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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-07 Commissioner Minutes THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2013 The Franklin County Commissioners met Thursday, November 7, 2013, with the following members present: David S. Keller, Robert L. Thomas and Robert G. Ziobrowski. Chairman Keller presided and after calling the meeting to order, a Moment of Silence, and the Pledge of Allegiance proceeded with the business of the day. Chairman Keller asked to modify the agenda to withdraw from consideration board action item #4 so he can review this item with the Solicitor. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved to adopt the amended agenda. Jay Lightfoot provided public comment and asked if the Board is still giving their raises to charity or keeping it for themselves? Chairman Keller responded to Allen Piper's question from last week about the mobile home exonerations. The location was Southampton Township, there were six homes and he is still checking on who the park owner is. He said they were county and library taxes and that they go back several years. Alicia Kanelopoulos provided public comment and said she would like the Board to consider Ken Wertenberg's proposal for what to do with the nursing home sale proceeds. She would like to know why the public can't attend the block grant committee meetings and why the meetings are not published on the website. Chairman Keller responded that the meetings are open to the public and the county will continue to publish the meeting dates on the county website. Sheri Morgan provided public comment and read a statement about the sale of the nursing home and what services the board could provide with the nursing home proceeds, which is attached and made a part of these minutes. Allen Piper provided public comment that he stated before that he does not want the nursing home sold. The board mentioned the surplus last week and they will probably not have a tax increase and he commends the board for that. Maybe some of the surplus could be spent in a humanitarian way. Mr. Piper asked if the Affordable Care Act has anything to do with the County's 16% insurance increase. He also questioned the courts study being done and feels this is a cost that could be saved. He commends Sheri Morgan's remarks and supports her efforts. Mr. Piper also asked how many employees the county employs compared to the previous five years. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved all bills presented and ordered paid. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the minutes of October 29, 2013 and October 31, 2013 meetings. Continued on page 2 David Donohue, Emergency Services Director, and staff were present to present the Board with the Keystone Emergency Management Association (KEMA) Award that Department of Emergency Services recently received for doing projects in the community including working with Children's Village of Washington County, Maryland, to provide fire safety prevention education to the students of Waynesboro Area School District and Greencastle -Antrim School District. The department has worked with the American Red Cross, Department of Health and most municipalities to provide trainings. They have trained 400 citizens in CPR. They have brought together all school districts, Red Cross, and PEMA to increase the Franklin County Safe Schools Coalition efforts. Franklin County Emergency Services has a good working relationship with municipalities and organizations so this award from the State thanks them for these efforts. The Board thanked Emergency Services and appreciates their efforts for public safety. Traci Kline, Area Agency on Aging Director, was present to explain board action items #1 and #2 which are letters to the PA Department of Aging (PDA). First letter is looking back to 2012-2013 and there were several requests the board signed and approved this year. PDA asked to reword those letters and put into one summary about using Aging block grant funds to supplement funds shorted by $50,000 due to federal issues. Second letter is a waiver request for fiscal year 2013-2014. Aging has received a large new funding source that ends June 30, 2014 to be used for options or community services. There are certain cost centers to spend this money but Aging is requesting flexibility to use the funds in other areas. The Board reviewed Aging Office matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Grant request to the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to use Aging Block Grant Funds to supplement Medical Assistance Assessment for individuals receiving nursing facility or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits. This grant will supplement Medical Assistance Assessments and void the use of county funds. This grant would cover the period FY 12/13 in the amount of$46,108.00. The Board reviewed additional Aging Office matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the waiver request to the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to provide two new services: 1. Provide caregiver respite under the Options Program, allowing optional respite care at a licensed facility based upon the care giver's need for up to seven days. 2. Provide additional service hours to those who do not qualify financially for the Aging Waiver Program or do not have adequate care giver support. This grant would cover the period FY13/14 in the amount of$407,000.00. The Board reviewed Children and Youth matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Supplemental Appropriation to record ACT 148 funds in the amount of$207,892.00 received in FY12/13 to reimburse additional funds received for placements during FY11/12. No additional county funds are required. The Board reviewed Coroner matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the Supplemental Appropriation in the amount of$4,000.00 to use escrow funds collected for conferences for the remainder of the year. Continued on page 3 The Board reviewed Emergency Services matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved for the Chairman of the Board to execute the quote for renewal between the County of Franklin and Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) to upgrade and maintain the County's GIS mapping software. Upgrades will allow dispatchers, fire departments, and EMS personnel to determine the exact location of emergencies and respond in a timely manner. The total cost of$5,887.13 is covered by the Wireless Funding/Wireline Funding Grant for the period of nine months, October 2, 2013 through June 30, 2014. The Board reviewed MH/ID/EI matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Revised Income and Expenditure Report to Department of Public Welfare for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 for Mental Health. The Board reviewed Planning matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Grant Agreement between the County of Franklin and Borough of Greencastle to provide Housing Trust Fund money in the amount of$20,000.00 to be used to create and implement a Sidewalk Repair/Replacement Program for low to moderate income properties along Franklin Street. This agreement is for the period of November 7, 2013 through December 31, 2014. The Board reviewed additional Planning matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Grant Agreement between the County of Franklin and Peters Township to provide Housing Trust Fund money in the amount of$25,000.00 to be used to replace grinder pumps in the Village of Upton. This is a current CDBG project. This agreement is for the period of November 7, 2013 through December 31, 2014. In accordance with PA Act 67, 68 and 127 notifications, Natural Resources Conservation Service notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Water Obstruction and Encroachment Permit being applied by Steven Shoop, located in Fannett Township. In accordance with PA Act 67, 68 and 127 notifications, R. Lee Royer & Associates notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection General NPDES Major Modification Permit being applied by Encore Center, DBA Destination Group for the construction of residential and commercial buildings, located in Washington Township. In accordance with PA Act 67, 68 and 127 notifications, R. Lee Royer & Associates notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection NPDES General Permit being applied by Antietam Humane Society for the construction of an additional building, located in Washington Township. In accordance with PA Act 67, 68 and 127 notifications, R. Lee Royer & Associates notified the County of a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection General NPDES Permit being applied by Snowberger Homes for the construction of residential homes, located in Washington Township. The Board met with the Human Resources Director, the Controller, Court Administrator, Clerk of Courts and County Administrator for Salary Board and Personnel matters. Continued on page 4 The Board reviewed Personnel matters. On a motion by Robert L. Thomas, seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski; unanimously approved the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer and Infection Control Coordinator/Employee Health Nurse position descriptions. The Board held a 2013 Competitive Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Public Hearing. Phil Tarquino, Planning Director, and Sam Thrush, Planner, were present. Mr. Tarquino explained that the Board has had hearings this year on entitlement applications and the County is still waiting on approval from the Department of Community and Economic Development for those applications. During that process it was mentioned that some applications could be submitted to the State for competitive funds. They are here today to provide five applications for the Board to review to send to the State for competitive funding. Mr. Thrush explained the following applications: Peters Township for Village of Upton-Grinder Pump Replacement requesting an amount of$125,000; Greene Township for Fern Grotto Circle Sewer Extension requesting an amount of $150,000; Greencastle Borough for Franklin Street Curb Ramp Project requesting an amount of$143,737; Letterkenny Township for Skyline Drive Sewer Extension requesting an amount of$427,050; and Hamilton Township for Old Kensington Heights Sewer Extension requesting an amount of$500,000. Mr. Tarquino said he doesn't know how much will be available and we have to compete with other entities for the funds. He doesn't feel all five would be approved but the Department of Community and Economic Development suggested submitting all applications since they all have merit. Chairman Keller opened the floor for public comment. There were no comments. Chairman Keller suggested deferring this hearing until next Thursday to give the public time to read the information in the paper and provide comments. The Board held discussions on the 2014 Budget including Nursing Home Proceeds. Chairman Keller said the Board is not in favor of a tax increase and is willing to spend some money out of reserves. He provided the following recommendations: No mill increase for 2014. With challenges in 911 funding, the county needs to economize so he recommends directing staff to establish a process to enter into discussions with neighboring counties to share services. He also recommends to continue to implement e-government initiatives and improve way employees and citizens can access documents and other information. Toward that goal, he recommends to work with the Records Improvement Committee that has approximately $800,000 in a fund to establish and fund a program to increase the county's efforts to scan and store current documents and try to reduce the use and need of paper documents for all county and court related offices. These funds should be used for this purpose as opposed to using general fund dollars. Chairman Keller noted that the Board has asked staff to develop plans to establish the Tourist Promotion Agency as a nonprofit entity. As part of this process, an agreement will be coming to the board's attention to utilize hotel tax dollars to invest in tourism related infrastructure. He recommends to direct staff to establish a quality of life/community fund for this purpose and to develop an application process to utilize those funds on an annual basis to augment tourism efforts to include investments in arts related activities, recreational activities and historical preservation activities, in addition to that the Act 13 dollars from Marcella Shell are now available to us and he recommends implementing a similar process to allocate those funds to support open space and green space programs and other uses consistent with Act 13. He recommends the board take a look at options for allocating these funds going forward. He noted the great potential to partner with other municipalities in support of projects that complement the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan. Chairman Keller continued, saying that it was mentioned this morning that the county is working with the Courts and JMI to get recommendations to improve business processes in court offices and he added that there is potential to implement same process in all county offices. He recommends the board direct staff to look at business processes of Continued on page 5 all county offices and make better use of dollars being invested in technology. Regarding employee pay and benefits, he said over the last twelve months the CPI indicates 1.5-1.6 increase but he's aware of the fact that the County is facing a 15-20% increase in healthcare costs and in order to retain and attract qualified employees his suggestion is to recommend a 3% increase for employees. He further recommended that the county share the insurance increase with employees. He the addressed what level of spending from reserves the board should consider. Last week the board stated 6AM is not an option, and that the amount needs to be manageable and sustainable. Recognizing that Mr. Hart and Ms. Beckner can expect to finish 2013 with 1.5M in savings, he recommends directing staff to roll over 1.5M into next year to balance the 2014 budget. In addition the board needs to consider making available in budget an additional 2.5 - 3.5M in existing reserves. He said 3.5M would give additional flexibility and the reasons for utilizing reserves have been outlined including jail population is a concern, issues with 911 and falling revenue and keeping up with technology, rising healthcare costs and ability to attract and keep qualified employees. Commissioner Ziobrowski said that he supports the Chairman's proposals. This board of commissioners has had to deal economic restraints, even cutting staff and laying off some employees. While things seem to be improving, he does not think we're "out of the woods" yet. County residents are still having difficulties, and allocating some money from reserves is preferable to raising the millage rate. The staff, led by Mr. Hart, has done an outstanding job of doing more with less. However, at some point it becomes more expensive to defer maintenance. Commissioner Ziobrowski said our reserves are sufficient to go the higher end of the Chairman's $2.5-3.5 million drawdown to maintain property and operations. Commissioner Thomas said it's a lot to consider. He said with tourism and infrastructure he doesn't have a problem supporting smaller projects but suggested the need to store up some money to do a major project. For example, Dauphin County gave some money to help support Giant Center which was one large project. May have an opportunity to make a big project happen. As for the rest of the budget, he would like to see what types of projects would be doing in this coming year's budget. He would prefer to be on much lower end or less but needs to know what they plan to do. He also prefers that reserve spending be for one-time items, not items that will require a recurring annual expense going forward. The Board discussed the Nursing Home proceeds. The anticipated figure is 8.9M that was mentioned last week. Commissioner Thomas said once knows what net is then can proceed but every year they request to put money into capital projects. He would like to see a significant portion of funds used towards infrastructure that would maintain a fund like fund 40 and 41. If something needs done, it won't be a burden on tax payers. Better to have stored away in fund that will be secure and can generate revenue. Commissioner Ziobrowski said he agrees with Commissioner Thomas in principle. As far as capital funds are concerned he wouldn't object to a portion of funds being used for purposes more Human Services in nature but should be put into reserve fund. We don't have a settlement yet so it's premature. Chairman Keller said his idea of dedicating the lion share of proceeds to capital related projects has merit and he is sensitive to potential of using some money for Human Services related needs. He suggests allocating a small but significant portion of the nursing home sale proceeds for human services related needs and said there are several worthwhile programs that were proposed by staff in the budget process including Continued on page 6 the following: Friendly Visitors Program, Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Kids are So Special for victims of domestic violence program, Community Partnership Program and a Summer Work Program. All these are worthwhile programs and types of initiatives that could be supported from proceeds from the sale of the nursing home. The funds could be spent as onetime costs like for the Children's Advocacy Center that will require physical presence and startup costs. Commissioner Thomas said with the Children's Advocacy Center this would be a small portion to help get it started or maybe there's something from the state where we would need to help fund but won't need to add every year. Most projects are federally or state driven. Chairman Keller responded that maybe several hundred thousand dollars is a better target. Need to make sure that county does not take on responsibilities that other levels of government should be fulfilling. But with Children's Advocacy Center they would need help with start up support. Commissioner Ziobrowski said with the budget reserve, need a checking account mindset. Keeping an amount of money in budget reserve is prudent management but the board has a chance to reduce that reserve. Talked about records improvement fund, TPA fund, nursing home funds and establishing a capital reserve—they are different funding amounts. They do not bleed over together. Commissioner Thomas said Teresa Beckner and John Hart are looking for direction on how to proceed with a budget. Chairman Keller said with TPA funds consensus is to develop a plan or application process to allocate funds throughout the community with the idea that a certain chunk of the funds can be held back for a larger project that may come down the road or holding back for a rainy day. Regarding the level of spending from reserves, he suggests guidance should be to direct staff to work within a range of 2-3.5M in reserve spending with request that staff come back to board on how spending from reserves will break down in terms of how much is for one time investments and how much is for every day operational needs. Commissioner Ziobrowski and he have expressed their support closer to 3.5M but Commissioner Thomas is closer to the 2M figure but if they can show things that have to happen then Commissioner Thomas will consider the higher end number. Commissioner Ziobrowski said he doesn't think that anything that Mr. Hart and staff will come up with will be frivolous expenditures and if we short the budget every year we will end up with a major shortfall down the road. He would like to hear another proposal because we don't want to shortfall what we need to do. John Hart summarized the board's sentiment as follows: develop a program and application process for TPA and Marcellus Shale funds to administer funds and based on revenues set some funds back for a larger project; the board recommends staff work through the Records Improvement Committee to develop initiatives to increase efficiencies, record storage and scanning and eGovernment. Continue to work with JMI study and the Courts. When developing the budget keep in mind Jail population concern, anticipated 911 costs going up and funds going down and in those two areas look at discussions with neighboring counties to share services; allocate funds to Funds 40 and 41 substantially and he will come back with a number and see if acceptable and will use a major portion of nursing home proceeds for those two funds; will look at human services type initiatives to fund one-time costs for programs that are sustainable and need seed money to get off the ground and look at a process to allocate those funds; will advise staff to look at process to review all county operations, look at every process, duties and responsibilities of employees,just like doing with courts right now and if need be hire a consultant to assist with this initiative. Will budget for a 3% pay Continued on page 7 raise for county employees. Chairman Keller responded that in terms of review of county business processes, he has in mind exactly what JMI is doing with courts right now. This is similar to the workflow improvements that CIO Sean Crager reviewed with the board a couple weeks ago. Chairman Keller said the goal is to continue to increase workflow and process improvement efforts by looking at the issues comprehensively across the county. Commissioner Ziobrowski said with the 3% increase for employees and with an increase in health insurance premiums most employees will be seeing less of an increase Commissioner Thomas wants to look hard at a deficit number. He suggests to make him happy it should be less but he doesn't want to sell the county short long term. Chairman Keller said reiterated guidance to staff to make use of unspent funds of 1.5M from this year and beyond that the board will be looking for further justification of what needs to be spent. The board is willing to do more than the 1.5M and range is between 0-3M dollars. The board's preference is to spend less than 3M but the board recognizes the need to address deferred maintenance and necessary capital expenditures. The meeting was adjourned at 12:13 p.m. with a motion by Robert L. Thomas; seconded by Robert G. Ziobrowski. FRANKLIN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS 1 With the county budget season upon us, we have found out that good stewardship of the tax payers'money has produced a surplus of about$1.5 million for 2013. Last year we experienced a surplus of about$1 million. Franklin County has about $23 million in the bank, which is more than twice what is recommended for a 90 day reserve fund. We do not appear to have a shortage of funds.Although hoarding of this type may be seen as a good thing by some, it is notable that one reason given for the sale of the Falling Spring Nursing Home was the inability for the county to afford future capital improvements to the facility. It is also notable that one of the reasons given for the proposed privatization of the Mental Health/Intellectual Disabilities/Early Intervention services was a possible increase in the county's share of funding these long underfunded state mandated services. Our County Commissioners addressed this funding shortage from the state by accepting the Human Services Block Grant Pilot program. In exchange for accepting continued underfunding of state mandated services, the block grant allows flexibility in using funds. According to the National Organization for Human Services, the term"human services" is defined as a way of meeting human needs through delivery systems such as private and public social welfare service providers. These are services targeted to meet specific needs of people who are vulnerable or poor. Services include mental health services, health-care services, supplemental food programs, and emergency and transitional shelter services. Nearly three years ago I began following how our human services are administered. The first thing I looked for was a comprehensive strategic plan to deliver human services. I found none. Since the block grant has been in place, there have been two Human Services Block Grant plans available on the county website. But, these are plans detailing how to use the block grant L funds for the next fiscal year. These are not comprehensive plans for the delivery of services. How to use the block grant funds is one part of a comprehensive plan. Due to the lack of a comprehensive plan to deliver human services and the fact that we have more than enough funds available to have prevented the sale of the nursing home and no reason to accept even more underfunding of our services to gain flexibility to cover potential shortages of funds, the following ideas are just a few that would protect both tax payers' funds and county citizens in need of human services. Falling Spring Public Trust Fund.Establish a public trust fund with the proceeds from the nursing home sale. This should be done as soon as the funds are available. Interest earned from the fund could be used to assist citizens in need of end of life care or rehabiltative care who have fallen through the cracks of our safety net services. . Health Impact Assessment. Commission a Health Impact Assessment(HIA) to lay the groundwork for development of a comprehensive Human Services Plan. Part of this assessment would uncover the extent of our unmet needs. There is no data, publicly available,that describes where the unmet needs are. Clearly with the MH/ID/EI Administrator stating roughly 1900 people received services from this agency in 2012, there are unmet needs.A good rule of thumb for determining public health needs is to assume 17-20%of the population experiences disability. The Human Services Director claimed the most recent count of people living outdoors or having no fixed home found 19 people. We have no reliable data with which to plan J for this population of people.An HIA provides guidance for policymakers that is fiscally sound, based on evidence, and is tailored to our county's needs. In lieu of completing such a study, Commissioners could simply increase the county's share of current funding levels for non-profits such as, the South Central Community Action Programs,the Franklin County Library System, and Franklin County Legal Services and public agencies such as, MH/ID/EI and the Franklin County Children and Youth Services. Commissioners might entertain providing funding for services that have the potential to reduce the costs of human services. Some of these services are: 1 ) Issue a request for proposals. Commissioners must formally announce they are open to receiving proposals, otherwise, human service providers will not know about this opportunity to serve people needing services. OK. This isn't a service, per se, it's a forceful recommendation. Employer Incentive Program. Develop an employer incentive program to encourage county employers to hire adults with disabilities. The county would pay employers a percentage of the employee's wages.Adults with disabilities may be able to find employers on their own or potential employers and potential employees could be matched up. Funds would be transfered directly from the county to the employer. Existing non-profits could contract with the county to act as matchmakers or a county agency could manage this program.Any county citizen with a disability would be eligible for this service. Special Needs Court. Many returning veterans, people with mental health disorders, people with intellectual disabilities, and people with substance abuse 4 issues often find themselves in court. They are involved with civil proceedings such as guardianship which requires special care in order to remain compliant with Olmstead v L.C., 527 U.S. 581 (1999) and In re Peery, 727 A.2d 539, 541 (Pa. 1999). They are also involved with criminal proceedings. The goals of these courts are to connect people convicted of non-violent crimes to community-based treatment for mental health issues and substance abuse and addiction, when appropriate, in an. effort to get them the help they need in order to reduce jail time and the chances they will commit more crimes.A study by the RAND Corporation researchers,Justice, Treatment, and Cost:An Evaluation of the Fiscal Impact of Allegheny County Mental Health Court(2007), found a mental health court in Allegheny County, PA reduced the costs associated with incarceration by reducing the number of days people spent in jail even after factoring in the cost of the community-based treatment. People who participated in the mental health court were involved with fewer new crimes, making the community safer. Our county may not have the community-based treatment infrastructure to support a special needs court.An HIA could determine this capacity, however. 4) Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. CASA is a community-based program focused on the rights and needs of children in foster care. CASA recruits, trains, and supervises volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in courtrooms and in the community. Volunteers also serve as mentors and are assigned to the children until permanent homes are found for the children. The CASA model is considered a"best practice"by the NJ Judiciary's Best a Practices Standards for Children in Court Cases. The NJ legislature found CASA to be a wise investment reducing costs associated with delays in court cases. 5 ) Taxicab service. People who are not able to drive and who cannot find reliable rides to their health-care appointments, the grocery store,jobs, and the laundromat need transportation. Commissioners could contract with a private taxicab service to provide rides for appointments and other errands that are essential to keeping people living in their homes longer. 6 ) 24-hour Residential Medical Facility. When people who are experiencing homelessness become ill and require hospitalization are discharged from the hospital or surgi-center they have no place to recuperate. Proposals for a 24-hour residential medical facility could be submitted by a local health-care provider and partially funded from the budget surplus. Hard-working, dedicated direct care workers are doing the best jobs they can with the meager resources they have and they are to be commended. Several times over the past year County Commissioners have stated at their meetings that they are open to using the budget surplus and open to receiving proposals for good ideas from county agencies and non-profits. Looking over the agenda minutes, it does not appear any proposals have ever been made, most likely because no official request for proposals was made.As an advocate for people living with disabilities, I find this truly amazing, disheartening, and shameful.Am I to believe we have no unmet needs in this county? County Commissioners have allowed human service providers to leave $2.5 million sitting on the table while knowing these providers were struggling to make decisions about which lightbulbs to remove, where to cut services, or not being able to improve 0 services. That is $2.5 million that could have been used to feed hungry children,house people when the temperatures were extreme, protect people from abuse, etc... Leaders of human services organizations, please lead. It is up to you to serve our most vulnerable people. Sheri Morgan, 4 , RN 431 Leitersburg Street Greencastle, PA 17225 771.593.9950 morgansnmd @aol.com