Antelope County 2940 account remains under sheriff's direction

Twenty-nine-forty – an accounting code that identifies an Antelope County Law Enforcement Center fund – has become a familiar term during Antelope County commissioner dialog, as well as a point of contention between county officials.

The “special revenue” account was formed after the Law Enforcement Center went into operation in 2015. In the ensuing years, the balance in the account has grown to more than $400,000 from fees charged for housing prisoners from other counties and law enforcement services provided to several Antelope County towns.

One county commissioner would like to see some of that reserve used to provide relief to county taxpayers, by transferring part of the excess to the county’s General Fund, but he sits alone.

Commissioner Dean Smith’s quest was shot down during the commissioners’ end-of-fiscal year meeting June 23 at the courthouse in Neligh.

When commission chair Charlie Henery announced the agenda item, which had a notation, “resolution or motion,” it took just moments for commissioner Carolyn Pedersen to make a motion, after she clarified the agenda item did indeed list “resolution or motion.”

“I make a motion to leave the 2940 law enforcement account as a separate account within the budget and have commissioner Krebs and commissioner Pedersen work with the sheriff regarding how these funds will be disbursed through the budget process,” Pedersen moved.

Commissioner Eli Jacob seconded the motion.

With a motion and second on the table, Smith was unable to present a resolution he had prepared to deal with the account.

“When there’s that amount of money in there that can be used for the general operating of the county and help reduce our overall tax asking, that is not right to the taxpayers of the county,” Smith said during discussion on the motion. “A couple meetings ago, there was a resolution brought by a board member, I thought maybe we were in the process of drafting resolutions, so I drafted one…”

He was reminded by Pedersen that she had a pending motion on the board.

“There’s no reason to have a million dollars laying there in that account, is there?” Tom Kester asked from the audience. “There ought to be a limit. Set a limit on it, maybe $100,000 or something and that would (still) allow him (sheriff Bob Moore) to pay the bills.”

Commissioner Regina Krebs said the carryover balance in the account will be addressed during budget consideration.

Henery then ended discussion and called for votes by roll call. Pedersen’s motion carried 4-1, with Smith voicing an adamant no vote.

When a resolution was presented, and subsequently tabled, at the June 9 meeting, Pedersen said one should have been adopted when the account was created but had not been. She did not suggest a resolution this time.

Expenses paid from the LEC Fund include meals and medical expense for inmates, with funds expended for out-of-county inmates’ medical bills later reimbursed by the originating county. June payouts totaled $6,263 and included two medical facilities, two grocery stores, two other food service invoices and a jail commissary invoice.

Some of the jail’s operating expense is paid from the LEC Fund, but for the most part, obligations such as wages, health insurance premiums, uniforms, office equipment and supplies, building and vehicle repair, and utilities are disbursed from the county’s General Fund, leading to confusion for taxpayers who wonder what the account funds.

End-of-year claims approved June 23 included a sheriff’s office General Fund claim for $4,440 to trade in an all-terrain vehicle. The four-wheeler is used to push snow at the courthouse and other county locations. Moore explained he had discussed the purchase with Ed Schindler, courthouse maintenance man.

“We pushed a ton of snow with that for five years, we worked it pretty hard, and we’ve still got some good trade-in value,” the sheriff said. “I had money left in my budget … I was under the amount as far as seeking approval.”

A commissary fund is used to track items offered to inmates for purchase, with the balance accruing from profit on those items. Payment was noted, during June 23 review of claims, of an $800 commissary claim for a barbecue grill. Moore said it replaces one destroyed by wind. Other commissary payouts went to a bank and a vending company.

“We are replacing one, we ordered a new one to replace that, the only difference is going to be to get natural gas instead of propane,” Moore said regarding the grill. “It’s just a compliance deal, they (inmates) behave, we grill something for them.”

A motion to pay vendor claims, except for one from Boyd’s Electric, carried on a 4-1 roll call vote, with Smith voting nay. Boyd’s claim was approved 4-0-1, Pedersen abstaining.

A $3,207.36 claim received by the road department from Frontier Communications regarding damage alleged at 52072 864 Road, Royal, was put off pending investigation.

Moore presented a list of uncollectable accounts receivable debts, asking the board to approve writing off about $450. The list included charges for paper service fees and related mileage expense, from 2013 through 2015, some billed to attorneys on behalf of their clients. Moore said, although the attorneys’ names are listed, the charges were for clients. According to Moore, another $271.89 will be paid by Credit Management Services, a collection company. The 2019 audit report, released last August, listed past due accounts receivable for the department, totaling $3,051, dating back to 2010, that had remained uncollected for multiple years. On a Pedersen motion, the board voted 5-0 to write off the remaining $447.14.

An agenda item brought to the commissioners by Payne resulted in a lengthy dialog but in the end, no action.

Payne proposed transferring $115,000 from the Disaster Fund, with a claim for the transfer among claims signed by commissioners early in the meeting.

The fund was established last year to track flood-related expense and reimbursements. It was monetized with an initial $2 million loan from the Inheritance Fund, according to minutes of the April 2, 2019, meeting. Additional transfers were authorized as needed during the past year.

FEMA reimbursement funds have started to materialize, with about $165,000 received as the 75% federal obligation of four claims.

“I originally started out $160,000, taking that fund down to about $2,000, give or take, but when I looked at the budget again there wasn’t $160,000 left in the (budget authority), so I emailed Deanne (Hefner with the Nebraska auditor of Public Accounts office) to asked her how I should proceed. She said just take what we can for this year and transfer the rest in July, after the fiscal year,” Payne said.

Road department heads Aaron Boggs and Casey Dittrich objected.

“Every month, I’ve been using out of that Disaster Fund, you aren’t going to completely roll it all out are you?” Boggs asked.

“We knew from Day 1 it was not going to be a one for one,” Dittrich said. “Let us ride it out. Please.”

They both referenced the Crumly road project, with FEMA funding in question, and some bridge projects that have yet to be completed.

“If it’s not going to be reimbursed by FEMA, should it be in the Disaster Fund?” Payne asked.

“Absolutely,” Dittrich replied, while Smith opined it is flood damage.

Although Krebs indicated the loan needs to be repaid, she did not agree with the arbitrary amount proposed by Payne, saying the transfer should be exact amounts received from the federal and state emergency agencies.

“We need to basically pay that off and anything additional coming out, that’s not going to be paid or reimbursed, needs to be a more permanent transfer,” she said. “The other option is leave it in there and once we’re ready to close out the flood project, figure out where we’re at and have a motion to write off the balance.”

According to Dittrich, more funds are expected, with an additional $2.5 million in claims projected to be turned in. He advised county residents deserve to know the final cost of the flood, which would be realized if the transfer is delayed until projects are finished and all federal and state funds received.

A motion by Smith to offset the $115,000 claim with a $110,000 transfer back into the Disaster Fund, failed for lack of a second. He then moved to remove the claim from the approval process, which would negate the proposed transfer.

“We haven’t approved the claims to be able to pull them out yet,” Henery argued.

Smith answered he was doing it prior to approval, “(We) can’t do it after they’re (claims) approved.”

Krebs seconded and the motion carried unanimously.

Henery asked numerous times why the FEMA funds were placed in the Disaster Fund when they were earmarked to go to the Inheritance Fund. Replies offered by Payne, Krebs and Smith, at different times, were similar – in order to track costs and reimbursements.

Tobin Buchanan with First National Capital Markets, presented a Highway Allocation Fund Bond resolution, as requested by commissioners June 9. He said resolution parameters will allow up to 20 years for repayment and up to $4.25 million.

“Bond attorney’s suggestion was that really, we put a parameter on the bond there that potentially could get issued within a year’s time, so that’s why you’re seeing up to $4.25 million, thinking that if you did something later…doing another resolution with a different amount. If you do one resolution over three years, that resolution kind of goes stale, you’re better off thinking what you might issue”

The commissioners unanimously approved the resolution on a Smith motion, seconded by Krebs. Adoption of the resolution does not obligate the county to issue bonds. It simply puts authority in place “if and when” the commissioners are ready to proceed.

“My next steps will be to get all the financials ready for the market, so that I will never hold you up when you say ‘ready,’” Buchanan said. “We will just be ready and waiting and provide ongoing communication about interest rates, so on and so forth, then we’ll move if and when you guys decide it’s the right time.”

The commissioners voted unanimously to authorize the county treasurer to move additional collections (back taxes) received for former townships to be transferred to the Road and Bridge Fund, and to expend remaining balances out of the townships, pursuant to a Krebs motion, seconded by Smith.

Boggs asked the commissioners to allow expending down the township balances during the next fiscal year, rather than going back to find past invoices to support transfers.

Nine townships show a total of more than $62,000 in funds remaining, ranging from $2.52 to $26,804.

“I think moving forward would be a better idea, (we)can keep track of all of the (expense), know exactly where it went, have it all documented and ready to go,” Boggs said. “I think our projects this year can eat up most of it.”

Boggs informed the commissioners of a failed engine in the department’s main gravel-haul semi-tractor. He estimated up to $50,000 to repair the 2009 Mack truck that has about 700,000 miles. He said it was not caused by a maintenance issue.

Boggs suggested purchasing two semi tractors as well as updating the dump truck fleet.

“Some of the dump trucks are getting pretty old…we’ve got a 2016, newest one after that is 2002. …When we look at hauling millings and everything else, it would be nice to have another semi we could use with a side dumper. We look at hauling our packer machine all over the county, it would be nice to look at a low-boy type of thing.”

He estimated cost for the semi tractors at “the upper end” of $70,000, and $100,000 to $150,000 for new.

“I think for now, we should bid at least one, if not two, semi tractors and see where we’re at,” Henery said.

Payne reminded Henery that a motion was required to advertise for bids. Jacob moved to advertise for bids for one or two new or used semi tractors, with Smith seconding. The motion carried unanimously.

Henery tasked Boggs and Dittrich with setting bid specifications. Bids will be opened Aug. 4 and a purchase decision made, Aug. 11.

A second motion by Jacob authorized renting a truck in the meantime.

Boggs also requested the commissioners consider a lease agreement for a 30,000-pound excavator. He said it was included in last year’s budget, but he hadn’t “got around to it,” and planned to budget it again this year. He had enquired about a lease but did not have exact figures. He estimated about $7,000 per year.

“It’s something the county has needed for a long time, and is something almost every other county’s got,” Jacob said.

The county leaders opted to advertise for a paid emergency manager, after concluding no applicants would be forthcoming in a volunteer capacity.

The volunteer position was previously advertised and drew just one applicant, Dittrich, who qualified his application with a statement that he was not interested in serving as a volunteer, citing the lack of applicants as his only motivation for applying.

“It’s very obvious that we are not going to get any applicants for a volunteer. We need to decide exactly what we expect from an emergency manager. I do not believe he needs to be in an office for one day a week, I think we can reimburse that person for schooling and travelling, and if a disaster (happens). I think it needs to be advertised that way,” Pedersen said. “Casey would be very good addition.”

“He’s had experience,” Henery said, then tasked Pedersen, Krebs and Payne to “decide what we should advertise and email us and give you the thumbs up to get it advertised.”

In other business, the commissioners:

~Approved minutes of May 22 and June 9 meetings, 4-1, Smith nay; and June 16, 4-0-1, Krebs abstain;

~Approved aa “appreciation and recognition” resolution, on a Pedersen motion, Jacob second, roll call vote, 4-1, Smith nay;

~Approved access permit applications submitted by Steve Kallhoff, for a field entrance off 516.5 Avenue in Ord Township; and for Jacob Schindler off 841 Road in Stanton Township, both on Boggs recommendation;

While convened as a board of equalization, the commissioners:

~Approved four tax roll corrections presented by assessor Kelly Mueller-Oltjenbruns, one for a building on the 2019 real property tax roll, and three personal property tax corrections for an individual in 2017, 2018 and 2019; and

~Approved over/under reporting, a listing of changes made to valuations after the June 1 deadline.