First up is Board of Equalization

Board of Eq agenda approved without any comment. Moving on to the corrections update

Corrections Director Mike Myers the department is still $206,000 under budget with one month left in the fiscal year. He said they are encumbering funds for safety renovations

$372,000 was spent on overtime in May, Myers said, a significant decrease from April thanks to improved staffing

Myers said the pre-trial release program saved nearly 3,000 jail bed days

He said the program can take some credit for saving a life. The corrections staff was able to locate a suicidal individual with GPS monitoring so responding officers coild take person to psychiatric csre

Nine officers left the department in May, but Myers said most of those were people didn’t complete training. 40 officers graduated training on May 26 and the department is now 101% staffed

Admissions to the jail and average daily population increased in May, which Myers said is typical for this time of year.

66% of the jail population were racial minorities, unchanged from the previous month, Myers said

Myers said there were a total of 50 days of inmates in hospitalization, which is a “hidden cost” for the department

They continue to provide Covid vacccines, but Myers said their supply will be depleted soon

Myers said the facility-wide safety project is ongoing. The project will add safety netting to all housing units with a top tier and replace all top bunks. He said the renovations are largely completed, but the netting has yet to arrive

Douglas County Corrections hosted the American Jail Association conference May 20-24 at the CHI Convention Center. Myers said attendance was one of the highest ever, and he said they received “rave reviews” as a host

Comm Maureen Boyle asked about tracking recidivism rates for those on the pre-trial release program.

Myers said it will still take time to get data on the program, but anecdotal evidence is that its been successful

Comm Boyle said that the 42% of the jail diagnosed with a mental illness demonstrates the need for increased mental healthcare in the jail

Comm Jim Cavanaugh commended Myers on being under budget and keeping overtime costs down.

Comm Mike Friend asked if the percentage with mental illness has ever been lower than 30% (currently 42%)

Myers said the numbers have crept upwards over the past several years, but they always ran in the mid-30s

He said part of the percentage increase is diverting more people from the jail. Many of the people being diverted aren’t mentally ill, leaving a larger percentage in the jail

Comm Cavanaugh said data on substance abuse should be included with the mental health data. As the county discusses mental health, Cavanaugh said drug and alcohol issues need to be a part of that

He said they could look at replicating Sarpy County’s diversion program

Myers said that capacity is more complicated than it appears bc they have to keep genders separate as well as security classifications

On bed days saved by the pre-trial program, Chair Mary Ann Borgeson asked Myers to include the money saved as well.

Eight housing searches were conducted in May, Myers reported, recovering marijuana, tattooing items, and suspected K-2.

Chair Borgeson said its good they added that to the report, bc it’s an important issue to discuss

Jaquala Yarbro said the lack of visits bc of the cost impacts people of color the most. She wants visitation to be improved

Ed Fogarty said Deloitte’s report on the jail mental health expansion project doesn’t give a number for the risk of a federal clawback, which he said is a red flag

He said if you spend more on construction and less on service, there will be higher risk.

“The good news is we aren’t in the eleventh hour,” Fogarty said. He said the county can use this summer to review all of their options

Comm Friend said Fogarty made some good points, but the resolution the Board approved a few weeks ago gives them options.

He said they havent had any ARPA money clawed back yet, and Douglas County as well as other counties have spent it on infrastructure

Friend said the high percentage of inmates with mental health issues is a big issue they need to address

Moving on to the regular agenda

Consent agenda approved

During citizen comment, Luis Jimenez showed a scene from an Anthony Hopkins movie and Larry Storer said President Trump’s indictment was “an assault on our republic”

Stanford Momarts (unsure on spelling) said he spent a year-and-a-half in homeless shelters, including the Sienna Francis House. He said that although some of the staff were great, he had a bad experience at SFH

Still citizen comment, Ed Fogarty reiterated his points about Deloitte’s ARPA guidance

Next is a presentation on assessments and valuations

Mike Goodwillie from the assessor’s office showed a graph of closed prices in Lincoln, Omaha and the greater region https://t.co/UzoLDB4Hsl

Goodwillie said any assessor’s office is concerned with actual value and uniformity

Scott Barnes from the assessor’s office said data collection plays a major part in assessment

Zach Bass said the valuation cycle starts with the appraisal staff using aerial images followed by an onsite inspection

Bass gave information on the process for assessing residential properties, and Mark Jenkins presented on commercial assessment

Assessor/Register of Deeds Walt Peffer said they’d be happy to hold a town meeting to address residents’ questions about valuation and assessment

Comm Morgan said he appreciates the assessor’s office doing this presentation

Comm Boyle said this is the first time the assessor has given a presentation since she’s been on the county board, so the transparency is refreshing

Boyle asked for guidance on what they can do or lobby the state to do about the property tax issue

Peffer said the state could lower the rate for valuation, but it would be a “catch-22.” He said they’ve reached out to the governor to discuss it

Comm Cavanaugh said Peffer should give this presentation every year

Comm Borgeson said she thinks the equalization process is broken, but the County Board isn’t able to fix it on the back end.

Borgeson said the assessor’s office should put together a video.

Peffer said they put a video up on Facebook with the most handsome employee they had, which they determined was Zach Bass

Diana Vogt said homes in her Benson neighborhood are selling for much less than what her property was appraised for. She said the comparison process isn’t fair because it uses properties in other locations

She said the assessment process needs to be more flexible.

Nick Williams said his property’s assessed value has grown 95% in three years, which he says isn’t accurate. He said the neighboring property is deteriorating and he’s dealt with crime issues

Now moving onto the proposed One-and-Six-Year Highway Improvement plan for fiscal year 2024-2029

Dan Kutilek from Douglas County engineering showed a map of current projects https://t.co/5wCv402CM8

The largest project will be improvements at 168th and State Streets, which will begin this fall, Kutilek said, and completed by fall 2024.

He said they’re down to six federally reportable bridges that need replaced

Future projects will include 168th and Ida Street likely to start in 2025, and 156th and State in 2026

Comm Cavanaugh asked if any of these improvements will be in incorporated areas.

Douglas County Engineer Todd Pfitzer said they’re all in unincorporated areas. When they’re incorporated they become the responsibility of the city

The County Board will take action on the plan at the next meeting on June 27

Douglas County offices will be closed Monday in observance of Juneteenth, and the County Board won’t meet next week

The County Board went into executive session at 12:11 p.m.