Treasurer/Auditor Quarterly report

Leigh Love reported that the LGIP (Local Government Investment Pool) and other investments has resulted in a profit of over $6,000, and a profit of over $14,000 from CDs.  $81,895 dollars was made in total on investments in the first quarter, though $45,000 is held in bonds which haven’t matured yet.  The quarterly report was approved by the commission. 

Tax Exemption Request

The Masonic Lodge has requested tax exempt status from the county, as did the relic and historical society (the museum) and Samaria Water and Irrigation.  Lon Colton mentioned that the legislature has passed a law establishing irrigation companies as entities who qualify for the exemption, but don’t need to submit a request for it.  The law does not go into effect until July.  St. Paul’s Catholic Mission and Victory Baptist church also applied for the exemption.  Pastor Jack spoke to the commission about the church’s community mission and outreach.  

Luke Waldron spoke to the commissioners about three properties in Samaria, which have been held in trust by the town.  In 1974, the park was placed into a trust.  The “town springs “was entered into a trust in 1900.  The rodeo ground/town square was entered into a trust in 1889.  According to Waldron, these locations have always been treated as community property.  A petition was made to have those properties placed into oversight by the recreation district was initially denied.  At present, a process to ascertain any claims on ownership and quit-claim the properties to the recreation district is underway.  Waldron presented the original property deeds to the county attorney.  The commission granted an extension for examining the documents in question.  Waldron agreed to meet with the attorney’s office to clarify the matters.  Waldron also requested tax exempt status for the Heritage Square.

Records 

Destruction 

Request

The Assessor’s Office brought before the commission a request to authorize records which had passed their necessary storage date.  Resolution 2023-02-04 to allow for the destruction of expired motor vehicle records was approved.

Rep Clay Handy Legislative Recap

Representative Clay Handy spoke to the commission about his session at the state legislature.  Handy explained his committee assignments and some of the bills he had been involved with over the session.  Handy was responsible for a bill which allowed for the expunging of juvenile records after three years rather than five.  Handy claimed that recidivism is lowered by the change.  Lon Colton asked Rep Handy to clarify the Board of Guardians issue.  Guardians are appointed to manage the health care and legal affairs of those deemed to be in need of stewardship.  Handy and Brower explained that the guardianship terminated at the individual’s death, which was the source of the issue.  Handy is looking at a bill that will expand the role of a guardian through interment and other decisions.  

Health Dept. 

Budget Request

Southeast Idaho Public Health spoke to the commission about their budget request.  A recent bill to increase the tax on vaping products was defeated by the Idaho legislature.  The commissioners, county attorney, and public health representatives discussed strategies for supporting such a bill during the next session.

The department requested that Chairman Lewis attend the budget hearing on May 18th in Pocatello at 9:30 a.m.  House Bill 316 from 2021 eliminated the state indigence fund, as well as some other health funding elements.  The bill requires localities to increase their contribution to the health districts.  The additional county aid needed for the eight county area SE Idaho Health covers is over $1,142,000 dollars.  2023 budget request is over $2,370,096.  According to the funding formula set by Idaho code, Oneida’s portion of that will be for 4,712 residents, or 2.6% of the total.  County aid requested is $31,539 for the county contribution.  Franklin County had the largest percentage change in the 8 group area.  Oneida grew by 110 people.  Overall population growth was 1.8%.  The biggest percentage jump in the state was in Caldwell.  

Due to House Bill 316, the amount of funding for the health department that used to be provided by the state fund is now required directly from the county.  $29,342 is Oneida County’s obligation in that area.  The total for the county is $60,881, or 2.6% of the overall health department budget request for 2023.  The commission agreed to support the budget for the health department when the budget is finalized later in the year.  The increase due to the lack of state funds is to some extent offset by the removal of the indigent fund’s requirements in the past.

The commission requested insight from the health department about ways to spend the roughly $22,000 given by the county from the recent opioid settlement.  Suggestions included providing training to LEOs (Law Enforcement Officers) and EMS for dealing with opioid situations in the county.  Narcan and naloxone resources were also discussed.  These two drugs are used to reverse the effects of overdose.  The Health department suggested that teaching people about alternatives to opioids for pain management is an important step.  Prevention and consumer education were also discussed.  The idea of contracting with public education institutions to provide education, especially to school children with prevention in mind, was also discussed.  She suggested that the department had a contract with the school district, which might allow for educational courses.

Sheriff’s Office

Sheriff Arne Jones spoke to the commission about the servers in the sheriff’s department.  The sheriff reported that the drives were full, with video and other needed information maxing out their storage capacity.  A bid was received for two new servers—one in the courthouse, and one in another location.  Due to requirements to keep documents for five or ten years depending on the type of information, space becomes limited.  It runs out even faster with video content.  The bid would cover 32 terabytes of data, which Jones felt would provide storage into the future for a number of years.  Lon Colton suggested that money already budgeted to the department from the county for computer upgrades could be used.  Chairman Lewis mentioned the SHSP funds that need to be used by June, and inquired whether servers might qualify for that expense.  $8,464.60 was requested for the server purchase.  A motion to approve the purchase of the servers was made ($5,235 of the cost would come out of SHSP funds, and the rest from other sources).  The exact source of the funding (since the qualification of servers for the SHSP funds was not clear) will be determined later.  

The Sheriff reported on ongoing advertising for dispatchers.  The response has not been high for the position, which was attributed to several factors, but primarily the starting salary.  Jones suggested raising the starting salary as a way to attract applicants to the position.  Chairman Lewis requested a plan for detailing what the salary structure would look like.

Jones also reported that the locks in the Sheriff’s Office need to be replaced.  A bid was received, but has not been put into motion yet.  The Sheriff also mentioned the need for additional security cameras in the courthouse, as there were some areas of the structure that were not covered at present.  The Chairman requested a drawing or schematic of where they might be required.

SHSP Grants, 2020

Emergency Manager Dan Williams joined the conversation to discuss the other SHSP funds that need to be spent.  Williams shared an allowable equipment list that might be used to apply the funds.  A drone was discussed as a useful addition to the county.  The project will need to be completed within the next two months to qualify, which rules out a number of projects.

Williams suggested a number of things which were commented on by the commission, including defibrillators for the courthouse and Event Center, first aid kits, a drone for reconnaissance during emergencies.  The commission decided to look into the first two items as priorities, and to be accounted for by the remaining SHSP funds.

Road and Bridge equipment needs

Road and Bridge Director Dianna Dredge approached the commission about several equipment concerns for the department.  The leased grader the department currently uses needs to be returned in January of 2024.  If the department wishes to lease another grader for the next year, it needs to be arranged for now, given the turnaround time for such equipment.  The current grader is currently costing about $35K a year, and requires a new engine and rental for up to $80K.  An annual lease, on the other hand, runs around $48K. Dredge requested obtaining a new lease for a new grader for the one due in January.   The grader which will be received in May will have its lease offset by the trade-in of the G grader, which is the oldest one in the fleet.  Three graders are typically considered to be necessary to keep the county roads in drivable condition during the year.

The commission requested a detailed proposal, but agreed that leasing a new grader was the best course of action moving forward.

Comprehensive Plan Updates

Commissioner Jeppsen discussed a variety of options for moving forward with the writing of the Comprehensive plan.  A number of engineering firms have been suggested as having good knowledge of the county, as well as other organizations that may be able to provide insight and support.

The Comprehensive Plan, which needs to be updated, sets the overall vision for the county in terms of future development and growth.  As a result, it has an effect on the way the Development Code is implemented and understood.  The commission will continue its work on the finalization of a new Comprehensive Plan.

PDC Report

All counties receive $25,000/year for Public Defender funds.  Oneida County shares its PD with Power County, which provides some additional funds.  The allocated money will all be used by the end of the fiscal year.  A motion to accept the PD funds for fiscal year 2024 was made and approved.

Senior Center 

Report 

Commissioner Jeppsen reported on the status of the Senior Center.  Due to the loss of funds from SICOG, the Senior Center has begun to see a serious drain on their resources, especially the provision of meals.  Commission Jeppsen planned to contact the agency to inquire about the loss of funding, which was not available during the session.  SICOG (the Southeast Idaho Council of Governments) was reported to have eliminating funding for a number of Senior Centers in the region, though again, without any official explanation from the organization.

Swimming Pool

It was reported that swimming lessons made a profit of $5,600 in 2022.  A new online booking and billing system has been requested for the facility.  Lon Colton reported that the county’s current online billing system may not work with the current system in place at the pool.  A replacement system was discussed, to allow in person and online electronic payment through the same system.  A motion to accept Bookeo as the booking system and a separate billing company the handle the online transactions was approved for up to $600.  

Respectful 

Workforce 

Training

Scheduled for May 16.  Two sessions (10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.) are slotted for county employees.  The sessions will be mandatory for employees, and encouraged for volunteers.  A motion to approve expenses for lunch for the training was passed.

The Board of County Commissioners then went into executive session to discuss additional matters.