Vet Committee

Veterans Service Committee December 9, 2022 Third Floor County Board Room, Taylor County Courthouse Call Meeting to Order: Lester Lewis called the meeting to order at 10:03 a.m. Members Present: Catherine Lemke; Lawrence Peterson; Lester Lewis; Lorie Floyd; Sue Swiantek; Steve Voss Members Absent: Rollie Thums Other Attendees: Dan Judnic; Nicole Hager ; Arnold Sova; Bill Vach; Chuck Zenner; Susan Gragory; via Zoom-Landis Holdorf; Dylan Anderson; Jean Smith; Lori Lang; Heidi Eisner; Brandon Porter; Jennifer Peterson Approve Agenda. A motion was made by Lemke, seconded by Swiantek, to approve the agenda with six items. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Approve minutes of the August 19 and 23, 2022 meeting: A motion was made by Swiantek, seconded by Floyd to approve the minutes of the August 19 and 23, 2022 meetings. A unanimous vote case, the motion carried. Progress of the VSO: Dan Judnic passed the class for required for accreditation and is working on the next steps to become fully accredited. He also presented information on how the Taylor County Veterans Office is operating, responded to questions from the committee and discu ssed upcoming training/conferences. A motion was made by Voss, seconded by Floyd to approve attendance of Judnic and Sherman to an upcoming NWCVSO conference February. Judnic also responded to questions about the CVSO Act making its way through the federal legislature. He will forward to Hager & Lewis for their review and feedback. Set the next meeting date: Discussion was held regarding how often the Veterans Service committee should meet. It was decided to meet every two months with the exact date/schedule to be determined between Judnic & Lewis. Adjournment. A motion was made by Swiantek, seconded by Voss, to adjourn at 11:36 a.m. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Secretary: Nicole Hager VETERANS SERVICE COMMITTEE Tuesday, August 23, 2022 County Board Room Members Present: Lester Lewis, Rollie Thums, Sue Swiantek, Catherine Lemke, Steve Voss and Lawrence Peterson. Members Absent: Lorie Floyd. Other Attendees: Chuck Zenner, Courtney Graff, Brian Wilson -Star News, WAOW Channel 9, Andria Farrand and attached sign in sheet. Call Meeting to Order: Chair Lester Lewis called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Approve Agenda : Motion by Thums, seconded by Lemke, to approve the agenda. Motion carried. Request to fill the vacant Veterans Service Officer position: Motion by Thums, seconded by Peterson, to approve filling the vacant Veterans Service Officer position. Motion carried. Interim support to assist the Veterans Service office: Motion by Voss, seconded by Thums to get interim support for the Veterans office. Voss asked what the options are and stated it will take about 6 months for a new VSO to get accredited. Lewis added that Nikki has the credentials and can keep the office open. Lewis also added we will need to talk to Nikki to see what kind of assistance she needs. Motion carried. Closed Session : Motion to go into closed session pursuant to Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(c). A unanimous roll call vote cast, the motion carried. Open Session: Motion to go into open session pursuant to Wis. Stat. 19.85(1)(c). A unanimous roll call vote cast, the motion carried. There were no actions to act on from closed session. Adjourn: Motion by Thums, seconded by Lemke, to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 a.m. Motion carried. Andria Farrand County Clerk Vet. Committee Meeting August 19, 2022 Attendance: Steve Voss, S usan Swiantek, Larry Peterson, Lorie Fl oyd, Lester Lewis, Catherine Lemke, Rollie Thums (full attendance-we have quorum), Courtney Graff, members of the public and media Lewis called meeting to order at 2:30pm, August 19, 2022 Announcement by Lewis: Human Resources received a written resignation from VSO immediately before the meeting. Letter was not shared at this time. Discussion by members of how to approach agenda; agreement that no budget presentation. Who will take notes. Graff volunteered so meeting could be held. Discussion on setting new meeting date to discuss VSO position and what to do in the interim to offer support to VA office. Meeting set for Tuesday, August 23, 2022, at 9am. Voss voiced that he wanted more discussion on the resignation and would like to know what lead to this point. Lewis responded that we cannot answer right now. Voss comments that the committee’s response is despicable because Ms. S haw is not going to be our CVSO any longer. Motion to reorganize the committee and to reorganize from the top (Voss); no second; motion fails. Motion approve to Green Light Project (Floyd); seconded (Peterson); brief summary/presentation about the Operation Green Light. It’s a national program to show support for veterans. Vote taken: unanimous yes, motion passed Meetings from the last minute—motion to approve the minutes from the last meeting (Voss); seconded (Floyd) Comments: Didn’t get the meeting minutes in time; would like it sooner so they can review Voss: yes Swiantek: yes Peterson: yes Floyd: yes Lewis: no Lemke: no Thums: no Motion passed to approve the minutes Motion adjourn (Lemke) and seconded (Peterson): unanimous all in favor Notes: CLG Veterans Service Committee Meeting July 20, 2022 Third Floor County Board Room, Taylor County Courthouse Chairman Lester Lewis read case #C22 -01523 from a report dated June 23, 2022. Lewis asked if Mrs. Shaw had anything to say about it. Mrs. Shaw’s respo nse stated it’s accurate. Lester then asked Mrs. Shaw to share with the committee how he has been harassing Mrs. Shaw. Mrs. Shaw gave numerous examples. The lies and rumors that are being spread are constant. It is a form of defamation of character, and i t’s getting very old. Lester asked if that was it. Mrs. Shaw stated I think I will stop for now. Steve Voss asked to interject. He stated that this might be another example of bullying. It’s not on the agenda. It is a personal attack here in public. Lester stated that the meeting has not begun yet. Mrs. Shaw stated it is a public arena in which you can try to assassinate my character. Lester said, well, M rs. Shaw, you spoke about lies and innuendos, he was interrupted by Virgil Tingley, a veteran in the aud ience with a question if this was going to be recorded. Mr. Lewis said no, I’m not recording it as the meeting hasn’t started yet. Mr. Tingley said, well, it should be. You are making accusations. Mr. Lewis interrupted Mr. Tingley stating he was not making accusations and stated, I read the police report. Mr. Tingley then said he thought this needed to be on record. Mrs. Shaw interrupted and stated she really thinks this needs to stop until she can get her attorneys here if this is how we are going to cond uct this. Lester said that’s fine. Mrs. Shaw then asked if we shoul d come up with another date for our meeting. Mr. Lewis said, no, we will go on with the meeting. Call Veteran Service Committee Meeting to Order: Chairman Lester Lewis called the Committee meeting to order at 9:10 AM. Members Present: Committee: Lester Lewis, Lorie Floyd , Lawrence Peterson Susan Swiantek, Steve Voss, Rollie Thums, Catherine Lemke. Members Absent: All members present. Other Attendees: CVSO Shellie Shaw, Benefit Specialist Nikki Sherman, Jim Metz, Star News Brian Wilson, Attorney Courtney Graff, Sheriff Larry Woebbeking, American Legion Commander Ben Greiner , Paul Lukewich, Sandy Lukewich, Barry Anderson, Susan Grego ri, Arn old Koeppe, Kenneth Klahn, Virgil Tingley, Jim Fris chmann, Sharon Frischmann, Paul Michler, Jack Johnson , Art Marschke, Heidi Eisner , Coll Fox, Dawn Kas ier-Harder, Lisa Kauffman, Dan Deml, Sandy Lukewich, Paul Lukewich, Mike Bub, Jim Gebauer, Scott Mildbrand, Lynn Rosemeyer, Nicole Hager (HR Director) , Ben Greiner (American Legion Commander) , Bill Clough , Rev Warren Behling, Richard Austin. VIA Zoom, Jason Dailey (Assistant CVSO), Tammy Javenkoski (Oneida CVSO), Ali Nelson (1st Vice president CVSOA), Ella Parker (Burnett CVSO). Approve Agenda: A motion was made by Thums, seconded by Lemke, to approve the agenda. A unanimous vote was cast, and the motion carried. Approve Minutes from the March 4 th, 2022, meeting: A motion was made by Thums, seconded by Lewis, to approve the meeting minutes. A unanimous vo te was cast, and the motion carried. Introduction of Veteran Committee: Lester Lewis (Chairman), Lawrence Peterson (Veteran lay member), Lorie Floyd (committee member), Susan Swiantek ( committee member), Steven Voss (Veteran lay member), Rollie Thums (com mittee member), and Catherine Lemke (committee member). Rusk and Clark County bill: Mrs. Shaw stated that monies have been removed from the VSO budget to pay Rusk and Clark CVSO during the time tha t Mrs . Shaw was placed on non - disciplinary administrative leave. Taylor County paid Rusk and Clark County for their services $2,264.55 both CVSOs were in Taylor County for 3 days each. Mrs. Shaw’s concern is how is that amount going to come out of the VSO budget. The VSO budget is just under $150,000 and we don’t have a lot of funds to support Veterans and this bill will take away from Veterans. Mr. Voss asked why we are paying other agencies . Mrs. Shaw stated that she was placed on non - disciplinary administrate leave for 6 weeks and had to complete a forensic psychologist exam in Minneapolis, MN. A Forensic Psychologist can cost $3 50 - $1000 an hour, Mrs. Shaw completed a 3-hour exam, and she stated that she does not want that bill to come out of her budget. Mrs. Shaw came back to work on June 16, 2022, without any restrictions. Mrs. Shaw’s concern is that she does not want this bill to come out of the Veteran’s Office budget and she requests to have monies that were taken out of the VSO budget to pay the Cl ark and Rusk County bill reimbursed. Mr. Lewis stated that the proper procedure is for a committee member to make a motion to request reimbursement with the Personal and Finance Committee to have the monies returned to the VSO budget. A motion was made by Swiantek, seconded by Voss to approve the request to Personal and Finance for the monies to be reimbursed. A unanimous vote was cast, and the motion carried. Mrs. Hager stated that the bill for Mrs. Shaw to see the forensic psychologist in MN will not be coming out of her budget, there is a different budget than what was used to pay that bill. Mr. Lewis requested that Mrs. Shaw send a request to Larry Brandl to have that request at the next Personal and Finance Committee meeting. Office Activities: Mrs. Sh aw pres ented the raw data to the committee and explained t he meaning of each report. The information on what the graph shows dates from 2014 to the present. The information shows an increase in the workload. The work that is completed in the office brings in over $10 million dollars to Taylor County’s economy. Mr. Voss explained his experience with using the VSO and his succes s with his service-connected disability. Mr. Thums stated that no one on the county board ever said Mrs. Shaw was not doing her job . We as county board supervisors must do our job. I understand privacy but everyone must understand that the door must be open, this is a county building. We need to come together to a happy medium. Mr. Voss stated that he believes that it is the committee’s job as a committee to enable them to do their job , not injure them. He continued to say the VSO staff continues to be highly motivated and educated which will attract more veterans. Mrs. Swiantek stated that she believes it’s not what is said it is how it is said. Some board members come across as very threateni ng, they may not intend to come across that way, but it does. We all should be proud of our VSO. Mr. Lewis stated that before we move on to the next item, he wanted to share the conversation that he had with Eric, CVSO from Rusk County. He offered no criti cism of what he had seen of Shellie and Nikki’s work. He had some comments, stating that they are doing well given the amount of time they have been doing the work. Mr. Lewis then stated you might l earn the job, but you don’t learn all the efficiencies in a short period of time. He also added that Eric made it clear that if the VSO staff needed help to reach out to him with a difficult case. Mr. Lewis thought that was very nice he made that offer. Mr. Lewis also mentioned that Eric is a one- person office. H e serves under a county administrator and out of Human Services. He also added that just as Mr. Thums mentioned that they are not counselors, and they need to send people to professionals. Mr. Voss added that for the veterans that were sent to Ru sk County because of Mrs. Shaw absence, Eric completely screwed up their claim, we need to make sure we do not do this again. Mr. Lewis mentioned his veteran son’s disability rating of 50 %. Mr. Lewis stated he is em pathetic in these situations and no one o n the boar d is talking about reducing the staffing of the office. Mrs. Swiantek asked Mr. Lewis why would you bring that up? Mr. Lewis went on to explain that he needs to explain himself because he doesn’t ne ed people stating after the meeting, we know what he is af ter. Mrs. Floyd asked if veterans would be able to do claims on their own. Mr. Peterson interjected that he was 100% disabled and worked with the previous CVSOs and had surgery and now is at 50% aft er surgery. He stated that after you g o through the process initially and it can be frustrating. Mrs. Shaw explained that we try to lighten that burden on the veteran and that the staff can see what is going on with a claim in the VA system, whereas a vete ran is not able to. Mrs. Shaw compared the Wisconsin model to other states and stated that the model where every county has a CVSO is superior in that it helps veterans dramatically more. Increase VSO hours to 40 hours a week: Mrs. Shaw stated the increas e in of fice activity and the PACT Act possibly being passed there is an anticipation of an increase in work. The history of the CVSO position was an exempt position up until a few years after it changed to a non-exempt position. Mrs. Shaw is requesting the CVSO position be exempt, the Veteran Benefits Specialist position increased to 40 hours a week, and that 3 additional personal days be given to Nikki for her efforts as a thank you to her for manning the office for the 6 weeks of Shellie’s non - disciplinary leave . Mr. Lewis explained the process for 3 personal da ys to be sent to the personnel committee for approval . The change in hours to 40 hours would be voted on by the VSO committee as a supportive measure and then sent to the personnel committee for approval. The question is where the money will come from to s upport this change. H e went on to explain that they as county board members need to know where that money will come from and that the county is on a levy freeze. stated that he will vote against it because he does not know where the money is coming from but put this in the 20 23 budget when we meet for the passing of that budget. Mr. Voss made a motion to vote on increasing Shellie’s hours. Sue second the motion. Mr. Lewis wanted to take a roll call concerning Mrs. Shaw’s request for increasing hours. Mr. Thums stated that it doesn’t register in his mind how Mrs. Shaw can ask for 3 more personal days for Nikki and increase her weekly hours . He went on to say that Nikki covered while Shellie was gone, and she got paid for what she did while Shellie was gone. Mrs. Shaw responded with she understands how you might view it that way, but that in that office there are situations that are extremely emotionally exhausting. I need her to take days off to take care of herself. I am asking for 3 personal days for Nikki to keep banked to be used for mental health. Mrs. Shaw explained different situations that happened while Mrs. Shaw was placed on non-disciplinary administrative leave. Mrs. Shaw went on to say tha t she is asking for those 3 personal days to acknowledge the need for mental health because if Nikki wears herself out and does not take care of her mental health, she will not be good to me and she will not be good to anyone of those people coming in for services. This is about trying to stay on top of our own mental health as we help people who are needing our services. Rollie answered with Human Services that they have people to take calls. Mrs. Lemke stated she would not be able to vote for 40 hours sin ce she does not know where the money is coming from. Mrs. Shaw added that it was her understanding in reading the county code that the purpose of the committee was to oversee the budget; not to see how the operation of the VSO. Mr. Voss mentioned that the vote se rves as a recommendation that the personnel and fin ance committee approve an increase in hours. Mrs. Lemke stated we still need to know where the money is coming from. Mrs. Swiantek stated that it could be that the money is there due to an early comment made by Mrs. Shaw about a discrepancy in the VSO budg et. Mrs. Shaw agreed and restated that she is asking for your assistance to find the money because she does not have solid numbers in her budget. Mr. Lewis asked if Mrs. Shaw had gone to Larry Brandl. Mrs. Shaw stated yes that Larry gave her a verbal amount, but the amounts are not in the budget. Mr. Peterson asked how long the county has had a CVSO. There was discussion among the committee pointing back to the workload numbers and the need for 40 h ours being derived from those numbers. A member of the public offered his knowledge, where there was a service officer in the 40s and he went on to list all the CVSOs up to this time. Mr. Lewis stated he is not allowing public comments and then began speaking of the numbers of veterans post-WWII and was wanting n umbers to compare those numbers with the current numbers of veterans in our population. Mrs. Shaw referred to the activity report that goes back to 2014. Mr. Lewis stated WWI, WWII, and Korean war veterans, have many more numbers and those veterans did not make claims. Mr. Lewis then stated that you must leave 2021 and 2020 out of the statistics because of Covid, and he suggested looking at 2019 and earlier. Mrs. Shaw added she does not think that Covid impacted the claims for the office, but she was not here during Covid. Mr. Thums added that while on the personnel committee people come and want to add to their time and the question is always, Where’s the money coming from? Mr. Voss restates that thi s is th e recommendation from the VSO committee to the personnel and finance committee that they be 40 hours, as there is more work to be done than there are hours available. Mr. Thums added that he has never had a department come to him asking them to cut wages a nd cut their time. All he hears is that people are overworked. Rollie stated he needs history and more to go on and not just yesterday’s news, he needs last week’s news. Mr. Lewis stated with that there are three members of personnel and finance her e (on t his committee). Mr. Voss pointed out that we are he re serving as the VSO committee. Mr. Lewis stated he has not voted for an increase to 40 hours yet. Mrs. Floyd asked since the VSO is asking for more hours, why was Nikki at the county board meeting the whole time? Mrs. Floyd stated that there was nothing on the agenda that pertained to the VSO. Mrs. Sherman stated she used her personal time. Mrs. Floyd stated that if you are attending those meetings that takes away from your time in the office, so t hat is why I mention that. Mrs. Sherman stated it just as if she took a personal day off – it was her own time. Mrs. Floyd stated she personally thinks everyone should be working 40 hours. Mr. Lewis then asked for the vote. Lewis, Thums, Peterson, and Lemke were no’s and Voss, Swiantek and Floyd were yes’s. Mr. Lewis stated that the VSO can still get the proposal together and get it on the agenda for the next personnel committee and take it directly to them. Veteran’s Outreach Day: Mrs. Shaw explained that there would not be a Veterans Outreach Day due to the dis ruptions, distractions, and non-disciplinary administrative leave that lasted 6 weeks and negatively impacted the VSO to get started on that, plus the increase in office activity. Mr. Voss asked if we would try to do one next year. Mrs. Shaw stated she would like to try. A member of the public Ben Greiner raised his hand and stated there is a neighboring county with an outreach day. Mr. Lewis stated he is not taking public comments and Ben stated thank you. Mrs. Shaw added that Price Co has a n outreach day at the end of July, she believes. Ben added the 28th. Nothing further Office use and relocation: Mrs. Shaw started out thanking the committee for the lobby across the hall. We are asking to switch offices. She went on to explain that the current office has a high ceiling that bothers veterans with hearing aids, and the doors are not soundproof. Therefore, not conducive to privacy. The other benefit would be that the doors are newer in the lobby, and part of HIPAA compliance is making sure no one overhears a conversation. We want to take every measure we can to safeguard their privacy and moving to the other office can possibly do that, and our existing office can serve as the lobby. Soon, we are plan ning on holding educational sessions for Veterans and thei r dependents. Mr. Lewis stated we can vote on it and send it to the building and grounds committee to make the decision to move the office. Mrs. Swiantek interjected that she has been outside the do or and can attest that you can hear what is being said out side the door. Mr. Thums then asked where Nikki will be through all this because she is a receptionist. Mrs. Shaw stated that Nikki is not a receptionist ; she is a benefits specialist. Mr. Thums asked if Nikki’s door going to be locked or will it be open. Shellie responded that it is not locked; it’s shut, and it will remain shut. Mrs. Shaw explained that Mrs. Sherman is a benefits specialist which means s he is speaking to veterans or dependents about their private information. Mr. Thums stated we understand that veterans need their privacy, but people are walking the halls because the door is locked. Mr. Lewis interjected to correct Mr. Thums stating that the office is not locked. He went on to explain that when they are in the office, they lock the door to have their lunch when they are alone. We have a lot of doors that are shut especially in the summertime. In the winter they keep the door open to get the heat in from the hall, but in the summer, they close the door for the air conditioning. Keeping the door closed is not a problem if there are proper signage and people knock. Mrs. Swiantek brought to the c ommittee’s attention an article by the WI Counties Association stating that CVSOs must ensure that veterans’ and their families’ privacy must be prote cted as there are laws to avoid seemingly inadvertent disclosures. A motion was made by Swiantek, seconded by Voss, to approve switching offices. A unanimous vote was cast, and the motion carried. Mr. Lewis asked Mrs. Sherman to send that part of the minutes to the building and grounds director, and have it placed on the agenda for the next meeting. Approval for overnight stay for mandatory training: Mr. Lewis asked Mrs. Shaw if both employees will be attending the training in Wisconsin Rapids and if there is a remote option for training. Mrs. Shaw stated yes both employees will be attending, and she did not know of any remote options. She explained that she and Mrs. Sherman are accredited and to mai ntain accreditation they must have continuing education. This training is provided by the WICVSO and all counties have this training . A motion was made by Voss, seconded by Swiantek, to approve overnight stay and attendance of mandatory training. A unanimous vote was cast, and the motion carried. Monthly meetings: A discussion was held between the committee regarding evening meetings. Mr. Lewis felt that the evening meeting would not be effective due to needing Corp counsel, law enforcement, and HR director at the Veteran meetings and he was not in favor. Mrs. Floyd stated that she does not have an issue with evening meetings, but her concern was that employees are at 35 hours a week how would that impact the hours of the office? Mrs. Shaw stated that she and Mrs. Sherman would alternate their hours as they do whe n burning up their comp time. Mrs. Floyd stated she agreed with regular meetings. Mr. Thums stated he was against changing the hours of the office because people do not read newspapers and there are people attending this meeting that need to be at the VSO meetings. So now we will be paying people extra money to be here after hours. Everybody thinks everybody else is doing something wrong, this is becoming cumbersome. He also suggested t hat Andria complete the minutes so one person remains in the office. Mr. Lewis suggested that the committee make a vote. Mrs. Swiantek asked if the vote would be for regular monthly meetings or evening meetings . The vote is for regular monthly meetings Mr. Lewis stated. Floyd made a motion to have regular monthly meetings and Voss seconded. A unanimous vote was cast, and the motion carried. Set next meeting date: The next meeting is going to be determined in August 2022. Adjournment. A motion was made by Lemke, seconded by Thums, to adjourn at 11:38 A.M. A unanimous vote was cast, and the motion carried. Secretary: Shellie Shaw, CVSO Nikki Sherman, Veterans Service Office Veterans Service Committee Meeting March 4, 2022 Third Floor County Board Room, Taylor County Courthouse Call Veteran Service Committee Meeting to Order: Chairman Lester Lewis called the Committee meeting to order at 1:00 PM. Members Present: Committee: Lester Lewis, Jim Metz, Rollie Thums Members Absent: None Other Attendees: CVSO Shellie S haw, Be nefit Specialist Nikki Sherman , Register of Deeds Jaymi Kohn, County Board Member Catherine Lemke, Star News Brian Wilson, Attorney Courtney Graff, Sheriff Lar ry Woebbeking, American Legion Commander Ben Greiner , David Goessl, Bill Vach, Dave Nelson, Bruce Emmerich, Harry Frosch, Paul Lukewich, Joe Cypher, Steve Voss. Lester Lewis introduced himself as Chairman for the Vetera n’s Committee, Jim Metz, and Rollie Thums. Lester than announced he was going to give a little speech and stated there will be no repeat of the last meeting. He hopes everyone understands that. They all respect their service to the country, and they respect them. We ask for the same in return. There will be some discussion about the last meeting . He does not want any outburst. Yo u will receive one warning, if you continue you will be es corted from the room. If you feel you need to talk on the subject , raise your hand, and the chair will call on you. Approve Agenda. A motion was made by Thums, seconded by Metz, to approve the ag enda. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Minutes of the February 16, 2022, Veteran Service Committee Meeting. Mr. Lewis stated that we will review the minut es, but we will not be approving them , simply because no one on the new Veterans committee was there. Mr. Lewis asked if Nikki took the minutes. Mrs . Shaw stated yes. Lester said a lot of work was completed and asked Mrs. Sherman if she used a recorder due to policy . Mrs. Sherman stated No. Mr. Lewis asked Mrs. Shaw if there was anything she would like to review wi th the committee? Mrs. Shaw stated no . Mr. Lewis stated there were some things that were addressed that will be readdressed as we go forward. We understand the door closed policy, there is some issue s that have come up. He also stated that he had learned recently that the office across the ha ll is going to be open, he doesn’t have any dates on yet, but he feels that we could make that room a waitin g area. He then asked Mrs. Shaw how many people would be waiting at time? M rs. Shaw responded with maybe 3 waiting at a time. Mr. Lewis stated we could have 6 chairs in the waiting room. There have been several ideas suggested to him. Possibly use and intercom or make signs. We also ma y look at another building. Mrs. Shaw will b e kept in the lo op. Mr. Lewis stated that the last meeting got entirely out of hand. Mr. Lewis asked Mrs. Shaw if she bears any responsibility for the meeting getting out of hand. Mrs. Shaw stated she didn’t think so and it was her understanding that the chair is the one that runs the meeting. She didn’t feel she was able to ove rstep her bounds. Mr. Lewis responded that it seems fair. He just thought since you had a meeting with Veter ans prior to that meeting and then afterwards as well, that maybe you could have stood up and said to the gentleman a little decorum, this is just his thought on it. Mrs. Shaw responded, she did not know that it was going to work out that way, she had thou ght that they would have been allowed to speak during the public comment, she was not awar e they were allowed to speak before that. Mr. Lewis stated that this is kind of informal, we have an agenda, and we will follow it, this is a get to know you meeting . Mr. Lewis stated the VSO has policies, the county has policies , employment policies, one of the things that was done incorrectly under the other co mmittee was leave time, I know you got committee approval, but should have gone to personnel committee. He also knows that she made so me complaint about bullying . We are not going to talk about that because that will be investigated. I did read through the minutes, and I noticed that when you were asked why you didn’t come to the personnel committee , you said yo u had no confidence, and you didn’t trust that they would be unbiased. Mr. Lewis then aske d if sh e knew anyone on the personnel committee. Mrs. Shaw responded that she did no w. Mr. Lewis then advised there were two sitting on this committee, Rollie and I. Why do you feel that way? Mrs. Shaw stated she would like to refrain from answering the qu estion. Mr. Lewis said OK, but he wants to solve the probl ems that we have moving forward and for the audience knowledge there is no intention and non e with the county board to remove the office, shut down, or part - time or the people in the office. It was never mentioned before. Our intention is to continue to service the Veterans as well as you can, we don’t expect anyone to be 100% perfect. We respect our Veterans. Mr. Thums interrupted a nd stated he was curious as to why the door must be closed. He state d that he knew Marie personally and he would always walk b y the door was open and he would greet her, and she would do the same to him. The door was always open. I totally understand the HIPAA and the confidential ity. I also understand that you have a back office. So why does the whole office have to be closed wh en you can segregate yourself? Mrs. Shaw responded that it was a great question, and is it time to talk abou t it or later in the agenda? Mr. Lewis stated i t was fine. Mrs. Shaw then explained that N ikki sits in the open area, closest to the door. She is a benefit specialist; she is not a receptionist. So, when a person comes in Nikki interviews that person to se e what they are needing help with. She is askin g social security numbers, DD214 (explained content of that document ). So, for an example a Vietnam veteran comes in , Nikki starts to interview, ask personal questions about his or her time in service and curr ently any health problems. That veteran then states a few months ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer and a buddy of mine encouraged me in here to make a disability claim because I understand that it’s presumptive. Ok let’s make a with Shellie. Oh, by the way I have erectile disfunction because of the treatment that I have going through. I also have hypothyroidism and now they are telling me I ha ve liver cancer. We need to get you in for an appointment with Shellie. Nikki then explains what is needed f or the next app ointment. This is just an example of a situation in our office. They are disclosing their medical conditions, social security number, address, phone number, a lot of personal information is shared. M r. Thums asked Mrs. Shaw let’s say your door is open, I am saying your door is going to stay open, but I am only one, the fact that if she gets a person like that , I believe that she should get up and close the door. I feel that when there is no situation like that, the door should be open. It feels very welcoming, and she will welcome them. He starts talking and she should then say si r just a minute and get up and shut the door, put a sign on the door. There is a waiting room across the hall, please go over there and make yourself comfortable. Mr. Lewis then stated that we must have the door closed when Nikki is working with a Veteran at her desk and Shellie may ha ve a Veteran in her office. The door can reasonably be closed at that time. I know we are used to having that outer door open and I know Jeff had talked about the door being closed, his door was closed when he would have a veteran in his office, usually th e outer door was open, until covid. At covid time it was shut because our last deputy Marie was uncomfortable with covid. So, they kept the door shut. Otherwise, the door remained opened. You could walk by and say good morning. She was here for over 30 yea rs. Mrs. Shaw then stated we are not Jeff and Marie. Mr. Lewis stated he understood. Mrs. Shaw requested that she like to explain how Nikki and I work. Nikki is going to be the one who takes the bulk of the phone calls. She gets information shared. Sometimes she puts that on speaker phone and includes me in the phone calls. Nikki and I work in tandem. We are both very new. We are very freq uently talking about different veterans, their claims, or any other benefits. It is constant communication; we are an extremely busy office. You can see that from the annual report. Nikki is an extension of me. Rollie stated that he noticed on the door it says welcome, come in, we are open. How are you handling that if you want to be private? The door is not locked. Mrs. Shaw stated that the door is n ot locked. We are just asking to knock. Nikki says come in and we end our conversation. If they are going to come into m y office Nikki is going to make sure that I am ready. This gives me time to cl ear my desk of anything that I am working on. Mr. Thums asked do you lock the door behind the person ? Mrs. Shaw responded that if she is all by herself, she will lock the door and that has happened twice. Whether we are talking about an ingrown toenail or military sexual trauma, everything needs to remain private. If I am by myself and that Veteran is sharing with me their military sexual trauma or how they had to load dead bodies on a truck, or whatever, I will put a sign on the door , I am with a veteran p lease do not disturb, because i s a very rude and inappropr iate disruption that I have failed them. If I do not make that Veteran feel that this a safe place , I am not going to get details for that claim. I will typically set aside two hours for these appointments. They can take a couple times to visit with them. It’s exhausting for that Veteran, but we get through it, no matter how long it takes. It is exhausting for m e as well too. Lots of emotions and it is very sensitive. The VA system, when you go there, they do things a bit different. I have been told from w orkers at the VA they will bring a veteran into a separate room and shut the door , they use a machine on the outside of the room that makes a noise so no one else can here that conversation. I do not do that, and I am not asking to do that. I also will no t answer the phone if I am with a veteran. Mrs. Shaw then invited Mr. Lewis, Mr. Thums, and Mr. Metz to the office, one at a time. Nikki and I can share the work that we do. Mr. Lewis stated that he was there and wanted to note that one thing at the original courthouse is we want to preserve what it is. It is a historic object. So, it becomes difficult to do any major renovations. We must look at the door. We need a lever handle on both sides of the door. Mr. Lewis, he didn’t find a problem with the door handle until you turn the handle to the left, which is the most common way, and it seemed liked it was locked but it is not you can just push the door open but without knowing that you feel the door is locked. Shellie did take me out in the hallway to show me the problem with the door handle. We will discuss the lever handle with maintenance. Mr. Lewis is hopeful that we can use the open office across the hal l for a waiting area. We also must remember that veterans are so used to coming into that office . That office was when my grandparents were alive. Mr. Thums asked if Mrs. Sherman could use a headset? Mrs. Shaw said no she does not, but it still will not solve the problem when she is speaki ng. Mr. Th ums thought is Mrs. Sherman could wear a headset it may be more private. He didn’t understand that Mrs. Sherman was a benefit specialist not just a receptionist. Mrs. Shaw stated that Mrs. Sherman does everything that she can do but she cannot be a CVSO because she did not serve in the United States Armed Forces. Mr. Thums stated that he doesn’t have a problem with the way the door looks now, it says welcome . If we can do something with the door handle to help the door open. Jaymi Kohn had stated it was her understanding from IT that there are no headsets that wil l work our phone system. Mr. Lewis wanted to point out that Nikki’s job is a Deputy, and it started a while ago when we had to go without a VSO. Marie Albers went and got trained. She could do everything for the veterans that a VSO could do, she just didn’t serve. She was very dedicated to our veterans, and this is nothing new. Mrs. Shaw stated that Mrs. Sherman ’s title is Benefit Specialist. Mrs. Shaw then went on to describe Mrs. Shermans’ job desc ription. Mr. Lewis then stated to Mrs. Shaw that he wanted to revisit the personnel committee and her reason not to go to the personnel committee. Mr. Lewis wanted to state that if someone thinks there is a problem with that committee, and they don’t know about it how can we fix it? Mrs. Shaw said she will say the same thing, I hear that there are people complaining but I don’t get the complaints . How can I fix it? Mr. Lewis stated that they have had complaints over the years, and they have handled them. He has been doing this for 20 years, we have had very seriou s complaints. One was a CVSO. We investigate those things, sometimes we get an outside investigation . Steve Voss, Veteran, asked why are we discussing the 2/16/22 minutes if they are not going to be approved? Mr. Lewis stated it’s not that we cannot use them, we cannot approve them because we were not there. There are statements that are being made that I would like to understand why they were made. Mr. Voss stated that with the headset or trying to control the situation ringing in, he stated he has worked in health insurance for over 7 years and worked with older clie nts that are hard of hearing and you must shout a social security number back to them to confirm. So, I understand why they have the door closed. Mr. Lewis wanted to point out that not everyone agrees with the door being closed. He stated that he talked to Mrs. Shaw last week about this. Mrs. Shaw c orrected him and stated that it was this week Monday. Mr. Lewis then stated that it’s been a long week with this being his 5 th meeting. We want to a ccomplish two things. We want to give the veterans the best service and it will come from these two ladies, and we also want to give the best open and secure service. Ben Greiner, Army veteran, wanted to say that there are 72 counties in Wisconsin, and he suggested that we reach out to surrounding counties to see what they are doing in their offices regarding HI PAA and privacy. Price County’s VSO office is almost identical to Taylor Counties. Mr. Lewis stated that he has many friends up in Price County and would be willing to check in with them. Mr. Greiner stated that Price County has an open door and Ashland Co unty has a closed door and they both work. Mr. Lewis and Mr. Greiner set up a meeting time and Mr. Lewis asked that Mr. Greiner say what his title i s. Mr. Greiner stated that he is the Taylor County American Legion Commander. Mr. Thums then asked to meet with Mr. Greiner. Mr. Lewis stated if there is nothing more on the past meeting we can move on. Draft 2021 Annual Report. Mrs. Shaw presented the 2 021 draft report. The report will be updated with the year -end final budget numbers when they are available. Mrs. Shaw noted there were no budget changes from 2021. Mrs. Shaw explained how the VSO h andles hospice care with Veterans. On page 4 Mrs. Shaw explained the administrated numbers and the increase in numbers are highlighted . Mrs. Shaw explained the WDVA g rant and that it will be $11,000. Mrs. Shaw also presented the donations from our community. The donations are being used for the Veterans Outreach Day as well as unmet needs for veterans. Mrs. Shaw explained that on page 5 she receives those numbers from the state. The amount for last year was over $10 million dollars to our county. Mr. Lewis stated that that it depends on what your rank for the amou nt that a veteran would receive in disability compensation. Mrs. Shaw stated t hat it doesn’t have anything t o do with a veteran’s rank. When you are talking about a disability compensation claim, it does not matter what your rank was. Mrs. Shaw explained the process and how the VA determines a veterans rating and their compensation. Mrs. Shaw explained to the co mmittee how many disability claims have been filed, approved, and denied since April 2021. Mr. Lewis and Mrs. Shaw conversed about the increase in c laims. Mrs. Shaw would like to focus the office hours to be more by appointment only. We would not turn away any walk ins, but we feel it would be more efficient to run the office by appointment onl y certain days. Mr. Lewis questioned the committee if this is something we should vote on now or wait. Mr. Thums asked how do we track what the two of you are doing? How can you show th at? Mrs. Shaw explained that she has file cabinets with her cases in there. Mrs. Sherman stated that we keep track daily of everything that we do in the office , phone calls, office visits, mails, and faxes , etc. There was more discussion on how Mrs. Shaw develops claims and the time that it can take to develop the veterans claim. Steve Voss stated that in the annual report you can s ee how b usy the office i s the numbers provided. Mrs. Shaw asked if the committee could approve the annual re port. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Mr. Thums then stated that he would like to see Mrs. Shaw proposal on how she wants the two days, he recommends she write it down so he understands what it will look like for the next meeting. Mr. Lewis then asked if we need any further discussion on #5, office policy discussion. Mrs. Shaw state d no, as long you all understand that the door is not lock ed. Mr. Lewis stated that he understood, and that Mr. Thums is looking a t a different building that the VSO can possibly move to. Mr. Thums left at 2:20 PM. There was discussion regarding the committee makeup. Mrs. Shaw felt it would be valuable if we would have at least one veteran on the com mittee, no disrespect to any of yo u. There is discussion Mr. Metz stated that they are looking at putting lay members on the VSO committee. Mr. Lewis said there is reorganizational meeting on April 19, 2022, there may be change coming. Mr. Lewis stated that he is going to propose this VSO committee to a 5-member committee. Complaints and correspondence. Mrs. Shaw stated that she doesn’t have any complaints but wanted to share the positive correspondence with the comm ittee. Mr. Lewis would like the committee to read those on their own time. It was in agreement. Set next meeting date: The next meeting is going to be determined in May 2022. Adjournment. A moti on was made by Metz, seconded by Lewis, to adjourn at 2:30 P.M. A unanimous vote cast, the motion carried. Secretary: Nikki Sherman, Veterans Service Office