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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBudget Minutes 07-16-2009BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA BUDGET WORKSESSION Date: July 16, 2009 Convened: 9:00 a.m. Adjourned: 5:15 p.m. Commissioners Present: Chairperson, Paula A. Lewis, Charles Grande, Chris Dzadovsky, Chris Craft, Doug Coward Others Present: Faye Outlaw, County Administrator, Lee Ann Lowery, Asst. County Administrator, Christopher Steers, Asst. County Administrator, Marie Gouin, OMB/Purchasing Director, Millie Delgado- Feliciano, Deputy Clerk Growth Management/Administration This budget reflects a decrease of 39.1%. They do have funds moving through the budget for projects. There are 1.3 in carry over funds. Planning Division This budget reflects a decrease of 39.4%. There are presently 2 planner positions that have not been filled. ** It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Central Services/ Maintenance and Custodial This budget reflects a 15.1% decrease Com. Coward addressed the sustainability coordinator position and stated he felt they needed a person with key expertise in public buildings as one of the qualifications. The Central Services Director stated they presently have one existing project manager who has those qualifications however he is busy with other projects and they need to have one person dedicated to this type of a project. Com. Coward stated he believed they needed a point person and then bring in the consultants in order to make this happen. Com. Craft recommended placing someone we already have to that position who knows the system and he would require the Central Services Director time as little as possible. Com. Coward questioned if the person would be league certified and this would be the question. Com. Dzadovsky questioned how utilities cost are tracked at all county buildings. He stated he would like to see the number on a monthly basis. The Central Services Director stated they could not figure out the increases in cost from FPUA for water and FPL for power per kilowatt usage. Com. Dzadovsky stated he would like to see a spread sheet indicating these costs countywide. ** It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Parks and Recreation Administration This budget reflects a decrease of 11.19'0. The Parks and Recreation Director advised the Board the General Fund portion of this budget had increased due to the fact they had one frozen position and then decided to fill the position (Executive Assistant). They also transferred in a position to assist with the workload. Com. Coward addressed existing dollars in capital tourism and the revenues that were set aside for a project that since went away. He is awaiting something from staff or the City of Ft. Pierce on how to utilize some of those funds which may total around $600,000 by the end of the year. The County Administrator stated she would like the opportunity to look at her notes and what the discussion was at their meeting and get back to the Board. Com. Dzadovsky stated he had been working with Main Street to possibly bring in a Highwaymen Museum to the Avenue D corridor, however he understands they have already renovated the old post office and may be utilizing that building. They are still in the discussion stage. Also the Bacus Gallery is looking to expand and this could be a public/private opportunity. The difficulty is the City of Ft. Pierce has a different idea and this is still up in the air. Com. Coward stated he could not make a decision on these issues until they receive the details needed. The County Administrator requested discussion on an issue relating to the Golf Course. Golf Course This budget reflects a 21.29'o decrease. The County Administrator requested discussion the replacement of the greens. Com. Coward stated there would not be any general fund dollars expended for this project but would utilize enterprise funds. The Board was informed the issue at the golf course is Methane gas and they were hoping to receive federal dollars, but they are not making enough methane gas to be eligible for those funds. The Golf Course Manager stated the public has expressed concerns about the condition of the green and they believe the only solution would be what is illustrated in the presentation. The estimated cost would be $600,000 however revenues are not enough to cover this cost. They would need to address the methane gas issue and re-line and rebuild the greens. Com. Dzadovsky stated he supported getting the greens fixed because it is a great asset to the county. The County Administrator stated they have identified the problem but have not identified the funding source. They will need to continue to look for funding. The Assistant County Administrator stated they are looking at a 20-25 year life span if they replace the green within the next couple of years. She anticipates the $35,000 maintenance cost will increase and the rounds played may decrease. Lawnwood Stadium This budget reflects an increase of 163.8%. operating expenses have increased there is an off- set decease in another area of the Parks and Recreation budget. South County Stadium This budget reflects a 10.79'o decrease. The Fire Marshall felt they needed exit lighting on the generators in case the stadium lights go out. Staff is still fighting this recommendation. This exit lighting would cost $140,000. This postponed the fall opening. Com. Dzadovsky addressed regionalization of parks and felt the city of Port St. Lucie maybe could pay for the county maintaining the city parks. He would like a discussion with the city. Com. Craft stated this would affect our budget and stated he believed they could not have a discussion on this recommendation today, but possibly in the future. Com. Dzadovsky stated he understood this topic would be a long discussion issue with interlocal agreements etc. Com. Lewis addressed the $100,000 ear marked for the Girls and Boys Club. These funds are now being proposed for the Ken Pruitt facility, however there are legal issues they need to work out. Com. Coward stated these dollars were ear marked previously many years ago. He would tike to go back to the time frame. The idea was to invest at the Lennard Road site not Ravenswood. He is a strong supporter of this organization, but they need to invest these funds and if they can't we need to use them in a different way. Com. Dzadovsky addressed the YMCA building and the interest he has received from many organizations. This facility needs some renovations. The County Administrator stated she had contacted the person in charge of the YMCA and is awaiting a response concerning programs or activities they were to schedule. Com. Coward stated the $100,000 for the Lennard Road tloys and Girls Club are south county impact fee dollars and cannot be shifted. The Parks and Recreation Director stated they do not have the funds to maintain or staff the YMCA. Com. Dzadovsky stated he has asked Congressman Rooney to assist in obtaining funds for this facility. He supports the Avenue D Boys Choir who had shown interest in the facility. He believes they need to find a collective use by organizations to assist in the funding of this project. The County Administrator reminded the Board this facility was discussed at a previous meeting with the City of Ft. Pierce where they indicated interest. Com. Coward recommended the Board consider providing the excess dollars to the city of Ft. pierce from the Parks MSTU around $50,000 if they take it over, but only if they step up to the plate and have them get creative with non-profits to maintain the facility. Fairgrounds- This budget reflects a 50.8% decrease Com. Dzadovsky addressed the Fairgrounds and the fact it is only being used for large events. He stated last year there was a consensus to move funds from the Fairgrounds. The Parks and Recreation Director stated most of the events have now requested to use the Fenn Center, however they still have the large events such as the Monster Truck pulls. Com. Craft addressed the Equestrian Center previously proposed. Com. Coward stated there has been a tremendous investment made to date and the return has been poor. He is not sure additional investments would be something he would consider. Fenn Center This facility has 6 full time employees, the others are for nights and weekend events. The City of Port St. Lucie has 49 employees for their civic center. Utilities This budget reflects a 12.39~o decrease. The Utilities Director stated they were requesting stimulus dollars and they were meeting the deadline. She stated the FDEP stated their chances were good. If they receive the funding they will need to come back and modify the plan. Grants and Disaster This budget reflects a 37.5% increase. They have advertised for the vacant position. The grant opportunities are down significantly and their ability to match grants will be difficult. They expect to bring in 15.4 million in grants this year. He has concerns about next year, state funding is almost none existing and again the fact they may not have the ability to match the grants. Com. Lewis addressed the fact this department was also assisting outside agencies in obtaining grants. The grant opportunity for Kings Highway has been restricted down to $400,000 from $5 million which they believe was the figure and were pursuing. Public Works This budget reflects a 38.8% increase. There are two budgets combined. Another budget was placed under Administration. There are storm water regulations coming out fast and they are trying to get set up for this program. The Administration budget has not really changed, they just brought in the storm water regulations project under Administrations budget from Road and Bridge. The Public Works Director stated he has a meeting next week with the state to start mapping out the project. He stated a big part of the project was going to be water testing and they would need to do the water testing to show they are meeting all the requirements. He advised the Board it looks as if next year they will hae~P the funds to fill the spoil site but not the dredging. Com. Craft asked if the chip seal program was still in place. The Public Works Director stated there was a budget of $ 250,000 a year for the program to keep it on going. The Board discussed the grass cutting of the medians and recommended staff attempt to find away to cut down the cost of this maintenance. Staff indicated they are having a problem in keeping up with the maintenance due to staff shortage. The County Administrator addressed the major revenue deficit for the building department/code compliance. This being an enterprise fund they have had many lay- offs. They will be looking at other measures regarding the loss of enterprise funds and return to the Board. Com. Grande stated he believed there needed to be more code compliance work rather than permitting. The County Administrator stated they are presently looking at staff within this division and seeing if they can be placed in other areas. They will be doing a hours,~time study. Erosion The Public Works Director advised the Board they are pursuing state and county projects attempting to keep the Federal Government in the loop. He stated they would need to look at an MSBU in the future or establish new Erosion District zones where those who benefit the most would pay more. Com. Grande addressed the fact the MSBU has already been set up however nothing has been collected as yet. He would like to leave open the possibility of adding a taxing unit. BUDGET ISSUES AND HIGHLIGHTS EMERGENCY RESERVES The OMB Director stated the Florida Association of Counties did not have information regarding this issues. Com. Coward addressed the fact the City of Port St. Lucie had reduced their emergency reserves from 19 million to 9 million. By September 30`h they would have the 9 million indicating they had utilized 10 million from their initial 19 million of reserves. The OMB Director addressed the county's emergency reserves and her discussion with our bond counsel. She indicated if we do not add the 1 million to our emergency reserves this year, she believes this should not have a detrimental effect on our bond rating. However she is not sure if the county could obtain any lines of credit due to today's market if we had another hurricane. Com. Coward stated he did not wish this to be a political decision, but based on experience. He questioned if what we had in reserves was sufficient and if there was a possibility to only fund $ 500,000 and utilize the balance for other priority projects. Com. Craft stated he would rather not add to the emergency reserves this year and use the 1 million to assist in the shortfall. Com. Lewis stated she would rather utilize a portion of the 1 million than the whole amount. Com. Craft stated he was not concerned with our response team, however he was concerned where the state and federal government would stand in a case of an emergency. Where we are today he is comfortable however if the consideration is given to tap into the existing reserves for other projects he will have a difficult time approving such a move. He does not have a problem not adding the $ lmillon this year, but does not wish to touch what is in there to date. Com. Lewis stated she believed no one was making this suggestion. The County Administrator stated they were considering using a portion of the one million to apply for the SRO program or 10/11. Com. Lewis stated she believed there was a consensus not to fund the program fully. The County Administrator stated she would wait for Board direction on what level of funding. Golf Course- will look down the road as green fees increase and then proceed with the project. Com. Dzadovsky expressed his concern with the loss of revenue if the greens are not in good condition. Consensus of the Board not to move forward as this time, however will discuss in the future. LPGA - Mr. Snyder submitted a new proposal however the due diligence time is limited and he is looking for a binding letter for funding by 2011. Com. Coward stated there was not a reasonable time frame for due diligence. Com. Grande stated $750,000 is not a reasonable amount and they should go through the business community and the Chamber. Com. Craft stated he did not believe there was enough in the tourist or sales tax to fund this and if this was what it was going to take, he would not support it. Com. Dzadovsky stated it was the right thing at the wrong time. He cannot support it at this time especially after going through the budget process and knowing the difficulty they are having funding the SRO program. Com. Lewis stated she could not follow through with this at this point. Com. Coward stated they have not been given sufficient time to research all available resources. He is excited about this but he has not been given the time to review it and since they are giving such a tight time frame, they have no choice but to say no. SRO Program- (School Resource Officers) The County Administrator requested direction on this funding issue if this was to be a one- time funding from fund balance or do they intend to fund it as a re-occurring expense. Com. Craft stated if they place this funding as a re-occurring expense it would eliminate the incentive for the other partners to help find a broader funding solution. He believes they do not need to put it in as re-occurring. It may take a couple of years to get anything done. Com. Dzadovsky stated he believes they should have this issue go out to the voters. If the county continues to fund it the other entities would not find a reason to participate. Com. Coward recommended they retain funding the 1.72 million at this time. The additional supplemental dollars the school board could not fund he believes should be a one time commitment with the intent to try to find a solution. This is not a normal responsibility of the BOCC and they need to have the other entities assist in the funding solution. The County Administrator advised the Board the amount to be funded is less than 1.72 million in the power point. Com. Coward stated he believed the total commitment was $ 3.34 (a 1.62 supplement) at that time and had hoped the cities would step up to the plate and assist the county. Com. Dzadovsky stated he believed that was to be a one- time funding. Com. Lewis addressed the City of Port St. Lucie providinK only 6 officers from 22 for a gap of $2.1 . Com. Craft stated the City of PSL is pulling out the elementary and middle school officers. Com. Dzadovsky stated both cities have community aides and children at that age do not know the difference between an officer and an aide and this may be a cost savings. Com. Craft stated he believed they needed to schedule a workshop with the cities, Sheriff and the school board and figure out how it will be taken care of. He stated right now he was prepared to do the 1.62 million. Com. Coward stated they were doubling the commitment while everyone is pulling out and he does not believe it should fall entirely on the BOCC. The other entities need to share the expenses. He believes they should only fund the 1.72 and the 1.62. Com. Lewis stated she would agree to a slight increase and not knowing what the numbers are, she could not go along with the consensus. Com. Grande recommended reviewing the issue every year until the solution has been found. If the consensus is that it will only be funded at the level of 1.72 plus the 1.62, this would be a funding of 3.34 total for countywide services of the SRO in the budget. Consensus :The supplement would be one- time only with review every year. Mosquito Control The County Administrator advised the Board of the current millage rate and provided two scenarios. Com. Dzadovsky addressed $6.78 difference and what it translates in a year. Countywide $6.78 added to a tax bill a year and the mosquito population increases it would be a savings in the long run for the property owner. He stated the budget has been reduced 49% in the last three years and he believes it is a public safety issue. He does not wish to use reserves to fund this issue. Com. Coward stated they are not reducing the budget only using one time reserves to keep the present service in place. Com. Grande stated he would not consider a future increase. Com. Dzadovsky stated it could be done incrementally. This is an issue where 10090 of the people could be affected 100% of the time. He stated he has a problem going to reserves when a budget has been reduced 50°'0 over 3 years. Com. Craft stated he felt it was not necessary to raise the millage rate and explained the reason for change in the aggregate millage. He would like to have a long term plan where they will have more knowledge on the market. The Mosquito Control Director stated he did not have an~r concerns with protecting the citizens next year. Com. Dzadovsky stated he did not wish to operate on reserves and put the public at risk and this may occur if they do operate on reserves. Com. Lewis recommended looking at the budget down the road and stated she did not believe at this point they were putting the public at risk and is not willing to increase the millage at this point. Com. Grande stated he believed it was not a public safety issue at this time. Com. Dzadovsky stated Mosquito Control was established for public safety reasons on a continuous basis as an entity like the Sheriff's office and the Fire District. Com. Coward stated every entity is going through the same situation this year. We now have reserves available to maintain services at the current level and can review the issue in the future. He stated he wished to make it clear he would not support a tax increase. It was the consensus of the majority of the Board to not consider a millage increase. Street Lighting Districts The County Administrator addressed this issue and stated they are not collecting enough in property tax revenues to cover the cost of the utilities. The Asst. County Attorney stated there are two things that can be done. One is to deactivate some of the lights however the Board to need to go through the public hearing process. Or they could use general fund monies as a loan to the districts. The Budget Manager stated the cost would be $40,000 across for all the districts. Com. Coward recommended asking the districts if they want an increase or if they wish to reduce the service. It should be their decision. The County Administrator stated the timing element comes into play, they can increase the millage rate and when they receive the feedback it can then be adjusted accordingly. Com. Coward recommended dealing with it now. We are not increasing the rates we pay the bills. We need to receive their input as to whether they want a reduction of services or increase the rate to keep the services. It was the consensus of the Board to set the rate tentatively and go through the hearing process giving the districts an opportunity to make a decision on how to move forward. The County Administrator stated they would follow up with the districts. Jail Inmate Medical Wing The County Administrator addressed the RFQ that are due back in July 22"d. She requested Board direction as to whether or not they want staff to pursue the recovery bonds for construction or wait for a summary report. The design will be completed in March of 2010. If going for the bonds and we were to get them, the question would be the covering of the payment of the debt service and stated they needed to look at the available unallocated revenue($900,000) and more funds that have been identified through this process. Com. Coward stated he did not have enough information and would prefer to move forward with the RFQ and design. He believes they may be more likely to receive grants. Com. Craft stated the expansion would come along with an increase in staffing and they also would need to have a discussion on that issue. Com. Coward recommended this come back to the Board within the next couple of months . Com. Grande recommended the Sheriff be present at the discussion. Com. Coward addressed the freed up funds identified and the net number to cover the SRO program shortfall. The County Administrator advised the Board she would be bringing the break down tomorrow in more detail. Com. Coward commented on the Property Appraiser and the Tax Collector not coming before the Board regarding their budget. The County Administrator stated the Tax Collector had a strong position regarding he having to present his budget. The Property Appraiser is out of town. The Board funded portion of his budget increased based on population. His budget is approved by the Department of Revenue. Com. Coward requested the Property Appraiser be made aware the Board is requesting he come in with a flat budget The OMB Director stated in speaking with him he pointed out that his budget had decreased. However he did not mention any further reduction and she did not pursue it any further. At this time the Board recessed and will reconvene tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for continued budget discussion.