Posted 8/23/01 County employees can now ëbankí sick hours to help co-workers By Danielle Strenke County employees will now be eligible to withdraw sick hours from a donated fund, after approval from the Chisago County Board Wednesday, Aug. 15. Thora Fisko, co-chair of the Labor Management Committee, recommended to the board approval of a policy on donating accrued vacation or sick time to a vacation donation bank. The time, she said, could then be used by employees who have depleted their vacation and sick hours due to a catastrophic illness. ìEmployees who have a major illness, or have used up their time due to a major illness to a minor child or spouse could be eligible to use hours from the bank, up to 160 hours,î Fisko said. County Administrator Jim Thoreen told the board this was one of the major discussion points for the committee. ìWe had input from all sides of the issue,î he said. ìI think weíve covered the bases, and this provides a marvelous safety net for those whoíve had a tragic illness. Itís the humanitarian thing to do.î The board echoed Thoreenís sentiments. ìI think itís the way to go, helping people down and in need in this way,î Commissioner Bob Gustafson said. Thoreen explained that some people want to specifically donate some of their time, when they hear of a co-worker who needs it, and others will simply want to donate it when they are unable to use up all of their time. Commissioner Mike Robinson asked how much sick time employees received. Thoreen told him it accumulates at the rate of 8 hours, or one day, per month. The board approved the motion to establish the donation bank. Commissioner Bob Vande Kamp also asked Fisko to bring up the issue of the necessity of employees having cellular phones at the next committee meeting. ìItís something Iíll look into and ask the committee if they want to add it to our agenda,î she said. ìWe can also discuss it as a safety issueñ whether we want a policy on usage while driving.î (Continued from front) Fair Board request denied The board was unanimous in its decision to decline offering financial assistance to the county fair board in the purchase of 10 acres of land north of the fairgrounds in Rush City. Vande Kamp told the board he had already spoken with the fair board, which was going to move forward with the purchase regardless. ìIím a big supporter of county fairs, itís a community involvement thing, but looking at the fund balances and we were asked to borrow the money, but the money is not there ñ we canít do this,î Montzka said. ìThe fair will be there next year, itís been there for 125 years,î Robinson said. ìThis isnít a desperate need, itís more of a luxury item. I support them purchasing the land, but the county doesnít have money to do this.î Park improvements Parks Director Laird Mork sought approval from the board on partially funding a picnic shelter at Dennis Frandsen Park. He said the proposal for funding had been sent to the state three years in a row, but was always declined. ìIn 2001 the proposal was ranked sixth according to need, and the top five get funding,î Mork said. He told the board Frandsen had committed to funding half of the estimated $50,000 price tag for the shelter, and was asking the county to approve funding the other $25,000. Commissioner Ben Montzka asked for reassurance that the funds for this project were present in the parks budget. Thoreen told him they were, and the board subsequently approved the project. The board also approved the addition of two soccer fields and an additional shelter building at Ki-Chi-Saga Park, which will be partially funded through a $10,000 grant from the Minnesota Sports Commission and Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning. The board approved the project, awarding a bid for excavation work to Keller Excavating, coming in with the low bid on the project of $4,600. 2002 Budget discussion Thoreen briefly discussed the challenged being faced by the budget committee, as it faces significant financial shortfalls in next yearís budget. ìThe budget committee is realizing it may not be able to stay within the 8-10 percent levy increase that the board expected,î Thoreen said. The challenge, he said, was how the county can build a plan to stabilize its balances and build up what it should have in reserves. Using the formula of having on hand a reserve of 60 days worth of operating expenses, the county should have a reserve fund of around $6 million, Thoreen said. ìIn May, we will be nowhere near that,î he said. In reality, fund balances for both the Health and Human Services and Roads and Bridges funds will be running in the red halfway through the year, if costs remain as predicted. Vande Kamp, who sits on the budget committee, told the board they will need at least two meetings to look over the proposed budget. The first of those will come at todayís morning meeting, Wednesday, Aug. 22. ©Post Review