Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutBudget Minutes 07-09-2010BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA BUDGET WORK SESSION 2010 Date: July 9, 2010 Convened: 9:00 a.m. Adjourned: 4:35 p.m. Commissioners Present: Chairman, Charles Grande, Doug Coward, Paula A. Lewis, Chris Dzadovsky, Chris Craft Others Present: Faye Outlaw, County Administrator, Lee Ann Lowery, Asst. County Administrator, Marie Gouin, Management and Budget Director, Millie Delgado-Feliciano, Deputy Clerk Opening remarks were made by the County Administrator. County Administration The County Administrator's budget reflects a 7.7% reduction this includes Media and Research and Education Park. The Executive Assistant Position was cut due to the transfer of the individual that was previously in the position to the Research and Education Park. The position was filled by someone in the department and then the vacant position was cut. Also the vacant Assistant County Administrator's position was eliminated. There is an across the Board cut in training and travel, supplies. Media Relations there is an increase due to closed captioned requirements. The Research and Education Park, the recommendation included an additional cut in the legal fees of $100,000 which was discussed at the Strategic Planning Session. The proposed recommended budget had a 50,000 reduction. Media Relations The Media Relations Manager advised the Board they are looking at a $20,000 revenue reduction annually due to the City of Ft. Pierce and a 13% increase due to close captioning. Research and Education Park This budget reflects a 26.7% decrease in operations. Management and Budget/Grants and Purchasing This budget reflects a 8.2% reduction or a $118,000. This was due to a vacant position and the renegotiated material center lease. They have a courier service that is contracted out and one of the employees suggestion was to do away with the courier. There is a part time person in Information Technology that does take items around the building and she proposed to add a couple of hours to that person to take the mail around to the different buildings. Eliminating the courier service will save $30,000. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the Grants area of the department and the shift of the Director to the Human Resources Department. The County Administrator stated the consolidation of two departments has not taken place. Grants is still a standalone department, they are looking to consolidate somewhere in the time of October 1 and the end of the year. Byway of the positions she is reviewing the 3 positions 1 and her intent is to not fill the positions due to the information she has received that grants are falling off at the Federal level. The actual grants were being performed by the 2 grants writers and his duties have been shifted to other personnel. She still has the third position in the budget but has not decided to fill it at this time. Com. Dzadovsky stated he felt it was important to fill the position. He does not wish to lose the possibility of obtaining any grants due to the 2 positions being overwhelmed. Three Board members felt this position was very important in order to obtain as many grants as possible. Com. Lewis stated she believes they should keep the position funded, however she feels the present staff is covering well at this point. Com. Coward stated he believes they need to have that position funded especially since there will be many opportunities and doors opening with major partnerships in the future. The County Administrator stated she has to review and make a determination whether she will keep the Grants Director in the Human Resources position or have him retain his previous position as Grants Director. Mosquito Control/Coastal Management This budget reflects a 4.5% decrease. This district is experiencing a deficit due to the devaluation of properties. They have enough in reserves to keep them going until 2013 at a 2 million level. The County Administrator asked the Board to consider whether or not they wish to increase the millage or utilizing the reserves. She advised the Board the District will no longer be funding the education and outreach program. They partnered with the School District on this program at a cost of $202,268. This program has been impacted with the revised budget. The threshold issues for this department are as follows: • $395,165 reduction due to one-time reserves, and administrative fees for Erosion and Coastal Management The budget proposal submitted for Erosion does not meet all funding requirements to fund major projects. Alternative plans may fund four of the projects. In ord4er to continue the development of an effective beach management program for the length of South Hutchinson Island, it is recommended that all project be considered for funding. The consequences for not proceeding with all projects would be loss of potential long- term savings associated with the implementation of all of the proposed improvements, as well as, the impact resulting from failure to implement previously funded planning efforts and resources used in advancing these programs. • Artificial Reef will be reduced by $50,000. one time funding from the General Fund subsidy will be used. • Sea Turtle Lighting Monitoring Program will cost $25,000. This program will be assumed by Artificial Reef from Environmental Resources. Strategic Planning Sustainability Measures Based on direction from the Board during Strategic Planning, the following additional changes will be made to the recommended budget. These changes are not reflected in the FY 201/2011 recommended budget. Proposed Measures FY11 FTE Impacts Inspection and Fogging Support $117,945 Eliminate Grant funded positions 38,138 Eliminate Education & Outreach $202,268 Eliminate IT Support interdepartmental 86,438 Subtotal $444,789 The Mosquito Control Director addressed the $25,000 for the Sea Turtle Lighting Monitoring. They have a vendor under contract that can do this job. Com. Coward stated he does not believe $25,000 should be allocated for a consultant when he believes it could be done by existing staff. The Mosquito Control Director stated they could do under a demand response only and have Code Enforcement handle it. He advised the Board that he believed Environmental Resources is having difficulty finding the time to do this. Com. Grande stated they could save the $25,000 by doing a sweep of the beach internally and filing the complaints. The County Administrator advised the Board she has not had detailed discussions regarding this item and requested she be given time to talk to staff and then come back to the Board. The Mosquito Control District was partially funding a grant position and this is the portion that is being eliminated from their budget. Environmental Resources This department's current budget is $18,232,582. The requested budget for was $11,256,625. The recommended budget is $11,041,367. This budget reflects a 39.4% reduction from the current year's budget and it is mainly due to a reduction in capital projects and contains the following significant changes. • Personnel -A reduction of 1.5 FTE's shown due to the elimination of vacant positions. All actual FTE reductions occurred in fiscal year 2009/2010. The associated costs reductions are reflected in the 2010/11 budget. • Operational Changes- The Environmental Regulation & Land management and Oxbow Eco-Center combined budgets reflect a decrease of $359,534 or 30.3% in operational expenses. Utilities and Communications budget was increased by $5,500 for utilities at Platt's Creek. A corresponding decrease will occur in Public Work's budget; therefore the County's overall budget will not increase. Threshold issue: Need to increase the ESL Bond millage by .0124 for a one year period and this would be the final payment. This would bring the millage rate to .0583. The increase in debt service payment is due to arbitrage. We cannot earn more in interest than what we are paying in interest Strategic Planning Sustainability Measures: Based on direction from the Board during Strategic Planning, the following additional changes will be made to the recommended budget. These changes are not reflected in the FY 2010/11 recommended budget. Proposed Measures: FY 11- $139,204 FTE Impacts: 2.00 Eliminate 2.0 FTE's Education & Outreach, no Earth Day event, summer camp, teacher training, and very limited 4-H outreach and speakers. Will impact 4-H related events due to loss of support staff. They are not cutting the programs only the frequency is being reduced. Reduce car allowances - FY 11- $15,000 The County Administrator advised the Board there was a misconception that the University of Florida was funding the 16 positions and the county was funding the least amount of funding. Out of the 16 positions, 9 of those positions were fully funded by the Board and this is General Fund money. The County funded these positions to a greater degree than first thought. They are attempting to maintain the core services and eliminate redundancy. She stated $6.6 million is part of the capital plan fund 102 and due to the deficit, she had to do cuts to bring it to sustainability. The County Administrator requested the Board's support in the positions being eliminated as proposed leaving 23 FTE positions in the department. The County Administrator stated she will look at Code Enforcement to see if the can handle the Sea Turtle Lighting monitoring and will discuss this with the Mosquito Control Director as well as the Asst. County Administrator and return to the Board. Housing/Community Services The current budget for this department is $58,419,819, the requested budget is $45,210,151. The recommended budget is $45,239,164. Recommended Budget Summary: This fiscal year 2010/11 recommended budget shows a $13,180,655 or 22.6% reduction due to reduction in Public Transit MSTU taxes by 12%, reduced contribution from FP&L, reduced budget for Healthcare Admin. Act, Medicaid Hospice, Medicaid Nursing Home, as well as grant close out from the current year and contains the following significant changes: • Personnel- Reduction of 3.5 positions. These positions were vacant and will not result in layoffs. • Operational changes- The Housing and Community Services budget reflects a decrease of $8,691,748 in operational expenses. This reduction is primarily due to grants ending in FY10. Threshold Issues • Transit MSTU- In addition to the loss of the US-1 corridor grant funding, FY 2010- 11 tax revenues are anticipated to be $1,248,448 due to an anticipated decrease of 12% in property values. The current transit millage is 0.0833 and would need to be increased to 0.1676 to maintain the current level of service. With no increases there would be a reduction in service. The tax increase to a home valued at $100,000 after $50,000 homestead exemption is applied would be $8.43. Staff informed the Board the transit would be going as far as the Treasure Coast Mall and then they would transfer to the Martin County system to go further into Martin County. Many St. Lucie County residents utilize this transit for work as well as doctor and hospital visits and other reasons than just shopping. They are working an additional 50/50 grant that the state has provided. The original grant expired June 30th. The 50/50 grant had to be matched with the MSTU. 4 Com. Coward stated he had a problem increasing taxes to the residents in St. Lucie County in order for them to go spend their money in Martin County. Mr. Drummond advised the Board the new hours of operation would be 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a 1 hour shut down for lunch. The regular hours were from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Com. Lewis expressed concern with cutting the early hours of operations since those are the hours the transit is primarily used for people getting to work. Mr. Drummond stated the reduction of hours and staff would permit them to continue service in all areas. Com. Coward stated he would not agree to doubling the millage rates to the local residents however, if there was a way to maintain the basic service and not raise the millage he would be more inclined to support that option. Com. Lewis addressed covering the work hours and eliminating some of the hours in between as suggested by Com. Coward and stated that could turn into a very large response on demand issue and they would need to keep staff for that purpose. Com. Coward reiterated his position that he would not support doubling the millage. Com. Dzadovsky questioned if due to the economy they have seen any increases in ridership. Mr. Drummond advised the Board that due to the economy, they have seen a 20% increase in ridership as well as just in general ridership has increased. The County Administrator stated they projected around $45,000 in new revenue due to advertising and the increase in the cost of riding. The Community Services Director stated if the routes are cut, then those needing to get to the doctor's will call the demand response and this program is far more expensive than the actual fixed routes. Com. Coward requested ridership figures of those utilizing the system to go to Martin Memorial. Staff advised Com. Coward and the balance of the Board they would obtain those figures for them to review and have further discussion on Tuesday. The County Administrator advised the Board there had been a consolidation of the Veterans Services office as well as the Libraries with the Housing/ Community Services Department. Overall the reduction is 22.6% or $13.2 million. Libraries • Hurston and Port St. Lucie branches- staff has proposed a 2/2 satellite plan for two branches, Hurston and PSL. This plan will allow the Hurston branch to be open two days per week and the PSL branch two alternate days. On the remaining day, the satellite team will backfill for anticipated work overflow at the other branches. Six of the existing positions originally slated for elimination 5 will be transferred to the satellite team. The budget reduction from implementing this plan is $431,503 and includes 7.96 layoffs. Library Technical Support- Two filled positions will be eliminated resulting in two layoffs. The budget reduction from implementing this plan is $91,993. • Staff was asked to develop an alternative plan that would eliminate all staff positions from Hurston and PSL but keep each site open one day per week. To most efficiently implement this plan, closure of the Ft. Pierce branch for that day would be required. Total savings for the 1/1 alternative plan would be $671,503 and includes 13.96 layoffs. Proposed Measures: FY 11 FTE Impacts Veterans Services $ 53,877 Housing Assistance Service 72,258 Resident Self Sufficiency Services 99.938 2/2 Satellite Plan (Hurston &PSL) 431,503 Library Technical Support 91,993 Subtotal 1.00 1.00 1.50 7.96 2.00 $ 1,770,983 13.46 The County Administrator advised the Board they had put the expansion of the library on hold for different reasons. Morningside they are working through the agreement with the School Board (re: the digital parking)and wanted to make sure the Board would be comfortable with moving forward with the expansion this after budget sessions due to the employee cuts recommended and the possible perception it would give the public. With Hurston they needed to see if it was going to be left open before going forward with the expansion. With the direction given by the Board, she now believes they can move forward. The Community Services Director stated these expansions will be funded through impact fees. Com. Coward stated their intention is not to close the libraries but to deal with the short term economic down turn and go to a part time basis and when the economy picks up again then go back to full time. Com. Craft addressed the utilities cost if more space needed to be cooled and if this was going to be a big expense then he would prefer to hold off until things turn around. Com. Coward stated they may need to look at the time frame which may be 18 months and hopefully things would have turned around by then. Mr. Miller stated according to the time frame, there may be a possibility the libraries will be able to obtain grants for capital from the state. Com. Lewis stated she would like to see some concepts as to how these rooms will be utilized. It was the consensus of the Board to discuss the expansion of the libraries at the next informal meeting. 6 Veterans Services The County Administrator advised the Board there had been some concern expressed regarding her recommendation to eliminate one vacant VSO I position. Before revising her position, she requested to walk the Board through what is being presented. She addressed those being certified. The one VSO position is what is a concern from the Veteran's community. They anticipate there will be a increase flow of Veterans coming back into the community and the department may not have enough staff to handle the flow and provide the services as in the past. She employed the community and the Board to give her time to go through the transition in that operation. They still have the same amount of certified people in the department but they are being performing in a different or new capacity and are in a learning curve. There may be a lag time in processing due to this learning curve. She believes they will be able to maintain the same level of service to the community. Rather than eliminate the position, she would like to keep it funded but unfilled in the budget, allow them to complete the transition and see where they are. If they brought someone in now, this person would also be in a learning curve. The department is now on an appointment basis opposed to walk in as previously operated. Com. Dzadovsky stated his concerns with those in the office at this time is them getting burned out. He does not support losing the position and will go with 90 days without the position being filled but not any longer. Com. Lewis stated they are not losing the position, it is just not being filled at this time. The County Administrator stated the operation is going through a major transition. She asked the Board to let them finish that transition and then maybe at the end of this fiscal year they will be up to speed in August or September and on October 1St she will post the position or decide how they want to handle the reclassification of the Executive Assistant position and whatever the bottom line position is and post it October 1 so that they do not have another person being trained at the same time other people are going through the transition. Com. Craft stated he maintains his position that there will not be a reduction in service to our Veterans. The structure may not be the same, however he likes what is being proposed by the County Administrator, every penny saved is important at this point. Com. Coward stated he would support funding and hiring the individual when staff feels it would be necessary. Planning and Development Services Airport The County Administrator addressed the Board and advised them the Airport fund is projected to have a deficit in this upcoming fiscal year due to lack of revenue that was projected to come in. There is a 162,635 gap. In strategic planning is was discussed to delay the terminal and use the money, however she is revising that recommendation due to the fact they do not wish to lose the grant. She recommended using fund balance monies to cover the gap. The Planning budget is down by 22.7%. There have been significant changes. 7 Personnel- The Sustainability /Business Development Coordinator vacant position was reclassed to an Energy and Water Manager position and transferred to Central Service Administration. The Airport budget reflects the reduction of $119,503 for the elimination of 1 vacant and funded position. • Operational Changes The Building and Code Regulation operating budget includes a net revenue reduction of $166,300 and a net operating reduction of $211,390. The Tourist Development budget includes a $100,000 reduction in aid to the Treasure Coast Sports Commission Inc., a $97,947 reduction in other contractual services to Comet Creative; a Tourist Development Tax Revenue reduction of $30,000 ; and a reduction of $448,720 in grants and aids to governmental units as the TDC Capital Grant Funding has been budgeted in FY2010. Planning & Development Services Planning budget reflects an operating reduction of $258,524 for the completion of the Western Lands Study by fiscal year end 2010. This budget also includes a net revenue reduction of $127,000, and an operating reduction of $948,704 in professional service for the completion of various projects by fiscal year end 2010. The Airport's budget reflects a net revenue loss of $337,005, and a net operating reduction of $262,066 from various accounts. This budget also reflects a general fund subsidy of $162,635 to balance the fund. Strategic Planning Sustainability Measures Based on direction from the Board during strategic planning, the following additional changes will be made to the recommended budget. These changes are not reflected in the FY 2010/2011 recommended budget. Proposed Measures Torrey Pines Economic Devel. Council FY11 FTE Impacts $1,250,000 0.00 25,000 0.00 Subtotal $1,275,000 0.00 Building- This was an enterprise fund that was running a $800,000 deficit and would have depleted the reserve funds by the end of fiscal year 12 and they made mid-year adjustments by way of staff reduction so that they can bring the fund into Sustainability for next year. If it remains the same with the building activity they should be able to maintain at the current level. Airport The Airport Director position has been deleted. The Airport Manager advised the Board since the 18th of February they have cut $670,000; $400,000 are environmental and insurance costs. They may have more money left over by the end of this year in operating and if his money left over is higher than the $162,000 then they would not need a subsidy. 8 Tourism This budget reflects an 18% reduction in personnel and 38% in operating. They are doing more digital on line marketing rather than on paper. Com. Coward expressed his concern with the City Ft. Pierce tourism requesting $9,000 from the capital project fund. The County Administrator questioned where these funds would come from. The Tourism Coordinator stated there may be some funds available. This request will be before the TDC the following week. He is requesting capital funds to use for operating. There are other requests on the table as well, UDT Seal Museum for example there are a lot of moving parts. Com. Coward stated he had concerns due to the fact the dollars coming in are county wide and if they subsidize the City of Ft. Pierce, Port St. Lucie may ask for their share. He is not sure they want to get into funding this and if they do, they need to do it through the competitive process through the TDC then through the Board. Administration/Planning This budget reflects a drop in personnel by retirement. They now have 14 funded positions. Com. Craft requested staff attempt to come up with a name for the Airport Industrial Park West. Com. Coward requested staff expedite upgrading all of our web sites re-green technology in St. Lucie County. Human Resources and Support Services This budget reflects a $2,498 reduction from the current year. The revenue for the insurance program was understated in FY 2010. This has been increased to reflect a more realistic estimate based on the current premiums. Should the Insurance Program be excluded from the comparison, there would be a $779,689 (1.47%) reduction. • Personnel Reduction of 4.25 FTE's all of which were vacant funded positions. • Operations changes None **The County Administrator stated they have pulled Central Services out of this consolidation and have placed them with Parks and Recreation and this change will be made as part of the budget process. She advised the Board she previously had reversed a recommendation of deleting a position, she then made a recommendation to keep the position in the budget and since then she has had considerable time and thought regarding this position and is going to reverse it back to deleting the position. This is a technical position not a professional position and it mainly deals with new hires, retirement and processing of paper 9 work and she believes they will not have the level of activity that would require this position to remain. Central Services This budget reflects a 3.5% reduction. 4 positions have been eliminated. Com. Coward addressed the energy conservation position and stated there are many areas within the county buildings that could help reduce costs. The Central Services Director addressed conservation efforts made by various employees and departments such as turning off lights when not in the office as well as equipment. Com. Craft requested a breakdown on the totally utility bills per facility by kilowatts per year. Com. Coward asked staff to develop some type of incentive system for the employees with rewards. The Central Services Director stated there are some savings in place, such as water at the jail and this may be something that can be looked at for county buildings. Public Safety/Communications The fiscal year 2010/11 recommended shows a reduction of $47,501 (-0.3%) from the current year and contains the following significant changes; • Personnel The reduction of 4 vacant and funded positions from Information Technology Operational Changes: The budget for Information Technology includes a reduction of $129,893 in capital, as the equipment was purchased in FY 2010. Strategic Planning Sustainability Measures Based on direction from the Board during Strategic Planning, the following additional changes will be made to the recommended budget. These changes are not reflected in FY 2010/11 recommended budget. Proposed Measures FY li FTE Impacts E911 Center $51,995 1.00 Emergency Management 68,535 1.00 Marine Safety $162,000 3.00 Subtotal $282,530 5.00 The Public Safety Director stated the cash forward had increased by $900,000 this year for 911. They will be using this money for several projects and GIS mapping. HT will not supported for next year. They will have one system supporting the various entities in the county. Com. Coward asked if they had explored the possibility of expanding the towers. 10 The Public Safety Director stated they were full and there was not any space available to add users. Com. Coward recommended they check to see if they could retrofit the towers to see if they can be expanded with more space in order to generate revenue. Marine Safety The County Administrator addressed the recommendation of the elimination of 3 life guard positions and the proposal not to guard South Beach Park. Com. Dzadovsky addressed providing some type of coverage at the South Beach Park and proposed having a discussion with the Fire District to see if maybe Marine Safety could be made part of the district since they are all EMT certified. The County Administrator stated she had discussions with the Fire Chief and he had indicated the district could not provide the service at the same cost efficiency as the county. Com. Craft stated he would rather see more beaches covered during beach peak times than not having some covered. Com. Dzadovsky stated he believes the beach is now being utilized extensively due to all the renovations that have taken place at the South Boardwalk Beach and he would like to see them covered at least on the weekends. Com. Craft concurred he does not believe they should cover 2 beaches 7 days a week and leave one beach unguarded. Com. Coward stated he believes the Public Safety Director should adjust staffing for the beaches accordingly. He does not wish to tell the Director whereto place a life guard, this is his job. He would rather a policy decision as to how much money to provide him and he make the decision on how to utilize it. Com. Craft stated the believed all three beach could be covered by shifting staff around. Com. Dzadovsky stated he is asking to split the county in three parts and provide coverage for all three parts. The County Administrator stated they looked at the principal that if the city of Ft. Pierce wanted a beach guarded they should provide some funding. She believed the city should share part of the cost for the service. Com. Grande stated it would be difficult to advise the public what days and what beaches are covered. Com. Craft stated he believed they can still get where they want, and recommended providing consistent service 4 days a week for all three beaches during peak times. The Public Safety Director recommended going back to review the issue and find a way to schedule all the beaches to be covered on the weekends. It must be consistent and notification would be provided on signs. Com. Coward addressed the county subsidizing the recreational facilities within the city limits of Ft. Pierce including the life guards. He asked staff to check and see what cities provide the funding for their lifeguards. The County Administrator stated in Ft. Lauderdale, the city provides the funding. 11 Com. Lewis stated she concurred with Com. Coward, however she felt now was not a good time to ask the city to pitch in. She recommended advising them they needed to pitch in long term and until this time the county can provide the partial funding for the beaches. Com. Dzadovsky expressed his concern by stating that he did not wish to lose the tourist end of the revenue component. He is being asked by his constituents that the beaches be covered and he believes this is an issue it is his responsibility to bring it to the Board's attention. Com. Craft stated it does not cover their goal if they only cover two beaches 7 days a week. The Public Safety Director stated Pepper Park is always busy and Waveland is busy during the winter months. He will make sure the parks are covered on the weekends. Com. Coward recommended the City of Ft. Pierce be notified they will need in the long term to provide assistance for those areas of recreation within the city limits. Information Technology No discussion held. The meeting was adjourned. 12