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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-09-03 Work Session Minutes Deschutes County Board of Commissioners 1300 NW Wall St., Suite 200, Bend, OR 97701-1960 (541) 388-6570 - Fax (541) 385-3202 - www.deschutes.org MINUTES OF WORK SESSION DESCHUTES COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2008 ___________________________ Present were Commissioners Dennis R. Luke, Michael M. Daly and Tammy Melton. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; David Inbody, Assistant to the Administrator; David Givans, Internal Auditor; and Tom Anderson, Dan Haldeman, Peter Russell, Peter Gutowsky and Barbara Rich, Community Development. Also present briefly were three citizens who left when advised that the Humane Society of Redmond issue is not ready to discuss as the report from the auditor is not yet available. Chair Luke opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m. 1. Finance/Tax Update. Mr. Wynne said that the laws have changed regarding collateral and the balances needed; a higher collatorization requires a little less work. An Oregon law was changed and this affects government agencies. Investment rates continue to be higher than expected. They seem to have stabilized around 3.6%. Mr. Wynne said that the ten year is unknown, but the one year seems to be more stable. In regard to the general fund, Clerk revenue is down significantly. There is not enough data at this time to project future general fund revenue, but it could be down for the fiscal year as much as $600,000 or more. Beginning capital was above budget, which will help. There are some open positions that help the bottom line. Regarding Community Development earnings, they continue to decline. Last year was a poor year compared to others, but this year is even worse. Per the budget, expenses are about twice the amount of revenue at this point. Minutes of Administrative Work Session Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Page 1 of 5 Pages Minutes of Administrative Work Session Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Page 2 of 5 Pages Tom Anderson projects that after all of the reserves are transferred, and all the contingencies are used up, there remains a projected deficit of $346,000 at year- end. The Health Benefits Fund seems to be doing well. The other departments are holding their own when compared to projections. 2. Solid Waste Update. Timm Schimke said that Oregon passed a law that if a company manufactures or sells electronics, they have to agree to participate in the collection and handling of used electronics equipment, based on weight. A group of manufacturers can join together and do their own program. The State had expected to handle most of it and was surprised that others are willing. This applies to any area that has over 100,000 people. Each county needs to have at least one entity to handle this. Knott Landfill can be a collection point and can agree to take the equipment in. The law only talks about recycling computers, laptops and printers, but not other things like scanners and mice. There is lead and other precious materials in this equipment. The City of Sisters would like to get out of the garbage business. If they can cut a deal, the buyer of Bailey’s should be up and running in a few months. Sisters hauls to the Fryrear facility. At this time, Mr. Schimke presented a spreadsheet with information projected out to 2031. Closure activities continue and significant expenditures will occur even after the landfill has stopped receiving garbage. The tonnage charge for the public computed with haulers comes to about $47 per ton average. That will increase to $52, then to $57, then $62 and up from there. Every major construction of a cell or other projects is bonded. Minutes of Administrative Work Session Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Page 3 of 5 Pages There is no end use stated but there is a DEQ closure computed. Mr. Kanner said there will be about $5 million in the post-closure fund at that point. Commissioner Luke stated that those who use the facilities should pay for it at that time. Mr. Kanner stated that quite a bit of reserves have already been built up for this purpose. Mr. Schimke noted that new services expect to pay for their usage. He said that he computed the numbers out to 2031 because at that point bonds start to fall off. He explained that there are many conversion options for the future, such as using landfill material for roads and ways to create and use energy. He feels that if they go to a $5 a ton increase next year, they can hold that for a few years. Then they could go to a $3 a ton increase for a number of years. All of this is based on a 3% increase in tons, which is conservative based on previous years, but a higher amount could cause the closure to happen sooner. $3 to $5 million will be invested in the Negus facility in the future as well. 3. Groundwater Protection Work Plan. Mr. Kanner gave a brief overview, and asked where the County needs to go from here regarding the local rule. There are issues to address, such as monitoring wells, financial assistance, possible sewer districts and so on. Barbara Rich said the local rule implementation is short-term; this involves notice, permitting, website updates and action items. Realtors and mortgage people seem to be comfortable with properties being flagged so that this will be picked up in title searches. This should not hinder a potential sale, and is the only logical way to make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Don Haldeman said they have changed out about ten or twelve systems thus far. Commissioner Luke asked if staff could contact these people and find out what it actually cost them, since estimates have been from one extreme to another. Minutes of Administrative Work Session Wednesday, September 3, 2008 Page 4 of 5 Pages Tom Anderson said that Pahlisch Homes has suspended their rebate program since they are not building right now. They laid off two-thirds of their staff. They may want to purchase the PRC’s in the future, however. Perhaps the County can purchase from owners and hold on to them until things are better. However, Community Development has limited funding right now. As to whether to reappoint the Financial Advisory Committee members, perhaps they could be other than Board appointed. Also, maybe this group could work on other issues besides the financial part. Ms. Rich stated that short-term work is more for reorienting the public and internal work. Mr. Anderson said he will be meeting with Sunriver representatives and the DEQ to talk about Sunriver’s sewer system. Discussion occurred regarding the potential for a ballot measure. The earliest this could happen is March 2009. 4. Redmond Humane Society Update (tentative). The information expected from the auditors has not yet arrived, so this item was postponed. 5. Economic Development Grant Fund Requests. None were offered. 6. Update of Commissioners’ Meetings and Schedules. None were discussed. 7. Other Items. None were offered.