Board Meeting Minutes - October 27, 2008

October 27, 2008
6:00 PM
500-A Old Lynchburg Rd
Charlottesville, VA

Members Present
Joe Szakos, Chair
Angela Hammond, Secretary
Barbara Barrett, Vice-Chair
William Hale
Steven Stern
Clyde Gouldman
Owie Samuels
Weston Mathews
Neal Walters

Members Absent
Michael Kelley
Julie Dickey
Carol Johnston

Others Present
Robert Johnson, Executive Director
Caruso Brown, Deputy Executive Director
Jessica Shaw, Administrative Assistant
John Davidson, Lawyer for Region Ten
Stefano Siciliano

I. Call to Order
Mr. Szakos called the meeting to order at 6:07 PM.

II. Welcome
Mr. Szakos welcomed everyone to the meeting.

III. Comments from the Public
There were no comments at this time.

IV. Specification of Other Items to be added to the Agenda
Mr. Stern would like to add two items at the end of the meeting.

V. Approval of the October 13, 2008 Minutes

Mr. Szakos asked for corrections to the minutes. Item VII should end after the first paragraph. The second paragraph should become Item VIII and have a sentence in the beginning; " The Board returned to the meeting from closed session."

On a motion made by Mr. Stern and seconded by Ms. Hammond, the October 13, 2008 Board Minutes were approved as amended with one abstention from Mr. Walters.

VI. Executive Director's Report
See previous month's packet.

VII. Mr. Walters moved that the board go into closed session in compliance with Virginia Code section 2.2-3711(A) under subsection 7 which allows the consultation of legal counsel retained by a public body. The motion was seconded by Mr. Mathews and was unanimously approved. Mr. Johnson and Mr. Brown were invited to stay through the closed session.

VIII. The board returned to the meeting from closed session. Mr. Szakos read the following: The board hereby certifies that as follows; in compliance with Virginia Code 2.2-3712(D) that to the best of each individual board member's knowledge only public business matters lawfully exempted from the open meeting requirements under Code 2.2-3711 were heard, were discussed or considered in the closed meeting. To the best of each individual board member's knowledge only public business matters as identified under the motion by which the closed session was convened were heard, were discussed or considered in the closed meeting; Ms. Barrett, aye; Ms. Hammond, aye; Ms. Samuels, aye; Mr. Mathews, aye; Mr. Hale, aye; Mr. Gouldman, aye; Mr. Stern, aye; Mr. Walters, aye; Mr. Szakos, aye.

IX. Budget Reduction Goals
Mr. Gouldman provided the board members a copy of the goals created during the Retreat sessions. An addendum was added to include purpose of intent to the goals. A correction to wording was requested. In the last sentence, "shall" should be "should".

On a motion made by Mr. Hale and seconded by Ms. Hammond, the Budget Reduction Goals were corrected as follows: Maintain staff who perform the highest quality of services; maintain highest operational efficiency; maintain critical services, but take into account the fiscal impact; and maximize the quality and range of consumers within the budget; with the addendum: The board recognizes that a substantial portion of the population served by Region Ten, at least in the beginning, have no jobs, no housing, and little or no ability to pay for medical care, and often do not have Medicaid. In this context, Region Ten offers the only meaningful lifeline for many who are the most fragile in their ability to survive. Existing, workable, Region Ten programs serving such persons who are the most vulnerable should be continued even though revenues for those programs may fall short of matching program costs. The motion was approved as amended with one nay from Mr. Stern.

X. Board Responsibilities
Mr. Stern noted that the Conflict of Interest laws may not be broad enough. Wording may be needed to include family members. A correction to Item 10, "spokesmen" should be "spokesperson". Item 13 will be further reviewed before approval.

On a motion made by Ms. Samuels and seconded by Mr. Stern, Items 1-12 of the Board Responsibilities were unanimously approved as corrected. 1. Attend all Board and Committee meetings that you are a member of. If you were unable to be present, you should notify the Chair in a timely manner. 2. Volunteer to serve on a Board Committee(s) that you have an interest in. 3. Become knowledgeable of the services provided by Region Ten and the issues related to mental health, intellectual disabilities and substance use disorders. 4. Prepare yourself for the Board meeting by reading the information provided in the Board Packet prior to the meeting. 5. Be prepared to ask questions when you don't fully understand the issue before you. 6. Attend as many of Region Ten's other community activities as possible to show your support. 7. Be an advocate for Region Ten and its services in your community. 8. Establish a relationship with your local governing body and help educate them about Region Ten. 9. If contacted by any staff member concerning issues related to Region Ten, refer them to their immediate supervisor. If that is not appropriate, then refer them to the Executive Director. 10. Do not present yourself as the spokesperson for Region Ten or the Board to the public. This is the responsibility of the Chair or the Executive Director. 11. Work with other Board members to develop a unified vision for Region Ten. 12. Abide by Region Ten Bylaws and conduct yourself in meetings according to Robert's Rules of Order.

XI. Bylaws
Mr. Szakos asked members to volunteer to be on a committee to review and revise the bylaws. Ms. Barrett, Mr. Gouldman, Mr. Walters and Mr. Szakos along with Mr. Brown will meet on Thursday, October 30th at 9:30am to review the bylaws.

XII. Holiday Party
Mr. Szakos has asked Board members to donate funds toward the Holiday Party. The party is a way to show appreciation for the work of Region Ten employees. A total of $2,100 has been pledged to date. If Region Ten withdraws from the Omni, a fee will have to be paid. Ms. Lewis will speak to the Omni to see about lowering costs. Any donations by board members should be sent to Ms. Shaw.

Mr. Stern moved to pay for the Holiday Party due to it being contractual. The motion was seconded by Mr. Hale and approved with one abstention from Ms. Samuels.

XIII. Facilities Management Plan
Mr. Hale will work with Mr. Brown to create a Facilities Management Plan. A first meeting will be determined.

XIV. Personal Performance Plans Personal Performance Plans were done once before about a year and a half ago. Ms. Hammond created her plan and provided a copy to board members as an example. She listed her pledges, then went back and hand wrote what she accomplished and identified the areas she still needs to accomplish. Mr. Szakos would like the plans turned in to Ms. Shaw by November 15th.

XV. Energy Audit/Green construction/Smoke free environment/Recycling/ Audit of service manual policies/Improvements to insure customer focus and friendliness
The Organizational Effectiveness Committee, co-chaired by Mr. Brown and Ms. Shoen, is currently working on all of these items. A green committee has been created and customer service is being addressed with help from CAC members. Updates will be provided.

XVI. Finance
The Finance Committee met earlier and discussed the first submission of the budget for local government is in the middle part of November. The committee looked at a budget that shows Region Ten's expected deficit, or unfunded balance, and will show that on Region Ten's local submission. The committee considered what to ask the localities for, considering our current budget crisis across the board. The committee has decided to keep the localities abreast of our situation and where we stand. The committee was considering asking for the same percent they asked from localities last year, but decided to ask for their share of the overall agency revenue base. The committee will present recommendations to the Board in November for the FY10 Budget. The committee is asking for a schedule of items to be brought to them over the next six months so that they can see how to get out of a shortfall, not simply find us in one. One of the assumptions made in the preparation of the FY10 Budget was changes in what we might collect in direct consumer fees. There is appropriate concern about developing a fee scale and doing this in enough time to bring it to the committee and the board before implementation of any changes.

The discussion regarding the 1% Policy Recommendations by the Finance Committee will be put on hold until the Finance Committee can discuss this further, present it to the Executive Committee, then bring it back to the board.

XVII. November Board Meeting Agenda

• FY10 Budget Presentation by the Finance Committee

XVIII. Additional Items
Mr. Stern informed the board that the local tas force created to improve mental health has been disbanded. He also wanted to let board members know that the Data Committee has been created and will have its first meeting in January. Anyone interested in joining may speak to Mr. Stern.

Currently there is a vacancy in both Fluvanna and Albemarle for board representation. Albemarle has received three applications, however, they are from former employees. Any former employee wishing to serve on the board must wait a period of three years. The three applications cannot be accepted at this time.

Mr. Hale noted that he visited the Fluvanna building and found it to be a very good building. He feels this is a good building for Region Ten Inc. to purchase.

Mr. Siciliano and Mr. Harris would like to schedule two meeting sessions for the month of November consisting of three-hour slots. The board discussed several possibilities and tentatively decided to meet with the consultants on November 6th from 6-9pm and November 19th from 6-9pm.

XIX. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.