It’s an old concept, but new to the county, Committee of the Whole, and one Cook County commissioners discussed in depth at the board’s April 18 meeting.
Committee of the Whole is typically a procedure used on occasion by boards. When a meeting like this is called into a committee, the discussion can be much freer. No formal action can take place, and the number of topics or subjects are usually limited and discussed in more depth than at a regular meeting.
Commissioners held their first Committee of the Whole meeting last month and liked the format. But what was debated at the April 18 county board was whether or not Committee of the Whole meetings should be recorded for the public.
Initially, Commissioner Heidi Doo- Kirk wasn’t for recording or taping. At regular board meetings, which are live streamed to the public, Doo-Kirk said that on social media, “People put us down, bully us… I don’t always ask questions because I’m not comfortable.”
And sometimes, said Doo-Kirk, she gets nasty texts from people watching the live stream while county board meetings are taking place.
“The progress we are going through [as a board] is huge,” said Doo-Kirk, adding that some of the courthouse staff don’t want to appear in front of the commissioners “because they are afraid to be scrutinized” by the watching public.
Commissioner Ginny Storlie strongly advocated for videotaping the meetings. “I think about our residents who don’t live here,” said Storlie, adding transparency was important, but she didn’t feel the meetings needed to be live streamed.
“My personal opinion is we could go either way with this,” said board chair Jan Sivertson.
Sivertson later said she would like to see the meetings recorded with the tape made available to the public.
Commissioner Myron Bursheim asked that meetings be recorded but held back for a week or two from the public so the board could get a reprieve from social media.
“One of the things is that we need to be accessible. Not everybody can be here,” said County Administrator Jeff Cadwell.
“I would say it [the meetings] be recorded but not live streamed. Tie the recording to the minutes of that meeting,” Doo-Kirk said.
“Let’s record, be transparent, but not a camera,” added Sivertson.
In the end, commissioners voted unanimously to video record their Committee of the Whole meetings, but not live stream them as they are occurring. Instead, the sessions would be placed on the county’s website later that day for the public to view.
Administrator Cadwell asked if there should be a change to the commissioners meeting schedule. Should there still be three county board meetings and a Committee of the Whole meeting? Or two formal council meetings with a Committee of the Whole following the Public Health and Human Services monthly meeting?
In the end, commissioners decided to have Committee of the Whole meetings on the third Tuesday of every month following the Human Services meetings and their regular board meeting. Those meetings will take place from 1-3 p.m. and are open to the public.
Following the regular board meeting on Tuesday commissioners held a Committee of the Whole Meeting under the new meeting structure, which focused on planning for the county budget and longer-term capital and financial planning.
“Work is already under way to prepare for the 2018 budget and address major impacts and challenges,” said Sivertson, board chair. “It is important to the county that the public is informed about budget impacts and engaged in the process well in advance. Preliminary budgetary assumptions for 2018-2020 were reviewed today.”
“As we saw in this year’s 2017 budget, major items that will have an impact will be staffing and benefits, fund balance considerations, expenses incurred in 2017 with payments deferred to 2018 and beyond, specifically capital planning for highway department purchases,” said Jeff Cadwell, county administrator. “The goal for this year is to balance the county budget and set a plan in place to inform current and future budget discussions. The General Government and Budget Committee will work with the auditor and the county administrator to review and refine these assumptions.”
A preliminary list of capital improvements and transportation- tax- eligible highway projects were reviewed for consideration for a bond issue later in 2017. Capital improvement plans for county facilities will be explored and brought forward to the board for consideration.
The Committee of the Whole also reviewed a proposal to provide capital improvement and financial planning services. The consultant Bruce Kimmel, Ehlers will be invited to a future board meeting to present the proposal for board consideration.
Veterinary office
Commissioners approved by motion a subordination of the county Revolving Loan Fund mortgage to the mortgage from the N&L Samari Properties, LLC in an amount not to exceed $280,000, subject to review by the county attorney.
Last year Dr. Nadder Samari and his wife Lee purchased a lot in the Cook County-Grand Marais EDA business park and have been building a veterinary clinic with some housing attached.
The Samaris own and operate Lakes Veterinary Hospital in Battle Lake, Minnesota, which they plan to continue running, with the clinic in Grand Marais open on a part-time basis.
Cook County Auditor/ Treasurer Braidy Powers said when the county approved Samaris’ first loan in 2016 the bank loan that the county would subordinate was expected not to exceed $171,600. But in the last year costs of construction have risen and the amount needed by Samari from the bank increased $56,025 due to increased living space and price of the building. On October 18, 2016, the county board approved the Samaris’ request to subordinate the county loan to the increased Grand Marais State Bank loan of $227,625. Powers said the Revolving Loan committee reviewed the request and agreed to support the request, noting the entire mortgage was still within the appraised value of $350,000.
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