Adopted Minutes of the Joint Powers Board Meeting held November 25, 2014 Dodge County Courthouse, Mantorville, MN Conference Room B I. The Minnesota Prairie County Alliance joint powers board met in regular session on November 25, 2014, in Conference Room B at the Dodge County Courthouse, Mantorville, MN. Commissioner Nina Huntington called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. CST. Call to order II. Introductions were made and Commissioner Huntington established that there was a quorum: Roll call and introductions Members present: Members absent: Also present: Rodney Peterson Tim Tjosaas Nina Huntington Doug Johnson Blair Nelson James Peterson (left at 11 a.m.) None Jane Hardwick Jim Elmquist Heather Oconnor Gary Weiers Laura Elvebak Charity Floen Tom Shea Abbie Willis Shelia Pokorny Cathy Piepho John Borger Cathy Skogen Dodge County Commissioner Dodge County Commissioner Steele County Commissioner Steele County Commissioner Waseca County Commissioner Waseca County Commissioner MNPrairie Transition Director and Dodge County Human Services Director Dodge County Administrator MNPrairie Executive Assistant David Drown Associates Waseca County Administrator Steele County and Waseca County Human Services Director Steele County Administrator MNPrairie Project Manager AFSCME Council 65 Steele County Assistant Finance Director Steele County Information Technology Director Dodge County Adopted 12/10/2014 1
Lisa Kramer Nichole Farnsworth Kristin Ferris John McNamara Andrew Dahlquist Linea Shore Dodge County Dodge County Dodge County Wold Architect Engineers Wold Architect Engineers Wold Architect Engineers III. A motion by Commissioner Doug Johnson seconded by Commissioner Tim Tjosaas to adopt the agenda as amended. adopted unanimously. IV. by Commissioner Johnson seconded by Commissioner Tjosaas to accept the final meeting minutes as presented for the October 31, 2014 meeting of the Minnesota Prairie County Alliance joint powers board. adopted unanimously. V. by Commissioner Rodney Peterson seconded by Commissioner Tjosaas to adopt the following by consent: Agenda and motion Meeting minutes and motion Consent agenda motion a. To authorize payment of $57,039.52 in bills as presented. Vouchers for payment b. To authorize execution of business associate addendum to the current contract with MJS Consulting for services related to the general accounting system and the accounting electronic document management system. c. To authorize execution of an amendment to a contract held jointly between Dodge, Goodhue, Houston, Mower and Wabasha Counties and Workforce Development, Inc. for the period October 1, 2014 through September 30, 2015 for administration of a federally funded supplemental nutritional assistance program (SNAP) grant for participant employment and training. MJS Consulting Supplemental nutrition assistance program adopted unanimously. VI. Commissioner R. Peterson removed the budget report ending October 31, 2014 from the consent agenda to inquire about the payments made to MJS Consulting and encumbrance. Jane Hardwick, MNPrairie Executive Director clarified that the budget report showed the full amount that has been paid and encumbered as of October 31, 2014, it does not include payments that were just authorized by the consent agenda. by Commissioner R. Peterson seconded by Commissioner Johnson to accept the previous month budget report as presented for period ending October 31, 2014, showing $0 in revenue and $187,580 in expenditures for the month, leaving a balance of $1,876,146. adopted unanimously. Budget report Adopted 12/10/2014 2
VII. Jane Hardwick, brought forth a recommendation to align the office hours of Dodge, Steele, and Waseca County s effective March 1, 2015 to 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday plus Tuesday 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Ms. Hardwick reported a number of factors were considered and research was done to ensure we are able to better serve our customers. Ms. Hardwick informed we are not expecting to be fully staffed on Tuesday evenings and some staff have volunteered to work alternative schedules to cover those hours, some teams may rotate coverage, we may use Vidyo to do intakes across sites, or staff may work at another site. A discussion resulted which entailed concerns about staff safety, staff schedules, policies, and meeting the needs of our clients. by Commissioner R. Peterson seconded by Commissioner Johnson to establish MNPrairie regular office hours as Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. plus Tuesday 4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. effective March 1, 2015. Commissioners Huntington, James Peterson, and Tjosaas, aye; Commissioner Nelson, nay; motion adopted. VIII. Abbie Willis, MNPrairie Project Manager, presented an amendment to the contract with Elert & Associates. Ms. Willis informed the contract was reviewed by the MNPrairie joint powers board technology committee and they approved it to go to full board. Ms. Willis reported the contract states Elert would extend their services to January 31, 2015 and for an additional 30 hours at $150 per hour to complete the payroll portion of the project. Ms. Willis reported Elert will not bill MNPrairie beyond the 30 hours and they will only bill for the hours they use. by Commissioner Tjosaas seconded by Commissioner Nelson to extend the contract between MNPrairie and Elert & Associates to January 31, 2015 and add an additional 30 hours at $150, not to exceed $4,500. Commissioners Huntington, J. Peterson, and Johnson, aye; Commissioner R. Peterson nay; motion adopted. IX. John Borger, MNPrairie and Steele County Information Technology Director, presented the board with a request to purchase additional network switches, Microsoft Office 365, and Microsoft server licensing for MNPrairie. Mr. Borger reported the port count for switches that was completed by Elert & Associates will not cover all of the devices at each location; therefore, we need to order an additional three switches, one for each county, in order to be functional. Mr. Borger stated these switches will be ordered in the same manner as the last ones, with three years of support. Mr. Borger reported the Microsoft Office 365 has the ability to license up to five devices and the program includes SharePoint, Lync, One Drive for encrypted files located on the cloud and more. Mr. Borger informed the initial pricing for the switches, Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft server licensing is $52,315 and starting in 2016 there will be an annual cost of $42,736 incurred for Microsoft licensing. MNPrairie office Hours Elert contract amendment Network switches and Microsoft purchases Adopted 12/10/2014 3
Commissioner Johnson informed that at the joint powers board technology committee he and Commissioner Tjosaas felt that MNPrairie is under budget for the hardware as they initially spent $220,018, are adding an additional $9,579 for switches and were approved to spend up to $250,000 in this area. Commissioner Johnson stated that even with the cost of the software, $42,736, we are still under the overall budget for 2015. A discussion resulted which entailed inquires about government pricing, yearly pricing, and the number of ports being used. by Commissioner Nelson seconded by Commissioner R. Peterson to approve the purchase of the three network switches, Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft server licensing totaling $52,315. adopted unanimously. X. John Borger presented the board with a request to purchase ZIX, a hosted solution for email encryption. Mr. Borger reported most counties and other human service agencies utilize this format, with ZIX, everything is encrypted, nothing needs to be added into the subject line of the email, and it s more convenient. Mr. Borger informed this request was reviewed at the joint powers board technology committee, and they approved it to go to the full board. Commissioner R. Peterson inquired who reviewed the contract. Mr. Borger reported Dan McIntosh, Steele County Attorney, reviewed it. by Commissioner Nelson seconded by Commissioner Tjosaas to approve the purchase of ZIX email encryption for a yearly cost of $6,640. adopted unanimously. XI. John Borger presented a request to enter into a master service agreement with Zayo for a hosted phone solution. Mr. Borger informed the agreement has been reviewed and approved by Dan McIntosh, Steele County Attorney, and the joint powers board technology committee prior to submitting it today. Mr. Borger reported the servers will be off site, the phones will be rented, and Zayo will cover the phones for any issues that arise. Mr. Borger stated the monthly cost, which is based on the number of seats per location, is $3,652. Commissioner Johnson added this phone system will allow us to operate as the entity we want to be, and calls can be transferred across the three sites. by Commissioner Johnson seconded by Commissioner Nelson to approve the master service agreement with Zayo for a hosted phone solution that consists of a monthly cost of $3,652. adopted unanimously. XII. Jane Hardwick presented the board with a draft organization chart for MNPrairie staff in 2015 along with a recommendation to establish four management positions. Ms. Hardwick briefly overviewed the organization chart noting supervisors have worked on the chart, and that it will continue to be updated. Ms. Hardwick stated Cathy Skogen, Dodge County Financial ZIX email encryption Zayo master service agreement 2015 MNPrairie organizational chart Adopted 12/10/2014 4
Assistance Supervisor, along with other financial assistance supervisors have been coordinating with staff across sites. Ms. Hardwick recommends a manager be in place for the following areas: Adult & Disability Services, Child & Family Services, Income & Health Care Assistance, and Deputy Director Add on to a manager position, to ensure best practices are in focus, in addition to the Finance Manager approved earlier. Ms. Hardwick reported the Finance Manager position has been posted, it closes December 5, 2014, and supervisors in the finance area are aware their jobs may adjusted once the management position is filled. Ms. Hardwick stated there are two positions listed under Abbie Willis, Development Project Manager, which are not approved, but represent the vision for MNPrairie going forward. Discussions resulted which included inquiries about budget impacts for establishing the manager positions and the interview dates, questions, and panel for the Finance Manager position. Commissioner Huntington added if a commissioner would like to be on the interview panel to email Jane Hardwick. by Commissioner Johnson seconded by Commissioner Tjosaas to establish the following positions: Adult & Disability Services Manager, Child & Family Services Manager, Income & Health Care Assistance Manager, and Deputy Director Add on to a Manager position. Commissioners Huntington, J. Peterson, and Nelson, aye; Commissioner R. Peterson nay; motion adopted. XIII. Jane Hardwick provided a human resources update. Ms. Hardwick informed they have met and worked with the union to establish a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for employee health insurance, the union vote on the MOU did not pass, and we are moving along with plan B which consists of employees participating in open enrollment with their member counties. Ms. Hardwick reported the seventh bargaining session is scheduled in December. XIV. Jane Hardwick brought forth a recommendation to hire a 0.5 FTE Child Support Supervisor and 0.5FTE Data Compliance Specialist until July 2015 to reduce the supervision staff ratio to a more appropriate level. Ms. Hardwick informed this position will be half funded by Dodge County for the remainder of 2014 and half by MNPrairie and the Dodge County Board approved it at their last board meeting. by Commissioner R. Peterson seconded by Commissioner Johnson to establish the Child Support Supervisor & Data Practices Specialist though July 2015. adopted unanimously. XV. Jane Hardwick informed that Dodge County s human resource policies were extended to new hires for MNPrairie prior to establishing a contract with Steele County s human resource department and now that MNPrairie Human resources update Child Support Supervisor & Data Compliance Specialist Human resources policy application Adopted 12/10/2014 5
contracts Steele County s human resource services, a new bargaining contract is being developed; until that new bargaining contract is bargained/adopted, for new hires there will be a recommendation to adopt the policy of the county location in which they re hired. XVI. Jane Hardwick provided the board with a recommendation to extend the layoff rights for human service employees until March 1, 2015 to ensure employees are allowed an adequate time frame to make an informed decision following the execution of a bargaining agreement. A discussion ensued which pointed out that January 1, 2015 has been the date for the layoff option. by Commissioner Johnson seconded by Commissioner Nelson to extend the option of being laid off to March 1, 2015 for a human services employee whose work is being transferred to MNPrairie. Commissioners Huntington, J. Peterson, and Tjosaas, aye; Commissioner R. Peterson nay; motion adopted. XVII. Gary Weiers, David Drown Associates, presented the credit card policy to the board. Mr. Weiers reported the policy language was taken from what Dodge County currently uses, and it lays out who will have credit cards along with provisions for certain new hires as they are not listed and may need a card. A discussion resulted which entailed inquiries about language around ineligible purchases and the effect it may have and a recommendation that personnel approved for credit cards be moved to appendix A. by Commissioner R. Peterson seconded by Commissioner Nelson to approve the credit card policy with the recommended amendments, not limited to in the ineligible purchases section and to move the list of authorized card holders to appendix A. adopted unanimously. by Commissioner Nelson seconded by Commissioner Tjosaas to list the following names in appendix A: Jane Hardwick, Charity Floen, Mary Wacek, Ann Ruedy, Kristin Ferris, and Kris Jackson. adopted unanimously. XVIII. John McNamara, Wold Architect Engineers, provided an update on the facilities planning. Mr. McNamara informed he has been meeting with the planning teams at each site, they are on track with everything thus far, and they are defining the space standards to help maintain consistency across the three sites. A discussion resulted with inquiries on the robustness of the key card system and access across three sites. XIX. Lisa Kramer, Dodge County Finance Director, informed she has documents prepared which outline a proposed list of services and associated costs for Dodge County providing fiscal host services to MNPrairie. Ms. Kramer stated her intention with the agreement is to be open ended as she wants to be here for support as long as she needs to be. A discussion resulted including an Chapter 402A employee voluntary lay off provision extension Credit card policy Wold Architects update Fiscal support services agreement update Adopted 12/10/2014 6
inquiry about the human resource information system. XX. Abbie Willis stated the job descriptions and human resource policies are behind, payroll is behind schedule by two weeks, and the phone system solution is moving along quickly as the intent is to have everything in place by January 1, 2015. Ms. Willis informed that MJS Consulting is on target with their projects, and they plan on running a conference room pilot beginning on December 1, 2014 for the general accounting system, the social welfare accounts are in the process of being updated, child care enrollment has been completed and providers have received letters, PRISM updates are taking place, the SSIS database will look generally the same as it does now, the MNPrairie income maintenance team has been working on reorganization of caseloads and work teams, and the communication team has been researching website vendors. XXI. Jane Hardwick reported that some tasks will not be completed by the end of the year and that the tasks which are incomplete will impact spending in 2015. XXII. Jane Hardwick shared the Monday morning facts that were sent to all staff on November 3, November 10, and November 17, 2014 along with the newsletter that was sent to all staff on October 31, 2014. Ms. Hardwick noted the MNP Spotlight in the newsletter is a place to show recognition to individuals and or work groups who have been working hard at on tasks related to MNPrairie. Charity Floen, Steele County & Waseca County Director, informed the Vidyo chats on every other Tuesday has exceeded their expectations and has been a nice form of communication. XXIII. Shelia Pokorny, AFSCME Council 65, informed the joint powers board that the office hours being extended will cause safety issues for employees walking to their vehicles in the dark and the State systems would not be functional after a certain time. A Dodge County employee informed the board that they have received a calendar of when the state major systems are accessible in evenings, and is elated to have the management layer as workloads are rather large for staff and supervisors, and in order for MNPrairie to be a successful operation, we need management staff. Another Dodge County employee noted that some staff are happy to work until 7:00 p.m. and flex their schedules, and it s just as dark at 5:00 p.m. as it is at 7:00 p.m. XXIV. Commissioner Huntington informed the next joint powers board meeting is scheduled for December 9, 2014 which conflicts with the AMC annual conference, and the December 26, 2014 meeting is in close proximity to the holidays. A discussion resulted and the December 9, 2014 meeting is rescheduled for December 10, 2014 at 1:30 p.m., at Steele County Administration, Room 40, and the December 26, 2014 meeting is rescheduled for December 23, 2014 at 1:00 p.m. Dodge County Courthouse, Conference Project management update Implementation project budget transition to 2015 Communication update Employee comments December meetings Adopted 12/10/2014 7
Room B. XXV. Jane Hardwick recommended the board consider a number of factors in setting its meeting schedule for 2015. Commissioner Huntington inquired if the other Commissioners are open to meeting the second and fourth Tuesday. A discussion resulted and Commissioner Huntington postponed the decision on the 2015 meeting schedule until the December 10, 2014 meeting. XXVI. by Commissioner Nelson seconded by Commissioner Tjosaas to adjourn the meeting at 11:28 a.m. CST. adopted unanimously. 2015 meeting schedule Adjournment Adopted 12/10/2014 8