| County Commission minutes, February 13-14 |
| March 4, 2012 |
|
***Commissioners did not meet during the week
of February 6, 2012 due to the annual Idaho
Association of Counties Conference held in
Boise.
***Monday, February 13, 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., Road and Bridge Superintendent Jeff Gutshall joined the meeting to give the departmental report. Mr. Gutshall presented a written report. Lance Mastre with Mastre Backhoe and Jeff Varelman with Kootenai Mountain Lab, Inc., also joined the meeting.
Mr. Gutshall said he has only had to close a few roads so far due to the thaw. Commissioner Dinning asked about closing the road in Pleasant Valley in regards to issues involving a waste hauler and if Mr. Gutshall has a camera to catch this hauler on the county roads during spring break up. Mr. Gutshall said he has seven days per week coverage so he will see how that works before looking into getting a camera. Mr. Gutshall said the next few weeks show some pretty good night time temperatures.
Mr. Gutshall presented Commissioners with Property Owner Land Use Agreements for the Deep Creek Bridge #4 Project. There are a total of four property owners and three of them have signed the agreements, according to Mr. Gutshall. Mr. Gutshall said he will provide Commissioners with copies of the signed agreements.
Commissioner Dinning moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Landowner Property Use Agreements for the Deep Creek Bridge #4 Project. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Smith asked if the matter of a gas company questioning ownership of a road located at the bottom of Highland Flats Hill has been resolved. Mr. Gutshall said yes as the decision was to just leave it alone.
Commissioner Dinning moved to amend the prior motion made on January 9, 2012 to approve signing the application for the Trout Creek Bridge Replacement, not the Trow Creek Bridge Replacement. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Smith said Mr. Varelman stopped by Commissioners’ Office with questions concerning culverts on Great Northern Road. Mr. Varelman said he hired Mastre Backhoe to put in the 40 foot culverts and now he is hearing that 50 foot culverts are required. Mr. Mastre said he got permission to put in 40 foot culverts, but his memory of this is fuzzy. Mr. Mastre said he was under the impression that he could use the shorter culverts and Road and Bridge Assistant Superintendent Ken Arthur would check to see if it was good enough. Mr. Varelman asked why he is the only person required to put in a 50 foot culvert. Mr. Varelman said he measured other culverts with a tape measure and the longest one he found was 35 feet. Mr. Varelman described the location he’s talking about to be on Great Northern Road. Mr. Gutshall said 40 feet is the minimum commercial length culvert allowed, and if it had been him filling out the permit, he would’ve asked for a minimum of 50 feet due to past experiences. Mr. Varelman said his company; Kootenai Mountain Laboratories (KML) doesn’t have truck traffic. Mr. Varelman said the biggest truck he would get is from Fast Freight and that is a small size truck.
Mr. Mastre said he was given the okay to install the culvert and now he wonders if it was really an “okay”. Mr. Gutshall said instead of having to extend both culverts, he recalled only having to extend one. Commissioner Dinning asked if the shorter culverts were put in before the current ordinance. Mr. Gutshall said he will have to check. Mr. Gutshall said he spoke to Mr. Arthur and in no uncertain terms did he okay a culvert that is less than 50 feet. Chairman Smith said the four parties involved need to get together to work it out and come to some kind of conclusion. Mr. Varelman said if Mr. Arthur hadn’t said anything he would have put in a 50 foot culvert. Mr. Gutshall said the culverts were already in place before the agreements were signed. Chairman Smith said again, since Mr. Arthur’s name keeps getting brought up, he wants Mr. Mastre, Mr. Varelman, and Mr. Gutshall to get together with Mr. Arthur. Commissioner Dinning questioned why the county would allow a 35 to 40 foot culvert if the ordinance had already been adopted. Mr. Mastre said the issue is he didn’t keep records so he might have recalled something false.
The meeting with Mr. Gutshall, Mr. Mastre, and Mr. Varelman ended at 9:25 a.m.
Commissioner Dining moved to authorize the Chairman to sign the Kimley-Horn Contract Amendment #2 for the Airport Improvement fence and aviation weather observation system (AWOS) projects. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Dinning moved to approve the minutes of January 30 & 31, 2012. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Kirby moved to approve the Findings and Decision for Planning and Zoning Application # 12-001, an application for a subdivision by Larry and Martha McNutt due to the following conditions: the proposed plat is in accord with applicable provisions of this ordinance; adequate public services are or can be made available to accommodate the proposed plat; the proposed subdivision is designed so as to reduce or eliminate adverse impact on adjacent properties or land uses; the proposed subdivision is situated so as to avoid potentially hazardous or sensitive areas or sites; questions raised by the Idaho Transportation Department regarding access, traffic counts and potential impact to Highway 2 traffic flows can be mitigated by requiring the applicant to meet ITD access requirements; questions raised by Boundary County GIS can be addressed by requiring the applicant to work with the department to appropriately rename the access road pursuant to county requirements; and County Commissioners determine that the application meets all comprehensive plan guidelines as outlined in the staff analysis. Commissioner Dinning second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
Commissioner Dinning moved to reappoint Dick Hollenbeck and Glenda McCalmant as members of the Community Guardianship Board with terms to expire January 31, 2016. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Dinning moved to appoint Jeanne Robinson to fill the position on the Restorium Board left vacant by Richard Hollenbeck with a term to expire January 31, 2015. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Dinning moved to postpone signing the RAC/Twenty Mile Project Agreement until tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Dinning said he wants to make sure the project documents include more than just the Twenty Mile Project so he will look into it.
Commissioners tended to administrative duties.
10:00 a.m., Sheriff Greg Sprungl, Clerk Glenda Poston, County Insurance Agent Darrell Kerby, and Deputy Clerk Chris Wolfe joined the meeting to discuss insurance coverage for the Sheriff’s Posse equipment.
Chairman Smith said a far as Search and Rescue is concerned, this organization is covered under Idaho Counties Risk Management Program (ICRMP) as long as they’re performing services under the direction of the Sheriff’s Office. And all Search and Rescue equipment that is in Boundary County’s name is also covered by ICRMP. Mr. Kerby said that was correct. Chairman Smith said any equipment owned by Search and Rescue will be covered by ICMRP provided there is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding its use. Mr. Kerby said coverage depends on the wording in the MOU. Mr. Kerby said there is already language in an agreement that ensures the mobile equipment while in use under the Sheriff’s Office direction. Sheriff Sprungl said the snowmobiles are on County inventory. Chairman Smith said there is also a question if Search and Rescue has their own equipment and if so, they have to have a signed MOU stating their equipment is covered if the Sheriff’s Office called them to service. Sheriff Sprungl said the snowmobiles, ATV, and possibly a truck are listed on inventory as county equipment, but is in the possession of Search and Rescue. Sheriff Sprungl said if someone loses a global positioning system (GPS), ICMRP won’t cover those incidentals.
Mr. Kerby said there are two high level thought processes. You can insure the equipment by contract if the county agrees that is a condition of the use. If that is the will, there can be an insurable interest for the GPS depending on how it is worded in the MOU and ICRMP will cover it. Commissioner Dinning said with Search and Rescue, if the county does consider entering into an MOU, he doesn’t want to insure someone’s private vehicle if there is an accident. Mr. Kerby informed Commissioners that ICRMP provides coverage for a Search and Rescue member’s private vehicle while acting under the direction of the county. Chairman Smith said as far as he is concerned the only equipment that is insured is the equipment that is listed on the county’s inventory list. Mr. Kerby said what Chairman Smith stated is fine, but the ICRMP policy is broader. Sheriff Sprungl mentioned that vehicles and mobile equipment is on the inventory list. Chairman Smith said there are also ropes and a lot of other items. Chairman Smith said Search and Rescue has to come to the county to get this equipment on the county’s inventory list.
Those present discussed the Sheriff’s Posse and Commissioners asked if posse members are covered while on duty with the Sheriff’s authority. Mr. Kerby said yes, but if they’ve converted from the posse to Search and Rescue, the language in the MOU mentions Search and Rescue. Sheriff Sprungl said the posse members are deputized people and they are not Search and Rescue. Posse members can provide assistance during floods and it is just more man power. The posse is organized directly through the Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Clerk Chris Wolfe asked if there is a difference between the posse and Search and Rescue and Sheriff Sprungl explained that he doesn’t deputize Search and Rescue members and they are only covered when under county direction. Mr. Kerby said if there is a claim filed by a Search and Rescue member for an accident that occurred while under the authorization of the Sheriff Office, ICRMP will step up. Clerk Poston explained that Search and Rescue members are also covered by worker’s compensation while under the Sheriff’s instructions. The county will be provided the use of the vehicles and the individuals need to carry insurance for their own individual interests. Mr. Kerby said in regards to physical damage, ICRMP would be secondary to the personal insurance policy for auto coverage. Rescue animals are not covered unless they’ve been insured with a value. Deputy Clerk Chris Wolfe said there would be no insurance for animals that are not the property of Boundary County. Leasing a dog and giving it a value to add to the county’s inventory schedule was mentioned and Mr. Kerby said the animals aren’t covered just because they’re being used on the county’s behalf. Mr. Kerby said he would have to check coverage for animals other than dogs as he knows dogs are covered such as rescue and drug dogs, etc. Mr. Kerby said the only way the county would have to pay for a dog that was not already scheduled as property is if somehow the county was negligent and damaged the dog. Sheriff Sprungl said he would pay the vet bill for the dog injured, but he said some form of a lease should be drawn up. Sheriff Sprungl explained that a dog was injured while under the Sheriff’s authority and the handler was operating under the impression of county coverage.
It was said generically anytime departments use the property of others you go back to the rule of thumb. If the intent is that the county is financially responsible and wants coverage, there needs to be an agreement and a list of what is being insured so the county is in control of what is covered when a claim comes in.
It was said there had been a theft at the Stolley residence where radios were stolen and ICRMP did cover that loss. Sheriff Sprungl said there are times his office calls to request assistance and these are people from Search and Rescue and the posse. Mr. Kerby said the person needs to understand they are volunteering. Mr. Kerby said most of the time it is communication that is the problem. It was said another time there is coverage for Search and Rescue is during training. Deputy Clerk Chris Wolfe asked if that also applies to the posse. Mr. Kerby said that would be a dicey issue if there was an incident and the Sheriff wasn’t notified of it. Mr. Kerby said if Search and Rescue could be a function of the Sheriff’s Office, then there wouldn’t be a worry for an MOU as their services would be a function of the Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Sprungl explained that Search and Rescue can work under other agencies and he gave the example that Priest Lake Search and Rescue probably works more for Boundary County than they work for Priest Lake.
Sheriff Sprungl said he is not able to enter into contracts so Commissioners may want to look into a lease for dog services. Chairman Smith said when considering that need the county also needs to look at leasing horses, etc., and making sure there is coverage for that.
The meeting with Mr. Kerby, Sheriff Sprungl, Clerk Poston, and Deputy Clerk Chris Wolfe ended at 10:30 a.m.
Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals joined the meeting.
10:35 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go into closed session under Idaho Code #31-874. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously. 10:39 a.m., Commissioner Dinning moved to go out of closed session. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Dinning moved to approve the follow up request for indigent applications #2012-7 and #2012-4. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Commissioner Dinning moved to deny indigent applications #2012-12, #2012-11 and #2012-9 as per the Clerk’s recommendation. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals discussed an issue concerning medical bills from Washington medical providers who do not have an Idaho place of business. Deputy Clerk Ryals informed Commissioners that the Catastrophic Health Care Cost Program Board (CAT) will not participate in the payment of medical bills incurred in the State of Washington or by a Washington medical provider as there is no longer a reciprocal agreement between the states of Idaho and Washington. In addition, the county cannot count a medical bill from a Washington medical provider as part of the county’s $11,000 payment obligation. The Deputy Clerk gave the example that Northwest MedStar is a Washington medical provider without a known Idaho place of business; therefore, if the county chooses to pay a bill from Northwest MedStar, that bill will not count towards the county’s $11,000 payment obligation and CAT will not participate in the payment of the Northwest MedStar bill. Deputy Clerk Ryals mentioned reports that Life Flight is expanding their services and plans to have a base in Sandpoint set up in March 2012. Commissioners agreed that Boundary County should pay for Northwest MedStar services for qualified indigent applicants for now since there is no other option for citizens of Boundary County. Commissioner Dinning said after March 1st, Boundary Community Hospital can contact Life Flight for services. Commissioners will meet with Boundary Community Hospital representatives to discuss the issue.
Deputy Clerk Nancy Ryals left the meeting at 10:50 a.m.
Commissioners reviewed claims for approval. Fund totals are as follows: Current Expense $77,447.23 Road & Bridge 112,685.62 Airport 3,495.28 District Court 8,010.18 Fair, County 36,336.00 Justice Fund 24,153.15 911 Funds 1,412.51 Health District 12,639.00 Historical Society & Museum 6,500.00 Indigent & Charity 22,376.39 Parks and Recreation 4,121.95 Revaluation 328.81 Solid Waste 68,489.33 Tort 3,101.80 Veterans Memorial 718.99 Weeds 1,091.38 Restorium 14,149.82 Waterways 246.53 Grant, Airport 25,192.55 Grant, Boat Safety 45.45 Grant, Fire Mitigation 22,500.00
TOTAL $445,041.97 Citizens are invited to inspect detailed records on file in the Courthouse (individual claims & Commissioners’ allowance & warrant register record 2011).
11:00 a.m., Trial Court Administrator Karlene Behringer, Judge Justin Julian, and Clerk Glenda Poston joined the meeting to discuss a change in budgeting for mental evaluations.
It was said in the past there had not been a charge for mental evaluations done by the Department of Health and Welfare, but the physician who had conducted those evaluations has retired and there will now be costs to the counties. Ms. Behringer said she has spoken with various doctors about performing the evaluations. Dr. Hogan is located in Sandpoint and doesn’t want to practice in Kootenai County and Dr. Hayes and Dr. Wolf are based in Coeur d’ Alene and a majority of their work comes from Bonner and Kootenai Counties. Ms. Behringer said if in fact the doctors had to travel they would, but typically people meet with them in their offices. Chairman Smith discussed a person who may be in custody that has to have an evaluation done. Judge Julian said sometimes people will be placed back in custody in order to make sure they show up for their evaluation and if they don’t come in, a court order can be issued for them to come in. Judge Julian mentioned this is not a mental proceeding, just regular criminal cases.
Judge Julian explained how the process works when someone has been arrested and how the county has not had to worry about costs up to this point. When the client doesn’t seem to grasp reality there is a list of how to determine who will pay the evaluation costs. When there is reason to doubt a defendant’s ability to defend such as a mental issue, the judge starts a process whether or not to order the evaluation. If there are indicators, the person will be signed up for a full blown evaluation. Chairman Smith said if evaluations need to be budgeted those costs could come from the District Court budget. Ms. Behringer said yes.
Attorney Phil Robinson joined the meeting.
Chairman Smith said you don’t want to error on the wrong side if someone is brought in with mental issues such as suicidal tendencies. It was said the court needs to make the initial inquiry if the person is mentally competent and the attorney communicates with the court on the mental ability of their client. It was determined that this matter is something that needs to be looked over right away for the upcoming budget. Judge Julian said at a minimum he is thinking about budgeting $10,000 per year.
Sheriff Greg Sprungl joined the meeting at 11:25 a.m.
It was said there would not be pre-screening in this area. Attorney Robinson said every doctor at Bonner General Hospital is required to be a designated examiner per the contact with the hospital. Attorney Robinson said it may be worth it to do pre-screenings at Bonner General Hospital. Attorney Robinson said Tamra Judy used to work for the Department of Health and Welfare and she has offered to do evaluations even though she is outside the organization. Sheriff Sprungl said Boundary Community Hospital now has a doctor in the emergency room that could probably do evaluations. Those present questioned approaching the doctor that provides medical services to the inmates about being a designated examiner.
The meeting ended at 11:35 a.m.
Commissioners and Attorney Phil Robinson discussed the coordination process for the caribou critical habitat issue. The county is an entity under the Land Use Planning Act and that gives the county standing. Attorney Robinson said in his opinion that coordination is a way of equals meeting at a table and ending up with an agreement, which is a misconception. Chairman Smith said he feels the county would do better to have the public hearing and voice the opinions. Attorney Robinson said if you believe that this is an evil act of an evil dictator doing something, coordination doesn’t fix that. Coordination means the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has to address that they’ve “coordinated” with the county and that they listened and the result could still be not the favorable result. Attorney Robinson said he was never one to believe the county mandates anything in coordination. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service say they have to listen and when it is done, they say “they listened”. The dependency on coordination mandating anything onto the Fish and Wildlife Service is nothing. Attorney Robinson suggested the county not waive any rights to public hearings and public meetings. Attorney Robinson said his understanding is that Bonner County did not respond in time to request a public hearing, but that they had opted for coordination. Sheriff Sprungl said he can’t do anything to the Forest Service as there is no over reach as the federal government has ordered them to do this. Sheriff Sprungl said it will be the Forest Service that closes certain roads not the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Commissioner Dinning said once Fish and Wildlife designates and they consult, they will mandate what the Forest Service needs to do. Chairman Smith said the Fish and Wildlife Service was behind the grizzly bear management area issue, but it was the Forest Service who had to close the specific number of roads as required by Fish and Wildlife.
Commissioner Dinning moved to grant an extension of time to pay year 2011 taxes for parcel #MH61N01W25615A until June 20, 2012. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
Chairman Smith updated Attorney Robinson on the matter of Search and Rescue and the posse. The issue of coverage for service horses and dogs was brought up. Chairman Smith mentioned Mr. Kerby had determined that horses could not be covered by ICRMP, but that still leaves dogs. In order to have dogs insured the county has to have a leasing agreement when the dogs are leased to the Sheriff’s Office. Attorney Robinson mentioned what losses could be included in the MOU. Attorney Robinson said to notify ICRMP how many dogs will be leased. Sheriff Sprungl suggested naming the dogs as the dogs need to be identified on the county’s inventory.
The meeting ended at 11:55 a.m.
There being no further business, the meeting recessed until tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.
***Tuesday, February 14, 2012, Commissioners met in regular session with Chairman Ron Smith, Commissioner Dan Dinning, Commissioner Kirby, and Deputy Clerk Michelle Rohrwasser.
11:00 a.m., County Outside Auditor Leonard Schulte, County Clerk Glenda Poston, and Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac joined the meeting to go over the review of the county’s 2011 audit.
Mr. Schulte said the 2011 audit is a very similar layout as in the past, with the exception that Boundary Community Hospital is no longer included as the component unit as the county is not responsible for debts incurred by the Hospital.
Mr. Schulte said first off is the scope of the audit and what he has audited. Next are standards under which the audit was performed. The last point is the actual opinion from auditor, which is a clean opinion with no exceptions and it is in accordance. The main reason for the audit is for that statement. The clean opinion is what you really want to strive for, according to Mr. Schulte. Remaining portions are various letters referenced primarily for federal compliance aspects.
Mr. Schulte said page 11 of the audit financial statements contain two methods of reporting for the county as a whole and then there are statements on the more individual fund level. For the county as whole it is on a measurement focus of all assets, long term debts, etc., and governmental activities are separate from business activities such as the Restorium. Under the Governmental Activities Column, the total assets are $12,828,000 and landfill closure and post-closure care costs make up that total of $12,828,000. Commissioner Dinning asked where in the audit the estimate of closure costs are and Mr. Schulte said page 31. Mr. Schulte said he states the landfill’s life expectancy is another 25 years.
Those present reviewed liabilities, maturities on long term debts, compensated absences, etc. Commissioner Dinning asked if the report shows a potential for sick leave pay and Mr. Schulte said no as sick leave isn’t paid if the county had to close it doors. The total current liabilities total is $434,944 and includes lease/purchase obligations. The accrued portion of estimated landfill closure and post-closure care costs is $1,050,537. Mr. Schulte said Page 31 shows how this information was calculated. Commissioner Dinning said the county has the ability for non-appropriation for lease/purchases and he asked if that should show. Mr. Schulte said no. Those present reviewed various line items, net assets, capital acquisitions, etc.
Page 12 is information on Government-Wide Statement of Activities. Mr. Schulte said the Restorium began the year with $303,816 in net assets and ended the year with $380,690 and that is a good thing as the Restorium operated at a profit.
Mr. Schulte said Page 13 is an alternative approach that shows the fund financial statements. Major funds, Current Expense, Justice Fund, Solid Waste, Road and Bridge, and everything else is all together as the aggregate remaining. This is also a multi-column approach, according to Mr. Schulte. The measurement focus is identifying a fund balance. The net of uncollectible property tax is the amount of property taxes not collected within 60 days of year end, September 31, 2011. These are not considered available expendable resources. Mr. Schulte said the total of tax deferred revenue is $96,994 as it was not collected in 60 days. Mr. Schulte said approximately $13,000 was collected within 60 days of year end.
Mr. Schulte said there is a slight change in presentation for the accounting principal for the purpose of giving consistent comparable information for governments when it gets to the point of reflecting fund balances. Mr. Schulte said there is a change in how restricted funds are reflected. Under the restricted fund category are landfill closure costs. The assigned fund balance is not restrictive, it’s not designated, but it is limited in some respects. For example Road and Bridge has $1,422,534 that has been assigned to that department for Road and Bridge activities only. The only fund that is unassigned is Current Expense funds. Mr. Schulte said this change doesn’t affect the total it’s just how the total is broke down. Commissioner Dinning said he recalls asking the last time if there is any correlation if the county has Justice Fund cash equivalent of $838,073, but the carry forward shows $456,000. Clerk Poston said explained that is money left after payroll and expenses, but she is figuring this is in the middle of summer whereas Mr. Schulte has true figures from the end of the fiscal year. Those present discussed cash carry forward.
Mr. Schulte said Page 15 of the audit consists of statement of revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balance. This page shows change in funds throughout the year. Mr. Schulte said in the Current Expense, the General Fund shows a decrease of $22,278 and a decrease of $269,901 for the Road and Bridge fund, but all other departments have an increase. Mr. Schulte said the fund carry forward is smaller.
Mr. Schulte said the last page is on the schedule of findings and questioned costs. Mr. Schulte said there is nothing noted there and there are no fixed asset comments. Commissioner Dinning asked about having to reappraise. Mr. Schulte said there are post employment benefits that he is concerned about if a calculation is needed to determine if the county is funding all liability for health insurance. Mr. Schulte mentioned the need to recognize post employment to determine there is a group of employees with different insurance for younger employees so older employees are subsidized by younger employees. Mr. Schulte said this is more of an accounting issue saying if there is unfunded liability such as paying premiums as you go, disclosure is saying based on present group, there may be higher liabilities coming because of that that isn’t recognized. Mr. Schulte said it just means the county would have lower rates if they had all younger employees.
Those present discussed information in Mr. Schulte’s cover letter to include qualitative aspects of accounting practices, accounting estimates, and difficulties encountered in performing the audit, to which Mr. Schulte said he had no significant difficulties in dealing with management to obtain information.
Mr. Schulte said in the Memorandum of Other Conditions, the first item pertains to accounts receivable at the Community Restorium. It is a significant issue that came to his attention, but it is not considered a finding. Mr. Schulte said the issue is a repeat as the Restorium accounts receivable system has not improved over the years. Mr. Schulte said he had recommended the Restorium utilize the computer bookkeeping program that they have had. Mr. Schulte said he met with the Restorium’s administrator and assistant administrator and explained what he’s seeing in the receivable records and why it doesn’t work and what needs to be added. Mr. Schulte said if the staff are going to continue doing the bookkeeping by hand he would have to question their sanity as it is so difficult to do it by hand and so easy to do it by computer. Staff just needs to set the program up and learn to data input and realize the benefits the system provides. There is no balancing taking place in the present system, according to Mr. Schulte. Utilizing the software would make like a lot easier for the bookkeeper. Chairman Smith said he has asked the Restorium Administrator to provide a detailed report of the rental financial information. Chairman Smith said he would review Mr. Schulte’s written statements on this subject with Restorium administrator. Mr. Schulte said he could help them with certain information, but he can’t do the books for Restorium. Mr. Schulte said he or his staff can help the administrator with the system set up.
Mr. Schulte said another minor item is at Extension Office. The Extension Office bank accounts had extensive use of debit cards versus credit cards. A debit card doesn’t require signatures whereas a credit card or check requires two signatures. Mr. Schulte said he advised Extension Office staff to discontinue use of debits cards and to use a credit card if they need to purchase with plastic so there is another step before the transaction hits the bank.
Chief Deputy Clerk Tracie Isaac asked Mr. Schulte if a member from his staff could help the Restorium Administrator to get started on learning the bookkeeping program and Mr. Schulte said yes.
The meeting with the outside auditor ended at 11:46 a.m.
Commissioner Dinning moved to sign letter of support for William Barquin to serve on the National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule. Commissioner Kirby second. Motion passed unanimously.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
/s/ Ron Smith, Chair
|