DAUPHIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
WORKSHOP MEETING
May 10, 2006 10:00 A.M.

MEMBERS PRESENT

Jeff Haste, Chairman
Dominic D. DiFrancesco, II, Vice Chairman
George P. Hartwick, III, Secretary

STAFF PRESENT

Chad Saylor, Chief Clerk; Marie Rebuck, Controller; Robert F. Dick, Treasurer; William Tully, Esq., Solicitor; Steve Suknaic, Director of Juvenile Probation; C. Jeff Patton, Juvenile Probation; Gary Serhan, Deputy Controller; Tom Guenther, Director of IT; Dominick DeRose, Warden; Leila McAdoo, Solicitor's Office; Dave Schreiber, Personnel; Elke Moyer, Human Services; Randy Baratucci, Director of Purchasing; Mark Templeton, Prison; Jim Hinkley, Prison; Dennis Sabo, Prison; Kelly Gallatin, Prison; Lamont Alderman, Prison; Tom Fox, Prison; Robert Lucas, Prison; Steve Smith, Prison; Tim Good, Prison; Michael Balshy, Prison; Larry Coleman, Prison; Stefano Malfara, Prison; Kim Robison, Director of Domestic Relations; Kay Sinner, Personnel; C. Doran Vance, Esq., Solicitor's Office; Carolyn Thompson; Court Administrator; Dave Challenger, Adult Probation; Bob Hawley, Deputy Court Administrator; Lena Martinez, Commissioners' Office; Diane McNaughton, Commissioners' Office; Jena Wolgemuth, Commissioners' Office and Richie-Ann Martz, Commissioners' Office

GUESTS PRESENT

Robert Grubic, Brian Emberg, Jack Sherzer (Patriot-News), Mary Schwonger, Rose Guyer, Kaitlyn Smith (WGAL); Joe Sanks (WGAL) and David Gash

MINUTES

CALL TO ORDER

Mr. Haste, Chairman of the Board, called the meeting to order at 10:00 a.m.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Everyone observed a moment of silence.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Mr. Haste: We have three sets of meeting minutes that will be considered at next week's meeting.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Mr. Haste: We are at the point in the meeting for public participation. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to address the Board at this time? (There was none.)

DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS/GUESTS

1. Commissioners
   1. Presentation of Correctional Officer Week Proclamation

Mr. Haste: This week is Correctional Officer Week. As the oversight of the Prison and someone who is a voluntary visitor, it is my pleasure to present this Proclamation today. I know some of the officers were busy last night. We had a tour and a shakedown. Before I read this, I would like to give a thank you to those who wear the blue and white out there. The men and ladies do a great job every day. I am always impressed with the professionalism that you show and it is a difficult job. I know you do it very well and you wear the flag of the County very well and represent us well out there. I want to thank you.

Office of County Commissioner
Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Proclamation

We, the Dauphin County Board of Commissioners, are grateful for this opportunity to acknowledge and applaud the critical role played by correctional employees in promoting public safety, carrying out justice and establishing a safe, secure and humane environment throughout the Commonwealth's correctional facilities;

Whereas, Pennsylvania's correctional system is the oldest in the nation, and has emerged as a model for other institutions, from the 19th century through modern times;

Whereas, Dauphin County houses more than 900 prisoners a day and must wrestle with many of the same vexing challenges haunting the state's 26 state correctional institutions, 63 other county prisons, 14 community corrections centers, and seven federal institutions;

Whereas, more than 28,000 highly skilled, dedicated corrections professionals work around the clock throughout the state to furnish a safe, secure and seamlessly-run facility;

Whereas, these professionals include counselors, clergy, treatment specialists, administrators and officers upon whose talents and professionalism the correctional system depends;

Whereas, public policy issues take on human form in the lives of corrections officers who work in the front lines to combat the consequences of overcrowding, mental illness, substance abuse, illiteracy and violence in society and in our prisons;

Therefore, we join the 251,300 residents of Dauphin County in hailing the often-unrecognized role of correctional employees; although they labor behind locked doors and in desolate cellblocks, we acknowledge the difficult job they do and the outstanding-and often heroic manner— in which they do it; and, in grateful tribute, we do hereby proudly declare May 7-13, 2006 to be "Corrections Employee Week" in Dauphin County.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I would also like to congratulate each of you that are with us today and your fellow men who are not here. Again, so much of what we do in County government is behind the scenes and people don't appreciate exactly what all of you do in the course of your day. Most people don't have the difficult position of going to work some place where at any given moment you could be threatened or assaulted in a very physical manner by somebody who has no restrictions whatsoever on them, but you have to respond in a way that you have restrictions on you. I don't know that people really appreciate exactly what you have to go through every day watching your back and protecting yourself and at the same time trying to take care of a difficult group of people. You might make a difference in someone's life. You might put them on the right track. This community obviously needs your services and we thank you for the services that you give. We know how difficult your job is and it is great that we have the opportunity today to acknowledge that publicly.

Mr. Hartwick: I see it all the time and I see some of the guards that I spent a day with when I worked for a day as a guard. It was an eye opening experience. I said it once, I'll say it a hundred times, it is the people that do the job everyday are the ones who make or break this organization. In the time that I spent out there I realize that you have a difficult one. I know that the people that you deal with are not easy, everybody has a story, but I know you don't treat everybody as if they are the same. I know you know that your jobs do make a difference. Your first obligation is to protect the citizens of this community to ensure that no one is released from the Prison and that they are in safe hands, but I also know that you do all you can in order to try to put them back on the right track and be productive members of the community. In doing that role, it is very difficult and I know that you do it with pride and honor, and I want to thank you for the job that you do everyday.

(Mr. Haste introduced those officers that were in the audience. Pictures were taken and applause given.)

Mr. DeRose: On behalf of my office and all the staff, employees and volunteers of Dauphin County Prison, I appreciate the Proclamation. As each of you have noted the facility could not be run as well as it is without the great efforts of the staff. I would like to thank you very much and I would like to thank all the staff involved with running the Dauphin County Prison.

Mr. Haste: I thought it would be appropriate to note at this time. Last night the Warden was giving a tour to some folks and at the same time there was a shakedown. We found a simm card indicating that there might be a cell phone and we can't have cell phones in the Prison. They decided to do some spring cleaning, as the Warden said, they are checking every thing to make sure it is in order. I give credit to the guard, a book was found that contained a homemade shank stuck in the binder of the book. Two weeks prior, we found two other ones that were made out of wire. This is another part of the fence. This shows you what the folks have to deal with on an ongoing basis out there. If you take a look at how clever that was in there, if you are not looking real close that could be overlooked. I give credit to the staff. Not only are they concerned about their own well-being and safety out there, it is the safety of other inmates. Again, this is just a prime example of what they go through every day.

1. Bob Grubic and Brian Emberg from Herbert, Rowland & Grubic
   1. Merit Award for the Henninger Farm Bridge

Mr. Grubic: Back in 2001, the Henninger Farm Bridge, the only covered bridge remaining in Dauphin County, was the victim of an arson blaze that essentially destroyed the structure. Over the past several years the bridge has been completely rebuilt through a combination of County and State funding and is now currently open to pedestrian traffic as part of the Dauphin County Parks system. Henninger Farm Bridge is very notable. It is an historic structure. It is a Theodore Burr arch structure of which there are just a few left in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and is actually the recipient of several previous awards. One of which was presented to the County by Preservation Pennsylvania and another by the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission.

This morning we are very pleased to present the Commissioners an award that was given by the National Timber Bridge Society, an Award of Merit in the rehabilitated bridges category. The bridge is located in Washington Township, just east of Elizabethville. Our firm, Herbert, Rowland & Grubic, served as the design engineer for the project. The contractor was J. Beitz Enterprises, represented by Josh Beitz and Bill Taylor, who are in the audience this morning. We would like to take a few moments to present the Commissioners with a plaque recognizing the fact that it is a National award and we can all be very proud of the fact that in Dauphin County we not only have a very safe and very upgrade and efficient bridge program, but have also recognized the historic status and structure of this very notable structure. HRG is very pleased to have been part of the design of the project and congratulate the Commissioners on the receipt of this award. We have a plaque that we would like to present to the Commissioners this morning. Congratulations again and I look forward to the continued maintenance of that structure as a very historic landmark within the County.

Mr. Haste: I would like to thank you guys for doing this and staying on top of it as well. Those from northern Dauphin County know that this is a bridge that has had a fair amount of significance in history. I remember when it was still being used when we had to relocate the road. As you remember one of the big concerns was people wanting to preserve that bridge and it being our last covered bridge in the County, it was very important for us to continue to be able to preserve that and have use of it. It is nice now that there are some benches and tables there. It is nice that you were able to be creative and keep that in play for us. Thank you.

Mr. Grubic: The bridge was designed and reconstructed to the original specifications using the original timber species when it was built back in the 1800's. It is really truly an historic structure and will continue to serve the residents of Dauphin County for many years to com.

(Pictures were taken and applause given.)

1. Tom Guenther
   1. Adult Probation Tablet Project

Mr. Guenther: I am pleased to be able to come before you today to give you a brief update on one of the more exciting projects that we have been working on over the past year for Adult Probation. What I'm going to show you today is really a mobility application. As I talk to you about this, there is some confusion in the IT world between mobility and wireless. The application that I am going to show you today is not a wireless application where the probation officers have this data connected wirelessly throughout the County, but it is mobile application where we have given them the information and the tool to be out in the field in a mobile environment with those tools. I'll show you how that works. There is still a difference between mobility and wireless. The application that we looked at here for Adult Probation is over the years the probation officers when they meet any client they have to retain case notes on what their visit amounted to and the information that they had in regard to a client. That information was captured in a paper log book. In essence, just in a 3-ring binder and they threw it in the back of their car. If that 3-ring binder ever disappeared, got lost, got stolen that history of that case was lost. For years we have looked at a way to try to capture that information easier and protect that more long term. This new tablet PC has allowed us to do that. I'll show you how we do that. Of course, there has always been a great fear about losing that data and how that works. (Mr. Guenther demonstrated on a large screen.)

What you see in front of you is a list, this is all test data, there is no live data here. This client data is what's actually brought down from their true live case management system. In the morning they do a synchronization process to download that information onto this tablet PC. When they are out in the field they have access to all that case information. It is updated on a daily basis. For example, I will take a certain client and select him as a client and bring up his case notes. There you can see we have two entries on July 19th a home collateral and then on May 10th one that says something else. If you want to add a new case note based on my visit today I can do that. Over on the right hand side, these are all special flags and constant things that are used quite frequently. They can put those types of things in as well as the standard text. A lot of this can be done without any real intervention. If I wanted to I could just simply write in here that this client retired and I can add a sentence. I finalize and it is in there in the data base. It converted it. That is now captured into the tablet when they go back into the home office and do their synchronization process that information is stored right back up on the main server and we have it permanently retained as a case note. Even in the worst case scenario the probation officer has the tablet PC lost or stolen, we have not lost the data. We have protected that now.

Mr. Haste: Except for what he put in that day.

Mr. Guenther: That would be the worst case scenario. That has been a big thing for us. One of the other things that we did in regards to this application, again to make the probation officers more mobile and to help them while they are out in the field, we started to build forms into this application so when they are in the field they can be doing some basic forms processing to be more efficient. The travel voucher is one that I think is a great example. If you are out visiting a client and he says that I need to go away this weekend and I need permission to go down to Baltimore to visit a relative, typically what has to happen is they either say yes go ahead, but there still has to be some paper trail. They have to go back to the office and get the form created and try to get that back to the person. So, if for some reason they were picked up over the weekend they need to have something on their possession. We put that travel form into the tablet and you can pop the form right up and if you scroll down here, purpose of trip I can click on that and what is nice about the tablet and you can see this opens up and there is a full keyboard here, but you can also bring up a keypad here. I can just type it out. Click on purpose - visit and that is now populated into that form. Ideally what we'd like to do and this would be the next stage of this project, we are looking to equip the PO's cars with a mobile printer that would be right in their back seat or the trunk of their car so that while they are in the field they will just print right to that mobile printer and this form will be created in the field and then they are done with that client. The work has been accomplished.

Mr. Haste: Do they have to take that back to the office now and print it and then somehow get it to them?

Mr. Guenther: Yes. They can basically get field level approval, but that person does not have that form in their possession. We have to get some other communication back out to them. You can see where we are going with this.

Mr. Haste: Do all PO's have this?

Mr. Guenther: Every field level PO now has a tablet in their possession. There might be a small exception. That really in a nutshell is the application that we have for them. One of the interesting things that I want to point out is there are some other benefits that really started to come out of this project that I don't think we were really looking at in the beginning. One is the supervisors back in the office, if they wanted to do a case book review on the probation officers to make sure that they were visiting their clients, doing the job they had to take the paper book out of the PO's hands and in essence put the PO out of business. Now, with that data being stored on the server, we also built a little web application so the supervisor can be reviewing the case notes on an ongoing daily basis and the probation officer still has his tool in his hands. Both of them are working without putting either one out of business. I can't tell you that when we first started this that was seen as a benefit. The supervisors have told me that this has been a big plus to them. They can do that monitoring. I have been thinking a lot about the mobility and the type of work that we do here. Steve is here today, this is another great tool that could go into Juvenile Probation. We have caseworkers that are out visiting clients. If you think about being more mobile and what we do, we certainly are seeing some efficiencies on how they do things, more effective ways. One of the things that is always discussed when we're looking at mobile workers is how do you insure that they are being productive and effective. We have a tool in the manager's hands that allows them to monitor their employee's productivity to make sure that they are getting their work done. I think over the next couple of years those kinds of things will allow us to look at mobile workers in a different way. We might be able to get our mobile force more active, more productive. I'm even thinking that this might be a way to cut down some infrastructure building costs as we can look at keeping our people out in the field, not having as high of overhead in our building usage. You see some of the sales offices going to share combined work units.

Mr. Haste: Who has this now, just Adult Probation?

Mr. Guenther: We have a few in Children and Youth and in Juvenile Probation. Not with the full application. Juvenile Probationers are doing some case recording, but not with all this integrated processing like in Adult Probation.

Mr. Haste: What do they cost us?

Mr. Guenther: The tablet PC is approximately $2,000 as compared to the desk copying machine being around $1,000, when you put everything together. Again, we are doing these on our lease program so we keep the technology updated and refreshed. The tablet itself is more expensive than the desk top computer. It is comparable to a lap top.

Mr. Hartwick: One of the things that I found difficult with dealing with many field staff is their ability to actually use the new technology and use it efficiently to where you receive the maximum benefit for the offering. It is sort of tough to get people out of the old framework of doing it the same old way. How has that transition been in Adult and Juvenile Probation? Obviously it can be a mandate - folks need to be up-to-speed or they are not going to be employed. From an enforcement standpoint that is probably the best position to take, but if you have some people on and some people off what has been the general feedback from the probation officers in the field.

Mr. Guenther: I do know in Juvenile we have targeted some specific people to put it in their hands. From an adult perspective that we are getting it into all their hands, I would be very surprised, it is probably one of the areas that we targeted. Typically they have a younger population of probation officers. They have experience in technology and are very receptive to the change. There have been some glitches. We are still working on an issue with the synchronization process. We have had a few case notes missing in the synchronization. Probably in large they have been very excited about it. I have one out there that I'm a personal friend with that I grew up with and he quite simply said I really don't like any of this new stuff, but he has seen the benefit and now he likes it. He is pleased with it.

Mr. Hartwick: He adapted pretty well.

Mr. Guenther: Yes.

Mr. Hartwick: Generally the field staff has a way of doing things and they feel the way that they have been doing it has been efficient and why do they need to change and how is this going to help. You have talked about some of the efficiencies it creates, but have you done a cost benefit analysis of bringing these types of computers into the workplace and how much they could actually save us if we went down the road of trying to have shared office space and a number of other things so we could realize the benefit if we chose to make a large purchase and how that would actually equate into cost savings.

Mr. Guenther: I haven't done that. We are going to look at that as we fully get this implemented and will give you those statistics. I do think that out in Probation they have adopted it. They have been very pleased with the results and they have been excited about the implementation.

Mr. Hartwick: Just happy they are using it.

Mr. Guenther: Another reason we looked at using Adult Probation from a funding standpoint, this project was really funded with no general fund dollars, because we did use the supervision fees from the County to fund this part of the project. Microsoft and Hewlett Packard also threw in what they call some lighthouse funding dollars. That is because the tablet PC is a new technology they were able to use some of their new technology seed and development dollars to try to push an application in how this is used. We saw that as a real benefit to us and it really helped get this part of the project done.

Mr. DiFrancesco: From an information protection standpoint if one of these were to be stolen is there any kind of protection on them that someone couldn't access the information that is in there?

Mr. Guenther: Password locking after I believe three failed attempts.

Mr. DiFrancesco: So, it is protected?

Mr. Guenther: Yes, it just shuts the unit down.

Mr. Haste: That could be adjusted by you?

Mr. Guenther: Yes. This is the project that Hewlett Packard did some national press on us. Hewlett Packard has a quarterly publication that they put out on technology projects. They did feature us in their latest issue. I have a copy of that publication and will give you a copy for your records.

Mr. Hartwick: Almost all the agencies that use this or could be in a position to use this can find dollars outside of general fund dollars to probably pay for it.

PERSONNEL

Ms. Sinner: The first items I have are the Salary Board requests. Spring Creek is reclassifying the Registered Dietician position and is eliminating an EMT position to create a Transport Aide position. The Conservation District is creating an additional full-time Resource Conservationist and this position will be 100% funded by the Conservation District. MDJ Stewart's Office is eliminating a Clerk III and creating a Clerk I position. MDJ Solomon's Office is eliminating a Clerk I position and creating one in MDJ Zozos' Office.

Mr. Saylor: Commissioners, before we leave the Salary Board, I did have a conversation with Mr. Hawley last week. Would it be helpful to the Board to see the spreadsheet that he had done showing all the positions and the changes that were being made and to see how we are following along or are you guys pretty comfortable with where we are with that? I know that there have been a lot of changes.

Mr. Haste: These are real clear. It is not until they start doing their multiple battleship shift arounds that they would need to give me a printout. That is my opinion.

Mr. Hartwick: I would prefer to save the trees.

Ms. Sinner: Any questions on the Salary Board items? (There was none.)

In the Personnel Packet, Spring Creek is requesting to fill a Custodian and two Housekeeping Aide positions. The Conservation District is requesting permission to fill their part-time Temporary Resource Planner and they do have a hire listed in the packet for that position. Court Administration is requesting permission to fill some vacant Tipstaff/Court Clerk positions. Facility Maintenance is requesting permission to fill the Mail Clerk position. The Sheriff's Office is requesting to fill a full-time Deputy Sheriff vacancy and two part-time Deputy Sheriff vacancies. Adult Probation has some transactions going through. They are moving people around and the request to fill those positions are listed in the packet. MDJ Stewart's Office is requesting permission to fill an Office Manager position. Their Office Manager is transferring to MDJ Postelle's Office and that transaction is in the packet. They are promoting someone into the Office Manager position. As you go through the hires, you will see the changes of who is transferring into the positions. On the Addendum are some additional transactions that just came through. They have a hire for the Registered Dietician position at Spring Creek. The Sheriff's Office has some one that they are transferring to the full-time Deputy Sheriff position. Are there any questions on these transactions? (There was none.)

PURCHASE ORDERS

Mr. Baratucci: You should have all received your Purchase Order Packet yesterday. In addition, I just handed you an item that came up after the Packet was prepared. It is a Change Order to the reconstruction of the Everhart Covered Bridge. Evidently they were digging and they needed to add some stone. It is a $655 Change Order that Carl had given them the okay for and the paperwork was catching up. I did tell him even though this is a small one and remembering all the issues that we have with change orders on much larger projects, that whenever possible the change orders should come here prior to the work being done. In this particular case, I believe Carl emailed Commissioner Haste and explained how this happened and Commissioner Haste said that it was okay to add to the Packet so we can get it approved next week and get the bill paid. If there is any other way that you would like to do that, but at this point I just instructed them that whenever possible get the change orders here ahead of time and if not possible make sure they contact their oversight.

Mr. Haste: This happened while they were working. It was a sink hole.

Mr. Baratucci: They wanted to proceed to fill it in. It made sense and that is what I told Carl that I didn't think this would be an issue.

Mr. Haste: He took care of it on site and then the next day he realized that he needed to get a hold of me so he came in and told me.

Mr. Baratucci: Other than that the Packet is there for your review. I will have this one added for next week. Do you have any questions on the Packet itself?

Mr. Hartwick: It is largely maintenance contracts in there.

Mr. Baratucci: It is large because each DJ Office has its own code and their typewriters and copiers are on here for their yearly maintenance. It will be presented next week for your approval.

TRAINING PACKET

Mr. Haste: It looks like we are okay on the Training Packet, Chad?

Mr. Saylor: Yes.

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

1. Addendum #1 to Appendix I to Cooperative Grant Agreement between Dauphin County Area Agency on Aging and the PA Dept. of Aging for the period July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2011. (***A VOTE IS REQUESTED 5/10/06)
2. Senior Center Grant Agreement between Dauphin County and the Royalton Senior Center. (***A VOTE IS REQUESTED 5/10/06)
3. Appointment to the MH/MR Advisory Board - Deborah Lewis.

Mr. Haste: I see we need a vote on A and B.

It was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Board approve Items A and B, noted above; motion carried.

REPORT FROM SOLICITOR - WILLIAM TULLY, ESQ.

Mr. Tully: I have nothing to add to the report, but would be happy to answer any questions you may have. (There was none.)

REPORT FROM CHIEF CLERK/CHIEF OF STAFF - CHAD SAYLOR

Mr. Saylor: I have nothing else, unless you have questions of me. (There was none.)

COMMISSIONERS' COMMENTS

Mr. Hartwick: As you may have seen coming around to your computers, we have begun the process of getting the workplace excited about our first cultural diversity celebration in Dauphin County where we recognize and celebrate the differences between us. We have 15 days leading up to the big event that we will have down here between the Courthouse and the Administration Building, which is going to be a day filled with great fun. The event will be from 11:00 to 2:00. Leading up to the event we are going to be collecting a very nice gift basket, representative of almost every culture we discuss. We have questions going out every day for the next 15 days so you can find out a little bit more about all the history and culture related to everybody who works here in Dauphin County. I would ask you to participate and the way that you can enter for the gift basket is to answer those questions daily. You don't have to get them all right. The ones that came from Germany, I got a complaint from Elke that they were very challenging questions. You just need to respond. You don't need to get all the questions right. We want you to participate in an attempt to get to know your co-worker, attempt to get to learn a little bit more about their culture and history so you understand as we move forward a little bit more about the people that work next to you here in Dauphin County. We look forward to seeing you on June 2nd.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Mr. Haste: We are again at the point in time for public participation. Is there anyone in the audience that would like to address the Board? (There was none.)

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business, it was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board adjourn.