CHAIRMAN BLAIR & MEMERS OF THE HOUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE

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1 April 17, 2012 TO: FROM: CHAIRMAN BLAIR & MEMERS OF THE HOUSE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE LARRY L. LONG RE: COUNTY-RELATED PROVISIONS IN HB 509 CCAO appreciates the opportunity to provide initial feedback to the Committee on HB 509. Today, I plan to highlight some items of importance to counties in the bill which are highlighted in the table below. Comp Doc # Provision in HB 509 CCAO Position JFSCD24 Joint County Depts of Job & Family Services Support BWCCD3 Cost Allocation of Workers Comp Support LOCCD6 Fiscal Distress Financial Plan Requirements Support shared services being explored & support language to clarify intent. LOCCD9 Group Insurance Coverage for County Support LOCCD5 County Auditors Serving as Fiscal Officers Support concept & support language to clarify approval by officer/agency requesting. LOCCD11 Increase of Competitive Bid Thresholds Support HB 430 being added to include county bid limits. LOCCD8 Cost of County Boards of Health Office Space and Utilities Support LOCCD10 Effective Period of County Quarterly Spending Support & support Plans language to clarify intent. Joint County Depts of Job & Family Services. This permissive provision would enable counties (in addition to Ross, Vinton, and Hocking Counties) to form a joint JFS district to deliver services. Given the many budgetary pressures county JFS departments are feeling through both TANF funding cuts, local government funding cuts, and now a possible revamping of the way we do business for Medicaid eligibility, counties should have permissive authority to explore cost savings through forming a joint JFS district an option that allows them to maintain front line staff and service delivery

2 to consumers. Cost Allocation of Workers Compensation. Allows a county to, for purposes of workers compensation, cost allocate direct and indirect administrative costs for administering the county s workers compensation program. This is in addition to the current authority to cost allocate premium contributions on the basis of claims experience. We understand that an amendment has been prepared to exempt County Boards of Developmental Disabilities and Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Boards from the ability to cost allocate to those entities. The practical effect of this amendment is that costs will continue to be incurred by the general fund or that other county entities will have to assume the costs that should be the responsibility of these entities using a fair and equitable cost allocation methodology. Attached is an example of how this would be applied in Clermont County if the provision is retained without the amendment. Fiscal Distress Financial Plan Requirements. CCAO supports shared services being explored and investigated when an entity enters fiscal watch or fiscal emergency. We support a clarification of the language that shared services would not be mandatory but, again, investigated. Group Insurance Coverage for County. Language appeared in HB 153 last year relative to the state exploring group purchasing programs for health insurance coverage for local governments and entities. The language struck in HB 509 was language inadvertently left in HB 153 in the county health care purchasing chapter (ORC Section ), which did not appear in other political subdivisions enabling statutes. CCAO supports this clean up provision. County Auditors Serving as Fiscal Agents. CCAO supports efforts to clarify language that an officeholder or other body in charge would have to enter into an agreement with the county auditor for services as a fiscal officer. CCAO also supports existing language to allow the auditor to perform such function and to have the board of county commissioners have oversight of the agreement. Increase of Competitive Bid Thresholds. The bill increases a number of competitive bid limits for local jurisdictions/entities. CCAO supports effort to add county bid limits to this mix and encourages HB 430 be amendment into HB 509. Cost of County Boards of Health Office Space and Utilities. CCAO strongly supports the elimination of this mandate, particularly since commissioners have no management control over health department operations. Moreover, when a general health department combines with a city health department, the county commissioners mandate to provide office space is eliminated. This phase out concept is similar to what the Legislature did in the past relative to a board of county commissioners providing office space to an educational service center, thereby aligning administrative costs with the business service. The provision, as written: Requires a board of county commissioners to provide the office space and utilities to the county s general health district board of health through FY 2013,

3 and to provide payments in FY 2014 through FY 2017 based on specified decreasing proportions (80% in FY 2014, 60% in FY 2015, 40% in FY 2016, and 20% in FY 2017) of the estimated costs of office space and utilities, with no obligation to provide or make payments for office space and utilities after FY Permits a board of county commissioners, in FY 2018 and thereafter, to provide office space and utilities to the general health district board of health, by contract, or free of charge. Relieves a board of county commissioners of its obligation to provide office space and utilities if the board of health rents, leases, lease-purchases, or acquires office space on its own. Effective Period of County Quarterly Spending Plans. The bill clarifies original intent of language enacted in HB 153, so that an office and fund cannot be placed on a quarterly allotment for more than 2 years. In addition, language clarifies that a 2 year spending plan imposed on an elected official s office does not apply when a new elected official assumes the office. CCAO is seeking a non-substantive amendment that would replace the word administrating to administrative in line 1,746 of HB 509. CCAO will continue to review the provisions of the various MBR bills and the new subbill of HB 487. In the future we may have more testimony to share as we further understand the various proposals. Thank you for your consideration. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

4 CLERMONT COUNTY EXAMPLE ALLOCATION OF WORKERS COMPENSATION ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS (NOTE: 40% BASED ON PAYROLL/60% BASED ON CLAIMS) 2010 PAYROLL/PAID IN 2011 Department Payroll % of Payroll Claims % of Claims Total Premium Increased Cost For Admin Mental Health $653, % 0 0 $2,802 $519 DD $6,901, % $168, % $115,110 $21,335 Total $56,541, % $854, % $606,193 $112,357 Source: County Commissioners Association of Ohio from data provided by Clermont County, Ohio

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