DATE: Monday, March 12, 2007
PLACE:
Room 213
West Square Building
Baraboo
Members present: Marty Krueger, Joan Fordham, Tommy Lee Bychinski, Bill Wenzel, Tom Kriegl
Others present: Kerry Beghin, Kathy Schauf, Carol Thompson, Pat Carignan, Kelly Wilcock, Charlie Montgomery, Ken Nelson, Herman Tshudy, Betty Repka, Howard Murphy, Chief Deputy Meister, Media
Chairman Bychinski called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Certification
of the open meeting requirement was met. Motion by Wenzel, second by Fordham
to adopt the agenda. Motion carried. Motion by Fordham, second by Wenzel
to approve the minutes from previous meetings.
Motion carried.
None.
None.
Chief Deputy Meister noted that the previous canine officer
has resigned. Five weeks of training and travel for a replacement
officer with the existing dog will be paid for by the drug
seizure account; meals would likely be funded by the County.
If this training is not approved, the existing dog would have to be sold,
leaving the County with one dog. Motion by Fordham, second by Wenzel to
approve this training if an appropriate employee can be found for the
position.
Motion carried.
Herman Tshuddy and Kelly Wilcock from the Housing Authority described purchase of a 24-unit apartment building. The Housing Authority constructed the property in 1992 with Heartland Properties as the majority investor, and the Housing Authority has managed the property since built. The Housing Authority has right of first refusal on sale. Heartland wishes to sell it now because their tax credits have expired. The Housing Authority is asking for about $100,000 from Sauk County to purchase the building and maintain it as affordable housing. The property hasn't been appraised, but its insured value is $1.3 to $1.5 million. Krueger was not opposed to the purchase, but expressed concern about the lack of planning. Motion by Krueger to postpone for one month, with the Housing Authority, Heartland Properties and staff to work toward an agreement that would effectuate the purchase but allow for the County to pursue funding through the budget process, second by Wenzel. Motion carried.
Considering employment,
promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of
any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or
exercises responsibility. Performance evaluation of Controller. Motion
by Krueger, second by Wenzel to go into closed session. Krueger-Aye, Fordham-Aye,
Bychinski-Aye, Wenzel-Aye, Kriegl-Aye. Motion carried. Motion by Fordham,
second by Wenzel, to reconvene in open session.
Motion carried.
Motion by Fordham, second by Wenzel to approve the report.
Motion carried.
Update on Governor's proposal for levy limits. Mandates on services, but County has chosen to provide service in excess of those minimums, often preventative services or maintenance. Looking for ways to cut programs without making them so handicapped that they continue to cost money but are ineffective. Flat across-the-board cuts are poor cuts. Encourage oversight committees to scrutinize departments' missions, visions, goals and objectives. The intergovernmental meeting will be hosted by the Finance Committee in hopes of collaboration with and between municipalities with emphasis on how we can help each other. The County is looking for not only for input for the 2008 budget, but a springboard for an ongoing relationship with and between municipalities. The Committee finalized the timeline and discussed limited resources for levy-funded new and reclassified positions. Finally, the definitions of essential, core and desirable services, as well as budget policies, were discussed.
There is still significant work to be done on 2006 yearend close, but there are likely to be a couple departments that exceeded their net budgets. There are also multiple departments that exceeded their expenditure budgets, but there were revenues received to cover. More final numbers will be ready for the April Committee and Board meeting.
Carol Thompson updated the Committee on ongoing financial operations, with no exceptions noted. Wipfli will be doing a review of business office operations to improve processes. There was discussion of the aged receivables.
A combination of sales tax collections for 2006 being below expectations and recording takeback of the Department of Revenue's overpayment to the County will force the County to fall short of its budget estimate by 3.24 percent.
Carignan updated the Committee on departmental activities.
Motion by Wenzel, second by Fordham, to approve payment
of the Treasurer's invoices in the amount of $670.89.
Motion carried.
Beghin updated the Committee on departmental activities. Motion
by Krueger, second by Fordham to approve payment of Accounting
invoices in the amount of $29,745.00 and county invoices
in the amount of $3,039,529.31.
Motion carried.
Motion by Wenzel, second by Fordham to adjourn.
Motion carried.
The next meeting will be just prior to the County Board session on March 20 to approve payments, and the next regular Finance Committee meeting will be April 10, 2007.
Respectfully Submitted: William F. Wenzel, Secretary