MINUTES
KANSAS
ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES
BOARD MEETING
Kansas
Association of Counties Office
Topeka,
Kansas
Friday, June 22, 2001
President Rod Broberg called
the meeting to order at 10:40 a.m. Those board members present were as follows:
Lonie Addis, Labette County
Commissioner
Mike Billinger, Ellis County
Treasurer
Joe Brunk, Sedgwick County Weed Director
Rodney Broberg, Saline County Appraiser
Wade Dixon, Greeley County Counselor
Russ Frey, Riley County
Commissioner
Dean Kruse, Norton County
Commissioner
Bobby Heitschmidt, Ellsworth County
Commissioner
Bill Linde, Woodson County
Commissioner
Kathy Peckman, Miami County Clerk
Paula Phillips, Douglas County
Emergency Management Director
Ron Sitts, Edwards County Public
Works Director
Nancy Weeks, Haskell County Treasurer
Those board members not
present were:
Frances Garcia, Reno County
Commissioner
Linda Fincham, Marshall
County Register of Deeds
Randy Rogers, Coffey County Sheriff
Others present were:
Randy Allen, KAC Executive
Director
Marla Flentje, KAC Education Director
Pam Hatfield, KAC Executive Assistant
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
President Broberg asked if there were any additions or
corrections to be made to the minutes from the May 23, 2001 meeting. There were none. Russ Frey moved, seconded by Bobby Heitschmidt to approve the
minutes of May 23, 2001 meeting. Motion approved.
ADDITIONS/DELETIONS TO
THE AGENDA
There were none.
FINANCE COMMITTEE
REPORTS
Finance Committee Chairman Nancy Weeks presented the
bills and payrolls dated June 22, 2001, as earlier reviewed by the Finance
Committee, for approval.
Nancy Weeks moved, seconded by Russ Frey, to approve the
board approve the bills and payrolls as submitted, and as previously reviewed
by the Finance Committee. Motion carried.
Nancy reviewed the Monthly Financial Report for the month
ending April, 2001 with the board.
Nancy Weeks moved, seconded by Bobby Heitschmidt to
receive and place on file the Monthly Financial Report for April, 2001. Motion
carried.
AWARD OF AUDIT SERVICES CONTRACT
Randy Allen, Executive
Director, reported that the Request for Proposals (RFP) for audit of the
Association's financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2000
had been mailed to five accounting firms. Of the five firms receiving the RFP,
three firms responded. They included Summers, Spencer and Cavanaugh; Berberich
Trahan and Company, P.A.; and Wendling Noe Nelson and Johnson, LLC.
Randy indicated that the
firm of Summers, Spencer and Cavanaugh, CPAs Chartered had conducted the annual
audit for five consecutive years (fiscal years 1995-1999) pursuant to a formal
RFP process completed in 1996. Randy indicated that the KAC's Request for
Proposal required each firm to submit a copy of their peer review report. All
three proposals included evidence of a peer review report. Randy indicated that
all three firms are fully capable of conducting the audit and all could do the
work in a professional manner. The not to exceed costs for audit of the
financial statements for the year ending 2000 were estimated by the various
firms as follows:
Summers,
Spencer and Cavanaugh $ 4,200
Wendling Noe
Nelson and Johnson $ 5,500
Berberich
Trahan and Company $ 4,600
Randy explained that he
has always been very pleased with the work that Summers, Spencer and Cavanaugh
has done for the KAC, and that they have always been good to work with. He
felt that getting the RFPs was a good move this year, as it is a good indicator
to himself and the Board that the amount we are paying for our annual audit is
within fair limits. It also affirms that we are looking at a good proposal
from Summers Spencer and Cavanaugh.
Nancy Weeks indicated
that the Finance Committee had reviewed the proposals in detail prior to the
board meeting and recommended that the KAC continue to engage Summers Spencer
and Cavanaugh, CPAs to audit the Association's financial statements for the
year ending December 31, 2000.
Kathy Peckman moved, seconded by Russ Frey that the KAC
engage the firm of Summers, Spencer and Cavanaugh, to conduct the audit of the KAC's
financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2000. Motion carried.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director Randy
Allen reported on the following recent activities at the KAC offices:
1)
A letter from the Kansas Center
for Community Economic Development was received at the KAC offices on May 2,
2001, expressing its thanks to the KAC for our sponsorship in helping to make
their conference a success. We supply them with data, in the form of mailing
labels, for their mailings every year.
2)
State mileage rates will be
going up effective July 1, 2001. The KAC's business travel policy links our
mileage rate for personal mileage on vehicles to the rate paid by the State.
These rates will change from $.325/mile to $.33/mile. Governing Board Travel
Expense Reimbursement forms have been changed to reflect this change and will
be available to all staff and Board members beginning July 1. Until that time,
the $.325 reimbursement rate will be in effect.
3)
Networks Plus has installed a
new Pentium III file server in the KAC Topeka office. With the addition of
Road Runner internet services to our Topeka office last week, and the installation of an new
"anti-virus" program on the file server sometime today, the KAC office
automation in Topeka is running "state of the art". The
reviews have been nothing but positive from staff, and the security of the
anti-virus will have all of us resting a little easier.
4)
Dr. Joe Aistrup of the Docking Institute
of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State
University
has requested that the KAC co-sponsor the 2001 Telepower conference, to be held
September 26-27 in Hays. The theme of this year's conference is "Telepower
- E-vision Your Future 2001".
Consistent with our strategic goals of encouraging counties to improve their
technology infrastructure - both internally and in their communities, the KAC
will be a co-sponsor for this event, and will give $1,000 to partially
underwrite conference costs. Any county official will then be able to register
for the event for $49.00 per person, while a regular fee of $100 will be
charged to non-county officials who participate. Board members are encouraged
to attend and to spread the word about this event.
5)
Randy sits on the Economic
Development Technical Advisory Committee for updating the strategic plan of
Kansas, Inc. The committee has been meeting for several months, and a final
report of recommendations is due soon. Randy indicated that the report will
identify some of the state's vulnerabilities with respect to our economy. It is
hoped that these "vulnerabilities" will not be perceived as
weaknesses, but as areas that are in need of attention to better themselves.
The new economic strategy report should be available soon, and Randy will try to
get a summary for the board to view.
6)
A draft comprehensive revision
to the Association's Personnel Policies and Procedures was distributed to all
board members. Randy informed the board members that the current Personnel
Policy and Procedures document was adopted in 1994, with a change to the
business travel policy adopted in 1996.
One
of Randy's performance goals this year has been to thoroughly review the
current policy handbook and make recommendations for updating and modernizing
the policy and procedure statements with the assistance of Judy Moler,
KAC General Counsel. An attorney with the firm of Goodell, Stratton, Edmonds
and Palmer will review the document for legal compliance before it is next
discussed by the board at the August 17 meeting. Randy reviewed the
Contents
of the document for well over and hour, and there was considerable board
discussion. Further consideration and final action on the policy document will
be scheduled for the August 17, 2001 meeting.
7)
The vacancy left by Riley Winkler
will be filled after the Executive Committee of the Kansas County Commissioners
Association selects a replacement from among southwest Kansas commissioners who
have expressed an interest in serving. The new appointee may be in place by our
August 17, 2001 meeting.
8)
Randy appeared on the radio program Coffee Time, with host Roger Nelson
on
station KFKC in Concordia, to discuss issues relating to county government.
The meeting recessed at
11:55 a.m. for lunch, and resumed at 12:35 p.m.
2001 LEGISLATIVE REPORT
The 2002 Legislative
Policy Development Calendar, an agenda for the 2002 Legislative Policy Process
Kick-Off Meeting on July 6, and written established protocols for developing
the Association's annual legislative platform were distributed to board
members. The kick-off meeting will be held beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the
Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka on Friday, July 6, 2001. Sen. Derek Schmidt and
Rep. Melany Barnes, along with panel moderated by Mike Taylor, City of Wichita
intergovernmental relations liaison and former television reporter, will review
the recent 2001 legislative session and
forecast issues for the
upcoming 2002 session. A full review of the day will be given at the KAC
Governing Board meeting August 17, 2001. A video uplink will again be
scheduled at various sites around Kansas this fall, for the purpose of
informing members about the draft 2002 legislative platform.
NACo REPORT
Lonie Addis, NACo
representative to the KAC Board, distributed a schedule of events for the NACo
Annual Conference, to be held July 13 -17, 2001 in Philadelphia. Lonie, Rod Broberg,
Judy Moler and Randy Allen will be attend the conference,
along with
more than thirty other
Kansans, many of whom serve on various NACo policy steering committees.
Nominations to the
several NACo Policy Steering Committee were distributed by Randy Allen. County
name, committee appointment and names of candidates were listed.
.
Wade Dixon moved, seconded by Kathy Peckman to endorse the
list of 2001--2002 NACo Steering Committee nominees. Motion carried.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Odyssey to
Excellence is the theme for the
26th Annual Conference to be held in Wichita, November 18-20, 2001.
Keynote speakers have not been lined up yet, and are still in the works. The
board was presented a draft policy statement detailing the purpose and
organization of the annual conference for its review and consideration.
Russ Frey moved, seconded by Kathy Peckman to adopt the
KAC Governing Board Policy Statement for the 26th Annual Conference
and Exhibition in Wichita, November 18 - 20, 2001. Motion carried.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION COMMITTEE
The
board continued its review and discussion of the Awards and Recognitions
Committee report, as distributed at the May meeting in Greeley County. After
discussion, a consensus was reached around the following policies:
1)
the KAC will provide for
recognition to county officials who have completed 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, and 48
years (in the past, recognition was provided to persons who had completed 8,
16, 24, and 48 years only);
2)
as has been customary,
announcement of the awards program will be again printed in the County
Comment;
3)
all KAC past presidents will
continue to be recognized at the annual awards banquet
4)
service awards will be announced
at the annual banquet. Recipients are requested and encouraged to submit a
picture to be used at the awards banquet.
5)
All KAC members who have earned
certificates in any one of the programs sponsored by the Kansas County
Government Institute (KAC's education program) will be recognized at the annual
awards banquet.
6)
An opportunity will be provided
at the annual banquet for outside organizations to announce and confer an
award given to recognize the accomplishments of a county government in Kansas.
7)
An opportunity will be provided
for KAC affiliate and associate organizations to confer an award to a most
deserving official at the annual awards banquet.
8)
Any new recognition awards will
be further studied by the Awards and Recognitions Committee and considered
prior to the planning of the 2002 annual conference.
Kathy Peckman moved, seconded by
Russ Frey to approve the recommendations of the Awards and Recognitions
Committee, as further refined by the KAC Board. Motion carried.
KANSAS COUNTY GOVERNMENT
INSTITUTE
Marla
Flentje, Education Director, reported
that the newest Effective Supervisory Skills (ESS) class brochures would be
mailed soon. The registration numbers for the ESS workshops are still running
at a good pace. There was board discussion regarding the relatively low
numbers of registrations which are being received for workshops offered in
western Kansas, however. There will be more dialogue with respect to this
situation, as the demand for enrollment in the central and eastern workshop locations
often means we cannot accept all of the registrations received while there are
considerable vacancies in the western locations.
Marla
continues to provide staff support for the Local Environmental Protection
(LEPP) Committee under a contract, and in such role has facilitated five
regional dialogues across the state about the future of the LEPP.
PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL UPDATE
Russ
Frey, Chairman of the Executive Director Performance Review Committee, noted
that there was no need to go into executive session. The committee consists of
himself, Wade Dixon, Rod Broberg and Paula Phillips. Russ informed the
board that they would soon be mailing a packet containing Randy's 2000-2001
Performance Goals and Objectives, along with an appraisal form. The performance
appraisal form should be
completed
and returned to Russ at his Manhattan home address no later than July 20, 2001.
Instructions will all be included in his cover letter to the board members.
Russ will then summarize the appraisals for review with the Executive Director
at the August 17, 2001 meeting.
Russ Frey moved, seconded by Bobby Heitschmidt, that the
board meeting be adjourned. Motion carried. The
meeting was adjourned at 2:20 p.m.
Respectfully
submitted,
___________________.
Pamela
J. Hatfield,
Executive
Assistant
Approved by the KAC Board:
________________________.
Wade Dixon, KAC Secretary
August 17, 2001