By Danica Baker
Herald Staff Writer
December 12, 2007 11:48 am
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CLINTON — Sen. Roger Stewart, Rep. Steve Olson and Rep. Tom Schueller listened to the concerns of several county department heads during the Clinton County Board of Supervisors meeting this week.
Board Chairwoman Jill Davisson welcomed the legislators and thanked them for attending the meeting. She asked Stewart, Olson and Schueller what important issues they would be facing when session reconvened.
Stewart, D-Preston, said that in the last few months interim study meetings had been held and noted that he had been a part of the property tax study committee and a skilled worker study committee. Stewart said one committee had been studying healthcare and hopes to reach a conclusion before returning to session.
Olson, R-Grand Mound, remarked that he is on the government oversight committee and the radioactive waste committee. He stated that student debt issues are a concern and budget issues will be critical.
Schueller, D-Maquoketa, said he serves on the Distillers Dry Grain committee and they have been charged with coming up with a standardized test for the product. He said that important issues coming up include the skilled worker shortage and funding the TIME-21 program. He added that mental health is a serious problem and a committee is looking at the issue.
Olson said that at the Scott County Board of Supervisors meeting last week, a woman asked him about upcoming legislation that could allow general fund spending down to 15 percent, instead of the current 25 percent low. Olson said that individuals have been supportive and are optimistic of the proposal. Stewart commented that one of the funding guidelines is the status of the general fund balance. He said that low fund levels equal a better chance of getting funding.
Mental Health Coordinator Becky Eskildsen said that while property taxes fund mental health services, Clinton County maxxed its levy approximately five years ago and noted that a lot of counties have not maxxed out their levies. She stated that it is a real balancing act because if the fund goes up, reciprocal funding goes down. Stewart said legislators are trying to change that so counties are not penalized.
Davisson asked if there might be a better way to do funds for services. She stated that sometimes bureaucracy gets so deep that those in need get less care. She said care through a family averages $13 per day, but in an institution, that care can cost a lot more. She said that many individuals need to be in the proper mental healthcare setting. Eskildsen said it can be difficult to get a person into a mental health care center and noted one local facility has a long waiting list. She said that some clients become more and more ill and some end up in jail because they need help.
Clinton County Jail Administrator Lt. Craig Eberhart said that fact scares him because his staff is not trained to work with those individuals and the current prescription budget is over by eight percent because of needed medications. He told the legislators he hopes the issue can be addressed because the jail is basically warehousing individuals. Schueller said an interim committee is looking at the overcrowding issue and said one of the first priorities is increasing beds for prisoners with mental health needs.
“We're aware of it and it’s being studied,” Schueller said. “The question is, can we move fast enough?”
Melissa Peterson of Pathway Living Center said there is difficulty in accessing home services for children who are "not at enough risk."
"That's wrong. What kind of message are we giving to that child? We need to do something," she said.
Peterson added that reimbursement rates for mental health services are low and facilities cannot get skilled workers at low wages. She said service providers need experienced workers, people who can handle the job. She said many workers are not doing the job for the money, but because they believe in the effort of helping the client. She said that many times, workers are doing things they are not always paid for, including working holidays and weekends, and do not have benefits that can help support their families.
Peterson said that Pathway was denied payment for one individual because "the person looks healthy and has a job, but that doesn't mean they don't need help." She noted that a recent suicide occurred and it angers her that the facility wasn't able to help that individual. She told the legislators service providers are being forced to do more with less money and urged them to make sure the proper funding is provided.
"We're headed in a direction where we're not able to help people," Peterson said. "Please do what you can. Make it easier for us to do what we need to do."
Marcia Christiansen of Bridgeview Mental Health Center echoed that point, saying workers are overworked and underpaid. She said care can become more expensive if an intervention is not done early when clients end up in a hospital or jail. She noted that while the center's hourly fees have remained the same in the past seven years, expenses have gone up. Christiansen noted that there is a skilled worker shortage in Clinton because local companies are not able to pay what other companies elsewhere can.
Dr. Jack Robinson said that the state has cut funding over the years and he has seen the state throw the financial responsibility for mental health programs on the counties.
"The state really needs to step up in my opinion," he said. "Everything else gets funded. We're like the last thing on the list and we shouldn't be, because we provide a valuable service."
Clinton County Veterans Affairs Director Ed Staszewski thanked the legislators for passing bills that benefit veterans. He asked Olson, Stewart and Schueller to raise state veterans benefits, noting that Iowa is rated the 49th state for veterans benefits. Staszewski added that he would like to see tax cuts for veterans. Supervisor Grant Wilke said that veterans have served their county, state and country and while there is no way to repay them for their sacrifice, service members must be supported and provided proper care. He said he is embarrassed by the state ranking and asked the legislators to take a serious look at the issue.
County Attorney Mike Wolf noted that legislators are holding meetings on possibly revising current open meeting laws. He asked that they keep in mind that many who serve their cities or counties are volunteers or receive a small stipend for their service. He said while legislators consider increasing punishments for violating the law, those who serve are doing the best they can to comply. He noted that if punishments are increased, it could increase the court load as conflicts would be turned into court cases.
County Auditor Charlie Sheridan garnered a laugh from the three legislators when he said, "I'm no different than anybody else, I want money too." He said that the government cut funding for voting systems, then mandated new certifications under the Help America Vote Act, that turned existing voting machines into landfill waste.
County Engineer Todd Kinney said that while the government has gone on record against a gas tax increase, people need to know that it is the only way to accumulate funding from outside the state because the gas tax is a user-based fee for the road system. He said that a one cent increase would roughly garner $22 million in revenue and asked legislators to address the issue before it gets out of hand.
Emergency Management Coordinator Chance Kness said that Homeland Security funding to regions has been cut in half. He said that some programs can end up a waste of money because money is spent on development of a new program that is not continued in the future. He commented that while the state gets great benefits from EM programs, only the county and federal government contribute funding to those programs.
County Information Technology Director Ellen Miller urged the legislators to support economic development in order to provide opportunities to Iowans who specialize in IT, have a good education and want to stay in the area but can't find a job that pays a livable wage.
Supervisor Dennis Starling thanked Olson, Schueller and Stewart for attending the meeting and listening to the county employees' concerns. Davisson added that she feels the county is fortunate to have a good relationship with local legislators. She thanked them for spending the day with them and noted she hopes they will stay in contact with the county regarding these issues.
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