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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExecutive Committee - Minutes - 9/27/20221 Minutes of the Bayfield County Executive Committee Meeting 4:00pm, September 27, 2022 Meeting was held Remotely through Microsoft Teams and in person in the Bayfield County Board Room, Washburn, WI Members Present: Jeff Silbert, Fred Strand, Brett Rondeau, Jeremy Oswald, Mary Dougherty, Dennis Pocernich Members Excused: Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison-County Administrator, Kristine Kavajecz-Human Resources Director, Marty Milanowski, Kim Mattson-Accountant (remote), Lynn Divine-County Clerk, John Rautio, Kim Lawton-District Attorney, Bob Anderson-Highway Commissioner, Charley Ray, Steve Sandstrom , Sara Wartman-Health Director, Madelaine Rekemeyer, Jim Crandall, Larry Fickbohm Called to order at 4:00 p.m. by Chairman Rondeau. Approval of Minutes of September 22, 2022: Motion Strand, Milanowski to approve minutes of the September 22, 2022 Executive Committee meeting. Motion carried (6-0), Public Comment: None Received 2023 Budget: a.Budget Changes Spreadsheet Review: Abeles-Allison reviewed a list that will contain suggested changes to the budget that is used to track these suggestions throughout the budget meetings. b.Internal Service, Debt Service, Dog License, Housing, Jail Assessment and CDBG Fund Review: Health Reserve Fund was established many years ago to help fund wellness activities and to build reserves for health insurance costs. The CDBG Fund is used for housing rehabilitation projects for eligible citizens. The fund is self-sustaining. There are $173,00 of monies available in this fund currently available to be loaned out. Jail Assessment Fund revenues come from a portion of assessments through the circuit court. The funds can be used for capital items and improvements in the Jail. Veterans Relief Fund utilizes a small amount of levy. The funds are used for veterans in crisis. UW Extension Program Fund exists for specific programs within the UW Office. Revenues from the programs offset the expenses. Northern Lights bond service was created to pay off the bonding for Northern Lights. The nursing home makes these payments to the county. County Motor Pool, Squad and Copier Funds are internal services funds. Departments are 2 charged a fee per mile or per copy, which is then used to maintain and/or replace the vehicles and copiers. The fee charged includes all expenses including depreciation. Dog License Fund collects revenues from the towns and some levy to cover the expenses for Animal Control efforts in the county. c.Personnel Review: $16.7 million is proposed for Personnel Related expenses for 2023. This is 41% of the overall county budget. Additional staffing recommended in the budget include: i.1 FTE Network Administrator, ii.3 occasional Highway support workers, iii.1 fte Public Health Nurse. iv.District Attorney Lawton addressed the committee about the department’s request to increase the ¾ time Clerk to full-time. Lawton explained that the department estimates an additional $5,103 in revenue with the Victim Witness Coordinator moving to full-time (Currently ¾ time Victim Witness and ¼ time legal secretary). The Clerk will take on the legal secretary duties that were previously performed by the Victim Witness Coordinator. Lawton also explained that there are currently 2 homicide cases anticipated for 2023. She explained that there is significant comp time accrual due to the need for additional work hours to perform the required work. v.Increase half time Cleaning Person to full-time (currently working nearly FT for the last couple of years). vi.Seasonal Zoning Intern vii.Sheriff Office request to increase support staff from .5fte to 1fte was not included in the proposed budget. viii.Request from Veteran Services to increase 1/4 time Assistant to 1fte was not included in the proposed budget. Staffing trend was reviewed. WRS contribution will be increasing from 6.55% to 6.8%. Budget includes a Vacancy Offset of $100,000. This is reflective of what the county has observed in the recent past due to staff turnover (savings during vacancies). d.Forestry Department Review: Bodine provided a broad overview of the department’s budget. He reported that the budgeted revenue is the most aggressive it has been. The net revenue contribution is estimated at $1.7million. Bodine has requested a couple of modifications to the proposed budget for a CFI Plot Inventory and Reforestation Grant. Capital requests include a replacement tractor and an additional Yurt among other smaller items. e.General Fund Department Review: General Fund contains all Department budgets with the exception of Human Services and Highway. Transfers to other funds also 3 show up in this fund. Equalized value increased 13% overall. Sales Tax revenues have increased steadily over the past several years. f.Highway Bonding: Reconstruction costs have increased from about $250,000 per mile to $375,000 per mile. The county has a goal of reconstructing approximately 8 miles per year. The proposed budget includes an increase in bonding from $1.65 to $2.5 Million. County taxes make up approximately 30% of a citizen’s total tax bill. The short term bonding is exempt from the levy lid and results in an actual decrease in the mill rate. g.Fund Balance Revenue: Fund balances are broken down into: Non-spendable, Restricted, Committed, Assigned, Unassigned. Budget includes fund balance utilization of approximately $4.47million. The breakdown of fund balances by fund were reviewed. The goal is to retain 25% of fund balances available at all times. The committee reviewed a list of Projects that fund balances have been assigned and committed. Proposed levy of $12.5 million is up $1,049,959 over 2022. Abeles-Allison noted that a county-wide EMS service levy can be exempted from the levy lid. This budget includes $180,000 ($20,000 per ambulance service) for 2023. The County-wide service would be for mass casualty events only and would not involve any equipment, only staffing collaboration. Additional Potential Meeting Schedule: 4:00pm Thursday, September 29 4pm, Monday October 3. 2pm, Thursday, October 6 (before Personnel at 4pm) if needed. Clarification on the Veterans and Emergency Management staffing arrangement was provided. There will be two separate staff persons for the 2 departments. Neither would be full-time. Meeting adjourned at 5:38 p.m. Respectfully submitted by Kristine Kavajecz.