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2017-10-17 Update with BudgetUpdate with Budget October 17, 2017 10:30 a.m. Present: Commissioner Stamper, Commissioner Fund, Commissioner Jackson, Steve Wohld, Steve Walton, Becky Butler, Dianne Dorey (10:59 a.m.), Sandie Williams (10:59 a.m.) Guests: Bill Marshall, Mitch Townsend, Anthony Ahrens, Justyna Tomtas Recorder: Rieva Lester Citizens Budget Committee Report Bill Marshall said senior centers need to be pared back or let go and WSU Extension needs to move off- site. He said the county has to do what’s right for the county. He said the county is operating understaffed and under budget. He said the county needs to increase income, including through the Assessor’s Office. He said he was disappointed to find out that the sheriff and undersheriff are the ones writing the bulk of traffic infractions. He said a roads shift and a one-tenth of 1 percent shift also should be reviewed. Anthony Ahrens said raising taxes isn’t the answer. He said home ownership would help increase funding. He said there is a glut of low-paying jobs. He said Discover Lewis County has increased tourism. He said .09 funds have been used wisely. He said resources need to be used better. Mitch Townsend said the county faces three types of issues: structural (unfunded mandates), systemic (losing trained employees) and cultural. He said the county must think outside the box to come up with solutions. He said the county needs to focus on return on investment, especially in the Auditor’s Office; unfunded mandates, such as jail medical; develop new training programs that outside counties can use; raise taxes and fees, including in the 911 center, to become self-sufficient; create a vision and set goals about where the county is going; have the commissioners donate a portion of their salaries or take pay cuts; and change the cultural mindset to promote conservation and become a green energy hub, look at food processing. He said funding would come from taxes, fees, professional development, one-tenth of 1 percent. He said the county needs to develop poly technical institutes. He said the county needs to help develop the intellectual infrastructure locally. Mitch said there’s a civil war between the press and Chamber and the county. He said the county must find a way to get everyone to set aside their differences to focus on the future. Mitch and Bill said kicking the can down the road – and just existing – isn’t working. Bill said the county needs to find a way to survive now while also planning for the future. Dianne Dorey and Sandie Williams joined at 10:59 a.m. Becky thanked the volunteers for their help. Road levy shift Dianne Dorey said she was asked if a road shift would be possible. She said she has preliminary values, which likely will decrease. She said road shifts of $250,000, $750,000, and $1,325,000 would be possible. She said she would rework the figures to reflect the previous year’s diversion totals. Dianne said new construction is at $66,063,505, which is lower than the previous year’s. Dianne said the problem is that the county does not have commercial development. She said the county needs economic development. She said the Hirst decision could be detrimental to new construction. Commissioner Stamper asked about the closure of the steam plant. Dianne said that forced others to pay more via property tax. She said the biggest impact was to the sub-businesses, such as tire shops, etc., that catered to the steam plant’s employees. Dianne said permits can be picked up in July and August. Commissioner Stamper said there are developers want to build but they need to know there is a workforce. Dianne said everyone in a similar tax code area would pay the same rate. Anthony asked if rates can be lowered in areas in an effort to draw development. Dianne said the state Constitution only allows certain exemptions, such as those for senior citizens, government entities, and timberlands. Anthony asked if it would be beneficial to work on infrastructure. Dianne said flooding, transportation, etc. also get looked at. She said part of the problem is companies considering siting in Lewis County want the same gated communities, $600,000 homes, private schools, etc., that they are accustomed to in the big cities. Commissioner Stamper said the developers want a commitment that groups are going to build businesses before investing in the area. Commissioner Stamper, Dianne Dorey, and Sandie Williams left at 11:25 a.m. Program reorganization Becky stressed the importance of making a decision and moving forward. Commissioner Stamper returned at 11:26 a.m. Steve Wohld said he and Steve Walton have discussed how it would look if Discover Lewis County moved to the fair. Steve Wohld said he helped develop a proposal for qualifications (PFQ) for a social media / digital marketing position. He said it will be sent off for scoring. Commissioner Stamper asked if the analytics would continue “as-is.” Steve Wohld said they would. He said the structural integrity of the website would stay under IT’s umbrella, while the content would fall under the fair’s umbrella. Anthony Ahrens asked if a text email group could be set up. Anthony said the fair could embrace potential advertising revenue sources. Mitch suggested packaging IT services for other governmental agencies. Commissioner Fund left at 11:39 a.m. Steve Wohld said the county does have interlocal agreements with outside governmental agencies. He said those are being updated. Commissioner Fund returned at 11:40 a.m. Becky said the change would be reflected as a decrease in interfund rates. Commissioner Jackson made a motion to move forward with the process of moving Discover Lewis County from IT to the fair. Commissioner Fund seconded the motion. Motion passed 3-0. Steve Wohld left at 11:45 a.m. Becky discussed the possibility of moving fiscal from a separate entity that houses all fiscal employees to one that features fiscal employees being absorbed in each department. Steve Walton said it appears it would be better to make that transition sooner rather than later. He said doing so would provide savings of more than $100,000. He said he would need to come with a plan to transition the employees to the various directors. Commissioner Stamper left at 11:50 a.m. Becky said a draft reassignment appeared to work well with the skill sets already available. Commissioner Fund and Commissioner Jackson said they support moving forward with the idea of transitioning/decentralizing the fiscal office. Commissioner Jackson made a motion to move forward with the process of decentralizing the Fiscal office no later than April 1, 2018. Commissioner Fund seconded the motion. Motion passed 2-0. 2018 budget discussion and review of budget requests Becky said there are several reductions and requests yet to be discussed. Meeting ended at 12:01 p.m.