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Minutes
WELD COUNTY COUNCIL
October 20, 2014
The Weld County Council met in special session in full conformity with the Weld County
Home Rule Charter, Wednesday, October 20, 2014, at the Weld County Administration
Building, Greeley, CO.
ROLL CALL: The meeting was called to order by Councilwoman Marge Klein and on
roll call the following members were present, constituting a quorum of members thereof:
Councilwoman Marge Klein
Councilman Brett Abernathy
Councilman Don Mueller
Councilman Bernard C. Kinnick
Councilman Jeffrey Hare
Also present: Don Warden, Director of Finance and Budget Management, Barb
Connolly, County Controller and Sarah Mundt, Council Secretary.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Councilman Kinnick made a motion to approve the October
20, 2014 agenda. The motion was seconded by Councilman Mueller and the motion
carried.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND REPORT TO THE PEOPLE:
• Formal Approval of the September 15, 2014 Minutes, Councilman Abernathy
motioned to accept, seconded by Hare, October 8, 2014 Commissioner Special
Meeting Minutes, October 8, 2014 Salary Special Meeting Minutes, and the 3rd
Quarterly Report to the People
PRESENTATION: Don Warden, Director of Finance and Budget Management, and
Barb Connolly, Controller
Don Warden presented on audits and outside oversight via teleconference. Mr. Warden
entered documents into the record: (see attachments). The Home Rule Charter
requires an annual financial audit. A Federal Single Audit takes place to make sure that
any Federal programs are audited. A Comprehensive Financial Report is generated
from the findings of the Federal Single Audit. Other forms of audit functions within the
County include Internal Control Audits, Expenditure Audits, Purchasing Audits, and
developing a Contracting and Purchasing system. Weld County has received the
Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program Award (CAFR
Program) every year since 1979 and the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for
31 consecutive years. Credit Card payments and related security reasons are
processed in the County. The County uses a third party vendor to process all payments
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October 20,2014
Minutes
and then remit funds and payment lists to the County. Some County departments piggy
back on the state's contract with Wells Fargo to process credit card payments.
Information Technology security includes an ongoing risk assessment of the computing
environment that addresses a wide range of potential risk categories including physical
security, infrastructure security, PC security, network security, application security, user
awareness, external penetrations testing to test the likelihood of the County's systems
being compromised. The Assessor's Office has "The Property Assessment Study"
conducted by the Legislative Council of the General Assembly annually, which has been
done since 1983. The purpose is to ensure that assessors are correctly valuing all
classes and subclasses of property to the appropriate level of value, within the
variability or equalization standards set by the State Board of Equalization. The auditor
is a private contractor hired by the Legislative Council. Public Health and Environment
Department now has all of the medical records on an electronic system in partnership
with the Northern Colorado Health alliance. The medical records are hosted by 3t
Systems, Cloud hosting from the company provides a comprehensive solution that
manages all of the IT medical health data for the department. 3t Systems combines
hosting, storage, servers, backups, monitoring, management, updates, patch
management, support, and other solutions all housed within their HIPAA-compliant,
SSAE 16 II SOC 3 Data Centers. 3t System's cloud hosting provides an IT system that
meets the upmost standards of the HIPAA Security and Omnibus Final Rule. In order to
access the Colorado Public Health and Environment Department's vital records, the
County must comply with the policies and protocols. And CPHED has granted the
County with the lowest risk level due to the historical risk assessment audits conducted.
Weld County Public Health and Environment Department is in the first year of the new
National Public Health Accreditation program to be one of the first fully accredited public
health departments in the state to demonstrate operation at the highest standards for a
public health department. In Social Services, the US Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) Circular A-133 Compliance Supplemental Audit is conducted by the Colorado
Department of Human Services and looks at client refunds, funds received, and
reconciliations and they do random audits of various programs. In addition, the State
Auditor's Office does various performance audits as directed by the Colorado State
Legislature. Human Services is audited by the Colorado Department of Labor for the
Wagner-Peyser Act programs and other workforce programs. The Federal Department
of Labor annually audits the Employment First and AmeriCorp programs from a
performance view point. The Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) audits
all of the Area Agency on Aging programs annually for fiscal and program performance.
The Clerk and Recorder's Motor Vehicles Department acts as an agent of the State
Department of Revenue in the administration of the Motor Vehicle registration process.
The state provides the rules and regulation and the computer system. The state
monitors compliance and provided oversight to the system. The Secretary of State
provides oversight of the county's election process. They audit chain of custody of the
vote counting machines and ballots. They require a log of all entrances into the ballot
counting areas and warehouse where election equipment and ballots are stored. Any
changes to the computer system or server must be documented. Sixty days prior to an
election and 30 days after the election, all areas of election process must be under
video surveillance. After the election, the State Secretary of State audit team randomly
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selects voting machines and hand count is done to verify the machine count. The
Sheriff's Office is audited annually to insure total compliance with the security and
procedural requirements of CCIC/NCIC criminal data. Failure to pass the audit would
result in the loss of access to the CCIC/NCIC system. Justice Services oversees all
aspects to the administration of community corrections. The program is audited
annually by the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) for financial, program compliance and
program performance. The North Colorado Regional Forensics Laboratory meets the
stringent requirements necessary for accreditation by the American Society of Crime
Lab Directors. Participating crime laboratories must be able to demonstrate that their
management, personnel, equipment, physical facilities, quality system, operation and
technical procedures meet established standards. The Department of Local Affairs
provides financial, regulation compliance, and program performance audits of the
Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Energy Impact Assistance grant
program with each grant award. All construction related projects are inspected by
DOLA. The Federal Highway and FEMA require pre-assessments and cost estimates
prior to approving a project. Once a project is approved, both federal agencies provide
financial supports, regulation compliance and program performance audits and all
construction projects are inspected. The County Council has historically hired
performance auditors on an ad hoc basis when a potential problem or question has
come up regarding a county department or office. The County Council and
Commissioners have in many cases cooperated in the audit process so that the audit
engagement will not only have audit findings identifying problem areas, but also
suggested changes in the organizational structure or process to correct the problems.
And, with the restructuring of the County's Information Technology Department, the
county now has a business function analyst to evaluate workflow and processes in
county departments to make them more efficient and effective. While not a
performance auditor, the function will assist departments in improving processing and
services.
PUBLIC COMMENT:
Warren Mitchell spoke in opposition to the pay raises. He asked the Council to
reconsider the increases, but if kept, he asks the Council to provide valid reasoning.
Clair Orr spoke to support the Council members and the other County Elected Officials
and stated that there is an appearance of bias from the reporting of the Greeley
Tribune. He also noted that many politicians have marred the realm of public service,
leading to distrust. Mr. Orr urged honest service with integrity from the Council.
Ed Clark spoke in opposition to the pay raises and asked the Council to reconsider their
initial increases for the Commissioner seat.
Gerald Kilpatrick, American Constitution Party, read a resolution into the record.
Timothy Daniel Sheilly, aka Scooter McGee, asked Councilwoman Klein is she still
stands behind her statement entered into the last meeting record. Mr. Sheilly spoke in
opposition to the increases.
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OLD BUSINESS:
• Motion from the October 8, 2014 Special Meeting to reconsider the Weld County
Elected Officials' Salaries.
Bruce Barker, County Attorney, briefed the Council on the procedure that the
Council must now follow according to Robert's Rules of Order.
Under the motion of reconsideration:
Standing Motion to set the Sheriff's salary: Councilman Kinnick stated that he
has not had any positive response to the salaries that were set in the September
meeting. He did state that the Sheriff's needed adjustment. Upon vote, the
original motion passed unanimously.
Standing Motion to set the Clerk and Recorder's salary: Councilman Muelller
reiterated that he does not support that kind of increase. He stated that he
cannot support setting a salary for a seat, rather than the person, in this case.
Councilman Mueller motioned to amend the motion and set the salary at
$87,300. Councilman Kinnick seconded the motion. Councilman Hare asked if
that seat does not deserve at least an adjustment for inflation. Councilman
Kinnick stated that he does not believe than an incoming incumbent deserves a
large increase. Upon vote, the motion failed (2/3). Vote on original motion
passed (3 Klein, Abernathy, Hare/ 2 Mueller, Kinnick).
Standing motion to set the County Assessor's salary: Councilman Mueller stated
that he will stay in support of the current salary in the motion. Councilman
Kinnick amended the motion to an increase of 97,300. The motion did not have
a second and died. Upon vote, the original motion passed (4 Klein, Abernathy,
Hare, Mueller/ 1 Kinnick).
Standing motion to set the County Commissioner salary: Councilman Hare
asked for Councilman Kinnick's suggestion. Councilman Kinnick suggested that
the salary be increased by 5 percent to $91,300. Councilman Hare asked
County Attorney, Bruce Barker, if the Council only sets salaries, not the other
benefits and reimbursements that may apply. Mr. Barker affirmed that the
Council is only charged with the salaries. Councilman Abernathy states that he
does see value in the Commissioner seat, noting he is not speaking of the
person who fills the seat, whether current or future. Councilman Abernathy
believes that compensation is necessary to attract qualified candidates.
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Councilman Abernathy suggested $110,000. Councilman Mueller stated that he
received many comments in opposition. Councilman Mueller suggested
$100,000. Councilman Hare stated that many of the feedback on the
Commissioner salaries were targeted at one or more of the current
Commissioners and some of their policies and procedures, and that there is
certainly a distrust of career politicians. Councilman Hare stated that Weld
County is a highly complex entity and he views the seat of Commissioner as an
administrator of this highly complex. Councilman Hare believes that
compensation is required to attract quality candidates. Councilman Hare is
comfortable with the $120,000, but given the Council does not have say over
health benefits and reimbursements, he is willing to negotiate. Councilman
Mueller restated his point of public service and noted that he would want a
person interested in service. Councilman Kinnick amended the motion to
$97,300, without a second, the motion failed. Councilman Mueller moved to
amend the motion to $100,000, the motion failed without a second. Councilman
Hare moved to amend the motion to $110,000, without a second, the motion
failed. Councilman Abernathy motioned to amend the motion to $105,000. The
motion to amend passed (4/1). The motion to set the commissioners salaries at
$105,000 passed (4 Klein, Abernathy, Hare, Mueller/ 1 Kinnick).
NEW BUSINESS:
• Coordinator Reports
• Upcoming Meetings/Invitations
o County/Town dinner
• Pay bills
Mileage for Councilman Mueller $ 17.82
Mileage for Councilman Abernathy $ 19.44
Mileage for Councilwoman Klein $ 68.04
Mileage for Councilman Hare $ 19.44
Mileage for Councilman Kinnick $ 11.88
ADJOURNMENT: By acclamation, the meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
October 20, 2014 Council President Marge Klein
Council Secretary Sarah Mundt
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