BUTLER
COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Tuesday,
August 7, 2001
Commission
Chairman, Bill Shriver, called the Butler County Board of Commissioners to
order. Present was Commissioners Randy
Doll & Will Carpenter; County Administrator, Jay Newton; and Commission
Secretary, Marcy Zwall.
Commissioner
Shriver invited the public to ask questions or make comments regarding the 2002
Annual Butler County Budget; however, he asked that floor time be limited to
about 3 minutes.
Public Comments:
-
Kenneth
Green; 327 Marmaton Rd; El Dorado, KS
67042:
Mr. Green stated that he was concerned about the
Criminal Justice System. He commented
that Butler County would be paying 95% of the new jail building. He feels that the cost should be split 3
ways, since Elk, Greenwood & Butler Counties will be using the
facility. Further, he remarked that he
was worried about what future increases in taxes would occur due to the new
jail, since this budget allowed for a 4-mill raise.
*Commissioner Doll explained that the population of the County has
almost doubled since the jail was built in 1971. In addition, he noted that a new facility had to be built, &
it was the Board of Commissioners responsibility to the citizens to do so. Further, as the only current Commissioner
involved in the initiation of construction, he disclosed that the cost was much
less at the time the project was started than if they had waited until now.
*Commissioner
Shriver advised the public that the 4 mills are locked in due to bonds &
there would be no future increase to service building debt.
*Commissioner
Carpenter added that operations might be the cause of an increase, but not
construction. Also, he mentioned that
this was a County Jail, not a Judicial Building.
*Commissioner
Doll related that currently, the County is spending $300,000-$400,000 annually
to outsource prisoners due to overpopulation.
-
Daryl
Burnham; 1012 N. Denver; El Dorado, KS
67042 (& representing others unable to attend):
Mr. Burnham asserted his concern regarding one of
the contractors to be used. He
understood that the lowest bidder got the job.
However, Mr. Burnham did not understand why the Commissioners did not
choose the contractor that was about $13,000 more. He went on to cite that said contractor employed County
residents, whose money went back into the County. Further, Mr. Burnham wanted clarification about the “Davis Bacon
Act” & it’s application to the $1.2 million Federal Grant received. He was advised that it did not apply to this
situation.
-
Carl
Poston; 307 N. Rose Hill Rd; & Edwin Orloske; 14620 SW Clover Ln; both of
Rose Hill:
Both gentlemen expressed that they were troubled
over the budget for the Rose Hill Senior Center remaining the same, while
utility & maintenance costs continued to rise. As an example, Mr. Orloske noted it would cost $4,100 to fix the
cracking parking lot. He noted that, in
the past, the Center held fundraisers or paid out of their own pockets;
however, they wished to receive more financial aid.
*Commissioner Doll offered
the Board’s assistance in finding grants or other monies, or possibly
resituating funds within the budget.
*Connie Rausch, Director of
Department on Aging, advised the public that she had applied for, & would
continue to seek, several grants.
Furthermore, she offered, to anyone, her help in looking for funds.
There
being no further public comments, Commissioner Carpenter moved to close the
2002 Annual Budget Public Hearing.
Commissioner Doll seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Doll moved to adopt the 2002 Annual Budget as indicated in the budget
documents; and allow the Board to sign.
Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Shriver invited the public to ask questions or make comments regarding the 2002
Annual Fire Districts’ Budgets.
Mr.
Newton commented that he had given the Board a Legal Notice that stated Fire
District #10 had an estimated tax rate of 7.795 mills. However, Marion County’s assessed values
were not included as he thought.
Therefore, he also gave the Board a document with the new rate of 5.387
mills. Further, he noted that the
dollar amount is the same, but the mills are different.
Having
no public comments, Commissioner Carpenter moved to adopt the 2002 Budget for
the Fire Districts (FD#1-10, inclusive). Commissioner Doll seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0.
Mark
Dick, Financial Auditor with Allen, Gibbs & Houlik L.C., presented his
report of the County’s financial statements for the budget year ending December
31, 2000.
In
general, he informed the Board that through the auditing process, there are 3
basic questions to be answered: 1) Are the books/records (financial statements)
fairly stated in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP)
– no material errors?; 2) Is there good internal control over financial assets,
& do they work?; 3) Is there
compliance with all significant laws & regulations related to the County –
both internal laws & federal laws.
He told the Board that all three questions could be answered
affirmatively; therefore, in that respect, it was a clean audit. Mr. Dick continued by reviewing the Balance
Sheet created for the County. He
highlighted that the “Trust & Agency” amount is not money under the
Commissioners’ control, but is the local tax collection accounts (i.e. ad
valorem, DMV, etc.). Further, he noted
that the “General Fixed Assets” summarizes the property, plant & equipment
– all valued at original cost, not replacement or current market
value. “General Long-term Debt”
includes bonded indebtedness outstanding, as well as compensated absences that
employees have earned, coming due in the future. He reiterated that the formula his firm uses for governmental
accounting is changed to current
assets = current liabilities + fund balance, & long-term debt is
recorded separately. Thus, their focus
is on the flow of funds, rather than
measuring net profit & equity. Mr.
Dick suggests focusing on the Operating Statement of the County, where the
“actual” is compared to the budget.
Commissioner
Doll inquired about the Fire Districts’ accounting systems & why their
budgets are not included. Mr. Dick
confirmed that, since they have their own Boards, past Commissions have deemed
it unnecessary to add them in their report.
Thus they have separate audits, when required statutorily (if budget is
over $300,000), or turn in financial reports at the end of the year.
Mr.
Dick did announce that the audit of the Grant Revenues appeared clean.
He
informed the Board that, at the end of each year, a “Management Letter” is
issued, with comments, discrepancy issues & recommendations for corrections
(on file). He reviewed this with the
Commissioners. Mr. Dick suggested that
the County look at a uniform method of receiving cash & running Accounts
Receivables throughout the departments.
Commissioner Shriver commented that he would like to see a tracking
system of correcting deficiencies in the audit. Mr. Newton acknowledged that he tries to distribute the errors to
the departments affected & asks them to implement the changes. As a step further, Commissioner Shriver requested
a letter or documentation from the departments explaining their remedies.
In
conclusion, Mr. Dick explained to the Board, “Under the State Audit Law, every
governmental entity has the option of following GAAP, or adopt a resolution
that allows them to prepare financial statements that demonstrate compliance
with Kansas Law - they don’t have to follow GAAP.” He noted that the result would omit the Balance Sheet &
replace it with more of a summary report (including funds, cash balance, unpaid
bills, & fund equity) & would consist of the budgetary statements. He added that 75% of governmental entities
in the state do not follow GAAP. Ron
Roberts, County Clerk, confirmed that 80% of the Counties in the Kansas use the
compliance-type report. Primarily only
larger entities use GAAP, due to applying for bonds in the National Market. However, the accounting profession has
changed GAAP for Government to add a consolidated financial statement on a full
accrual basis, depreciating capital assets (thus all roads, bridge, &
infrastructures would have to be valued) – treating this like a private
business (to be known as “GASBY 34”).
This would take effect 2 years from now. Mr. Dick confessed that he felt this conversion would be
expensive due to Butler County’s lack of internal expertise. Commissioner Shriver asked how the State
Compliance System would affect the County’s bond rating. Mr. Dick has asked Mr. Chuck Booley, the
County’s financial advisor, to investigate this with the rating agencies. He assured the Board that a decision would
not need to be made until the end of the year.
The
Board recessed for 10 minutes at 10:55a.m.
The
Board reconvened at 11:05 a.m.
Jim
Schmidt, Director of Emergency Management, presented sealed bids to the Board
for vehicles. Requests were sent to 9
dealers, with a return time of 9a.m. this morning. The following 3 bids were received:
-
Steven Ford of Augusta: $63,200.59 (not interested in either
trade-in)
-
Frye Chevrolet of Augusta: $50,489.64
(trade-ins = $8500)
-
Friendly Ford of El Dorado: $44,569.00
(trade-ins = $9100)
Mr.
Schmidt recommended accepting the bid from Friendly Ford Motors, subject to any
unknown exceptions.
Commissioner
Doll moved to accept the bid from Friendly Ford for the two vehicles for
Emergency Management – at HD Pickup =$31,495 & SUV Explorer=$22,174
(trade-ins: Van=$1400/ Ranger
Pickup=$7700). The net amount would be $44,569, with $44,500 to be paid out of
the Bridlewood Buyout Administration Grant & $69 to be paid from Capital
Equipment line item. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Darryl
Lutz, County Engineer, was present for discussion of the following items:
Culvert
Letting #56 Notice to Contractors: Mr.
Lutz recommended giving a Notice to Contractors to submit sealed bids for the
construction of 7 box culverts throughout the County. Various Townships submitted requests in the spring of 2000. These were then reviewed by the County to
evaluate need & priority. The
estimated cost of $200,000 is accounted for in the 2001 Bridge Building Budget.
Commissioner
Carpenter moved to authorize Darryl Lutz to submit a Notice to Contractors to
submit sealed bids for Culvert Letting #56 for the construction of 7 culverts
throughout Butler County, with the bid letting date to be Tuesday, September
11, 2001, at 10a.m. Commissioner Doll
seconded the motion. Motion carried
3-0.
Central
Ave. Paving Change Order: Central
Avenue, east of Andover, is under construction for access to the new USD 385
middle & high schools. A portion of
the driveway & a sidewalk could not be built until Central Avenue’s paving
was complete; however, the school contractor’s work has been completed. Therefore, the school has requested the work
be added to the Central Ave. paving project, with full reimbursement to be made
to the County by the school.
Commissioner Shriver requested to have the Superintendent or a
representative of USD 385 present the next time this issue is addressed at a
meeting.
Commissioner
Doll moved to approve Change Order #1 for $6,313.00 for the Benefit District,
100% to be paid by USD 385; and authorize the Chair to sign.
Commissioner
Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion
carried 3-0.
This
item was deferred until next week’s meeting.
Ron
Roberts, County Clerk, re-presented the Purchase Card Program & was
available for discussion. Mr. Roberts
informed the Board that the only concern of his was that Commerce has included
a stipulation stating “If Average Ticket during monthly rebate period is below
$50 (another column says $100), Commerce Bank reserves the right to withhold
payment.” Mr. Roberts added that the
bank stated while this seldom happened they did not feel comfortable removing
this statement from their agreement.” He went on to say that many departments made numerous small
purchases, so this could be a problem.
Commissioner
Doll moved to approve the Purchase Card Proposal from Commerce Bank, with the
exception of the requirement of an Average Ticket Price of $50 (or $100) to be
deleted. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
Ron
Roberts, County Clerk, asked the Board to reconsider this program for motels
& meals for training & travel.
He stated that these two categories could be included on the one
purchase card. Commissioner Carpenter
would like to see a uniform timeline for checks & balances, from all the
departments. Commissioner Shriver
clarified that he felt the department heads should decide what these cards
would allow employees to buy, even motels & meals for training. However, he, along with the other Board
Members, stated they wanted these cards to be held in safekeeping within the
departments.
Chris
Davis, Emergency Communications Director, presented information requested by
the Board at a previous meeting. He
told the Board that currently there are 55 cell phones countywide, with a July
bill of about $2,800. John Rawson,
agent of Nextel, demonstrated one of the 2-way talk phones for the Board &
informed them of the benefits.
Commissioner Carpenter indicated that he did not feel there would be
significant savings across the County, since competitors would give comparable
rates. He inquired if a lower rate
would be matched. Mr. Rawson said he
did not have control over the rates since they were published. After more discussion, the agent offered a
$50 credit per phone on the 1st bill, plus the software for free,
but stated that the actual rates could not be decreased any further. The contract would be a minimum of one year,
but there would be no benefits to a longer contract.
Commissioner
Doll moved to authorize Emergency Management (4 phones), EMS (4 phones), &
Emergency Communications (3 phones) to enter into a contract with Nextel at the
base rate of $29.99 per month to include: 100 cellular minutes; 1000 direct
connect minutes that can be pooled; $50 phone credit per phone (in essence
means all the phones are free); the software package will be free, valued at around
$100; and allow the Chair to sign.
Commissioner Carpenter seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
ADS
& ABATES
Commissioner
Carpenter moved to approve Adds in the amount of $2,137.94 and the Abates in
the amount of $1,131.62, approval #2065. Commissioner Doll seconded the motion.
Motion carried 3-0.
Commissioner
Doll moved, having no further business before the board, to adjourn. Commissioner Carpenter seconded the
motion. Motion carried 3-0.