Back
to Board NoticesLANE COUNTY
BUDGET
COMMITTEE MEETING
May 9, 2000
5:15 p.m.
Commissioners' Conference Room
APPROVED 5/1/01
PRESENT: Marie
Bell, Verna Brown, David Crowell, Bill Dwyer, Bobby Green, Sr., Mary Ann
Holser, Anna Morrison and Cindy Weeldreyer. Angel Jones and Peter Sorenson
excused. Also present were Bill Van
Vactor, David Garnick, Tanya Heaton and Greta Utecht. Zoe Gilstrap, Recording
Secretary.
Chair
Marie Bell called the meeting to order.
None.
MOTION: Approval of the
April 25, 2000 Minutes.
Green MOVED, Brown SECONDED. VOTE: 8-0.
Brooks Fahy, P.O. Box 5446, Eugene, distributed
material on cougar control. He stated
that he is the executive director of a national organization called Predator
Defense Institute based out of Eugene.
Fahy said he is here today to represent the organization, which consists
of over 1,000 nationally. He said in
the last few years, the kill of mountain lions has gone up dramatically. Fahy said all of southwest Oregon is now
open to cougar hunting year round. He stated that the cougar tag has been
reduced from $50 to $10 causing a huge increase in hunting. Fahy remarked that
several different lobbies are politically driving reports of cougar incidents in
Oregon. He said ranching communities raising sheep have joined ranks with
hunters to roll back Measure 18 and said they want to use whatever fear tactic
they can to influence people to think that there is a problem. Fahy said as of
this date there has not been one documented cougar attack in Oregon. He said that he found out of the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife’s record from January 1994 to May 1996, that
96.7% of all sightings and 92% of all damage complaints were unconfirmed.
Robert Herman, 4406 W. Amazon Drive, Eugene, stated
that he has been a student of Measure 18 since it first came about and that he
and Commissioner Dwyer exchanged letters at that time because he was appalled
at the gutting of Measure 18. Herman
stated that he learned that cougars don’t attack people and that this is a lot
of hysteria. He said this is driven by
political agendas more than it is by scientific facts.
Ralph McDonald, 55 Prall Lane, Eugene, stated that he
is the Lane County coordinator for Protect Pets and Wildlife, an organization
largely sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States. He said they are trying to put a ballot
initiative on the November ballot to reduce cruel animal trapping and eliminate
explosive coyote poisons. He said Lane
County voters are not in favor of animal cruelty. He stated that Dwyer advocated for the overturn of Measure
18.
Kamala Shugar, 125 E. 8th Avenue, Eugene,
said that she is an Assistant District Attorney in Lane County and is here to
speak about the supervision of misdemeanor domestic violence cases by Parole
and Probation and the funding of the Victim Advocate position at Parole and
Probation. She said that over the last
couple of years, she has been a domestic violence prosecutor and has handled
both misdemeanor and felony cases.
Shugar noted that misdemeanor domestic violence offenders are equally at
high risk to members of the community as felony domestic violence
offenders. She stated that a simple
assault in the 4th degree, which is a misdemeanor, can be something
as extensive as a punch in the face that can break a nose or jaw. She also explained that a misdemeanor
domestic violence case can also be a menacing charge, which can be as serious
as strangling someone and telling them that you are going to kill them. Shugar
stated that supervision means that they have a probation officer looking over
their shoulder at every step of their treatment. She said many of these people are allowed or asked to return home
with family and children. Shugar stated
that the domestic violence Parole and Probation advocate is only one person and
doesn’t just work with the victims of people who are convicted of domestic
violence crimes. Shugar stated that
this person also works with the victims of people who are on supervision for
other crimes and acts as a liaison between the probation officer and the victim
and between the courts and the victim and takes up where the Lane County victim
services program leaves off.
Honorable Cynthia Carlson, 125 E. 8th Avenue, Eugene, stated
that she is a Lane County Circuit Judge and is here to testify in favor of the
package that would keep the current level of supervising probation officers and
the Victim Advocate at Parole and Probation.
She said this is an essential piece of being able to properly handle the
cases that do come into court for domestic violence. Carlson commented that she was very pleased when this resource
came on line through Parole and Probation and believes they were very creative
in being able to go after grant funding to provide the service for a very
dangerous population. She noted that there isn’t as much success with
unsupervised probation. Carlson said
that having someone looking over their shoulder and making sure that they are
doing what they are supposed to be doing is crucial.
Cheryl O’Neil, 24307 High Pass Road, Eugene, stated
that she works at the Domestic Violence Clinic at Legal Aid and is also a
Women’s Space advocate. O’Neil stated that they routinely need to get stalking
orders for women even after they have already gotten restraining orders. She explained that although they already
have protection of the restraining order, they still need to go back into court
to get the additional protection of stalking orders because this behavior is so
difficult to control. O’Neil also noted
the importance of the Victim’s Advocate position.
Stan Thomas, P.O. Box 1261, Roseburg, stated that he
is the Southwest District Supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
Wildlife Services Program. He said that
he has an office in Roseburg and that in addition to Lane County, he supervises
Coos, Curry, Josephine, Lake, Klamath and Deschutes counties. Thomas referred to a comment made about them
trying to solicit business to kill cougar and stated that business comes their
way very rapidly. He noted that Jackson
County approached him because of all the cougar problems in the urban area.
Thomas said police shot and killed a cougar within the city limits of Medford
the other day. Thomas stated that his people are not harsh people and work
closely with the State Police, Sheriff’s Department and the Oregon Department
of Fish and Wildlife and work in the same way as a fire department does; when
there is a problem they are called and they respond. Thomas noted that there are a lot a false reports filed but said
they are there to check them. Thomas stated that they don’t run around using
fear tactics because there are enough real incidents.
Cleve Dumdi, 29535 Dane Lane, Junction City, stated
that he is here to talk about predator control from an economic
standpoint. He said he brought some
young people with him tonight, one of whom just graduated from Oregon
State. He noted that they are
interested in the sheep business and said some are already losing lambs to coyotes. Dumdi stated that having only one wildlife
specialist in the area is like trying to put out a forest fire out with a fire
hose. He said the young people should
have the opportunity to get into the livestock business but that aren’t able to
pasture certain areas because the coyotes are killing so many lambs. Dumdi stressed the need for young people to
get into the livestock and forestry business and said he would like to see them
succeed.
Eric Freepons, 93545 Dorsey Lane, Junction City,
stated that he farms 550 acres. He said
that upon graduating, he and his wife will raise cattle and sheep but said he
will not put lambs on 340 of his 550 acres because he will lose them. Freepons stated that trappers provide a
service to him and protect his land. He
said he relies on state forestry for geese problems.
Arnold Ryland, 83869 Hwy 101, Florence, Offhighway
Vehicle Allocation Committee, stated that he is an advocate for responsible use
of off-road vehicles. He noted the conflict over the use of such vehicles in
the Oregon Dunes about ten years ago.
He said it was primarily because of noise and trespassers. Ryland said the laws were there to stop this
but that the Forest Service was not enforcing them. He said they weren’t enforcing them because if they wrote
tickets, they had to appear in federal court in Eugene or the ticket didn’t
mean anything. Ryland said there were
many complaints from neighbors about off-road vehicles so he approached the
Board about paying for a deputy sheriff’s salary to enforce the laws. He said they have been paying that salary
and it has been a very successful program, noting that some of the worse
complainers came up and thanked him for promoting this. Ryland said they are
still paying his salary, $80,000, which covers his full base salary and some
additional. He said it is a benefit to
the community to have a full-time officer available and that the Sheriff can
use him any time he needs him for other things. Ryland noted that money from tickets goes right into the general
fund. He explained that the money comes
from refunded fuel tax that they get back to spend on off-road purposes. He said they have shortfalls in budget or it
would have been funded in full.
Ken Kentch, 88336 Collard Lake Road, Florence, he
talked about the dune patrol officer allocation committee. He said that he and several other local
citizens wrote letters of support to the ATV Allocation Committee. He said
while he and other homeowners not only support the dunes patrol officer in the
Dunes National Recreation Area, but also depend on this position for a
wide-open dunal area. He said the area
is made up of privately held property, county and federal public lands and
stated that riders often leave the approved area and go onto private land. Kentch
stated that most of the riders are local but some are tourists. He said riders
are neglectful of home and wildlife and are often intoxicated. Kentch said the vehicles get oil and gas
into the lakes, which are a water supply.
He said that he is asking for this funding because there is no one else
to call.
Morrison submitted a written comment on
the Dunes patrol from Edwin Becker for the record (see material on file).
John Buchanan, 1405 Yew Street, Florence, said he
protects 120 square miles with eight fire stations. Buchanan said they respond
to medical emergencies in the dunes once or twice a weekend but noted that
their calls are going down due to sheriff patrol. He said it will be very bad
news if they lose patrol because he thinks calls will start increasing which
may result in a move to close dunes to ATV thereby decreasing tourism. Buchanan praised Deputy Boggs.
Michael Garvin, 5550 Franklin Blvd., Eugene, stated
that he is a forest contractor and has traveled around the northwest a
bit. He commented that sheep ranchers
need to be aware that trapping is not a solution in dealing with populations of
coyotes since it tends to take out the coyotes in the pack who act as breeding
restrictors on the rest of the pack.
Garvin stated that you then wind up with a larger population of
coyotes. He noted that people that herd
sheep do well with Great Pyrenees and other guard animals. He said trapping is indiscriminate and that
many people have lost pets in traps.
Stan Thomas, Southwest District Supervisor for the U.S.
Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services Program, stated that because
animals reproduce, they must be controlled.
He said that they are trying to come up with a contraceptive. Thomas noted that most cougars being shot
now are being shot close to homes.
Heaton reviewed the material. Brown stated that she originally did not want this coming out of
video lottery funds but has since discovered there is money in reserve. She
said that she will change her vote.
Dwyer said the agriculture business is a business and needs
to be viable. He said that it is a
matter of economics and stated that this is an appropriate use of the
money.
Motion: To approval the
$4,000 addition out of video lottery funds.
Dwyer MOVED, Brown SECONDED. Holser stated that she would like to see another approach rather
than just shooting the animals and hopes they continue to look at population
control. Vote: 8-0.
Suchart reviewed the Elected Officials Compensation Board proposed salary increases (see
material on file).
Van Vactor noted that when the Board of County Commissioners
created the Justice Courts, they created the traffic team at the same time and
that part of the proposal to the Board included creating a half-time Courts
Administrator in the office of County Administration. He explained that they wanted this position because there are a
lot of administrative, budget and personnel actions that need to be
processed. Van Vactor stated that the
Board did not approve the creation of that position and that, over time,
Garnick picked up some of the duties but that the management of the offices and
the day-to-day supervision fell on the justice court judges. Van Vactor noted that at present, when
compensation is evaluated, one of the key factors in the compensation system
that rewards points and, therefore, compensation is supervisory authority. He said the justices clearly have
supervisory authority and that that wasn’t part of the analysis back when the
position was originally created.
Suchart concurred and added that years ago they were considered
four-fifths. He said they have
increased their workloads and are working full-time.
Van Vactor introduced the judges: Bernadette Weih, Oakridge
Justice Court; Cindy Cable, Florence Justice Court; and Cynthia Sinclair,
Central Lane Justice Court. The
justices gave a brief explanation of their duties and the types of cases they
hear, noting that they are on call 24 hours a day/seven days a week.
Morrison noted that the justice courts are out of balance
due to the new allocation system in the Sheriff’s Office and by adding on these
salary increases, and asked how much out of balance are they and how will that
be reconciled.
Garnick replied that it would come from the general
fund. He said that as a result of the additional
allocation of the $430,000 of direct department costs, the system is going to
be out of balance by about $368,000, which will be covered by the general
fund. Garnick said the general fund has
covered this before but in a different form.
He explained that that part was never included in the equation because
of the way the accounting was done so this is not actually a brand new cost
that is suddenly arising. Cable noted that it costs money to run a civil court
and that they can’t make up that money with civil fees.
Weeldreyer asked how much time is spent with administrative
duties as opposed to trying cases.
Cable noted that she is typically in court every day except Tuesday when
she does the paperwork. Sinclair stated
that she is on the bench from 8:30-5:00 but noted that she has an office
supervisor. Weih said her court has the
lowest caseload but that about 20% of her time is administrative. Weeldreyer asked about having a court
administrator for the three courts. Van
Vactor replied that they haven’t done that analysis because they are adequately
handling the volume and would still have the same revenue so it wouldn’t affect
anything. He noted that because the
justices are paid less than the assistants are, the total cost would be
more. Morrison asked about increasing
filing fees. Cable stated that fees are
in statute set by the state.
Linda Morrison, Administrative Services Manager, Health and
Human Services, offered to call Fitzgerald regarding this issue and whether or
not to postpone deliberation until Thursday night.
Recessed
at 7:15 p.m. Reconvened at 7:20 p.m.
Linda Morrison stated that she was able to reach Fitzgerald
and relayed the following message: Fitzgerald stated that she does support the
increase for the elected officials but would like the Budget Committee to
consider the fact that AFSCME believes that compensation for elected officials
should be awarded in the same manner of other employees and since AFSCME was
turned down for a market study, they may want to consider that.
Garnick commented that the ORS citation that states that the
Budget Committee has to approve the salary increases for the elected officials
before it goes to the Board of Commissioners is included in tonight’s
packet. Heaton provided a summary of
the effect of an increase and Utecht distributed material showing how many
classifications receive compensation above the commissioners (see material on
file). Van Vactor stated that the Lane
County Charter has a prohibition that only allows commissioner increases the
next year after the general election and that is why there is significant
language about when the COLAs would apply. Terry Wilson, County Counsel, stated
that the proposed increase for the Board of Commissioners would increase their
salaries to $60,000 effective January 1, 2000.
She said the Commissioners’ salary increase is not retroactive. Wilson
commented, however, that there is a retroactive element for the Justices of the
Peace, for the Sheriff, for the Assessor and for the District Attorney's
supplement.
Bell said that she could not in good conscience vote to
increase salaries and will vote no except for the Justices of the Peace
increase who have not had a raise since 1990. She recognized the good work of
everyone but said there is a shortfall and people are being laid off. Bell
stated that if there is federal money, she will come back and vote for the
increases. Brown talked about the Board increases and referred to their last
increase. She said the compensation
committee is proposing an 18% increase plus COLAs. Brown said that she could
not find a rational reason for the increase except for perhaps a county
comparison, which is like comparing apples to oranges. She said she couldn’t support it.
MOTION: To approve the
increase for the Justices of the Peace.
Dwyer MOVED, Bell SECONDED.
Brown asked if he would amend this to go along with what staff has
recommended. Dwyer stated that as long
as it goes along with the unions.
Van Vactor said he and Suchart were trying to follow what
the prior compensation board had recommended and base an increase for the
elected officials at whatever COLA is granted AFSCME and to make up for those
that didn’t get them with the exception of the Justices of the Peace.
Van Vactor summarized the motion: commissioners receive 2%
raise on January 1, 2001, the other elected officials all receive a 2% increase
retroactive to July 1, 1999 and thereafter the elected officials all get the
COLAs granted AFSCME for the next two years and the Justices of the Peace will
get the 2% increase retroactive to July 1, 1999 and then their salary will go
to $43,609 retroactive to July 1, 1999.
Wilson clarified that for the elected officials, except the
commissioners, there would be a COLA for whatever is granted AFSCME in year
2000, 2001 and 2002. She said that
because of the charter limitation, the commissioners’ COLA recommendation is
for 2001 and 2002.
Dwyer said that he would amend his motion.
MOTION: To approve the staff recommendation of a 2% increase for
the Board of Commissioners, Sheriff, Assessor and District Attorney; the Board
increase not to take affect until January 1, 2001 while the Sheriff, Assessor
and District Attorney 2% increases to be retroactive to July 1, 1999; all
elected officials to receive any COLAs granted AFSCME employees for 2001 and
2002, if any; and the Justices of the Peace salary increased to $43,609
retroactive to July 1, 1999 and 2% COLA retroactive to July 1, 1999.
Green stated that he could not approve a raise when they are
coming to the cliff. He said they could
revisit this issue if federal funding changes.
He suggested utilizing the funds ($357,000) to grant COLAs to employees
of the organization and then hold the line for another year. Weeldreyer said
she would support this motion. Holser
said she will probably abstain. She
said commissioners have no personal clerical help and stressed the level of
responsibility of the commissioners.
She said they deserve exactly what the compensation board has
recommended because they have a tremendous job. Brown stated that she will abstain and hopes money will be
found. She said she is abstaining on
the principle that they are not recognizing the responsibility of the
commissioners. Morrison said she agrees
with and appreciates Bell’s comments.
She stated that she does not see how the compensation board could
justify this especially after what has happened with the levies.
VOTE: 6-1 Bell
dissenting, Holser abstaining.
MOTION: Utilize the carryover of $357,000 for COLAs.
Green MOVED.
Morrison SECONDED. Van Vactor
stated that they should hear from the departments. Bell said she will vote against the motion, stating that she
wants to look at Parole and Probation and the Dunes Patrol. Brown said she would be interested in hearing
everyone's proposals but that she is leaning in Green’s direction. Holser said
this is their opportunity to talk about the budget in a little more
detail. Crowell said he would be
leaning strongly in support of Green’s motion but he is also interested in the
Dunes Patrol. Dwyer said he could
support it also but thinks it is important for people watching to have a chance
for input. Green withdrew his motion.
The additions on the Requested Budget
Additions Committee Worksheet were briefly discussed (see material on file).
General Expense – Tanya Heaton, Management Analyst,
stated that there are two requests: one from the Water Master requesting an
office specialist position, and an additional request that the Board moved to
the Budget Committee this morning for use of video lottery dollars for fiber
optics. Regarding the fiber optics
request, Weeldreyer said this request fits better than most current uses of video
lottery in that it is going to address not only economic and community
development but also education. She said this $21,232 request is Lane County’s
portion of the funding. Weeldreyer said
this is a one-time request.
Board of County Commissioners and County
Administration – Heaton
explained that 2% reductions were developed and included in the proposed
budget. She said reductions will affect
the way business is done but are reachable and sustainable. She briefly reviewed the additions, noting
that four are in the proposed budget: a financial report to the citizens; the
commissioner salary increase (which was changed by the Budget Committee); a PC
for the Intergovernmental Relations Manager position and replacement funds for
laptops; and the Census project for our share of the redistricting that was
done by LCOG.
County Counsel- Teresa Wilson, County Counsel, stated
that there are two reductions:
work-study funds towards a law clerk, and $2,300 in M&S. She said there is also a $5,000 reduction of
law clerk money, which was not accepted, noting that there will be a law clerk
for the summer. Wilson stated that the add request to provide funds for a law
clerk during the school year was not accepted.
Information Services – Gary Ingram, Director, Information
Services, stated that there are two reductions: one for the overtime for Y2K,
and one for the cost of having a consultant come in to address database
administration support. He also
discussed the mix of packages including RIS and the county share of those
costs. Ingram noted that there is a
need for a back-up system to replace the old system, which is about ten years
old. He stated that they have no way of
managing network and need a technology fund within RIS and IS.
Management Services – David Suchart, Director, Management
Services, reviewed his additions, stating that the administrative analyst,
which is funded half by Health and Human Services is to deal with the
PeopleSoft upgrades that occur every six months. He also discussed the Maintenance and Custodian positions, noting
that Youth Services is contributing to those positions. He stated that the voters' pamphlet request
is a placeholder as is the request for an Animal Welfare Officer while they are
in negotiations with Springfield and Eugene.
Assessment and Taxation – Jim Gangle, Tax Assessor, stated that
there were two reductions. He said that
one was for extra help for the computer conversion. Gangle explained that there is an addition for two appraisers to
handle two different functions. He
noted that he also receives a state grant that helps cover his budget.
Health & Human Services – Rob Rockstroh, Director of Health and
Human Services, reviewed his reductions list, noting that the medical examiner
and public health nurse reductions were not taken. He said the public health
communicable disease reduction was just for the general fund portion needed to
make the budget balance in light of the changes to the indirect and PERS costs.
Rockstroh explained that the Communicable
Disease Community Service Worker support person is a Senior Office Assistant
reduction from full-time to .7 FTE. He
said the sex offender piece is a very small reduction. Rockstroh reviewed the
technical adjustment (see material on file) and add back.
Youth Services – Steve Carmichael, Director of Youth
Services, discussed his additions. He
talked about the need for more security, noting increasing incidents with
adults out of control in court.
Carmichael stated that the other additions are for three items that were
in the last levy that dealt with capacity including opening a second pod,
shelter beds and beds for girls.
District Attorney- Doug Harcleroad, District Attorney,
stated that he has no additions. He
said the reduction is for a criminal prosecution extra help position. Harcleroad said he will leave unfilled
positions open and hire cheaper extra help.
He noted that the Office Assistant One position would result in a layoff
of a person. Harcleroad commented that
there is also a reduction in overtime for clerical staff and investigators. He
distributed material outlining a reduction alternative scenario, which will
reduce the materials and services budget in order to keep the OA position.
Justice Courts – This add is for training money that
would rotate between courts. It has been included in the budget.
Sheriff’s Office – Sheriff Jan Clements stated that they
had a no growth budget even though they could grow 1%. He said that in order to balance the budget
to the allowed growth budget, he needed to make necessary cuts. Clements
discussed his reduction requests (see material on file). Morrison asked for an
actual list of line items. Rick Schulz,
Chief Financial Officer, said he would provide the line item information they
used when they made their decisions.
Clements distributed more material to illustrate growth of their
expenses (see material on file). Schulz
explained that costs went up 19.9%, noting that benefit costs have increased
substantially. He also said that Senate
Bill 1145 has proven to be very expensive.
Regarding the INET detective, Clements
said he is cutting this only because he has no where else to cut. Clements introduced Lieutenant Pete Kerns,
Eugene Police Department, to discuss INET.
Kerns stated that the history of meth labs in Lane County goes back 50
years. He said in the last few years,
they have gone to lengths to work with businesses that provide materials that
could be used for meth labs. Kerns
stated that in 1998, they found 80 meth labs in Lane County, which is a fraction
of the undetected meth labs. He noted
that another growing problem is the heroin trade. Kerns said they are ineffective in pursuing professional heroin
trackers due to spending their time on meth labs. He said if INET loses Lane County as a partner, the INET board
would have to have discussions about how to do business in the county without
representation of Lane County plus the elimination of 10% of the unit.
Clements stated that if the Forest Work
Camp is not going to be fully operated and allowed to deteriorate, then they
ought to get out now. He said he would
like a sinking fund for capital assets throughout the County. Dwyer said there
should be a modest measure to include some capital improvement. Weeldreyer
commented that constituents consistently tell her that public safety should be
Lane County's number one funding priority and should not be required to make
cuts. She said that she would rather
look at other things in the general fund.
Garnick distributed material showing the
general fund 2% reduction exercise. Van Vactor stated that the 2% COLA is in
the finplan but is not in the budget.
Garnick explained that if a COLA is in the budget, the funding needs to
be shown. He explained that there is money in cash carryover but using that
would only result in an increase in the deficit.
Thursday, May 11, 2000
Board of Commissioners’ Conference Room
There being no further business, this
meeting adjourned at 10:32 p.m.
Zoe Gilstrap, Recording Secretary
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