JANUARY 2016 MINUTES
KACSO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING
January 28, 2016 – 11:00 a.m.
Shawnee County Courthouse, Court Services
200 SE 7th Topeka, KS 66603
Room B-12
CALL TO ORDER:
Chris Esquibel, 29th (Interim President), Tom Weishaar, 1st (Vice-President), Jennifer Fogg, 1st (Secretary), Kelly Johnson, 4th (Treasurer), Spence Koehn, 4th (Parliamentarian), Mike Clark, 21st (Training), Cody McArthur, 3rd (Legislative), Kelsey Cox, 18th (Interim Public Relations).
Stephanie Springer, 27th (Membership/Nominations) – Joined by phone
OFFICER’S REPORTS:
Reading/Review of the Minutes:
The acceptance of the December 17, 2015 meeting notes will be held until the February 18, 2016 meeting. The board will look into how the K&A notes should be included in the minutes.
Treasurer’s Report:
Lobbyist Contributions Update: Kelly Johnson (4th) reported the lobbyist contributions are at $1,250.00.
Budget Report: Kelly Johnson (4th) discussed the budget report for December 2015 ($42,911.44) and the 4th quarter report.
Spence Koehn (4th), made a motion to approve the December 2015 and the 4th Quarter Budget Report. Mike Clark (21st) seconded; motion carried 9-0.
Kelly Johnson (4th) proposed that he contact Ruth Wheeler (Court Administrator 5th) and Jean Halula-Dermann (29th) about completing a peer audit of KACSO’s 2015 financial documents. He advised this process has been followed the last several years as it is much more effective and affordable than an audit from an accounting firm. Kelly requested the board approve reimbursing Ruth and Jean for mileage and also paying them a $75.00 stipend for their services.
Mike Clark (21st), made a motion to complete a peer audit and to compensate the auditors with a $75.00 stipend and mileage reimbursement.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Training:
Site Selection:
The Junction City, KS conference contract is out. KACSO will have to spend $6,000.00 minimum on food and beverages. Mike Clark (21st) voiced some concerns with the contract regarding meeting rooms. Chris Esquibel (29th) will email the coordinator with the concerns.
Next site selection – Drury Inn in Wichita, KS for Spring 2018.
Session Outline was passed out for the upcoming conference in April 13-15, 2016.
Legislative - Cody McArthur (3rd):
SB367 Justice Workgroup
There will be no Juvenile Offender placements, and that it has been taken out of the bill entirely.
One major issue was on page 32 – line 22, it is written that if a child is not with a parent, then Court Services will not be involved at all. It would eliminate a lot of CSO positions who monitor these types of cases.
The letter regarding the concerns Court Services has with the bill is expected to be completed by 1/29/2016.
The judges association is going to ask that the entire bill be voided.
Those who are for the bill get 2 days to present their case, and those who are against it get only a half a day.
Stephanie Springer (27th) was contacted by PEW and asked if she would testify for the bill, and she declined. They are trying to get 8 people in the workgroup who are in favor of the bill to testify for it.
PEW also asked if they could have Court Service’s positive and negatives points on the bill, and again were told no.
The board discussed which box should Court Services check – if they are for, against, or neutral on the bill. It was also discussed to see what position OJA was going to take, what K&A think, and if we would really be for and/or neutral for the bill if CSO positions were going to be eliminated by it. The overall consensus by the board was to check that Court Services was against the bill.
HB 2049 - Marijuana:
The board discussed the bill, and that Court Services should look into increasing the marijuana court fine which would go to non-judicial funding. The board discussed possibly making the fine mandatory by statute, since the fine is not mandatory. The board agreed that K&A should look into having the fine be mandatory, and that the money should go to non-judicial budget for salaries not new positions.
Next Legislative Meeting: February 9, 2016 at 11:00am in Topeka.
Public Relations:
Website: Kelsey Cox (18th) reported that the KACSO website is up and running, and changes can be made. If there are major changes, we will have to pay the designer to fix it. Also if the website crashes, the designer has a backup saved to replace it. The board agrees that the website link should be sent to the members to look at and to get feedback.
Vendor fees for advertisement on the website: Kelsey Cox (18th) stated that she will speak with vendors about their interest in being added to our site for a fee. The board agreed that the vendor advertising contract should state that whoever is added should be based on board approval. Jennifer Fogg (1st) will make up a contract for the board to look at. The board agreed on $300.00 a year per vendor. The board can assess how it goes next year, to consider raising the annual fee.
Membership and Nomination:
Stephanie Springer (27th) reported on the CSO Award and Nomination and Submissions. On 1/11/2016 the nominations were sent out, and she has only received one. She will send out a reminder email. The board spoke about creating a committee to choose the award recipients, and all agreed that Stephanie Springer will look into it.
OJA REPORT:
No Update
OLD BUSINESS:
MHS and CYZAP contracts are signed and the project is on track for July 2016.
Collaborative Legislative Group: Tom Weishaar (1st), Stephanie Springer (27th), and Kelsey Cox (18th) have a conference call on 2/25/2016 and will try to meet in person in April of 2016. A salary study was going to be completed by Wichita State University, but they backed out. OJA is now applying for a grant to complete this study. The plan is to complete this assessment in April of 2016, and would have the results back by September of 2016 when the budget is being determined. Will need to ask OJA on the next conference call if they got the paperwork in for the grant.
Fund Raiser: KACSO will attempt to do a 50/50 raffle at the next conference. Mike Clark (21st) will send Chris Esquibel (29th) documentation of other agencies doing a gun raffle. Chris Esquibel (29th) will let OJA know about our plan to do a gun raffle.
NEW BUSINESS:
OJA Training Committee (Education Needs Assessment Focus Group): Conference Call 1/29/2016.
Chris Esquibel (29th) to be on a subcommittee to look at ECourts and Fullcourt. Not sure when they will meet, but will know at the next meeting.
CORRESPONDENCE:
Chris Esquibel (29th) sent conference thank you letters back in December 2015.
OJA and Justice Rosen were emailed information about the Efficiency Study.
BILLS:
Monte Stiles (speaker for Spring Conference): $500.00
Chris Esquibel (29th) submitted a bill for $135.36 for mileage to/from the executive board meeting.
Kelsey Cox (18th) submitted a bill for $313.74 for mileage to/from the executive board meeting.
Tom Weishaar (1st) submitted a bill for $67.50 for mileage to/from executive board meeting.
Mike Clark (21st) submitted a bill for $140.80 for mileage to/from executive board meeting and office supplies.
Spence Koehn (4th) moved and Kelsey Cox (18th) seconded to pay all bills as submitted. Motion carried 9-0.
STANDING RULES:
No Update
NEXT MEETING:
February 18, 2016 at 10:00am in Topeka, KS. Cody McArthur (3rd) will look into holding the meeting at the Shawnee County Courthouse.
ADJOURN:
Tom Weishaar (1st) made a motion to adjourn, Cody McArthur (3rd) seconded. Motion carried 9-0.