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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022/04/06 - Briefing Board of Mason County Commissioners Special Meeting Agenda Washington State Association of Counties Commission Chambers 411 N 5tn St, Shelton,WA 98584 April 6,2022 3:00 p.m. 1. Call to Order—The Chairperson called the special meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. 2. Introductions 3. Washington State Association of Counties(WSAC)Update a. Pandemic Response WSAC hosted a weekly Virtual Assembly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic every Monday at noon. The Virtual Assembly began as a way to understand the pandemic and cross-share information between jurisdictions. WSAC held regular calls with the Governor's Office to advise on guidelines, metrics,phases of opening,and Open Public Meetings Act(OPMA)and Public Records Act(PRA) orders. Support was provided to Departments on how to operate during the pandemic. b. Administration and Budget One of the main responsibilities of the WSAC Board is fiduciary administration and budget. There has also been a transition to do more financial management for affiliate groups such as collecting dues and producing financial statements and tax return statements. Action items for 2022 include:bi-annual audit, streamline internal controls and procedures,review dues structure and evaluate methodologies,and formalize financial reserves and investment policies. At the end of the year a three-month cash flow is needed. The risk reserve is about 50%of dues revenue. The 2021 Summary Financials was shared. The revenue percentage goal for dues is 50%and currently is 54%for a total of$1,964,072. Other revenue sources include:special assessments 1%at$35,000; revenue from affiliates 16%at$588,170;contract services 22%at$807,107;conferences and events 3% at$119,670;endorsements and other non-dues revenue 4%at$142,706;and net investment income 0% at$4,569. About$1 million of biennium is received from the State transportation budget for County transportation studies. A big study was done on County transportation fiscal health and a number of other studies will be underway. Highest jumps in the seven-year revenue trends have been litigation dues and contract services. The Operating Budget for this period is about$3.4 million dollars. The largest full-time-employee(FTE) focus is on policy,government,and legal. Cash reserves and net asset changes are increasing over the previous years. Sales tax,property tax,and real estate excise tax has remained stable. A major investment was made for advocacy. Two additional staff were hired to help local jurisdictions implement Foundational Public Health Services,strengthen the local public health system,and discuss regionalization and the how involved the State needs to be. Staff will work to understand how counties are spending the$1.5 billion in American Rescue Plan Act(ARPA)funds and give both the delegation and the public confidence in how those funds are spent. c. Legislative Activities It was a 60-day legislative session. An additional$5 billion was added to the operating budget and a $17 billion transportation package was passed. The 2023-24 legislative agenda is being developed for the May 11 — 13,2022 Legislative Steering Committee meeting. Legislative priorities have included responding to the COVID-19 crisis,combatting climate change and 1 I Courthouse Briefing protecting the environment,ending racial disparities and social inequities,and making long-term investments and securing long-term solvency. The priority for behavioral health,affordable housing, and disease response and containment has increased. Broadband access is a key investment that the pandemic brought forward. The Growth Management Act(GMA)was changed from eight years to ten years for updates. A lot of time was spent on social inequities. There are significant resources to implement the State v.Blake decision. A refund bureau has been created to handle reimbursements. The funding is inadequate for trial court and public defense. Long-term investments, such as road maintenance,received a few resources. A lot of the transportation package was funded with non-gas tax climate change dollars. However,a system to fund traditional transportation(road usage charge or gas taxes)may be moved towards. The 2022 End of Session Report highlights bills that were passed,bills that did not pass,and largely follows the WSAC Board's priorities. d. Legal Activities The litigation program is focused on two areas—where WSAC is the lead plaintiff and where WSAC acts as an amicus. Two litigation activities are currently authorized for indigent defense and the Blake decision. The WSAC Legal Committee and Legislative Steering Committee support the legal challenge to require the State to fully fund constitutionally required trial court indigent defense services. A variety of legal,analysis,and budget documentation is underway. All counties are equal in their ability to generate revenue. Mason County has,per capita,one of the lowest sales tax per capita generations. WSAC formally joined as co-plaintiff against the State to establish that the State is solely responsible for all costs associated with implementing the Black decision. Mark Neary added that the State would be administering the refunds. This will not take effect until July 1,2023. Clarity was provided on the unfunded mandate case associated with the ballot drop box Senate Bill 5472 which required about 250 new ballot drop boxes. It was argued against using RCW 43.135.060. The initial cost for the drop boxes was over an estimated$1 million plus$250k a year in maintenances. The State argued using RCW 29A.04.430 which allows auditors to disperse election costs around and that it was not an unfounded statute because the legislature had created a way to pay for and have the counties partially reimbursed. Counties are entitled to reimbursement for the State's proportional share of costs. This case is remanded to King County Superior Court for further proceedings. Amicus briefs were very few this year. e. Federal Issues WSAC is engaged on federal policy,issues,and proposals that have a direct implication and nexus to the operations and administration of County governments. This helps ensure that there are enough federal resources going to the County and/or State. All 39 counties in Washington received direct payment of ARPA dollars. Four counties received direct payment for Corona Virus relief funds. Progress has been made on the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion policy. Mason County gets$331,886 for Payment in Lieu of Taxes(PILT). Infrastructure saw strong federal funding for aging infrastructure. WSAC would like to see active forest management return to the US Forest Service to improve forest health and aid in the prevention of catastrophic wildfires. The local assistance and travel consistency dollars,which set aside about$1.5 billion for fiscal years 2022 and 2023,had half of those resources potentially move into another package. This is a loss of about$30 million a year. f. Communication WSAC will be launching a Washington Counties job board and relaunching the Business Partners Program. 21 Meeting g. Members Services and Conferences The County Leaders conference will be November 15— 17,2022 at the Hyatt Regency on Lake Washington. h. Business Partners L Caucus/Committees WSAC programs include Counties Coastal Caucus which focuses on the implementation of the Puget Sound partnership,Columbia River Caucus which seeks and develops new water supply in eastern Washington,and Timber and Public Lands Program which focuses on timberland management issues. 4. County Issues a. Local Issues Recruitment and retainment issues were discussed. Cmmr. Shutty shared the struggles regarding both law enforcement and jail staffing. Mark added discussion about hiring bonuses and operating hours schedule changes. Cmmr.Trask brought up building and/or expanding jails. b. Relationship with WSAC c. WSAC Follow Up 5. Adjournment—the meeting adjourned at 4:30 p.m. ATTEST: BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MASON COUNTY,WASHINGTON McKenzie Smith,Clerk of the Board Kevin Shutty, hair Sharon Trask,Vice-Chair 17 A A> Randy Veatherlin,Commissioner 3 'Meeting