LINN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CEDAR RAPIDS, LINN COUNTY, IOWA MONDAY, MARCH 17, :00 A.M.

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1 LINN COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS CEDAR RAPIDS, LINN COUNTY, IOWA MONDAY, MARCH 17, :00 A.M. The Board met in session at the Linn County Jean Oxley Public Service Center. Present: Chairperson Barron, Vice Chairperson Langston (via phone), Supervisors Rogers, Harris and Oleson. Board members voting AYE unless otherwise noted. Motion by Rogers, seconded by Harris to approve minutes of March 10 & 11, 2014 as printed. Lindsey Elam, ASAC Prevention Specialist, gave a presentation on the ASAC Byrne-JAG grant and request to apply for grant through Linn County. This grant will focus on binge drinking prevention. She noted that the faculty in all four colleges have been trained. Supervisor Oleson asked that Ms. Elam pass on his concerns about ASAC s partnership in SAM (Smart Approaches to Marijuana) noting that he does not want to see ASAC get into issues that don t occur in Iowa and to keep their focus on alcohol and drug abuse. He does not want to see this group used for larger issues than what it is intended for. Oleson stated that there is a whole video series on medical marijuana and ASAC is a part of it. He would like someone from ASAC to explain that to him. Erin Foster, ASAC Prevention Director, clarified that Dr. Kevin Sabet, Director of the Drug Policy Institute at the University of Florida, is going to share information with the communities on April 1, 2014 regarding Smart Approaches to Marijuana. The Board will approve grant on Wednesday. Dana Kellogg, Conservation Natural Resource Specialist, discussed a memo that he sent to Dan Biechler regarding the condition of several large Black Locust trees in the Brockman Cemetery. He stated that the pictures given to the Board show how they are exposed to the wind with no lower branches. They will be replaced with native trees. Supervisor Oleson stated that he has asked for a memory stone to be placed in this cemetery (over two years ago), something to recognize what it is. He has also asked the Solid Waste Agency to do the same for the indigent cemetery near the landfill, noting that there are hundreds of indigent buried there. Supervisor Langston stated that they might look at what they have done with the Lincoln Hwy. because in that seedling mile area, they did some signage and could be very similar to that in size. They will want some historical reference so they can either run it by her or the Public Art Commission. Supervisor Harris also stated that the stone at the Comm. Serv. Bldg. Veterans Memorial was not very expensive. Chairperson Barron asked Kellogg to notify the neighbors prior to the tree removal. Motion by Langston, seconded by Oleson to proceed with tree cutting and removal at the Brockman Cemetery. Carolyn Siebrecht, Planning & Development, presented Temporary Use Case T-01-14, request by owner Larry Hess and applicant Dale Bruening for campgrounds in the 900 & 1000 blocks of Lnenicka Lane from April 1, 2014 October 31, This is the campground/cabin area off of Hwy 13 and has been requested annually since the 2008 flood. Dale Bruening, explained that he has the only cabin (which has been elevated) and the remainder is campsites. The Board will approve on Wednesday. Darrin Gage, Dir. of Policy & Admin., presented an Agreement between Linn County and the Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency for the Solid Waste Agency s use of a Linn County-owned tower located at 2425 County Home Road, Marion, Iowa, for placement of repeater equipment. There will be no charge for this and the agreement has been reviewed by County Attorney staff. The Board will approve on Wednesday. Bob Hruska, Asst. County Atty., presented his opinion regarding the law relevant to the production of and newspaper publication of minutes and proceedings of the Linn County Board of Supervisors as follows: 1. the board of supervisors must keep minutes of all board meetings; 2. the minutes must include those items set forth in section II, below; 3. transcripts or detailed descriptions of presentations and discussions which take place in board meetings are not actions taken by the board and not required content of the meeting minutes; 4. the minutes must be recorded by the county auditor unless the board, with the consent of the auditor, appoints a permanent clerk; 5. the county auditor must furnish a copy of the proceedings to be published within one week of adjournment of the meeting;

2 Page 2 6. altered or summary versions of minutes are not permitted for official publication; 7. the minutes must be published at the expense of the county; and 8. non-required content of board minutes need not be published at county expense. Hruska continued to explain Section II Contents of Minutes of Meetings of the Board of Supervisors: As set forth above, the Code of Iowa specifically prescribes that the contents of the minutes of a meeting of a county board of supervisors shall include: 1. Date, time and place of the meeting; 2. Members present; 3. Actions taken; 4. Results of each vote taken; 5. The vote of each member present; 6. The schedule of bills allowed including salary claims for services performed along with the name of the person or firm making the claim; and 7. A complete text of resolutions, ordinances, or amendments approved by the board of supervisors. In conclusion: 1. the board of supervisors must keep minutes of all board meetings; 2. the minutes must include those items set forth in section II, above; 3. transcripts or detailed descriptions of presentations and discussions which take place in board meetings are not, actions taken, by the board and not required content of the meeting minutes; 4. the minutes must be recorded by the county auditor unless the board, with the consent of the auditor, appoints a permanent clerk; 5. the county auditor must furnish a copy of the proceedings to be published within one week of adjournment of the meeting; 6. altered or summary versions of minutes are not permitted for official publication; 7. the minutes must be published at the expense of the county; and 8. non-required content of board minutes need not be published at county expense. Hruska stated that he tried to make it as comprehensive as possible and is a framework for the Board and the Auditor to look at. Supervisor Oleson asked for further clarification with regard to the word publish (specifically when referencing claims) and if it only means print in the newspaper or if it would include access in any fashion, noting technology and its capabilities. Hruska stated that publish is not defined. Hruska continued to explain that there is no authority anywhere for the minutes to be altered prior to publication and the content is entirely at the board s discretion. Supervisor Rogers asked if the minutes are to be approved by the Board prior to publication, noting that Auditor Miller took it upon himself to publish minutes that had not been approved by the Board (because they are to go to the papers within 7 days). Hruska stated that the minutes belong to the Board; contents belong to the Board; the law places responsibility upon the Board for making those minutes. The Board is fortunate because law gave the Board assistance, the County Auditor is Clerk/Secretary to the Board and specifically tells the County Auditor that they must be the Secretary to produce the minutes. Once approved by the Board, they are ready for publication. Statute says 7 days but not if it is business days or working days. Supervisor Rogers stated that the January 28 th minutes were received 9 business days after the meeting and it is not uncommon to get minutes after the deadline.

3 Page 3 Supervisor Oleson stated that there is such a thing as substantial compliance. Getting the minutes a day or two after the meeting is substantial compliance. Supervisor Langston stated that there are some Boards of Supervisors in Iowa that meet every other week or once a month. There is a wide standard in variety across the state. Supervisor Oleson stated that he understands what Supervisor Rogers is saying, and yes, they get minutes in groups and approving them is put off until the next meeting. They may go over 7 days but it is not always because of the Auditor but because of the Board too. The Board has just as much fault, if not more. Hruska continued to say that the minutes have to be approved by the Board before it is a public document. The Board has the discretion of what goes in the minutes and can authorize Auditor Miller to publish the documents before they are approved because they are out of town. That is the Board s discretion. Supervisor Oleson stated that the Board can use technology such as Skype to conduct board meetings and meet those deadlines. Hruska continued to discuss the content of minutes. There is no requirement in law that the Board s discussion needs to be included. There is no language requiring statements made to the Board or by the Board. The key is that those statements are not actions of the Board. There is no authority to include lengthy comments. The Board would need policy reasons and left to the discretion of the Board. Supervisor Oleson stated that the Auditor is not prohibited from putting in extraneous discussions, of which he is characterized as one of the worse offenders. It comes back to the Board to decide. Hruska concurred stating that the Board could instruct the Auditor that they don t want that in the minutes or strike it from the proposed minutes. Supervisor Oleson stated that he has never been an all or nothing guy because it leads to absurd results. If they have a board policy that there be no extraneous discussions included in the minutes, then the first time they decide to talk about the EPA and wood burning stoves (with 100 people in attendance), then a board members says they want it referenced, but board policy says otherwise, then they can go against their own policy. Hruska confirmed that the Board can implement the Board s discretion as they see fit. Hruska continued with publication of the minutes. To alter the official minutes or to summarize the document carries a significant risk; criminal prohibition of falsifying official documents. Supervisor Harris asked for example today s meeting, minutes from Becky that outlines all comments from Hruska and the Board. The Board can modify them down to discussion was held? Hruska responded, yes, they don t become the minutes until the Board approves them. Supervisor Oleson stated that it is basic Roberts Rules. The minutes from the last meeting are proposed until the body approves them. Any changes can be made up until that point. He stated that the minutes can be like they have been; published in full length; audio tape on website and indexed based on subject matter. He hopes that over the spring and summer that through the UCC, ISAC, Auditor and Supervisor affiliates, they can come up with some recommendation. They can work with the Newspaper Assoc. so they know that changes need to be made to bring the statute into the 21 st century. Oleson stated that nobody wants to hide anything from the public and he wants the public to be as well informed as possible. The key to him is access to the information and that it is not be hard to get to. In the early 1900 s, access meant newspapers, now it means internet, audio or the Linn Newsletter. There are things that they can do with little investment starting with audio files and move forward to get statutory changes. Chairperson Barron asked for clarification with regard to Department Head evaluations. They are typically done in open meetings. She has seen a full range of different interpretations including just about everything to saying the board met with the department head and discussed evaluation. She asked Hruska what was required. Hruska stated that personnel reviews can say Discussion with so and so regarding performance from date to date. Unless there is a vote, that is all that is required. On the other hand, if the Board wanted more content, it is up to their discretion. Supervisor Oleson stated that he does not think that directing the Auditor to put in less will work. He said to let them go on as they have been and if the Board feels strongly about something, then they can go through and cut where they see necessary. Employee evaluations can be accessed by the public. The Board can error on the Auditor putting stuff in and it s up to the Board to take stuff out.

4 Page 4 Supervisor Langston stated that Supervisor Oleson s proposal is good. The Auditor s staff will do the minutes and it is incumbent upon the Board to approve within the context of what Atty. Hruska has told them. Auditor Miller addressed the Board and stated that he appreciated Mr. Hruska providing an opinion because the first opinion was from Mr. Jarvis with a meeting between him, Supervisor Barron, Auditor Linda Langenberg and Deputy Shoop which indicated guidelines that his office has been following. Within that document, it was stated that his office could condense the minutes. After this was brought up by Supervisor Rogers, his discovery was like Mr. Hruska s that there was no legal basis to condense. At this time, 10:00 a.m., Supervisor Oleson left the meeting for other county business. Miller read the definition of proceedings from Black s Law Dictionary and it appears that the Auditor shall record everything they do. When referring to Mr. Hruska s comments that minutes belong to the Board, Miller stated that recently members of the board have called his staff and asked that things be changed in the minutes. They listened to the recording and found that was not what was said. They went back to Mr. Jarvis and his advice was that they only record in the minutes what was actually said (don t change them). Can the Board have his staff change things that don t actually occur? Based upon what he just heard, it sounds like they can but he disagrees because it does not reflect what actually happened. Supervisor Rogers stated that if a Board member asked him to include something that was not said or changes their position, he agrees, don t change it. Then if they need to clean that up, they can do it in another public meeting. Miller continued to say that if the Board decides to strike a whole paragraph, now they have struck out the item, it s gone. That would be a dangerous precedent to have the board arbitrarily cutting things out. He asked the Board where they are going with this and what will they vote to do that will impact the length of the minutes? Supervisor Rogers asked Miller if he agreed with the attorney s interpretation, noting that he would like to get over their differences. Miller responded that there are two things the definition of proceedings and the seven day requirement to send to newspapers. If they follow Mr. Hruska s opinion, according to today s agenda, the meeting minutes would basically show approving tree removal. That s it. Supervisor Langston stated that it would include a presentation by ASAC and in the case of a past issue, animal confinement; it would say that significant related discussion took place. Supervisor Rogers stated that they are complicating something that does not need to be complicated. Supervisor Langston agreed with Chairperson Barron s comment made earlier regarding Department Head evaluations, noting that they changed. Deputy Shoop clarified that the only reason there was a change in the length of Dept. Head Evaluation is due to advice given by Asst. County Attorney Jarvis to include more information. Auditor Miller continued to ask about Public Comments. They are currently diligent with names, addresses and all comments. When they were about the 4 way STOP signs, hog confinement, park land purchase, they all went in the minutes. Do they continue to put them in the minutes? Supervisor Langston stated that she thinks it is possible to note that the board met with Steve Tucker and Dawn Jindrich to discuss publication of financial report and issues related to bonds. It is possible to indicate what is being discussed without a transcript. With regard to Public Comments she gave an example of when Janet Wagner spoke very emotionally conveying her concerns and thoughts to the Board regarding services that her daughter received at Options. Not everything that comes out of the person s mouth needs to be in the minutes. They can convey the general sense of what is said. That is what she will strive for. It is incumbent upon them to get through this together. Miller also stated that he is not relieved of his statutory requirement to send minutes for publication one week from adjournment. What is the time that the Board needs to review it? He is not relieved of it because the Board did not approve them. Supervisor Langston stated that she would be very curious to see what other auditors do, noting that there are some boards that don t meet as frequently as them.

5 Page 5 Supervisor Harris stated that no minutes should be published without board approval with no exception. If they want to blame someone, they can blame the Board. The Auditor s duty is Clerk to the Board. Miller responded that he is an elected official. Autonomous and accountable. It is a duty of his office and he is not a subservient to the Board. It is a statutory duty. Supervisor Harris also stated that he does not have a problem with how this was done 2 to 3 months ago, except for the abbreviated set of minutes published after the board approved the minutes. That is the only problem he had. He was ok with the way it was done if they would have had the opportunity to approve how they were condensed. Miller stated that condensing the minutes should not have been a surprise as it had been done since It was in plain sight. He asked the Board to make a decision on what they want cut out as long as it doesn t violate the law. Supervisor Langston asked if Mr. Hruska could do more work the two issues raised by Auditor Miller. Hruska stated that the problem is when reading language of the code, it appears as if the term proceedings and minutes are used interchanging. The Board moved to the next agenda item Payroll Authorizations. Chairperson Barron pointed out to Supervisor Langston that the Auditor s Office has submitted a Payroll Authorization terminating Vickie Heft term at the end of 75 working days and is also bringing her back 4 days later. Supervisor Langston will clarify that with the union. Motion by Rogers, seconded by Harris to approve Employment Change Roster (Payroll Authorizations) as follows: AUDITOR S OFFICE Property Descrip Spec Vickie Heft Term end of 75 working days 03/14/14 Property Descrip Spec Vickie Heft New employee Temp 03/18/14 58A $20.44/hour Account Tech Bridgett Wood Step increase/contract 03/19/14 58C $ D $23.88 FACILITIES Custodian Mitchell Miles Termination/retirement 03/28/14 SHERIFF S OFFICE Deputy Sheriff Stephanie Kinney Termination/resignation 03/10/14 Sr Account Clerk Jennifer Pirc Selected to fill vacancy prior to advertising 03/24/14 55E $19.88/hour Replaces vacant Secretary/Hall Deputy Sheriff Jacob Sharpe Step increase/contract 04/05/14 D-2 $25.17 D-3 $26.16 Deputy Sheriff Heather O Brien Step increase/contract 03/16/14 D-4 $ $.25 D-5 $ $.25 Deputy Sheriff Michael Longwell End of Probation 04/08/14 D-B $ $.25 D-1 $ $.25 Deputy Sheriff John Hauskins Step increase/contract 04/11/14 D-2 $ $.25 D-3 $ $.25 Deputy Sheriff Corey Sandersfeld Step increase/contract 04/18/14 D-2 $ $.25-3 $ $.25 Deputy Sheriff Gordon Ralston Step inc/contract 04/19/14 D-3 $ $ 25 D-4 $ $.25 Deputy Sheriff Austin Oates Step inc/contract 04/26/14 D-3 $ $ 25 D-4 $ $.25 Deputy Sheriff Eric Speth Step increase/contract 04/26/14 D-3 $ $.25 D-4 $ $.25 Sergeant Joel Peshek Transfer to Transport Division 03/09/14 $2,724.23/biweekly COMMUNITY SERVICES Senior Account Diana Schumacher Step increase/contract 03/12/14 55C $ D $18.84 JUVENILE DETENTION & DIVERSION SERVICES Youth Counselor Mariah Early New employee on call 03/09/14 36A $ $.25 Intervention Counselor Jennifer Bowden Step increase/contract 03/09/14 36D $ E $24.39 PUBLIC HEALTH Patient Advocate Jennifer Pirc Transfer to Sheriff s Office 03/21/14 PH Nurse Practitioner Theresa Keller Termination/resignation 04/17/14 Correspondence: The Board received and placed on file the following correspondence: Notice of meeting to consider voluntary annexation to the city of Marion by the City Development Board for Brookside Drive and from Julie Stephens regarding Linn County Sheriff s Office ALICE training at the Cedar Point Urbana School. Legislative update: Supervisor Rogers heard that the bonding bill that Linn County and the UCC championed did not make it out of subcommittee of the House. The Farm Bureau lobbyist made sure that it was defeated. Supervisor Langston stated that the Farm Bureau lobbyists were unwilling to have a conversation with a bonding attorney to help them understand that their concern is already prevented by state law. It is also troubling that a lobbyist won t listen to something that exists and that the Bankers Assoc. lobbyist was against it as well and is married to the Farm Bureau lobbyist.

6 Page 6 Supervisors Langston and Barron were on the hill Wednesday and it was noted by several people that the county s lobbyists worked diligently and very hard on the bonding bill and on Tuesday evening, Larry Murphy worked for hours with the Farm Bureau lobbyists to walk them through the bill and explained it. Adjournment at 10:33 a.m. Respectfully submitted, JOEL D. MILLER, Linn County Auditor By Rebecca Shoop, Deputy Auditor Approved by: LU BARRON, Chairperson Board of Supervisors