Administration and County Services Committee
Michael Crawford			Robert McLeod, Chairman	Laura Stanek
April 6, 2004
Minutes
Members Present:		Bob McLeod, Mike Crawford and Laura Stanek
Members Absent:		None
Others Present:		Pete Garwood and Jack White
1.       Meeting called to order at 1:05 p.m.
Don Schuiteman a member of the public joined the meeting.
2.       Public Comment
	None.
3.       Sheriff Department
	§ Sheriff Terry Johnson presented a draft jail reimbursement policy for review by the Committee.  The Committee requested the policy be reviewed by legal counsel prior to requesting Board of Commissioner approval.
	§ Temporary Employee Request The Sheriff informed the Committee that two of the department employees will be taking a leave in the near future.
	² Animal Control Officer One of the Animal Control Officers was the first position addressed by the Committee. Sheriff Johnson indicated a need to hire a temporary Animal Control Officer while the full-time employee is off on maternity/family medical leave.
	The Committee members all agreed it was acceptable to allow the Sheriff to hire a temporary Animal Control Officer to begin upon the first day of leave by the full-time Animal Control Officer.
	² Dispatcher The Committee members all agreed it was acceptable for the Sheriff to hire a temporary Dispatcher to begin upon the first day of leave by the full-time Dispatcher.
4.       Step 3 Appeal
	The Committee adjourned to Room 203 B at 1:10 p.m. to meet with Officer Skurnit, Sergeant Kopkau and Bob Donick, Teamsters Local 214 Business Representative, to hear a Step 3 Grievance Appeal regarding the demotion of Officer Skurnit from Sergeant to Corrections Officer.
	Robert Donick reviewed the union’s position:
	§ Indicated Officer Skurnit’s past record could not be used in this decision. § Tape recording incident – no proof of the tape recording. § Paper server problems – letter indicated several incidents of problems, he asked how many is several. § This is the first time Officer Skurnit was told his paper serving was substandard.  Should be a progressive discipline not a demotion. § Requested re-installment as a sergeant.
	Sheriff Johnson outlined his position:
	§ Officer Skurnit asked if he could go talk to Judge Rogers.  Sheriff Johnson said yes. § Afterward, two other sergeants and one officer indicated Officer Skurnit stated he had tape recorded Judge Rodgers. § Sheriff Johnson told Judge Rodgers.  Judge Rodgers was not happy. § Sheriff Johnson confronted Officer Skurnit.  Officer Skurnit denied recording the judge. § Officer Skurnit said he was “setting up” Don Snyder.  He was trying to find out where the leak was.
	Sheriff Johnson indicated he feels he cannot trust Officer Skurnit because of this type of behavior.
	Mr. Donick asked about the Judge Haley issue.  The Sheriff indicated the Judge Haley issue has no bearing whatsoever on this issue; the circuit judges had no problem with Officer Skurnit being the court officer.
	Mr. Garwood indicated that all was fine with the Circuit Court until Officer Skurnit indicated he recorded Judge Rodgers.  After the incident, both circuit judges requested Officer Skurnit no longer be assigned to Circuit Court.
	Mr. Garwood also stated that Officer Skurnit told three (3) fellow officers that he had recorded the judge.  However, when Sheriff Johnson asked if he had tape recorded the judge, Officer Skurnit denied it ever happened.
	Thus, Officer Skurnit either lied to the three (3) officers or he lied to Sheriff Johnson.
	Officer Skurnit:  No, I have never lied.  I may have used deception.  I did not record the judge.  I did tell the officers I recorded the judge.
	Officer Skurnit indicated he felt that since the Judge Haley incident, many of those he worked with had it out for him.
	Regarding the paper serving issue, Officer Skurnit indicated he has always tried to bring in money for Antrim County through this program and indicated it was a testament to him.
	Undersheriff Dan Bean indicated there were 45 instances they discovered in which the papers had not been served in a timely manner, where people had paid the required fee and had thought it was all taken care of.
	The Committee returned to the room at 1:50 p.m.
	After discussion, it was the unanimous decision of the Committee to support the decision of the sheriff.  The Committee felt the sheriff had no choice except to terminate or demote Officer Skurnit given the circumstances of the case.
5.       Commission on Aging (COA)
	Dave Howelman, Commissioner, joined the meeting, as an observer only.
	Ms. Carol Mitchell, Director of the Commission on Aging, informed the Committee the Sales Clerk in the Nifty Thrifty will be retiring around June 12, 2004.
	Motion by Laura Stanek, supported by Mike Crawford, to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve lifting the hiring freeze, and allow the Commission on Aging and the Coordinator/Planner Office to begin the hiring process for the Sales Clerk position for the Nifty Thrifty, upon receiving a letter of resignation from Shirley Eberlein.  Motion carried – unanimous.
6.       Clerk Office
	Laura Sexton, County Clerk, requested the Committee consider lifting the hiring freeze to fill a recently vacated position in her office at a part-time level of twenty nine (29) hours a week. Ms. Sexton presented an accounting of the additional duties in her office in recent years.
	Motion by Laura Stanek, supported by Mike Crawford, to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve lifting the hiring freeze and authorize filling a part-time clerical position (not more than 29 hours a week) in the Clerk’s Office.  Motion carried – unanimous.
7.       Equalization Department
	Bob Englebrecht, Equalization Director, requested the Committee consider lifting the hiring freeze and allow him to fill the vacant position of Appraiser.  The Committee reviewed a staffing study of other Counties in Region 10 as well as other information presented by Mr. Englebrecht.
	Motion by Mike Crawford, supported by Bob McLeod, to recommend the Board of Commissioners lift the hiring freeze and approve filling the position of Appraiser. Yes - Crawford, McLeod No - Stanek
8.       Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Policy
	The Committee directed Mr. Garwood to send the draft HIPPA compliant privacy policies to Legal Counsel for review.
9.       Commissioners Compensation
	The issue was tabled as the Committee reviews new information.
10.     Resolutions
	² Oceana County Regarding Amendments to the Drain Commissioner Statute No Action.
	² Newaygo County regarding Payment in Lieu of Taxes Tabled due to unclear information.
11.     MEBS Summary Plan Description
	The Committee directed Mr. Garwood to send the Summary Plan Description to legal Counsel for review.
12.     Register of Deeds
	Patty Niepoth, Register of Deeds, Craig Jones, representative from ACS, and Theresa Kent, Abstractor, joined the meeting to discuss a scanning technology for Register of Deeds documents.
	The cost of the program is $3.50 a document. Currently, the ROD office gets $5.00 a recorded document and has $84,000 in the technology fund.  The $3.50 covers all costs (e.g. software, hardware, training, etc.)
	The Abstract office will be able to get copies of the necessary documents on line or by the Register of Deeds office staff by making a copy on to a CD.  The Abstract Office will get the documents as quickly or sooner than they do currently.
	Motion by Mike Crawford, supported by Laura Stanek, to recommend the Board of Commissioners approve the Register of Deeds using the technology fund to contract with ACS for a document scanning system at $3.50 a document.  Motion carried – unanimous.
13.     Various Matters
	None.
Meeting adjourned at 4:15 p.m.