Rock Island Today

Rock Island County Finance Committee met June 12.

Here is the minutes provided by the Committee:

1) Call to order and roll call

Committee members present: Luis Moreno, Brian Vyncke (arrived at 8:31 a.m.), Richard Brunk, Dewayne Cremeens, Don Johnston, Scott Noyd, Rod Simmer (arrived at 8:33 a.m.)

Committee members absent: Kai Swanson

Others present: Kenneth Maranda, Kurt Davis, Bill Long, Hayleigh Covella, April Palmer, Louisa Ewert, Deanne Bloomberg, Darren Hart

2) Public comments

There were no public comments.

3) Approval of minutes from the May 8, 2018 meeting

Mr. Vyncke is present.

Motion to approve: Richard Brunk

2nd: Dewayne Cremeens

Voice vote

Motion carried

4) Reports to the committee

Auditor:

Ms. Palmer reported that she has her monthly reports done and they should be going out to everyone later today. Tomorrow, she will be on vacation for the first time since the County Board has had the Committee of the Whole, so she apologized for that. Her niece and nephew are going to a national dance competition and she can’t miss it, so she won’t be available tomorrow evening. She is sending Ms. Van Daele up to the meeting. Ms. Van Daele has Ms. Palmer’s notes and they have talked over things. Ms. Van Daele probably won’t give a speech like Ms. Palmer usually does, but she can field questions and probably answer at least a good 75% of them, or County Board members can contact Ms. Palmer and she’ll be happy to research those questions and get back to them as quick as possible. She will be providing her standard reports.

Ms. Palmer reported that she does have a new Payroll Specialist in the office. She started May 30. Her name is Chris Began. She has lots of background in payroll and stuff, so she is catching on very quickly. The training has been time consuming, as you can imagine, but they are having a good time with that downstairs. Ms. Palmer invited everyone to stop in anytime and introduce themselves or be introduced to Ms. Began and see who will be processing their checks from now on.

Mr. Simmer is present.

Treasurer:

Ms. Ewert provided her monthly report and asked the committee to pay attention to the cover letter. Ms. Ewert reported that interest for May was $43,472. The current year accrual for interest is $838,695. The monthly interest rate is at 1.95%. That is up from 1.86% last month. Ms. Ewert noted that the interest rates are slowing down a little bit, but they should continue to take a little bit of an upward climb. Originally, the feds had predicted three more rate increases for the year. Now they are scaling that back to two more.

Ms. Ewert reported that the county had its first installment of taxes due last Thursday. Her office is still working on a lot of the mail. Everyone’s a procrastinator, so the last few days they have been getting in trays of mail. They are going through those and getting the payments posted. They should have them posted hopefully by the end of the week. Ms. Ewert hopes to make the first tax distribution on the 21st of June, which is a day ahead of the next payroll and voucher payments. Generally, the first distribution is 33% of the money the county will receive. A lot of people pay in full, and then there are the regular first installments. That’s why the first distribution is so much higher than the rest of them.

Ms. Ewert noted that the General Fund has made it through the first distribution in a long time without having to borrow money, except for the outstanding loan it got from the Circuit Clerk to bounce back, and that loan should be forgivable.

Ms. Ewert reported that Hope Creek on May 30 did have to borrow an additional $300,000. That brings their total debt of loans to $2.725 million. Once they get their first distribution, they are going to start making some payments and paying some of these loans back. Most likely, they are going to pay the bank first to stop that interest from accruing, then they will work on the internal loans. At the same time, they are trying to catch up on some of the backlog of payments they owe, so they will start working on that at the end of next week as well.

Ms. Ewert reported that the General Fund balance is currently $1,439,706.68.

County Administration:

Mr. Davis reported that the HR Generalist has accepted a position elsewhere. Her last day is July 31, so the county is losing Ms. Gomez. They’ll leave it up to Mr. Snider what to do with that position.

Hope Creek is looking for a Director of Nursing, RNs, LPNs, and a Charge Nurse.

Mr. Davis explained that for the building move, Tri-County Consortium has moved from the second floor down to the first floor behind the Treasurer’s Office. They have a new room down there and they put in new flooring, new electrical, and new wiring. Tri- County Consortium paid for the electrical, wiring, and flooring.

Mr. Johnston asked where the Recorder’s Office stands. Mr. Davis said they are still looking at this area for the Recorder’s Office, but they want something in writing saying this side of the building is sufficient for the weight, so they brought in another.Mr. Johnston asked if “they” is Ms. Fisher. He asked who wants it in writing. Mr. Davis said he actually doesn’t know. Mr. Maranda explained that Mr. Thiele is working with a Structural Engineer. They went into Mr. Camlin’s office and drilled up through six inches of flooring and they looked at the rebar. Mr. Thiele is the Construction Manager. Mr. Johnston asked who is asking for letter. Mr. Maranda said Mr. Thiele is. Mr. Johnston asked if they’re trying to get that from the architect. Mr. Maranda said from a Structural Engineer. They are checking the rebar. They drilled up through the six inches of concrete they’re all sitting on right now.

Mr. Noyd asked what happens if they can’t get the certification. Ms. Ewert suggested the basement.

[Overlapping conversations]

Mr. Simmer asked for an update on the façade out front with that crime scene tape. He asked if they have ever gotten bids on it or if they have done anything towards making that look presentable. He doesn’t care if they take the rest down and just put foam up there. Mr. Davis said he believes the bid was $20,000. Mr. Maranda confirmed that it was $20,000 to put a roof back in. They had a couple guys come look at it and, of course, the county didn’t have $20,000.

Mr. Brunk said he thought they said there was some issue with the foundation or the pillars or something that caused a shifting and caused that to fall. Mr. Maranda said no. He explained that as you go off the step, there’s a 1’ or 18” strip there in front of the step that’s sunken and people were tripping. Mr. Brunk asked if that wasn’t related to any shifting. Mr. Maranda said no. There’s nothing related there. It was just down in that one piece where the city put in that new concrete. When you go off that step, there’s a little trip hazard there.

Mr. Simmer asked if that quote is for putting up new granite or for pulling off what’s there and putting a different façade up. Mr. Maranda said he can’t remember what they were talking about. Mr. Simmer noted that they can that foam up and spray it. Mr. Maranda said he and Mr. Simmer can go over and look at it. There are three or four drainage pipes there. Mr. Simmer noted that it’s been three or four years. Mr. Davis said longer and noted that it is an eye sore. Mr. Simmer said it’s getting ridiculous. They need to make it look presentable as cheap as they can so they can at least open those doors up. Mr. Maranda said he’ll ask Mr. Thiele if he can look at that. He noted that he talked to Mr. Massa one time about scaffolding and possibly doing it ourselves. He’ll get back to Mr. Simmer on that. Like he said, all they need is some scaffolding to get up there and chip that out. They can go look at it after the meeting is done. It’s all empty over there now. You can really get a visual on it. Mr. Simmer said he didn’t remember getting a bid on it. Mr. Maranda said there was no bid. Mr. Simmer noted that every now and then, somebody hits him up again on that stuff and he just happened to think of it this time and wondered where that’s at. Mr. Maranda said he’ll get back to Mr. Massa on that scaffolding. They could walk out that window right on there if they had some scaffolding. They’ll go over and take a look.

5) Consider vacation carryover request in Human Resources Department

Mr. Davis explained that Human Resources is requesting to carry over 66.7313 hours for the Benefits Specialist in the HR Department. She moved from the Health Department to HR and she has not had a chance to use her vacation, so they are asking to carry that over so she has a longer period of time to use it. Mr. Simmer asked if they are giving her a timeframe. Mr. Davis said they can. Mr. Simmer noted that that’s been a problem, trying to get them done. As much as they hate carrying these over, it doesn’t seem like they leave themselves in a very good position to do anything different. Mr. Davis noted that they have, in the past, requested it be used in 90 days, but 66 hours is kind of a lot to use.

Mr. Maranda explained that the real deal is that at the Health Department, they get it yearly. Here, they get it paycheck to paycheck. Mr. Simmer asked if it’s carried over from the Health Department. Mr. Davis said yes. Mr. Simmer asked if the Health Department has to cover that or if that is all on the county. Mr. Davis said he believes it’s all on the county now.

Motion to approve: Brian Vyncke

2nd: Richard Brunk

Voice vote

Mr. Simmer votes no.

Motion carried

Mr. Simmer noted that he would like the Health Department to pay for or cover part of it.

6) Consider Electric Consulting Services Agreement

Mr. Davis requested to enter into an agreement with E-Quantum Consulting. They are an electrical consulting group. E-Quantum is guaranteeing a 2.75% savings on electricity on the county’s larger accounts. Mr. Davis did a comparison on the Hope Creek account and if the county signs with E-Quantum, Hope Creek would save $3,500/year. That’s a minimal savings, but it’s still a savings. Every dollar counts. He is looking at starting with the county’s top accounts. Mr. Davis is going to talk to the Sheriff’s Department to see if he can include the jail and Justice Center in the agreement. This is a two year agreement at $125/month, so $1,500/year. E-Quantum will go out for bids for electricity, though there are only two games in town: MidAmerican and Realgy Energy. Realgy Energy provides savings, but does not guarantee savings. If the county goes through E- Quantum, they guarantee the savings and verify that the county’s invoices are correct each month. Mr. Davis has a list of other clients in this area that use E-Quantum. He has talked to Blackhawk College, Hill and Valley, McLaughlin Body, and Miller Container and they are all very happy with E-Quantum Consulting.

Mr. Johnston asked if they guarantee that if the county doesn’t get the savings, they pay it. Mr. Davis said they guarantee 2.75% savings.

Mr. Simmer asked if they are a broker. Mr. Davis said they are a consultant; he doesn’t know the difference. Mr. Vyncke said they’re not selling, maybe. They are technically just lining it up. They’re the middle man. Mr. Moreno said they’re like Johnson Controls. They figure out how to help you save money. Mr. Davis noted that Blackhawk College is one of their clients.

Mr. Davis noted that he is requesting to enter into a contract with them. It’s a two year contract. If the county were to break the contract, they would only pay $80/meter or per account. If they only do the County Office Building, it’s $80 to break the contract.

Mr. Davis noted that he did bring this to the State’s Attorney’s Office for review of the contract. They have some changes and Mr. Davis is working with them on the changes.

Motion to approve: Rod Simmer

2nd: Don Johnston

Voice vote

Motion carried

7) Consider Wage Opener at Hope Creek

Mr. Davis reported that Hope Creek’s union ratified the wage opener. He reminded the committee that they brought this as an FYI to the committee last month. The union did ratify it. He is asking to approve their ratification at 0%.

Motion to approve: Brian Vyncke

2nd: Richard Brunk

Voice vote

Motion carried

Mr. Johnston asked if the union’s steps still apply. Mr. Davis confirmed that the steps still apply. Mr. Johnston said they are still getting 2-3%, then. Mr. Davis said that’s correct.

8) Review and award bids received on Friday, June 8, 2018

a. Material bid for hot poured joint sealer

b. Levee mowing – Zuma/Canoe Creek Special Service Area

Mr. Davis explained that the Highway Department went out for bids on hot poured joint sealer and only received one bid. They are requesting acceptance of that bid from River Stone Group.

Mr. Simmer asked where the estimate came from. Mr. Davis said he believes that is Mr. Massa’s estimate. Mr. Simmer asked if it’s from someone inside just looking at. Mr. Davis said he believes so.

Mr. Moreno asked if anyone knows why there was only one bid. He asked if the job was too small. Mr. Johnston said he thinks River Stone kind of has a monopoly. Mr. Maranda explained that a lot of people are out of that crack sealing because it’s all contracted out. He forgot to ask Mr. Massa how the equipment is for them to continue with it. Mr. Maranda noted that when the state’s blew up that time, they got out of the business.

Mr. Simmer asked if the county used to share a truck. Mr. Maranda said not on that. The one Mr. Simmer is talking about is the paint truck. There are two other counties in the paint truck. Mr. Johnston asked if the county bought a new one. Mr. Maranda said they bought a used one with Whiteside and Henry Counties. Mr. Johnston said that was a couple years ago. Mr. Maranda said yes. He explained that for the hot poured sealer, it’s a hot buggy and compressor. It’s got to have a compressor, so he doesn’t know what kind of shape the hot buggy is in.

Motion to approve 8a: Richard Brunk

2nd: Brian Vyncke

Voice vote

Motion carried

Mr. Moreno noted that the next bid is for levee mowing in the Zuma/Canoe Creek Special Service Area. Mr. Davis explained that the Highway Department received two responses from Legacy Corporation and Wainwright. They would like to accept the low bid from Legacy Corporation at $6,862.50.

Motion to approve 8b: Rod Simmer

2nd: Don Johnston

Voice vote

Motion carried

9) Consider Prevailing Wage Resolution

Mr. Moreno explained that every June, the Prevailing Wage Law (820 ILCS 130/9) requires the public body awarding any contract for public work to ascertain the general prevailing hourly rate of wages for workers engaged in such work. This is an annual resolution from the Highway Department.

Motion to approve: Brian Vyncke

2nd: Don Johnston

Voice vote

Motion carried

Mr. Cremeens asked if this is a vote to accept the resolution or to forward it to full County Board. Mr. Moreno said they are moving it on. Mr. Maranda confirmed that it will be approved at full County Board.

10) Consider MFT Resolution for County Highway 11 Bridge

Mr. Moreno explained that this is a resolution to allow the Highway Department to utilize Motor Fuel Tax (MFT) funds to pay for a portion of the County Highway 11 bridge construction inspection.

Motion to approve: Rod Simmer

2nd: Brian Vyncke

Voice vote

Motion carried

Mr. Johnston asked if this is an expansion and if they are paying more for some reason. Mr. Maranda said it’s for the traffic signals and stuff down there. Mr. Davis explained that since they are paying a small portion out of MFT, it triggers IDOT to inspect the materials.

11) Consider Supplemental Engineering Agreement

Mr. Moreno explained that a design change was made to the County Highway 11 Bridge that involves additional engineering work and bridge reports that were not included in the original agreement, therefore costing extra. The additional engineering work is not to exceed $7,596.16 and is in the budget. The change in design will involve less maintenance over the years and the bridge substructure will last longer.

Motion to approve: Brian Vyncke, Don Johnston

2nd: Richard Brunk

Voice vote

Motion carried

Mr. Johnston noted that Item 11 was the one he was thinking of for his question on Item 10. Mr. Maranda explained that the state changed some of their requirements. The county used to use Mr. Standley, but he doesn’t have the certificate for the changes. That’s why the county had to do the agreement.

12) Consider County Aid Request from Bowling Road District

Mr. Moreno explained that Bowling Road District has petitioned for County Aid. Per Statute 605 ILCS 5/5-501, the County must pay for half of the cost of a drainage structure if the Township or Village meets the requirements; the cost of work will be more than 0.02% of the value of all taxable property within the Road District; and the tax rate for road purposes and bridge purposes in the past two years was not less than the maximum allowable. The request is for a culvert replacement on 42nd Street West.

Motion to approve: Don Johnston

2nd: Richard Brunk

Voice vote

Motion carried

Mr. Simmer asked if the county is doing these ones. Mr. Maranda said yes; the county pays for a little more than half of cost. Mr. Simmer said he knows the county has been doing most of them. Mr. Maranda said it offsets the county’s 50%. Mr. Davis explained that the county pays its portion in labor.

13) Review culvert quotes for Zuma Road District County Aid Project

Mr. Moreno explained that the new culvert will be used to complete a county aid project for Zuma Road District that was approved in 2017. The low quote from Illowa Culvert Supply Company was $6,138.

Motion to approve: Brian Vyncke

2nd: Don Johnston

Voice vote

Motion carried

14)Consider delinquent tax resolution

a. Permanent Parcel # 1602142011; Taxpayer ID (09) 391; Rock Island Township

Motion to approve: Rod Simmer

2nd: Brian Vyncke

Voice vote

Motion carried

15)Consider transfers of appropriations

Motion to approve: Rod Simmer

2nd: Scott Noyd

Voice vote

Motion carried

16)Consider appropriation resolutions for funds

Motion to approve: Richard Brunk

2nd: Scott Noyd

Voice vote

Motion carried

17)Consider claims and TDs

Motion to approve: Brian Vyncke

2nd: Dewayne Cremeens

Voice vote

Motion carried

18)Consider Board member per diem/mileage report

Motion to approve: Scott Noyd

2nd: Rod Simmer

Voice vote

Motion carried

19) Committee member opportunity for brief comments (no decisions will be made)

Mr. Moreno asked Mr. Maranda if this is an appropriate time to go into closed session or stay in open for the concerns they have been discussing. Mr. Maranda said they can do it in open. They heard Ms. Ewert’s report.

Mr. Moreno explained that there is a concern many members have had here recently regarding the conflicting reports on the status of finances at Hope Creek. As the Finance Committee, Mr. Moreno feels – and it is not just himself, but many others believe – that it is this committee’s responsibility to make sure they are fully aware of what is going on and what the true status is at Hope Creek. Mr. Moreno noted that Ms. Ewert just gave news that the county is getting its first installment to help pay down some accounts they have.

Mr. Moreno thinks that to a degree, the county has a committee that is responsible for the oversight of Hope Creek and the running of it. Members of this committee are part of that committee. Mr. Moreno attended their last meeting. It was impressed upon them at the last meeting the urgency that they want to see some type of resolution for the continued funding at Hope Creek and the influx of revenue versus the outgoing payments they are making. Hope Creek is at a deficit where they are not keeping up. For many County Board members, that is cause for concern. One concern is for the quality of service Hope Creek is able to provide; another concern is the ability to make timely payments to the vendors that depend on Hope Creek paying its bills on time; as well as the concern for the State of Illinois not giving Hope Creek the funding they are required to give for some of the patients.

Mr. Moreno noted that at the last meeting, there was a discussion about collecting the money owed to the county and how Hope Creek can start paying down some of that debt. They are hopeful they can rectify the situation. Mr. Moreno noted that he’s not quite sure how they are going to get there. The members of County Board who serve on that advisory committee have tasked the Hope Creek Advisory Board to start finding resolutions quickly rather than having this continual gap the county is trying to fill by continuing loaning money to Hope Creek. County Board members are concerned about the amount that the loans continue to go up and the shortage they are seeing on a monthly basis. The data Ms. Palmer has provided is there to give them a true sense of where Hope Creek is at and it is cause for concern.

Mr. Moreno said he does feel that as the Finance and Personnel Committee, it would be prudent on their behalf to make sure they are fully aware of the situation at Hope Creek without trying to have a quorum at their next meeting. Perhaps that is by making sure Hope Creek is communicating with all of them and sharing minutes of the meetings so the committee has a full picture of where they are at. Mr. Moreno asked if Mr. Brunk and Mr. Simmer have any comments.

Mr. Simmer noted that he was interested to hear Ms. Ewert report again that Hope Creek had to borrow another $300,000. According to the projections from Mr. Gabelmann and Mr. Dryg, the accountants out there, in May this year Hope Creek is going to be $235,200 in the hole. Projecting out for next April, they will be $469,000 in the hole. That does not include all the pay offs, vendor fees, and things like that that Hope Creek owes outstanding. That’s just basic running.the tax levy and transfers, but it does not take care of all the rest. They are getting behind more and more all the time. Hope Creek lost $110,000 last month. The month before, they lost $160,000. The cumulative this year is $235,000 even after all the payments were in.

Mr. Simmer noted that Hope Creek is going to have to write off half of accounts receivable. That’s old debt that was never received. That brings Hope Creek down $2 million. As a physician himself, when you send in those bills, when he sends his stuff into Blue Cross, he may send in a $100 bill and they may pay the going rate of 80% or 60% for that plan. He might get $80 or $60 of it. That $2 million still doesn’t guarantee Hope Creek is going to get $2 million. They may still only going get 60-80% of that. They’re going backwards faster and faster. Last month, the girls had to go buy milk at Walmart because one of the vendors cut them off. They’ve had to search other vendors for agency usage. Hope Creek does not have enough.

Mr. Simmer noted that they just tried consolidating another unit; he doesn’t know if they’re done yet. Mr. Davis said they are not. Mr. Simmer noted that as they consolidate, there will be less beds to make a profit. Every one of those private pay Medicare people can run out of money any day. Hope Creek can’t kick them out. When they run out of money, they get kicked back to Medicaid. For Medicaid, Hope Creek loses $100/day for each one. Hope Creek was right around 63-68% Medicaid last month. They can’t even make money over 40%. Anything past 40%, they are losing money. They projected 45% for a goal a year or so ago when they first started hitting this hard, but they are going backwards.

Mr. Johnston asked what it all leads up to. Getting rid of it? Mr. Simmer said that’s got to be an option. Mr. Moreno said it’s an extreme. Mr. Johnston asked how they would get rid of it. He thinks the only smart thing to do, whether they need it or not, is to have a referendum to do it. He asked if they have to have a referendum to sell Hope Creek since that’s the way it was created. Mr. Simmer said he guesses they’d have to talk to other counties that have similar things. Mr. Johnston said it’s a legal question, he guesses.

Mr. Simmer noted that $5 million would be nice if they know someone who can come up with that, but the way it’s going it’s still going backwards every month. Now there’s a new home on 7th Street that is going to take Hope Creek’s higher functioning folks who just need a nice place to live. That will take some of the gravy off. Mr. Johnston noted that there’s no question that families are a little hesitant, even though Hope Creek has a good reputation for care. People are a little reluctant to put their family members in there because they might be hauling them out in a month.

Mr. Moreno warned the committee to be careful with this conversation. They are not saying they want to sell it. At most, that’s an extreme last resort. There are many steps they can take before that. They need to see if they can right the ship rather than saying it’s going down. There are many different conversations that the Advisory Board is looking at to see where they can cut costs before they start having that conversation. The minute they start having conversations about closing Hope Creek, they will start seeing things in the paper and people quitting. The county is going to start seeing staff finding jobs at other places. They are not saying that. They are simply saying that they need to do something before they even start thinking about getting to that point.

Ms. Palmer asked if there has been any consideration in these talks about some of her ideas or just the ideas floating around, she doesn’t take ownership, such as utilizing a Risk Management plan for deferral of salaries, or such as finding a different route of payment for the bond payments as opposed to off the back of the revenue. She was hoping some of these things might be tasks for the new Administrator, Mr. Snider, when he starts next Monday. Seeing if they can free up the $1.5 million that Hope Creek is paying in bond payments every year would be considerable to paying vendors back and not having to borrow so much money. There are different things like that. They need to start thinking and not condemning. It feels like a condemnation a little bit. She hopes that there are ideas floating around as opposed to any talks about closing.

Mr. Johnston noted that the problem with part of that is just like the Risk Management Plan here, which is really just raising taxes to do that. They take them out of the Liability Fund. They transfer the salaries to liability, which they can raise any way they want. That’s not cutting payments. It’s reapportioning. Taxes go up also. Ms. Palmer said that’s true as opposed to the bond payment method. She noted that there’s only 10 more years on that. If they can just get through 10 more years.

Mr. Cremeens noted that at the meeting he was at, private payers were being charged so much per day for a room, and it costs Hope Creek more than what it is collecting from private payers. Hope Creek is at the high end of the spectrum compared to other facilities in the area.

Ms. Ewert noted that they do have an election coming up. They could put a referendum on the ballot that would sunset in ten years to get Hope Creek through the bond. It is the bonds that are sucking down that money.

Mr. Brunk noted that with Mr. Snider starting next week, he does have some experience with a smaller county home, so obviously part of the discussion is to see what his insight may be. A good direction to start with may be having a conversation with him, going through the home’s current financials, and maybe asking him to provide in depth reports to GHA and to this committee each month so they can go through Ms. Palmer’s reports and Gabelmann’s information and anything else that might be pertinent. This is a critical situation. In the last year, it has gotten a lot more critical than it was just a year ago. Mr. Brunk thinks that having two committees looking at this and working with the Administrator and the home’s Administrator wouldn’t be overkill. It’s not uncalled for. He thinks they’re in a situation where they need to make sure that they are looking at every penny and not leaving any stone unturned for everyone’s benefit.

Mr. Davis noted that one thing to mention is that the risk assessment has been completed at Hope Creek and they have reached out to the State’s Attorney’s Office to see what percentage of tort liability they can use to pay for salaries. He does understand it will raise taxes if they use the tort liability fund, but the State’s Attorney has been contacted on that.

Mr. Maranda noted that Mr. Snider was here yesterday and, of course, he had a little conversation with him. It wasn’t long; he still wants him to come. He told Mr. Snider that on Monday, they’ll be going to Hope Creek at 5:30 and that the County Board meeting is Tuesday, just to get his feet wet and hit the ground running. He’ll be at the Committee of the Whole tomorrow night and will be at the Hope Creek Advisory Board Monday with Mr. Maranda. He’s aware of the tough situation. Mr. Maranda informed him in great detail like they are talking about now.

Mr. Simmer asked how much the bond is per year. Ms. Palmer said it’s about $1.5 million. Mr. Davis said it was lower this year. Ms. Palmer explained that this was a really low year because of the refinancing that Mr. Ross took it through. Mr. Davis said it was $1.2 million or $1.3 million this year and next year it’s going to be $1.5 million. Mr. Simmer said that’s good, but they’re down $1.7 million to vendors. Even if they had the bond back, they’re still down $500,000 to vendors, let alone what they’ve had to borrow. Ms. Palmer asked Mr. Simmer to keep in mind that has been building over the last three or four years. It is the bond payment that gets Hope Creek to where they are drawing.

Mr. Simmer noted that Hope Creek just downsized again. He wants to make sure the committee understands the gravity. That won’t fix it. He doesn’t care if they get the bond money back. It still won’t fix it. They need to come up with some other way. A couple thousand here and there is not going to make a difference on that. They’ve got to come up with some larger thing. A one star will not draw that. They need some creative financing and other ways to get patients in there. Of the 158 that were there last count he saw, 63% were Medicaid. When they run out of private pay or Medicare, they can’t get any more in there and it goes up to 70-75% Medicaid. Mr. Johnston said he didn’t realize they had downsized again. Mr. Davis said they have not yet. They are trying to close another wing. Mr. Johnston asked how many wings there are. Mr. Davis said seven wings with 35 beds per wing. Mr. Moreno asked if they are trying to close the wing because of personnel staffing issues. Mr. Davis noted that these are unoccupied beds right now. They are not getting rid of anybody.

Mr. Simmer explained that sitting on the board out there, he’s not seeing anything coming positive. He’s talked to the girls a few times. He’s talked to these guys. He’s probably negative about it because he sees it every month. Ms. Ewert has put it to the County Board, Ms. Palmer has, Mr. Davis has, Gablemann has. He’s trying to make sure everyone is getting all this information together. It’s a tailspin. They need to take it real seriously and soon. Next year they are going to double the debt they start off with and they only have so much borrowing power. The loans are not going to possibly fund Hope Creek through next year’s tax time. Rates are up $2.6 million this year because the EAVs are up. Instead of the $2.4 million levy, Hope Creek is getting $2.6 million. That’s nice, but that’s $200,000 on a $4.3 million deficit.

Mr. Noyd asked how much Hope Creek spends on advertising. He thought they would quit advertising. He still sees it on TV. Mr. Simmer said there is still one going on with the Cubs. There is still a little going with that. They picked up that one and are continuing with that. Again, they’re one star. They get some inquiries, but the ones they are getting are not quality. They are turning down a lot of people, unfortunately, because they don’t qualify. The VA tried to send people who were psych cases, had alcohol problems, had drug issues. Mr. Noyd asked, if it’s not getting them anything, why they are spending money on advertising. Mr. Simmer said it did do something at the start. Mr. Brunk noted that he thought Ms. Baker said they had seen a significant response. Mr. Simmer said they did initially have a good response, but they haven’t seen much lately. It’s just continuing what they already started. They are getting inquiries.

Mr. Moreno noted that they did talk at the committee about what it would take to raise the home’s star rating. If they do everything right, it takes approximately one year to raise it one star. Hope Creek is at one star out of five stars. If they want to get to three stars to where it makes a difference in how the community views Hope Creek, that’s a minimum of a two year process of trying to right things, which of course includes having the funds to pay vendors and having the proper amount of staffing.

Mr. Davis wanted to mention that he has had five family members in other long-term care facilities in the area and a couple of those long-term care facilities also offered skilled nursing. Hope Creek is by far best one he has had anyone in. Mr. Simmer said he has had family in a few different ones. Friendship Manor did great for his parents. Another one did great for his grandmother. He’s not doubting Hope Creek’s quality of care. That isn’t the problem. But if they lose any more nurses.The CNAs, they are doing okay on. The nurses, Hope Creek doesn’t pay them that much different than what the other facilities pay for nursing. Hope Creek’s benefits are outstanding, but ultimately it’s similar pay. They can float back and forth as they please. The CNAs can’t float so much. They get a darn good package with the county with the whole benefits package. They don’t have much better out there, so Hope Creek holds on to them pretty good. The nursing staff is pretty even and they are losing them regularly, unfortunately. They haven’t had much interest. At the job fair, none showed up for the LPNs or RNs. They picked up a few CNAs.

Mr. Johnston asked if they didn’t just raise nurses 20%. Mr. Davis said they increased from $21 to $25/hour. Mr. Maranda said it was something like that to be competitive. Mr. Simmer noted that his wife said new graduates are starting at $26-27/hour where she works.

Mr. Moreno wrapped up by saying they aren’t talking about selling; they are talking about righting the ship so they don’t get to that conversation. He cautioned people against going out there and saying they are selling the home. That is not what was said here. They said they need to fix it. They want to fix it. They have people who want to take care of it. They are mindful that it’s their duty to do. They need to work with other the committees, Ms. Palmer, and Ms. Ewert and to listen to what they have to say and to what the Directors have to say and what the new County Administrator has to say. Hopefully they can go ahead and come up with a game plan.

Mr. Simmer noted that the gals and Gabelmann have been telling the County Board this for a while. Up until a few months ago when Ms. Palmer had a little difficulty getting it out, he doesn’t think anyone really took it serious. He admits that he glazes over sometimes when Ms. Palmer gets going on her reports too. He doesn’t understand all her stuff. But ultimately he has hard numbers, he has talked to the gals, he has talked to Gabelmann, and he has hard stats. It is what it is. As much as they’ve been trying to tell the County Board, they haven’t been necessarily listening. The hardcores who keep saying, “Oh we’ll be fine tomorrow, we’ll be fine tomorrow.” It’s not. They’ve trying to tell them for months and maybe years the tailspin they are in and the county hasn’t seen the light. He hopes they all pay attention this time, get on board, and do whatever they have to do for the betterment of the residents out there. That’s their goal. He doesn’t want those people to ever think they don’t have a home. Whether under the county’s care or anybody’s, they should always have a place to be. Mr. Simmer agreed that they should be careful about how they say this. He doesn’t want them to ever think that. They had a scare about two years ago and he went out. They need to be careful. They don’t want people were nervous about where they were going to be tomorrow.

20)Adjourn

Motion to adjourn: Don Johnston

2nd: Brian Vyncke

Meeting adjourned at 9:22 a.m. by Chair Luis Moreno.

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