EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Administrative Center – Room 3220

4:00 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Steve Doyle, George Hammes, Tara Johnson, Vicki Burke, Charles Spiker, Ralph Geary, Roger Plesha, and Jim Ehrsam

MEMBERS EXCUSED: Don Meyer

MEMBERS ABSENT: None

STAFF & GUESTS: Steve O’Malley, Gary Ingvalson, Bill Shepherd, Bob Taunt, Marion Naegle, John Parshall, Jim Speropulos, Doug Mormann, Mary Meehan-Strub, Bob Matysik, and Cheryl Stephen

CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL

Steve Doyle, Committee Chair, called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOTION by Hammes/Geary to approve minutes of March 7, 2007. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused.

CONSENT AGENDA

MOTION by Plesha/Hammes to approve the following Consent Agenda items:

March 2007 Investment Report (handout by County Treasurer)
April 2007 Account Transfers/Adjustments

Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused.

PUBLIC COMMENT

None requested.

RESOLUTION RE REGISTER OF DEEDS IMAGE STORING UPGRADE

MOTION by Hammes/Plesha to approve the resolution which covers the imaging storage upgrade in the Register of Deeds Office at a cost of $8,144 payable to Fidlar Software from the Special Land Records Assessment Fund. Supervisor Spiker asked some questions. John Parshall noted the imaging storage system had started to crash on or about March 5^th. IT staff and with the purchase of needed upgrade equipment, the stored images from jukebox platters were converted to magnetic drives. He was not sure why this upgrade was not budgeted for in 2007. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused.

RESOLUTION RE AUTHORIZATION FOR CARE MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION TO ADJUST 2007 BUDGET FOR SPACE AND EQUIPMENT NEEDS

MOTION by Johnson/Burke to approve the resolution. Supervisor Ehrsam asked how this would be funded. Noted costs to cover the extra space and equipment are paid from CMO capitation revenue. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused.

RESOLUTION TO ISSUE $555,000 AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF BONDS FOR THE COUNTY OF LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN, PROVIDING DETAILS, PRESCRIBING THE FORM OF BONDS, AWARDING THE BONDS TO THE BEST BIDDER AND LEVYING TAXES

Gary Ingvalson noted sealed bids for said bonds will be opened at 10:00 a.m. on April 17^th and asked for referral to the 6: 00 p.m. County Board meeting on same day. MOTION by Hammes/Plesha to refer the

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$555,000 aggregate principal amount of bonds to the April 17^th County Board meeting as recommended by the Finance Director. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused.

WMMIC ENDORSEMENT OF LIABILITY INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR LA CROSSE COUNTY 4-H VOLUNTEERS

Bill Shepherd reviewed, noting this came about at the request of UW Extension requesting clarification of County liability coverage for 4-H volunteers. In checking with WMMIC, they will cover under the County’s self-insured retention of $75,000/$400,000 per occurrence/aggregate, but needs written request from the County in order to add the endorsement at no additional cost. Discussion on the many other volunteers within the County operation, such as for the nursing homes, Aging Dept., Health, Dept., and Human Services. Chairman Doyle said the big picture needs to be looked at in addition to just 4-H. MOTION by Hammes/Burke to request endorsement from WMMIC for County 4-H volunteers. More discussion followed. Chairman Doyle questioned if drivers licenses and proof of auto insurance also checked when volunteers are driving a County vehicle. Supervisor Ehrsam suggested this information be requested in writing from the volunteers. Direction given to County Administrator to review the big picture relating to all County volunteers and bring back a status report within 120 days. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused.

DISCUSSION RE DIRECT DEPOSIT

This topic was on the agenda at the request of Supervisor Spiker. Supervisor Spiker noted he was contacted by some employees. He asked several questions: 1) how and why this came about, 2) is it a condition of employment, 3) for all employees including elected officials, 4) what does mandatory mean, 5) who made the decision, and 6) how does it affect privacy rights? Staff noted this as being reviewed by Finance and Personnel for the past 6 years or so. Steve O’Malley said it was an administration decision based on cost savings and efficiency; the plan is to eventually send payroll stubs via email attachment; also looking at possibility of minimal charge for manually printing payroll checks.

PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING REQUESTS

A detailed informational sheet was sent with the agenda. Doug Mormann was present to answer questions. The Health Dept. requested a revision in positions due to changing department needs and to better serve the public. The proposal would add 1 FTE Public Health Nurse and a .4 Hmong interpreter in exchange for elimination of 1.0 FTE Health Educator, reduction of .5 to .4 Public Health Nurse, and additional funding from a Chronic Disease Grant contract. No additional cost for the changes (informational sheet showed about $200 in savings). MOTION by Johnson/Plesha to approve the Health Dept. staffing change proposal as presented. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused.

REAPPOINTMENT OF LYNNE VALIQUETTE TO LA CROSSE COUNTY ETHICS BOARD

Chairman Doyle noted Ms. Valiquette has been on the Ethics Board for some time and has agreed to continue. MOTION by Plesha/Ehrsam to recommend the reappointment of Lynne Valiquette to the La Crosse County Ethics Board. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused. The reappointment will come before the County Board at their April 17^th Reorganizational Meeting.

WCA CONFERENCE OCTOBER 7-9, 2007

Chairman Doyle noted the WCA Conference and the various room blocks set aside at area motels in Wisconsin Dells. The Kalahari is the host site and rooms are $99/night and there are rooms at other motels at a rate of $62/night. He also noted shuttle bus service runs continuously between all motels from

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early morning to midnight. He asked for input as to what options should be considered for County Board Members attending this event. Supervisor Plesha suggested the sharing of a suite at the Kalahari which is $109/night. Supervisor Johnson suggested $75/night voucher with Supervisors paying the difference. Supervisor Hammes suggested the requirement of $62/night. After some discussion, it was decided to offer the following: Two supervisors may share a $109/night suite, a Supervisor may stay at $62/night motel, or they may stay at a motel of their choosing and pay the difference of $62 rate.

It was also pointed out that these dates are the same as committee meeting week as well as County Board Planning session. Possible meeting changes may be considered at a future Executive Committee meeting.

At this time, Steve O’Malley noted the La Crosse Area Convention and Visitors Bureau was contacted by WCA regarding future conferences being held in La Crosse and are asking for contract proposals (RFP’s) for years 2010-2015. Noted WCA Conferences held in La Crosse are economically beneficial to the County.

ITEMS FOR FUTURE AGENDAS

Supervisor Spiker requested information on indirect costs.
Supervisor Spiker requested evaluation information on how the departments met their 2006 budget. Steve O’Malley and Gary Ingvalson said this information is available in the Finance Dept.; they also use prior year’s information as starting point for new budget preparation.
Supervisor Spiker noted recent state law regarding approval of additional weight limits on local roads; this was contested by the County as well as Highway Commissioner; he was upset as to how local legislators voted on this. After some discussion, it was decided to have the County Administrator look at preparing some kind of report as to importance/affect of state laws in relation to the County, and show how each local legislator voted.

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION by Hammes/Spiker to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously; Meyer excused. The meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m.

Disclaimer: The above minutes may be approved, amended or corrected at the next committee meeting.

Cheryl Stephen, Recorder