Finance Committee

FINANCE COMMITTEE MINUTES    

Room 213, West Square Building, 505 Broadway, Baraboo WI   Friday, September 27, 2019

Members present:        Tony DeGiovanni, John Dietz, Tom Kriegl, Kevin Lins and Kristin White Eagle

Others present:             Brent Bailey, Kerry Beghin, Alene Bolin, Bill Commings, Ian Crammond, Pat Dederich, Becky Evert, Kelly Felton, Pat Gavinski, Ed Geick, Liz Geoghegan, Bryant Hazard, Jeff Hoffman, Lynn Horkan, Ed Janairo, Sue Ann Kucher, Stephanie Neumann, Daniel Olson, Steve Pate, Michelle Posewitz, David Riek, Terry Slack, Chuck Spencer, Phil Wedekind and Lisa Wilson

 

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Dietz at 8:30 AM.  Certification of open meeting compliance was given.  Motion by Lins, second by White Eagle to adopt the agenda.  Motion carried. 

 

Public Comment:  None

 

Discussion and consideration of the 2020 County Budget.

 

Public Works – Highway:

Gavinski noted budget has a levy increase mostly due to one new position and staff market adjustments to help with recruitment and retention.  Adjusting road maintenance/construction to keep the levy otherwise unchanged.  Construction costs are increased; there was an increase in state and local aid to help offset the increased costs.  Gavinski reviewed the Operations Manager and Parks/Highway positions and turnover issues.  He commented on the outdated current highway shop.  He reviewed the planning process, design and possible land acquisition for a new facility.  Compensation changes and capital outlay plan were discussed. 

 

UW-Platteville – Baraboo/Sauk County: 

Wedekind and Janairo reviewed the budget request, regular maintenance/repairs and no outlay for facilities.  Reviewing system options for maintenance tracking. 

 

Administrative / General Government departments.

Bolin commented on the mission of the group to ensure the county is running well and all departments are supported.  Working hard on collaboration and processes.

 

Accounting: 

Beghin recapped the departmental functions and budget.  She commented on trend of increasing complexity and reporting.   

 

Administrative Coordinator: 

Bolin noted changes to budget and work with Economic Development Committee.  She highlighted addition to tax levy for community liaison position, the addition to the Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) program continuation with fund balance, community development grants, staff development and community events. 

 

Building Services: 

Crammond reviewed all facility responsibilities (except HCC & HWY), leased space oversight, mail, construction projects, landfill, fiber/communications network and staffing.   He reviewed the capital outlay projects for the department, $5.5 million, mostly using fund balance.  Use of fund balance and levy were discussed. 

 

Corporation Counsel:

Olson highlighted the budget includes an administrative position increasing to full time.

 

County Clerk: 

Evert noted department is statute driven.  Budget is driven by number of elections in a year.  2019 only had two elections; 2020 will have four.  Passport revenues help offset election expenses. 

 

Dog License:

Evert noted the revenue for dog licenses is declining.  Fewer dogs are being licensed, licensing needs to be enforced at the local level.

 

Insurance:

Beghin noted this is a separate fund with $500,000 set aside.  Pays for liability and other insurances for catastrophic occurrences.  Goal for 2021, end separate fund and allocate/charge to specific departments.  Losses would be handled in the general fund. 

 

Landfill Remediation:

Crammond reviewed the maintenance compliance of the closed landfills.  No issues at landfill sites and maintenance care is minimal, interest earnings have increased. 

 

Management Information Systems (MIS):

Pate reviewed support of all technology throughout the county, direct ongoing maintenance of systems, the phone and 911 system.  The scope and duties of the department continually increase as technology rises in department activities.  He highlighted budget changes, including a new data and information specialist position, 911 system upgrade and closed captioning.  Pate commented on the continued increase in computer support and maintenance.  Trends show hardware/software companies are moving to annual license fees rather than one time purchase or upgrade fees.  Capital outlay includes a timekeeping system.

 

Personnel:

Posewitz reviewed centralized human resource services including safety and workers compensation.  She shared trends are a more complex labor market, difficult to recruit and retain for county employment, increased use of employee assistance program (EAP) and more complex reporting requirements.  She highlighted budget items, health insurance, wellness programming, intern for special projects, and global timekeeping system.  Health insurance was discussed. 

 

Treasurer:

Geoghegan reviewed department activities and budget.  She highlighted Managed Forest Land revenue increase, Graphical Information System (GIS) Specialist position reallocation 100% to Treasurer.  Investment interest revenues were looked at in light of volatile rates and spending fund balance. 

 

Workers Compensation:

Posewitz noted County is currently self-funded.  Fund collects revenues by charging departments.  The fund pays for workers compensation losses/expenses.

 

At 10:48 AM motion to recess until 11AM by Lins, second by White Eagle.  Motion carried.

At 11:02 AM resumed. 

 

Land Resources departments.

Pate noted the group collaboration around land issues and information collected and managed.  Also, facilitate land information provided to the public.

 

Arts, Humanities & Historic Preservation (AHHP):  

Bolin noted Sauk County is one of three counties in the state that give grant dollars for AHHP.  She reviewed the budget highlights. 

 

Land Resources & Environment (LRE):

Wilson reviewed the departmental budget, this is the first budget with the merged Conservation, Planning & Zoning and Parks budget.  She reviewed the highlights including new staff, dam maintenance, comprehensive planning, easement monitoring, park master planning, Great Sauk State Trail (GSST) continued development and other programs.  Multiple planning needs were discussed.  The costs of the GSST was discussed.  The Hemlock dam decision and funding were discussed.  Vehicle replacements and park improvements were discussed. 

 

Land Records Modernization (LRM):

Pate described LRM activities and goals.  The fund is supported by retained fees from recorded documents.  The levy funding component is for labor in the department to support the County parcel maps.  Pate described the LRM plan, outlay and budget highlights.  Orthophotography and LiDar (light detection and ranging) projects were discussed. 

 

Register of Deeds:

Bailey noted the budget is relatively the same budget as last year, revenues were slightly decreased due to less time share activity in Dells/Delton area.  Operations remain consistent, office activity is stable. 

 

Surveyor:

Dederich reviewed the budget request and explained the change between monumentation maintenance and preservation.  Discussed the change in access to land records/Geographic Information System over the last 10 years. 

 

UW Extension:

Hoffman reviewed UW Extension budget.  He highlighted mission and the co-invested positions and funding in partnership with the County.

 

 

At 12:22 PM motion to recess until 1:00 PM by Lins, second by White Eagle.  Motion carried.

At 1:00 PM resumed. 

 

Libraries: 

Slack and Kucher reviewed the library request and the funding calculations involved.  The request represents 100% funding for all participating libraries, based on expenditures from 2018.  She reviewed various library statistics and performance measures.  Library use and its community function was discussed. 

 

Beghin commented on next steps in the process and the need for Finance to have a recommended budget to the County Board. 

 

Motion by Lins second by Kriegl to change funding source of $300,000 West Square roof replacement to general fund balance.  Motion carried unanimously. 

 

Motion by Lins, second by White Eagle to strike the $50,000 electric vehicle charging stations from the budget.  Motion carried, with Kriegl and DeGiovanni opposed. 

 

Motion by Lins, second by White Eagle to increase sales tax revenue to $9,889,000 as estimated by the Wisconsin Counties Association.  Motion carried, with Kriegl opposed. 

 

Motion by White Eagle, second by Lins to remove from the budget the $30,000 design work at the animal shelter.   Motion carried, with Kriegl and DeGiovanni opposed. 

 

Motion by Lins, second by White Eagle to strike $25,000 for one LRE vehicle.  Motion carried unanimously. 

 

Motion by Lins, second by Kriegl to strike from the budget the $24,000 White Mound disc golf course and $8,000 White Mound fat tire trail design.  Motion carried unanimously. 

 

Motion by Kriegl, second by DeGiovanni to reduce requested Sheriff Department levy by $500,000 with reductions coming from the jail budget, but not taken from the behavior counseling position or restricting visitation or limiting other programs that assist in inmate rehabilitation.  Motion carried, with Lins opposed.

 

Motion by Kriegl, second by Lins to eliminate the community liaison positon and the $95,901 funding from the budget. Motion failed, with Kriegl in favor.

 

Public Comment:  None

 

Next meeting October 4, 2019 9AM Finance, 2:00PM Joint Personnel/Finance and October 8, Finance 8:15AM

 

Motion by Lins, second by DeGiovanni to adjourn the meeting.  Motion carried.

 

Respectfully submitted,  

 

Kristin White Eagle

Finance Committee Secretary