2017-09-28 Budget mtg - Emergency Mgmt for 2018Budget meeting with Emergency Management
September 28, 2017
2:42 p.m.
Present: Commissioner Stamper, Commissioner Fund, Commissioner Jackson, Becky Butler, Steve
Walton, Steve Mansfield, Cheryl Millman
Guests: Justyna Tomtas, Mitch Townsend, Matt Brock, Bill Marshall, Anthony Ahrens, Linda Williams
Recorder: Rieva Lester
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT
2018 prelim budget
Revenue: $247,396; expenditures: $258,914; change in fund balance: $(11,518); FTEs: 1.40
Revenue review
Becky Butler said revenues come from rates charged.
Expenditure review
Becky said the bulk of the expenditures comes from salaries.
Steve Mansfield said Emergency Management contracts with eight cities and the county for Emergency
Management.
Steve discussed past rollbacks to the user groups as well as grants received by Emergency Management.
Steve said Emergency Management boils down to four key points: mitigation, planning and preparation,
response, and recovery.
Mitigation: Steve said Emergency Management mitigates flooding threats as well as chemical risks, etc.
Planning and preparation: Steve said every hour spent planning offsets nine hours of recovery.
Response: He said the response is generally the two to three days of active response.
Recovery: Steve said it’s important for all counties to perform damage assessment and report it so
counties and the state can qualify for reimbursements. He discussed the numerous steps Emergency
Management takes to secure reimbursements after flooding or other types of events.
Commissioner Stamper left at 2:58 p.m.
Steve said services boil down to people and processes.
Becky said there is a need to hire a position in Emergency Management. She said succession planning
also needs to take place and be a priority.
Commissioner Stamper returned at 3:07 p.m.
COMMUNICATIONS (911)
2018 prelim budget
Revenue: $2,498,803; expenditures: $2,583,745; change in fund balance: $(84,942); FTEs: 23.20
Becky said taxes and outside agencies contribute to the revenue. She said the county has been
subsidizing the program rather than raising rates, something the county needs to address, she said.
Steve discussed how difficult the job of a 911 dispatcher is. He said there is a lot of stress involved with
the job. He said his work with 911 is a two-pronged approach: revamping the partnership with the user
groups; and resetting the mission / vision for the dispatch center.
Steve discussed the county’s interlocal agreement. He said user groups thought they were having to pay
more than they should for their service. Steve said the only cost was for the actual service, not the
equipment, not the rent, etc. He said he is revamping the interlocal agreement.
Steve said there are several components to the costs: the communications center itself, the
maintenance and support of infrastructure, equipment rental and replacement, equipment rental and
replacement for the infrastructure.
Steve said he’d like to see a one-tenth of one percent tax to help plan for the future.
Commissioner Jackson discussed the work regarding planning for the Next Gen 911. He said Lewis
County is among the top one-third on the state’s list for Next Gen 911.
RADIO SERVICES
2018 prelim budget
Revenue: $329,586; expenditures: $329,563; change in fund balance: $23; FTEs: 2.10
Steve said contracts are being sent out for radio work.
Meeting ended at 3:33 p.m.