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Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 9:00 AM BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Maricopa County, Arizona (and the Boards of Directors of the Flood Control District, Library District, Stadium District, Improvement Districts, Housing Authority of Maricopa County and/or Board of Deposit) "The mission of Maricopa County is to provide regional leadership and fiscally responsible, necessary public services to its residents so they can enjoy living in healthy and safe communities” Board Members Jack Sellers, Chairman, District 1 Bill Gates, Vice Chairman, District 3 Steve Chucri, District 2 Clint Hickman, District 4 Steve Gallardo, District 5 County Manager Joy Rich Clerk of the Board Juanita Garza Meeting Location Supervisors’ Conference Room 301 W Jefferson, 10th Floor Phoenix, AZ 85003 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS The Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona, convened in an Informal Session at 9:00 AM on Monday, January 11, 2021, in the Supervisors’ Conference Room, 301 W Jefferson, 10th Floor Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Jack Sellers, Chairman, District 1; Bill Gates, Vice Chairman, District 3 (remote); Steve Chucri, Supervisor, District 2 (remote); Clint Hickman, District 4 (remote); Steve Gallardo, Supervisor, District 5 (remote). Also present: Juanita Garza, Clerk of the Board; Joy Rich, County Manager; Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel (remote); Maria Ceaglske, Minutes Coordinator. PRESENTATION 1. PRESENTATION REGARDING THE FY 2022 BUDGET MARICOPA COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE Paul Penzone, Sheriff Russ Skinner, Deputy Chief Ann Scheel, Executive Chief of Administration Jim Prindiville, Chief Financial Officer (C-06-21-366-X-00) Robert Brooks, Sheriff’s Office Chief Information Officer, ran the presentation remotely while those noted presented to the Board. Jim Prindiville, Chief Financial Officer, noted the following items listed on the slide would be presented: Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 2 of 25 He said the $409M FY22 Budget Baseline consists of the following categories: Mr. Prindiville said the following would be three main areas of focus: He reviewed the Detention Staffing Study preliminary results as noted below. He stated that the preliminary results showed a combined understaffing of 834 positions. He said the plan was to work with Maricopa County on a 4-5 year plan. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 3 of 25 Supervisor Chucri said he recalled detention staffing doing well into 2020 before COVID-19. He suggested using the numbers as a baseline to show the change within the last 18 months. Sheriff Penzone spoke of the recruitment and retention issues. He said detention is the most difficult part of his organization for consistent staffing because after coming onboard, a person recognizes the profession is not for them. This caused vacancies to be in double digits. He said prior to COVID the vacancy percent was down to 3.3%. The Sheriff said after COVID hit, they faced attrition and a reduction in hiring and the ability to run the academies. Then because of not only the safety issue, but the public health issue, the vacancy percentage is back up to 13.1%. Sheriff Penzone said he believed the hiring plan that the department was following prior to COVID was effective and the department benefited. He said the question now is if the hiring plan will be sustainable and there needed to be a long-term and short-term plan. He said the organization needed to be realistic about who to be targeting on an annual basis. Sheriff Penzone said there are other dynamics at play now. They have seen a difference in the daily jail population in the last year because of COVID. He reiterated long-term and short-term plans are needed so they can make sure there are enough employees to help ensure the safety of the employees. Mr. Prindiville spoke of the staffing dynamics. Supervisor Chucri stated the County was doing well in the detention recruitment and staffing before the pandemic. He thanked Sheriff Penzone and his staff for their work on detention staffing. Mr. Prindiville spoke of the plan to transition to the new Intake Transfer Facility as noted below: Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 4 of 25 He spoke of the vehicle study noting vehicles out of commission and current needs. He said in total 50 additional vehicles are being requested. Sheriff Penzone spoke of the necessity for the vehicles. He mentioned how important it was to have functional vehicles to fulfill the needs of the community. Mr. Prindiville noted the following bullet points as items that will improve their operational effectiveness and productivity. He spoke of the use of resources during recent events. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 5 of 25 Sheriff Penzone briefly spoke on the necessity of the use of drones and recent uses such as search and rescue, protests, and traffic accidents. He also talked the use of the drone for a convention for safety. Mr. Prindiville talked about the use of technology for the safety of staff. Chairman Sellers said he understood the use of drones as an added safety measure. Mr. Prindiville continued with the following slide and talked about the importance of key technology upgrades and expanded on the data warehouse implementation. Mr. Prindiville said that the next slide summarized MCSO’s budget requests noting due to COVID-19 and other procurement issues some of the requests may be carried over to FY23. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 6 of 25 Supervisor Hickman asked if the City of Phoenix owns similar water cannon equipment. Chief John Bailey responded that the City of Phoenix has a larger scale robot, with video camera, used to disrupt potential explosive devices. Supervisor Gates said he is interested to see if any of the amounts above-base would fall under the Cares Act Funds. Mr. Prindiville said some vehicles would fall in compliance others would be in operations and detention. He responded to the other question regarding the CARES Act and stated there may be items that might fall under the CARES Act Funds. He said he would look further into the matter. 2. PRESENTATION REGARDING THE FY 2022 BUDGET - JUDICIAL BRANCH Judge Joseph Welty, Presiding Judge, Superior Court Raymond Billotte, Administrator (C-06-21-370-X-00) Judge Joseph Welty, Presiding Judge, Superior Court, thanked the Board for the opportunity to present, congratulated Chairman Sellers on his new role, and thanked Supervisor Hickman for his role as 2020 Chairman. He spoke of the pandemic and statutory responsibilities of the Judicial Branch. He noted his appreciation to the Board for their assistance throughout the pandemic. He proceeded with the presentation: Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 7 of 25 He noted the utilization of CARES Act dollars in the transition to online court in order to continue operations. The online court platform would continue to be used in the future as it promotes better customer service and efficiencies. He spoke of juvenile detention efficiencies and the focus on effective community-based retentions. He spoke on adult probation caseload trends noting they have reduced due to the pandemic and the effect of the legalization of marijuana on caseloads. He spoke about the remodel of the courtrooms and other improvements noting the importance of continued funding. Discussion ensued on the construction schedule. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 8 of 25 The following slide was presented noting appreciation to the Board for their support in the equipment and technology upgrades. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 9 of 25 The following slides are requests to carry forward. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 10 of 25 The following slide reflects a summary of the requests. Discussion ensued on the presentation, accommodations and challenges during the pandemic. 3. PRESENTATION REGARDING THE FY 2022 BUDGET - MARICOPA COUNTY JUSTICE COURTS Judge Keith Russell, Presiding Judge, Justice Courts Donald Watts, Associate Presider Jim Morrow, Court Administrator (C-06-21-369-X-00) Judge Keith Russell, Presiding Judge introduced Donald Watts, Associate Presider, and Jim Morrow, Court Administrator, to the Board before proceeding with the presentation. He spoke of the effects of the pandemic within the courtroom, necessary upgrades, staff telework schedules and necessary calendar reductions. No additional funds are being requested although the courts continue to work through challenges during the pandemic. He spoke about the redistricting of precincts, noted appreciation to the Board for their continued support and court staff for their work through the pandemic. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 11 of 25 Judge Russell continued the presentation noting the management of cases and challenges throughout the pandemic. Before the pandemic the average case filings were 2800 per month. The following reflect case filings in the noted months: from April through August well below 1500 per month; September under 1900; October just over 2100; November over 2000. He noted a backlog of cases, social distancing and utilization of virtual courtroom. Judge Russell reviewed the following Judicial Productivity Credits FY2018 report of Justice of the Peace case filings. This reflects more specific case filings before the pandemic. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 12 of 25 He then reviewed the Judicial Productivity Credits FY2020 report of Justice of the Peace case filings which reflected case filings during the pandemic. Discussion ensued on types of filings and activity causing the fluctuations in case filings. Judge Russell spoke briefly on each current and long-term challenge points. He spoke of the changes made to accommodate virtual courtroom noting use of video, audio, and telephone. He thanked the Board for their support of veteran’s court and gave a brief update. He noted the County contains the largest number of court rooms in the state of Arizona and spoke of the home detention program. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 13 of 25 Judge Russell reviewed the following points on stretching resources flexibility with fund 245: Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 14 of 25 Judge Russell spoke of the adjustments made to keep courts open and challenges faced in regard to staff and COVID. He noted preparations made for possible future contingencies and is hopeful it will assist in managing resources if necessary. Supervisor Gates thanked Judge Russell and his Justice Courts staff, pivoting to a new court model and recognized them for the great work in balancing the safety of staff to keep justice moving forward. Judge Russell noted the difficult times have brought out the best in people and several individuals have stepped up to assist. Supervisor Hickman thanked Judge Russell and his staff for their leadership in Veterans Court and home detention especially during a pandemic. He commended them for their progress on new ideas while keeping the Board informed of the changes along the way. Judge Russell closed the presentation by thanking the Board and noted he is looking forward to continuing his work with the Board. 4. PRESENTATION REGARDING THE FY 2022 BUDGET MARICOPA COUNTY CONSTABLE'S OFFICE Michael Branham, Presiding Constable Patrice Goodman, Constable Administrator Nathan Wallace, Associated Presiding Constable (C-06-21-368-X-00) Michael Branham, Presiding Constable, thanked the Board for their support through the pandemic. He proceeded with the presentation noting the eviction process during the pandemic as being of interest to others throughout the country as the County continues to work through the new processes. He spoke of the eviction notice moratorium and best practices moving forward. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 15 of 25 Mr. Branham stated five constables retired and the positions were filled. The newly appointed constables received weeklong training and positive feedback was received. He spoke of the effects of the eviction moratorium regarding service fees and boundary change preparations being made. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 16 of 25 Mr. Branham noted throughout the pandemic, the Constables continued to assist each other and spoke of the importance of being flexible with workloads. He said there would be no request over baseline at this time and thanked the Board for their support. Supervisor Chucri noted the leadership of electeds was impressive and expressed his gratitude to Mr. Branham for the presentation. Supervisor Hickman thanked Mr. Branham for the presentation and noted he was impressed with the newly established Constable training. Discussion ensued on Constables newly elected, training, budgets and dangers of the job. Chairman Sellers thanked the Constables for their impressive work and recognized the dangers of the job. Mr. Branham thanked the Board and spoke of safety measures for Constables. 5. PRESENTATION REGARDING THE FY 2022 BUDGET MARICOPA COUNTY SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT Steve Watson, Maricopa County School Superintendent Matt Morales, Chief Deputy Maricopa County School Superintendent Marc Kuffner, Assistant Superintendent for Economic Management (C-06-21-367-X-00) Steve Watson, Maricopa County School Superintendent, introduced and thanked the following staff members who would also present: Matt Morales and Marc Kuffner. He continued with the presentation noting the following necessary changes, spoke of the support to all areas of the County and partnership with juvenile detention. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 17 of 25 Mr. Watson spoke of the following changes that have occurred. He noted saving money in the districts would allow them to hire additional teachers. He spoke of the continued need to assist with detention education as it will assist the community as students progress to adulthood. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 18 of 25 Matt Morales noted communication has been key for all offices of government. He noted the needs and wants of the parents as well as questions received throughout the pandemic. The office has registered 1,500 home school students per month since the pandemic which has resulted in the need of two positions for communications and multimedia/design productions. Mr. Morales explained the revenue sources as noted in the following: Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 19 of 25 Marc Kuffner spoke on the creation of the Detention Center Education Fund. He noted previous work with transition facilitators in the transition of juveniles in detention. He stated that Detention Education has been run within the County’s Accommodation School District for several years. He noted challenges of running it within the Accommodation District and the need to be in sync with the Juvenile Detention Department. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 20 of 25 Mr. Kuffner gave an overview of the Detention Education budget as noted below which include 22 full-time employees at a cost of $1.6 million. Mr. Watson stated January 4, 2021, was the first day back for in-person learning. He thanked teachers and staff for their availability and for putting the procedures in place for a safe in- person learning experience. He noted the importance of partnerships. He spoke of updates to procedures and policies to be compliant with state statute. He noted the changes made and need for support going forward. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 21 of 25 Supervisor Gates asked how many students were presently attending the Accommodation School. Mr. Watson responded there are about 156 students across two campuses. Supervisor Gates asked if there was a distance learning option. Mr. Watson stated high schoolers are choosing distance learning while middle school parents are choosing in person. Mr. Kuffner spoke of lingering financial issues and state statute. He noted the following budgetary requests: $748,020 to bridge the gap for districts; $1.3 million to maintain the current educational model; $183,095 for two full-time employees in the administration office; $600,000 in grants for the Accommodation School. Mr. Kuffner noted a reduction of grants: $50 million in 2010; $55 million in 2012; $59 million in 2016. He said year five of the final grant is ending which is approximately $14-15 million of grant funds per year that provide financial resources to the County as well. The County is currently in the process of requesting a year six extension with an expiration of September 30, 2022. It Is uncertain if it will happen with administrative changes in Washington D.C. and Department of Education. The amount would be the reduction of 50 positions with 32 of the positions being full-time employees. He spoke of recovery of funds from the annual lease which expires June 2023. The location is still being utilized and a later discussion is needed regarding funding the lease further. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 22 of 25 Mr. Morales spoke of challenges due to COVID, refusal of the public entering the building to wear masks and no security to regulate the requirement. For this reason, one full-time security services employee is being requested. He spoke of the necessity as a safety and security issue. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 23 of 25 Mr. Kuffner summarized the financial summary above baseline requirements as follows. Mr. Watson shared the County cost per resident is much lower than other counties within Arizona. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 24 of 25 Mr. Watson concluded the presentation noting that the County School Superintendent staff work hard for constituents. He spoke about the security measures discussed earlier and noted staff had interfaced more with the public during the pandemic than ever before. He stated over 1,500 families had entered the building to request information to homeschool their children and staff continues to work on providing the best and safe learning opportunities. Resources are needed in order to continue providing the services for the children, families and constituents. Supervisor Chucri asked if the net increase request was $5,091,444 or was that minus $2,186,000. Mr. Watson clarified that there is a $2.8 million difference. It was determined that the net amount request was $2,905,444.00. Supervisor Hickman said there was a change that happened in 2010 and spoke of the changes that had gotten the County to its current state. He asked if there was an Accommodation School in 2010 and how many students were being served and what is the difference in the number of students. Mr. Watson stated there have been a number of changes with a number of school district superintendents and each district is run differently. Mr. Kuffner explained the Thomas J. Pappas School existed before 2010 and when it closed, the Accommodation School was created. The Accommodation School had 600 to 800 students in the early part of the decade. There were some events that went forward that did not work then and there were other events found back in 2016 that he is more than willing to discuss further with the Board in a different forum. There are currently 156 students with the potential to increase the number. Supervisor Hickman spoke of the pandemic and online student learning. He asked if there is anything the County can do to have the school districts invite families from the Accommodation Districts to participate with the in-person learning. Mr. Watson stated County School Superintendent staff continued to work with School District staff to find the right accommodations for the students where the traditional districts are unable to serve the needs for these particular students. He noted technology challenges continue to be the biggest issue with the families. Supervisor Gates noted his appreciation on the lease update issues and security. He suggested having further discussions to better understand the needs moving forward. There are a lot of moving parts with other projects and suggested accommodations at the administration building located at 301 West Jefferson Street since it is already having security accommodations. Mr. Watson said staff would like to have further discussions on possible solutions moving forward. Supervisor Chucri concurred with Supervisor Gates’ comments and asked that Reid Spaulding and Joy Rich be included in the discussions as well. The County has managed real estate assets exceptionally well and noted significant projects. Steve Watson concluded the presentation by thanking the Board. 6. EXECUTIVE SESSION Vote to convene in Executive Session to consider the items on the Executive Agenda dated Monday, January 11, 2021, for Board of Supervisors and relevant Special Districts pursuant to the statutory authority listed for each item. Motion to approve by Supervisor Bill Gates, seconded by Supervisor Clint Hickman Ayes: Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Bill Gates, Steve Chucri, Steve Gallardo Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, January 11, 2021 Page 25 of 25 MEETING ADJOURNED There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. _____________________________ Jack Sellers, Chairman of the Board ATTEST: ____________________________ Juanita Garza, Clerk of the Board