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Employee Newsletter December 2011/January 2012

County Board Updates

2012 Board Chair – Commissioner Jack Edmonds 2012 Board Vice Chair – Commissioner Roger Tellinghuisen

2012 Budget & Levy

The Board set the 2012 Budget and Levy as follows, which represents a levy decrease of 0.5%:

 

 

 

 

 

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Fund Budget Levy General Fund – 01 $12,933,256 $9,131,740 Debt Service Fund – 35 $1,319,627 $1,319,627 Public Works Fund – 10 $5,597,760 $952,760 Community & Veterans Services Fund – 11 $8,421,285 $3,121,873 Capital Projects – 37 $200,000 $200,000 TOTAL $28,471,928 $14,726,000

Sheriff’s Office (continued) Janet Johnson, Part-time Court Bailiff, retired on 12/30/11 after 12 years of service Justin Nelson, Transport/Court Security Deputy, is resigning 1/20/12 after 4 years of service

Employees Leaving Community and Veterans Services Rose Strawn, Accounting Technician, retired on 12/31/11 after 15 years of service Sheriff’s Office Randy Miller, Correctional Officer, retired on 12/15/11 after 8 years of service

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Meet the New Mille Lacs County 4-H Program Coordinator Stop by and introduce yourself to Darla. Her office is located on the lower level of the Historic Courthouse, across the hall from the Administrative Services Office. When the remodeling is complete her office will be located on the 2nd floor of the Historic Courthouse.

County Board Updates (Continued from Page 1) 2012 Reimbursements (same as 2011): Mileage = $0.41 and $0.14 Meals = $7.00, $9.00 and $11.00

Commissioner Compensation (same as 2011): Per Diem = $45.00 Commissioner Salary = 0%; $17,304

Approved re-location of PSAP 911 Communications Center: Relocation has been approved of the PSAP 911 Communications Center from the middle of the secure jail area to the lower level of the jail building. E-911 funds, which are collected from phone subscribers, will be used to fund the move at a total cost not to exceed $85,900.91, to be paid from the E-911 fund.

Approval of Additional Staff Full-time Assistant County Attorney Part-time Technical Support Specialist at 20 hours per week

Bids for Official Paper (same as 2011) – Mille Lacs County Times

Darla Stevens began her position as the new Mille Lacs County 4-H Program Coordinator on December 12th. She is looking forward to being a part of the Mille Lacs County 4-H Program. She has been involved in 4-H throughout her life, both as a 4-H’er and as a volun-teer. Her main project areas were rabbits, poultry, indoor gardening and food and nutrition, but she also showed in a variety of other pro-ject areas throughout her 4-H career. Darla graduated from U of M—Morris with a degree in biology, and then continued her education at Bemidji State University to receive her license in secondary education.

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Historic Courthouse Remodel Furniture install – Jan. 23 – 27 Planned occupy date for upper two floors – Feb. 6 Construction work to start on lower level – Feb. 8 Board Room will be unavailable – Tentative Feb. 10 – Feb. 15 Board Room available (Upper Level Board Room) for meetings – Feb. 16

Indoor Walkers

The Milaca school building is open every school day. The hallways are warm and dry! You’ll never have to worry about cold wind or icy side-walks when you walk with us. We welcome walkers from 6:30 a.m.- 7:45 a.m. and from 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. on school days. The sign-up sheet is located in the desk at the main entrance, by the wolf. Please, sign in each day. There are maps available showing routes and distances. Choose from one of the three routes that travel through the school hallways. Parking is available in front of the school, but please do not

park at the yellow or red curb. Elementary route: 6 times around = 1 mile Secondary route: 4 times around = 1 mile Entire building route: 2 times around = 1 mile Please note that all distances are approximate. There is no cost to walk indoors.

Annual Safety Training

Mark your calendar - Annual All Staff Safety Training  

Date

February 16th

Training Game - Review ∗ General Safety/AWAIR Review ∗ Employee Right to Know Review ∗ Emergency Action Plan Review ∗ Blood borne pathogens Review ∗ Slips/Trips/Falls

Sessions

8 a.m. - 10 a.m. 10 a.m. - 12 p.m. 1 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Location

Board Room

Attendees

All County Personnel

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2012 Single Insurance Contributions – Effective January 2012

Monthly family contribution for all groups remains at $810

Group County Share Employee Share for $15 co-pay plan

Teamsters $609.50 $17.50 MNA $609.50 $17.50 AFSCME – Courthouse $614.46 $12.54 AFSCME – Family Services $614.46 $12.54 AFSCME – Attorney $614.46 $12.54 Local 49 (mediation complete) $614.46 *tentative $12.54

LELS (in arbitration—currently operat-ing under 2010 contract)

$627.00 $0

Non-Union $609.50 $17.50

Number of Mille Lacs County Employees Participating in the County’s Four Insurance Plans as of January 1, 2012

$10 Co-pay 13 1

80/20 Plan 32 11

$15 Co-pay 92 11

$30 Co-pay 19 24

Medical Insurance Plan

Number of Employees with Single Coverage

Number of Employees with Family Coverage

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Local Government vs. Private Sector Employee Compensation Comparison

(Published by the Minnesota Taxpayers Association)

Summary of Findings Local government employee wages are typically highest above market rates for positions requiring less education while lowest below market rates for positions with higher educational requirements; this “double imbalance” is common to public sector labor cost structures around the country. Local governments have higher employee health insurance costs than the private sector; with 47.8% higher premium costs for employee-only health care coverage and 7.9% higher premium costs for family health care coverage. A 30-year local government employee retiring in 2009 with an average salary for his or her age cohort could expect to receive more than $600,000 over his or her remaining life expectancy (22.4 years) from the PERA Coordinated Plan in addition to what he or she could expect to receive from Social Security or other personal savings. That same employee would need over $365,000 in a 401(k) account yielding 5% return per year to provide a similar benefit; a private sector employee with a similar salary could expect to have, on average, $74,000 in a 401(k) account.

Think Like a Business Person

(from Stop Thinking Like an Employee by Harry Dahlstrom) The workplace is changing. To survive, you have to stop thinking like an employee. Quit your “job.” Reinvent yourself. Find the “NEW!” you. Wait a minute, I don’t want to be a business person. Look at it this way, business trades stuff for money. Jeep, for instance, trades automobiles for money. Tommy Hilfiger trades clothing for money. Burger King trades Whoppers for money. Like it or not, you are a business too. You trade your talent and labor for money. Why not manage that talent and labor so that it becomes more valuable and generates a bigger payoff for you? (Continued on Page 6)

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Think Like a Business Person (Continued from Page 5) Couldn’t I just stay the way I am? Sure you could. But, would you really want to? The world is changing and it’s changing in ways that will surely affect you and your future. What’s changing? I don’t see any changes. Layoffs, mergers, cutbacks, re-engineering. Businesses are getting smaller, leaner, hungrier, smarter. They’re doing more with fewer people and they’re doing it better than ever. Your competitors are also changing. They’re learning new skills, applying new technologies, and building a list of accomplishments that they can stick on their resumes – things that make them valuable in the job market. Even the tools are changing. Cell phones, laptops, PDAs, fax, internet, overnight delivery. Things are happening fast. Everybody wants quick results. To compete and survive, you have to know how to deliver, quickly. None of this stuff is happening where I work. If change hasn’t hit your company yet – it will. If you’re asleep when it arrives, you could be left behind. Or worse, you could become obsolete. That could be scary. You have two choices: You can do nothing and get bowled over when change sneaks up on you. Or, you can get out in front, steer it, control it, and make it work for you. How do I get in front of it? Business people love change. They practically invented it – auto makers change body styles every year, clothing fashions change every season, high-tech offers a new version of something every month, medical breakthroughs happen weekly, and if you go into a grocery store, something’s “New!” or “Improved!” almost daily. If you want to stay ahead of a changing workplace, think like a business person – think change. Welcome change. Become a change advocate. To start, take a look at yourself. What’s “New!” about you? What’s “Improved!” about you? (Continued on Page 7)

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Think Like a Business Person (Continued from Page 6) It’s all in how you look at yourself. Once upon a time, a traveler came upon a building site. She noticed three men with hammers and chisels, each chipping away on a huge slab of granite. “What are you doing?” she asked the first man. “Can’t you see that I’m working like a dog, in the hot blistering sun, trying to turn this slab of rock into blocks of granite?” Still curious, the traveler then walked over to the second fellow and asked, “What are you doing?” “Well,” replied the fellow, “I’m a stone cutter and I’m chipping this slab of rock into granite blocks for a new building.” Finally, the traveler went over to the third person and asked what he was doing. “Can’t you see?” asked the man. “I’m building a cathedral.” - Origin unknown

What is Planning? From the American Planning Association: Planning, also called urban planning or city and regional planning, is a dynamic profession that works to improve the welfare of people and their communities by creating more convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive places for present and future generations.

Planning enables civic leaders, businesses, and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people's lives.

Good planning helps create communities that offer better choices for where and how people live. Planning helps

communities to envision their future. It helps them find the right balance of new development and essential services, environmental protection, and innovative change.

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(Continued from Page 7) What is Planning? From the American Planning Association:

Planning, also called urban planning or city and regional planning, is a dynamic profession that works to improve the welfare of people and their communities by creating more convenient, equitable, healthful, efficient, and attractive places for present and future generations.

Planning enables civic leaders, businesses, and citizens to play a meaningful role in creating communities that enrich people's lives.

Good planning helps create communities that offer better choices for where and how people live. Planning helps communities to envision their future. It helps them find the right balance of new development and essential services, environmental protection, and innovative change.

What is Zoning? From Wikipedia:

Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries.[1][2][3] The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another. Zoning may be use-based (regulating the uses to which land may be put), or it may regulate building height, lot coverage, and similar characteristics, or some combination of these.

The Comprehensive Plan establishes the future vision or road map for what a community wants to be. The Zoning Ordinance and Zoning Map are the tools by which the vision is implemented. (Continued on Page 9)

Other Statutes: • Solid Waste • Subsurface Sewage

Treatment (Septics) • Wetlands • Building Code

Townships may do their own zoning, but their ordinance must be equal to or more restrictive than the County’s ordinance. Princeton and Greenbush Townships have their own zoning ordinance and map.

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(Continued from Page 8) Zoning Ordinance The Zoning Ordinance is the text of what is allowed in certain areas of a community. It establishes:

Uses Permitted (allowed by right) Accessory (subordinate to a permitted use) Conditional (allowed with conditions, runs with the land unless the use

ceases for more than one year) Interim (allowed until a specific date or event occurs; similar to a

conditional use but limited by time) Performance Standards

Lot area Setbacks Parking requirements Specific requirements for some uses, typically related to conditional uses

such as mining Processes for reviewing making decisions on variances, conditional and interim

uses, changes to the zoning ordinance or map. Processes for handling violations of the ordinance. Means to address nonconforming uses and structures (uses and structures that

were in place prior to the establishment of County zoning in 1972)

The zoning ordinance may be found on the County’s website by clicking on the “Ordinances” link in the left column on the home page. Zoning Map The Zoning Map is an illustration of the zoning districts that are established by the text of the Zoning Ordinance. Zoning maps are available on the website: Departments>Land Services>Comprehensive Plan Ordinances & Zoning Maps - use the Zoning Map link in the left column. Each Township has its own zoning map; callers need to call Princeton and Greenbush Townships directly for zoning information.

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