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Commissioners OK funding advance for HCCS; discuss records digitization proposal with health commissioner

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Pictured (l-r) are Highland County commissioners David Daniels, Brad Roades and Terry Britton. (HCP Photos/Caitlin Forsha)
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Caitlin Forsha, The Highland County Press

Highland County commissioners David Daniels, Brad Roades and Terry Britton approved a $300,000 advance for Highland County Children Services placement costs and discussed a potential opportunity to partner with the Highland County Health Department on digitizing files during their Wednesday, Feb. 7 meeting.

Via resolution, commissioners agreed to grant a request from Highland County Job and Family Services for a budget modification from Transfers Out to Advances Out in the amount of $300,000. Also requested was an advance from Child Emergency Fund, Advances Out to Children Services Special (2115) in the amount of $300,000.

“It’s that time of year when we run really short on funds,” Highland County JFS Director Jeremy Ratcliff told commissioners. “We have around $40,000 in our fund balance, and we currently have $315,000 in outstanding invoices from December and January. This is a bridge to help get us to April, when our state funding sources will be received again.”

Ratcliff said that the agency is “averaging around $315-325 [thousand] a month just in foster care costs/placement costs,” with $3.8 million in costs for the 2023 calendar year. As of Feb. 7, Ratcliff said there were 162 kids in the agency’s care.

“It just further illustrates the need,” Ratcliff said. “I don't know that I'll ever get accustomed, quite honestly, to coming to this board asked for advances, but it just it further illustrates the need that we have and every stone that we're turning over to to pay the approximately $4 million in placement costs at the agency.

“We were able to trade last year from other JFS agencies, several hundred thousand dollars. Even relying on their funding that they've traded to us, we’re still short on funds this time of year, so that's the reason for the ask and also the reason that we're on the ballot again this March.”

As previously reported, the agency is seeking a 0.9-mill levy on the March 19 primary ballot. A proposed five-year, one-mill replacement levy for the agency failed in the Nov. 7 general election. Commissioners voted last August to approve the request from Ratcliff to seek the levy for Children Services, amid rising cases and associated costs for the agency over the past several years.

The previous tax levy, which was first approved in November 2013 and renewed by voters in November 2018, was a five-year, .9-mill levy for Children Services placement costs and expired Dec. 31, 2023. The levy the agency is seeking in March would be at the same rate.

Daniels said these transfer resolutions are “fairly common” but pointed out that the agency has “never been able to have the funds available to repay the general fund” the money that is advanced early in the year. (In December, commissioners passed a resolution to resolution to reclassify Resolution 23-40, with the original date of March 15, as a Transfer Out instead of an Advance Out in the amount of $200,000. Daniels said during the Dec. 20 meeting that the agency was “not in the position to repay that.”) 

“That’s accurate,” Ratcliff said. “That is always the plan that it is an advance, but in the past two years, it's been more treated as a transfer, just because of the cash flow and the balance and the costs associated [with the number of kids in care].”

Ratcliff thanked commissioners for approving the transfer.

Also on Wednesday, Highland County Health Commissioner Jared Warner met with commissioners to discuss a proposal for the Health Department to work with the county’s records department to digitize property records. 

As previously reported, commissioners voted in October to enter a contract with Canon Solutions America, Inc. for Laserfiche Cloud software for the records department.

Daniels said the county records manager, Julie Wallingford, mentioned Warner’s proposal, related to that software program, during a recent work session.

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Health Commissioner Jared Warner

“Julie and I have been talking about some ideas for using the new Laserfiche program, and one of the capabilities that it has, for kind of database management,” Warner told commissioners. “At the health department, we maintain a files — I think we're estimating maybe about 80,000 to a 100,000 pages — for property records, that cover private water, household septic systems, nuisance complaints, just other things that generally are associated with specific addresses in the county.”

According to Warner, all of those records are currently “on paper, in our file cabinets.” However, the HCHD has obtained state funding for an “administrative” employee who would “work a lot on that data entry piece” of digitizing files. 

“What we would like to do is get to a point where we have that information scanned into a central database, and then you, from your computer or your smartphone or wherever, will be able to log in and pulled up and see the records available for a property,” Warner said. “That all seems like that fits well within what Laserfiche is able to do. 

“Our conversation with Julie and with you guys was going to be logistically, how could that work? What are the costs for user licenses? What's the type of costs associated with data storage?”

Warner added that the HCHD “doesn’t expect anything from [Wallingford] or commissioners ... other than access to the system,” as they would be “fully self-sufficient” in terms of uploading the files.  

Daniels said that one of the county’s “concerns [is] about timing.

“I don't think it was a big delay, but I think [Wallingford] was talking about she thought she needed some more time,” Daniels said. 

Daniels added that they also needed to look into whether “this is this going to require more server space than what we've currently looked at for records retention operation,” and subsequently additional costs, before committing to the idea. However, Wallingford “indicated that it was within the realm of possibility of something that could work.”

On the other hand, Warner said he could not give an estimate of how much data storage may be used without knowing how the software system “is structured.

“This is a project as a health department, we're going to move forward with one way or the other, but it sounds like if we partner with you guys, there might be a chance for us to save some costs, and potentially cover some of your costs if we're using some of that system,” Warner said. “We’re willing to figure out, take our share of the expense and maybe not have to buy a totally separate system to manage this data. Those are some of the things that we'd like to figure out.”

Warner told commissioners that waiting a couple of months would not be an issue, as he also said that “a lot of work” will go into their preparations for the scanning and importing of data.

“A lot of it's going to be getting hands on in the system, figuring out how it works, understanding the data structure, making sure that we have everything figured out before we start scanning,” Warner said. “It’s going to take some time, and two months is not too long to wait. We don't have any hard and fast deadline.”

Britton asked if the HCHD was looking to move any of these physical files into the records storage building when it is constructed. Warner said they “plan to keep it on site currently” at the Health Department.  

Daniels told Warner he would “encourage you to get with [Wallingford] and keep working down through the process, and find out when she's comfortable with allowing access” so they can determine this is the right fit.

On an unrelated topic, Warner said that in honor of American Heart Month, the Health Department is offering free lipid panels for the entire month of February. For more information or to schedule a bloodwork appointment, call (937) 393-1941, email info@highlandcountyhealth.org or visit highlandcountyhealth.org/laboratory-services.

The Health Department is also hosting a Hoxworth blood drive Thursday, Feb. 22 from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Appointments to donate blood can be made by visiting https://donateblood.uc.edu/donor/schedules/drive_schedule/48271 or by calling (513) 451-0910.

In other discussion:

• A $1,224 quote from Weller’s Plumbing and Heating and subcontractor Ameresco to “replace a failed thermostat” at the Probation Office, according to Daniels, was accepted.

• Commissioners approved a quote from Snider Recreation Inc. for a new playground at Harmony Lake at Liberty Park in Hillsboro. Roades said the county “has an agreement with the city for funds” toward that purchase.

Hillsboro City Council approved a resolution authorizing the purchase of the ADA-accessible playground through the State of Ohio Cooperative Purchasing Program during a special meeting Jan. 31. The estimate for the project, according to documentation attached to the resolution, is $342,745, and according to safety and service director Brianne Abbott, the project is largely covered by various grants, with the city's match for the project being $14,015.

• Highland County Treasurer Vickie Warnock announced that property tax bills were being mailed Feb. 7.

• A gentleman who said he was interested in purchasing land somewhere in Highland County attended part of the meeting. He said he had been speaking with various county offices to learn “the ins and outs.” 

• Later on Wednesday morning, commissioners met with Michael Dreher, a sales representative from Koorsen Fire & Security. According to their website, Koorsen offers fire protection, security, communications and mobile equipment solutions.  

According to commission clerk Ashleigh Willey, “The rep explained what services they provide, and the commissioners agreed to send him our most recent fire inspection forms so that he could provide some quotes free of charge for annual inspections. Commissioner Daniels explained that it was fair to say we were not unhappy with the current company we use, but that we would be open to looking over a proposal from Koorsen.”

In other action, commissioners made the following approvals:

• A request from the Recorder for an additional appropriation from unappropriated funds to Equipment in the amount of $5,000.

• Commissioners received a petition filed by Hamer Township Trustees to vacate one alley in Danville, located east of Danville Road and north of state Route 138 in Hamer Township, Highland County. Via resolution, the Board agreed to set the time and date for a public viewing on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 10 a.m. and a public hearing on Wednesday, Feb. 28 at 11 a.m. in the Highland County Commissioners Office. 

• A resolution to create a line item within Lakeside Subdivision Sewer Fund, Advances Out. Also requested is a request to repay an earlier advance from 5050 Lakeside Sewer to 1000 General Fund (Resolutions 23-34 and 23-68) in the amount of $6,000.

• Commissioners approved an amendment to a previously approved software contract with Maximum US Services to reflect “a correction for some dates that are applicable to the contract,” Daniels said.

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