Present:     P. Penniman, M. Robertson, D. Booth, T. Todd
Excused:   L. McBean
Staff:    S. Whicher, K. Smithers, M. Dolan, T. Herden, K. Leinthall, P. Messmer, D. Squires
Board Members:  D. Kiefer

Called to Order

 Mr. Penniman called the meeting to order at 1:52 p.m.

Changes to the Agenda

 There were no changes to the agenda.

Approval of Minutes of February 5 and 12, 2002

 It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Ms. Robertson, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the minutes of the February 5 and 12, 2002 meetings with the change suggested by Ms. Robertson.  MINUTES APPROVED.

Discussion - Local Income Tax

 Mr. Penniman stated the Committee was asked by Representative Kiefer to look into the possibility for enacting a local income tax.  He said he would like to broaden the discussion, and that he has been looking into several revenue-generating scenarios. He suggested the County look into supporting a recent proposal by Assemblyman Luster that the State generate more money from the income tax rather than placing the burden on the property tax.  He said if there is interest in this he will bring a resolution to the Committee.

 Mr. Whicher said he recently attended the Mental Health Association's annual luncheon where Assemblyman Luster brought up his proposal at the State level.  The proposal is expected to raise $6 billion over a two-year period. Although it was Mr. Whicher's impression that any income raised at the State level would remain at the State level, any additional revenue the State receives would likely benefit localities because it would offset the impacts of September 11th.

 There was an interest expressed by Committee members to discuss this item further.  Mr. Penniman will include discussion of Assemblyman Luster's proposal and investigation into other revenue options on the next agenda.

Finance Director's Report

 Mr. Squires distributed copies of the 2002 Contingent Fund Report.  At this time there is $808,254 available in the General Contingency Fund and $28,515 yet to be allocated in the Reserved Contingency for Biggs A Utilities.

 Mr. Squires spoke of the Highway Fund Balance and said year-end reports will show a balance of $60,000; however, there is $300,000 in outstanding payables.  He said one of the reasons why the Highway Division is in this situation is because Tompkins County has entered into some partnerships with New York State which have taken all of the cash out of the Highway Fund and shifted it to the General Fund.  He said the State tells us the County must pay for 100 percent of the design work and will begin reimbursing the County when construction begins.  Mr. Squires said large projects that have expensive design work can quickly deplete the County's liquidity.  He said taking charge of the program locally has sped up the projects, but has resulted in reducing the liquidity of the General Fund until reimbursements are received.

County Administrator's Report

 Mr. Whicher had no report.

Deputy County Administrator's Report

 Mrs. Smithers had no report.

DSS

 Tom Herden distributed the following document:

TCDSS Synopsis
Governor’s SFY 2002/2003 Budget Proposal
 

Medicaid (MMIS & Local)

NYS projects 7.8% more spending on Medical Assistance, with a 6.3% increase in local share average statewide.

We experienced an 8% increase last year after experiencing only a 4% total increase from 1997 to 2000 (during which time many districts were experiencing 8%, 12%, 16% annual increases.)

TCDSS
MMIS
2001 Budget

2001 Actual

2002 Budget
2001 Actual
+ 6.3% 2002 Projected
(based on Jan 2002 data)
$7.5M $7.8M
8% over 2000 $8.1M
4% increase $8.3M $8.8M
>13% increase
 

Family Health Plus Program costs: CY2002 cost $858K local share $217K
   Admin costs: Projected 673 cases = 18% MA caseload increase
50/50 Federal/local cost – no state share due to
State Admin Reimb Cap ($648K since SFY 93/94)

HCRA 2002 (Health Care Reform Act)

Includes an assumed 3% increase in rate of Federal reimbursement for Medicaid.  So far Washington’s given no sign of implementing that increase.  $167M at stake statewide, and there’s presently no “Plan B” to hold local districts harmless.

Temporary Assistance

NYS assumes a 1.9% caseload increase, with proportional increase in benefits issued

TCDSS
Assistance
2001 Budget

2001 Actual

2002 Budget
2001 Actual
+ 1.9% 2002 Projected
(based on Jan 2002 data)
$5.18M $5.14M $5.36M
4.3% increase $5.24M $5.69M
10.8% increase
 

TANF-funded contracts  100% Federal TANF $ from OTDA and DOL seems sufficient (with rollover of prior-years’ allocations of same) to fund most of the special projects we’ve contracted for with local health and human services agencies through 2002.

TANF Reauthorization  NYS says that by the end of the 02/03 state fiscal year it will have obligated 99% (and spent 96%) of all TANF funds allocated to it during the first 5 years of the block grant’s existence.  (Note:  TAP gimmick accounts for 20% of SFY  2002/03 budget’s TANF spending.)

Services to Children and Families

New funding model

Good news: replacement of the 6-yr-old Family and Children’s Services Block Grant (a misnomer – it was really just a cap on state reimbursement) with two mechanisms.

First, a smaller “block grant” (again, really just a state reimbursement cap) toward reimbursing local districts for 50% of the non-Federal share of Foster Care and JD/PINS tuition, maintenance, and administration costs.

Second, open-ended 65% state reimbursement of the non-Federal share of Preventive, Child Protective, Adoption (excepting subsidies), Aftercare, and Independent Living program and administrative costs.

Bad news:  with this budget NYS continues to expand its use of Federal TANF funds to underwrite the non-local cost for Services.  The state is decreasing not only its proportional share of Services program and Admin costs, but its actual dollar contribution toward those costs.  This is problematic for several reasons:

? Using Federal TANF funds to reimburse districts for Services expenditures adds new, more complicated eligibility determination and documentation requirements for all services cases; which
? Expose local districts to possible net reimbursement loss if their caseload characteristics don’t match state assumptions regarding eligibility;  and
? Exposes both local districts and the state to future audit findings and fiscal sanctions if (when) deficiencies in processes and/or documentation are found.  Also:
? TANF Reauthorization this fall could result in reduced allocations; and/or
? States’ ability to transfer 10% of their TANF funds to the Federal Title XX program may be cut by more than half (to 4.25%);

Summary:  The proposed budget increases the reimbursement available to local districts for Services.  The exact proposed net increase statewide is unknown; district allocations will be available approximately 2 months after the budget is passed.  (Note:  This budget will determine our reimbursement for nearly all Services costs incurred from 10/01/01 through 9/30/02.)

* * *
 Mr. Herden noted the amount included in the Tompkins County budget for DSS is only the local share.   He said the County's share of Medicaid is calculated and communicated on a weekly basis through the Weekly Shares Report.   Although figures can greatly fluctuate, for the first two weeks in 2002 those shares have been coming in higher than usual.   He said in the context of Tompkins County's DSS budget, program costs are all mandatory expenses, and although administrative costs are incurred as a consequence of running mandated programs, in the County's budget framework they are not identified as mandated expenses.

 Mr. Penniman asked if there are certain areas that are driving the increases.  Mr. Herden said there have been regular increases in pharmacy expenses and home health services.  There has also been a decrease in nursing home spending which is not typical across the State.   When asked what is driving the increased home health costs, Ms. Dolan responded that there have been changes in the Medicare program that have caused items to no longer be covered by Medicare, but reimbursable through Medicaid.  She said there has been an increase in personal care funded home health hours and the number of home health aid hours for the elderly and disabled.    She also stated that in some circumstances, providing home health services reduces nursing home costs.   Mr. Booth asked how many people are served.  Ms. Dolan said the County's total number of beneficiaries is approximately 6,600, with 330 being nursing home cases.   Mr. Herden said he would not feel comfortable making a budget projection at this time.  He stressed that these figures are based on only five weeks worth of calculations.  He said he could suggest a figure after he has seen three months of figures.  Mrs. Smithers agreed with Mr. Herden that the figures are alarming, but that its too early to make projections for the year.

PINS - 18 Legislation

 Ms. Leinthall said it is unclear at this time what this new legislation will cost Tompkins County.  She stated that representatives from various agencies got together and took a look at what this new requirement would mean to Tompkins County.  They have projected a 35 percent increase in cases and of those, 19 percent would end up needing placement in a residential center.    Ms. Leinthall said the potential cost of this new legislation could range from $28,000 to $600,000.   She said there are individuals in both the Probation Department and the Department of Social Services who are working to identify children who are at risk of becoming a Person in Need of Supervision earlier.  She said the older the child is the harder it is going to be to get services.  The other part is that there is an emphasis on not removing a child from a home, barring certain circumstances.    She stated those circumstances have not been defined, nor has there been any change to the Education Law requiring a child to attend school until the age of 18.  The Education Law now states that a child must complete the school year in which they turn age 16.    Ms. Leinthall said it is already difficult to find foster homes or placements for kids, and she expects the new requirements could be a tremendous burden on a county's resources.   She will continue to update the Board as new information becomes available.

CHIPS Funding

 Mr. Whicher spoke of $270,000 in CHIPS funding that was eliminated last year and carried over this year.  He said it appears that money is gone and will not be coming back.  He stated there is now a possibility that there is going to be a cutback or removal of State aid in the amount of $1 million in the CHIPS money.  He said he hopes this will not happen; however, it is important that the Committee be aware of what may happen with Highway funding in the coming year.  Ms. Blanchard asked if members had received the documentation that was prepared that includes the 2002 summer maintenance program.  Members had not received the document at this time.    It was the consensus of members present to defer further discussion on the Highway budget until members have had an opportunity to review this information.

 Mrs. Smithers distributed a revised list of capital projects [schedule B 2003-2007 Capital Program].   The Committee briefly discussed the revised document and decided to continue discussion at the next meeting.

 It was MOVED by Mr. Booth, seconded by Mr. Todd, and unanimously adopted by voice vote by members present, to approve the following resolution and submit it to the Public Safety Committee and full Board:

RESOLUTION NO.      - APPROPRIATION FROM CONTINGENT FUND FOR REPLACEMENT PAY AT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE

 WHEREAS, the District Attorney's Office has an employee who has been disabled and thus unable to perform her duties for more than two months, and
 WHEREAS, the Fiscal Policy of Tompkins County (section 5.02[B][2]) allows for replacement pay for employees who have been out of work under such circumstances, now therefore be it
 RESOLVED, on recommendation of the Public Safety and Budget and Capital Committees, that the Director of Finance appropriate a total of $1,957.08 to the District Attorney's budget for replacement pay encompassing the period of January 1, 2002, to date,
 RESOLVED, further, That the funds be appropriated from and distributed to the following accounts:

 FROM:  A1990.54440  Contingent Fund $1,957.08
 TO:  A1165.51000  Regular Pay  $ 1,553.24
   A1165.58800  Fringe   $    403.84
         $ 1,957.08
SEQR ACTION:  Type II-20

Adjournment

 The meeting adjourned at 3:40 p.m.