Administration and County Services Committee

Michael Crawford

Robert McLeod, Chairman

David Howelman

March 6, 2003

Minutes

Members Present:

Bob McLeod, Mike Crawford and David Howelman

Members Absent:

None

Others Present:

Pete Garwood

1.       Meeting called to order at 1:00 p.m.

2.       Closed Session Minutes

Motion by Mike Crawford, supported by Dave Howelman, to approve the Closed Session minutes of February 6, 2003.  Motion carried – unanimous.

3.       Health Benefits

Terry Roote, Insurance Agent presented information to the Committee on the differences between Community Blue PPO Plan 1 and Plan 4, gap insurance plans, and third party administrators.

The Committee directed Mr. Roote and Mr. Garwood to present projections on the cost benefits and drawbacks of going with the different plans at the next meeting.

4.       Maintenance Department

Dave Vitale, Maintenance Director joined the meeting and informed the Committee that Custodian Michelle Ketchum, who has recently been off on disability leave, submitted her resignation.  Mr. Vitale requested the funds for the position be released and the position be filled.

Motion by Dave Howelman, supported by Mike Crawford, to recommend the Board of Commissioners reinstate the funds for the vacant position of Custodian and authorize the hiring process to begin.  Motion carried – unanimous.

5.       Health Insurance Cash vs. Annuity

Peter Garwood Coordinator/Planner and Bob McLeod, Chairman explained that currently the County policy is to allow employees who have insurance from a different source to take an “annuity” in lieu of the health insurance.  The dollars go into a 457 plan (401K type plan) which the employee can access upon retirement.  The annuity in lieu of health insurance is an attempt to provide an incentive for employees who meet the criteria to drop the health insurance coverage and save money for the County.

The question becomes with the dollars going into an annuity, is this enough incentive for employees to drop the insurance or would it be a better incentive to give the employee the cash?  The Committee decided to hold off on any action and re-visit the issue in August to see if any additional employees are enticed to take the annuity in lieu of health benefits since the Board of Commissioners took action to double the amount of annuity at their February meeting.

6.       Emmet County Resolution - Railroad Right-of-Way

Motion by Mike Crawford, supported by Dave Howelman, to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve a similar resolution to the resolution approved by Emmet County regarding the protection of abandoned railroad right-of-ways.  Motion carried – unanimous.

7.       Driving Record Review

The Committee reviewed a motion passed by the Board of Commissioners on April 8, 1993 which mandated that all employees driving in behalf of the County be subject to an annual review of their driving record.  The motion also mandated that all employees driving in behalf of the County use their seatbelts.

Motion by Dave Howelman, supported by Mike Crawford, to recommend the Board of Commissioners re-affirm the policy to complete an annual driving record check on anyone driving in behalf of the County as well as mandate the use of seatbelts.  Motion carried – unanimous.

8.       Commission on Aging

Ms. Carol Mitchell, Director of the Commission on Aging presented a request for a 3% raise for remaining part-time employees working for the Commission on Aging.

Motion by Mike Crawford, supported by Dave Howelman, to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve a 3% raise retroactive to January 1, 2003, for the following non-union part-time positions in the COA:

·         Homemaker

·         CENA, and CNA

·         Kitchen Assistant

·         Site Coordinator

·         Secretary

And a 2% retroactive raise for the part-time Clerical Assistant position. 

Motion carried – unanimous.

9.       Community Mental Health (CMH) - Appointments

Bill Birch, Interim Director of CMH came in to discuss the appointments to the board of the new North Country Community Mental Health.

Motion by Mike Crawford, supported by Dave Howelman, to recommend the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners appoint the following individuals to the new North Country Community Mental Health Authority Board:

Kent Stoddard

Betsy Brown

Louis Scholl

Laura Stanek

Timothy Meagher

Motion carried – unanimous.

10.     Park Employee Wage

Mr. McLeod explained that an ex-long time employee of Barnes Park has expressed interest in working there again this season, on the midnight shift.  A request has been made by the park manager and supported by the Parks Committee to start the employee at a higher rate than the starting rate.

Motion by Mike Crawford, supported by Dave Howelman, to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve a 3.5% wage increase for the employees at Barnes Park.  Motion carried – unanimous.

Motion by Dave Howelman, supported by Mike Crawford, to recommend the Board of Commissioners hire David Verstrat to work at Barnes Park on the midnight shift at the second year rate, plus a $ .25 differential.   Motion carried – unanimous.

11.     Abstract Office – Review of Daily Operations

The Committee left the meeting room and went downstairs to take a tour and review the operations of the Abstract Office.

Committee Member Mike Crawford left the meeting at approximately 3:45 p.m.

12.     Register of Deeds – Review of the Daily Operations

The Committee took a tour and reviewed the operations of the Register of Deeds Office.

Meeting Adjourned at 4:10 p.m.