committee Room A, Commissioners' Wing, County Service Center, Pontiac, Michigan. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Mike Rogers, Eileen Kowall, Helaine Zack, Sue Ann Douglas , Hugh Crawford, Tom Middleton, Christine Long , Jeff Potter, David Coulter, Tim Greimel, David Woodward COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT Eileen Kowall, Tom Middleton OTHERS PRESENT DRAIN COMMISSIONER Steve Korth EMERGENCY RESPONSE Gail Novak, Chief EQUALIZATION Dave Hieber, Manager EXECUTIVE OFFICE Jerry Poisson, Deputy Executive Robert Daddow, Deputy Executive FISCAL SERVICES Tim Soave, Manager Nancy Fournier, Chief LaVerne Smith, Supervisor Joe Matkosky, Supervisor Leo Lease, Analyst Nancy Falardeau, Analyst HUMAN RESOURCES Nancy Scarlet, Director Jennifer Mason, Manager David VandeGrift, Analyst MANAGEMENT & BUDGET Laurie Van Pelt, Director Art Holdsworth, Deputy Director SHERIFF Michael McCabe, Undersheriff Dale Cunningham, Business Manager OTHERS Patti Maida, S. Lyon Council Member BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Larry Doyle, Administrative Director Harvey Wedell, BOC Sr. Analyst Helen Hanger, Sr. Committee Coordinator APPROVAL OF THE PREVIOUS MINUTES Crawford moved approval of the minutes of August 21, 2008 and August 2 8, 2008, as printed. OAKLAND COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1200 N. TELEGRAPH ROAD, PONTIAC, MI 48341-0475 Telephone (248) 858 -0100 FAX (248) 858-1572 FINANCE COMMITTEE Sue Ann Douglas Hugh D. Crawford Tom Middleton Christine Long Jeff Potter David Coulter David Woodward Tim Greimel FINANCE COMMITTEE Page 2 September 11, 2008 Supported by Douglas. Motion carried on a voice vote. PUBLIC COMMENT Commissioner Potter introduced South Lyon Council Member Patti Maida. Commissioner Zack asked that the committee observe a moment of silence in remembrance of September 11, 2001. 5. FY 2008 C ONTINGENCY REPORT The current FY 2008 Contingency Fund balance of $246,221 will be reduced by $20,409 with adoption of item 13 to $225,812. Revised FY 2008 & FY 2009 Grant Match activity sheet was distributed. Crawford moved to receive and file the Contingency Report dated September 4, 2008 with the updated Grant Match report. Supported by Zack . Motion carried on a voice vote. REGULAR AGENDA 6. COUNTY EXECUTIVE – EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND PREPAREDNESS – PERFORMANCE GRANT AGREEMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2008 ACCEPTANCE Emergency Response and Preparedness is requesting authorization to accept grant funding of $50,195 for the 2009 Fiscal Year. The grant is a pass -through of federal funds and represents reimbursement for a portion of salaries. No County match is required. Revenue from this agreement is included in the FY 2008 Budget. Crawford moved approval of the attached suggested Report to amend the NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED paragraph to strike $50,196 and insert $50,195. Supported by Coulter. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall, Middleton and Long absent. Coulter moved approval of the attached suggeste d Fiscal Note. Supported by Douglas. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall, Middleton and Long absent. 7. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES/CHILDREN’S VILLAGE DIVISION – FY 2008-2009 CHILDREN’S VILLAGE SCREENING PROJECT GRANT -ACCEPTANCE Children’s Village is requesting authorization to accept FY 2009 grant funding of $73,000 for use in monitoring sexually transmitted diseases in adolescents in special settings. This is the ninth year of funding this project. Indirect costs of $7,568 are anticipated and budgeted for and will be recorded as part of salaries and wages on the report to the State. No budget amendment is required. The Recommended FY 2009 Budget includes costs associated with this program. Zack moved approval of the attached suggested Fiscal Note. Supported by Woodward. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall, Middleton and Long absent. FINANCE COMMITTEE Page 3 September 11, 2008 8. DRAIN COMMISSIONER – 2008 CHAPTER 4 DRAIN MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT RESOLUTION The Drain Commissioner is requesting authorization to assess, levy and collect $109,424.48 for the year 2008 against all benefiting properties and government entities comprising the assessment rolls, for the purpose of maintaining, cleaning and repairing 34 Chapter 4 drains within Oakland County. T he County's share of assessments is $6,027.26 and is available in the Non -Departmental Account - Drain Assessments. Douglas moved approval of the attached suggested Fiscal Note. Supported by Crawford. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall, Midd leton and Long absent. 9. DRAIN COMMISSIONER – 2008 CHAPTER 18 DRAIN MAINTENANCE ASSESSMENT RESOLUTION The Drain Commissioner is requesting authorization to assess, levy and collect $45,228.83 for the year 2008 against all benefiting properties and go vernment entities comprising the assessment rolls, for the purpose of maintaining, cleaning and repairing 20 Chapter 18 drains within Oakland County. The County's share of assessments is $7,109.44 and is available in the Non -Departmental Account - Drain Assessments. Douglas moved approval of the attached suggested Fiscal Note. Supported by Crawford. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall, Middleton and Long absent. 10. DRAIN COMMISSIONER – 2008 LAKE LEVEL ASSESSMENTS FOR OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE The Drain Commissioner is requesting authorization to assess, levy and collect $450,755.88 for the year 2008 against all benefiting properties and government entities comprising the assessment rolls, for the purpose of operating and maintaining 28 l ake levels located within Oakland County. The County's share of assessments is $1,791.80 and is available in the Non -Departmental Account - Drain Assessments. Douglas moved approval of the attached suggested Fiscal Note. Supported by Greimel. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall, Middleton and Long absent. 11. MR #08179 – HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT – CREATION OF COLLEGE INTERN JOB CLASSIFICATION AND POSITIONS Human Resources is requesting authorization to create a new classification of Co llege Intern effective with the FY 2009 Budget to replace the County’s current Paid Intern Program established per MR 84084. The current program is done in conjunction with Oakland University, who screens prospective students for County departments, who then interview and select an intern for their area. OU also handles payroll responsibilities, with reimbursement by the County for intern hours worked. Interns are paid a rate of $8.75 to $9.25/hour. Under the proposed program, the new classification will be incorporated into the County’s payroll and timekeeping structure and the existing 25 intern positions will be placed within those departments currently utilizing them as outlined in the resolution. Each position will provide 1,000 hours of paid internship experience. This action will allow departments the opportunity to recruit from Oakland University or other colleges and universities based on need. Interns will be paid a flat rate of $8.75/hour. Existing funding of $199,800, with an additional $18,000 from the Circuit Court Mediation Fund for two court interns, will be disbursed to those utilizing departments as indicated in the Fiscal Note . FINANCE COMMITTEE Page 4 September 11, 2008 The Personnel Committee is proposing an amendment of the resolution to the Board to state that continuation of the two Circuit Court intern positions being reimbursed to the General Fund from the Mediation Fund will be contingent upon future levels of funding available from the Mediation Fund. Administrative staff indicated that the rate proposed is a result of these new positions being part-time, non- eligible for which there is a fringe benefit rate that Oakland University was previously picking up . Ms. Scarlet indicated that the new program should provide more flexibility because it can be under -filled and used as a recruitment tool for future employees. Greimel moved to report to amend the resolution to strike “$8.75” and insert “$9.25.” Supported by Coulter. Roll Call: Ayes: Greimel, Zack, Coulter, Woodward Nays: Douglas, Crawford, Long, Potter, Rog ers Absent: Kowall, Middleton Motion to amend failed. Commissioner Potter asked Human Resources to report back in six months on how many of these positions were filled. Commissioner Coulter indicated that he did not want to see departments cutting intern positions for budget reasons. Ms. Scarlet indicated that PTNE positions are not subject to the hiring freeze. Commissioner Zack indicated that she would like to see the County provide some type of development program, similar to Leadership Oakland or the County’s Brown Bag Lunch Series, for these interns now that the County is taking ownership of the program. Crawford moved to report to amend the resolution to add the following language: BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that continuation of the Circuit Cour t College Intern positions, for which costs are reimbursed to the General Fund from the Circuit Court Mediation Fund , is contingent upon future levels of funding available from the Mediation Fund. Supported by Long. Motion to report to amend carried on a roll call vote with Kowall and Middleton absent. Woodward moved approval of the attached suggested Fiscal Note. Supported by Potter. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall and Middleton absent. 12. DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET / EQUALIZATION DIVISION – APPROVAL OF CONTRACT FOR OAKLAND COUNTY EQUALIZATION DIVISION ASSISTANCE SERVICES WITH THE CITY OF SYLVAN LAKE Equalization is requesting authorization to contract with the City of Sylvan Lake to provide equalization services, including original assessments, reappraisals, and file maintenance. The contract period is July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009. Payments shall be made to the County of $14.40 for each real property FINANCE COMMITTEE Page 5 September 11, 2008 description and $12.90 for each personal property descriptio n rendered during the life of the contract. If additional services are requested of the County, additional fees shall be negotiated. Anticipated revenue of $65,622 has been incorporated into the FY 2009 and FY 2010 budget. Long moved approval of the attached suggested Fiscal Note. Supported by Greimel. Motion carried on a roll call vote with Kowall and Middleton absent. 13. MR #08126 – BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – TRANSIT COMMUTER BENEFIT PROGRAM FOR OAKLAND COUNTY EMPLOYEES Introduced by Commissione r Woodward, the resolution would authorize the County’s participation in a Transit Commuter Benefit Program. This program is allowed for under the Federal T ax Code. The County would enroll in the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) TransitChek Program. The Board of Commissioners would be updated on the status of program enrollment within 30 days of adoption of the resolution . Employees would receive either up to $115 a month in employer-paid tax-free transit costs or take up to $115 a month in tax-sheltered payroll deductions in transit costs. Transit benefits are defined as passes, vouchers or similar fare media to cover transit or qualified vanpool commuting costs. The Fiscal Note proposes a program cost of $20,409 a year, i ncluding $4,000 for initial set up for a minimum of 25 employees at $4 per month per year of $1,200 and the cost for an Emergency Salary Office Assistant II position at $15,209. This benefit would be paid out of Non -Departmental Contingency. Amendments would be made as outlined in the Fiscal Note. The Personnel Committee has reported a proposed amendment to the Board to require a report on the status of enrollment one year after implementation of the program and if interest is not demonstrated in that period, the program will be dissolved. Ms. Mason reported that Human Resources had received about 1200 responses to their transit program survey. Only two “yes” responses were received to the question “do you currently ride a SMART bus?” On the question of “if a route were available would you take it?” 650 said they would consider it and 547 said no. Of those who said they would consider it, 70% still had caveats tied to their responses, such as wanting shuttle buses to their buildings and sheltered stops. Employees would have to sign up for payroll deduction ahead of time to buy the passes. The $4,000 initial set -up fee would be paid to the vendor who would buy the passes and distribute them on t o participating employees. Mr. Soave indicated that posi tion costs would come from Emergency Salaries so the Office Assistant II would not be a permanent position. Ms. Scarlet reported that another option being considered by the Administration to assist employees with transportation costs is a car pooling prog ram. Information Technology is developing an entry net page so employees can sign up. She also explained that they had asked their current benefit consultant what it would cost to roll out the transit program and it was indicated that at least 25 participants would be required. The program would be bid out. Commissioner Douglas asked what it would cost to r oll out the car pooling program. Mr. Poisson explained that the $4,000 is for set up for a cafeteria type enrollment. The Administration will not spend the funding unless it receives enough interest to proceed and the program is cost effective. He reported that SMART is working on revamping its bus system because it is heavily underutilized in this region and is actually looking to reduce its services because they can not keep up with the cost of fuel. The County is also over budget on fuel costs. He noted that the Administration constantly sits down with its “opt in” communities (communities provided SMART services through the Oakland County Public Transportation Authority) to find out how to maximize transportation services . FINANCE COMMITTEE Page 6 September 11, 2008 Chairperson Rogers stated that he would like to revisit at a later date the issue of determining whether the Administration can decide to continue a program or not or if B oard input is required in order to get a better understanding of that process. Ms. Mason explained that the position cost is included in the program because, with so many other programs being handled by HR personnel, they are running out of staff time. This program will require HR to develop the promotional material, etc. to generate interest in the program. It may not be necessary to use the entire amount of funding being recommended. Also, federal guidelines require that this initiative be a stand alone program so it can not be included with the flexible benefits program. Additional discussion on using existing County staff continued. Comm issioner Greimel suggested including promotion of the transit program on the same email that would be circulated to employees on the car pooling initiative. Commissioner Potter asked how long employees must commit to the program. Ms. Van Pelt indicated that the Administration will need to do some investigating on how long an employee must commit to the program or if the payroll system can reconcile a monthly program. Douglas moved to postpone until the next meeting to find out more information. Supported by Long. Roll Call: Ayes: Long, Douglas, Crawford Nays: Potter, Coulter, Woodward, Greimel, Zack, Rogers Absent: Kowall, Middleton Motion to postpone failed. Douglas moved to report to amend the resolution to insert the following language as the third BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that if the Administration in their research does not find this program to be cost effective, they shall report back to the Finance Committee. Supported by Rogers. Roll Call: Ayes: Potter, Coulter, Woodward, Greimel, Zack, Douglas, Rogers Nays: Crawford, Long Absent: Kowall, Middleton Motion on the report to amend carried. Woodward moved approval of the attached suggested Fiscal Note. Supported by Greimel. Roll Call: Ayes: Potter, Coulter, Woodward, Greimel, Zack, Rogers Nays: Douglas, Crawford, Long Absent: Kowall, Middleton Motion on the Fiscal Note carried. FINANCE COMMITTEE Page 7 September 11, 2008 14. DEPARTMENT OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET – FISCAL YEAR 2008 THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL FORECAST AND BUDGET AME NDMENTS Management and Budget is requesting that the Board of Commissioners accept the Fiscal Year 2008 Third Quarter Financial Report with budget amendments and appropriations from designated Fund Balance as detailed in the resolution. The FY 2008 Third Quarter Forecast identifies General Fund favorability of $5,449,283 of which ($1,180,938) is the receipt of less revenue than anticipated and $6,630,221 is projected expenditure favorability. In review of the Transmittal Letter, Mr. Soave explained that of $11 million favorability due to less spending, $5 million would be moved to Budget Transition and that $3.5 million of that amount was a result of the accelerated budget task previously authorized by the Board of Commissioners. Detailed information regarding revenues and expenditures is included in the Transmittal Letter and attached to the resolution. A revised resolution was dis tributed with language to move $750,000 for the FY 2008 Road Commission Tri -Party agreement and recognition of Enhancement Revenue for the Sheriff’s Department. Amendments authorized by this resolution will complete the FY 2008 Budget Task for all departments. Coulter moved approval of the attached suggested Resolution. Supported by Crawford. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote with Kowall and Middleton absent. COMMUNICATIONS None. OTHER BUSINESS / ADJOURNMENT There being no other busines s to come before the committe e, the meeting was adjourned at 10:50 p.m. ________________________ _______________________________ Helen A. Hanger Lawrence M. Doyle Senior Committee Coordinator Administrative Director NOTE: The foregoing minutes are subject to Committee approval.