068
COMMISSIONERS’ PROCEEDINGS
April 21, 2022
Commissioners Scott Miller, Scott Blain, and Bill Bullock; and Administrative Officer Angela Newell were present.
8:30 Pledge of Allegiance.
Blain noted the Mental Health Center has hired a Case Manager / Administrative Assistant from Bridger.
9:00 Blain moved to approve SLC Medical Records Access Agreement; Miller seconded; motion carried.
Discussion about code enforcement; the COPS hiring program is open for applications. Discussion about the need for a job description to outline duties and make it a structured position focused on code compliance and civil work.
Geospatial Information Systems Coordinator / Fire Warden Tom Kohley met with Commissioners to review Agenda for the meeting with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) later this morning.
9:30 Pam Christ, Lori Lynde, Rochelle Loyning, Kevin Nichols, and Alex Nixon in attendance to continue the Compensation Board Public Hearing. Lynde and Loyning, noted their staff would prefer a raise over contributions to the 457 Plan. Commissioners noted they have received similar feedback from their road crew and other departments. Christ noted desire to reward employees for their work; Christ noted the County has consistently come in under budget. Bullock agreed with the need to keep pace with inflation as best we can so wages do not get too far behind. Discussion about marijuana taxes; the 20% tax goes to the State. The 3% local option tax is on the June ballot and has been limited to capital facilities improvements. Discussion about American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. Bullock noted allocations have been made to various special districts and non-profits; the remaining funding being reserved for County facilities improvements. Loyning noted she would prefer new office facilities over a raise. Discussion about what percent of budget goes to wages; Carbon spends 30% of its budget on wages/benefits compared to the 36% spent on wages/benefits in Yellowstone County. Nichols echoes Christ’s concerns about keeping up with market trends and cost of living; noting if we get too far behind it’s hard to catchup. 10:05 Blain moved to close Compensation Board Public Hearing; Miller seconded; motion carried. Blain noted a 4.7% cost of living increase, longevity increases, and insurance increase would have budget impact of about $340,000. If an additional 1% raise was included, the budget impact would be about $450,000. Blain moved to approve a 4.7% Cost of Living increase plus a 1% raise for total increase of 5.7%; Miller seconded.
Discussion regarding Full-Time employees who will receive an additional 1% longevity increase and insurance eligible employees who will receive a $99/mo increase in health insurance premium contributions to cover the 6.5% increase in insurance premiums. Blain noted the increase is higher than where he wanted to be, and he would have preferred to include Deferred Compensation Plan contributions. Blain noted the uphill battle with employee education regarding the benefits of the 457 Deferred Compensation Program. Miller noted future uncertainty for employees with continued rising costs. Bullock noted combined increase over CPI of 5.7% for last 5 years. Motion carried.
Discussion about full compensation package increase of 8.4% including longevity and insurance benefits.
10:20 Clerk and Recorder Christine Stovall and Deputy Clerk and Recorder met with Commissioners and Nixon to inform them that Rick Moser had called Fallon County characterizing himself as a Carbon County representative. He asked questions regarding hand count process and costs. After Fallon offered to email him documents he noted that he was a private citizen. Nixon recommended that it may be beneficial to send email to the Elections list serve notifying other offices that he is not an employee or representative of Carbon County.
11:00 Miller moved to enter into term contract of 5 years with ARETE Group for On-Call Architect Services; Blain seconded; motion carried.
11:30 Hot-Plant Asphalt Supply Bid Opening. One Bid received from Fisher Industries for $57.00 / ton. Miller moved to accept the bid; Blain seconded; motion carried.
12:00 Jenny Alexander and Dave Lefevre of BLM, Geospatial Information Systems Coordinator / Fire Warden Tom Kohley, and Disaster and Emergency Services (DES) Coordinator Cyrina Allen met with Commissioners for an update. Discussed code violations and the need for enforcement, possibility of shared maintenance expenses for county roads going through BLM land, access to private residences and subdivisions, Robertson Draw Road and its status as a County road (Miller confirmed full length of the Robertson Draw Road is secured with a County easement and is a County road), Kohley discussed subdivision plats that contemplate access and define it in covenants which is unusual. Discussion regarding creek crossings on Meeteetse Trail and potential for additional washouts with the slopes of Mount Maurice being less stable following the Robertson Draw Fire. Discussion about visitation increases over the last two years.
1:40 Miller moved to adopt Resolution 2022-10 to Establish Elected Officials’ Salaries for the 2022-2023 Budget Year; Blain seconded; motion carried.
Miller moved to apply the elected official wage increase of 5.7% to all County employees; Blain seconded; motion carried.
12:00 Adjourned.
Respectfully submitted: Angela Newell, Administrative Officer