SB40 agrees to contract

The Stoddard County SB40 Board and the Sheltered Workshop agreed to a new contract Monday evening at the January meeting of the SB40 board.

Wayne Jean, chairman of the SB40 Board, opened the open session of the meeting, saying the board had met in an executive session prior to the open session. In the executive session, a contract proposal was approved to present to the Sheltered Workshop. Jean presented the proposal to Devin Miller, director of the workshop.

Jean also said the SB40 Board would now only meet twice a year with one meeting in January and one in July. Previously, the board met every other month. Jean said they would still like Miller to attend these meetings. Jean further said the SB40 board would still like to see the workshop’s financial statements.

At a meeting in December, Miller presented a proposal for a budget of $480,000 ($40,000 a month). The SB40 Board offered a budget of $360,000 up front and $129,000 to be paid after the completion of the renovation of the workshop.

Miller immediately asked how much the SB40 Board had in its bank account. He also asked for a copy of SB40’s financial records, which Jean said he could have. Jean also said the board had roughly $1.4 million in its bank account.

The SB40 Board has more than usual on hand due to the recent sale of the Target Case Management building and the building that housed a short lived workshop and later QC Supply. These buildings were built by a previous SB40 Board.

Jean also said in the last month the SB40 board sold the buildings for $1,465,000. The board paid off the bank debt of $550,000 which was still owed on the buildings. The board took in its annual tax payment (part is received in December and part in January). The tax payments totaled roughly $500,000.

Miller said what he wanted was a yes or no on the budget he proposed in December. After a short back and forth, Miller asked another question.

“I guess really the question is what’s the purpose, what are you going to do with the rest of this money,” questioned Miller.

SB40 Board Member Mark Avery said Miller needed to keep in mind that the extra money was just acquired. Avery also said Miller was getting $489,000. Miller stopped Avery and said he was getting his budget, but part was contingent upon the completion of the building.

Miller said it was not known when the building would be completed. This is because there is ongoing litigation between the contractor and the Workshop. The building cannot be finished until the litigation is finalized.

Miller also asked for a roll call vote on the budget he presented. SB40 Board Member Mark Avery said the vote was unanimous in the closed session on the budget offer made by the SB40 Board. Miller asked for the vote multiple times. No roll call vote took place in the open session.

The SB40 Board said and Miller confirmed that the offer from the SB40 Board was an increase from last year. However, Miller said he was seeking the $480,000 budget with none being contingent upon the completion of the building. The reason for this was the pending litigation that will raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Should this pass, it would cause a significant increase to the workshop’s expenses each month. The board asked Miller how many employees he currently had. He said about 25. He further said most of the clients made the current federal minimum wage of $7.25. He said some make a little less. The clients’ salary is determined by what government benefits they already receive.

The new legislation would raise their salaries regardless of which benefits they receive. Miller was concerned about having the funds in place to pay the clients. The SB40 Board said if it should pass, they could talk again and adjust what he gets.

The discussion continued for several minutes regarding how the SB40’s funds would be utilized.

Avery said the board used to spend money on things such as air conditioner repair at the group homes for the ARC. Miller said the board was cited by an auditor for this which the board denied. Currently there is no contract between the ARC and the SB40 Board.

Former commissioner and current Sheltered Workshop board member, Carol Jarrell, said the former SB40 Board was “dinged” for constructing two buildings without first collecting bids. Bids must be gathered when using taxpayer money for such a project.

The only current board member on the previous board was Don Rhodes, who served briefly with them. Rhodes said he voted against the project and advised the board that they must collect bids. Jarrell advised the board to be cautious how they spent the money. She also asked for a copy of the SB40 finances. Jarrell was told she could have a copy of anything they had.

Dan Gier, a director for DESE, said the board was also cited for going into debt. Avery said the current board members have been working to erase the debt caused by the construction of the buildings.

Miller said if the offer was all they could do, that is all he can accept. Miller was told if anything unexpected came up, he could contact the Board for help. A special meeting could be called if need be.

Avery said it probably was not a bad idea to have $400,000 or $500,000 on hand in case a big problem arose. Gier advised that they were not allowed to keep that much. The board could only keep 11 percent of the tax revenue as reserves. If the board does not adhere to this, its tax levy would go to zero. The board has possibly as long as two years to determine what to do with the money.

Miller invited everyone at the meeting to tour the workshop. Many of the board members said they had, and the newer members expressed interest in doing so.

The next SB40 meeting will be in July.