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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBudget Minutes 07-12-2010BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA BUDGET WORKSESSION 2010 Date: July 12, 2010 Convened: 10:30 a.m. Adjourned: 2:15 p.m. Commissioners Present: Chairman, Charles Grande, Doug Coward, Paula A. Lewis, Chris Craft, Chris Dzadovsky Others Present: Faye Outlaw, County Administrator, Lee Ann Lowery, Asst. County Administrator, Marie Gouin, OMB Director, Millie Delgado-Feliciano, Deputy Clerk Public Defender This budget reflects a 1.56% decrease and if offset between line items she was able to reduce. The Public Defender advised the Board she was not able to achieve the 10% requested reduction due to the cost of rent and utilities. She advised the Board they had reduced their phone costs by 14.2% and this was the only area she was able to cut. The County Administrator stated she would accept the reduction and requested they attempt to bring down the utility costs. Com. Craft addressed the position funded by the Board which is the Public Defender for first appearances. The addressed the fact that the state has required the Public Defender's office to provide that position and not the county. He stated since it is the state's requirement, he felt the county should received some compensation for the funding the position or have the position come in as a county employee so that they can maximize their investment. The Public Defender stated this individual does not only attend first appearances, but continues to work afterwards with pleas, transporting etc. She believes this is one of the reasons the jail population is decreasing although a minute part. Com. Craft reiterated the fact that the state mandates that a Public Defender be present for first appearances and does not fall under the responsibility of county funding. He would like to work something out and believes they can still reach major strides if utilized to the maximum. The Public Defender stated she would be willing to do whatever the Board directs. Parks and Recreation This budget reflects a 15.5% reduction or $4.1 million. They have eliminated 17 vacant funded positions. This budget does include the golf course. The golf course is meeting some challenges regarding revenues vs. expenditures and the Parks and Recreation Director has proposed staff reductions to bring the fund into balance. Digital Domain Park The County Administrator advised the Board the subsidy for this facility continues to grow. It is presently at $718,000 and next year it is estimated to be $830,000 from the general fund. 1 She has built in the increase from the general fund subsidy into the budget. She is recommending this be changed from an enterprise fund to a special revenue fund. The Count Attorney reviewed the contract and unfortunately their hands are tied and cannot change the percentage of revenue the county would receive. Staff will continue to meet with the local representative and he indicated he was not in a position to increase the county's percentage of revenue. She believes she would need to meet with those in a higher position and have those high level discussions. Staff has reviewed the vacant land near the park, however the County Attorney stated staff would need to get approval from the Met's Organization and in the past they have not been amenable to this. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the possibility of bringing in a second team or having more night games since there are those who cannot get to day games due to the fact they are working. The Parks and Recreation Director stated they have discussed this idea and she received indication that they have a problem with travel time, but will continue to discuss this issue with them. They indicated they do not like to travel at night. In the 001 capital there are some projects and matches that can be returned. There is $202,224 that can be returned back. It is not in this proposal yet, but it has been identified by the Parks and Recreation Director. She will have it back to the Board and available for them. The Board was advised there will be some level of service affected such as the grounds maintenance and the athletic fields. They will be maintained not at a high level but at a good level. The mowing areas will be maintained in compliance with code; however they will not be mowed as often. History Center The County Administrator stated she still was proposing to close the center. Com. Grande stated with all he has heard, he believes they will be able to staff this center with volunteers and not close it. The County Administrator stated she did have concern with not maintaining accreditation and the goal was to shift the model but keep the integrity of the model intact. Com. Dzadovsky asked if they had looked into bringing in revenues from different revenue streams such as wedding ceremonies, having fund raisers, looking at different ways to market the facility. The Parks and Recreation Director stated they had discussed increasing the entrance fees. Com. Craft stated he felt they were looking to generate more revenue, he did not believe it could be achieved by raising the fees. Com. Grande stated they would still need to minimize the concept of competing with existing businesses. Administration They have had a small reduction in administration of 3.9% however their operating has been reduced by 48.8%. $488,000 identified is the Arts in Public Places budget. 2 Com. Coward addressed the fact they had discussed moving some of those funds and the balance being brought back. The Assistant County Administrator stated they will finish some projects this year and the balance will be going back to the departments which they were derived from. The details will be presented to the Board before any funds are expended for the ACA. The County Administrator stated it has been some time since the Board has approved this idea and she will bring it back at an informal meeting so that she can walk them through as to how it will be carried out. Fairgrounds This operating budget is down and they continue to reduce operating costs. One full time employee's time is split between the Fairgrounds and the Savannas Camp Grounds. The Board was advised they have not finalized the drainage improvement plan. The Parks and Recreation Director advised the Board she believes in total they will be able to identify one half a million dollars to be returned to the general fund that can be used for operations. Golf Course Staff is proposing the elimination of part time staff a replacing them with volunteers. In the part time positions they should be saving around $20,000 +. The two full time positions will be eliminated and be made into 4 part time maintenance positions and they hope to fill them with students from IRSC. There will be no subsidy from the general fund requested. Fenn Center This budget is decreased 16.9%. There is a substantial decrease in personnel due to attrition. The operating expenses look high due to the fact they are a special needs shelter and will need fuel and other maintenance contracts that will need to be maintained. To date they have only spent 50% of the utilities. The Board questioned the operating budget where in 08/09 the operating budget was 300,000; in 2009/2010 $650,000. This year so far they have used $271,000. The Board requested staff come back with details of the Fenn Center special needs vs. Parks and Recreation and the difference in operating costs for 08/09 and 09/10. The Parks and Recreation Director stated the cost of utilities through FPUA had increased tremendously. The tier system through FPL has a greater potential for savings. lawnwood Stadium This budget reflects an increase of 15% due to the new agreement with the School Board and the reimbursable costs. They still have the months of August and September football season which is not reflected in the budget. Parks This budget reflects a 13% reduction in personnel and operating costs. They have also shifted funds to Mosquito Control which reflects 3% of this budget reduction. The actual reduction is 10.1%. 3 UDT Seal Museum The County Administrator advised the Board she had received a letter from the UDT Seal Museum where they were requesting the Board consider they be funded from the fund balance. The proposal was to eliminate the funding of this operation ($41,000). It is included in the original reduction of the budget at Strategic Planning however it has not been loaded into the numbers. The Board was advised they would still have an obligation to the Museum of $18,200 for operating (maintenance of the ground and insurance). They are estimating a $2,000 increase due to contractual services. This will be brought back tomorrow as part of the wrap up as will the Fenn Center. Recreation This budget reflects a 7.9% budget reduction. There is no shift of this funding, it is an actual reduction. Public Works This budget reflects a 2.0% reduction or $2,973,962 from the current year and contains the following significant changes. This department has been consolidated with Utilities and Solid Waste and a new division of Water Quality. The recommended budget for 2011 is $146,482,034. The Recommended Budget Summary includes the following: • Personnel Reduction of 2.25 vacant positions • Operating Changes The Public Works department's budget reflects a decrease of $1,105,861 or 2.6% in operational expenses. The County Administrator advised the Board there is $140,000 in general fund money for this department. She advised the Board Utilities is $14 million of the $146 and the Board previously approved that budget. Solid Waste This is an enterprise fund and is presently $21 million of the overall budget. The carry forward capital is $70 million for the Public Works department. The Public Works Director stated they have identified 2.4 million to move to operations, 1.4 to the reserves and 1.0 to capital reserves. This is all dedicated revenue and restricted to public works operations. The County Administrator stated she is looking for next year and still working on to see if there is an opportunity on the Franchise Fees to do a reduction because it can be used for general fund operations. The Public Works Director stated there is a concern because the main part of their capital budget is from impact fees and they cannot be used for maintenance and there are a large number of culverts not in the budget that may fail during the rainy season. They are doing 4 them as they can but they are having a difficult time staying ahead of them. There are 3 identified at a cost of $800,000 to repair. They are reaching into their storm water funds at this point but this limits what you can do on the storm water side. Water Quality This department has taken the storm water functions and combined them along with being part of the Public Works Division. Port The carry forward projects are the spoil site which is fully funded by FSTED. The dredging is stilt not funded and they hope to build the spoil site this year and have it ready to go. The grants division is applying for the dredging funding this year. There is 1.75 million in the Port budget as a match and expect to have the permits by the end of the year. The County Administrator addressed the Board regarding Indian River Terminal and if the county to fund the permit, however she could not get a commitment from the Army Corps that the county would get reimbursed. They are working with Indian River Terminal on this presently. The cost for the permit is somewhere in the vicinity of $300,000. Com. Craft addressed a usage fee or a tonnage fee for the Port that was discussed at a Strategic Planning Session in 2008. The County Administrator does not recall why this did not move forward since it was something handled by the previous County Administrator. The Public Works Director stated the complication is that the land is privately owned. Com. Craft stated if maintenance is required, then they should come up with an agreement. Com. Craft asked staff to research the tonnage fee and see what they can come up with. The County Administrator addressed the street lighting districts and stated they are in the process of changing the methodology. Com. Craft recommended trying to find a way to educate the public on the new methodology. General Fund/Operating Budget The County Administrator advised the Board the general fund operating budget is down from $156,000,000 to $140,000,000. They have shaved off $16 million; there is 7.6 million in onetime money and it includes adding back into the budget the VS02 position, but does not include onetime money from Parks and Recreation of one half a million dollars. She will work these numbers with the office of Management and Budget and present them tomorrow. The meeting was adjourned. 5