DATE: April 11, 2008
Finance Committee Members present: Joan Fordham, Tommy Lee Bychinski, Tom Kriegl, William F. Wenzel, Marty Krueger
Personnel Committee Members present: Scott Alexander, Peter Tollaksen, Tim Meister, Henry Netzinger
Personnel Committee Member excused: Judith Stoeckmann
Others present: Kerry Beghin, Kathy Schauf, Carol Herwig, Michelle Koehler, Alene Kleczek, Judi Briggs, Lowell Haugen, Bev Mielke, Randy Stammen, Brent Bailey, Pat Carignan, Vicki Meister, Media, Pat Dederich, Karyle Johnson.
Finance Committee Chairman Bychinski called the meeting to order at 8:15 a.m. Certification that the open meeting requirement was met. Motion by Tollaksen, second by Alexander to adopt the agenda. Finance: all approved. Personnel: all approved. Motion carried.
It was the consensus of the committees that Chairman Bychinski chair this joint committee.
Consideration of Elected Officials' pay plan for the 2009-2012 (County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Treasurer, Surveyor) term of office.
Motion by Kriegl to tie the wages for elected officials in departments that claim to be making a profit to the amount of profit actually made each year. Kriegl further explained that the Sheriff's department is claiming to be making a profit by opening Pod A. Motion failed due to lack of a second. Koehler explained that all of the elected officials now have four year terms but the starting years vary. The County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Treasurer and Surveyor are the positions that need to have their pay decided prior to June 1, 2008 when nomination papers can be taken out. Committees discussed comparable rates for similar positions in other counties. Increasing the share of employee contributions for health insurance is an option that some members believe needs to be seriously considered. Motion by Krueger, second by Tollaksen to set the elected official's pay plan with a 3% increase for 2009 and 2010 and a 2% increase for 2011 and 2012. Finance: all approved. Personnel: all approved. Motion carried.
Discussion followed regarding the opportune time to begin making changes to the County's share of health insurance premiums paid. Motion by Meister, second by Tollaksen to continue to pay 90% of the health insurance premiums for the Treasurer, Register of Deeds and County Clerk for 2009 and 2010, but then reduce that portion to 85% of the premiums for 2011 and 2012. Finance: all approved. Personnel: all approved. Motion carried.
Consideration and discussion of Surveyor health insurance.
The County Surveyor has requested that his position be allowed to join the County's health insurance plan with the understanding that the person in that position would have to pay 100% of his/her own premiums. According to the insurance program, the Surveyor could be added but Schauf explained that there are 71 other part time positions that would then also qualify for this benefit. Allowing all of these employees to be on our insurance plan will potentially affect our claims and our rates. Motion by Tollaksen, second by Alexander to deny the request for health insurance coverage for the County Surveyor. Motion was withdrawn. Discussion followed regarding the average number of hours that the Surveyor typically works and the structure by which paid. Motion by Fordham, second by Kriegl to postpone this decision for one month giving the current County Surveyor time to investigate the cost of obtaining coverage on his own and to allow County staff time to further explore the pros and cons of adding the surveyor to our insurance program. Finance: all approved. Personnel: all approved. Motion carried.
Krueger suggested that the committees should discuss whether or not the surveyor position should be an elected position at their next meetings. The committees agreed that these discussions could be had at separate meetings and another joint meeting was not necessary.
Consideration of Resolution Approving the 2009 Annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for Non-Represented Employees' Salaries Effective January 1, 2009.
Krueger stated concern over making this decision so early in the year. Kriegl believes it would be more fair if we made decisions on wages all at the same time instead of staggering all of the negotiations. Koehler indicated that this information is often times crucial at the start of negotiations with the unions. Motion by Krueger, second by Fordham to postpone this decision to a later meeting of the Finance and Personnel Committees. Finance: all approved. Personnel: all approved. Motion carried.
Motion by Fordham, second by Wenzel to adjourn the Finance Committee meeting. Motion carried.
Motion by Tollaksen, second by Netzinger to adjourn the Personnel Committee meeting. Motion carried.