Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-04-29 Work Session MinutesTES 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, APRIL 29, 2009 Present were Commissioners Tammy Baney, Dennis R. Luke and Alan Unger. Also present were Dave Kanner, County Administrator; Erik Kropp, Deputy County Administrator; David Givans, Internal Auditor; Larry Blanton, Sheriff. Ken Hales and Tanner Wark, Community Justice; Ruth Jenkin, Jail; Susan Ross and Teresa Rozic, Property & Facilities; Mark Pilliod, Legal Counsel; Anna Johnson, Communications; Ernie Mazorol, Courts; media representative Hillary Borrud with The Bulletin; and 11 other citizens. Chair Baney opened the meeting at 1:30 p.m. 1. Discussion of Request to Re -Establish Home Rule Charter Committee. Ed Fitch, a member of the County's 2006 Home Rule Charter Committee, said in the November 2006 Charter Election, 46% of voters voted for home rule, with 54% saying no. He said there was a strong under vote and it is clear to some that Home Rule would have received majority support. Voters were not opposed to Home Rule, just this particular format. One concern was that people could only vote for one Commissioner rather than three, a criticism of the last Home Charter Rule. Issues of part time and full time should be readdressed and reevaluated. To put it on the ballot in May of 2010, he would like to have the committee formed by next fiscal summer. The last time there was only four months to put the Charter together. He does recognize there is a cost for the County, which would have to be waived by the Commissioners. Now is not a good time to bring up issues that cost money, but we do need to focus on the future and this is an appropriate time to do that. He felt there is a strong census that expanding commissioners to five would be strong for the County. He said we would not want to wait another 20 years before looking at it again. By doing it in 2010, they would be able to take the Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 1 of 9 Unless there is support from the Commissioners, he did not think re- establishing the Charter would be successful. The campaign should not be driven by the Bulletin; it should be best interest of the County and citizens in Deschutes County. He did not ask any one to come today because judgment on Home Rule Charter is the Boards decision. Commissioner Baney reminded everyone that this is a public meeting but it is not open for public comment. Commissioner Luke said it is not just up to the Board. The public has a right to go out and gather signatures and a committee could be formed. He does not disagree with Charter form of government; he did not like the last one. Mark Pilliod pointed out that there is a lot of staffing time to take into consideration. He estimated 80 hours just for him and his staff. There were also presentations by various departments and a lot of involvement from the Clerk's Office staff. Creating the map of the districts is time consuming. It is more of a political decision. As the Commissioners pointed out, there is the option to collect signatures to form the committee. Commissioner Unger said he is supportive of Home Rule and saw some advantages to it. He thought it should be formed into something that is more specific to the local situation. If the committee starts now, there could be public input that would help make something that is for everybody. Commissioner Luke asked if the Board would like to have a public meeting. Commissioner Unger said he was agreeable. Commissioner Baney said we might not have a lot of staff time to put into this. Mr. Pilliod said if they wanted any materials generated from the previous effort, he would be glad to get those to them. Commissioner Unger said enough information should be given to the public so they know what this means. Commissioner Baney recommended that it be after the budget is completed. 2. Continued Discussion of Opt -Out from Community Corrections Act. Commissioner Baney said regarding the conversation of opt out or not opt out, she heard clearly from the judges. The main issues she heard was local control as the way things are working and they do not want to loose the ability to have a say. Overall, it is a unique situation in Deschutes County. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 2 of 8 Commissioner Luke said he was not surprised by the judge's answers. Ernie Mazorol said the judges like to keep local control. It is better if there is a way to keep everything under one umbrella. The court likes local control because there have been some savings they have experienced in the past. There is a uniqueness to get around the table and resolve issues. Commissioner Luke said do we accept a State mandate or do we put additional local funds into it. The biggest concern is the State continues to under fund 1145. We will have the same discussion down the road if we do not opt out now. Commissioner Baney wanted to know more information. She said parole & probation supervises those mandated by courts, which is more of misdemeanor population. Commissioner Unger asked what opt out means. Commissioner Baney said we are mandated to supervise a certain population of felons. If we opt out, we would not supervise them. Mr. Hales said the role would remain the same if we opt out or do not opt out. He has not heard of any dissatisfaction with the service. Commissioner Luke said our responsibility is not to supervise people. Commissioner Baney said it would be a decision of the Board to supervise those who are not supervised by the State. Sheriff Blanton said we still do not have the amount the State is going to propose. They can change whenever they want to. If we opt out, we will get no 1145 money. The jail would rent beds from the Department of Corrections. Dave Kanner said it is true that funding is decreased in last three years but the trend over time has been.to increase money. If there is a 30% budget cut, Deschutes County will receive more money in the next biennium than in the last biennium. The cut they proposed was a 24 million dollar reduction from the essential budget level. Deschutes County will get a larger piece of a smaller pie based on number of offenders. Commissioner Baney said it is therefore a reduction of an increase. Mr. Kanner said the total amount of money statewide shrinks but the percentage to Deschutes County increases. Some other counties will get decreases. Mr. Kanner passed out documentation (see attached). The reason he brought it to the Board is so they can see changes over time. The County has reduced the money put into that function over time. Some County money could be used for discretionary items. There was a decline in 2009 because of the change in the split. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 3 of 8 Larry Blanton said if looking at the State funding line, the sheriff should get more money. Mr. Kanner said he used the Governor's recommended budget. Now that we are looking at what the actual allocations will be, it will be higher to parole and probation and the jail. Sheriff Blanton said that is assuming the budget is adopted. Commissioner Baney said it may go up or down but should tract this a little closer to June. Mr. Kanner said if Ways and Means gets their budget done early, we might know by the time we go into budget deliberations for the County. Mark Pilliod said if the State assumes responsibility for employees, assuming a State mandated function; the State would be required to maintain comp levels for one year and then revert to the State level. For those not going to the State, the County could be liable for unemployment for County laid off employees. Ernie Mazorol said regardless of who manages it, the dollars coming from the State will be the same. If there is a reduction in money, we will have to make decisions Commissioner Baney said the question is to opt out or not to opt out. What corrections community would like is local control. She hears the Sheriff's concerns and at what point do we say enough. The question is how do we feel about it, is this the time to opt out? Commissioner Unger said he did not want to opt out. We should inform the State they are going in the wrong direction. There are opportunities with electronic monitoring and new things that make supervision with fewer costs. He would rather have local control on 1145 money than to tell the State they can do it. He does not think the citizens of Deschutes County would like to have the State do what they want to do. Commissioner Luke said we have made a case to legislature on 1145 every year. The comment from the State is they can do it for less so why is the State paying counties. They use this for one of the tools to balance the budget. The Department of Corrections does not want to do it. He thought that if not now, one of these days, the County would opt out. Is local control better, yes it is. Will there come a time the County may not be able to support it. One of these days, we will have to start cutting programs. Commissioner Unger said counties should all stick together. He did not want to be the first to opt out. Commissioner Baney said she agreed with both of the Commissioners. At this time, Deschutes County is able to cover the costs but down the road, the writing is on the wall. If given back to the State, the concern is some offenders will be supervised by the State and some by the County, which does not make a seamless situation. She is not in favor of opting out. Sometimes it is a fresh perspective that helps move things forward. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 4 of 8 Commissioner Unger said if we look at what the public wants, they want us to do a better job. Legislation should hear that loud and clear, safety is important. Commissioner Luke said there are major discussions on cutting down on who you have to supervise. Ken Hales said there are different ways of supervising and their proposal to reduce the length of sanctions is already less that what the County does. Commissioner Luke asked if we are looking at cutting back the number of people that we will be asked to supervise to justify the formula. Sheriff Blanton said what was a felony would now be handled as a misdemeanor. Mr. Hales said good time rotates someone out quicker. Commissioner Luke said tomorrow or the day after is the last day to get bills to the legislature. Is there a bill to reduce the workload? Mr. Hales was not aware of any bills that would do that. He added that local control determines some of the law, with local control up to the local safety advisory board. Commissioner Luke said it is still not clear. The State is talking about changing the rules on who is supervised. How are they doing that? Are they doing it by bill or administrative rule? This cannot wait until the last minute. Mr. Hales said the product of the Governor's work group was to address the workload management. Commissioner Baney said this is not a win win situation regardless. She thinks they will find another way to reduce the number of people that have to be supervised. She is hearing they will reduce measures to cut costs. At this time, the group discussed one of the cost cutting measures could be combining Parole & Probation with the Sheriff's Office. Deschutes County Parole & Probation used to be under the Sheriff's Office direction. After it was separated for some time, it was again discussed to combine the two but previous commissioners voted against it. It could be one of the options to look at when considering opting out. Commissioner Luke said we have been innovative on many things. A judge can put down an order, the question is, will the State pay for it. If just doing what the State mandated, we would not be doing that. Ten years ago, we were not transferring any money at all to Parole & Probation. Commissioner Unger said he is interested in knowing what monies we have had to put into other department budgets such as road, public health, etc. It is not just a problem with corrections. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 5 of 8 Mr. Mazorol said if you have local control, there are some felons that would be supervised less. Things were moved around a little but he still thinks there is that flexibility. He said if we can take a global look, we could decide how to manage it. Commissioner Baney asked if we have to supervise all felons and then we can spend money on the misdemeanors. Mr. Hales said as long as the felons are taken care of. Commissioner Baney said do we opt out or not opt out. Commissioner Luke said you have two votes. Commissioner Baney said she is hearing everyone wants the best service delivery with local control and being able to continue being innovative in the most cost efficient manner. Cost is one component but not the only reason. Mr. Hales said there is more opportunity for efficiencies and effectiveness in juvenile and adult parole and probation. The functions are much more similar and the opportunities are much the same as far as economizing, training, etc. Commissioner Baney said good decisions should to be made. The Sheriff said he and Mr. Hales have a good working relationship. No other administration has done more than the current administration. He said he believes strongly in alternatives to incarceration. If the concern is level of current funding, there is still the opportunity to consolidate and save money. In some way, it might enhance service delivery. In terms of indirect cost, that will potentially be up to the Commissioners to decide if they want to contribute money each year. They pay over $80,000.00 in drug and alcohol treatment. How can we provide the same or better service with reduced costs to everyone. Opt out or do what we can with potential budget issues. Because I am independently elected, I have options that Mr. Hales does not have regarding budget. Commissioner Unger said the conversation is not over. He and Commissioner Baney felt LPSCC would need to weigh in. She said it is a sensitive conversation and something that will be long term. Mr. Kanner said the common mission in this case is with juvenile and adult parole and probation. The Sheriff's Office provides patrol, investigation, and incarceration. It is a different mind set. He thought Mr. Hales has made significant strides in the department with morale and procedures over the last twelve months. He quoted something Commissioner Luke had stated earlier, "let government work and do not keep changing it back and forth". Since 1991 parole and probation has been jerked around a lot. We have something that is working, it is not broke, so do not try to fix it. Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 6 of 8 Sheriff Blanton said whatever the decision is; he suggests a decision be made. It is not a healthy organization for employees to be going back and forth. The decision is up to the Board. Mr. Mazorol said if the dialog keeps going, let the judges know. The relationship with the court is really important. Commissioner Luke sated if it is kept short, he would not mind a hearing. Tanner Wark said it would be good for staff to bring this to a close. He said the structure they now have is moving in good directions. Commissioners Baney and Unger agreed, make a decision. Sheriff Blanton said he values LPSCC, judicial and the judges input. Commissioner Baney said she would want to hear back regarding the core components of the system. Jack Blum, public member of LPSCC, said State said they could do it cheaper but when it comes to parole and probation, before 1145, the State had parole and probation and their supervision was poor at best. It was not because they did not have good people, it was because they had too much to do and had more clients to take care of than they could handle. If State thinks they have a formula to do it cheaper, they need to let us know what that is. If the State cuts money and probation officers become unemployed, inmates will come out, come back to the community, and be committing crimes, a big revolving door. Commissioner Luke asked about the closing of the prison in Madras and if it does, will there be early releases coming to parole and probation. Mr. Hales said approximately 200 new offenders on parole will come to Deschutes County. Part of the discussion, a provision of 57, is to move more people into prison and at the same time have turnover with more people coming out of prison. Commissioner Baney felt these were hard decisions and they needed more information. She would like to look at the budget to see what it would look like. The decision will be a long-term decision. We are loosing productive time having to talk about 1145 every year as to whether to stay in or opt out. The funding will not get any better. What is the short time line. Commissioner Luke said we should do this fairly quickly. With going into budgets, the sooner the better. He would refer to staff on how much time they need. Commissioner Unger said we are kind of down the road on the budget for this year; he would like to analyze this budget, understand the opportunities and then carry the decision into next year. Commissioner Baney said the only hesitation is if there are efficiencies, we will need those to offset the needs for Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Wednesday, April 29, 2009 Page 7 of 8 next year. Mr. Hales said he did not know what efficiencies there are but he has been over the Parole & Probation budget and there is not any fat in the budget. If the Sheriff can support a parole and probation operation that is great. If he has people that can provide services, the real issue is of governance. Commissioner Luke asked how much time the Sheriff would need if he had access to the budget to come back with a proposed organizational chart and savings. Sheriff Blanton said not too long in terms of people on the org chart now. The primary savings are in personnel. The ability to deliver service, indirects, automobiles, and such would not be half of the budget. Commissioner Baney said it would have to make sense in improving service. Erik Kropp made a phone call to Ginger Martin regarding an amendment to SB 264, which could change and go to another bill. Sheriff Blanton said he would look at it and get back with Mr. Kanner. Commissioner Luke asked where the court is in relationship to the budget. Mr. Mazorol said if the budget were to be cut 15%, they would start closing doors. Al lot of programs will be gone but if they get over that percentage, they will start closing doors. 3. Other Items. None offered. Being no further items addressed, the meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m. DATED this 29th Day of April 2009 for the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners. ATTEST: Recording • ecretary Tammy Baney, Chair Dennis R. Luke, Vice Chair Alan Unger, Commissioner Minutes of Board of Commissioners' Work Session Page 8 of 8 Wednesday, April 29, 2009