Dakota Communications Center Executive Committee Meeting Minutes: 08/06/2014

Transcription

1 Dakota Communications Center Executive Committee Meeting Minutes: 08/06/2014 Members Present: Tom Lawell Apple Valley; Heather Johnston Burnsville; Brandt Richardson Dakota County; Dave Osberg Eagan; Allyn Kuennen Lakeville; Dwight Johnson Rosemount; Steve King South St. Paul; Matt Fulton West St. Paul Members Absent: David McKnight Farmington; Melanie Mesko-Lee Hastings; Joe Lynch Inver Grove Heights; Justin Miller Mendota Heights Alternates Present: Others Present: Diane Lind, Jen Hildebrandt DCC; Sue Frick Gallagher Benefit Services 1. Call the Meeting to Order Chair King (South St. Paul) called the meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. 2. Roll Call Members in attendance are noted above. 3. Approve Agenda Lind (DCC) informed members that she would include an update on the Mendota Heights shooting Incident in her update. Johnston (Burnsville) noted that the Lakeville representative noted at the bottom of the agenda needed to be changed. Action: Motion by Johnston (Burnsville) to approve the agenda with noted correction. Second by Richardson (Dakota County). Motion passed unanimously. Consent Agenda 4. a. Approve minutes from the June 4 th, 2014 Executive Committee Meeting. b. Approve Paid Claims. May 1 st 31 st, 2014 June 1 st 30 th, 2014 c. Receive Financial Report May, 2014 Unaudited June, 2014 Unaudited d. Operations Committee Meeting Minutes June 26 th, 2014 Law Enforcement Operations Committee June 26 th, 2014 Fire/EMS Operations Committee July 31 st, 2014 Joint Operations Committee CANCELLED e. Executive Director June 4 th and August 6 th, Action: Motion by Johnson (Rosemount) to approve the consent Agenda. Second by Johnston (Burnsville). Motion passed unanimously. Regular Agenda

2 Action Items Health Insurance Lind (DCC) presented the 2015 health insurance proposal stating that rates reflected a 10.6% increase. Lind informed members that staff worked closely with broker Gallagher Benefit Services to evaluate plan options and with member agency HR staff to ensure the DCC recommendation was in order. Lind added that the recommendation was reviewed in depth with representation from the HR Task Force. Lind reported that the recommendation proposed the DCC remain in the LOGIS insurance pool offering Blue Cross Blue Shield for Lind added that the recommendation proposed the DCC split the premium increases with employees and also offer a higher 4000/8000 deductible plan as an option for those employees who wanted lower premiums. Fulton (West St. Paul) asked how many people the DCC employed at full staffing. Lind (DCC) responded that fully staff, the DCC had 66 employees. King (South St. Paul) commented that included the two overcomp positions. Lind (DCC) confirmed. Osberg (Eagan) referred to the packet material and asked for clarification on the new plan offerings and the recommendation that the employee portion of the premium be set at $0. Hildebrandt (DCC) responded that in an effort to entice employees into the higher deductible plan, the intent was to offer the plan at $0 cost for Osberg (Eagan) stated that he didn t necessarily agree with that as he felt it important for employees to be vested in their benefits. Hildebrandt (DCC) acknowledged and stated that in speaking with member agency representatives, the majority of agencies were currently offering single coverage plans at no cost to the employees. General response was that for 2015, agencies were moving towards requiring employees to contribute to their benefit premiums. Hildebrandt (DCC) acknowledged stating that when she contacted member agencies, 2015 information was not yet available so comparisons were being made to what member agencies currently had in place. Richardson (Dakota County) commented that the group could not sustain 11% increases for ever and asked if there was any consideration given to cost containment. Frick (Gallagher) confirmed stating that although not required to go out for bid more than every five years, Gallagher administered yearly price checks on behalf of the DCC. Frick added that when the DCC joined the LOGIS pool in 2012, it was the first year that joining the pool proved to be financially beneficial to the organization. Frick continued stating that the DCC and LOGIS Pool claims loss ratio was being watched very closely and that if DCC claims loss ratios continued to be lower than the LOGIS pool, 2015 might be a good time for the DCC to consider leaving the pool. Frick noted that there were other cost savings associated with participating in the LOGIS pool and that there was safety in numbers. Additionally, in order to leave the pool, the DCC would need to notify the group of the intent prior to June 15 th of that year. Frick stated that if the DCC would have gone on it s own for 2015, the increase would likely have been around 10% so given the pooling and administration savings associated with pools, the increase would likely have been the same for Frick stated that due to healthcare reform, groups under 100 participants were scheduled to be put into the smaller market. Frick assured that was also a consideration that Gallagher was watching closely on behalf of the DCC. Richardson (Dakota County) asked if there was any consideration given to increasing the incentive to participate in the 4000/8000 plan. Lind (DCC) acknowledged stating that the belief was that the people who would participate in the 4000/8000 plan would likely be those who had built up their HRA and HSA accounts and so it wasn t believed the contributions would need to be great than what was currently offered.

3 Fulton (West St. Paul) referred to the LOGIS pool and asked if the DCC was rated as a stand alone agency with in the pool. Frick (Gallagher) responded that it was not, it was rated as part of the pool. Frick (Gallagher) added that the LOGIS pool insurance committee was meeting later in the week to start talking about the possibility of self-funding in an effort to contain costs. Frick stated that all participants in the LOGIS pool received the 10.5% increase. Richardson (Dakota county) asked what the total number of employees was for the LOGIS pool. Frick (Gallagher) responded that there were 400 employees with about 8000 participants across 40 entities which would make self-funding quite interesting. Frick (Gallagher) noted that for 2014, claims loss ratios for the LOGIS pool were at approximately 26.4% which was favorable. Richardson (Dakota County) questioned the possibility of increasing the employee share of the premium. King (South St. Paul) reminded member that increases may force the group into a bargaining situation. Hildebrandt (DCC) agreed that the current effort was toward sharing increases, remaining in the middle of membership for costs and retaining the ability to keep benefits off the bargaining table. Johnson (Rosemount) asked about incenting employees to waive insurance. Frick (Gallagher) cautioned about incenting employees to leave plans because insurance carriers often require employers to pay 50% of any eligible employee s premium. Frick stated that it could turn into incenting the healthy employees off provided plans, resulting in higher costs. Johnston (Burnsville) asked Gallagher representation to speak about wellness incentives and what BCBS was offering employees. Frick (Gallagher) stated that the LOGIS pool insurance meeting would be including a discussion on wellness plans and incentives and how to better communicate that information to consumers. Frick stated that plans like the disease management plan offered by Blue Cross Blue Shield had very little participation due to lack of communication on the offerings. Lawell (Apple Valley) asked if 2015 was the last year on the LOGIS contract. Frick (Gallagher) responded that it was a year to year contract, but there was a guaranteed 11.5% rate cap already identified for Frick stated that formal bid would be in 2016 for 2017 coverage. Osberg (Eagan) asked what determined the monthly employer deductible contributions. Lind (DCC) responded that the contributions had been in place for a number of years and had not been reviewed in recent history. Lind stated that previously, the contributions were paid out on a quarterly basis. However, experience reflected a couple instances where the contribution was made to the employee account for the quarter and then the employee quit and had full quarterly funding. Lind stated that the decision was made to break the employer contribution down into monthly deposits in an effort to contain some of that expense. Richardson (Dakota County) commented that he didn t think it was necessary to offer this many plans to a group of only 66 employees. Richardson then questioned why, if the intent was to move people into the higher deductible plan, was there no differential between the lower deductible plans and the higher deductible plans. Lind (DCC) responded that staff could revisit the 1500/3000 plan but reminded that the differential was in the employer deductible contributions. Lind acknowledged that the employer contribution to the deductible could be decreased for the 1500/3000 plan and reallocated to the 4000/8000 plans to further incent movement toward the higher deductible plans. Richardson (Dakota County) commented that he felt that should be the direction, along with remaining within the identified budget. Action: Motion by Osberg (Eagan) to recommend the Board of Directors delegate authority to approve the proposed plan with modifications and within identified budget, at their September 3 rd meeting. Second by Richardson (Dakota County). Motion passed unanimously.

4 Ancillary Insurance Lind (DCC) reminded members that in past years, the Board of Directors authorized the Executive Director to enter into contracts for Dental Insurance, Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability Insurance, remaining within the identified approved budget. Lind stated that ancillary benefit information was not available until later in the year. Action: Motion by Johnston (Burnsville) to recommend the Board of Directors authorize the Executive Director to approve contracts for Dental insurance, Life Insurance and Long-Term Disability Insurance within the identified approved budget. Second by Lawell (Apple Valley). Motion passed unanimously. Information Updates/Discussion Items 7. Executive Director Update PERA - Lind (DCC) informed members that PERA contributions for both employee and employer were increasing in 2015 by.25%. Shared Phone System Lind (DCC) reported that there would be a formal presentation in September updating on the status of consideration of a shared phone system in the metro area. Lind stated that there were some concerns that led her to believe sharing with Hennepin County was not in the DCCs best interest at this time. Lind stated that along with the concerns were some additional cost overruns and some other hidden costs that she would report more on in September. Lind stated that the DCC still had the opportunity to join with Ramsey but that the desire was to see some stability history prior to joining the effort. Text to 911 Lind (DCC) referred to the recent Star Tribune article stating that text to 911 would be available within the next few months. Lind stated that there were currently two test pilots under way, one in St. Louis County and one in Southwestern Minnesota that were looking at the different protocols. Lind commented that once it was determined which worked best for the backbone of the system, the recommendation would be to use one protocol across the entire state. This protocol would coincide with the current phone system and was anticipated for early Osberg (Eagan) referred to the text to 911 and asked how it would work. Lind (DCC) explained that a text would be received at the DCC and a response text would be sent back. Lind stated that the DCC would continue to encourage voice communications whenever possible as the text communication would inevitably take longer. Richardson (Dakota County) asked if this system was similar to the systems across the Country. Lind (DCC) responded that some of the other systems were currently having text messages come into numbers other than 911 while this study was text directly to 911. Richardson (Dakota County) questioned any unforeseen consequences. Lind (DCC) confirmed stating that there was added concern for officer safety as when voice calls come in, the dispatchers can hear voice tone and background noise that may alert them to increase officer cautions. Osberg (Eagan) asked what the advantages were. Lind (DCC) responded that there were two main advantages. The first was for the hearing impaired community, where the push for text to 911 originally came from. Lind stated the second was very isolated incidents when the caller cannot talk to us. Lind explained that those calls may be someone being threatened and afraid to speak or victims barricaded, etc.

5 Johnston (Burnsville) asked for clarification on how the calls would come in. Lind (DCC) stated that currently, texts that come in are responded to by calls back. In the future, texts would be responded to with texts. Prairie Island Drill Lind (DCC) reported that the National FEMA reviewer from Kansas City, MO, along with a State of Minnesota representative were out the previous week and spent an entire day with DCC staff administering a Prairie Island drill. Lind stated that as they were leaving, they stated they identified no deficiencies in staff operations and that a written report would be sent out within 30 days. Radio Lind (DCC) informed members that she was scheduled to meet with Motorola to do a line by line analysis of costs associated with implementation of the new MCC7500 system. Lind stated that the meeting was an effort to eliminate any unnecessary costs and take advantage of year-end discounts. Johnston (Burnsville) asked when the system would be fully implemented. Lind (DCC) responded that the goal was by the end of first quarter, House of Reps Lind (DCC) referred to several recent newspaper articles about suspicions that Motorola underbids contracts and then adds expenses in to increase their profits after bid acceptance. Lind stated that the concerns caught the attention of the Committee on Energy and Commerce who asked the Department of Homeland Security to look at the Motorola bidding process. Lind stated that she didn t know where the review was going, but that she made copies of the Letter of request to the Department of Homeland Security if anyone wanted to see it. Lawell (Apple Valley) asked how the DCC acquisition of the MCC7500s was being handled in light of the letter. Lind (DCC) responded that the timeline was still moving forward but ensured that the contracts would be thoroughly reviewed by legal counsel, Radio Services representation and consultant, PSC Alliance. King (South St. Paul) asked if staff though the MCC7500 installation deadline might be extended. Lind (DCC) responded that as of the last radio board meeting, the report was that the state was not willing to extend the deadline as it had already been extended once. Johnston (Burnsville) commented that Motorola knowing they were being watched might work in the consortiums benefit. Lind (DCC) acknowledged and added that the DCC also had two very experienced people reviewing the technology aspect of the contract on behalf of the DCC. Lawell (Apple Valley) asked what the amount per radio would be. Lind (DCC) responded that she believed the information in the letter is accurate. It is approximately $2500 to $4000 for handhelds and more for squad radios. Officer Involved Shooting Lind (DCC) informed members that it had been a very difficult week for DCC staff. Lind stated that she was at the office when the officer-involved shooting occurred and she was very proud of how the dispatch staff handled the situation. Lind stated that she didn t know how else to say it other than they rocked it. Lind added that staff handled 577 calls in the first two hours, with 911 calls answered within four seconds. Lind stated that in the first four hours, staff triaged 757 calls and while overwhelmed, they did not miss a beat. Lind stated that in speaking with South St. Paul Lieutenant Wicke, he felt that dispatch staff was responsive to everything officers requested. Lind continued stating that there were about 11 dispatcher on the floor at the time as it was tough on all of them so she called in the CISM team who continued to work with staff through the evening. Richardson (Dakota County) asked how texting would work in this type of situation. Lind (DCC) clarified that it would work similar to instant messaging. Receive a text and return a text. Action: No action. Update only.

6 Other Business 8. Miscellaneous None Action: None Adjourn Action: Motion by Johnston (Burnsville) to adjourn. Second by Kuennen (Lakeville). Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 4:29pm. Next Regular Meeting: September 3 rd, :00pm DCC Training Room