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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-09-25 Government Operations Committee Minutes Government Operations Committee September 25, 2007 Minutes Councilor Attendance: Palmer, Blanchette, D’Errico, Gratwick Staff Attendance: Barrett, Farrar, Yardley, Little, Hamilton, Comeau, Enman 1. Update – General Assistance Rent Voucher Processing Procedure Yardley indicated that the General Assistance Division at Health and Welfare has completed a significant project involving the computerization of their payment system. One of the most important changes that will occur is the method by which rent voucher payments to landlords are made. The cities of Portland, Waterville and Lewiston are current utilizing the system. Yardley updated the Committee regarding this change as the new system is nearly ready to be implemented. Once landlords have completed the paperwork for reimbursement, they will no longer be required to do any further paperwork unless there are changes. Currently the form is required to be completed on a monthly basis by landlords. It will allow for timely payments. Gratwick asked about the potential for fraud and abuse on either side. Yardley said it is less. D’Errico asked if there is a trial basis involved. Yardley said it is a work in progress. All municipalities using this system contract with the same software developer. The system allows its users to collect helpful background data regarding potential clients. Blanchette referred to the section stating that landlords would notify the Health and Welfare Department of any changes and she asked if this was on the honor system. Yardley said he is exploring a system of approximately 10 per month random checks through the assistance of the Code Enforcement Office. Blanchette asked about the safeguard with purchase orders. The rent checks are monthly. Food vouchers can be weekly and most are bi-weekly. Responding to Palmer, Yardley said a voucher is given to the recipient and then the landlord receives it and sends it back to the City for payment. Little said the maximum return time is about three weeks. This item was presented for informational purposes only and did not require a vote by the Committee. 2. Proposed Name Changes to Bangor Health and Welfare Department and the Public Health Division Yard noted that with the many positive changes occurring within this Department, there has been growing interest in renaming the Department and one Division to better reflect their mission and role in the community. Before proceeding to draft the necessary ordinance to make the numerous required changes in the City Code, staff wanted to discuss this with the Committee for input and comment. The health services provided by the City’s Health and Welfare Department serve much more than the City of Bangor. Under the new state grant and the newly formed advisory board, the Department is serving 12 communities with all preventive public health programming. The welfare connotation in the Department’s name has always been troubling to Yardley. For example, he pointed out that the WIC Program is not a welfare program as perceived by many. He stressed that the Department’s name needs to reflect what the department is doing and who it is serving. The suggested name is similar to Portland. He suggested Bangor Region Public Health, a division of the City of Bangor Department of Health and Human Services. Gratwick expressed some concern about the proposed Department name. Yardley discussed the need to separate Bangor’s Department of Health and Human Services from the State of Maine and the Federal Government’s Health and Human Services. Yardley said he is certainly open to ideas but wants to capture the housing portion. There are other programs than what people typically think of in the arena of public health. Gratwick said he approves of the idea, he is a bit unhappy with the suggested name, and suggested it more imaginative name be created. Yardley spoke about the need to have the name change in place in a quick manner but he didn’t suggest trading perfection for speed. Barrett asked if this was discussed at the Advisory Board level. Yardley said the Board did not have a better name that would be descriptive of the wide range of services provided. Blanchette said she has no problem with the name of Bangor Region Public Health for the new division. She praised the WIC program. Palmer shared Gratwick’s concern regarding the name. Palmer suggested ‘helping services’ and suggested the need to go back to the think tank and return to the Committee. Yardley spoke of the need to consider what is going to encourage the appropriate and maximum utilization of the services. Some of the disreputable opinions of agencies may not be from the people likely to benefit from the service. Yardley stressed the importance of portraying what his office offers for services. He shared and appreciates the concerns of the Councilors regarding the name but said he didn’t have any other suggestions. Gratwick suggested that the clients might have some thoughts or suggestions. Barrett said it would require an ordinance change for a name change of the department. It could be done as one simple ordinance. To facilitate the process, he suggested that the item be first read at the upcoming Council meeting and then returned for final action two weeks from that date thus allowing time for further consideration. Blanchette didn’t share the concern about the suggested name and felt it was a waste of time. A motion was made and seconded to move the item to the upcoming Council meeting for first reading only. Blanchette then spoke about the need to educate the public with a new name. She suggested a new advertising campaign. 3. Pandemic Influenza Plan The final draft of the Pandemic Influenza Plan has been prepared and submitted to the state for review and comment. Hamilton updated the Committee on the document and the on-going planning work that is involved. Due to its length, the document was provided separately to the Committee. Hamilton said the plan was adapted from Portland’s plan. Responding to D’Errico, Hamilton said the plan has been distributed to the police and fire chiefs as well as the Penobscot County, Maine Emergency Management and various other local agencies. Palmer asked if it would go on the City’s web site. Barrett said it would be a very lengthy download as a PDF and he wasn’t certain if the public would want a document in such detail. He suggested a summary. Hamilton agreed. Yardley suggested that it be placed in the libraries of the 12 areas involved. Responding to Blanchette, Hamilton said the plan would be registered with the state. Gratwick said it was extraordinarily important that the public be made aware of the document. Barrett said all within the City involved with an emergency should have electronic access and it could be placed on a shared server. He again mentioned a summary on the City’s web site. In the next draft, Barrett suggested the title be Bangor Region Health Plan as it is not just for a pandemic. Yardley said the state is unveiling a new health alert network and he will be one of 15 administrators in the state that will have the permission to actually post electronically to the state. These would be items accessible to countless readers. If an event occurred, this site would provide incredible amounts of information to a broad array of individuals, individuals who need that information, not the general public. Gratwick stressed the importance for the plan to encompass all major catastrophes. He also questioned legal authority of the City to carry out the plan. Barrett said that is an area that needs further clarification and he has asked the Legal Department for its review. Yardley said there have been discussions at the state level. There is a series of executive orders that have been developed and are being developed around legal issues. He has not actually seen the orders as of yet. Barrett spoke about the past Spanish Flu Epidemic. He thinks it is incumbent upon local officials to take the initiative in an emergency situation. Blanchette asked if the staff has worked through MMA’s legal team as well as the Attorney General. Barrett said he will check with MMA. D’Errico talked about the City being a storage area for medical supplies in an emergency situation. Hamilton referred to it as a Strategic Medical Stockpile and she serves on that committee, which has not yet met. BIA is one location. Responding to Palmer, Hamilton said the plan represents a couple of months of work on her part but it was in conjunction with many others in a committee format. The Maine CDC’s timeline for the pan influenza plan to be in place by August 31, 2007. The document is still a work in progress with many upcoming and ongoing meetings. Yardley said that Tom Robertson from the County is planning to share the documents with others throughout Penobscot County. The Committee thanked Ms. Hamilton for all of her hard work on this project. 4. Executive Session, 1 MRSA, Chapter 13, § 405 6.C – Land Acquisition – New York Street A motion was made and seconded to move into executive session. A motion was made and seconded to return to public session. With no further business to come before the Committee, a motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 6:05 p.m.