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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBudget Council work session 1 October 30 20021 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Whatcom County Council PROPOSED 2003 WHATCOM COUNTY BUDGET October 30, 2002 The meeting was called to order at 9:33 a.m. by Council Chair L. Ward Nelson in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. Present: Absent: Dan McShane None Sharon Roy Sam Crawford Laurie Caskey- Schreiber Barbara Brenner Seth Fleetwood DISCUSSION OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE'S 2003 RECOMMENDED BUDGET (AB2002 -370) Dewey Desler, Deputy Administrator, stated this process began one year ago. The administration reviewed the issues associated with last year's budget, compiled the year end financial reports, and projected future revenue and expenditures. The Executive presented a message in March to implement modifications to the 2002 budget. He talked to the Finance Committee regularly about significant policy and budget issues. He explained the budget development process. Crawford reported on Finance Committee discussions with the Administrative Services Department. The Facilities Division budget includes money for jail repairs. The Information Services Division will get the information kiosk person to be more proactive in greeting courthouse visitors. Cuts in the budget have to do with one- time expenses that occurred in 2002 regarding facilities maintenance issues. Crawford reported on the Finance Committee discussions with the Assessor's Office. The committee discussed whether the Assessor could collect fees for services, but State law prohibits it. He would like to see the Assessor's maps online. The Auditor intends to put all recorded documents online. Nelson stated the computer data needs to be connected and integrated among the departments. Desler stated that would require the different departments and elected officials to work together. A new geographic information system (GIS) staff person would address some of those issues. Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Nelson stated the Council might need to provide leadership and policy to get this process going. Desler stated the policy is to move toward collecting the most consistent information it can without duplicating efforts. Crawford stated the permit numbers and construction evaluations that the Assessor's Office is doing are dropping while the Planning and Development Services Department is showing huge increases in activity. The reason is the lag time between development and the time when the Assessor begins to do assessments. The Assessor anticipates an increased number of assessments. He asked Councilmember McShane to talk about the additional services requests (AS R's). McShane stated one issue came from the Assessor and Treasurer regarding the AS /400 maintenance outsourcing. Administration did not approve this item, even though it is being worked on. There seems to be some frustration on the part of the Assessor and Treasurer about how slow this is progressing. One of the holdups seems to be because of the administration and Information Services Division looking at this and making a recommendation. He is not willing at this time to change the budget on this item, but the Council should get a pretty detailed report. Desler stated the system has worked for 20 years. They have a good relationship with CompuTech. Other counties use the system. Often when the administration doesn't approve something, it's because they can resolve it with other less expensive approaches, or because the problem isn't as great in the overall view of the entire county. The system is operational today. Brenner stated the Assessor and Treasurer, as elected officials, have come to the Council with a request for a basic need for the county. Work out the budget to make sure the needs for the maintenance for their systems is adequate. She asked what the alternative is. Barbara Cory, Treasurer, stated this is a very important issue to the Treasurer's Office. She sent a letter to the administration in 2000 about the problem. The administration has not been able to solve this issue. The system is very old. The Treasurer pays $104,000 per year for AS /400 support to Administration Services Department. None of it goes to the database for property tax collection, which collects the County's major revenue. The County spends an average of $56,000 per year on the JDEdwards financial system maintenance. They only spend $9,600 per year for CompuTech to maintain her system. That is not enough to make the system efficient. They are barely keeping the system going. The system operates, but not without a lot of work by her department and the Assessor's Office to keep it running. Nelson asked for a financial assessment on the cost savings. Cory stated that it would be difficult until they talk to CompuTech. She has been in negotiations with CompuTech about what the County would get with $50,000. CompuTech will maintain the system, provide system updates, support the system for State law changes, provide development for future needed programs, and will fit Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. programs for other counties to Whatcom County. It would be a maintenance upgrade to the system. Some of the processes within the Assessor and Treasurer's Offices would be improved. The two staffs are currently doubling the work. Staff time would be down. Nelson asked for more solid information on what the savings would be. Desler stated a meeting is scheduled next week to talk about these issues. Crawford reported on the Finance Committee discussions with the Auditor's Office. The number of transactions increased by 20,000 in the past two years. Ms. Forslof will ask for more money from the Council to cover the March 2002 election, but it is a pass through of funds to the Whatcom Transportation Authority. She is working on the in -house security audit. All recorded documents for the last ten years, including survey maps, will be put online in 2003. Nelson asked if the County is mailing out absentee ballots to people who have not voted in a certain number of elections. Desler stated he would look into that issue. Brenner stated she understands that there is a way for people to be taken off the absentee list for not voting, but it takes quite a few years. McShane stated there is a more aggressive program with the State to clean up the voter rolls. Crawford stated there might be a new law that requires each polling place to be accessible to anyone, which requires a voting device that has a substantial cost. Crawford reported on the Finance Committee's discussion about Cooperative Extension. The budget decrease this year is because Scarlet Tang's salary has moved to the Water Resources Division budget. Grants have run out and are not being replaced. In 2003, Cooperative Extension will mentor raspberry growers on integrated pest management (IPM) methods for the fruit worm. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side A.) Crawford continued to state that Craig MacConnell is feeling challenged on the rising cost of administration. McShane stated the committee heard that complaint from a number of departments. The problem seems to be a matter of accounting for the cost of additional staff, materials, and equipment. The departments need to recognize that there is a cost to administration. Desler stated the County assigns revenue and expenses to each department to cover the cost of insurance, heat, lights, maintenance, and other costs. There are different formulas that have been worked out. Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 3 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. 1 Crawford reported on the Finance Committee's discussion on the County 2 Council Office. There is an additional expenditure for the Hearing Examiner's space 3 rental, buildings fees, and equipment rental in the Civic Center building. However, 4 the Hearing Examiner and his staff person are happy where they are. Desler stated 5 the administration has already begun developing the space at the Civic Center for 6 the Hearing Examiner. There is an agreement for the space. Ultimately, the space 7 needs to be organized by the administration. 8 9 There is a cost to the space. The cost has been masked to accommodate 10 construction and acquisition of space. He would like to gradually implement a 11 system where all departments, through an allocation of money, pay for the full cost 12 of the space. The administration started that system with the Civic Center building. 13 The money that comes from the assignment of that cost goes back in to make the 14 bond payment on the building. Otherwise, they will have to pay the bond fund 15 through the general fund. If the administration implements a system of charging 16 what it really costs for space, a fund would be built up to allow future generations 17 to replace the buildings with a substantial amount of money already designed for 18 capital costs. The existing taxpayers and future taxpayers would collectively pay 19 for the large buildings. Right now, the County bonded itself for the cost of the Civic 20 Center building, which it has to pay back. 21 22 Crawford questioned whether the current space for the Hearing Examiner is 23 not appropriate. 24 25 Nelson stated one concern is with available parking. 26 27 Brenner stated the administration would not object if they move the Hearing 28 Examiner back into the County Council Office. Her concern is about saving money. 29 Legally and physically, they can keep the Hearing Examiner and County Council 30 separate within the County Council Office. 31 32 Nelson asked if there is a concern about placing the Hearing Examiner in the 33 County Council offices. 34 35 Dana Brown - Davis, Clerk of the Council, stated she has conflicting opinions 36 from two different attorneys about whether or not there would be an appearance of 37 fairness issue. She would have to get an official opinion. 38 39 Nelson asked if there is room for the Hearing Examiner. Brown -Davis stated 40 that depends on whether the County Council wants to give up some of its space. 41 There wouldn't be room for two offices. The Hearing Examiner would have to work 42 from home somewhat. 43 44 Caskey- Schreiber stated she does not want the Hearing Examiner to move 45 into the Council's offices. It would not be appropriate. 46 Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Brenner stated the Hearing Examiner already has hearings in the Council's offices. No one on the Council is ever involved unless he or she goes specifically to the hearing. Nelson stated that is true, but there is an appearance of fairness problem. Brenner stated that if that is true, then the Hearing Examiner should not have his hearings in the Council's offices. No one has ever complained about it. Brown -Davis stated that people questioned whether the Hearing Examiner could be objective when the Council and Hearing Examiner shared offices on Forest Street. Desler stated the administration is already moving ahead with modifying the space for the Hearing Examiner at the Civic Center building. The hearings will be held in the Civic Center second floor meeting room. That move will also relieve pressure on the demand for meeting space at the courthouse. Roy stated that having a hearing with the door closed is one thing. Having daily operations where there is opportunity for interaction is something else. McShane stated it is fine that the Hearing Examiner move to the Civic Center building. He will support the ASR. Crawford stated the Council Office would save $4,000 on public notices. He provided a detailed list of expenditures in the Council Office on public relations issues (on file). He wants to make sure there is accountability for that expense. Crawford reported on the Finance Committee's discussion about District Court. The 2003 budget is virtually the same as the 2002 budget. One of the issues was that people were having trouble finding courtrooms, but the court administrator has fixed that problem. One other solution would be to send the information to the information kiosk each morning. District Court has a successful amnesty program for collecting past due fines. Traffic infractions have burdened the court because they are up 48 percent this year. The State Patrol has beefed up its staff, the new deputies write lots of tickets, and there is a new Click It or Ticket program. Those are the three reasons for increased traffic infractions. Nelson asked how the online ticket payment program is working. Desler stated the administration has not yet implemented that program, in part because State law has not caught up with some of the modern system. Nelson asked if the former fifth floor exercise room has been remodeled. Desler stated it has not. They have not issued the bid specifications yet. That room has been unused for the entire life of the courthouse. They want to use it for three conference rooms. It has been budgeted for. Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 5 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Crawford reported on the Finance Committee's discussion about District Court Probation. There is a significant increase in the budget. A good amount of the increase is for the District Court Probation alcohol assessment. District Court has been unhappy with the alcohol assessments done by the community treatment providers. The money for this position is funded. Desler stated the cost is funded with fees. Crawford stated paperwork and review has to be done for each assessment case. There have been situations in which the District Court has received incomplete assessment documentation. District Court believes it can do the assessments more quickly and thoroughly. Roy stated timeliness was also an issue. District Court was not receiving the assessments in a timely way. Mr. Van Glubt had nothing good to say about the situation, and provided a very strong recommendation for this request. Crawford stated the County contracts, using State pass- through dollars, with many treatment providers every year. He would like the Request for Proposals (RFP) Committee of the Substance Abuse Advisory Committee to be aware if another branch of County government is not getting good service from these treatment providers. They are two separate functions that are not done with the same contract. They have to check with legal counsel about whether they can do that. There may be legal issues involved. Caskey- Schreiber asked if this could be an in -house job affiliated with the Health Department. Crawford stated District Court would begin to handle all the assessments in- house. Desler described the history of the assessment services for the County. The County is moving away from the Health and Human Services Department providing clinical services to individuals, and focus more on population -based health. Brenner stated the Council provided direction to contract out services wherever appropriate so the County government doesn't continually increase. This is coming from a County bureaucrat who wants the service in- house. The Council owes it to the public to find out which agencies are having these problems. The Council can find out about it in executive session. She would rather have the service contracted out. Crawford asked that the administration bring Mr. Van Glubt into this meeting to discuss this issue further. Crawford stated there are now two full -time domestic violence probation officers who handle 45 cases per year. The typical probation officer handles about Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. 180 cases per year. The domestic violence probation officers see their clients twice as often. It is working out very well. Crawford reported on the Finance Committee's discussion about the Executive's Office. The only question about budget priority pertained to the public relations component of the Executive's budget. The administration agreed to provide a detailed breakdown of executive expenditures, which it did. Brenner asked about a $5,000 grant from the Executive to an organic produce business. Desler stated he would provide whatever information he had to Councilmember Brenner. (Clerk's Note: End of tape one, side 8.) Caskey- Schreiber asked in which area Mr. Van Glubt experienced dissatisfaction regarding the alcohol assessment program. Bruce Van Glubt, District Court Probation Officer, stated he has absolutely no dissatisfaction with the Health and Human Services Department. There is a philosophical difference with the provider about the approach to working with criminals who commit alcohol- and drug - related crimes. The treatment providers resent having the courts involved in the treatment - related issues, in spite of the fact that the laws mandate court involvement when a charge of driving under the influence (DUI) happens. Treatment agencies recommend treatment that is based on what the defendant is willing to do. On the other hand, the court is motivated by public safety issues and insists that the evaluations reflect the true needs of the defendant. This is a significant philosophical difference that he deals with regularly. Not one treatment agency in the county has been able to provide him consistent, timely reports. Some are better than others. Treatment agencies regularly refuse to conduct urinalysis (UA) testing as required. One agency was shut down due to information his office provided to the Sheriff's Office and the Department of Social and Health Services. Another agency is under investigation by the State, based on a complaint from his office. Treatment agencies have falsified monthly treatment reports. When the court allows evaluations under special circumstances to be done by private treatment agencies, they've had unacceptable evaluations. Some evaluations failed to include State required information. All of these problems result in more work for the probation officers. He wants to move the County's assessment officer from the Health and Human Services Department to the Probation Office. He wants to provide assessment only, not treatment. Caskey- Schreiber asked how this solves the problem of providers in the community doing an inadequate reporting job. Van Glubt stated it gives him a foundation for a person to start his or her treatment program. The question is whether people are not getting good treatment, or whether the record - keeping is not good. He wouldn't say that most treatment agencies don't provide good treatment. He will set up meetings with treatment agencies to set out the Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. expectations. The assessment is the foundation of the treatment program. Without a solid foundation, everything else is unshaky. Caskey- Schreiber asked how this is different from the current arrangement. Van Glubt stated a person is sentenced by the judge to have a chemical dependency assessment. The person is sent to the assessment unit, which is currently housed in the District Court Probation Office. Upon completion of the assessment, the person is given a list of treatment providers in the person's area. The person can pick any certified treatment agency he or she wants. Brenner asked how they trust the provider to provide good treatment if they can't trust them. Substandard and false reports are serious charges. She needs to know more about whom they are dealing with, and change things if necessary. She'd like to know who the treatment agencies are and why they use them at all. Nelson stated there have been changes locally and statewide on how treatment is done. The Health and Human Service Department has worked with many providers. Those contracts go out to provide treatment for consumers. The big issue with the courts is about having one center doing the assessment, and another center doing the treatment. He hasn't heard anything recently about whether treatment has been effective. Van Glubt stated he has examples of current problems. The Recovery Center does not conduct UA testing, as it is supposed to. Nelson asked if the contract with The Recovery Center requires UA. Brenner stated there are excellent agencies in this community. She asked if the County is able to contract with whom it wants to for both assessment and treatment. The County doesn't have to be stuck with assessment agencies that don't do a good job. Van Glubt stated that is a legal issue he doesn't have the answer to. Desler stated the County can contract out the assessment component. The judges recommend that the County maintain the assessment component for the purposes of quality control and compliance with public safety objectives. Assessment must be independent and free from undue influence by the financial element. Nelson asked for a report on the contracts with the Health and Human Services Department regarding whether or not the providers are complying with the contracts. Van Glubt stated the problem is not simply the contracts they have, it's the court order the judge is giving during sentencing. Nelson stated that if the contract doesn't refer to court orders, it is a moot contract. He asked if the contract language is specific enough so the treatment facility understands that court orders have meaning and requirements. Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Regina Delahunt, Health and Human Services Director, stated she would get more specific information from the Human Services Manager. However, the Health and Human Services Department contracts aren't specific to the court system. Their contracts are with the providers who provide services in the community with pass- through State dollars. The County should take a look at the contracts to see how they can support the needs that the courts have. Brenner stated she is concerned about making it independent. She's not sure how it is more independent for someone working in District Court to make a judgment about assessment than to contract it to someone outside of County government. Nelson stated the courts have made it plain that they don't want to contract out this service. An agency can do assessments without treatment, if the concern is conflict of interest. The Council needs to raise that concern. (Clerk's Note: Fleetwood left the meeting at 11:20 a.m.) Crawford reported about the Health and Human Services Department. There is a concern by staff about physical office space limitations, but that is about the only concern. Brenner asked why this department has an assistant director position. The current assistant director does most of crunching the numbers, which should be a function of the administration. Delahunt stated the Health Department is involved with many grants, contracts, and pass- through funds. It is very complicated. The assistant director also takes care of union issues and supervises positions that cross division lines. It is a key position in the department. Brenner asked if it could work better without middle management. Delahunt stated it needs to be done at a departmental level. Many of the contracts are for the programs. It would be difficult for the administration to make sure the specific work plans and activities are taking place according to the grant. Desler stated that the administration consolidates accounts payable and receivables operations to any extent it can. There will be some changes in the future to the Health Department. Not all departments have assistant directors, but the larger ones do. This is one of the largest departments. The Public Works Department has several assistant directors. A couple of years ago, they reduced a couple of positions in order to get the kind of capacity it needed to solve certain problems. The department was having difficulties with the administration of health department programs, according to audit findings. McShane stated there were no ASR issues for the Health Department. In the future, they should look at the potential loss of a significant amount of funding from the State beginning in July. Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 9 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Crawford reported on the Hearing Examiner's budget. He stated that a portion of the increases in the Council Office budget have to do with salaries and wages. McShane asked if the Hearing Examiner's request for a salary increase is included. Desler stated it is not. For all unrepresented employees, the administration budgeted for a two percent cost of living increase. The increase in the rent for the Hearing Examiner is not an increase in the general budget, because that cost would just have to come from somewhere else in the general budget. Crawford reported on Juvenile Court. This budget includes four divisions. Restitution collected is on a downward trend. The overall emphasis is rehabilitation, not punishment. That is in contrast to the Sheriff's Office, which gave up on rehabilitation efforts. The Juvenile Justice system has not given up on rehabilitation, which he hopes the Council would approve. Brenner asked that, in the future, the administration provide information on the reason for specific and significant reductions and increases. Two programs were recently eliminated. She asked how the funds have been reallocated. Roy stated one of the reasons is that there has been a decrease in the number of referrals. It looks like there is a sharp decline in the number of juvenile cases, so a reason for the decrease might be fewer clients. Steve Paus, Juvenile Court Administrator, stated that is not necessarily the case. There has been a decline in the number of juvenile cases, which is probably because the number of kids aged 10 to 17 is low right now. Also, a lot of the programs they've initiated are working so there is not as much recidivism. The number of offenses per 100,000 in population is going down. He can provide information on reductions. His department lost almost $30,000 from the State that used to pay for the sex offender program. Desler stated there were one -time expenses to start up the Juvenile Justice Center in 2002. The administration did not seek to reallocate those monies for 2003. Crawford reported on Finance Committee discussions regarding the Parks and Recreation Department. The committee was assured that any increases in the budget were covered by fee increases. Several interesting statistics were given on the use of the parks and Parks Department programs. Lifeguards for Lake Samish are included in the budget. There was a discussion on the Stimson property access from the direction of Sudden Valley. There are wetland issues. Docents will stop people from accessing via Sudden Valley. He was concerned about that because this is the first time Sudden Valley residents have direct access to a County park. Brenner stated there was an issue from last year about the Teen Adventure Program (TAP). When this program first came forward, she and other Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. councilmembers hesitated about a program that competes with the Boys and Girls Club and other similar programs. She is concerned about funding this when there are other agencies and facilities that do this type of program. The majority of this cost is for one person. It is a good service, but not something the County should do in- house. Instead, the County can provide a grant to other agencies that do this. Caskey- Schreiber stated the Juvenile Justice system uses the TAP for some of their offenders. She is in favor of supporting the TAP for that reason. Brenner stated supporting teen programs is good, but this competes with the private sector. Caskey- Schreiber stated she advocates funding the full amount for trash pickup in the County parks. It's disgusting to come into a County park and have litter all over the place because the garbage can is too full. They will be using more areas for parks that need to be serviced. (Clerk's Note: End of tape two, side B.) Desler stated there is enough capacity to accomplish the demands within the existing budget authority and the new money that is being proposed. Nelson stated the councilmembers could bring this change forward after the public hearing if that's what they want. Desler stated the Parks Department has a broad budget authority. They pay the expenses out of that budget category. Crawford reported on the Finance Committee discussions regarding the Planning and Development Services Department. There is a significant decrease in the budget. The department will begin to look at the economic impacts of regulations and ordinances. The Council should make certain that technology is available to make accessing information easy for staff and the County Council. There is an ASR for $7,000 in technology that the administration did not recommend, but it might be worth considering. There is a new Senior Planner Watershed Coordinator position in the budget. There is a Purchase of Development Rights (PDR) /Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) /Open Space Coordinator position in the extra help category. The administration will review this position to see if it can be a regular full -time equivalent (FTE) employee. Nelson stated he has a concern about the working relationship among the departments, specifically with the Engineering Division. Desler stated Hal Hart, Jeff Monsen, and Regina Delahunt are bringing together a team of people from the departments to see if there is a way to better coordinate. Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Hal Hart, Planning and Development Services Director, stated the departments are talking about how to work smarter and together. Executive Kremen is focused on customer service. The discussions are based on the need for better customer service. They are looking at the entire picture, including common problems and fees. One possibility is to have quarterly meetings of all managers. The final report of this first initial process will be available by the end of November. Caskey- Schreiber stated the TDR /PDR /Open Space Coordinator position is budgeted as a one -time expense. She asked if that position or those issues would go away. Desler stated it gives the administration an opportunity to review the program at the end of one year. The administration did that for the geographic information system (GIS) position and the Acquisition Coordinator. It forces the administration to examine the progress. Caskey- Schreiber asked if Mr. Hart requested a staff person who could address and expedite some of the issues about critical areas and the watersheds. Hart stated he did. They are finally advertising the position. Brenner asked if it is realistic to expect to have off - the -shelf plans for critical areas and wetland issues, so a building applicant won't have to hire a professional. Hart stated it is realistic to a degree, especially as they get better with e- government. To a certain degree, some applicants will always need to hire a specialist. That is something the managers would need to work out. McShane stated a lot of it has to do with the quality of the staff. In his experience with Whatcom County, the only projects that he would work on were always hard because there was some level of expertise and institutional memory in the Planning Department. Mr. Goldthorp needs to be aware that consultants will go to a site and make a determination that a site can't be built on. He commended the Planning Department for saving people significant amounts of money. Hart stated it is also a factor of the volume of growth and number of permits. Better mapping will also help. Caskey- Schreiber stated the ASR for the electrical utilities consultant was not approved. She asked if that is something the County needs. Hart stated it depends on what the work program will be for 2003. The question is whether it is a priority in a tough budget year. Caskey- Schreiber stated it is a priority for her. She asked if the County would have to pay $30,000 for a consultant to spend time with the committee. Hart stated he and his managers did an analysis of what different consulting groups charged. They could scale that back, depending on what the County Council wants to get done next year. Crawford stated the Finance Committee was open to including the ASR for digital camera equipment for the Planning Department. Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. McShane stated that would assist staff in doing their job very well, especially when they look at a lot of building sites. If there are good photographs and notes, it limits the amount of time that Mr. Hart has to spend on site visits. Desler stated the administration gave the Planning Department informal permission to use 2002 budget funds that have not been spent. Caskey- Schreiber asked if the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) fund rate is enough to mitigate the impacts of development. Hart stated he will have to think about that issue. Desler stated REET is one - quarter of one percent of the real estate sales that generates about $1 million. The County uses it to pay capital expenditures. Right now, the County uses it to pay the bond payments on County buildings. The County Council has the ability to increase the tax by another one - quarter of one percent. The fund has to be used for public facilities and infrastructure issues. Caskey- Schreiber asked how the tax lessens the impact of development if it is spent on buildings. Desler stated that as they develop a community, the community has to have more courtrooms, jails, and other government infrastructure. Brenner asked about the Planning Department paying for the digital equipment and laptop from leftover funds in the 2002 budget. Roy asked if the Planning Department has plans for what is left over in the 2002 budget. Hart stated he will look into this year's budget and see if there are any remaining dollars to use on these items. Roy stated the Council generally believes that this expenditure is really useful for the department, and wants to know if it needs to go into the 2003 budget. Hart stated he would look into it, and get back to the Council on the issue. Nelson stated they would finish this up at the Finance and Administrative Services Committee on November 12. Councilmembers should get questions to the administration and staff before then. Desler submitted technical corrections (on file). ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m. Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. These minutes were approved by Council on November 12 , 2002. ATTEST: Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON L. Ward Nelson, Council Chair Whatcom County Council Work Session - 2003 Budget, 10/30/02, Page 14