July 21, 2006

Kansas Association of Counties                                                

Governing Board Meeting Minutes

Friday, July 21, 2006

KAC Conference Room, 300 SW 8th Ave.

Topeka, Kansas

 

 

 

President Gene Merry called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Board members present were as follows:

 

Michele Abbott-Becker, Marion County Emergency Management/Homeland Security Director

Joe Connor, Unified Government Health Department Administrator

Ted Ensley, Shawnee County Commissioner

Shannon Francis, Seward County Commissioner

Steve Garten, Barber County Commissioner

Larry McAulay, Johnson County Director of Legal Services

Gene Merry, Coffey County Commissioner

John Miller, Norton County Commissioner

Dennis Peterson, Riley County Noxious Weed Director

George Pogge, Jefferson County Road Superintendent

Gary Post, Lyon County Appraiser

Florence Whitebread, Geary County Commissioner

Tom Winters, Sedgwick County Commissioner

 

Absent:

 

Terry David, Rice County EMS Director

 

KAC staff and others present:

 

Randall Allen, KAC Executive Director

Brenda Flanagan, Summers, Spencer and Callison, CPAs

Judy Moler, KAC General Counsel/Legislative Services Director

Jolene Rankin, Dickinson County Appraiser, President, Kansas County Appraisers Association

Paul Welcome, Johnson County Appraiser

Joel Wright, Team Tech, Inc.

 

ADDITIONS/DELETIONS TO AGENDA

 

Shannon Francis moved, seconded by Steve Garten to approve the meeting agenda as presented. Motion carried.

    

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

 

Dennis Peterson moved, seconded by Florence Whitebread, to approve the June 16, 2006, meeting minutes as amended. Motion carried.  

 

 

 

 

APPROVAL OF BILLS AND PAYROLL

 

John Miller presented the Monthly report of Bills and Payrolls for July 21, 2006. John Miller moved, seconded by Shannon Francis, to approve the bills and payrolls for July 21, 2006 as presented. Motion carried.

 

MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT

 

Executive Director Allen presented the Monthly Financial Report for June, 2006. John Miller moved, seconded by Shannon Francis, to accept and place on file the Monthly Financial Report for June, 2006. Motion carried.

 

PRESENTATION OF AUDIT OF KAC FOR YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2005

 

Brenda Flanagan of the firm of Summers, Spencer and Callison, CPAs presented the audit report for the financial statements of the KAC, for the year ending December 31, 2005. The audit report gave an unqualified opinion as to the accuracy of the financial statements. The financial picture at this point is very positive, especially considering the amount of flux the KAC had last year. From December 31, 2004 to December 31, 2005, total current assets increased from $253,758 to $271,599; total assets increased from $301,315 to $305,931, and the Association’s net assets (total assets less liabilities) increased from $142,852 to $200,725. Ms. Flanagan then presented the audit management letter. There was one reportable condition, concerning the integration of accounts receivable into the rest of the accounting system and the reconciliation thereof. Since the close of 2005, procedures have been implemented to address this matter. The other suggestions in the management letter were ones for the KAC to consider. They include 1) allocation of certain indirect costs to program budgets of the Association, to better reflect the costs of the separate programs; 2) preparation of an accounting manual; 3) clarification of the Association’s sick leave policy, specifically as it concerns the payment of unused sick leave upon retirement after an employee has reached a threshold of sick leave hours earned; and 4) compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley reforms (new federal laws). Gene indicted that he will soon appoint a committee to review the Executive Director’s compensation which has not changed in over two years. Randall will review the audit letter and make any suggestions for addressing the comments therein to the Finance Committee, which will then forward suggestions to the full board.

 

Florence Whitebread moved, seconded by Ted Ensley, to receive and place on file the audit report of the financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2005. Motion carried.

UPDATE ON PROPERTY APPRAISAL IN KANSAS

 

Jolene Rankin, Dickinson County Appraiser and President, Kansas County Appraisers Association, Paul Welcome, Johnson County Appraiser and KAC Board Member Gary Post, Lyon County Appraiser presented an update on property appraisal in Kansas. Mr. Welcome gave a presentation regarding the new CAMA software and its installation progress in Kansas.

 

THE KANSAS COLLABORATIVE

 

Joel Wright of Team Tech, Inc. gave a status report of the Kansas Collaborative and the four breakthrough teams (Transportation, Community Capacity Building, Geographic Information Systems, and Health Care (i.e. Medical Care Costs for Jail Inmates and Juvenile Offenders).

 

 

LEGISLATIVE SESSION BRIEFING

 

Randall Allen and Judy Moler updated the Board on the status of the Policy Committee. Its next scheduled meeting is August 18, 2006. At this time, interim committee appointments and topics have not been confirmed.

 

NACo REPORT

 

Steve Garten, NACo representative, announced that he will attend the NACo Annual Conference in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. KAC President Gene Merry, Executive Director Allen, and Commissioner Winters will also attend. At the conference, there will be a Kansas breakfast meeting at which time a decision will be made as to how Kansas counties will vote as far as the race for 2nd Vice President of NACo is concerned. There are four candidates running for the position, including Teresa Altemus, Gloucester County, Virginia; Valerie Brown, Sonoma County, California; Joe Fuller, Rapids Parish, Louisiana; and Harry Montoya, Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Commissioner Winters and Executive Director Allen, along with others involved in the Kansas Collaborative, will be presenting an educational workshop at the NACo Annual Conference about the successes of the Kansas Collaborative.  

 

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

 

Randall reported on the following issues and asked for board discussion and consideration as follows:

 

Strategic Planning Session for the Board: Randall indicated a need for the board to “retreat” sometime in the near future to discuss and reach consensus on a vision of where and how the Association should be moving into the future, with mid-term and long-term goals and strategies. There was considerable board discussion about whether such a session should occur this fall, before the annual change in leadership, or concurrent with the change in board composition and leadership, or shortly after the first of the year. There was discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of both approaches. While it was felt that a new board should be empowered to set new sights and goals, several felt that having the benefit of veteran board members’ knowledge (even persons who are no longer on the board) was a big positive. As such, the consensus was to blend the two concepts, and have a board retreat/strategic planning session after the first of the year, but invite-in selected others (prior board members, possibly other more attentive constituents) to participate in the session. Randall indicated that a time other than the regular board meeting was best, because the regular meeting agenda is not the best format to engage people in discussing broader, more long-term issues.

 

Kansas County Government Institute workshops: Randall announced the following KCGI workshops:

 

August 31:        Planning and Organizing for Service (Customer Service), Manhattan

September 7:     Planning and Organizing for Service (Customer Service), Hays

Keynote Speaker for Annual Conference: Randall briefed the board on the selection of Lewis Feldstein to be the keynote speaker for the 31st annual conference. He distributed a biography of Mr. Feldstein, who is Executive Director of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. Feldstein is the co-author of the book, Better Together, which is also the theme of the 31st Annual Conference. The cost for Mr. Feldstein’s keynote presentation is $5,000, and Randall indicated that the Kansas Association of Local Health Departments had made funds available to underwrite this cost. The funds are residual grant monies from the Kansas Health Foundation in Wichita, Kansas. Tom Winters moved, seconded by Gary Post, to authorize the Executive Director to engage Mr. Feldstein as the keynote speaker for the 31st Annual Conference at a cost of $5,000 plus travel expenses. Motion carried.

 

Courthouse Security: Randall distributed a recent newspaper story from the Kansas City Star citing a thorough analysis of courthouse security in all Kansas courthouses which is currently underway. Judy Moler is a member of a task force established by the Office of Judicial Administration, which is working with a consultant to evaluate security procedures and arrangements in all county courthouses. A pilot review of the Reno County Courthouse was recently conducted through the program, and similar reviews will be conducted in the other 104 courthouses before the project is completed. An educational session on this topic will be offered as part of the 31st Annual KAC Conference.  

 

Midwest Rural Transportation Workshop in St. Louis: Shannon Francis and Joel Wright reported on their attendance at a recent meeting in St. Louis, at which representatives of state transportation departments, state county associations, and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) from the midwest region attended. The main focus of the meeting was the local consultation process, which requires some changes due to the new federal transportation bill passed last year. Both indicated that they felt good about working in Kansas and with KDOT, after hearing from persons in other midwestern states.

 

Innovations Award Presentation in Chicago: Randall indicated that the Kansas Collaborative project on pharmaceuticals for jails and juvenile detention facilities would be considered for an Innovations Award from the Midwestern Legislative Conference of the Council of State Governments (CSG) when it met August 21-23 in Chicago. He indicated that he, Joel Wright and Kathleen Harnish-Doucet from Team Tech, and Viola Riggins from the Kasnsa Department of Corrections would be going to Chicago on August 21and returning on August 23, 2006 to present the project to a panel comprised of legislators from 10 midwestern states. Seven projects were named finalists and asked to present, and among them, the Collaborative’s project on pharmaceuticals was one. Gary Post moved, seconded by Ted Ensley, to authorize Randall to travel to Chicago to make the presentation, at little or no net cost to the Association. Diamond Pharmaceuticals will be paying for air fare and hotel expenses at the conference. Motion carried.           

 

Staffing Change: Randall indicated that he had placed advertisements in the Lawrence and Topeka newspapers to solicit resumes and letters of application for the Conference/Meeting Planner position being vacated by Michelle Goeden after the birth of her baby in late September or early October. Randall indicated that following the deadline, resumes would be evaluated and the field narrowed for interviews prior to a final selection being made.

 

AFFILIATE RELATIONS REPORT

 

Board members briefly reported on issues pertinent to their respective affiliate organizations.

 

Joe Connor for KAHLD reported that their organization was successful in getting 50% of federal funds for bioterrorism coming into the state to be distributed to locals. The overall distribution from the federal government will be down 11%.

 

Michelle Abbott Becker announced that next year’s homeland security monies will be distributed regionally, not county by county. It is important for all counties to have representation on the regional councils.

 

KEMA will be meeting Sept. 13-15 in Hays, Kansas. Judy Moler will present a workshop on effective lobbying.

 

George Pogge announced that on August 16 there will be a meeting of the Kansas County Highway Officials Association.

 

Dennis Peterson brought a concern to the Board that the state is forcing down to locals the inspection of FCP products.

 

 

The meeting was adjourned at 2:45 p.m.

 

                                                                        Respectfully submitted,

 

 

 

                                                                        _____________________________

                                                                        Judy A. Moler

                                                                        General Counsel

 

 

 

Approved:         _______________________________

                        Florence Whitebread

                        Board Secretary

                        September 22, 2006