Amador County – Amador Water Agency directors voted 4-1 Thursday to seek renegotiation of a $900,000 loan from Amador County that is due to be repaid December 31st.

Supervisors John Plasse and Ted Novelli and County Counsel Martha Shaver spoke to the board about the loan, which the agency had said it would pay back with a USDA loan and grant for its Gravity Supply Line project.

Novelli said when initially presented, AWA wanted a 30-year loan. He said supervisors had not discussed the issue as a board, and if they were asked to do so, he “would like something in writing,” including rates and timelines. He asked if AWA had looked at problems it now faces, including a stalled USDA loan, blocked by a Proposition 218 protest of a rate increase in the Central Amador Water District.

President Bill Condrashoff said “we definitely looked at in great detail.” He said he “was under the belief that money would come back in the busy summer months with the sale of water,” when he voted with Vice President Debbie Dunn, and Director Gary Thomas to seek a six-month loan from the county, instead of a 20 or 30-year loan as recommended by staff.

Dunn said: “My decision was made based on the ability to pay, not the grant.” She said she felt that, “USDA loan or not, we’d be able to pay back the money.”

Finance Manager Mike Lee said he researched general loans to pay back the $900,000 owed to the county by year’s end. Interest was 6-7 percent for a 10-year loan, or 4-7 percent for a 5-year loan. The loan was taken to pay sunk costs on the Gravity Supply Line, which were paid by an internal loan from the Amador Water System.

Plasse said the county did not need to see the internal paperwork involved. He said the $900,000 loaned from the county at 2 percent interest rightfully could have earned 4-5 percent for the county.

Loan interest rates were not the only thing to consider but also the risk of repayment, Plasse said, as the county was now experiencing.

Condrashoff said “we’ll come up with a solution to pay you back,” and “we’ll not walk away from this.”

County Council Martha Shaver said that was reassuring. She said “we sort of view this as your problem and not the county’s problem.”

The 4-1 board vote also set staff to look into more detail of bank loans to repay the loan on time. Dunn dissented.

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Amador County – Amador Water Agency directors last week discussed the issue of operating and capital salary overruns, and sent that and other budget work to different committees.

President Bill Condrashoff said he placed on the agenda for discussion the issue of “budget variance concerns of operating and capital salaries.” The board assigned it to the budget and finance committee, made up of Directors Don Cooper and Condrashoff.

The agency is $500,000 shy of its budget, Condrashoff said, due to lost revenues, and “we have not been informed as a board” or given approval of the budget overruns. He thought they needed a “line item policy to keep track of” each system, to bring the line items to the board when they exceed budget by 10 percent.

Director Gary Thomas agreed they should hear about a “spike in the budget,” but he disagreed with 10 percent, saying it was too high. He said the board should have alerts simply to keep the budget balanced.

Vice President Debbie Dunn said they should look at the authority the general manager has to override the budget.

Finance Manager Mike Lee said his monthly budget report, with variance, gives information about overruns, and if it is over by 10 percent, it gives the reason.

Dunn said the monthly report “doesn’t put it on the agenda,” so they can only briefly discuss items. She said the report protects staff, “but we end up holding the bag.”

Director Don Cooper agreed with Dunn, and said they also need to allow staff to develop a better forecasting tool. He said they also should link to specific capital projects, because if they are “not lined up,” then “maintenance and operations funds are used to pay for it.” He also recommended looking at creating general construction crews, or borrowing crews from neighboring water districts.

Director Terence Moore agreed with Condrashoff, if his idea meant to have a policy for review of any budget line item running over budget, by sending it to the budget and finance committee. He said he thought budget & finance could handle “line item control, unless it becomes unstoppable,” then it could go to the full board.

Condrashoff said he meant staff. He said: “If we set a budget, it’s up to staff to hit that budget, and if they can’t, they should bring it to us.” He said: “Staff should come to us for approval of increases to each line item, before money is spent.”

Cooper said the problem is that reports are two months after the fact. Condrashoff said staff knows when they spend over budget, and they should say something to the board.

The board agreed to send the topic to the budget and finance committee, made up of Cooper and Condrashoff.

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Amador County – A new report that measures the cost of basic necessities for older adults reveals the federal poverty line leaves many California seniors destitute. The Elder Economic Security Standard Index, calculated by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, indicates thousands of seniors in the state are suffering with severe economic insecurity, yet have too much income to qualify for vital public programs like Medi-Cal and cash assistance.

The index reveals that the cost of living for single elderly renters in Amador County was $21,873 in 2009. Federal Poverty Guidelines are $10,830 for every county in the nation.

“This year the federal government officially acknowledged it’s time to improve the outdated Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPL’s) by announcing that it will release a ‘Supplemental Poverty Measure’ in the fall of 2011 – a baby step in the right direction,” said Assemblyman Jim Beall, Jr. (D-San Jose) in a release last week from the studies’ authors. “California has the largest senior population in the country, so we simply can’t afford to take baby steps. That’s why we are embracing the Elder Index, from City Hall to the State Capitol.”

The most expensive county by this standard in California is San Mateo at $27,710. The release said that even in Kern County, where the cost of living is the lowest at $17,276, real costs add up to $6,447 more than the FPL’s nationwide, one-size-fits-all amount of $10,830 per year.

“One size does not fit all," said Steven P. Wallace, Ph.D., associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the lead author of the new policy brief containing the data, Older Adults Need Twice the Federal Poverty Level to Make Ends Meet in California. “California’s high costs make a single national income standard like the FPL totally inadequate for seniors.”

The studies’ authors said “the inadequacy of the FPL is important to California’s older adults since it is used to determine income eligibility for many public programs, to allocate funding for other programs, and is used as an evaluation measure when determining program effectiveness. Yet unlike the Elder Index, the FPL is the same dollar amount across the country, and it is based on the cost of food alone.”

The Elder Index is based on data and research from each of California’s 58 counties. Researchers said the data being released last week “was calculated using the most up-to-date publicly available data from several different federal agencies.”

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Amador County – The Amador branch of the American Association of University Women will hold an upcoming Community Law Enforcement Symposium in which local officials will address law enforcement issues, efforts and programs in Amador County.

The list of guests scheduled to speak are Sheriff Martin Ryan, District Attorney Todd Riebe, D.A. Investigator John D’Agostini (representing the Amador County Combined Narcotics Enforcement Team, and Chief Probation officer Mark Bonini.

According to a press release, “each speaker will discuss the organization, responsibilities, and role of their respective departments within the law enforcement/corrections community.”

Topics will include substance use and abuse in our county, information on upcoming proposition 19, the insurance and worker’s compensation fund, elder abuse, child abduction, Megan’s Law and Offender Watch, the Hidden Key program for older adults, home electronic and GPS monitoring of offenders, educational programs available to offenders, and challenges resulting from reduced funding, gangs and proposed casinos.

Questions from the public will be taken after the presentation.

The symposium is Wednesday, October 20 from 3 pm to 5 pm in the Jackson Civic Center, located at 33 Broadway Street in Jackson.

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Amador County - Questions were raised at the Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday over the logic behind the approval of a 7 percent pay raise for Kristin Bengyel, Amador County Health Director, during a time when many county workers have been laid off or taken pay cuts.

Leroy Carlin raised the question during public comment, asking why any raise would be considered “while our economy is still in the dumps.” He criticized the board for making the decision in closed session. “We don’t get a chance to say anything about that because too many things around here are done behind closed doors,” he said.

County Counsel Martha Shaver clarified that the approval was only discussed and no action was yet taken. The approval was originally listed as a closed session item, but Chairman Brian Oneto requested it be put on the regular agenda in order to receive public comment.

Oneto said he “had some heartburn” about approving the raise, and “it wasn’t something that was done happily or easily.”

“I’m not a fan of salary surveys,” said Oneto. “Things change and I don’t think her (pay) necessarily has to be in line with what other counties are paying. But looking at Kristen Bengyel…compared to what other health directors are paid, she’s still underpaid.”

Bengyel was hired two years ago as the Deputy County Administrative Officer. She has since served as Interim Transportation Director and Public Works Director, and now Health Director.

Supervisor Richard Forster also defended his vote to support the raise. “When you take on a huge amount of extra responsibility, there should be some compensation commensurate with that job,” he said.

The raise was approved 3-0. Supervisors John Plasse and Ted Novelli were absent.

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Amador County – The Ione City Council last week took a status report of its security officer contract, and also heard that Amador County is looking into a county-wide contract to address the security of mentally incapacitated or intoxicated prisoners or detainees.

City Manager Kim Kerr said a city agreement with All Phase Security had spent about $400 and saved the city about $300 since it was implemented in late May.

Kerr said the 90-day update was requested by the council in May when it approved the contract, which assists the Ione Police Department when it has “5150” cases in which people may be incapable of caring for themselves due to intoxication or other reasons. It also helps with intoxicated prisoners.

Chief Michael Johnson said All Phase Security helped guard a prisoner for 12 hours, after a suspect swallowed a plastic baggie full of an unknown substance and did not provide information of its contents. The security officer stood guard over the suspect, a known drug abuser, while medical tests were conducted at Sutter Amador Hospital.

Johnson said the security company helped with two other cases, while he was able to provide backup for other situations.

Kerr said there has been conversation with the county, which does not have a mental health facility. Johnson met with Interim Chief Administrative Officer Kristin Bengyel. He said Bengyel “was proactive in approaching the issue and attempting to obtain funds to implement a security company contract for all law enforcement agencies facing the delayed issues at Sutter Amador Hospital, as it relates to mental health detainees.”

Councilman David Plank asked about the hospital’s position in the matter, and Kerr said they are helpful and hopeful, and they use the same contractor for their needs. She said funding may come from mental health funds, which would not cover guarding of intoxicated prisoner detainee.

Johnson said Ione’s contractor may assist with DUI suspects whose blood alcohol content is too high to be allowed into the hospital, per a facility policy. He said a “5150” is a detention, not an arrest, but may be due to intoxication or for mental conditions.

Councilman Jim Ulm asked about the liability of having a security officer on duty, with no gun and no uniform. Kerr said the security company must provide its own insurance. Johnson said they do not carry firearms, but do wear uniforms. They also carry pepper spray, a baton, and handcuffs. The officers must be state certified to handle prisoners.

Kerr said the security contractor works only at the hospital, and does not transport prisoners or detainees. IPD handles transportation, and a security officer takes over when needed.

The All Phase Security contract was capped at $5,000, Kerr said, after which time the city must renew the contract.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.