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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCBC Minutes 08_19_2022 APPROVED CITIZENS’ BUDGET COMMITTEE ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA Regular Meeting August 19, 2022 Convened: 7:32 AM Adjourned: 9:09 AM 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:32 AM by Chair, Mr. John Culverhouse. Mr. Culverhouse explained that the meeting ahead would have presentations on the American Rescue Plan, Affordable Housing, and a Budget Update. He announced the sad news of the unexpected passing of Committee member Steve Reuther. Mr. Culverhouse recalled how Mr. Reuther retired from the Sheriff’s Office as a Major after more than 30 years of service. After retirement, he continued to serve his community. All agreed that Mr. Reuther was a great man and will most certainly be missed. MEMBERS PRESENT: John Culverhouse, Chair Hector Rodriguez, Vice Chair Jeff Emmeluth Richard Pancoast Carl Hensley Tavaris Williams Ron Parrish MEMBERS ABSENT: Mark Gotz Gwen Morris Harvey Alligood Jake Sanders Barry Mucklow Ed Lounds OTHERS PRESENT: Jennifer Hill Mark Lauzier Jennifer Hance Lori Rocky Kathryn Hensley Grisel Cortes 2. PUBLIC COMMENT No member of the public spoke. Regular Meeting Friday, August 19, 2022 7:30 AM 2 | Page 3. APPROVAL OF June 17, 2022 MINUTES A motion was made by Mr. Pancoast and seconded by Mr. Rodriguez to approve the June 17, 2022 minutes. Mr. Ron Parrish commented how incredible and comprehensive George Landry’s presentation had been. All being in favor, the Committee unanimously approved the minutes. 4. AGENDA ITEMS A. American Rescue Plan Update Mrs. Lori Rocky provided an update on the American Rescue Plan with information current as of June 30, 2022. She handles the compliance and reporting for the American Rescue Plan. The County aims: to ensure compliance with the Treasury guidelines to limit funding claw back, ensure reporting is accurate and timely, to focus on transparency for use of funds, communicate the investments being made in our community, and to implement projects within timeframes established by the Treasury. Every year in July an Annual Recovery Plan must be completed, and it is posted on the County’s website. Mrs. Rocky explained that the reporting is on track. The next reporting is due July 31, 2023. The next Project & Expenditures Report is due October 31, 2022. A large amount of money has been allocated to The Fiber/Broadband/Digital Access Projects. The County has partnered with the School Board, the Education Foundation, and Comcast to provide broadband accessibility to children and homes who need it. The Board just recently approved the Digital Access Program and allocated $2.9 million for internet connection services. This service will give families access to the internet to help both students, and adults who might need to complete online job applications. The infrastructure projects are moving along. Seven of ten stormwater projects are currently under design contract. The goal of the Rescue Plan money that was put towards infrastructure is to get projects shovel- ready, because to qualify for many Federal grants, projects must be considered ready to go. The Utility projects are also making progress but are a little behind schedule. These projects are different infrastructure projects because they also include developing a revenue source. Due to this, the design proposals take more time. Mrs. Rocky showed the Committee the American Rescue Plan information that can now be found on the main St. Lucie County website. It includes publicly accessible information and a map of all current projects. She has been working with the Media Department to further enhance the site. Mrs. Rocky explained that the jail medical wing study proposal was over budget by $7,220.00. The Board gave direction to go ahead and use money from the ARP reserves to cover that overage. This leaves a balance in ARP reserves of $2,366,947. Committee member Mr. Tavaris Williams inquired what the parameters were for the $200,000 Veteran’s mental health program. It was explained that Jose, who is the Division Director, has been actively working with Veterans and Community Service’s goal is to get people qualified for VA benefits. County Administrator, Mr. Howard Tipton explained that this program functions as a crisis intervention bridge to the ultimate goal which is receiving care from a more stable service provider. Regular Meeting Friday, August 19, 2022 7:30 AM 3 | Page Mr. Hensley wanted to know how much maintenance will be involved after the community is made digitally accessible. Mrs. Rocky explained that there are approximately 380 students still having to use wi-fi internet hotspots for school. Those students will be the first that will be hooked up. After 3 months on the local Comcast program, which costs the County $30 a month, the students will transition over to a Federal program which pays the Comcast bills. B. Affordable Housing Ms. Jennifer Hance, the County Housing Manager, gave a presentation on some housing initiatives. She began with Blue Sky Landing, a housing development being built on a 9-acre property the County acquired in 2018 through tax deed. Phase 1 groundbreaking was in 2021 and contains 82 units. The projected move in date for residents is May 2023. Construction of the additional 82 units in phase II of Blue Sky Landing began in June 2022 with a projected move in date for residents of January 2024. The total 164 units in this apartment community will be income restricted. In November of 2021, St. Lucie County purchased 2 acres of property in Lakewood Park. An RFQ was issued, and St. Lucie Habitat for Humanity was awarded a contract to construct 10 townhomes on the property. Site work for utilities and building site preparation will take 4 months and can be concurrent with home construction permitting. The first buildings will be starting in the 7th month. Home construction will take 12 months to complete all 10 homes. The total project cost is estimated to be $3,062,500. The income limits for this program are based on household size. The HOME Investment Partnership Funding Program is a special allocation of home funding that is received every year from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is a separate allocation from the American Rescue plan. With these funds, the County can produce or preserve affordable housing, offer tenant based rental assistance, or offer supportive services such as homelessness prevention or housing counseling. Staff is in the process of conducting stakeholder and citizen outreach as required by HUD. Mrs. Hance also discussed the infill housing development taking place on 10 vacant lots. These parcels were obtained via tax deed and identified for construction of single-family home development. Properties constructed will be sold to qualified buyers whose household income does not exceed 80- 120% of the area median income. The program may also provide the down payment and closing costs if needed. Three additional Housing Programs and Initiatives have been ongoing as well. These include Housing Rehabilitation, Tenant Based Rental Assistance, and Permanent Supportive Housing. The Housing Rehabilitation has funding sources to assist a minimum of 11 households over the next 18 months. The Tenant Based Rental Assistance Program assists seniors with affordable rent. C. FY22-23 Budget Update OMB Director Mrs. Jennifer Hill gave an update. The County Administrator’s recommended budget was distributed to the Board on June 24th. On July 6th, the Board discussed the budget in detail at a series of workshops. On July 19th the Board will adopted the millage rates for the Property Tax notices also referred to as TRIM notices. The millage rates can be decreased throughout the budget process, but they cannot Regular Meeting Friday, August 19, 2022 7:30 AM 4 | Page be increased. In September, the Board will have 2 public hearings, one to adopt the tentative budget on September 8th and one to adopt the final budget on September 22nd. Through the budget process, the County must focus not only on the needs of today, but steps to prepare for the future. This can be a challenge for a rapidly growing community. The University of Florida’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research provides Low, Medium, and High population projections for Counties. Historically growth has been much higher than the high projection, which appears to be the most likely of the three scenarios. This scenario has SLC reaching a population of 600,000 by 2050. Looking back 12 years, the County’s budget is going from $592 million to a recommended $700.9 million, with a population that has gone from 280,000 to a forecasted 355,000 (or an increase of 75,000). Over this time, the budget has increased 18%, while the population has grown by 27%. As the population continues to increase, we can expect future budget increases. In the past Wwith reduced property values, there have been adjustments to the millage rates to provide needed services. There were adjustments in FY 16 and FY 18, when the Board found it appropriate to increase the millage rate to fund increases in the Sheriff’s budget. For FY 21, the Board decreased the GF/FF millage rates by 0.1 mills, FY 22 another 0.25 mills and the recommended budget has them being reduced another 0.253 mills. The recommended budget also has millage rate reductions in some of the other taxing districts. The Board directed staff to fund approximately 13% of the Beach Project Local Share out of the Erosion District (this equates to the % of the linear feet of shoreline related to Dolman, Waveland, and Normandy Beach). It is also expected that the County will receive a refund from the Army Corp once the project has been closed out later this year. Once that happens, it is anticipated to pay down the debt with the refund and the erosion district funds and determine a new amortization schedule, which affect future millage rates. The Tentative Budget Hearing will be held on September 8, 2022 at 6:00pm. The Final Budget Hearing will be held on September 22, 2022 at 6:00pm. Both hearings will be held in Chambers at the Roger Poitras Administration Annex, which is located at 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce, Florida. Mrs. Hill concluded her presentation by expressing her appreciation to the Committee for taking the time to serve the Community. In return, the Committee thanked her for the terrific job she and her staff do every day. 5. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to be brought before the Board, Mr. Culverhouse thanked the staff and Committee, and adjourned the meeting at 9:09AM. The next CBC meeting is scheduled for October 21, 2022 at 7:30AM, in Conference Room 3, of the St. Lucie County Roger Poitras Administration Annex. Respectfully submitted by: Lenita Evans