HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210217.tiffMINUTES
WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
November 16, 2020
The Weld County Council met in regular session in full conformity with the Weld County Home
Rule Charter at 6:30 p.m., Monday, November 16, 2020, at the Weld County Administration
Building, 1150 0 Street, Greeley, CO.
ROLL CALL:
The meeting was called to order by President Tonya L. Van Beber. Councilmembers Nancy
Teksten, James Welch, Brett Abernathy and Gene Stille were present, constituting a quorum
of members. Also present was Council Secretary Linda Kane.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA :
Councilmember Stille made a motion to approve the agenda, seconded by Councilmember
Welch and carried.
APPROVAL OF DOCUMENTATION:
Approval of October 19, 2020, Minutes
Councilmember Teksten made a motion to approve the October minutes with a revision,
seconded by Councilmember Welch, and the motion carried.
The revision to the October minutes is as follows: During Mike Burson's presentation: "He
said that while the Weld County population is increasing, date rates haven't changed that
much." The word "date" should read "data."
REVIEW PROGRAM:
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 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.
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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.
Regarding employment services, they shifted to virtual hiring events. Unemployment went
up after March. At the height of layoffs and furloughs, Weld County had 3,941 individuals
applying for unemployment. September held the lowest number at 269. They fielded 13,000
calls compared to last year at 800.
Childcare assistance was impacted as providers were forced to close, so the county waived
and reduced some parent fees for childcare and increased support to families. Additional
stipends were made available to providers to help keep their doors open where possible.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
County Commissioner Kevin Ross attended the meeting and commended the Department of
Human Services on their work throughout the pandemic.
NEW BUSINESS:
Coordinator Reports/Councilman Reports
There were no coordinator reports.
Bills
Councilmember Abernathy made a motion to approve bills, it was seconded by Councilmember
Welch and carried. The bills were paid as follows:
o Weld County Phone Bill for October $25.00
OLD BUSINESS:
Commissioner Salaries
Councilmember 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.
ADJOURNMENT:
By acclamation, the meeting was adjourned at 7:33 p.m.
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Coun
resident, Tonya L. Van Beber
Council Secretary, Linda Kane
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