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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBudget Minutes 07-09-2008BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FLORIDA BUDGET WORKSESSION Date: July 9, 2008 Convened: 9:00 a.m. Adjourned: 5:00 p.m. Commissioners Present: Chairman, Joseph Smith, Paula A. Lewis, Doug Coward, Chris Craft, Charles Grande Others Present: Doug Anderson, County Administrator, Faye Outlaw, Asst. County Administrator, Lee Ann Lowery, Asst. County Administrator, Marie Gouin, Management and Budget Director, Millie Delgado-Feliciano, Deputy Clerk The County Administrator made opening remarks, At this time the gap for 2009/2010 remains at $1,161,741. However, they still have the Sheriff's budget which was requested to be discussed again on Thursday. He advised the Board that in his discussions with the Fire District, they are requesting a 50 year lease and a 50 year renewal. The FAA will not approve this type of a renewal lease. He is requesting direction regarding this issue. The lease as it stands is not acceptable to the Fire District. Should the county make the Fire District move after the 50 years, they are requesting they be made whole so they could build another facility. The County believes depreciation should be considered. Com. Coward questioned the one time monies given to the Sheriff which he believes was for vehicle replacement. He requested information where these monies were expended. Staff has recommended 10% reduction of the current budget for all outside agencies. This was also recommended by the Citizens Budget Committee. 211 HELP LINE This agency's budget for 2007/2008 was $17,500. Staff is recommending a 10% reduction bringing their funding to $15,750. for fiscal year 09. The representative for this agency advised the Board the call volume has increased due to the economics of the area. Their suicide calls have increased and would they would need to cut staff if the funding was less. It was the consensus of the Board to approve staff's recommended funding level at $15,750. ARC of St. Lucie County This agency's budget for 2007/2008 was $72,838. Staff is recommending a 10% reduction bringing their funding to $65,554. for fiscal year 09. The Chairman stated he would like to bring this item back for further consideration. Com. Craft stated he felt a 10% reduction for each agency may be too much and recommended a 10% decrease overall. Com. Coward asked the Board members to look at the mandated agencies then look at the outside agencies. He does not wish to pick one over the other. With the magnitude of the cuts they are facing they should be happy there is only a 10% cut recommended. Com. Lewis stated she concurred with Com. Cowazd with regazd to the magnitude of cuts the county is facing and felt everyone will feel it at one point. Com. Grande stated he concurred with Com. Coward's comments. It was the consensus of the Board 3 to 2 to approve staff's recommendation of a 10% reduction in the budget. Council on Aging of St. Lucie County This agency's 2008 budget was $195,976. Staff recommended a reduction of 10%. The Council on Aging representative stated he was comfortable with the recommended reduction and felt they were able to work within the recommended budget of $148,964. It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget as recommended by staff. Health Department This agency's 2008 budget was $1,071,980. Staff has recommended a 10% reduction bringing this budget for 2009 to $964,782. The Health Department representative stated they will probably have to reduce some services and are also clustering services. They will continue to do the best they can. It was the consensus of the Board to approve the recommended 10% reduction. Healthy Start This agency's 2008 was $57,600. Staff has recommended a 10% reduction bringing this budget to $51,840 for 2009. It was the consensus of the Board to approve the recommended 10% reduction. New Horizons This budget reflects a county match of $748,452 for Fiscal Year 2008. The recommended match for 2009 is $673,606, a 10% reduction. Executive Round Table This agency's funding was $48,000 in Fiscal Yeaz 2008. Staff has recommended a 10% reduction in funding for 2009 or funding at $43,200. It was the consensus of the Board to approve staff recommendation. TC Homeless Services Council This agency's funding was $ 25,000 for Fiscal Yeaz 2008. Staff has recommended a 10% reduction in funding for 2009 or funding at $ 22,500. It was the consensus of the Board to approve staff recommendation. Weed and Seed No recommended funding for this agency. Counseling and Recovery Center No recommended funding for this agency. 2 Boys and Girls Club In fiscal year 2005 the County designated $550,000 for the expansion of the Boys and Girls Club in Port St. Lucie. The representative stated the project has stalled and they are presently looking at adding two buildings to the Ken Pruitt Unit at their cost of $200,000 the balance will be in in- kind services. Staff requested $450,000 be re-allocated to the South County Regional Soccer Stadium and the $100,000 balance to the Boys and Girls club to complete the project. It was the consensus of the Board to approve staff's request Economic Development Corp. This agency was funded in the FY08 budget at $100,000 with the matching grant of $100,000. The County Administrator advised the Board the actual funding is $150,000. $100,000 for the Economic Development Council and $50,000 for the county to assume economic development work from March 31, 2009. Mr. Pelton with the Economic Development Council advised the Board the recommended amount would not be enough to continue their efforts. He requested the Board increase the contract amount. Com. Coward stated he believed this is the greatest shortfall in the budget. He felt 50% is a drastic cut in such an investment. He would prefer a 10% cut bringing them down to $450,000. Com. Craft concurred and stated they cannot lose what they have started and hopes they can be creative in the upcoming days. Com. Smith stated the 50% match provided was a challenge and this was not part of the budget. It was more if you did X we would give you Y. Mr. Pelton stated he believed they needed to be funded at $250,000 for the effort to be provided and services should he assume assisting the marketing for the Research Park. He will be going back to the cities for additional funding. If they lose funding they would have to reduce effort. Com. Lewis stated she felt they were eliminating a function (internal staff) and then asking the EDC to take more on. The County Administrator stated there is $150,000 in the budget at this point and Mr. Pelton is asking for an additional $50,000. Com. Smith stated the EDC is doing as much for the cities as for the county and the county is funding at a higher level. Com. Coward stated the funds were coming from countywide residents not just from the unincorporated area. It was the consensus of the Board to bring this back on July 10th. Soil and Water Conservation This budget reflects a decrease of 7.83% due to the elimination of the grant. It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Community Services This budget reflects a 37.8% decrease. General fund decreased 21.5%. There are many grants received by this department. It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Library This budget reflects a total 11.9% increase however a 6.3% decrease in the operating budget. Down 8.8% in the general fund. There are sites with only 2 people on duty on Saturdays and there may be a possibility of closing should anyone call in sick. It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Public Safety This budget is made up of several departments. Animal Control This budget reflects a 4.6% increase. This department does not have an impact on the general fund. 911 This budget reflects a 1.6% decrease. 800 MHz This budget reflects an 11.0% decrease. Emergency Management This budget reflects a 13.1 % decrease. They have frozen positions through attrition. Marine Safety This budget reflects a 23% decrease. The positions are frozen. They will be guarding the 3 beaches discussed during Strategic Planning. Radiological Planning This area is funded by Florida Power and Light Company. County Administration This budget reflects a 12.2% decrease. The switchboard operator position was scaled back. Media Relations This budget reflects 13.6% decrease. One position has been frozen. They are presently working with the City of Ft. Pierce and have a contract for $135,000 per year for 5 years . This year the $135,000 will be going back to the general fund. They are attempting to have the city of Port St. Lucie agree on letting SLC TV use their additional channel . 4 The Media Manager advised the Board they were looking to utilize room 101 rather than Morningside Library as their base should the funds be available to remodel the room for media purposes. Com. Craft stated he would like to see how long it would take to re-coop travel and time before making such an investment to remodel the room. He would like to see a plan what the goal is and what they would be achieving and the benefit it would have to the librar . Management and Budget y This budget reflects 1.5% decrease. Purchasing This budget reflects a 12.4% decrease. This department is now under Management and Budget. The Director's position has been eliminated. It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Human Resources This budget reflects a 6.2% decrease they are presently down 2.5 positions between Human Resources and Risk Management. It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Information Technology This budget reflects a 17.3% decrease. They are working on a power point presentation that will be presented to the Board tomorrow. Com. Coward questioned if there was a cost savings due to the reduction in staff. The IT Director stated they would not be ordering new PC's for those positions eliminated or frozen. The Management and Budget Director stated of the 247 positions eliminated, 147 frozen positions have been reflected in the budget however the balance of 100 have not. This amount will be a carry forward on September 30~'. Information Technology is down to 41 positions. It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Parks and Recreation/Administration This budget reflects a 44.7% decrease 2006-2007 actual budget $561,653; 2007-2008 budget $513,000. They have 1 frozen, 1 voluntary layoff and 1 retirement. The County Administrator stated they have reduced staff from 143 to 113 in parks these are general fund supported positions. There will be a re-organization presented in August. He believes they will be able to cut an additional $100,000 and will have it available in August. The administration budget is down from $513,000 and this is before reduction of positions. 5 Fairgrounds The Parks and Recreation stated they are looking for entire restructuring of this area. They are now charging customers for any overtime costs. The staff from the Civic Center was reassigned to the Fairgrounds on an interim basis until the new facility was built and opened. There are 3 positions and 1 was frozen. They are proposing the maintenance shifted to the parks department. She is also requesting the Fairgrounds Manager to work out of the new center which will save $12,000 in Internet costs. Com. Coward stated the operating costs still have increased even though personnel have been reduced. He stated he had a problem with subsidizing any facility at a cost of $1,000 per day especially when it is not being used by the general public on a daily basis. He would rather lower the services at the fairgrounds opposed to law enforcement or economic development etc. Com. Coward would like to get down to bare bones cost and then come up with a budget according to its use. He is ready to reduce its initial investment if they are to lose $1,000 a day even with the events occurring they are losing money. Com. Smith stated everything the county does is subsidized. The County Administrator stated they were in the process of re-organizing various areas and with the fairgrounds they are presently off by $110,000. in projected income. The re- organization being brought forth in August does not include the fairgrounds and asked if the Board wished a revised business plan or if they needed further reorganization. Com. Smith stated his idea was to give them another attempt if not this budget year throughout the year. Com. Coward stated he would recommend taking the business plan and subsidy projected at $118,000 (for a class A facility) and use it as a bench mark of a maximum subsidy this year and see what they can come back with. Com. Craft stated he was not sure they were getting their "bang for the buck" for an $80,000 a year position investment since most of the events are people who call in and request the use of the facility and not actually marketed by the manager. Com. Craft asked if the position could be picked up by someone else. The County Administrator recommended going back and looking at the re-organization of the fairgrounds once again as part of the phase 2 re-organization. Fairwinds Golf Course This is a breakeven budget no subsidy. Havert L. Fenn Center $539,000 subsidy for this center. The Parks and Recreation Director stated they are planning on shifting the staff from the Ft. Pierce Community Center once it is closed. They will be opening under limited operations. They have budgeted an amount of revenue through programming and rentals. They will be bringing the rates to the Board in the near future for review and approval. They have a calendar and are presently plugging in dates. Lawnwood Football Stadium 6 This area shows a profit of $24,700. It is a $79,000 budget. The revenues from South County will be coming to Lawnwood Stadium. Parks This budget reflects a 6.7% decrease in funding. There is a 20% reduction in staff. A report will be brought back on the generated revenues for this area. Recreation This budget reflects a 31.2% decrease. In August there will be shifting of personnel to assist in the operations of the Fenn Center. Staff was directed to explore the leasing of the Ft. Pierce Community Center if the City of Ft. Pierce does not have an idea of what they will be doing with the facility. Savannas This budget reflects a 15.9% decrease. The County has subsidized this area at a cost of $352,000. There will be a reorganization taking place in August. They are anticipating closing the area from May 1 S` to October 1 S`. They are looking at this being a year round park only. The will be bringing back recommendations in August. Tradition Field This budget reflects a 10.1 % decrease. The County Administrator advised the Board there will be money left over from the grant that will reimburse the money from the general fund used to subsidize this area. The Tourist tax is projected to decrease $130,000 from FY 07-08. The County in conjunction with FPL implemented a new utility management system to reduce the number of kilowatts used at the facility. South County Stadium- This budget reflects an increase of 1718.0%. This area is presently subsidized $38,000 due to no revenues coming in and they must continue to maintain the field. Capital $3,000,000 for south county stadium from impact fees and $50,000 for the golf course. Cultural Affairs The general fund subsidy for this area is less than in 2006/2007. It is now $244,981. This is administration. She also has the museum and marine center. The Marine Center is a general fund allocation of $272,428. They are losing money from the school district. Historical Museum The allocation for this area is down 50% from 07-08 and 06-07. They had a reduction in staff by 2. 7 UDT Seal Museum The allocation for this area is $56,200. They also have a grant for $40,000 and the county covers the insurance for the building. They also do their own fund raising. * * It was the consensus of the Board to approve these budgets. Utilities The budget allows for growth There is an increase in debt service due to a loan and they will be re-financing this loan. They will be pursuing grants this coming year. * * It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Grants and Disasters This budget reflects a 7.4% decrease. They just lost another position which will bring them down further. They hope to have grants coming in this year in excess of $17 million. * * It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Growth Management This budget reflects a 29.4% decrease. The county allocates $85,000 from the general fund. They are eliminating one position that was never filled and 2 people are retiring. They had 27 positions and will be staffed at 20 after retirement with 4 unfilled. They are planning to re-evaluate the cost of service to applicants. The Growth Management Director advised the Board they are attempting to get a better handle on the staff costs by tracking planner time with applicants. * * It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. TPO This area receives an allocation from the general fund of $29,427.00. There are two studies being done and the county is matching one of these studies, i.e. the Western Land Study. * * It was the consensus of the Board to approve this budget. Economic & Strategic Development This area is down to one position. The Director vacated the position last year and that person was shifted to another position and this position was then frozen. They presently have one position and that is the Economic Development Manager who will be retiring in March, 2009. The Economic Analyst decided to accept a position elsewhere and this position is being frozen. The Tourism PR Specialist resigned and this position is also being frozen and one person has signed up for early retirement. This leaves this the department with one position. The Board recommended coming back with a new organization chart for this area. The County Administrator stated they were looking to use this outlook until the end of 2009 and then come back with recommendations to the Board. Com. Coward stated the TDC was looking to have the Manager's position re-instated and stated would like to know where these funds would be coming from. This is something they have shared with him and he wanted to let everyone know. 8 a... ~~ .r The Assistant County Administrator requested the Board give her time to complete the process and come back with a recommendation. Com. Coward stated the TDC also recommended the Board use roll over funds to assist the Sports Commission with 4 specific events. Com. Coward requested information on the general fund allocation of $500,000 for the land purchase of Lincoln Park Community Center. He felt with the budget crunch they should be utilizing the funds elsewhere where needed since the property owner is not a willing seller. The Assistant County Administrator stated in a meeting with the City of Ft Pierce, she believes the city had stated they would be obtaining a third appraisal and come back to the county with the information. She believes they should be informed of the Board's decision on what they are looking to do with the funds if they have not had the appraisal completed. The County Administrator stated at this point they have picked up $250,000 towards the gap from Parks. Th Board and the County Administrator addressed the Sheriff s budget scheduled for a continued discussion on 7/10/08. The County Administrator advised the Board there will be three issues to discuss with the Sheriff tommorrow during this budget discussion: Sale of the Helicopter Bonuses Requested increase The meeting was adjourned. 9