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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStrategic Minutes 05-27-2010BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSION 2010 Date: May 27, 2010 Convened: 8:00 a.m. Adjourned: 5:00 p.m. Commissioners Present: Chairman, Charles Grande, Doug Coward, Chris Craft, Chris Dzadovsky, Paula A. Lewis Others Present: Faye Outlaw, County Administrator, Lee Ann Lowery, Asst. County Administrator, Marie Gouin, OMB Director, Millie Delgado-Feliciano, Deputy Clerk DAY No. 2 Opening remarks were made by the Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners. The County Administrator recapped the Mosquito Control expenditures requested the previous day. She advised the Board during the hurricanes of 2004/05 the cost in damages was estimated at $6.5 million. Funds were received from FEMA however there were an estimated 1.1 million dollars in out of pocket expenses. There are 13 funds in a deficit state and 6 of those funds have been reconciled. They will be discussing 4 funds today, Airport, Sports Complex, General Fund and the Law Enforcement Fund. The goal is to come up with a sustainable budget. She stated today's plan focuses solely on expenditure reduction. The programs and services that are discretionary will have to be either reduced or eliminated. Services mandated will have to scaled back, service levels will be reduced and response time will be greater. One path of sustainability was to go through a re-alignment of county operations/ departments approved by the Board of County Commissioners. The other was through the budget process for sustainability. The third was through the development of sustainability plans. There will also be cost cutting options provided. Reduction of expenditure and increase of revenue or a combination of the two. Today they will be concentrating on the reduction of expenditures. In FY 10 Action Triples affects were building the fund base for FY 10, building the fund base for FY 11 and reducing re-occurring expenses. The County Administrator recapped the 3 year summary of expenditures in the General Fund and the Fine and Forfeiture Fund and stated they had wanted to flat line in 11/12. The 157 million projected revenue is down to $100 million. There is now a $57 million dollar gap. There is a onetime amount of $18 million and there will be a need to take out $700,000 for inmate medical which will leave $17.7 million for FY 12. There is an additional $303,346 in fund balance money that they were advised of in the CAFR. Also there is a $580,000 in CRA savings and additional surplus in the insurance fund which they are presently analyzing and based on what they have, they will be making a recommendation to reduce the surplus and re-distribute to various funds. Also $1.9 million will go back into the general fund. FY10 projection of access fees is about $4 million for this year from the Tax Collector and the Property Appraiser. There were interest earnings (capital projects fund) 6.4 million; this will go back to the General Fund. The County Administrator stated they had not reviewed fund 316 where they had an opportunity to return 1.6 million back to the general fund. 1 The County Administrator reviewed the re-alignment approved in February by the Board. To date they will be saving $763,445 and will receive additional funds when the other phases are completed. Should the Board approve the recommended FY 11 budget, this would reduce the on-going expenses by 4.2 million. This will have a double affect, 4.2 million onetime money for 2011 and then cut re-occurring expense by the same. The 1.6 million represents reduction in other budgets, i.e. Constitutionals and outside agencies and what they came in as and not what she recommended. Some have submitted a lower budget than last year. This number does not reflect the 10% budget reduction requested. Com. Lewis asked if in the 4 million in budget reduction, it included employee and salary reductions. The County Administrator stated it does not include the furlough days, any reduction, unpaid holidays that are in the plan only what has been submitted through the budget request and the further reductions she made with the departments. This totals $19,783,392 in additional savings. If the Board were to approve the budget reductions of 4.2 million and the 1.5 million this would bring operating budget down to $150,764,922. The revenue number is $100,241,217 and is projecting to lose $138,000 in fee revenues and this was adjusted also, it does not take into account any further drop in the property value revenues. As we stand today, based on the changes we have a gap of $50,662,673 this would be the re-occurring gap. Factoring in the $17.7 million (one time money) ,this would reduce the gap to $32,891,031 in 2012, if they could cut this amount in 2012, then this would give the county breathing room with less of a deficit (17.7 million) for 2013. The sustainability plan in part includes the use of some of the additional $ 19 million identified and she will be walking the Board through this issue. Com. Coward questioned if these numbers reflect a reduction in the 17 million reserves. The County Administrator stated these figures do not include any use of the reserves and presents a flat millage rate. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the reserve policy. The County Administrator advised the Board the current policy remains in effect and the Board has not given direction to change it. The County Administrator advised the Board the Airport Fund and the Sports Complex Fund remain in a deficit. The only option to cover these deficits is the General Fund. Potentially depending on the Board's direction, the General Fund will be further impacted. AIRPORT The Assistant County Administrator addressed the Board and advised them the Airport next year has a projected deficit in the amount of $680,000. This is mainly due to the exiting of tenants due to financial difficulties and the fact fuel flowages continue to be cyclical. Due to safety reasons, they are not able to reduce staff any further. This operation is 24 hour/7 day a week operation. The Airport Manager proposed a reduction of $39,340 in line items. The deficit for 2012 will be $641,000. The total deficit for 2011 and 2012 would be $1.3 million to the General Fund unless the customs and terminal renovation project is postponed. This would allow the local match to be used for this project ($ 975,500) to close the gap for 2011 and most of the gap for 2012. The General Fund would still have to provide a $300,000 subsidy for fiscal year 2012. The County would not able to reapply for grant funds for the terminal project until 2016 assuming local match is available by the airport. The Airport Manager advised the Board the terminal renovation project funds were being provided by a grant through the FDOT and is a multi-year, $5.3 million dollar project. The County Airport match would be $1,075,000 with the $100,000 from the tourism funds; it reduces these matching funds to $975,000. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the missionary flights to Haiti and asked what the Customs office time was. The Airport Manager stated it was a very busy time; Customs had made arrangements to stay open longer for the relief efforts to Haiti. Com. Dzadovsky stated his concern with possibly losing those FDOT funds and alluded to the possibility of generating more revenue if we had a proper Customs facility and operations that could handle more flights and make the airport more successful. Com. Coward addressed the 5 year master plan revision for the airport and the fact the question placed to the front was if the renovation was to be done today, would there be a time frame associated with it and the need for the renovation, would the market be in a position to invest and follow up with the investment or would it be more feasible 2 to 3 years with the anticipated market growth of the airport. The Airport Manager stated the Master Plan is still on-going they will be bringing the final draft to the Board. There was no information that it needed to be done right then at that point. The Customs facility is only able to handle around 20 passengers, Haiti was a special situation. Customs has made it very clear that their current facility is below standard. Com. Dzadovsky asked if they could take the matching funds and finance it somehow so that we do not lose the 5 to 1 match. He is concerned about losing such a large amount of money that the taxpayers would not be contributing to. Com. Craft recommended bringing this up for discussion tomorrow with all the other pending issues. He believes they need to get the big picture first and then set priorities. Com. Dzadovsky concurred. SPORTS COMPLEX/Digital Domain Park For FY 2011, the projected deficit for the park is $839,790. The deficit is due to significant decreases in all the revenue sources that support the stadium operations. The annual revenue received from the Mets for concessions and catering, ticket, souvenir and programs sales and parking and the revenues from the Tourism Development "Bed" tax have declined. Per the terms of the contract between SLC and Sterling Facility Services (Mets), which expires on June 30, 2018, the County is required to maintain the Sports Complex to "First-class" Major League Standards. During the baseball season, full time staff is supplemented with community service workers and temporary manpower in order to meet the terms of the contract and reduce operating expenses. In governmental accounting, to comply with generally accepted accounting principles (GASP), an operation is set up as an Enterprise Fund under the principal that goods or services will be provided to the public at a fess that makes the entity self supporting. And, the operation will not require support from tax revenues. Although the stadium operation was established as an enterprise fund, since its inception, the operation has been subsidized in some manner and actual funds have been transferred in from the General Fund since 2004. Per GAAP, the operation should be changed from an Enterprise Fund to a Special Revenue Fund as part of Parks and Recreation budget. 3 The Assistant County Administrator addressed the deficit and stated this facility will require continued subsidy beyond 2012 from the General Fund. Com. Coward addressed the class action suit relating to tourism on line and an entity that did not pay the bed tax for the last several years and directed staff to provide the figures. He also requested staff attempt to obtain the figures on the estimated revenues they could receive from the class action suit. Staff stated they would bring back the information. Sustainability Plan for the General Fund and the Fine and Forfeiture Fund The County Administrator stated she recommended to the Board they hold to the principal of shared sacrifice to all agencies. She addressed the 7% reduction of her salary as well as the County Attorney and other measures recommended. The furlough days translate into a 9.2% cut in salary and the unpaid 10 holidays represents a 3.8% pay cut for employees. Total 13% cut. The furlough days will save around $100,000 savings in utilities. The car allowance reduction represents $14,400 savings. There are 7 management staff provided with a car allowance and she has reduced this to 3, eliminating 4 directors allowance. She also recommended not placing the one million dollars allocation into the reserve funds and contingency fund. The county presently has 17.7 million and she recommended placing 2.7 million of that amount into the Board contingency leaving $15 million in the emergency reserves. Com. Coward addressed the vacated position with regards to Sustainability energy savings. The County Administrator stated the utility cost savings was projected due to the furlough days it did not include the program that so far has not been initiated with the position. Com. Coward stated he believed making a small investment in increasing the salary of the position even though we are in a huge deficit may be beneficial in the long run much like our grants department. He believes the program will bring in thousands of dollars if not a million. The County Administrator stated she is constrained with her ability to bring someone on Board at the level of experience needed based on the salary provided. In this economy where there are so many people laid off, she has received input that the salary is too low. She has the authority to go to the mid-range. Com. Coward stated she then may need to come back to the Board and re-address the issue that a small adjustment is needed. Com. Dzadovsky stated he thought they had made it clear they wished the position to be filled. The County Administrator stated she had filled the position. Com. Lewis stated she would like to hold off at this time due to the present discussions on the budget where all unfilled positions have been removed. Com. Grande stated he believed now was not the time to obtain a consensus by the Board. 4 Com. Coward stated he was comfortable due to the fact he believed the revenues would be there. However if the other Board members need further discussion, he is okay with this also. Com. Coward stated he believed they needed to freeze their salaries and in the past any increases provided by the state have been donated to outside agencies. He recommended the Board members not accept their car allowances as well. Com. Lewis stated she had done this sometime ago. Com. Dzadovsky stated he does not take a car allowance and has cut 10% from his budget as well. QUALITY OF LIFE PROGRAMS The reduction measures proposed in these programs and services are significant as these are not services the County is mandated to provide. The reduction or elimination of these programs and services will result in closing or reduction of hours for many facilities. The reduction or elimination of programs and services will not only result in a layoff of front-line staff, but also in a commensurate reduction or reclassification of supervisory, administrative, technical and other support staff. The County Administrator requested to start with the non-profit groups under the Quality of Life programs. Housing and Community Services- The County Administrator stated they are proposing to eliminate the vacant, funded Veterans Service Officer position, three vacant library positions, reduced housing assistance and resident self sufficiency services are proposed which result in a savings of a little over $809,000. The funding for the staff, they are looking to be shifted into the grant from the general fund. There would less services provided, however they do a lot of referrals with the grant. Com. Grande asked if there were legally required services under Veterans Services officer The County Administrator advised the Board they have designated a member of staff as the Veterans Services Officer (Ms. Carlson). The bottom line position is now being recommended to stay vacant. Com. Coward stated they must maintain the services for the Veterans, if there is a cross training of staff to maintain the service level, he does not have a problem with this. Staff advised the Board there are two people taking the training to become certified to provide the services necessary. They may change from a walk in office to an appointment only office so that they do not have people waiting in the waiting room. The County Administrator stated this office was one of the very few she made an exception on training. Housing Services- The Community Services Director addressed the community service block grant and the CDBG and the home grant utilized. It is important to have the staff and cannot do the program without it. They will be shifting so that they may be able to provide the services and she is comfortable with this recommendation. Libraries- they are proposing to close two county branch Libraries: The Port St. Lucie Branch and the Hurston Branch. This would leave three libraries in operation. The Library Director advised the Board that with the geographic distribution she sees this as a fair plan and it will protect the infrastructure of the libraries. Once funding for staff becomes available, the facilities will re-open. Com. Dzadovsky asked if IRSC had been approached to assist with staffing at the libraries. The Library Director stated in a three year period, every single branch has seen an increase in traffic. With reference to IRSC is not open to the public for Internet use. They have a full portfolio of classes and their computers are used for their students. They have not explored partnering with them at this time. The County Administrator stated with regard to the Hurston Library it is being explored to see if it can be a computer center for the residents. The Community Services Director stated this is a statewide problem with the closing of libraries and in speaking with the State Library, she indicated this to be the question being asked. The will have the grant for only one more year. Com. Grande stated that keeping libraries open as a computer center will not generate savings due to the use of terminals and air conditioning and asked if there was room to move the 6 PC's to the Morningside Library. The Library Director stated there was room. Com. Coward stated they needed to obtain as many volunteers as possible in order to keep the libraries opened. Environmental- Cooperative Extension - The County contributes significant funding to Cooperative Extension which provides educational programs to the community. Three programs have been eliminated including: Family Consumer Services (some positions will be re-funded if a grant is awarded), Sea Grant/Marine Agent (to be funded by the OF for one additional year) and Growth Management Agent Services to be funded by the OF for one additional year. Staff advised the Board that presently out of 7 positions 2 are now being covered by the University of Florida as indicated above. Oxbow- In the Oxbow two positions are being eliminated and they are proposing to reduce operating hours, saving $139,204. The center would close an additional day per week (Tuesdays) and be open Wednesdays-Friday, Noon-5 p.m. and Saturdays 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. As a result of staff reductions, programs that would eliminate include Earth Day, summer camp, and teacher trainings. The Oxbow will continue to be available for student field trips and would provide outreach and public programs as staff and budget allows. Com. Craft recommended reviewing this issue again at the end and see what the Board can do to get the community involved (volunteer) to assist in keeping these programs going. PARKS AND RECREATION SERVICES: The Regional History Center is proposed to close indefinitely, saving approximately $230,000. It is hoped the Center could re-open when funding for staff and operations is available. 6 Paradise Pool- Com. Dzadovsky questioned if staff had contacted any Home Owners Association in the Paradise Park area to see if they would like to take it over. The Parks and Recreation Director stated the pool has been underutilized by the area residents And stated they have not talked to any of the HOA's in the area. The Marine Center- They have proposed reducing the hours of operation to coincide with public school calendar, closing on weekends and during the summer, saving approximately $100,000. Complete closure of this facility would likely result in loss of the Smithsonian Exhibit. The hours for Lincoln Park Community Center, the Havert Fenn Center and the Skate Park are also proposed to be reduced. They are presently looking to find a provider to assist in keeping the summer camps open and are in negotiations. The Lincoln Park Community Center would be open Monday-Friday, from 3pm-9pm instead of Sam-9pm. It would be closed on weekends, unless it was rented, and be open in the summer and school holidays from Sam-5pm. summer camp would only be available if a grant was received. Com. Dzadovsky stated keeping the summer camps open is important and he will be fighting to keep them going. The Fenn Center would be open from noon-9pm, Monday-Friday instead of the current schedule of gam-9pm. The center will continue to be closed on weekends, except for rentals. Summer camp would only be available if a grant is received. The Skate Park would be open from noon-9pm, Monday-Friday, instead of being open from 3pm -dusk, Monday-Friday, the park would be open from 3pm-dusk. During the summer, the park would be open from Sam-noon and 5pm-dusk, closing during the heat of the day (noon- 5pm). During other school holidays and breaks, the park would continue to be open from 8am- dusk. Maintenance levels are proposed to be significantly reduced at all County parks and County facilities. They are looking to get into partnerships agreements with the youth provider and the county who have exclusive use of Elks Park, Horatio Grisby and Ilous Ellis. These agreements will limit the number of night games and require providers to perform field prep and assist with maintaining the restrooms and grounds (trash pickup). Com. Coward addressed the paragraph on page 11-10 where it indicates County operated or supported recreational programs, including youth soccer, flag football, Special Olympics and men's softball programs will be discontinued. He requested clarification due to a statement made earlier in the day. The Parks and Recreation Director stated they are looking to get into partnership agreements and work with them to see if they can assist in field cleanup. The facility will be provided however, they will not be proving staff for the programs and hopefully they will provide the support to handle their group. There are some programs that provide rent and they will continue that, however, for Special Olympics the county provides the facility and they will not be charged a rental fee. Com. Craft stated he had a concern with closing the restrooms on holidays. These are the busiest days for the parks. 7 The Parks and Recreation Director stated this was discussed should the furlough days take affect and unpaid holidays, there are some operations we may need to take some measures and they can do whatever the Board directs. There are certain parks they are proposing to close because they are less utilized than others, i.e. Sheraton Plaza etc. There seemed to be some confusion and Com. Craft requested a list regarding this issue. Com. Coward stated he would rather go to the user groups and tell them we do not have the money to continue this program, however if they can come up with the funds then we would continue the program. UDT Seal Museum- This facility has been in the budget for years and staff is now proposing to terminate the county contract which provides the UDT Seal Museum with $41,950 for operating expenses. Com. Coward requested information as to how many years the county has had the facility's operating expense in the budget. Staff stated they would provide the information. The County has been maintaining the Black Pearl Boat ramp and restrooms but will discontinue this service since the lease with the City was terminated. The ownership of this facility is now in the hands of the City of Ft. Pierce. Staff is proposing the elimination of the Cultural Affairs funding in the amount of $185,000 is proposed. This includes the County's $25,000 contribution to Zorafest. Staff advised the Board the $185,000 was coming out of the operating budget and they are recommending it now eliminated and the funds be directed from the Arts in Public Places to the ACA. The Arts in Public Places program which has been in place for ten years, currently has projects under contract and those would be completed. However, all currently unallocated funding (approximately $488,000) and projected funding from approved County projects would be directed to the ACA as one-time funding for startup and operational expenses. These reductions, along with $1 million in other operational expense reductions, generate more than $2.7 million in savings in FY 11. Com. Coward expressed his concern of shifting public dollars to a private entity. He asked who would have the final say as to the expenditure of those dollars. The Asst. County Administrator stated they would approach this as a contract with anon- profit entity. The county would contract with the ACA and distribute the funds based on the terms of the agreement. Com. Coward stated he wanted to make sure the elected body has the final review. He asked what would be the impact to the general fund if they were to suspend this program for a short term. The County Administrator advised the Board she would provide the report to the Board. HEALTH & SAFETY PROGRAMS & SERVICES OPERATION REDUCTIONS: Reductions in operations, GIS Services, 911 and Emergency Management saved approximately $499,321. Additional savings are expected when consolidation is fully implemented. IT- 3 frozen positions, GIS also an IT vacant positions not filled, 911 data entry clerk position eliminated and maintenance also. 8 Marine Safety Beaches with lifeguards are proposed to be reduced from three to two, resulting in reductions totaling $162,000. It is recommended that the South Beach Boardwalk (in Ft. Pierce) no longer be staffed with lifeguards. The County will have two beaches with lifeguards, Waveland Beach and Pepper Park. Com. Dzadovsky expressed his concern with not having a lifeguard at the Boardwalk beach and would like to review the visitations between the three beaches in order to decide where the lifeguards should be. He believes there will be an increase in visitors at the Boardwalk beach due to the many renovations. Com. Craft addressed the fact that in the past various other elected officials were included in the county's IT services and asked if this was being addressed. The Public Safety Director stated they had formed a committee named "DIG" Data Integrity Group. They invited the Constitutional Officers, the City of Ft. Pierce, the City of Port St. Lucie, the Fire District and others. They are building a relationship attempting to share servers and reduce capital costs. Com. Craft addressed redundant staff at all these locations if they have one organization. The Public Safety Director stated at this point they are all comfortable where they are. Com. Craft stated at this point they cannot wait and should be addressing this issue with the Constitutional officers. The County Administrator stated the Public Safety Director is presently working on the consolidation of the departments and due to this they are not that far along. She has had and continues to have discussions with the other entities. Com. Lewis stated this is something that is going to require a lot of rebuilding of trust and will take some time. Development & Economic Enhancement Operation Reductions Reductions in this department are also taken in the Building Fund (491) and the unincorporated MSTU (102). Reductions in General Fund operational expenses saved $465,218, primarily through reductions in funding for planning studies and elimination of the one-time funding of $100,000 for the Treasure Coast Sports Commission and one-time funding of $50,000 for tourism advertising. Level of Service Impacts: upon completion of the current planning studies, such as the Western Lands study and the charrette for the area around the Treasure Coast Research Park, there will be minimal funding for any new studies. Impacts to sports events and tourism are difficult to determine but it is hoped that the agreements and contacts made with the additional funding will continue. Environmental Resources Department Reductions in this department are also taken in the unincorporated MSTU (102). Staff and operational reductions in Environmental Regulation and Land Management resulted in savings in the General Fund of $324,224. 9 Level of Service Impacts: Longer turn- around time for plan review, vegetation removal and landscape inspections can be expected. Implementation of improvements to the preserves may be delayed. The nursery has been closed. Torrey Pines JGIG Payment: The County Administrator stated they made an 8 year commitment with the Economic Development Incentive and in partnership with PSL to bring Torrey Pines to the county in the amount of $1.2 million per year. We are in the second year, and it is paid in December. On the basis of reducing re-occurring expenditures, she is proposing the 6.4 million in interest earnings returned from the general fund and designate that for the annual payment to Torrey Pines. She will modify the recommendation to include and identify the 7.5 million to fund the balance of the payment and take it out from the operating budget in FY 11 starting to do that in FY12 and use the one time money to pay that commitment (6.2 million). Taking it out of operating designating one time money to pay that commitment, reducing the operating budget by 1.2 million. The benefit is to reduce the re-occurring expenses in the county's budget. Com. Grande stated it is a wash for the 11/12 budgets because it is being removed from the carry forward dollars and removing it from the operating budget. Com. Dzadovsky stated he wanted to make sure it was not being advanced totally upfront; he wanted to make sure everyone full filled their obligation to the county and the city. The County Administrator stated it will not be provided totally up front, it will be provided on an annual basis. Com. Lewis stated this was job growth incentive and is performance based (the grant award). It has been identified and is already in this year's budget. Economic Development Council and TCERDA The County Administrator stated she was proposing reducing Economic Development Council by $25,000. Legal fees for TCERDA's outside counsel are recommended to be reduced by $100,000. In FY 12, the proposal is to consolidate the economic development functions of the EDC and TCERDA. The TCERDA executive director position will be reclassified as appropriate. TCERDA at this time they fund legal fees about $200,000 she has cut this back by $50,000 and the $100,000 as part of this plan is to further reduce the legal fees that the Board is paying for TCERDA by that amount. She believes they are beyond the point of having legal services needed to start and get it up and running. She believes we do not need legal services when TCERDA is having the meetings since there are not always legal issues to address. She asked the Board to support cutting back legal services on the TCERDA operations. This would be the second cut back; this would bring the funding to $50,000. Com. Coward requested an update on the revenues generated by the Jai Alai. He has no problem with reducing the legal fees. He was concerned if there was a reduction in marketing dollars. The County Administrator stated there are no cuts proposed in marketing or staffing for 2011, this impact would take place in 2012 and this is why she thought they would want to wait for Mr. Pelton to be present. The County Administrator stated the reconciliation of the budget carry forward approved by the Board previously, it indicated the $90,000 from the Jai Alai was taken out of TCERDA capital funds and would be utilized for marketing purposes. Com. Dzadovsky stated he would like to have an outline from Mr. Pelton as to what the County's return on the Economic Development investment has been. 10 The County Administrator stated she would like to have both the TCERDA and the Economic Development together when she presents her consolidation proposal to the Board. Lunch Break The County Administrator requested Mr. Pelton and Mr. DeVries come forward to address the Economic Development &TCERDA issues. She updated the previous discussions had before their presence. She advised the Board she met with the Chairman of the TCERDA Board and discussed several options and one being, if the Board does not wish to consolidate the two agencies as an option, look at a shared financing arrangement with the three principals. The Board has the least amount of property in the park, the School District and the University of Florida, the executive director's position, staffing and the operational costs serves the entire park, look at a shared arrangement would not be placing the 100% burden solely on the county. Secondly, looking at the private partners where they could also share in the financing of the operations of the park. There are other options to discuss as they move forward. Her proposal at a minimum is to stop fully funding two economic development umbrellas within the county's operating budget. Com. Grande stated these are proposals are considered to be implemented in 2012 so they are not pressured to make a decision quickly. He believes TCERDA is something they cannot consolidate on their own. It being created by the state and may have a specific charter indicating their functions. He is not sure the state would be positive or amenable to a consolidation. It maybe more logical to look at functions and determine who should be performing the functions rather than putting two agencies together. The County Administrator stated there are certain legal restrictions in terms when it comes to TCERDA. She was looking to reduce the operational dollars in the budget when it comes to economic development entities. The Economic Development is being funded presently at $250,000. Mr. Pelton stated they are there to work with the County and do not have a problem with that reduction in funding. Com. Craft stated he has concern with consolidating since they both have different goals. They need to identify how much money the County will be spending on Economic Development on an annual basis. Com. Coward stated there is a consensus that the consolidation proposal needs to be reviewed, however, he is comfortable with the 25,000 reduction as well as the reduction in the legal fees for TCERDA and the long term discussion recommended. Com. Dzadovsky requested a summary of what the Economic Development has been able to accomplish. Mr. Pelton stated they have attracted 18 companies with a total of 4,000 jobs in the past two years. They were able to get 9 of those companies equaling 2,500 jobs in 2009. This calendar year there were 1,000 jobs that came in and 1. 5 million feet of new construction. Mr. Pelton stated Liberty Medical added 600 jobs around $16.00 per hour average, BGTI will be using local contractors and they have 35 scientists now here and Digital Domain also selected a local contractor in Ft. Pierce and they have 35 employees in their office. Non-Profits The County Administrator requested discussion on these items. 11 She has proposed removing the non-profit funding of 1 million out of operating budget and designates one time dollars to fund the non-profits. Looking at the excess fees anticipated getting back, she would like, on the additional fund balance money identified, to take 1 million to fund non-profits for the upcoming year, look at the excess fees they would get back and designate one half of those fees, this would provide 3 years of one time designated funding for non profits and as money is drawn down on a fiscal year basis, they would have additional excess fees coming in where they Board could continue funding for at least two years out. If it shows that the Board would not continue to collect the one million in excess fees for the out years, this would then give them at least a one year notice that they would not continue to be funded. They would betaken out of the operating budget reduce it by 1 million and give them a 3 year allocation of one time funding. Com. Dzadovsky requested more discussion on the Special Olympics. He hopes to get support they be placed into the non-profit area to fund the one position to help them go through the process over the next 3 years to obtain funding. The County Administrator stated her proposal was, the position being taken away as well as the funding for the position. Com. Dzadovsky stated this is why he was proposing they be placed into the non-profit area so they have the opportunity to obtain funding. Com. Grande stated there are two issues, one is the position and the other is whether or not the Special Olympic should be included in the topic of non-profit. The Parks and Recreation Director stated this is a position that is not normally provided by a governmental agency. They are a volunteer organization and a volunteer would perform those tasks. Com. Grande stated his position would be with Com. Dzadovsky if should the position not exist, it would eliminate the Special Olympics. If the Board funding that position does not eliminate the Special Olympics and if the sponsoring organizations have a plan for the county not having the position, then he would be in favor of it coming out of our budget. The County Administrator stated there is a level of time to continue these discussions, whether it is at the June 7th or 21St strategic planning or budget workshops. Com. Dzadovsky stated the Special Olympics addressed this position previously and stated it was a vital position to the organization. Com. Craft stated they can move things around and this can be discussed later. He believes the County Administrator is looking for support in taking this funding out of our general fund budget and it be funded by the funds provided by the Constitutional Officers so that it is not a re-occurring costs and the budget is reduced by that amount. He stated these are not a mandate, but are a luxury we are asked to fund, and if we have funds then they can discuss how to spend those monies. Com. Coward stated how do they relinquish providing essential service i.e. Libraries, SRO's etc., to provide for those organizations that are not required to be funded by government. There needs to be a further review of these issues. The United Way and other organizations should look to assist these worthwhile programs. It is not a matter of just shifting funds. Com. Dzadovsky started these programs are an investment and there is a cost associated if the children do not have funding to get them through a healthy birth for example. These non- profits are beneficial to individuals in need. Com. Coward stated they need further scrutiny and they should come back and show us why they need to be funded. It's a matter of finding other means to support these programs. 12 Com. Lewis stated she agreed with both Com. Coward and Com. Craft, when other programs have been cut through the past 2 years. They cannot talk about the value of so many programs in our county. She stated they have trimmed the non-profits from year to year and this particular program has remained intact. This does need further scrutiny especially when they are looking to send 45 employees home. She feels they need to look at it further before deciding to fund it. Com. Craft stated the issue is whether they want to support the recommendation and this is not the place to discuss these issues. Com. Coward stated he believes it is the time and they need to give general direction to staff. Com. Craft stated he felt this should be something they decide on every year depending on the availability of funds not a re-occurring cost. Com. Grande stated what he believes they are saying is this would be a million dollars less in the operational budget and this would come out of the carry forward number each year. Com. Dzadovsky asked for the Board to consider moving this program into the non-profit line item for that individual. CONSTITUTIONAL SERVICES: It was proposed that a 10% starting reduction be made to service funding levels for the three Constitutional Officers who operations are funded in whole or part by the County's operating budget. The proposed ten percent service level funding reductions results in the following: Law Enforcement (Sheriff) $6,513,796 Financial Management (Clerk) $179,441 Election Services (Supervisor) $262,142 The County Administrator stated that she recognized that given the unique structure of the different offices they cannot join the county in other measures such as furlough days and unpaid holidays. She proposed where operationally feasible, the Constitutional Officers also participate in that and this may be the form in which they reach their 10% and if they cannot do this and cannot join the Board with unpaid holidays, the Board looks to cut the operation to the 10% level. Level of Service Impact: Since Constitutional Officers are able to choose how the budget reductions are implemented, the level of service impacts will be determined by each elected official. Law Enforcement: The County Administrator stated she based the 10% on the operating budget not against the addition of what the Board approved as the one time funding to backfill the funding for SRD's the School District did not pickup ($1.6 million). The recommendation is the Board supports a 10% reduction of the Sheriff's operating budget. Budget staff advised the Board the fiscal year 2010 budget was $66,757,956 and this budget amount included 1.6 million one- time funding for SRO's. Without the 1.6 million, the budgeted amount is $65,137,956. 13 The Sheriff proposed $1,658,655 dollar reduction in the operating budget. The requested budget is $63,479,301 this is a 2.5% reduction. The County Administrator is recommending an additional $4,855,141 to complete her 10% requested reduction. The Sheriff stated he is not sure what budget staff is looking at. He stated his budget has the SRD program one time funding of 1.6 and they also reduced their budget by 1.8 million of miscellaneous revenues. The County Administrator stated they are not taking the 1.6 million as a credit reduction to the Sheriff's operating budget. The Sheriff stated the proposed budget has the $1.62 million for the SRO's removed, which takes a loss of 19 deputies, from 35 to 15 next year. In addition Ft. Pierce has removed all funding and officers from the program and next year it is projected the City of Port St. Lucie will do the same, they currently only have 2 officers for the program. Com. Coward stated due to default because everyone else has pulled out he believed the Sheriff's intention was to retain the program at its' full force. The County Administrator stated her letter stated the amount was not going to be included in the budget because it was stipulated last year as cone- time funding. The Sheriff acknowledged Com. Coward's comment. Com. Coward questioned why there was such an increase in his budget beyond the increase in population. The Sheriff stated when he came into office the deputies salaries were well below the average and with the Board's approval they increased the salaries and they are still below the surrounding counties. Also the inmate population has increased. Com. Coward addressed the jail staffing and recommended the Sheriff Take steps to reduce the jail budget. The Finance Director stated there are many things that do not fit into the CPI computation and this is part of the reason. The Sheriff advised the Board they presently remit $125,000 a month to the Board for the Federal inmates located at the jail and this is almost 1.5%. They are continuing to attempt to generate revenues with the downturn of the economy their services have not decreased. The Finance Director also stated there are many things the Sheriff must do by statute mandated bylaw and you do not have a choice for example if you are going to provide security at the courthouse. Com. Coward questioned the Explorer's program. The Sheriff stated the Explorer program is self funded, they hold fund raisers. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the comments made to the press regarding the golf course expenditures. He stated the employees of the county have taken huge cuts, 200/300 employees, now proposing 12% pay cuts, taking away longevity, automobiles taken away from Directors. The Board is taking this to heart and he wanted them to understand they need to share and believe 10% is reasonable. In looking at his budget he has seen some areas that could be cut. The Finance Director stated the Board needs to take into account when requesting a 10% cut is the Sheriff's operation is 24/7 and they need the additional bodies to cover times when the 14 county is not open. The county should be looking at a 3.3% cut in the budget due to the fact the Sheriff needs his people to runs 24/7 operation. While people in the county are sleeping, the deputies are working. Com. Dzadovsky stated the Sheriff could set his own millage rate if he went to the Legislature and became his own taxing district. This would encompass all three entities of law enforcement. The Finance Director stated he believed the Board has to request a bill with the Legislature. Com. Coward stated the concurred with Com. Dzadovsky's comments in that they are not trying to create an adversarial conversation with the Sheriff's office they are only trying to put all possibilities on the table. The Sheriff stated his budget presented is $3, 420,000 million dollars less than what they are working with today and he thought this was a good start to help the county reach their goal. The County Administrator stated that in looking at the complexity of the Sheriff's operation and looking at the union side of his operation and not knowing what figure the Board would support she recommended that it be done in two phases, 1.8 million that reduction be taken in the FY11 and the remainder in FY 12, giving the Sheriff the time to make those other reductions happen. Clerk of the Circuit Court The Clerk of the Circuit Court proposed a 4.03% reduction in his budget or $76,290 from the FY 2009-2010 Board approved funding, totaling a requested budget of $1,818,117. The County Administrator proposed a 10% cut or $179,441. The Clerk stated he does understand the challenge the Board has at this time. Since FY 2006 they have steadily been decreasing their budget and 2007 reduced their budget by 14%. Information Technology is 12% of the budget. Com. Dzadovsky questioned the software purchased for the Value Adjustment Board. The Clerk advised the Board this software is for the county's purpose. It assists the Clerk's statutory requirement of being the recorder for the VAB Board. It is not a product of the Clerk and not a benefit to the Clerk's office; it provides a better work flow for the Recording Deputy Clerk. The School Board also pays part of the cost as well as the County Commission. The Clerk advised the Board the insurance premiums are a very large cost 20% of the budget. Since 2004 the Clerk has provided additional revenue sources in excess of $10 million. The budget does not include any reserves or capital, or any salary increases. The Clerk discontinued the 5% increase after the probationary period in 2008. The Clerk addressed the concept of closing down the county building on the first and third of each month, and asked if they meant the building at 2300 Virginia Ave where the Clerk has the Finance Department. The County Administrator stated the proposal is to close the county buildings which would impact that side of his operation and if operationally feasible ask the Board to request the Constitutional Officers participate in the furlough days and if there was part of the Finance operation in another building, those employees should also participate in the furlough days. The Clerk asked if it was not feasible, how they would be able to provide the services to the public if the building was closed. He understood the utility cost savings, however, if he found it not to be feasible and the Clerk was not to follow the Board's furlough days, would the Finance 15 staff be able to choose those holidays if the Clerk was not to follow the recommendation of the furlough days. The County Administrator stated this is a policy call by the Board; she is recommending 1St and 3~d Friday and not alternate days because they would not get the benefit of the utilities. She also asked if staff would not be able to provide those services Monday through Thursday as the Board employees would. The Clerk stated since this was a concept he had not at this point reviewed or made a determination as to what his office would be able to do or not do. They are working to make sure checks are paid five days a week, 52 weeks a year and he asked how this would affect the larger organization since they share that space. The County Administrator stated the alternate proposal is if anyone cannot participate in the proposal then the employee salary is cut to an equivalent amount. Com. Grande stated this alternative recovers the Board less because they do not get the utility benefit. The Clerk addressed the insurance premium rate study and stated our County is high and asked if the Board has taken another look to see what else is out there. He asked the Board to consider doing so should there not be the anticipated savings. The insurance refunds, he has not heard anything additional on it and he wished to bring it up again. The County Administrator stated part of what they heard this morning regarding the refund, it was proposed that it go to the general fund and also other funds will have refunds, they do not have the actual numbers for the Constitutionals as yet and will be having discussions with the Board and then meet with the various agencies. Com. Craft questioned where the $ 10 million that were returned over the last several years were derived from. The Clerk advised the Board the many of those dollars were derived from the recording department fees such as mortgage recording, deed recording, title recording. At the end of the year any of those fees that are not used in the department are returned to the Board. Com. Craft asked if these amounts had been figured into the carry forward for the balancing of the budget. The County Administrator asked the Clerk to provide the information to the Board due to the fact the amount of fees has diminished. The Clerk advised the Board that in hearing from Mr. Fishkind that there is a slow recovery coming, but it will happen and as the economy turns around they will see more fees coming in and they are turning the corner they are seeing a lot less in foreclosures. Com. Craft asked what was the difference in the amount requested in the reduction of 10% and what was being proposed by the Clerk. The County Administrator stated she would need an additional $103,000 reduction. Com. Craft asked if he anticipated having enough from fees to cover the difference. The Clerk stated he was not sure; they have used the fees to cover the cost of the operation of the recording department so that they would not have to come back to the Board for more funds. 16 The Clerk stated he knows the Board has a lot of options on the table and he encourages them to look at all of them. His staff is ready to assist the Board in looking for ways to aid them in the process. Com. Dzadovsky stated in his conversation with the public, it is the quality of life they address. They want to see concrete cuts and he believes they also are willing to look at roll back and tax increases. The citizens want them to make a greater effort before they go to the last resort of roll back and he hopes he will go back and attempt to find the 6% needed and he appreciates the Clerk's efforts. The Clerk stated he will continue to look and sharpen his pencils. Employees are also members of the community and we all are looking to maintain and pay for a good quality of life. We are all working together, the people are the government and we are all working to serve the people of this community. Com. Coward stated he wanted to thank the Clerk for his efforts but he also concurred with Com. Dzadovsky's comments. They are looking at firing people, others from the top down are taking pay cuts, and furlough days and they do not have the luxury of not having the Clerk participate at a comparable level and he too will support the 10% reduction. The Clerk stated last year he had a discussion with him and went through lay-offs and reductions on the court side to the tune of $526,000. They sharpened pencils then and will continue to do so and will make every effort to get there. Supervisor of Elections The County Administrator advised the Board the Supervisor of Elections has reduced her current budget by 5%, and will need an additional 5% to meet the 10% recommendation. The Supervisor of Elections stated she reduced her budget 5% and in the process she had taken that amount from election services and not from staffing due to the fact she has a compact staff and tried to leverage technology to have them work smarter and not adding staff each year. All of her staff are long term and are very essential in the election process and could not conduct a successful election if she did not have them. Her only alternative would be to close the St. Lucie West Office and this is what she is anticipating to achieve the other 5%. The Walton Road office is utilized by more voters and serves more voters. Also Walton Road serves as their back up site should something happen to the main office as it did when the storms hit and her main office was not able to function. House Bill 5697 will increase the budget by $51,000 in 2011/2012 which is the FRS retirement. She will receive a reduction in her communication budget should the county proceed with AT&T. The closure of St. Lucie West will be about $83,000 and this is in staff, not including utility. Com. Craft questioned the contract for rent at the Orange Blossom business Center. The Supervisor of Elections stated the contract ends in mid year of 2013. The annual lease is $190,000 not including the utilities and it increases 5% each year. The County Administrator stated there is no out clause in the contract. Com. Coward complimented the Supervisor of Elections, however he stated it was difficult for him to accept BOCC reductions only and not the same level from others. He does not see a reduction in salaries and asked if she was going to accept the furloughs, possible salary reduction and if they will help achieve the shortfalls rather than closing an office. The Supervisor of Elections stated due to Florida Statutes she must maintain the office open 5 days a week and 8 hours a day. If she was to participate in furloughs she would need at a 17 minimum 4 people in the office per day but could possible offer furlough to the other 13 people. She would not be able to close her office. Com. Coward asked if she was considering salary cuts. The Supervisor of Elections stated she did not consider salary cuts because should they need to do furloughs and unpaid holidays would reduce their salaries. She is looking at other areas to save money but has not made any decisions. Com. Coward stated he supports the 10% reduction however she sees fit. The Supervisor of Elections stated she could not participate in any furlough days in 2011/2012 budget due to the election process for 2012. Com. Grande asked if she would go along with the concept of 10 unpaid holidays. The Supervisor of Elections stated she would not have a problem with the unpaid holidays she would go along with them. Com. Craft addressed the savings in utilizing the Health Clinic, first year $1 million, he believes utilizing this clinic will assist them in savings with the medical. The Supervisor of Elections stated she would take part in that savings. Judicial The County Administrator stated she was going to ask the Board not to have a discussion on the Judicial Departments since they have met their 10% reduction they had two exceptions, they are Court Admin., State Attorney, Medical Examiner. She also advised the Board the Health Department met the 10% although he was not in this category. She requested Mr. Lee come to the table for a question she had. The County Administrator stated the Guardian Ad Litem could reduce their budget only by $2,500 the other is mandated split the county has to fund. She suggested no further discussion. The Public Defender, her budget came in at 1.56 % lower than her present budget and she expressed her inability to meet the 10% recommended. Com. Craft stated one of his concerns is that the Board is funding the position at the jail. This is a state requirement not a county requirement. Ms. Arnold, Administrative Director for the Public Defender addressed the Board and stated the attorney at the jail covers first appearance in the morning but her job is not just first appearance but to also expedite the cases as well as she can. In this respect the money paid by the BOCC is more of a benefit. Com. Craft stated if the Board is funding this then he does not want her to cover first appearances but to expedite cases within the system. He is concerned with not getting their bang for their buck. He would like for her to use 100% of her time to expedite cases. Ms. Arnold stated she would pass that message on to the Public Defender. She stated their salaries are paid by the State of Florida. The County Administrator stated the County funds the utilities costs and the only personnel cost is the attorney. 18 Ms. Arnold stated the other positions are the two for the mental health court the county funds with a grant assistance. The County Administrator stated this is where the 10% could come in, the $94,000 for the two positions. Ms. Arnold asked if this could be cut even if it is partially grant funded. The County Administrator stated from her perspective it could. Com. Craft stated he wanted everyone to know that he would continue to fight for those two positions because they assist greatly in reducing the jail population, but want the state to come up to the plate. Com. Dzadovsky questioned if it was necessary to provide new computers. Ms. Arnold stated the work stations were scheduled to be replaced next year and in an effort to keep costs down they would replace the box only not the monitors and also extend the warranties. Ms. Arnold stated there was a time when the Public Defender's office was being supported by the IT Department within the county however; the problem was their network encompasses 4 counties. They went out on an RFP to see if they could save costs and found a savings. SLC support was $168,000 and in their RFP they brought the bill down to $148,000. They do have IT staff however they are not fully trained as yet and until they are, they have the need to continue to obtain some support from the outside. They have placed training funds in the budget due to the reduced outside support. Com. Craft requested the Board direct Mr. Godwin to look into bringing the attorney at the jail in house with the Board so they can have better control of how the time is being utilized that the county is paying for. He believes that first appearance should be covered by the Public Defender it is her responsibility by the state. Com. Dzadovsky stated 1.8% does not get them where they need to be and asked they go back and review. Mr. Godwin stated the attorney at the jail also assists in other facets at the jail; she does not only handle first appearances. They are still attempting to find what budget she would come out of. Com. Craft stated it is not the responsibility of the county to fund the Public Defender defense at the jail. He believes the time can be better spent. Com. Coward stated he still supports the 10% reduction. They are looking at $15-$20,000 more in reductions and he does not care where they find it. Ms. Arnold advised the Board the computers are funded from the $2.00 fee money of which they have a reserve. They are still working on that reserve amount and attempting to keep the costs as low as possible hoping it will last until things get better. Health Department- Mr. Lee- This agency reduced their budget by $96,487 a 10% reduction. The County Administrator addressed the funding provided last year for the HIVAids program he provided a line item that was not included in the binder. The funding for the HIV Aids prevention grant was going to be eliminated. She is aware it was not to be an on-going item but she knew it may bean issue to discuss with the Board. 19 Com. Dzadovsky stated when it becomes a health and safety issue it comes to a higher level. Mr. Lee stated St. Lucie County was identified as the highest amount of Blacks with HIV in the state of Florida. Since the program the rate of HIV has been lowered due to the education provided. Com. Coward asked if this was a priority and it is such a successful program, why it was not incorporated into their budget. If they believe it is a priority, they may need to bump another program in order to continue it as a priority. Mr. Lee stated this was not part of their original budget. The agency needed a vehicle (it was identified as a pass through item). He stated if this had been considered a part of their total budget they would need to deduct another $2,000 in their budget to meet their 10%. There is no easy place for them to cut. The County Administrator stated the grant was more than a just one year grant so for the ensuing years, the issue came up as to where they would provide the match money in the ensuing years. Com. Craft stated the question is, "Do we want to continue to fund this program?" He believes Mr. Lee did as the Sheriff did, come in with a budget without including the optional programs funded the previous year, in the Sheriff's case, it's the SRO program, in Mr. Lee's case it is the HIV program. He came in 10% reduction and do we want to continue along this line and this is for discussion at a later date. Com. Lewis stated she was not aware it was amulti-year grant. It was not their intent to handle it this way; she would accept this as written and embark on it for future years. She does not have a problem how it is worked out. Com. Grande stated Mr. Lee came in with the 10% request based on the budget last year and this was not part of the budget last year. He believes this program which is outside his budget needs to be handled separately and this is not the day to do that as Com. Craft stated. Com. Coward recommended adding this to the list of 1.2 million non-profits to discuss. We still have millions of shortfalls remaining. Com. Dzadovsky stated the grant money needs to be facilitated by July. He expressed his concern if they vacate this program they could hinder the health and safety of many more people. Com. Coward stated this could be looked at several ways, they need to rely on other agencies that are also responsible for the health and safety of residents, and it is not the sole responsibility of this county. Mr. Lee stated they will do everything they canto preserve the services they offer. The County Administrator stated the requested budget for the BOCC is 17% lower than the current budget and that is taking into account the 3 million for the additional inmate medical and if they did not have to build that in their reduction would be 20.7%, not including all the additional measures to discuss. Com. Dzadovsky gave a visual understanding of what the roll up rate would be fora $100,000 home and a $200,000 home. Six pizzas represent the millage rate rollup of a $100,000 home and the 12 pizzas represent the rollup on a $200,000 home. When looking at the quality of life in SLC they need to understand what they asking. No one wants to pay more taxes, but what is the value of the quality of life in St. Lucie County. 20 Com. Craft stated they still a lot of discussions to go through and felt this was premature. Until they have had the ability to discuss the issues presented on the table today. He stated he may agree with Com. Dzadovsky, but at this time it is premature. Com. Grande concurred with the comments made. Com. Coward addressed the accumulative impact of the pizzas should other entities also raise their millage rates. There being no further comments, the meeting was adjourned. 21