HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210770.tiffOFFICE OF WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
1150 O Street
P O BOX 758
GREELEY, COLORADO 80632
EMAIL: countycouncil@weldgov.com
PHONE: 970-400-4780
WEBSITE: www.weldgov.com
WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
2020 — 4th Quarter
REPORT TO THE PEOPLE
The Weld County Council is mandated in accordance with the Home Rule Charter of Weld County,
Colorado, to report to the people of Weld County on a quarterly basis, those matters related to the
council's review of Weld County government. This report summarizes the activities of the Weld County
Council during the fourth quarter of the calendar year 2020.
October 19, 2020
Mike Burson, County Coroner
Weld County Coroner Mike Burson is a forensic pathologist who has worked for Weld County for 10
years. He became the coroner in July, while former coroner Carl Blesch has stayed on to assist in the
transition.
Mr. Burson said one of the primary goals of his office is to increase efficiencies. One way that's been
done is to place a doctor in charge. He'd like to see the rate of autopsies decrease, as not all of them
are necessary. To date, he's brought that level from about 37 percent to 29 percent.
Another improvement his office is undergoing is using required services more efficiently. Some tests
aren't necessary to determine cause of death. He said he'd like to reduce toxicology expenses, saving
$200 to $700 per case.
He said that while the Weld County population is increasing, data rates haven't changed that much.
One of the biggest projects for 2021 is the completion of a new facility. The county has not had its own
facility for autopsies — they've been working remotely for the last 50 years. A new facility will allow the
coroner's office to streamline operations. They won't spend three -plus hours a day traveling to
Loveland to perform autopsies.
Currently, they have to use the hospital to get x-rays which is extremely expensive. They will be able
to do that in-house once the new facility is completed, saving the county great expense.
November 16, 2020
Jamie Ulrich, Department of Human Services
Director Jamie Ulrich and Deputy Director Tami Grant took on their positions in January. Ms. Ulrich
worked with former director Judy Griego while Ms. Grant was director of workforce development for
many years.
Though their department is large and vast, their presentation mostly centered on Covid and how it has
impacted Human Services.
Applications for food assistance, Medicaid and cash programs experiences a 22 percent increase
from a year ago, bringing 14,000 more individuals on to assistance programs. Most of the need is tied
to unemployment, Ms. Ulrich said.
Medicaid had a locked -in waiver so participants wouldn't be disenrolled during a public health
emergency, and that is set to expire in January 2021.
The department has received help from employees of the oil and gas department and they've been
utilizing overtime as well.
Per the child support program, in 2019, they collected roughly 18 million and in 2020 have collected
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2020 4'" Quarter Report to the People
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20 million. Much of that increase is due to the tax stimulus payments and extra unemployment
payments. Court was not in session for several months, but there is currently a full docket so child
support orders are able to be enforced.
In regard to child welfare, when the pandemic hit in March and schools closed, there was a 48 percent
decrease in child welfare referrals in April, Ms. Ulrich said. Currently, they are at about seven percent
lower than a year ago. She said just because they had a lower number of referrals doesn't mean they
had a lower number of cases. In March, they had 372 cases and currently they are at 424. Visitation
with family that normally occurred at the visitation center had to be moved to virtual visits due to Covid.
Ms. Grant spoke about the Area Agency on Aging, which focuses services for individuals who are
older or have disabilities, and long-term Medicaid, which saw an additional 500 cases.
She said employees tried to find innovative ways to continue interacting with clients. Typically they
host 23 meal sites every week, serving about 1,200 meals. They also utilize roughly 300 volunteers
annually. With Covid, four sites were closed and they provided drive-thru service or walked meals out to
a resident's vehicle. They have been unable to utilize volunteers because of safety concerns. They
went from 1,200 meals per week to more than 1,500 hot meals and 300 frozen meals per week.
Meals on Wheels was impacted as well. From March 2019 through October 2019, they averaged
2,255 meals per month. During that same time in 2020, they averaged 3,353 meals each month.
Commissioner Salaries
Councilmember Brett Abernathy made a motion to keep commissioner salaries at $105,000 for the
years 2023 and 2024. He made note that his motion at the October meeting to keep the salaries at
$120,000 was based on erroneous information. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Teksten
and passed unanimously.
December 21, 2020
Chairman Mike Freeman, Board of County Commissioners
Chairman Freeman gave a general overview of the operations of the County Commissioners.
Mr. Freeman said the county was closed to the public from March 17 through May due to Covid. The
county extended the time residents can live in an RV to try to help out people affected by the virus.
Regarding Covid, the county gave out a tremendous amount of PPE to medical staff and first
responders. The county hosted drive -through testing events. The goal was to get 10 percent of the
county tested and they exceeded that goal.
Mr. Freeman said the Cares Act funding provided an opportunity to work with all 32 municipalities to
get that money out to cover their expenses as well as business shortcomings.
Every municipality got their Covid expenses covered. The county started a business relief fund with
$3.8 for the program.
The county also worked to keep its dashboard updated to make Covid information as transparent as
possible.
Wth the resignation of Commissioner Sean Conway, Council approved Kevin Ross as his
replacement. Mr. Freeman said he did an excellent job.
The county built its first roundabout, with plans going forward on installing more. The county
commissioners provided livestreams, town halls and hosted live conversations on Facebook in order to
provide residents with transparent communications during Covid.
Pops the Triceratops was transferred from the administration building lobby to the Denver Museum of
Natural Science for cleaning and reconstruction.
The jail and coroner's buildings are being expanded or remodeled. This will allow the county to have
its own medical examiner on site instead of contracting out of town. The clerk and recorder's office will
be moving to a new building as well.
Mr. Freeman said he's never experienced anything like the Covid pandemic. He said he was
extremely proud of department heads and staff for continuing to provide services to residents despite
the pandemic. He said Weld was one of the few counties that didn't have to do lay-offs or furloughs,
Weld County Council
2020 4'" Quarter Report to the People
Page 3 of 3
and the department of information technology did a good job helping enable employees to work from
home.
WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
Coun • President James Welch
Coun imembe Rupert Parchment
Date Signed: February 22, 2021
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