July 31, 2017 at 4:56 p.m.
Vilas County takes a step toward leaving ADRC of the Northwoods
County board approves application of intent to leave the multi-county agency
Vilas County takes a step toward leaving ADRC of the Northwoods
The notice of intent also notifies the ADRC of the Northwoods, a multi-county, regional entity the county has been part of since 2012, of its intent to withdraw from that agency by Jan. 1, 2018.
With that application, an early release from any contractual obligations with the regional partnership would be sought.
Despite the fact the county board's action pertained merely to a notice to submit an application for Vilas County to operate its own ADRC separate from the ADRC of the Northwoods, the discussion leading up to the vote was extensive.
During the discussion, it was pointed out more than once that what was being considered was simply a resolution to authorize the intent and that over the course of the next couple of months, if everything plays out contrary to what's known now, things would essentially remain the same.
'We began to study'
Supervisor Erv Teichmiller, co-chair of the Vilas County Commission on Aging, was asked by the commission's chairman, supervisor Chuck Hayes, to explain why the matter was before the board.
Before he did that, however, board chairman Ron DeBruyne laid down some ground rules, stating it was a meeting of the county board and not a public hearing on the resolution.
"We may allow some outside views on this," he said. "I'm just reminding everybody this is a Vilas County Board meeting, not a public hearing."
At the beginning of his remarks, Teichmiller introduced Terese Coe, the regional manager of the ADRC of the Northwoods, and asked that she be given an opportunity to speak.
The ADRC of the Northwoods is currently comprised of Vilas County, Oneida County, Forest County, Taylor County and three tribes - the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Sokagon Chippewa and Forest County Potawatami.
He also said Vilas County supervisor Ron Kressin, in attendance at the meeting, is on the board of directors for the ADRC of the Northwoods, along with former supervisor Mary Platner, who serves with Kressin on that board of directors.
"Nearly all of you are new to the board since the ADRC was established," Teichmiller said, adding that there had been talk about having the county participate in establishing an ADRC when he was first elected to the board nearly a decade ago.
"The only similar program in our area was in Forest County, which had been doing it for five years," Teichmiller said.
A study committee was created and he was appointed chair of that committee, he added.
"We began to study the possibility of establishing an aging and resource disability center in Vilas County," Teichmiller said.
As the research progressed, it became clear the state didn't want the county to have its own ADRC but to go regional, he explained.
"It was argued that was on the basis of population numbers that would be served by the ADRC," Teichmiller said. "Interestingly enough, Florence County, part of the initial study group, decided it did not want to be part of the region and the state allowed them to form an ADRC on their own, even though they were literally the smallest county in the state."
Ultimately, he said, the ADRC of the Northwoods was formed and has been functioning for "five or six years."
"I served on that board as chair the whole time I was on that board," Teichmiller said.
In the years since the creation of the ADRC of the Northwoods, Teichmiller said the state of Wisconsin has loosened the requirement that counties work cooperatively, as several counties, both big and small, wanted to some things on their own when it came to ADRC functions.
"There are 21 counties now that are not regional, though some of them have joined with one other county," Teichmiller said. "To that extent, they might be considered regional."
He said the state provided an integration program.
"You won't remember that word very long but you will remember the word 'merger,'" Teichmiller said. "In essence, the integration concept is a merger concept, where the aging and disability resource program is merged with the aging program of the county."
He said a survey was conducted of counties already moving in that direction and that had established county-based ADRCs.
"Every one of the counties we surveyed said it was more efficient, it was more economical and it did not cost the county any levy money," Teichmiller said. "It was merely a moving of the resources from the regional program that were appropriate for that particular county into the county system."
The survey also highlighted what he said were "pluses in the change to local control."
"We've lost, over time, a lot of local control at the county level," Teichmiller said. "This is one case where the state has actually allowed for moving back toward the county and more local control."
He said the state offered a "carrot" for counties considering the merger or integration.
"If you make the application by sometime in September of this year, there is available up to and not to exceed $30,000 to facilitate the transfer of that merger process," Teichmiller said.
Another provision is that the ADRC staff would be employed by the county.
"So we now employ the aging and disability center's specialists in the county," Teichmiller said. "They are county employees. That's true in Oneida County, it has been true in Forest County. The one exception was Taylor County, who didn't want to participate."
He said the ADRC of the Northwoods contracted with Oneida County to be the fiscal manager.
"That has worked, I think, reasonably well," Teichmiller said. "The fiscal management meant Oneida County paid all the bills and reimbursed the other counties that had employees. It also collected all the revenue that would come in for the ADRC (of the Northwoods)."
Oneida County gave notice in October of last year that it no longer wanted to be the fiscal manager by the end of June of this year, he added.
"Since then, I believe they've extended on a month-to-month basis to continue to provide that service," Teichmiller said. "When that agreement ends, the ADRC (of the Northwoods) will have to find somebody to provide them the cash flow to pay bills. That has its impact on both the staff they employ as well as the staff we employ and the cost of the use of the facility. Without those cash flow dollars, they will be in some significant difficulty."
He said the Wausau-based Wipfli certified public accounting firm was brought in to be the fiscal agent, but still needing cash flow the ADRC of the Northwoods went to the individual counties and asked for $75,000 each to help provide a cash flow fund of $300,000.
"The only county to my knowledge that said yes was Taylor County, on the condition the other counties agree," Teichmiller said.
Since then, the Sokaogon Chippewas have been allowed to leave the ADRC of the Northwoods.
Teichmiller then explained the time frame concerning Vilas County's possible exit from the regional partnership and establishing its own ADRC.
If the county board were to approve the letter of intent, a resolution would follow in November outlining that implementation.
"The title of the aging department will become the 'Aging and Disability Center,'" Teichmiller said. "So, it's a pretty simple merger. (The) staff already employed by us, the program will be directed by our current (Department of) Aging director and the Commission on Aging would likely be the jurisdictional committee."
Extra cost to county?
Sue Richmond, director of the Vilas County Commission on Aging, gave a rundown of how the system works at present.
"The Commission on Aging and the ADRC of the Northwoods Eagle River office are co-located," she said. "So, you might think you already are merged or integrated. That's not true because when the customers call, they're used to calling the Commission on Aging for help because we've been around longer than the ADRC. So, when they call the Commission on Aging office, we have to tell them, 'I'm sorry, you have to call the ADRC of the Northwoods number.' Which is a different number. You know how frustrating that can be when you're calling around and you have to keep dialing different numbers."
Richmond mentioned an instance recently where someone called the Commission on Aging and was referred to the ADRC of the Northwoods, only to learn that the issue would be better handled by the Commission on Aging.
The person then had to be referred back to the Commission on Aging.
"That was three calls," Richmond said. "It's just confusing for clients coming in. Eighty percent of our contacts are by phone so people are getting that same response when they are calling."
The county board's vice-chair, Steve Doyen, who serves on the board's human resources and finance committees, asked if the merger would result in any increased administration cost for the county.
"I personally see ... something coming out of this as far as extra cost," he said.
"If there is an administrative cost increase, it'll come out of the budget ... from the monies that come from the state and the monies that come through the time reporting collection," Teichmiller said.
"So, that can be used to offset some of the administration cost?" Doyen asked.
"There should not be, and you can take this as a pledge on my part, that we would not be asked in the county for new money for this," Teichmiller said. "All the cost would be absorbed within the budget that would come with the merger."
Doyen said he was looking at some possible reclassifications for county employees, which would likely lead to increased spending for salary and benefits.
"It's possible," Teichmiller said.
"That can be funded by that money?" he asked.
"It'll be funded by that, yes," Teichmiller said.
Hayes reminded everyone present no one has said the current system is broken beyond repair.
"It is working," he said. "There's two legs to this, one is finance, one is service. What we're looking at here is actually improving service without changing the county finances."
ADRC-NW response
Coe, the ADRC-NW director, handed out information that included a survey of the agency's services.
"You're being asked to leave the Aging and Disability Center of the Northwoods," she said. "It wasn't until May of this year that a subcommittee was formed to study the issue and less than three months later you're being asked to make a major decision that will affect things financially."
The information highlighted some of what Coe said is misinformation and misunderstanding about the proposal and essentially said if Vilas County leaves the ADRC-NW, it would be starting from scratch.
"They will be given $30,000 to make the transition to the Vilas County ADRC," the information Coe gave supervisors reads. "Do you think that's enough money to get up and running as efficiently as you need to be in order to pay for ADRC services? It requires much organization and planning, much attention to detail. Are your people ready to perform that difficult task in a very short amount of time? That's a very important issue and you should consider it carefully. The ADRC-NW is super efficient, lives within its budget, and gets back all monies from the State."
The handout goes on to ask supervisors if they are prepared to put the Vilas County Department on Aging "through all this."
"In other words, if it ain't broke, don't fix it," the handout continued.
That was echoed by Kressin, the Vilas County supervisor who serves on the ADRC-NW board, who acknowledged that at most meetings of the county board he's attended since he became a supervisor in the spring of 2016 he hasn't really said much on any of the issues which have come before the board.
"This is a little different," he said. "This is something I must speak out about."
Kressin said he's on the finance committee of the ADRC-NW.
"Since I've been there, I've had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about who they are, what they do, how they operate. What I've seen is they provide an outstanding and excellent level of service and they're very efficient."
When DeBruyne finally called the question on the resolution, Kressin was ultimately one of two supervisors to vote against it.
Brian Jopek may be reached via email at [email protected]
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