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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - 2014.11.10 - 36850CHRISTINE LONG Chairperson KATHY CRAWFORD Vice Chairperson MARCIA GERSHENSON Minority Vice Chairperson November 10, 2014 Chairperson Long called the meeting of the General Government Committee to order at 9:35 a.m. in the Commissioners’ Committee Room A, County Service Center in Pontiac, Michigan. COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT : Christine Long, Kathy Crawford, Marcia Gershenson, Bob Gosselin, Jeff Matis, Bob Hoffman, Michael Spisz, Mattie Hatchett, Nancy Quarles COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT WITH NOTICE: None OTHERS PRESENT : HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES George Miller, Director Elaine Houser, Public Health Nurse HOMELAND SECURITY Ted Quisenberry, Chief Sara Stoddard, Chief, Emergency Managemt. HUMAN RESOURCES Heather Mason, Comp & Class. Supervisor SENIOR ADVISORY COMMITTEE Cameron McClure, Recording Secretary Carolyn Morrison Barbara Garbutt Gene Buchanan BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS Jim VerPloeg, Administrative Director Julia Ruffin, Community Liaison Chris Ward, Sr. Analyst Tracy Stolzenfeld, Committee Coordinator PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Chairperson Long led the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF THE PREVIOUS MINUTES Gosselin moved approval of the minutes of September 29, 2014, as printed. Supported by Quarles. Motion carried on a voice vote. OAKLAND COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS 1200 N. TELEGRAPH ROAD, BLDG 12E, PONTIAC, MI 48341-0475 Telephone (248) 858 -0100 FAX (248) 858-1572 GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Bob Gosselin Jeff Matis Bob Hoffman Michael Spisz Mattie Hatchett Nancy Quarles GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Page 2 November 10, 2014 Minutes APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Gosselin moved approval of the agenda , as printed. Supported by Quarles. Motion carried on a voice vote. PUBLIC COMMENT Several members from the Senior Advisory Council reported on their conference, Wisdom for New Journeys, held last month at Walsh College in Troy. The seminar was a success and attendance was up from last year. REGULAR AGENDA 1. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AN D HUMAN SERVICES/HEALTH DIVISION – YOUTH PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE PREVENTION CAMPAIGN The Health Division is seeking authorization to dedicate $15,000 in royalties from the Coast2Coast discount prescription card fund to a Youth Prescription Drug Abuse Prev ention campaign. The funds will be utilized to produce and distribute awareness materials to the county’s middle and high schools and to purchase advertising space. Mr. Miller explained that bus ads have been successful in the past and there are plans to purchase them for this campaign. The purpose of the ads would be to raise awareness that children may be abusing prescription drugs. Many children do not understand the dangers of narcotics and think they are safe because they are prescribed by doctors. Some children become addicted to prescription drugs, which oftentimes leads them to seek out less expensive street drugs and heroin. At the beginning of next year the prevention campaign will include creation of a task force made up of parents of young p eople. The coalition is considering purchasing locked safes for drug storage that can be used in homes . Mr Miller reported that last month speaker Bob Stutman, former New York DEA agent, sp oke at Oakland Community College. Over 8,000 children were livestreamed and able to hear the message on the dangers of prescription drug abuse. Mr. Stutman addressed 95 medical professionals in the afternoon session. The evening session ’s attendance was 125. According to statistics, we make up 5% of the world’s population, yet we use 75% of the prescription drugs in the world. Changes in the law will allow unused prescriptions to be turned in to any pharmacy beginning in 2015. The Health Department plans to move forward on this issue. Chairperson Long suggested drafting a new resolution to present to the Board for all supporters to be able to sign it, then it could be referred back to the committee. Hoffman moved to recommend approval of the attached suggested resolution. Supported by Spisz. Spisz moved to postpone action on the resolution until the next General Government Committee meeting of December 1, 2014. Supported by Gershenson. Motion to postpone carried unanimously on a roll call vote. GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Page 3 November 10, 2014 Minutes 2. MR #14226 – BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – MEDICAID REBASING AND GENERAL FUND REDUCTIONS THAT ARE BEING IMPOSED UPON OAKLAND COUNTY COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY (OCCMHA) BY THE MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH (MDCH) The resolution, which was introduced by Commissioner Zack, addresses the reduced funding issue. Commissioner Zack was not present at the meeting. Commissioner Matis stated that they had hoped to receive information from the Michigan Department of Community Heal th. Gershenson moved to postpone action on the resolution until the n ext General Government Committee meeting of December 1, 2014, to allow time to obtain additional information . Supported by Matis. Motion to postpone carried unanimously on a roll call vote. 3. HOMELAND SECURITY DIVISION – PRESENTATIONAL DECLARATION FLOOD ASSISTANCE UPDATE Mr. Quisenberry handed out an informational sheet about the flood that occurred three months ago and its aftermath. County Executive Patterson had declared affected communities within the county a flood disaster. Once the Governor declared the same, it went on to the President. The federal government has a clear-cut deigned process that had to take place. Certain documentation was required to be completed to obtain assistance. The Homeland Security Division was actively engaged in this process. Remediation measures were taken to clean up flooded basements and trash removal. FEMA came in with relief assistance. As of November 5, approximately $111 million in grants were given to residents for damages reimbursement. Of the $111 million, $15 .2 million went to Oakland County residents. This made up only 13 percent of the total monies due to insurance claims that were awarded to Oakland County residents. Ferndale’s city building basement was flooded. Their 911 system, records management and recordkeeping technology was ruined. Hazel Park was able to transfer and operate the systems until Ferndale could recover. The centers that experienced losses within the County offices were the Road Commission for Oakland County, FM&O and South Oakland H ealth Center. Loans are being sought for flood damage. Approximately 12,000 s mall business loans were applied for and are currently being processed. The assistance efforts will most likely continue into 2015, as FEMA inspectors make their final touches. Ms. Stoddard added that the deadline for applying for assistance is November 24 , 2014. Anyone who has not yet applied are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Assistance information is located on the County website. FEMA may be contacted directly to receive the necessary application steps. Commissioner Gershenson commented that a disaster relief fund has been started. Chairperson Long stated that the OakAlert system can be signed up for online to receive notifications. Ms. Stoddard reported that primarily messages are sent through text and Email; however, there is the capability to include landline telephones on the system and the cost for that will be looked into. Mr. Quisenberry repo rted that volunteers from AmeriCorps assisted flood damage victims with special needs and some seniors. Over 100 volunteers have been dispatched to pre-identified homes. Teams of five or six volunteers help ed clean out basements and made arrangements to haul the trash . This assistance continues to present. Spisz moved to receive and file the flood presentation information. Supported by Gershenson. Motion carried on a voice vote. GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Page 4 November 10, 2014 Minutes 4. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – POSITION CHANGES AND REORGANIZATION The Board of Commissioners is requesting authorization to change and reorganize administrative staff positions within the department. Due to vacancies in personnel, the Board along with Human Resources’ input, has created a reorganization plan as follows: T o eliminate the vacant senior analyst and senior coordinator positions; to delete the senior coordinator classification , to increase the pay of the existing senior analyst; to create a new classification/position of analyst; to increase the pay for the Secretary II and to create a coordinator position. Mr. VerPloeg was out of town and not able to attend the meeting. Commissioner Matis presented that t he savings of the staff reorganization is as follows: Fiscal year 2015, $42,963; 2016, $21,137; and 2017, $17,896. This item will be referred to Finance and Human Resour ces. A brief discussion was held. Ms. Mason explained that the union was involved in the past and is not any longer. Human Resources is addressing other issues regarding staff workloads . Creating and deleting positions helps Human Resources to streamline a department’s reorganization . Discussion was held concerning other positions within the organization. Matis moved to recommend approval of the attached suggested resolution. Supported by Spisz. Hoffman moved to postpone action on the resolution unt il the next General Government Committee meeting of December 1, 2014, to allow time to obtain additional information. Supported by Gershenson. Motion to postpone carried unanimously on a roll call vote with Crawford absent. 5. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – BUILDING AUTHORITY APPOINTMENT Current Building Authority board member Dennis King has applied for re-appointment. Mr. King was appointed in March to complete the remainder of a three-year term, which will expire December 31, 2014. Commissioner Spisz commented that the appointed committees should be reporting to the General Government Committee, which is currently not in the Board Rules. It is hoped that there will be future discussions regarding this issue. Spisz moved to report to recommend that Dennis King be appointed to the Building Authority to serve a three-year term beginning January 1, 2015 and ending December 31, 2017. Supported by Hoffman. Motion carried unanimously on a roll call vote with Crawford absent. 6. BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS – REVISED UPDATE (FINAL) ON APPOINTMENTS FOR REMAINDER OF 2014 MEMO A discussion was held regarding the expiring 2014 board seats. The appointments will be confirmed by the entire board at the beginning of next year. Pecky Lewis will not be applying for re - appointment and a seat will be open on the Parks and Recreation Commission. Chairperson Long relayed that consideration could be given to appointing a mother with young children in order to create diversity and add another perspective on the board. Commis sioner Spisz mentioned that appointment dates on the chart could provide helpful information. Spisz moved to receive and file the Revised Update (Final) on Appointments for Remainder of 2014 Memo. Supported by Matis. GENERAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Page 5 November 10, 2014 Minutes Motion carried on a voice vote. COMMUNICATIONS A. Michigan Department of Human Services - Oakland County Minutes – August 26, 2014 and September 23, 2014 B. Oakland County Library Board Minutes - July 22, 2014 C. Area Agency on Aging 1-B Meeting Minutes – July 25, 2014 and September 24, 2014 D. NACo Participation and Membership Benefits Report, Oakland County 2014 E. Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners Resolution adopted October 1, 2014, regarding Road Funding F. Senior Advisory Council Minutes - September 15, 2014 Spisz moved to receive and file the communications. Supported by Matis. Motion carried on a voice vote. OTHER BUSINESS/ADJOURNMENT There being no other business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned at 11:25 a.m. ______________________________ ________________________________ Tracy Stolzenfeld Jim VerPloeg Committee Coordinator Administrative Director NOTE: The foregoing minutes are subject to Committee approval.