11/28/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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5.9:15 a.m. UPDATE FROM STATE SENATORS - Senator Dan Quick and Senator Steve Halloran were present. Quandt ask them to attend give board an opportunity to ask questions Lancaster thanked for coming noted the Platte institute that wrote an article questioning if counties were really frugal and they did come and talk to Hall County and they did not find fault. Hall County has more interlocal agreements that help to contain costs it shows how Hall County treats their tax dollars try to do what is right for the public. The MSA is another issue and cost could $1.2 million dollars a year to maintain and to tax to the max with valuation like it is today hope it does not go down could raise 5 million dollars this year for first time used inheritance money to fund our IT costs and then stopped using it this year for first time used inheritance instance usually use it for building maintenance or for a bid project like the 180 interchange those are vital projects. She stated she has numbers regarding probation cost and they had to purchase space and after renovations it was $1 million dollars. She had heard that there may be more probation employees added. She wants the legislature to understand our position. Arnold expressed concern on the cost of the building for the probation office and the fact that the entire building is occupied by probation. Probation is a big concern we do not where that is going to end. He also noted the cost of the public defender. He expressed concern on the process used to determine who get the public defender or if they are truly indigent and do not have to pay the cost of representation. He questioned if the people could pay part of the costs or at lease share in the costs. The MSA has a tremendous effect on the county it costs us more to fund. Our property tax will be eaten up to pay employees. Senator Dan Quick stated that he did not prepare any statements and stated he agrees that there should be guild lines to determine if they are truly indigent. He stated that the legislature will be addressing the shortfall in revenue again. There are also bills for property tax relief and some of the priority bills from last session. This will be a short session this year and most of it will be spend on budget issues. He also stated that the MSA is a double edged sword. He also expressed concern that the CIR needs to be willing to work to come to an agreement. When he worked with the unions he stated they tried to come to an agreement Hallorum noted that he appreciates the concerns and stated what Mr. Arnold stated regarding the indigent costs is correct. The comparability concept sometimes makes comparable on urban areas that have different economics. This will be a short session and the first 30 days they will be dealing with the budget and there are a lot of bills that did not make it to the floor and the revenue will also be addressed. The chairman noted that the budget was structurally balanced and his definition of that is that it looks good on paper. There are issues that trickle down from the federal government to the state and then to the county. Schuppan note nothing will get reversed and there is only so much that the county can take he wants the senators to be conscious of our issues also. Lanfear expressed concern on the TIF financing and it is affecting the county and he has heard that there may be discussion to restrict it. He also noted that the sheriff is here regarding the cost to serve papers. Discussion was held on the cost of serving legal papers and the fees that are charged do not cover the actual costs. There have been attempts to raise the fees but that has not happened, the county subsidizing the collection agencies and lawyers. The county should be able to set their own fees. 3