County Commissioner's minutes June 18-19 |
| July 24, 2012 |
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***Monday, June 18, 2012, Commissioners did not
meet due to lack of a quorum. ***Tuesday, June 19, 2012, Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ron Smith, Commissioner Dan Dinning, Commissioner Walt Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser. 9:00 a.m., Commissioners held an elected officials/department heads meeting. Present were: Clerk Glenda Poston, Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac, Prosecutor’s Office Manager Tammie Goggia, Assessor Dave Ryals, Treasurer Jenny Fessler, Extension Office Educator Carol Hampton, Noxious Weeds Superintendent Duke Guthrie, Courthouse Maintenance Jerry Kothe, Chief Probation Officer Stacy Brown, Solid Waste Superintendent Claine Skeen, Road and Bridge Superintendent Jeff Gutshall, Restorium Administrator Karlene Magee, and Courthouse Security Ron Sukenik. Chairman Smith mentioned a future surplus auction. Someone had inquired when the County would hold its next surplus personal property auction, but it doesn’t make sense to hold an auction if there is not much to put up for sale, according to Chairman Smith. The elected officials and department heads were asked to provide Commissioners with a list of items they may have to put up for auction. Commissioner Dinning said Boundary Volunteer Ambulance (BVA) had originally requested approximately $160,000 until the tax levy funds for 2013 came in. In addition BVA asked that the County build them a facility costing another $650,000, and finally to guarantee a contract to levy the full amount of approximately $342,000 for five years. Commissioner Dinning said there is a progressive process to utilize one paramedic and to increase to three paramedics. The levy amount of $342,000 almost equals the full asset value of BVA, according to Commissioner Dinning. Chairman Smith said the next to the last meeting Commissioners had with BVA he made a statement to BVA’s attorney that the County just does not have the funds to do what BVA wants them to do and the attorney’s reply was to “sell something” and the comment that if the County can spend $900,000 on garbage service, it seems more important than ambulance service. Commissioner Dinning said it would take four to five paramedics to cover Boundary County and that would take a huge portion of their funding. Commissioner Dinning said in his conversation with Mr. Wakeley of Bonner County EMS, he learned you cannot just put one paramedic on as you have to prove to the Sate you can provide 24/7 coverage. Commissioner Dinning said there has been a lot of discussion between himself and BVA so the hope is to come to some resolution. If there is resolution with Bonner County EMS to enter into a contact prior to June 29th, Mr. Wakeley will provide one ambulance and one EMT at a cost of $550 per day. If Bonner County EMS provides two ambulance units and two personnel members, it would cost $1,100 per day. Idaho Code states ambulance service is the responsibility of the county. Mr. Wakeley has provided the donation of one ambulance unit and in addition the County will potentially rent an ambulance unit from another district. Commissioner Dinning said he had a meeting with all BVA EMT’s and drivers to discuss volunteering under Bonner County’s license. Commissioner Dinning said for clarity that there is ambulance service in this County currently and he wanted that clarified due to a lot of information circulating out in the County. There will be ambulance services in place no matter what, according to Commissioner Dinning. One of the newest ambulance units BVA has gotten was through a grant so the State can reclaim this unit and provide it to Boundary County. Chairman Smith said the contract through Bonner County has nothing to do with BVA as it includes the local EMT’s who wish to continue to volunteer. If matters with BVA are not resolved, BVA will have to vacate the County facility and the units provided by Bonner County EMS will be housed in that same building. Assessor Ryals asked how long this short term contract with Bonner County EMS will last and Commissioner Dinning said about three months. Chairman Smith said Bonner County EMS will handle the related billing and deduct their fees from what is collected. Assessor Ryals discussed not being able to levy beyond the 3% in this budget. Commissioner Dinning mentioned the process of borrowing from another County source and paying that amount back when the levy funds come in. Chairman Smith said wherever the money is borrowed from will also receive a benefit as there will be interest earned. Ms. Goggia asked who wanted this agreement and she asked about the County having volunteer EMT’s and if there was a division within BVA? Commissioners said yes there is a division. Commissioner Dinning said things have come to a head and the community would’ve had to face this at some point. Mr. Sukenik asked if multiple proposals for ambulance service have been provided. Commissioner Dinning said a couple proposals have come in the form of mutual aid agreements. Commissioners said no one wants to “not” have this service. It was said Connie DeCoe-Munier had a proposal, but that is another volunteer situation. Commissioners said it would be difficult for Boundary Community Hospital to provide the ambulance service, Hospital CEO/CFO Craig Johnson said it would significantly reduce their Medicare reimbursement rates for hospital related functions. Chairman Smith said to explain how difficult this process has been, the last meeting Commissioners had in their office with the BVA Board, he opened the meeting by saying he was glad to see the board members, but BVA’s attorney said Commissioners will not be speaking to the board members. At another meeting Commissioners had with the BVA Board and the EMT’s, the Board took the County’s proposal to the members, which caused him to wonder about the purpose of the Board because if the Board agreed to anything with Commissioners, there is the possibility those board members could be replaced by a vote of the members. Treasurer Fessler asked if BVA has shown Commissioners their financial books. Commissioner Dinning said BVA is a 501(3)C, and they do not want to show their books. Treasurer Fessler said she had spoken to a BVA EMT who had quit and this EMT felt BVA books should be transparent. Mr. Sukenik mentioned estimating the value of the ambulance barn that is provided to BVA by the County at no charge. Mr. Sukenik thanked Commissioners for sticking to their guns and mentioned the strong armed tactics used by BVA during this budget year. Commissioner Dinning said there is a lot of misinformation out in the public about this matter. Assessor Ryals spoke of the estimated 10% decrease in the County’s market value. Assessor Ryals said that is the problem when the property value notices go out as most property owners are seeing a reduction in value, but don’t realize the tax bill won’t change. Commissioner Dinning said historically the County is only able to collect 90% of taxes that are due. Commissioners mentioned the 3% cap for the levy. From information learned from the State Tax Commission, it is best for the County to levy the full amount for the ambulance district the first year in order to protect the integrity of the levy ability. The County can choose not to levy any amount the following two years and then levy again the fourth year. Clerk Poston said the original request of $342,000 will be closer to $280,000 due to the reduction in the County’s value, according to Clerk Poston. Assessor Ryals mentioned the utility values have yet to come in. Mr. Sukenik discussed DSL service and explained Frontier Communication’s program in which blocks of time can be purchased. Chairman Smith said currently each County office has a long distance code and asked how that works with blocks of time. Mr. Sukenik mentioned the phone numbers allowed within that block of time and he mentioned offices will still receive their own statements. Mr. Sukenik said the cost for the program for the blocks of time should cut current bills in half. Assessor Ryals asked if there were any improvements for DSL. Mr. Sukenik said what the County pays for the service it’s getting is surprisingly good. Assessor Ryals discussed problems when he’s trying to get information to the Tax Commission. Assessor Ryals said when the Courthouse was one of the few using DSL it was fine, but when more of the community began using the service, it caused a bottleneck. Commissioner Dinning said he thinks a better high speed service is coming. Mr. Sukenik said the Assessor’s Office could obtain a separate DSL line. Assessor Ryals said he thinks the bottleneck is the communications company overselling the service. Clerk Poston discussed saving on travel by using a video conferencing system, but she wasn’t able to get the system to work and had to use her computer at home. Commissioner Kirby said getting the fiber optics and super fast service won’t happen tomorrow. Chairman Smith said he got the impression that the representatives from Frontier Communications weren’t too thrilled with fiber optics becoming available. 9:45 a.m., Boundary County Emergency Services Director Dave Kramer joined the meeting. Ms. Goggia asked how bad flooding is in the County. Mr. Kramer said surface saturation and not flooding is the problem at the moment. There is more water coming in than is being released. Commissioner Dinning said Greg Hoffman with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at the Libby Dam and one other representative had attended the KVRI meeting last night and they were quite concerned. Commissioner Dinning mentioned Mr. Hoffman said he thought there would be a nice easy runoff, but all this rain has changed plans. Mr. Gutshall said in looking at the temperatures next week, run off will be a problem. Mr. Kramer said the problem isn’t necessarily at this location; it is all the dams further down. The elected officials/department heads meeting ended at 9:50 a.m. Commissioner Dinning moved to sign the letter for the Boundary County Youth Crisis and Domestic Violence Hotline as it pertains to in-kind information. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Dinning moved to approve the minutes of May 28 & 29, 2012. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Dinning moved to amend today’s agenda at 11:30 a.m., to allow for an Executive Session, Idaho Code #67-2345(1)c, to conduct deliberations concerning labor negotiations. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Kirby moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the letter appointing Dave Kramer as the Local Emergency Response Authority (LERA) for Boundary County. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously. Mr. Kramer said the County is making progress on the issue involving notification from Transcanada Gas. Idaho Department of Homeland Security Local Area Field Officer Jay Baker joined the meeting at 10:00 a.m. Mr. Kramer said the meeting with Transcanada Gas was good and Transcanada Gas representatives explained what caused the gas leak in that one valve had been left open. Mr. Kramer said he learned Transcanada Gas can release a certain amount of gas without notification, but because of the amount released notice had to be provided. This gas release did not create an issue down the line, according to Mr. Kramer. Transcanada Gas did agree to make sure proper notification is given to all parties for future incidents. Chairman Smith asked what could’ve happened for it to be a catastrophe. Mr. Kramer spoke of dissipation and he explained how the system releases gas so not to cause an explosion. Commissioner Dinning said the worst case is there would have been a spark a certain number of feet high. Mr. Kramer said a tour of Transcanada Gas facilities will be set up for fire departments, emergency responders and Emergency Services. It was said the flow chart used for notification is the only flow chart for the State. Mr. Kramer said Fred Abt is the Response and Recovery Section Chief with Homeland Security and he oversees the hazmat response group. Mr. Abt agrees with some of the points made from the last meeting about this event and he will research this with his staff in Boise. The County should’ve been notified and the Local Emergency Responding Authority (LERA) contact information needs to be updated. It was said Mr. Abt felt it shouldn’t matter if the event is regulatory or non-regulatory, the County should be notified. It was said the bottom line is the State will look into this and review the existing flow chart. Mr. Kramer said Mr. Graham wants to look into why it took Transcanada Gas so long to report the incident. Mr. Baker said his concern is why Transcanada Gas didn’t contact the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office. Commissioner Dinning said nothing bad became of this and it is a good thing to go through the checks and balances. Mr. Baker explained the State’s Hazardous Materials Protocol Manual listing contacts and notifications. The meeting with Mr. Kramer and Mr. Baker ended at 10:20 a.m. Commissioner Kirby moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Panhandle Area Council Community Restorium Elevator Project #ICDBG-12-I-10-PF, Professional Services Contract Amendment #1. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously. 10:24 a.m., Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals joined the meeting. 10:25 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go into closed session under Idaho Code #31-874. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. 10:35 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go out of closed session. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Dinning moved to deny indigent application #2012-22. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Dinning moved to review indigent account #2011-50 for additional monthly payments again in April 2013. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals left the meeting at 10:38 a.m. Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting at 10:40 a.m. Chairman Smith mentioned correspondence received discussing County funding for the proposed District 1 Mental Health and Intoxication Facility. Clerk Poston said Kootenai County Commissioner Jai Nelson did not present information on this proposed facility at the Commissioners and Clerks Conference. Clerk Poston said Kootenai County proposed a resolution to form a Board of Examiners for Board of Equalization, but the proposal was narrowly defeated by Idaho Association of Commissioners and Clerks and will not be going forward. Clerk Poston suggested these issues be added to the agenda for the next District 1 meeting. Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the minutes of June 11 & 12, 2012. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously. Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac and Chief Probation Officer Stacy Brown joined the meeting. Clerk Poston said because the values have dropped, the County is over levy limits on a couple of funds; one being the Justice Fund and the other the Parks and Recreation Department. Clerk Poston spoke of various positions at the Sheriff’s Office. Commissioner Dinning said the County’s value has decreased 10% and there will probably be another decrease next year. Clerk Poston left the meeting at 10:55 a.m. 11:00 a.m., Courthouse Maintenance Superintendent Jerry Kothe joined the meeting. Mr. Kothe said as requested he contacted Sherry Wastweet with Panhandle Area Council about a County Americans with Disabilities Act Board. The County’s ADA board has been defunct for some time and for the County to meet the 504 Outreach Housing Plan requirements a new ADA Board needs to be formed. Mr. Kothe said he will contact people who may be interested in being a board member. Mr. Kothe briefly updated Commissioners on work around the Courthouse to include the following: installing a new valve in the Courthouse for the thermostat and contacting the owners of the property next to the Courthouse parking lot to discuss having the trees on their property trimmed back. Mr. Kothe said the Fair Board took the two big freezers a couple years ago and they’ve been brought to his shop. Mr. Kothe said the freezers don’t work and he suggested taking them to earn money for scrap iron. Mr. Kothe left the meeting at 11:05 a.m. Ms. Brown discussed on call services for the Probation Department employees. Ms. Brown said with all of the travel she does for work, etc., she guessed the best way to cover these hours is to provide a rotation. Ms. Brown said she knows there is no budget for employees to be on call so she asked Commissioners if they would be in favor of offering two hours of compensatory time for a week’s worth of on call services. If an employee was on call, other than the normal pay, compensation would be in the form of compensatory time off. It was said the existing job descriptions do mention on call hours. Commissioner Dinning said right now being on call is a part of the Probation Office employee’s job description and just because a time is determined for their on call hours, doesn’t change things so he questioned if there needs to be compensation. Commissioner Dinning said he is just working these questions out. Ms. Brown said it equates to two hours per employee except for herself. Chairman Smith said as long as this doesn’t cost the County any funding, he personally doesn’t have a problem with it. Chairman Smith said he feels he is biased because of his involvement in these programs so maybe the other two Commissioners can see this through unbiased eyes. Commissioner Dinning asked Ms. Brown if she sees this compensatory time being detrimental to the functions of the office. Ms. Brown said she sees this as defusing situations ahead of time so it is a win-win. Commissioners asked for time to think it over. The meeting with Ms. Brown and Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac ended at 11:20 a.m. Commissioner Dinning moved to cancel taxes for year 2011 totaling $89.56 for parcel #RP61N02E043910A as the property should’ve only had one water value of $5,000 instead of three. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting at 11:19 a.m. Commissioners and Clerk Poston discussed the budget proposal brought to Commissioners by Coroner Mick Mellett. Commissioner Dinning said he doesn’t have a problem with Mr. Mellett’s proposal, but he just doesn’t want Boundary County to have to pay anything additional for combing morgue rent and the coroner’s salary. Clerk Poston said this adjustment would not change the bottom line and it may even decrease the budget. Chairman Smith said whoever replaces Mr. Mellett once he retires will need a specific amount for rent. Clerk Poston said Mr. Mellett did state at his last meeting that the line items could be split when a new coroner is elected. Commissioner Dinning questioned there being a consumer price index that morgue rent is driven off every year. Commissioner Dinning said Mr. Mellett should redraft a new contract and submit what he would like to do using the proper financial figures. Clerk Poston said as of next year there will not be enough funds for the Drug Task Force. Based on what Ms. Goggia from the Prosecutor’s Office presented at her last meeting, the County should receive seizure funds, but the amount and date to receive these funds is unknown. The County is putting in 100% for the County’s personnel and there is $39,000 left over to offset. Chairman Smith asked how that compares from last year. Clerk Poston said she is budgeting $25,000 rather than $15,000. The City of Bonners Ferry will have to fund $25,000 to fund their employee on the Drug Task Force. Clerk Poston left the meeting at 11:30 a.m. 11:35 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go into executive session under Idaho Code #67-2345(1) c. To conduct deliberations concerning labor negotiations. Commissioner Kirby second. Commissioners voted as follows: Chairman Smith “yes”, Commissioner Dinning “yes”, and Commissioner Kirby “yes”. Motion passed unanimously. 12:05 p.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go out of executive session. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioners discussed the draft memorandum of understanding for the proposed fire works display. Commissioner Dinning moved to sign the Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Bonners Ferry for a fire works display upon receipt of original Memorandum of Understanding. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioners recessed for lunch at 12:15 p.m. 1:30 p.m., Commissioners reconvened for the afternoon session with Chairman Ron Smith, Commissioner Dan Dinning, Commissioner Walt Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser. 1:30 p.m., Tim Patton joined the meeting to discuss transferred development rights (TDR’s). Also present was Don Jordan. Mr. Patton said even though he always feels like Commissioners think he is the enemy he only tries to do the best for this County. Mr. Patton spoke of TDR’s and said TDR’s are set up right now so that the receiving areas are in zones except in Agriculture/ Forestry. If issues with the receiving area bring down the market value for the property owner, there is no incentive for people to use TDR’s. Mr. Patton said if one were to have an overlay area that everyone has agreed on to be appropriate with high density and infrastructure to accommodate the sending areas to the receiving areas, it would work. Mr. Patton said he has studied this for quite some time. Mr. Patton spoke of cluster developments being fragmented, which defeats the purpose of TDR’s. Mr. Patton referred to Idaho Code §57-6515A and also mentioned he had spoken to someone at the Sonoran Institute about this who also agreed there is no financial incentive for people to use TDR’s. Commissioner Kirby said for clarification, this should be done where there is higher density. Mr. Patton said he is not anti-development as people think, he just feels development should be properly concentrated. Commissioner Dinning said there are some trains of thought that this is trying to tell humanity that they can only live in certain areas and he likened this thought to a conspiratorial theory called Agenda 21, in which you take over all the land and force the populous into a certain area. Commissioner Dinning said when talking about the receiving area being devalued, he tends to disagree because the smaller the parcel the more money the developer gets per acre. Mr. Jordan said property value may go up, but the value of the TDR decreases and that is where it ceases to protect areas such as prime agriculture as those owners can’t get money for those acres. If TDR’s are available anywhere, the rights will be sold cheap, according to Mr. Jordan. Commissioner Dinning said the only people who would utilize this would be the Vital Ground, The Nature Conservancy, etc., and not private people. Commissioner Dinning said what the County questioned and talked about is why a private person should not be a part of the free enterprise system. Commissioner Dinning said when the County zoned, it planned for “X” number of houses or units, but we’re not creating more housing units by TDR’s. Commissioner Dinning said the other part of this with fragmentation is that 75% or so of Boundary County is set aside because of conservation easements so this is only dealing with 25% of the land remaining. Commissioners asked in dealing with the cluster development theory, would the County really have 50 houses built on 200 acres with the balance available. Mr. Patton said he’s not taking away anything. Mr. Patton mentioned a large property owner who is experiencing problems paying their taxes, but something like this would be helpful. Commissioner Dinning said he must have misunderstood because he agrees with Mr. Patton in that scenario. Mr. Patton said it goes back to the market value for TDR’s. If there are two many receiving properties, the value decreases. Commissioner Dinning said that is the market. Mr. Patton said the County could make it to have less receiving areas. Mr. Jordan said management at both ends is needed. If anyone can sell development rights, then there is a surplus and it is cheap. The sending areas need to meet the criteria of the statute. Chairman Smith said if he owned 100 acres, someone could pay him for a certain amount to give up the right to develop some of that acreage, but he could still farm, etc. 1:45 p.m., City of Bonners Ferry Assistant Administrator David Sims joined the meeting. Mr. Patton said the value of the TDR decreases if there are too many receiving areas. The restrictions of the receiving end of a TDR are infrastructure and higher density. Chairman Smith asked if there would have to be restrictions depending on what zone the property is in. Mr. Jordan said the intent is to protect special property such as prime agriculture. 2:00 p.m., City of Bonners Ferry Council Member Tom Mayo, and Parks and Recreation Board Members Tim Dougherty and Lisa Carle joined the meeting. Mr. Patton said he would like to see Commissioners take out the provisions for transferred development rights or fix it. The meeting with Mr. Patton and Mr. Jordan ended at 2:03 p.m. Those present met to discuss learning of City of Bonners Ferry fees for people or groups renting areas under County jurisdiction. Chairman Smith said when there is an event at the fairgrounds, that person or group enters into an agreement with the County, but now he understands because the event is within city limits the renting party also has to pay a fee to the City of Bonners Ferry. Commissioners discussed language in the City’s agreement. Mr. Sims said he thinks the City Council is going to change the City’s agreement and he mentioned there being exceptions for the current agreement. If the function is a private one, it isn’t an issue, according to Mr. Sims. In the past where there has been trouble is if the circus comes to town and flyers have been placed around the City and there is manure to clean up. Chairman Smith said even so, the agreement and event is through the Parks and Recreation Department. Chairman Smith said if the event called for City police and fire, he could see that. Mr. Sims said if people want the City’s fire or police services for specific times that is different. Mr. Sims said the City is willing to address the County’s concerns. Mr. Dougherty said he is aware of the agreement with the Fair Board to handle the rental of the slab or fairgrounds. Chairman Smith said that is because if there are rentals, the Fair Board handled the paperwork. Mr. Dougherty said he had information for Commissioners to review. Mr. Dougherty said if someone has a family reunion at the fairgrounds or a church group softball game that is more the use of County facilities. If someone wants to use the slab, that is Park and Recreation’s jurisdiction and Parks and Recreation can now take over rental obligations. The slab falls under Parks and Recreation, but the Fair Board has handled the rental of this area. Commissioner Dinning said historically when there has been an event such as the County fair, the Fair Board has handled rental of the slab. Ms. Carle said this rental process took place before the Parks and Recreation Board. Fair Board Secretary Sandy Schnepf would handle the rental process and issue the Parks and Recreation Board a check after deducting the Fair Board fees. The slab is a part of the Parks and Recreation Department so the Parks and Recreation Board felt it would be best to handle all that falls under their own jurisdiction. Commissioner Dinning said there has been no communication with the Fair Board and the process is not broken so is this a process creating confusion with the Fair Board. Ms. Carle said she thinks it will make it easier and more streamlined. Ms. Carle used the July Fourth fire works event as an example and said she was looking at this event because there is a Parks and Recreation Board and there is a Parks and Recreation Board Facilitator so it just makes sense. The electricity meter has been switched. Ms. Carle said the Parks and Recreation Board is on the Fair Board’s agenda to talk about this. Mr. Dougherty asked if the City and County have a reciprocity agreement for law enforcement services. Mr. Dougherty said he can understand the City’s concern for the Dog Walk, etc. and to pay City fees because the walk was on the City’s roads, but he’s curious, if something happens in the City, the County doesn’t require someone to get a permit to remit for possible County law enforcement services. Ms. Carle said when she talked to the City Clerk about this she mentioned Parks and Recreation charging a fee and then telling the rental party they also have to approach the City of Bonners Ferry to pay the same fee to the City all over again. Those present reviewed agreements. Commissioner Kirby left the meeting to tend to personal matters. Mr. Sims said the City also feels the same way about sending people to two different places for fees, etc. Mr. Sims said one exception may be when the event does involve requesting specific city fire or law enforcement services. Commissioner Dinning suggested notifying the City of Bonners Ferry without having to cost the rental party additional fees. Ms. Carle said there could also be a provision in which if the rental party fails to clean up event posters or anything to do with the City, the return of the County’s fees could be withheld. Commissioner Dinning said in going through this we just need to make sure there is no undue hardship to taxpayers. Ms. Carle said there are things to change on the agreements so maybe it is a good idea to have both the County and City review for possible changes. It was mentioned that private functions, government functions and church functions could be exempted from the City’s fees. The Parks and Recreation Board will re-draft the agreements and submit them to Commissioners for review. Mr. Dougherty presented Commissioners with a copy of the Parks and Recreation Board by-laws. Those present discussed water at Riverside Park. The perk test for restrooms failed, but the permit for water has been approved. The meeting with Mr. Mayo, Mr. Dougherty, Ms. Carle, and Mr. Sims ended at 2:44 p.m. 2:45 p.m., Sheriff Greg Sprungl, Sheriff’s Office Administrative Deputy Crystal Denton, Clerk Glenda Poston, Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac and Chief Deputy Sheriff Rich Stephens joined the meeting. Chairman Smith said a new job description for the Sheriff’s Office had gone through the review process by the Personnel Classification Committee and he recapped the prior meeting. The new job description for a particular employee was rated a Grade 12, but this employee is currently a Grade 14. After review again, the new job description increased to a Grade 13. Sheriff Sprungl said dispatchers are a Grade 12 so how can someone who supervises others be the same grade as the employees they supervise. Commissioner Dinning said when positions were re-classed, employees were making a certain amount and steps in raises took place. At the time positions were re-classed, they were done so to reflect what the individual was paid at that time. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said the step in grade was done away with by the County. The Classification Committee was established in year 1995 and grades were assigned to positions. Sheriff Sprungl said generally the position is rated and not the person. Sheriff Sprungl said it is helpful to put the positions in the same category as the grades and he added that there were disparities within the system. Sheriff Sprungl said there are two positions within the Courthouse that are Grade 9 and there is a Driver’s License Clerk who is a Grade 7 and employees see this. If the County doesn’t have a good and fair system, it causes morale problems, etc. Chairman Smith wondered where the other employee morale issues are because this is the first this matter has come up. Sheriff Sprungl said there are salaried positions that aren’t listed on this list as well and that sometimes a job has to be created around an individual. Sheriff Sprungl said a job description was created in his office and he had to question the system when it came back Graded at a 12 when the dispatchers are a Grade 12. Chairman Smith said if the job description was brought in and Commissioners were told it was a Grade 12 or 13, he could understand. But the process goes through a committee so should Commissioners over-ride the Committee and if so, are Commissioners being fair to others. Chief Deputy Sheriff Rich Stephens said when all jobs were given a grade is that the same criteria used for this job. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said the process and guidelines have been the same since the beginning. Chairman Smith said he would question flaws since the job changed from a Grade 12 to a Grade 13. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac explained that a couple of job duties were taken out and the Committee had felt the description was initially vague. Sheriff Sprungl asked how supervisors are graded. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said there are five categories for supervisors. Ms. Denton’s position is a Grade 4 supervisor as the Sheriff is listed at a Grade 5. Other ratings for grading Ms. Denton’s proposed position were a 5 and other ratings came in at 1’s and 2’s. Sheriff Sprungl said one of the biggest contentions of the Committee in the past was requiring educational degrees. Commissioner Dinning mentioned situations in which an employee can pad the job description in order to increase the position’s grade. Commissioner Dinning said everyone’s job duties state “all other duties as assigned” so why not keep Ms. Denton’s new position at a Grade 14, but include the other duties. Chief Deputy Sheriff Stephens briefly discussed the 911 funding portion of this position and the possibility of an audit. Sheriff Sprungl said one position listed is a Grade 16 and that is the GIS Mapper and he wondered if that position went through the Committee to be given a grade. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said that position did go through the Committee and because of the engineering degree, the points increased by 100. It was said Ms. Denton is going to take over the current head dispatcher’s duties, but she will be doing even more than those duties. Clerk Poston spoke of how longevity affects the amount of pay. Sheriff Sprungl said the longevity of the person currently in this position should have nothing to do with the Grade 14. Sheriff Sprungl said Ms. Denton is valuable to the Sheriff’s Office and it is more than just the job description. Sheriff Sprungl said Ms. Denton has multiple talents. Sheriff Sprungl said he doesn’t agree in grading according to the employee, but in this case they’ve come across this many times. Sheriff Sprungl spoke of the multiples tasks that Ms. Denton took on when other employees left. The policy states the position is a Grade 13, but as Commissioner Dinning states when looking at the prior job description with “other duties as assigned”, that position was a Grade 14. Sheriff Sprungl said it raises a question when the duties of a Grade 14 are taken on in addition to “additional duties as assigned”. Chief Deputy Sheriff Stephens mentioned leaving the current job description untouched, but include the dispatch supervisor’s duties. It was said Ms. Denton’s job description was not upgraded to include 911 duties. Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said the current job description was updated to include 911 duties and that is when the grade became a 14. Chairman Smith asked if the best hope was for this job to remain a Grade 14 or for this position to be higher than a Grade 14. Chief Deputy Sheriff Stephens said he thinks the surprise was that the rating came in less than a Grade 14. Clerk Poston said due to market value the Justice Fund is over the levy limit and she can shift some budgets, but not all of them. Clerk Poston said she did include the Administrative Assistant position in her budget, but the County really has to cut back and does not have a choice in that. Chairman Smith questioned as it stands with that job remaining a Grade 14, that budget would not change. Clerk Poston said yes because it falls under E911. Chairman Smith said if the new job description was done away with and left the same with “other duties as assigned” that would work. Chairman Smith said it wasn’t so much what this job pays, but that there was another job that pays more. Commissioner Dinning asked for a review of the job description of Ms. Denton’s current duties. It was said Ms. Denton is handling the administrative duties for the County’s 911 system and that Bonner County probably has someone doing the same duties, but nothing in addition to that. Commissioner Dinning and Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac said the Committee could update the job description, not re-rate it. Sheriff Sprungl said Dispatch Supervisor would have to be added. The meeting with Sheriff Sprungl, Chief Deputy Sheriff Stephens, Chief Deputy Clerk Isaac, Ms. Denton, and Sheriff Sprungl ended at 3:30 p.m. There being no further duties, the meeting adjourned at 3:30 p.m. /s/ RONALD R. SMITH, Chairman ATTEST: /s/ GLENDA POSTON, Clerk By: Michelle Rohrwasser, Deputy |