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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 9/14/2005L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2005\Executive Committee Minutes 091405.doc Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting Wednesday September 14, 2005 10:00am Bayfield County Board Room Members present: Kenneth Jardine, John Blahnik, Verne Gilles, Brett Rondeau, Harold Maki Neil Paulson (10:30am- Noon) Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison, Scott Fibert, Richard Compton, Dee Kittleson, David Good, Marco Bichanich and Kris Kavajecz The meeting was called to order by Chairman Rondeau at 10:00am. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding 2006 Budget Planning. Abeles-Allison reviewed discussions from the previous evening budget overview session. He reported that several Department Heads are scheduled to address the committee throughout the day and that Bill Devries with BCEDC is unable to address the committee this week due to the storm damage in his area. A brief discussion was held regarding the levy cap of 2% increase over 2005 and how bridge aid and Library contributions are considered in this calculation. The County Administrator will speak with the auditors about whether unspent bridge aid dollars from years past are in a designated fund, or if those funds are returned to the general fund as excess revenue. If it is returned as excess revenue, is it possible to be put into a designated fund specifically for bridge aid. A discussion was held regarding distribution of minutes of all committee meetings to all board members as soon as possible following committee meetings. Elizabeth Skulan, Human Services Director provided an overview of where the increase in revenues in the Human Services budget are coming from. Neil Paulson joined the meeting at this time. Skulan provided an overview of the original budget request as well as the rationale behind the request. The department’s request was for $189,000 increase over 2005. The County administrator’s recommendation is to allocate $120,000 to cover wage increases and to reduce the services waiting list for high risk citizens. A brief discussion was held regarding the pros and cons of possibly combining the Health and Human Services Committees. Abeles-Allison reviewed the budget proposal for the Contingency Fund, which includes discretionary funds for outside organizations. The proposed budget was reviewed line by line. A request was made for a summary and detail of all legal expenses for the county in a year. Dick Compton provided an overview of the request made by Bay Area Rural Transit for increased funding, which will supplement an improved and expanded bus schedule. Dag Bystrom, Lynn Divine, and Dan Anderson joined the committee to discuss the budget proposal for Ken Hebbe and Bill Lewis to continue to support the HP3000 into 2006. The committee questioned if there is a contract with the software developer for the tax system and what the timeline is in the contract. Abeles-Allison will research this issue. Divine explained the reasons for the delay in implementation of the new system. L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2005\Executive Committee Minutes 091405.doc Page 2 of 3 County Treasurer, Dan Anderson provided input on interest rate activity and the Treasurer’s budget. A brief discussion was held regarding possible funding for a tire collection program in 2007. Maki commented that we need to research how to access some of the funds that are assessed to people for recycling their old tires when purchasing new tires. Paulson left the meeting at this time. Abeles-Allison provided an overview of the Northern Waters Library Service. Kittleson provided a summary of the library commission request. Discussion was held regarding the annual contribution for the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. A suggestion was made by the committee to slowly reduce the annual contribution and eliminate the contribution over time. A recess was taken from 12:20 until 1:00 pm for lunch. The committee discussed funding for Bayfield County Economic Development Corporation. The budget proposes a $20,000 contribution. BCEDC has stated that if their request for $65,000 in funding is not honored, their organization will cease to exist. Several committee members shared their thoughts regarding funding for BCEDC. A suggestion was made to designate a specified dollar figure in the budget for economic development efforts and determine where the dollars will be allocated at a later time. Suggestions included a Bayfield County employee designated for economic development or funds for existing agencies already working on economic development in the area. Bill DeVries will be invited to speak with the board next week. Abeles-Allison reviewed revenue items in the Contingency Fund budget. The County Board budget was reviewed. A brief discussion was held regarding per diems and mileage. Suggestions for consideration in the Circuit Court Budget included reviewing options for replacing a planned employee retirement in the coming year. It was noted that one item in the County Administrator budget will conclude in 2006. The amount of this expenditure is $9800. A brief discussion took place regarding Criminal Justice programming and outside sources for funding that are being explored. County Clerk, Scott Fibert explained variables in his budget related to election expenses. With the implementation of the statewide voter registration system, there are currently some unknowns. The committee discussed the appropriate price for plat books. A lengthy discussion was held regarding the county’s contribution for wages and fringes combined and the percentage increase this represents on an annual basis. L:\COMMITTEES AND BOARDS\EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE\2005\Executive Committee Minutes 091405.doc Page 3 of 3 Specifics regarding the Courthouse Maintenance budget were reviewed. The budget includes replacing the current full-time vacancy with a half-time cleaning person. Good and Blahnik left the meeting at this time. Abeles-Allison handed out a summary of capital improvement expenditures proposed for 2006. Motion by Jardine, second by Maki to adjourn. Motion Carried. Meeting adjourned at 3:10 pm.