DAUPHIN COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
LEGISLATIVE MEETING
December 19, 2007 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; Gary Serhan, Deputy Controller; Tom Guenther, Director of IT; Dave Schreiber, Personnel; Kay Lengle, Personnel; Diane McNaughton, Commissioners' Office; Randy Baratucci, Director of Purchasing; Mike Yohe, Director of Budget & Finance; Fred Lighty, Esq., Human Services Director's Office; Bill Struemke, Solicitor's Office; Elke Moyer, Human Services Director's Office; Edgar Cohen, Director of Facilities Maintenance; Stephanie Strayer, Human Services Director's Office; Michelle Schaaf, A.A.A.; Liz Hinkle, A.A.A.; Chris Bulick, Prison; Stefano Malfara, Prison; Elizabeth Simmons, Children & Youth; Dan Kern, Director of Schaffner Center; Scott Burford, Deputy Chief Clerk; Brenda Hoffer, Commissioners' Office; Jena Wolgemuth, Commissioners' Office; Amy Richards, Commissioners' Office and Richie-Ann Martz, Assistant Chief Clerk

GUESTS PRESENT

Jim Szymborski, Planning Commission; Tim Reardon, Planning Commission; Janine Park, Planning Commission; Evelyn Hunt, Frank Wedig, Chuck McLister, Rev. Alvin Taylor, Reggie Sheffield, Matt Rohman, David Black, Michael Welker, William C. Tuttle, Rose Guyer, Dave Mattern and Mark Stewart

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

It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board approve the November 21, 2007 Legislative Meeting Minutes, the November 28, 2007 Workshop Meeting Minutes and December 5, 2007 Legislative Meeting Minutes; motion carried.

It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board approve the November 21, 2007 Salary Board Meeting Minutes and the December 5, 2007 Salary Board Meeting Minutes; motion carried.

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS HELD BETWEEN MEETINGS

Mr. Saylor: We met once in Executive Session during the last two weeks and that was this morning to discuss matters of litigation.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

Mr. Haste: We are at the point in time 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. Frank Wedig, District Governor of the Lions Club
   1. Document of Appreciation

Mr. Wedig: I thank you for allowing me to be here today. My name is Frank Wedig and with me is past District Governor of Lions, William C. Tuttle. I am the District Governor of Lions District 14-T. As such, I represent Lions Club International with over 1.3 million members worldwide and District 14-T with over 2,000 Lions, Lionesses and Leos in Dauphin, Franklin, Juniata and Perry Counties. We are the largest service organization in the world. We are all volunteers giving of our time to make a better place to live. We are like you, serving our neighbors, in good times and not, using the tools that God gave us and praying for guidance as we make decisions. That is why I am here today to thank you as our elected officials for your service. I feel especially committed to honoring and respecting our leaders in the nation and our community and our volunteers. I say "what would we do without you." Lions Club Founder, Melvin Jones, said you can't get very far in this world until you help someone else. That is so true, especially today. Lions Club International, District 14-T and the Lions and Lionesses of Dauphin County sincerely thank you for your dedication to the Founding Fathers principles, Government of the People and for the People. The 24 Clubs, the Lions Clubs and the Lionesses Clubs of Dauphin County have since, March 4, 1921 when the Harrisburg Lions Club was first founded, served this community with untold contribution to the citizens in an effort to make life better for the unfortunate and in support of good works. The members have volunteered their time, talent and their resources to meet needs wherever they exist. Lions are especially dedicated to serving the blind and visually impaired. That is a commitment made during the Lions International Convention of 1925 when the noted Helen Keller asked us to be the Knights of the Blind. We said yes and we have kept our commitment. Our motto is we serve and it perfectly exemplifies the dedication to helping those in need. Dauphin County Commissioners, we thank you for serving in local government and preserving this nation's rich heritage while building for tomorrow. May God bless you for your service! Each year Lions Club International sponsors the International Peace Poster Contest with over 375,000 students ages 11 through 13, from over 100 countries in the world and they express their ideas about world peace through artwork, at the local, national and international level. One grand prize and 23 merit posters are awarded. The grand prize is awarded at Lions Day at the United Nations each year in April. As a token of our appreciation for the support that the Dauphin County Commissioners give to the Lions Clubs of Dauphin County, I would like to present a copy of the winning entry of last year's International Peace Poster Contest. Gentlemen, we thank you for your service.

(Applause was given and pictures were taken.)

1. Dave Schreiber, Personnel
   1. PSSU Labor Contract for 2007 thru 2009 Approval and Signing

Mr. Schreiber: I wanted to present for your approval and signing the 2007 through 2009 Labor Agreement between Dauphin County and the Pennsylvania Social Services Union. After some long tedious negotiations we arrived at an Agreement that provides some significant annual savings to the County in the areas of healthcare insurance and that would be on the office co-pays, like the rest of the employees in the County and a savings in the County's contribution to their health and welfare account. Additionally there are some opportunities for management right clauses for the operations at the Prison. We are pleased to come to you with this Agreement in hand.

Mr. Mattern: I'm Dave Mattern, the Chief Union Steward of Dauphin County Children and Youth. I have a prepared statement from Tom Herman, our Business Agent and Chief Lead Negotiator, which I'm going to read at this time. "Commissioners, PSSU Negotiating Team, Ladies and Gentlemen - Good Morning. I'm very sorry that I cannot be here today to celebrate the signing of this Labor Agreement with you. Unfortunately I have another commitment that cannot be broken, but I'm with you all today in spirit. The signing of the successor Collective Bargaining Agreement is a momentous occasion. It signifies continued labor peace and harmony between the parties. The contract provides the means for wages, benefits and a resolution of disputes. It sets a standard by which the parties have agreed to the conditions of employment between the workers and the management. It is a well-known fact that this particular Labor Agreement was not the easiest for the parties to achieve. It took a great deal of time and there was some tension between the parties to say the least. Both sides achieved some of the improvements that they needed, but both sides did not get everything they wanted. Compromise and settlement is the nature of good faith and fair negotiations. Both sides argued their points with expertise and passion. That passion includes the dedication that Dauphin County employees, both labor and management, bring to the services they provide for Dauphin County citizens and it is the citizens of our County that are the real winners with the quality of the Dauphin County staff. It is with true zeal that we join with you, the Dauphin County Commissioners and the Pennsylvania Social Services Union, to celebrate the signing of this Labor Agreement and by doing so rededicate our commitment together to make Dauphin County the best that it can be. On behalf of all the bargaining committee and members of PSSU, we wish you and all Dauphin County citizens a wonderful Holiday and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. Sincerely Tom Herman"

It was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Board approve the PSSU Labor Agreement for the period 2007 thru 2009; motion carried.

(The Commissioners and members signed the Labor Agreement.)

1. David Black, Executive Director, CREDC
   1. JPI Project

Mr. Black: It is always a pleasure to be here. Let me just start by wishing you all the very best for the Holiday Season and I don't believe I have seen you in a formal setting since the re-election - Congratulations. The Dauphin County voters are wise. All the hard work that you put into economic development over the past four years, we look forward to another four years. It has been a very good partnership. Thank you for all you do for the County and the region.

What I have for you today is a Resolution. We are applying for a grant to the State Department of Community and Economic Development and their Housing and Redevelopment Assistance Program for $250,000 that will be used as a loan to JPI, a company that is here in town now and hopes to relocate to 1500 Paxton Street. It is commonly known as the UGI Building. If it is successful in getting this grant it will come to Dauphin County we will package the loan and as I said lend it at below market interest rate to JPI for their expansion at 1500 Paxton Street property. It is a 50,000 square foot property and they are currently in the due diligence phase. They have it under contract and they have a period of time to do their due diligence. Obviously receipt of this low interest loan for them would be part of their due diligence. The Department of Community & Economic Development has been very good in helping us move this through and we would appreciate the County's support in applying for this grant. This is a grant that CREDC is not eligible for as an economic development corporation. It needs to run through a municipality or county government. We would appreciate your assistance in getting this project underway.

Mr. DiFrancesco: This is a really good project. It is always good to see where a business that grew up in the City stays in the City. I know JPI came to the table with a very strong desire to stay committed to the City. The whole thing worked out very well. We appreciate their commitment to not only staying in Dauphin County, but staying in the City of Harrisburg.

Mr. Hartwick: As you said earlier economic development is about partnerships and we just want to commend CREDC and the Regional Chamber for being a great partner and assisting us in luring more than 8,000 jobs into this region over the past four years. I know you have been a partner of ours throughout the entire process and this has just been one example of a great project that you have helped bring forward that we have worked in a cooperative relationship with and are happy to participate in. Hopefully it will be the one in a line of many more over the next four years in similar accomplishments. Happy holidays to you Dave.

Mr. Black: Thank you very much. Just action on the Resolution and then we can move on to our other projects.

It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board adopt Resolution #37-2007 approving the Department of Community and Economic Development HRA Program Single Application for a $250,000 grant for Journal Publication Inc.'s Technology Corridor Enterprise Zone Project to purchase and renovate the UGI Building on Paxton Street; motion carried.

1. Matt Rohman, Spring Creek Management, LLP
   1. Annual Progress Report

Mr. Rohman: My name is Matt Rohman. I'm the Executive Director at Spring Creek Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center and I am here today to provide you with the semi-annual update on the operations at Spring Creek.

Just to start out with a little general information for you. The census today is 301 versus again, for your information, roughly 250 at transition. The current Medicaid census is 236 versus 224 during the transition. We have made some staff improvements that I would like to inform you about. One, we have continued to make significant progress in hiring full-time staff since the transition. This has mainly occurred from word of mouth as we believe we are becoming the employer of choice in the area. We continue to implement new technology and information of management solutions throughout the entire building. We are working to minimize charting time so the staff can maximize their time with the residents. We continue to evaluate additional solutions with the input of all the staff as we move forward in all areas for technology. We have also created a staff incentive program. This program allows all of the staff to be rewarded for providing world class care at the facility and good quality care. We have a training program for staff under which we are constantly testing and improving their skills. Some patient care improvements, we have had significant capital expenditures. We had improvements in the McBride Building in the past ten months. We've completed our Sub-Acute Therapy Unit and that is now operational. Some of the items that are on that unit we have outfitted the rooms with televisions, telephones, much more hospital-like in appearance, which is what they are used to when they come from the hospital. We also have a Continuous Causing Improvement Processing Place. That includes multiple individuals, all committed to achieving the highest quality of care. I would say this is evidenced by a few items. One, the local community healthcare providers continue to refer patients at an increasing rate to Spring Creek as you can tell by the increase in census. We have had a number of Department of Health visits with no immediate jeopardy findings on any of those. We have been involved with some community involvements. One, we have been approached by a number of hospitals, pharmacies and other local healthcare companies to propose a new strategic alliance to better solve the healthcare needs of the community. We have created a Spring Creek website to keep the community updated on the services that we provide, in addition to employment opportunities. That website is www.springcreekcare.com. We are currently in the process of establishing electronic communications with the referring hospitals in an effort to ensure that all appropriate information gets over timely.

In conclusion, both the residents and the staff have come together to benefit the local community. We have recently done things such as provide supplies to local animal shelters, raised funds for Alzheimer's research and participated in the Alzheimer's Walk and other various community projects with the local senior center, etc.

Mr. Haste: The computers on the carts now, what are you doing with those? Is that for the patient care?

Mr. Rohman: It is. It is electronic medication and treatment administration records. It is used along with the nurses as they pass medication and treatment. It is point of care charting. It is a more efficient way to pass medication and it allows them to spend more time with the resident and helps prevent medication error.

Mr. Haste: So, you are keeping the medication, are you also keeping the care plans in there? Or is it just medication right now?

Mr. Rohman: It is medication and treatment records at this point. The goal for the facility is to go completely paperless in its records.

Mr. DiFrancesco: Just the McBride Project is complete now, all four floors?

Mr. Rohman: The majority. We are still doing things like repainting patient rooms. We have completed some renovations on the nurses' station. There are still a few that need to be done. I think in general in taking care of any property it is always an ongoing process.

Mr. DiFrancesco: Obviously there is a lot of improvement to be made. Very good.

Mr. Hartwick: You talked about your Sub-Acute, have you finished your contract?

Mr. Rohman: This is our therapy.

Mr. Hartwick: That is a part of the McBride renovations?

Mr. Rohman: That is actually a part of South Tower.

Mr. Hartwick: You said that you are right now serving 301 residents. What do you have the capacity to serve?

Mr. Rohman: 404 and that is the goal of the facility to operate all 404 beds.

Mr. Hartwick: One of the concerns that I raised initially about the transition was as it relates to the availability of medical assistance beds for patients not based upon how sick they are, but based upon a combination of factors. I haven't touched base with our Aging folks. I didn't know you were coming. Have you had any difficult challenges in trying to get folks who have medical assistance needs into the facility and have we had any of those folks who have those medical assistance needs that are going to be transferred outside of the County for lack of beds?

Mr. Rohman: To the first part of that question. As you can tell from the increase in Medicaid census, we have continued to take those residents. There has been no difficulty in doing so. We take people on a pending basis so even if they have not qualified yet we do admit those patients. To my knowledge no one has been transferred out of the County because of a lack of beds.

Mr. Hartwick: There was a time when I received a number of requests, even when Spring Creek was under the County ownership, of individuals who needed that type of care and sometimes there was a waiting list. I haven't received a great deal of requests so that must mean that they are being served and there isn't a huge need within the County. I do get monthly reports related to medical assistance availability beds within the entire County. I haven't seen it rise to crisis stage as of yet, but we will continue to monitor that and hope that you will continue to work along with us in order to serve those people who have the highest need.

Mr. Rohman: Absolutely.

1. Chuck McLister and Dan Kern
   1. Schaff`ner Budget

Mr. McLister: My name is Chuck McLister. I'm the Divisional Director for Abraxas Youth and Family Services, a subsidiary of Cornell Companies. My colleague is Dan Kern. He is the Director of the Schaffner Youth Center. During the budget hearing process Dan informed me that some questions came up around what drives the per diem rate at the Center. You had asked us to do some analysis and come back to you with a presentation. We will focus on two things today. The first one is to answer some of those questions regarding what drives the per diem at the Center. The second one is to talk about funding streams, because you can't really have a conversation about per diem unless you fully understand how the services at the Center are funded. It is kind of a two-part process and we will take that one at a time. If at any point you have a question please feel free to stop us.

This may be information that you already know, just from previous conversations about costs at the Center and the answer to the question about what drives the per diem. Primarily the utilization, how many kids are in the facility, personnel costs, salary fringe and personnel as part of the management contract and overtime due to things like vacation or overcrowding, unscheduled call-offs. We will take these three points one at a time and drill down into those in more detail. Utilization is the first point. We have two visuals. The first one is the number of transfers out of the facility to other facilities, because of overcrowding. I think the thing that stands out here is in the first half of the year of this year compared to the first half of the year last year, we have quite a few transfers that reverses itself to some degree at the second half of the year. Both of these years see a lot more transfers to other county facilities and other private facilities within previous years. In the interest of time we don't have a lot of data for you. We can do more detail on all of these issues, but these numbers are much higher than they were in 2003 and 2004, when in fact we were taking kids from other facilities, because of empty bed space. Two things really occurred between then and now and that was Medicaid realignment and the loss of the TANF Funds.

The second table shows the average daily population of the facility for detention and shelter. You have 36 detention beds and 27 shelter beds. I added a visual for you in the detention side to show whether we were overcrowded or under-crowded as an average that month. You can see for most of the time we were overcrowded by anywhere from one client to approximately ten. Utilization drives the cost of the Center significantly.

The salaries, this is kind of a static thing across the County. The collective bargaining agreement really determines what the salaries are. We think the people do a pretty hard job out there and feel that the salaries are fair. The only other point to point out on this slide is that the increase is a little higher than what I think year-to-year when you go from 2004 to 2005 you are looking at about 10% really in each case. We projected only a 1.34% increase between 2007 and 2008. I don't know if that will actually come to fruition. I think there are other valuables that factor into what drives the year over year increase. Any dollar that is paid to an employee, whether it be a bonus for working overtime or whether it be the annual increase or increases as a result of going from your first year to your second year, that is factored into this. The contract speaks to increases that tend to be heavier loaded early on in employment and then it kind of levels out to a 3 to 4% increase after the first couple of years.

This slide I realize will probably raise more questions than actual answers. Before I would give any answers to those questions I really would like to have more time to backup what I would say with actual data. We did a comparison here between a facility that we run in South Mountain, which is of comparative size, actually a little bit larger that does detention and shelter and actual long term secure. It is the Abraxas Youth Center. If you look at the comparison of overtime dollars, you see a pretty significant difference between the Schaffner Center and our facility. You might say well maybe the wages are lower or there are other variables there and that might not be an apples-to- apples comparison. The bottom table visual is an actual apples-to-apples comparison of overtime as a percentage of the salary line. Say your salary line is much higher at the Schaffner Youth Center than it is to Abraxas Youth Center that might account for the dollar figure difference. But, if you take it as a percentage of the personnel line you see there is still a vast difference between overtime rates. We traditionally run around 2 to 5% in our facilities. A couple questions that I think would be on my mind, if I was in your seat, was what is our overtime compared to other county facilities? What is the reason that your overtime is so low at your facility and so high at ours? I would be happy to answer those questions. I think that is probably another hour of discussion. I would like to table that and those kinds of questions for a later date. This is factually what overtime looks like. Overtime definitely drives the cost at the Center and drives the per diem.

Would have it been better had you not privatized? Obviously the reporter here is a biased one. When you take a look at the Cornell Management Contract, which includes the salaries of our employees, the benefits of our employees, it includes all the other line items too, which are not many, but there are some insurance costs and travel costs. You compare that to the salaries of the former Dauphin County managers who we replaced in 2001 and you allow for 4% increases, which was the history of those increases prior to our arrival, you see that the management contract still outpaces the salaries of the former employees year over year.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I think it is important to note that what you are saying was the messenger is biased and not the only reporter that is in the room. The messenger delivering the message is biased. I just wanted to be very clear so the reporter understands that you weren't referring to him.

Mr. McLister: Examples of other per diem locally here, Lancaster for secure is $275 versus our $319 and York is $280 versus our $319. York has a little bit higher shelter rate than we do and Lancaster's is lower. There are lots of variables factoring into why one per diem is higher than another. We didn't do this for today, but we could easily get access to all the per diems in the State and analyze how we stack up against those.

Mr. Hartwick: That would be helpful and show the detail behind the breakdown of the rates and do a cost comparison. That would allow striking differences to come out and allow us to pinpoint besides just the overtime costs of where our cost differentiates.

Mr. McLister: The next couple of slides are about funding streams. Some of you may have some knowledge of the streams or heard of them. I would like to go over them in order. We actually checked out facts with Sandy Pintarch in Children and Youth. These are in the order that they are applied to the per diem at the Center. The first one is self pay from the guardians of the children. That is a miniscule amount. It is single digit percentage of the amount of cost. That is probably the last time I'll even talk about that one. It doesn't account for enough of the per diem. Title IV-E, there is a lot of talk about this being used. Two things to know is that you can only use Title IV-E if you are a private facility and non-secure. For the most part, the Schaffner Center fails on both those counts and does not collect IV-E monies. Some people see Title IV-E as a way to fix your expense problems after the fall of TANF. In truth you are only allowed to collect 53% of whatever those allowable costs are and those allowable costs range from 70 to 90%. On your best case you are probably looking at 53% of 90% which cuts into the amount that you would be thinking you are saving in the long haul. TANF was used previously and it is gone now. We will talk about the impact of that on the next couple of slides. Act 148 is the predominant funding stream used to fund services at the Center. You get 90% for the first 30 days of shelter and 60% thereafter. Actually I think that is 50% for secure, not 60%. The rest is funded by the General Fund and that is the issue that is relevant to our discussions. How much does the County have to pay for after the funding streams are exhausted?

Mr. Hartwick: And TANF used to cover the other half in secure.

Mr. McLister: TANF used to cover everything.

Mr. Hartwick: And the other 10% of the first 30 days.

Mr. McLister: I'm actually going to show you a table that shows the affect of TANF going away to the General Fund. So that we can make an apples-to-apples comparison every year, we used today's per diem for all the calculations. Although, it hasn't been the same per diem over the years, but that will help for the math on this and keep it in perspective for you. We also assumed that the beds would be full all year. The utilization changes, that changes things, but for the comparison we used full beds as our assumption. When you talk about flipping beds a few years ago in response to the TANF monies going away, we took secure beds at the facility and turned those into shelter beds under the assumption that there are some kids out there who would be retained in the non-secure part of the facility rather than the secure facility and you get a better rate for the non-secure beds. When I say flipping beds that is what I'm talking about.

Mr. Hartwick: You get a better rate meaning total cost and reimbursement?

Mr. McLister: The shelter rate would change, the more beds you have, but you do get a better drawdown from 148. You get 90% versus 50%.

Mr. Hartwick: Shelter costs less than detention?

Mr. McLister: It does, square footage and the number of kids. Of course, that changes as you add shelter beds. That could equal out. The big assumption is; are there more kids who would be able to be maintained in a non-secure setting; who are now in secure? Our gut tells us that we are probably maxed out there. There probably aren't a lot of kids who would be, the 36 detention beds are holding 36 kids who probably wouldn't do well in an open setting even if there was an open setting at that facility. There is a risk of absconding. You end up putting a higher risk kid in a lower risk environment and that can be problematic in other ways.

Mr. DiFrancesco: For clarity, I think it is important too for the record to note that the State law governs shelters that their doors must be unlocked. Every time you shift somebody off of detention and put them into a shelter setting you take the risk, as Chuck mentioned, of them literally being able to walk out the door. At this point, I don't know that we could flip any more beds than we've already done.

Mr. McLister: The last assumption is that we would be working under the current Title IV-E rules. There is some talk that they are monitoring the Title IV-E collection and it may change under this administration in the near future. We used the current rules of 53% of the allowable costs for our calculations.

Mr. Hartwick: I haven't heard it is going to get any better. I heard it is going to get worse.

Mr. McLister: I heard it is going to be harder to draw down. The details on how that plays out have yet to be seen. You have the shelter and detention per diem and number of beds pre TANF elimination. So, this is what it looked like. No collection of Title IV-E funds, you look at TANF funding 100% of the cost of shelter and detention at that time. No need to draw down your 148, so 148 could be used for other services in the Children & Youth budget. No cost to the General Fund. If you go the next day, after TANF disappears, the per diem is the same, the number of beds are the same, Title IV-E no collection there, TANF goes away, now you go to that 90%/50% calculation. So, you are going to take off 227 and 160 from the shelter and detention per diem, which cost the General Fund $185 a day for the two services based on that configuration. You are looking at about $2.9 million of General Fund money to fund the Center after TANF goes away. So this is still history. A great idea was to flip the beds that you could. I think it was 12 beds to shelter beds from detention. You saved approximately $500,000 doing that off of what you were paying to fund the Center. It is a great idea and you think well lets keep doing that because that seems to work, but then you run into the risk of kids in the wrong placement. The current situation, you are looking at about $2.3 million funded from the General Fund in annual costs. You can make that better by about another $500,000 where you flip another 12 beds. If you were to privatize all the shelter beds that currently existed in the facility and thereby be able to draw down Title IV-E you would only save about $100,000 a year. To me that doesn't sound like a savings that would be worth the trouble of doing that. If you were to flip and privatize both you are looking at about a $750,000 improvement. When you look at the risk of kids in the wrong placement and you look at the risk of trying to privatize what are currently County operated beds, this is interesting to talk about, but I don't know if it is realistic. In essence I think that the Board and the County have done what they could to mitigate the TANF loss that occurred a couple years ago.

Mr. Saylor: This is in terms of the funding. This isn't about that you didn't calculate in terms of the healthcare costs, workers comp costs and all those kinds of things.

Mr. McLister: I used all the current situation to generate these numbers. Nothing changed around the cost of the Center, this is what it would look like. This slide shows what the affect on these changes would be to the per diem, essentially nothing. No affect to the per diem. You would have to change things like the cost of personnel, overtime, benefits, food, etc. in order to impact the per diem. You would also have to factor in the utilization, which is very hard to predict at the Center. Every year we don't see patterns. We see patterns in our non-detention facility where the summer months tend to drop, but you don't always see that at the Schaffner Center. Sometimes the summer months are full of kids. It is hard to explain. There are a lot of variables. We would be happy to take questions and then maybe come back again after the new year and do some more discussion if that is what you wanted. Particularly around the overtime costs, which, I think, is probably that standout slide.

Mr. Hartwick: If you could zero in on the differences in per diem, I think that would be the most helpful thing for me to see what constitutes the rates for other counties who have lower per diem versus what constitutes the cost drivers for our per diem. Even if you see making a transition there to completely private only changes the per diem by a couple bucks and then we are seeing significantly lower per diems in other counties. Is it the efficiency of the facility? There are a ton of variables that go into this. I would like to see if you can break those per diems out and I'm sure there is going to be some glaring differences.

Mr. McLister: We can get the per diem rates for all the detention centers in the State. Whether we can draw very accurate conclusions about why they are what they are will depend on those individual counties and their directors willing to share with us what they think their costs are and whether that is backed up by data or is that anecdotal. I think we can draw some probably intelligent conclusions although they may not be pinpoint accurate, because we don't have access to all those variables at every facility. We have access to all our variables and can do a pretty thorough report on that I'm sure. We can get all the per diems and see where we stack up and speculate why one county facility might be less than another, etc.

Mr. Hartwick: Or is it a matter of management rights here with some issues related to overtime? Those are things that we have to go into our next negotiations.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I think as a result of a number of issues and with today's discussion primarily TANF going away and the fact that so much more responsibility shifted on the General Fund, we have a strategic decision to make going forward. We have to take a look at this in detail. I think for the next year we will be looking at some real hard facts and some in-depth analysis because come next year (2009) is when we get back into contract negotiations and so forth. Over the next year we better understand totally how we stack up against other facilities. Things like what does the State mandate, what are we doing above and beyond what the State mandates, where are the costs coming from in that regard. One of the things that I also asked Personnel to look into is the comparison of contracts in other counties. There are bumps in employment. You get your 4% annual plus your steps. How does that stack up against other counties? I think Personnel can get that information from CCAP. I'm going to direct them to do that, because there are a lot of facts that we are going to have to look at going forward. When TANF was paying the bill and it wasn't falling on the back of the property owners I think the State paid a little bit more on what was happening and what they would accept and so forth. Now that more and more responsibility is going on the General Fund and again the property owners of the County, we have to do that comparison, stack it up and say where are we doing more than we have to be doing, where is the manager of right issues come in, in terms of call-offs and things of that nature. We are going to have a hard decision to make. When we get into 2009 we need to have our ducks in order with solid information backing up why we are doing what we are doing in terms of contract negotiations and so forth. In the end if the facility is going to cost more and more to the property owners, so now is the time to get our information in order and understand exactly in high detail what we are dealing with. We have to try to pull the costs down however we can.

Mr. McLister: I will work with Personnel and JDCAP to get that information.

Mr. DiFrancesco: JDCAP has been a great partner as well in helping out with information. Thank you for the presentation.

SALARY BOARD

A complete set of Salary Board Minutes is on file in the Chief Clerk's Office.

PERSONNEL

Ms. Lengle: I have an Addendum to the Personnel Packet. It was the New Hire that was in question next week.

Mr. Hartwick: I'm okay.

Ms. Lengle: #6 is actually a reversal of something that was in last week. That cost center is going to remain the same for that employee.

Mr. Haste: The grant, is that what the idea is?

Mr. Hartwick: I don't know what the issue is with this.

Ms. Lengle: The salary is still coming from the grant.

Mr. Hartwick: She is going to be considered an employee under our Drug and Alcohol Department. She is going to be funded from the grant, but housed, unlike where she is currently an employee of the Prison.

Ms. Lengle: Are there any questions on the items in there? (There was none.)

It was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Board approve the Personnel Addendum; motion carried.

PURCHASE ORDERS

Mr. Baratucci: The packet was updated from last week. There are a couple of things that I want to note. Last week I mentioned that there would be two additions. Those two additions are on Page 1 and 4. Page 1 is a camera for the communications office. Page 4 is the furniture for the Public Defender's move. In addition on Page 7 we have something from the Print Shop. It is just settling up our service contract on the copier out there. We are paying a copy overage fee which is part of the contract. They had some money left over and they wanted that approved. That was not one that I mentioned last week. Page 11 there is an upgrade out of the Act 8 monies for the software in the Sheriff's Office. That was something that came up since last week. We actually have those additional four and in addition to that we have a Requisition that I just handed you from Facilities Maintenance. This is something that was approved a few weeks ago, the roof replacement at the Bulk Storage facility. We did approve and accept the bid, we just never did the paperwork and the bills are now coming in and we need this to code the bills. This was a last minute add that was not in the packet at all, but I would like you to consider approving this.

It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board approve the Purchase Order Packet, as amended; motion carried.

Office Supply Contract

Mr. Baratucci: Each year we do a bid for an office supply contract. You have in front of you the results of that bid. We did have five different people submit bids and the low bidder again for both Part A, which is the regular office supplies and Part B, which is the computer supplies is Office Basics. They are our current supplier and have been doing an excellent job. I would recommend that we stay with them and award our contract for 2008 to Office Basics.

It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board award the bid for office supplies to the low bidder, Office Basics; motion carried.

Remote Access

Mr. Baratucci: The last thing I have is you asked me to bring back up the Coroner's Remote Access item that was tabled a couple of weeks back. I think you did get a chance to talk with Graham and Mr. Guenther and that is before you for action as well.

Mr. Haste: He explained to me that there is data information in those forms and this is a way to go more paperless. They are able to do their reports on scene faster and more accurate.

It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Haste, with Mr. Hartwick voting "no" to approve two Remote Access Wireless Cards for the Coroner's Office; motion carried.

REPORT FROM BUDGET & FINANCE - MIKE YOHE, BUDGET DIRECTOR

Mr. Yohe gave the following report.

Report from the Office of Budget & Finance
December 19, 2007

• December 7, 2007 transferred $5,479,780.62 to the Payables account and $1,822,943.04 to the Payroll account from the County's Concentration account for checks issued that week.
• December 14, 2007 transferred $801,771.83 to the Payables account from the County's Concentration account for checks issued that week.
• Total Term Investments - N/A
• Balance today in INVEST account $139,249.18 rate 4.310%
• Balance today in Susquehanna Bank investment account $55,300,487.82 rate 5.220% (This rate is fixed for the month)
• Balance today in Sovereign Bank investment account $17,000,817.81 rate 5.100% (This equals today's 1-month LIBOR rate of 5.200% minus 12 basis points)
• Balance today in PNC Bank investment account $1,000.00 rate 4.100% (This equals today's Fed Funds rate of 4.250% minus 15 basis points)
• Balance today in Graystone Bank investment account $1,000.00 rate 4.150% (This equals today's Fed Funds rate of 4.250% minus 10 basis points)
• Balance today in Commerce Bank investment account $1,000.00 rate 2.250% (This equals today's 90-day T-Bill rate of 3.000% minus 75 basis points)

No T.R.A.N. Line of Credit required for 2007.

Mr. Yohe: We have two more months until the next RFP goes out.

REPORT FROM CHIEF CLERK/CHIEF OF STAFF - CHAD SAYLOR

Mr. Saylor: Commissioners, what you have before you is a notice I received earlier this week from Jennifer Storm, the Executive Director of Victim/Witness Assistance Program. They are interested in reapplying for the program called Grants to Encourage Arrest Policies and Enforcement of Protection Orders. They do it in conjunction with the District Attorney's Office and the Harrisburg City Police Department. She wants to submit this by January 3, 2008. I failed to get this on the Agenda for today, however, I did review this with Mr. Tully yesterday and he is okay with it so if you could kindly authorize me to sign it we will get it on its way back into Jennifer's hands.

Mr. Haste: Bill did review it?

Mr. Saylor: He did.

Mr. Hartwick: Is there any County match required at all for this grant?

Mr. Saylor: I don't believe that there is. I can double check that.

Mr. Hartwick: Just make sure that there is no future commitment as well for making up any funding with General Fund dollars.

Mr. Haste: I didn't read it that way. I guess if we were to authorize you I would think it would be with that stipulation if there is no County match.

Mr. Saylor: The only thing I'm signing is that we are going to be a part of this and there are certain policies we are going to enact or support.

There was an issue about the approval of the Comp Plan. On January 9, 2008, we will have a public meeting on that at 9:30 a.m. and will be considered at that time.

The fee schedule that we discussed last week is on the agenda for approval. That is Item UU. I should point out that for next year the 2008 meetings, as required by the County Code, the next meeting will be January 7, 2008. It will be the reorganizational meeting/workshop and then we will begin with January 9, 2008 as a Legislative Meeting. The January 7th meeting will be treated as a Workshop for consideration of any business that may need to be reviewed.

It was moved by Mr. DiFrancesco and seconded by Mr. Hartwick that the Board authorizes Chad Saylor to sign the Grant Application on behalf of the Victim/Witness Assistance Program with the stipulation that there is no County match required; motion carried.

REPORT FROM SOLICITOR - BRUCE FOREMAN, ESQ.

Mr. Foreman: Seasons greetings from the Solicitor's Office. There is nothing that we wish to add to the Report that has been circulated.

MATTERS REQUIRING BOARD ACTION

Mr. Haste: We have items before us that require Board action, Items A through YY. We will pull out Item G. Are there any other items that need to be pulled out at this time? (There was none.)

1. Training Packet.
2. Refund of 2007 Real Estate Taxes - Bertram & Lillian Goldberg - $197.27
3. Appointment of Keith Oellig, Rennie Phillips and Randy Greider to the Ag Land Preservation Board. Terms will expire December 31, 2010.
4. Appointment of Marie Furjanic, Betty J. L. Curtis, Dennis L. Stover, James Zugay and William Neway to the Council on Aging Advisory Board. Terms expire December 31, 2010.
5. Appointment of Dr. Michael Barton and Mary Moyer to the Fort Hunter Board of Trustees. Terms expire December 31, 2010.
6. Appointment of John Kerschner, Gary Lenker and Pete Sedesse to the Dauphin County Planning Commission - terms expire December 31, 2011.
7. Appointment of Robin Zellers to the Dauphin County Industrial Development Authority - term expires December 31, 2012. (Pulled)
8. Appointment of C. E. Henery, Mike Musser and Daryl Z. LeHew to the Dauphin County Board of Assessment Appeals. Terms will expire December 31, 2011.
9. Appointment of Joseph Massaro to the Tourism Board. Term expires December 31, 2008 (filling unexpired term).
10. Appointment of Marion C. Alexander, Kenneth Shutts, Sara Jane Cate, Maria Persico and Bruce Foreman, Esq. to the Dauphin County Library Board. Terms expire December 31, 2008.
11. Appointment of Betty Simmonds and Sherri Smith to the Dauphin County MH/MR Advisory Board. Terms expire December 31, 2010.
12. Appointment of Tim Wentzel and Katharine Radomsky to the Dauphin County Conservation District Board. Terms expire December 31, 2011.
13. Appointment of Gary Crissman, Ernie Davis and Vladimir R. Beaufils to the Schaffner Advisory Board. Terms expire December 31, 2010.
14. Purchase of Service Agreements between Dauphin County (Drug & Alcohol Program) and:
    1. Mazzitti and Sullivan Counseling Services, Inc.
    2. FireTree LTD
    3. Eagleville Hospital
    4. Clear Brook, Inc.
    5. Pinnacle Health System
    6. NHS Human Services - Edgewater Psychiatric Center
    7. Daystar Center for Spiritual Recovery
    8. Genesis House, Inc.
    9. Naaman Center
    10. Center for Behavioral Health HA, Inc.
    11. Pennsylvania Counseling Services, Inc.
    12. H.E.A.R., Inc.
    13. Spanish American Civic Association for Equality, Inc.
    14. Bowling Green Inn of Brandywine, Inc.
    15. Pyramid Healthcare, Inc.
    16. City of Harrisburg
    17. Swatara Township
    18. Susquehanna Township
    19. Valley Forge Medical Center and Hospital
    20. T. W. Ponessa and Associates Counseling Services, Inc.
    21. Gaudenzia, Inc.
    22. White Deer Run, Inc.
15. Purchase of Service Agreements between Children and Youth and:
    1. Pennsylvania Clinical Schools, Inc.
    2. Valley Youth House, Inc.
    3. County of Lancaster
16. Purchase of Service Agreement Amendment #1 between Children and Youth and Northwestern Human Services of Pennsylvania.
17. Adoption Assistance Agreements #2007-35, #2007-42 and #2007-43.
18. Subsidized Legal Custodianship Agreement #2007-03.
19. MH Purchase of Service Agreement between MH/MR and Keystone Service Systems, Inc.
20. MR Waiver Purchase of Service Agreement between MH/MR and:
    1. Keystone Service Systems, Inc.
    2. Center for Independent Living
    3. Bayada Nurses, Inc.
21. ITF Medicaid Waiver Service Agreement between MH/MR and Keystone Service Systems, Inc.
22. Purchase of Service Agreement Amendment #1 between MH/MR and Victoria T. Kern, MPT t/d/b/a Kern Physical Therapy Services.
23. Appoint Loren Bowen to fill the unexpired term of Tina Shuman as Dauphin County Tax Collector for Conewago Township.
24. Resolution #34-2007 - Application to Encumber Liquid Fuels Tax Funds in the amount of $700,000 for County Bridge #122.
25. Satisfaction Agreements for:
    1. Hector and Joan Rivera for property located at 2450 Adrian Street, Harrisburg, PA 17104 ($2,834.00).
    2. Jonathan Smith for property located at 3149 N. 6th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110 ($2,595.00).
    3. Janey Light for property located at 126 Pine Street, Middletown, PA 17057 ($3,500.00).
    4. Lisa Wolfe for property located at 1935 Rudy Road, Harrisburg, PA 17104 ($4,125.00).
    5. Nexa Castro-Giboyeaux and Daniel Giboyeaux for property located at 2445 Reel Street, Harrisburg, PA 17110 ($3,450.00).
    6. Gregory Houseal for property located at 2520 Duke Street, Harrisburg, PA 17111 ($3,875.00).
26. J.C. Barr Letter of Intent for development of a CVS on vacant Paxton Street site.
27. Participation Contract between Dauphin County and Verizon to facilitate team communications on an as needed basis. Verizon utilizes the MiCTA Service Corporation for these services.
28. G. R. Sponaugle Service Electrical Project Proposal to replace 30 Dynasty batteries in the Liebert Model AP366 UPS. The rate is $12,125.00.
29. Agreement between Dauphin County and Level 3 Communications for Internet Access equivalent in function and cost to that currently in use.
30. Professional Services Contract between Dauphin County and Brown's River Binder, Inc. - Records Preservation Services for restoration of historical documents. The cost of the project not to exceed $34,911.00.
31. Application of Service between Dauphin County and Verizon Pennsylvania, Inc. for Wide Area Network (WAN) Upgrade.
32. Purchase of Service Agreement between MH/MR and Express Scripts, Inc.
33. Morefield Communications Service Agreement for Dauphin County Nortel phone system for downtown complex, surrounding satellite locations and M.D.J. Offices.
34. HP Lease Contract #24 for 87 PCs to be installed in various Dauphin County departments. Terms and conditions relative to HP Standard Terms and Conditions lease agreement approved by the Commissioners 5/5/04. The total cost is $64,514.
35. HP Financial Services State and Local Government Single Schedule Lease Purchase Agreement. The total cost is $271,626.31.
36. Agreement to provide consulting services between Dauphin County and Maximus, Inc. for the cost allocation plans for calendar years 2007, 2008 and 2009.
37. Proposal between Dauphin County and Zelenkofske Axelrod, LLC (ZA). ZA will perform the County general audit for the years ending December 31, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
38. Consultant Contract between Dauphin County and Urban Research & Development Corporation (URDC) via Tri-County Regional Planning Commission for development of the Dauphin County Greenway Study. Total project cost $58,989.00.
39. Resolution #35-2007 - Appointment of Commissioner George P. Hartwick, III to the Southcentral Employment Corporation Board of Directors.
40. Appointment of Shaun Donovan to the Local Emergency Planning Committee. Mr. Donovan is replacing Jim Willshier who is no longer employed by the Harrisburg Regional Chamber.
41. Letter of Engagement between Dauphin County and Zelenkofske Axelrod, LLC. ZA will audit the financial statements of the Lower Paxton Township Tax Collector for the period ending December 31, 2006.
42. Proposal between Dauphin County and Zelenkofske Axelrod, LLC to extend their audit services to Dauphin County for the years ending December 31, 2007, 2008 and 2009 for the audit of the County District Justices.
43. Amendment to the Proposal between Dauphin County and Zelenkofske Axelrod, LLC to add a new district justice that needs to be audited for the year ended December 31, 2006.
44. Letter of Engagement between Dauphin County and Zelenkofske Axelrod, LLC. ZA will audit the 16 Dauphin County District Justices for the year ended December 31, 2006.
45. Purchase of Service Per Diem Rate between Children & Youth and Bethany Christian Services of Western PA.
46. Appointment of Wolf Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP as Special Counsel relating to receipt and distribution of local share assessments under the Pennsylvania Race Horse Development and Gaming Act, and other matters as the County may assign.
47. Resolution #36-2007 approving the revised fee schedule adopted by Dauphin County Planning Commission effective January 1, 2008.
48. Full Service Maintenance Agreement between Dauphin County Parks & Recreation Department and Comarco for two Emergency Call Boxes located at Wildwood Park. The agreement term is 1/1/08 to 12/31/08 for a total cost of $1,100.00.
49. Resolution #37-2007 approving the Department of Community and Economic Development HRA Program Single Application for a $250,000 grant for Journal Publication Inc.'s Technology Corridor Enterprise Zone Project to purchase and renovate UGI Building on Paxton Street.
50. Agreement for a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Grant by the Commonwealth of PA for the Dauphin County Library System for $2,300,000.
51. Governor's Center for Local Government Services Municipal Statistics E-Filer Authorization.

It was moved by Mr. Hartwick and seconded by Mr. DiFrancesco that the Board approve Matters Requiring Board Action Items A through YY, minus G; motion carried.

Mr. Hartwick: I just wanted to note there are 22 contracts that have been diligently worked on by our transition team, particularly Fred Lighty, to ensure that there will be a seamless delivery of services in the Drug and Alcohol Department. I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank the members of the transition team that have worked very hard to make sure that occurs and I will be attending the meeting Friday. Fred Lighty, Merle, Stephanie, Elke and Sandy have done a fabulous job in making sure that the transition is going to be seamless. I will make sure that if there is anything to report prior to the turn of the key the Board will be notified.

FORMER/NEW BUSINESS

Mr. Hartwick: I have a couple things. First, I would like to wish Commissioner DiFrancesco a Happy 43rd Birthday today. All of us congratulate the Commissioner on reaching this milestone.

Secondly, I would like to give a big congratulations to the Steel-High Rollers for their 34 to 15 victory over Serra Catholic to let all the folks in the mid-state know that they are only losing three seniors and we expect them to repeat next year. We would like to honor them at a future meeting if that is possible, Diane?

Also, on a sad note I want to recognize and give the appropriate comments on the recent passing of Thomas Kershaw. He was a long term employee that worked for the Schaffner Center. He was a graduate of Steelton-Highspire High School in the class of 1977 and gave a great deal of time and effort and involvement to the Schaffner Center. I have been contacted by a number of folks talking about trying to do something in his honor out at the Schaffner Youth Detention Center.

The last thing is Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah and Happy Kwanzaa.

Mr. DiFrancesco: I just wanted to take off a little bit on what George said. It is unfortunate when you lose somebody so young and Tom was 50 years old when he passed. It was a shock to all of us. It was one of those situations where all of us had been talking to him on Friday and then you get that phone call on Monday that this young man had passed. One of the true testaments to his life was, of course, when they had the services and people got to speak. I had left the room by this time, but supposedly one of the young people from Schaffner got up, one of the kids that was in the facility, and just gave a remarkable testimony to Tom and what he meant to the kids out there. This was one of those gentle giants. He was a very big guy, very intimidating guy, but had a heart of gold. We will miss him for sure. The facility will miss him for sure and we certainly are going to want to do something appropriate to memorialize the efforts that he gave towards the kids out there and the time that he spent really giving his life to that facility.

COMMISSIONERS' DISCUSSION & ACTIONS

(There was none.)

CORRESPONDENCE

Mr. Haste: We have the correspondence that was received by the Board this week listed on the agenda. It will be handled by the staff appropriately.

1. Receipt of the examination report of the Liquid Fuels Tax Fund of Dauphin County for the year ending December 31, 2006.
2. Notification from Dauphin Engineering Co. advising that Matthew D. Hoffer is applying to DEP for a PADEP/ACOE Joint Permit Application regarding a project in Conewago Township.
3. Notification from Grant A. Marshall advising that Grahm and Carla Synder are submitting an application to DEP for the installation of a small flow treatment facility to serve an existing residence in West Hanover Township.
4. Notification from Light-Heigel & Associates, Inc. advising that Roy & Frances Sauder are applying to DEP for a General NPDES Permit for stormwater discharges associated with construction activities in Londonderry Township.
5. Notification from Grove Associates advising that the Grantville Volunteer Fire Company is applying to DEP for a BDWM - GP 7 for a minor road crossing located in East Hanover Township.
6. Notification from K & W advising that Mulie Trogner and Gred Denk will be applying to DEP for a General NPDES Permit for stormwater discharges associated with construction activities in Lower Paxton Township.
7. Notification from United Water that they are applying to DEP for a Minor Water Supply Permit Application to replace and refurbish filters #5 and #8 at the UWPA Sixth Street Water Treatment Plant.
8. Notification from Raudenbush Engineering, Inc. advising that Thea Drive Associates is applying to DEP for a Water Quality Management Part II Permit for a sanitary sewer extension associated with construction activities in Susquehanna Township.

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?

Ms. Guyer: I wanted to speak about Spring Creek. I listened to Matt's report and I really have no problem with it. Other than I would like to expand on it a little bit. He said about the importance of appearance and what they have done. Yes, they have done some improvements, but only on a section where they have people that come for short term things. The permanent residents do not receive this minimum effect, etc. I would think the full-time people that live there year round deserve as much, if not more, because they are not there for two or three months. They are there until the end of their life. The other thing I didn't hear addressed and perhaps this wasn't the time to do it is the care of the people. I formed a group at the home simply because this was not a seamless transition. From the beginning there were problems and I do understand any time something new is happening, a takeover, it is like moving into a new house it takes a while to get adjusted. This is a year now and things haven't been adjusted. There are some very simple matters and some very major matters. I did submit to Scott Burford earlier this year a couple copies of the minutes of our meetings. These meetings are held with a few residents. I try to pick out two coherent people from each floor, because not everybody at this age can think clearly and they come to the meetings, as well as some family people. I wasn't allowed to let the families know about this. I asked for a mailing list to let the other families know. That was refused. They started a newsletter. An employee told me not to be disappointed. I'm not doing anything wrong. I give my notes to Matt, his assistant, the nursing people and they are invited to all meetings. It is no secret society. If anything I'm trying to work with them to improve things for the people. There have been too many occurrences that I would venture to say almost negligence. In fact, recently, about a month ago a patient who has Alzheimer's managed to get off the floor run to the stairs run down the steps in his wheelchair. A visitor found him and reported it and asked that they call 911. This visitor was told that they couldn't contact 911 until they talked to the nursing supervisor first. She happened to be out to dinner or lunch, whatever it was, so there was a delay until 911 was called. The man was taken to the hospital and ended up have a 10 inch rod put into his leg and five pins. This was a family member that called me to tell me, Rose, put this in your minutes. I didn't observe this. Most of the reports I have are people coming to me. I'm not soliciting them, but they feel they have nowhere to turn so that is why we have this group. I'm not condemning them, but I think they could do more than they are doing in taking care of the people. The report that Matt gave was total business. I heard nothing about the people. I was surprised you didn't ask more detail about the people that live there. I realize this is business and unfortunately sometimes dollars come ahead of people and I don't think that is a right way for us to go. We should treasure these poor people who have done nothing wrong except live long and become impaired for the most part. I would like to work with the administration, but they see me as a troublemaker. I got a very icy reception on Monday when I went in from different personnel. I go there every day. I feel that I could be an asset to them by telling them of these fallacies. These gentlemen work in offices. They are not on the floor to see what is happening. Sometimes the people that work for you don't tell you negative things and sometimes you need to know negative things to improve them. That is where I'm coming from. I'm not doing this to cause trouble. I'm doing this out of my concern for the people. I don't like doing this. I'm old and tired. It takes a lot of my energy, but my conscience won't let me forget it. I don't want to be this way, but I think you gentlemen promised to oversee this place. I know you owed the people of Dauphin County financial responsibility and of course you know I totally objected to the sale of the home. That decision is made and I can't argue that. It is done, but I think perhaps somewhere you can get involved with the care for the people and make more demands of the management. The only way to make profit is to cut employees, services and quality. I have seen all three. People talk to me. I probably shouldn't say this, because I don't know it as a fact, but I had someone tell me that bonuses went from a couple hundred dollars to the CNAs to five figure numbers. I said what do you call five figures and this particular person said about $40,000. Now, I am an American and I believe in profit. I think the best thing is to have incentive. I agree with it, but if the incentives are going that high and the people have gone without water. I have a copy of all my minutes here. These things should not happen. I'm not talking about parting the hair on the wrong side or letting you sleep in your clothes one night. I'm talking about issues of quality, health and hygiene, etc. I found my mother's teeth. They forgot to put them in one day and I asked why her teeth were not in. I asked if she had a mouth problem. She said they probably forgot. I went to get her teeth and it took me five minutes to scrub them. They were so built up with mineral deposits, like all they did was put them in water and then put them back into her mouth. They probably hurt, because I had to scrub to get those mineral deposits off. Oral hygiene is important as any other hygiene. There are people that are totally helpless having nobody. My mother has me. I'm there every day. If I'm not my daughter is to make sure Mom is okay. You have no idea how many of these people perhaps outlive their families, their families may be out of town and there are other families who aren't quite as attentive. I see this every day of the week and I just wanted to share that with you, because I saw in the paper there was going to be a report about Spring Creek. I wanted to hear what it was and I wanted to just tell you that it wasn't as seamless as you hoped for or expected. If you have any questions or if you are interested in the minutes I brought a copy. I know you are busy. It may be too much to read, but perhaps it's not just this nursing home. Perhaps it is nationwide, but we have to look out after our people. We can't let them be a forgotten segment of our society. I just wanted to voice my concerns, because you said that you wanted to keep an eye on things and I know you don't have the time to be there the way I am. I thought I would inform you what is happening day-to-day.

Mr. Haste: Can you give the minutes to Scott?

Ms. Guyer: I gave a couple of them to him earlier this year.

Mr. Hartwick: Are you in contact with the ombudsman?

Ms. Guyer: Yes, she comes to some of our meetings.

Mr. Hartwick: You made the statement that there is no one out there to look out for individuals in the nursing home and that is one individual that is supposed to be advocating on behalf of all residents that is actually an employee of the County that should be a part of any kind of formal complaint system that you are involved with and carry forward those complaints.

Ms. Guyer: Okay George, but I'm going to tell you perhaps we need to start from the top down not from the bottom up. Our laws need to be changed. I requested to speak with the Department of Health and I told them about this. That is not in our protocol. They didn't even look at it. I've talked to them. If you don't have proof you can't do it. They want to see things. It's not easy to make a complaint. You can make a complaint, but until they get there and if they don't see it, it is no longer a complaint. It is ignored totally. It is so very difficult. I know a woman who moved her mother from the home, because she was so distraught over her treatment. Her mother was always having infections. The nursing staff never noticed it. She took her out by herself. Things are going unnoticed. One time she was there at 9:00 p.m., the commode overflowed. She said it was awful. They came in and threw a blanket over it and closed the door. She said she called her mother the next morning. She said Mom, did they clean that up that you can use your bathroom. She said no, not yet. Well then this woman called and complained. It was cleaned up at 9:30 that morning. She called the Health Department and told them about it. They went and checked. They said that the records said that it happened at 9:00 a.m. and was cleaned by 9:30 a.m. The woman said I was there at 9:00 p.m. the night before is when it happened. I did mention this to Nancy Stanton, who is the head of nursing, because she came to one of our meetings. She said are you accusing us falsifying records. I said I'm not accusing you of nothing. The people are telling me and this is what the family member said. I'm not well liked and I can understand that, but we need. I don't know how to do it. Do we go from the top down or what? Our people deserve more than they are getting.

Mr. Hartwick: The members of the Board definitely have the same concern for people that I know you have a passion for. When you take a look at how many complaints there were, how many were validated by the Department, if there are any specific issues and there is always a lot of difference. I know this from being the Mayor of Steelton as well. People came to me with a lot of complaints. The actual reality versus what the complaints were and what the form of findings were, were usually some truth in-between. I have seen some of the complaints and allegations that have come through your committee, but I have read up on some of the things that you sent me and some of them were very outrageous when I read them, but when I checked and found out that there is no finding from the Department of Health that kind of concerns me. I want to know the difference between what is being said versus what is actually occurring. I don't want people to be sensationalizing. If there are issues going they need to be addressed.

Ms. Guyer: I don't want to do that either, because I'm a straight shooter. I say it the way it is. I would not tell you a lie.

Mr. Hartwick: You are not sensationalizing, but it is what people are telling you.

Ms. Guyer: People misinterpret sometimes and I make allowances for that. But, like that Alzheimer patient that fell down the steps that wasn't the first time he got off the floor. My mother, she is 90, she lives in a moment, she is perfect in a moment, she can't remember two weeks ago, but in the moment she is perfect. She can't get out that door there is a monitor that if she pushes that door it automatically locks. With that gentleman, being that he got off the floor once before why wasn't a monitor put on that he couldn't get off the floor without it locking. There are a lot of things that are preventable. That was an accident that didn't have to happen.

Mr. Hartwick: Continue to bring the concerns forward and we will try to look into them.

Ms. Guyer: Should I give these to Scott?

Mr. Hartwick: Please.

Ms. Guyer: I'm going to continue this and please I really don't mean to make trouble. I wish the administration would look at me as the best unpaid employee who is helping them to become perhaps the best home around if they would pay attention to this. Maybe you have some input to talk to them to make them understand how operating and working together can do a lot more than disliking each other. I appreciate anything you can do to help the people.

ADJOURNMENT

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