Board
of Commissioners Meeting
February 27, 2002
BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Diane Neighbors, William Coke, |
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: |
Michael J. Miller, Caroline Skelton, |
|
Denny Mosesman, |
The Metropolitan Social Services Board of Commissioners held its regular monthly meeting on February 27, 2002. Chair Diane Neighbors called the meeting to order at 3:04 p.m. The minutes for the meeting held on January 23, 2002, were approved as submitted.
Chair Neighbors thanked the Board for attending the Strategic Planning meetings. The last of these sessions will be on Friday, March 1, 9:00 a.m. at Richland Village. She thanked Mr. Coke for chairing last month's meeting in her absence.
Announcements, Introductions and Employee Recognition
Mr. Miller announced that the RFP (Request for Proposal) for the Immigrant Assessment study has been advertised. A panel, that includes Dinah Gregory and Abdelghani Barre, will be making recommendations to the Finance Department.
A new telephone system has been installed in this building and Mr. Miller said staff is adjusting well.
Our Child Care Center recently received a 3 Star rating, the highest possible, from the State. This rating places provides for increased reimbursement rates for subsidized service when funded.
The State Monitors will be here next week to begin their audit at Richland Village. At this time, we are not sure what others programs will be looked at.
On March 6 at 10:00 a.m. Social Services will meet with the Budget Office of the Finance Department regarding the 2003 budget. Unlike previous years, a separate meeting will be held on March 7 at 2:30 p.m. regarding the Caring for Children budget.
Director's Report
Mr. Miller reported that he attended the third meeting of the Metro Action Ad Hoc Committee that is considering the merge/coordination of services between Social Services and Metro Action. There have been no conclusions or recommendations reached at this time.
Mr. Miller continues to work with the Homeless issue and noted there has been much progress. He explained some recommendations have been included in our budget for next Fiscal Year around these services.
Mr. Miller and Mr. Lea recently met with John Summers, Metro Councilman, and they filled him in on the current circumstances regarding Richland Village. Councilman Summers offered his support and noted that he would like the site be used by a facility with a focus on children.
The kick-off of the VIPPS Initiative on Senior issues has taken place and Janet Jernigan will chair this activity. Four subcommittees have been formed: Active Aging, Out of Home Care, Maintaining Health and Caring for the Frail at Home on which Caroline Skelton serves. These committees will be making recommendations on ways to better meet the needs of the elderly.
Mr. Miller distributed copies of an article taken from today's issue of the City Paper regarding the changes at Richland Village. An RFP (Request for Proposal) to occupy Richland Village has been issued and the terms of this RFP were briefly discussed.
Financial Report
Ms. McEwen reported that after seven months into this fiscal year, we are approximately $800,000 under budget projections. As reported last month, there will be an amendment to the budget to cover the loss of revenue at Richland Village, local funds will be used to cover any shortfall due to the loss of state funding in our Homemaker Program; we are currently working with the Finance Department to make an adjustment to cover the excessive Motor Pool expenses Transportation has experienced; Caring for Children continues to operate within their budget and we will continue to monitor the spending of the Flex Funds; there is a balance of $650,000 in the 4 Percent Fund but it should be noted that this entire balance is designated for specific projects; the Donations Fund has a balance of $7,831.
FY 2002-2003 Budget Development
Mr. Miller shared instructions from the Finance Department regarding how and when to submit the 2002-2003 budget. Additional local funds will be requested to support the accreditation process, a homeless service team coordinator, Traveler's Aid, indigent burials, family resource centers and extended family support for our Children's Services. There was discussion on each of these items.
Other funding issues include the Director's salary, open range salary adjustments, the Refugee Homeownership Program, and the Richland Village conversion. There is a possibility the Child Care Center will increase their revenue due to the 3 Star rating they recently received. The Homemaker and Nutrition Contract reductions and the Metro Transit revenue are also funding issues. Each of these items was discussed.
Richland Village Contract Amendment Approval
Mr. Lea reviewed the plan for terminating residential services at Richland Village and explained they are continuing to develop partnerships with the Stratford, Glencliff and McGavock School Clusters to work around prevention services. Richland Village could lose 22 positions and would impact the Department with a possibility of 16 lay-offs.
Mr. Lea asked the Board to approve the contract amendment showing the reduction in services being offered by Richland Village. Ms. Dobbins made a motion, seconded by Mr. Freudenthal, to approve this contract amendment. By a unanimous vote, the motion was passed.
Homemaker Services Contract Amendment Approval
Ms. Motley provided a hand-out showing revenue and units of service provided for fiscal years 2001 and 2002 and projections for FY 2003. There was discussion around these figures and the reduced contract with the Department of Human Services. Ms. Motley asked the Board to approve this amended contract. A motion by Ms. Harris, seconded by Mr. Coke, to accept this contract passed by a unanimous vote.
Other
There being no further business before the Board, chair Neighbors adjourned the meeting at 5:00 p.m.