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HomeMy WebLinkAbout031113 CCC Minutes_Approved 1m(tt)COUNTY OF KAUAI Minutes of Meeting OPEN SESSION Annroved on ADM 8, 2013 Board/Committee: I COST CONTROL COMMISSION Meeting Date March 11, 2013 Location Mo'ikeha Building — Liquor Conference Room 3 Start of Meeting: 1:30 p.m. End of Meeting: 2:35 p.m. Present Chair Sandi Sterker; Vice -Chair Arryl Kaneshiro; Members: Dirk Apao, Lawrence Chaffin, Jr., and Glen Takenouchi Also present: Deputy County Attorney Mona Clark; Boards & Commissions Office Staff. Support Clerk Mercedes Youn; Administrator Paula Morikami; Administrative Aide Teresa Tamura; CIP Manager Keith Suga; Deputy Director of Finance Sally Motta; IT Manager Brandon Raines; Human Resources Specialist Joyce Schuierer; and Chair of the Civil Service Commission Catherine Adams. Excused Commissioner Laurie Yoshida Absent SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Call To Order Chair Sterker called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. Approval of Regular Open Session Minutes of February 11, 2013. Minutes Chair Sterker called for a motion to approve the meeting minutes. Commissioner Chaffin moved to approve the minutes as circulated. Commissioner Takenouchi seconded the motion. The motion carried 5:0 Communications CCC 2013 -07 Letter of appreciation dated 2/11/13 from Chair Sandi Sterker and Members of the Cost Control Commission to Council Chair Jay Furfaro, thanking the Chair for his informative presentation on the financial position of the County of Kauai. Chair Sterker called for a motion to receive item CCC 2013 -07. Commissioner Chaffin moved to receive. Commissioner Takenouchi seconded the motion. The motion carried 5:0 Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 2 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION CCC 2013 -08 Memorandum dated 2/13/13 from Chair Sandi Sterker to CIP Manager Keith Suga, requesting his presence at the Commission's next meeting on March 11, 2013 to discuss the County's pital improvement plan and budget information for the past and present year. Chair Sterker called for a motion to receive item CCC 2013 -08. Commissioner Chaffin moved to receive. Commissioner Takenouchi seconded the motion. CIP (Capital Improvement Projects) Manager Keith Suga stated that he brought with him some information relating to the subject matter and that he felt it would be a good idea for the Commissioners to openly ask any specific questions they may have and that he would do his best to answer them. Chair Sterker asked that he provide some information as to the status of the current CIF's for the County. Commissioner Chaffin also asked Mr. Suga to provide background on what his previous job entailed compared to his job description in the County. Mr. Suga explained that before he came to the County he was employed by Goodfellow Bros. construction company for thirteen years as the island manager. Prior to that he attended the Colorado School of Mines and obtained a degree in engineering. Mr. Suga stated that having an extensive managerial construction background helped him tremendously with his current position as the CIP Manager for the County. He stated that he is fortunate to have the opportunity to work for the County although he finds it different compared to working in the private sector. He accepted the challenge and came in at the right time because he got to experience the whole budget process. And as the CIP Manager he had the opportunity to interact with certain department heads and division heads within public works relating to capital improvement projects. Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 3 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Mr. Suga stated that currently he is working side by side with the departments who have various CIP projects that are on the annual ordinance which amounts to roughly 64 million dollars. Mr. Suga indicated that he wanted to also get an overall view of the CIP process on what was done prior in order to find ways to streamline the process by making it less cumbersome, more efficient, and organized. Chair Sterker asked Mr. Suga to provide a run down on how he is portraying current CIF's. Mr. Suga stated that with his extensive management background and coming from the private sector he found that it is important for him to understand where a project was in terms of cost and budget. It was brought to his attention that with the way fiscal year runs and the way the County was accounting for things made it literally impossible to get a grasp on the overall picture of a project that have expanded for several years. Mr. Suga stated that he was flabbergasted when he found out that there was no accounting for the various projects, because as a project manager it should be a priority to know where the cost is at. He indicated that he was able to work with IT Manager Brandon Raines to obtain access to the AS400 (Accounting Software) so that he could look up the information on each CIP project in the current fiscal year on what was spent to date including the remaining balance as well as the life of the project that could expand for multiple years. Mr. Suga asked if there were any specific projects the Commission would like information on. Chair Sterker said that the Commission is interested in plans for some of the buildings within the Lihue Civic Center. She also asked Mr. Suga to provide comments on the General Funds and CIP Funds in terms of what is being taken out and how much is being used towards each CIP project and what he anticipates would be taken out of the General Fund into the CIP Fund in the upcoming budget. Mr. Suga stated that with the current state of the budget process there are a lot of challenges on operational cost as well as the CIF's. He explained that in collaboration with the Budget & Purchasing Director Ernest Barreira and the Budget Analysts, they Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 4 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION looked into various projects within the current fiscal year that were either Bond Funded or General Funded to find out whether certain projects was moving forward because some projects have been on the list for quite some time and have not moved since it was funded. He further explained that research was done in order to find out which project was not moving forward and why and whether it would be wise to utilize those funds for a new project or projects waiting for construction funding. In doing the research they were able to forecast whether any of the CIP projects for the FY 2014 budget fell along those same lines and if so the monies allocated for a General Fund CIP project that meet the requirements of a Bond Fund can be taken out of the General Fund account and place into a Bond Fund to be utilized for operating cost. Commissioner Chaffin asked after the transfer of funds what happens when a particular project is ready to move; where does the money come from, and how is it brought back into the General Fund. Mr. Suga explained that when a project comes back on radar it is re- evaluated to see if that project is ready because consideration is made for projects that are shovel ready rather than the projects that would take three to four years down the road before it's ready and discussion on how to fund those projects are on- going. Chair Sterker pointed out that the General Fund remaining balance ending on 9/30/12 totaled $3,865,415 that was either unspent or not used. She asked why keep the money in the General Fund when it could be used towards other projects that were ready. She also asked if the general rule of thumb is if you don't use the money for a project it will automatically go back into General Fund. Ms. Motta explained that the balance in the General Fund at the end of the year is rolled forward into the new calendar year and if there is an on -going project it would be included in the next the year's budget which is entirely different from a Grant Fund because those funds stay allocated until such time the project is either completed or Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 5 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION determined that it is no longer necessary. Only then can the General Funds be transferred to another project if it qualifies for Grant Funds in which it was initially issued for. She added that generally the remaining funds are reused in the following year. Chair Sterker asked whether grant money are available for photovoltaic systems. Ms. Motta stated that in certain cases there are grants and in others there are no grants. She explained that each project is considered separate and is treated differently because General Funds belong to the County and that there are no rules and regulations which govern the rollover of funds which becomes available only after the end of the year. Until then, finance cannot use the funds for any projects. Grant Funds however, have its own rules and regulations because the funds generally do not belong to the County and can be only be used towards grant funded projects. Chair Sterker asked if any of the remaining balance in the CIP General Fund can be transferred back into the General Fund. Ms. Motta said no because generally finance would have to wait until the end of the calendar year before the funds can be re- allocated or if during the year there is a reason to re- allocate the funds from one project to another it can be done with Council's approval which is called a money bill. Chair Sterker asked Mr. Suga if he could give an update on plans for the old Big Save building. Mr. Suga stated that he is unaware of any specific plans except that Public Works is looking for open space to relocate some offices. Chair Sterker asked whether the County purchased the old Big Save building. Ms. Motta replied that the County is the owners of the building. Chair Sterker asked if Council allocated $180,000 for the removal of asbestos in the building. Ms. Motta replied the removal was just completed. Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 6 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Commissioner Chaffin voiced his concern that since Big Save left the County has lost a significant amount of revenue for the past two (2) years. Ms. Motta stated that the County is utilizing a portion of the building to house the Fire Department which saves the County from paying rent otherwise. Ms. Motta explained that the main portion of the building could not be used due to the presence of asbestos and that any decision would still have to be determined for the best use of the area. Commissioner Chaffin asked what would make up the parameters to make a decision. Ms. Motta said that it would be a combination of the Administration and the County Council. Commissioner Chaffin stated that from an architect's point of view there needs to be a chart depicting all of the departments and the amount of space they are using and amount of space they would need in the next 5 to 10 years. Ms. Motta suggested that the Commission speak with representatives from Public Works and Planning because it is beyond the Department of Finance's purview. Chair Sterker suggested waiting till after the budget process to get a final report of 2013 -14 CIP projects and asked whether the Department of Finance has a 10 year plan. Ms. Motta stated that they are in the process of working on a 4 to 5 year plan because anything after the 5th year would be difficult for them to forecast because anything could happen. Chair Sterker asked how much more office space would the Finance Department need. Ms. Motta replied she doesn't know. Chair Sterker asked whether the Finance Department is overcrowded. Ms. Motta stated that at this point every department feels like they are overly crowded. Commissioner Chaffin announced that he would like a graphic chart done of each department as to the space they had 3 to 5 years ago and what they have now and if they could project their needs for the future. Ms. Motta stated that it would be difficult to go back to the last 5 years due to the economy; in fact it would be hard to know where to set the guidelines. Chair Sterker stated that she would like to see the CIF's and would appreciate a list. Ms. Motta Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 7 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION indicated that she would provide the list when it becomes available. Business CCC 2012 -16 Discussion on the County's special counsel contracts and expenditures to date. (On- going) Chair Sterker stated that no response from the County Attorney was received to date and suggested that the Commission defer this item for continued discussion at the next meeting. CCC 2013 -09 Memorandum dated 2/13/13 from Chair Sandi Sterker to Chair Catherine Adams and Members of the Civil Service Commission, requesting information on a proposal by the Civil Service Commission to implement a new computerized system in the Human Resources Department to automate the County's payroll process and other manual functions. Chair Sterker called for a motion to receive item CCC 2013 -09. Commissioner Chaffin moved to receive. Commissioner Apao seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Ms. Adams stated that as Chair of the Civil Service Commission she informed the Commissioners that the project has been a high priority for the Civil Service Commission and within the department of personnel to the conversion to the Human Resources to ensure that they have the tools that they need to actually perform their functions. She stated that it has been a long standing issue with a particular software system in which they have just recently made some head way and that the Mayor had come to one of their meetings to talk about the budget challenges. Ms. Adams indicated that the Commission has only one request which is to put emphasis on some capital behind the project because as large as an employer the County is, without the appropriate software system it would be very difficult for the new Human Resources Department to function properly. Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 8 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Chair Sterker stated that she was delighted to know that the conversion of the Personnel Department into a full and functional Human Resources Department has been successfully completed. Ms. Adams stated that she was glad that she could mention the support of the Cost Control Commission to the Mayor which would be very helpful. She asked the Commissioners for their continued support by asking for periodical updates because it holds them accountable by ensuring that incremental improvements are made along the way. Commissioner Chaffin asked if it were possible for the Civil Service Commission to provide a graph or chart of a timeline as to the required steps it took to get to the final point and where they're at in this timeline. Ms. Adams stated that there is no chart of a timeline however, she is sure that the Civil Service Commission could come up with one. Commissioner Takenouchi asked if the project is included in the CIP budget. Ms. Adams stated that she does not know. Chair Sterker stated that the Cost Control Commission would like to be kept abreast on the status of the Human Resources Department and would like to form a closer union with the Civil Service Commission to ensure the department's success. Commissioner Chaffin announced that the Cost Control Commission would like to put together a letter to the Civil Service Commission outlining exactly what it needs to be requesting for to help the Civil Service Commission. Ms. Adams replied that she would see to it that the Civil Service Commission put together a list of needs for the Cost Control Commission. Ms. Motta stated that in 2006 the Finance Department began its search for a different type of system which was affordable for the County. Two years ago, the County Council allocated funds to allow the Finance Department to research on what would be the best way to proceed with this project. She pointed out that the system would need to have two main factors such as time and attendance and the ability to identify the Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 9 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION dollar funded positions. She stated that meetings were held between IT and Human Resources personnel to determine the best way to proceed however because of the restrictions in the budget in that particular time a decision was made to continue working with its current provider Sun Guard. Ms. Motta stated that Mayor Carvalho has approved an initiative to form a taskforce consisting of personnel from the Human Resources, IT, and accounting to collaborate on getting information from each department on how they handle their personnel functions and to find a solution so that all departments blend together. Ms. Motta stated that change is always difficult but she believes that the departments are fine with the task at hand and that more discussion will be included in the budget process on how to make it work. Commissioner Chaffin asked for information on Sun Guard. Mr. Raines explained that the Sun Guard System has been used by the County since 2006 and is a system that the County has grown with on a continuous basis. He indicated that the County has worked with Sun Guard to look at other possibilities to replace the current system to the next generation system but felt that they were not quite there yet so the County decided to look at replacing its old ERP System (Enterprising Resource Planning) in which it would have to go out for bids in order to upgrade to the next generation product. Commissioner Chaffin asked if he was inferring that the County is still using an old system which started in the early nineties. Mr. Raines stated that the County is continuing to evolve and obviously the system is not the same system as it is today. Commissioner Chaffin asked if Sun Guard has upgraded its system on an annual basis. Mr. Raines said yes. He explained that one of the challenges he faced was the lack of money in the CIP Budget but since being with the County he did extensive research and found that monies were allocated for a time and attendance initiative that have never Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 10 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION been used. He further explained that at that time they were considering upgrading the Sun Guard System by adding a time and attendance automated system component that included a payroll system which are the three components that function together, however the total cost for the system was a million dollars so the County put the upgrade on hold due to the lack of funding. Mr. Raines stated that the County also looked at other areas such as payroll outsourcing as a possibility to help with one of the three components but a decision was made to back off. Mr. Raines stated today, they have a CAFR finding associated with inaccurate time and attendance data for vacation and time -off. He indicated that there were difficulties in terms of the vacant employee listing, and given the fact that they probably would not get the million dollars allocated for the upgrade even if they did this in a three to five year window, in getting from point A to Point B they had to focus on how to make steps along the way. In speaking with the Director of Finance a decision was made to leverage the current system to make short term gains. Chair Sterker asked during the process what kind of timeline is projected for the process to be completed. Mr. Raines stated that one of the first priorities is to form a taskforce before any layout of a timeline on what they think is achievable in terms of time and what the major milestones and dates are. Commissioner Chaffin asked who the Commission should direct its request to get the timeline defined. Ms. Motta stated that she spoke to Managing Director Gary Heu to verify that the Mayor and he are on board to put the taskforce together now. Ms. Motta stated that she would be leading the taskforce. Commissioner Chaffin asked if it would help to have a letter from the Cost Control Commission requesting assistance /support from the administration. Ms. Motta stated that it wouldn't be helpful to her but the Mayor might appreciate it. Commissioner Chaffin requested that a letter of support be sent to Mayor Carvalho for the implementation of a Human Resources Information System. Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 11 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Staff acknowledged the request and would draft the letter for the Chair's approval before sending it to the Mayor. Chair Sterker called for a motion to send a letter of support for a HRIS from the Cost Commissioner Takenouchi moved to Control Commission to Mayor Carvalho. send a letter of support of the Civil Service Commission for the implementation of a Human Resources Information System to Mayor Carvalho. Commissioner Chaffin seconded the motion. Motion carried 5:0 Ms. Schuierer stated that the HR department have increased their employee numbers from 7 to 16 and are functioning in two separate offices. Ms. Schuierer stated that an ideal space to house the Human Resource Department would be in the old Big Save building mostly because they could then incorporate a training facility and a testing area which would help a lot in terms of space because HR does a lot of exams for new applicants and is now currently utilizing the different school facilities within the Lihue and Puhi area. Ms. Schuierer stated that with the implementation of the new HRIS they have requested immediate follow -up from IT specifically in the area of the vacant positions. She indicated that prior to the departing of the Director of Personnel, staff was asked to come up with what their current needs were and now it's a matter of trying to compile the information. Ms. Schuierer stated that working with all of the departments is going to be very helpful because each of them have different needs as well as different time and attendance sheets partially because some departments have different types of Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 12 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION requirements from each bargaining unit that must be taken into consideration. Commissioner Chaffin commented that it seemed to him that each department ought to have an existing amount of space. He suggested that a chart be created that would show what each departments already has and needs. Ms. Schuierer stated that she was under the impression that all of the departments were asked that question at one point in time regarding their need for space; however she doesn't know anything after that. Ms. Morikami informed the Commissioners that she believes that Public Works has a Space Planner who is responsible for the space allocation and use for County facilities. Chair Sterker suggested that staff contact Mr. Dill to see if he would be willing to meet with the Cost Control Commission at its next meeting in April. Staff acknowledged the request and would contact Mr. Dill and make the necessary arrangements. Chair Sterker asked if it would help to have someone who has an overview of what is available even from Sun Guard to give a program to all of the department heads just so someone is aware of what is available. Ms. Motta stated that at this point it would not be wise to go out that far because we want to keep it in a very small group and then once those parameters are established we would then determined how the information would be disbursed. Commissioner Chaffin asked if there was a Sun Guard representative on island. Mr. Raines stated that the company has headquarters situated all over the country and the customer service representative for Kauai is in Oregon. CCC 2013 -10 Discussion on the County's non - profit organizations tax exemption. Chair Sterker suggested that the Commission defer this item for continued discussion at its next meeting in April. Cost Control Commission Regular Minutes - Open Session March 11, 2013 Page 13 SUBJECT DISCUSSION ACTION Announcements Next meeting — Monday, April 8, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. at the Mo'ikeha Building, Liquor Conference Room 3. Adjournment Chair Sterker called for a motion to adjourn meeting. Commissioner Chaffin moved to adjourn. Commissioner Takenouchi seconded the motion. The motion carried 5:0 At 2:35 p.m. the meeting was ad' ourned. Submitted by: Mercedes Youn, Staff Support Clerk (X) Approved as circulated on April 8, 2013. ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of meeting. Reviewed and Approved by: Sandi Sterker, Chair