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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 17, 2011 Approved MinutesCITIZENS' BUDGET COMMITTEE Meeting Date: June 17, 2011 Conference Room 3 MEMBERS PRESENT: Carl Hensley, Chair John Culverhouse, Vice Chair _ Craig Mundt Richard Pancoast Edward Lounds Ron Knaggs Patricia "Pat" Ferrick Jay L. McBee Bill Hammer Stephanie Morgan MEMBERS ABSENT: Dan Kurek Jane Bachelor Dana McSweeney Randy Ezell OTHERS PRESENT:. Faye Outlaw Sophia Holt Lee Ann Lowery Jennifer Hill Bill Hoeffner Annie Clark Marie Gouin John Ferrick Ken Pruitt Jim David Mark Godwin Robert O'Sullivan Linda Cox Karen Smith Jack Southard Mike Monahan Brad Currie Garry Wilson Peter Harrison Toby Long Kathryn Hensley Harriet Rowe Gertrude Walker Gayle McMahon Debbie Brisson William Tinker Lisa Savage Michael Quinn Don West Sherry Eichin Shai Francis Kara Hison Joe Smith Steve Rethen Suzie Caron Mark Satterlee Kara Wood CALL TO ORDER Mr. Hensley called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES -May 20th Meeting Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 2 After a motion by Mr. Knaggs and a second, the minutes were unanimously approved. PROPOSED BUDGET REVIEWS STATE AGENCIES STATE ATTORNEY Ms. McMahon said Mr. Colton was on his way so the Chair said the Committee would wait for him. CONSTITUTIONAL OFFICERS CLERK OF COURT -Joe Smith The handout from the Clerk's office is attached. Clerk Smith read through the numbers. At the end of the year, his office gives excess money from fees back to the Board. They have reduced the amount of money requested from the Board by 13% the last few years. Since 2007, their staff has been reduced by 31 %. Then he added that on a personal note, during the State Clerk Conference, he was elected by his peers to serve as the Treasurer. He hopes to be President of the association in about five years. It is about what his staff has been able to accomplish. His first priority is Clerk, but he thinks his election as Treasurer looks good for St. Lucie County. Mr. Lounds asked if the fees were set by the State. Mr. Smith answered that they are. Mr. Lounds asked about unfunded mandates. Normally, they are not affected. Occasionally, they have a technology issue that is more Ms. Outlaw's unfunded mandate than his. The statutes say the Board will fund certain things. Mr. Lounds asked if he pays the bills for the County and if they take advantage of discounts. Clerk Smith said they added a financial vendor for the Board's purposes because Wachovia/Wells Fargo has a program that allows a rebate program. They are not yet able to give a number on the savings. Mr. Lounds asked if vendors give discounts if paid at a certain time. Clerk Smith answered they will through Wells Fargo. They are checking with vendors to set up direct depositor credit card payments. Mr. Lounds asked Ms. Outlaw if staff is trying to get discounts. Ms. Outlaw said they have asked vendors to keep prices flat or decrease. Ms. Francis said they work with County departments and expedite payments as necessary for discounts. Mr. Knaggs asked if there is a system that avoids paying too early. Clerk Smith said they run the office as efficiently as possible. They have a sweep account that checks every day and puts the money that is not needed in a savings account. Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 3 Mr. Mundt asked if Indian River and Martin County help pay the Judicial costs. Clerk Smith said his office doesn't pay many of the fees. They only pay jurors. The Board helps to fund them. The Clerk meets with the Clerks from Indian River, Martin and Okeechobee Counties to try to find opportunities together to save money if possible. Mr. Lounds asked if they contract out their Information Technology (IT) services. Clerk Smith answered that they do not because their operation is so specialized. Mr. Lounds asked about communication between the Jail and other Judicial agencies. Clerk Smith answered that they do communicate. They met a couple weeks ago on the subject. If they can save time, it will save money. Mr. Lounds asked if it was more efficient to have their own IT service. Clerk Smith explained the challenge is the IT services are funded from a separate pot. Ms. Outlaw added that in Strategic Planning she is presenting a policy issue for the Board to review. She wants them to look at how they fund various IT functions. She is asking if they need to have a Board of Governors review the issue. Clerk Smith added that the IT needs of the Financial side of the Clerk's office are totally funded and provided by the Board. The State is clear that there must be separation. Clerk Smith said they have done their best to return excess fees. They hope to have a number headed in a positive direction from last year's number. STATE ATTORNEY -Bruce Colton Mr. Colton explained that his office covers four Counties and their mission is to represent the State in all criminal cases. The budget primarily comes from the State. The request for the upcoming year from St. Lucie County is $742,000, a $30,000 decrease from the current fiscal year. The County is mandated by law to provide office space, utilities, communications, custodial services and IT services. The IT services come from fees collected in the Clerk's office for filings. They were able to update and carryover surpluses when things were good. There is a provision in the statute that says the County's funding has to increase each year. All of the agencies have cut back as much as possible. They have not been able to keep up with technology as much as they would like. The IT requested budget for this year is 19% less. For many years they used the County's IT services. Since they are afour-County operation it was hard to rely on St. Lucie's technicians to travel to the other Counties. He described the challenges of having their own people. Mr. Lounds asked about the IT services. He would not want to see the County try to meet all needs. Maybe the County could help if needed. Mr. Colton said they have spoken with Mr. Southard about the availability of County employees helping. That is their safety net. Mr: Lounds asked about communications between the agencies. He thinks they do a great job, but they need to be sure they do not err on the side of the criminals. Mr. Colton said they all cooperate. They all have separate systems and needs that are not compatible, but Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 4 they do communicate on a regular basis. Mr. Lounds asked about interaction with the Federal Courtin St. Lucie County. Mr. Colton answered that they have some cases but there is not much crossover. In some cases that are initiated by Federal investigative agencies, they find it is quicker to get local agencies to get search warrants and wire taps in preparation for court. They cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's office to determine who should have jurisdiction. There are several Federal agencies that work in the four-County area, and they cooperate. Mr. Lounds asked if his office is more efficient than the local Federal office. Mr. Colton explained that the local U.S. Attorney's office is a satellite office of the main office in Miami, which. is a satellite of the Justice Department in Washington. It may have to be approved by West Palm., Miami or DC to go further on a case. It may be quicker to work with the Sheriff's office, who works with the State Attorney. Overall, the cooperation is there. Mr. Lounds made the point that it costs St. Lucie County money if the Federal offices do not do what they are supposed to. Mr. Colton agreed, but stated on the other hand, there are often times Federal money provides overtime money for the Sheriff's office. If assets are seized at the end of the investigation, they are sometimes split. Mr. Hensley asked what portion of his budget St. Lucie County pays. Mr. Colton answered 46%. It is split by population. The main office. is in St. Lucie County. Some of the costs are split four ways. The only increase in this year's budget is that the landlord, St. Lucie County, raised the rent. Mr. Knaggs asked how the split works. Mr. Colton explained how it is split and answered that there are offices in all four Counties. SHERIFF Mr. Long distributed copies of their budget and a PowerPoint presentation (see attached). School Resource amounts are down because of the change in pension rules, a reduction in Workers Comp and they intend to use seized funds, Law Enforcement Trust (LET) money to pay the operating costs such as fuel and uniforms. The budget is down about $1.1 million, 2%. Ms. Outlaw added that the County Administrator was not comparing the staffing levels of the County and Sheriff's office. Mr. Long reported that Total Authorized Personnel has dropped over 13% since 2007. Ms. Morgan asked about the challenge of increased services in the Cities. Mr. Long answered that a caller requesting a Sheriff's deputy would be part of it. Officers in the City of Fort Pierce have 96 furlough hours between now and September 30t". There are times when there are fewer officers available. Ms. Morgan asked if they have numbers of how many request the Sheriff's office. Mr. Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 5 Southard will go back and check on that. The system is pretty old fashioned. Some cases the Cities walk away from, such as a pawn shop case. Mr. Hammer believes they should revisit the apportionment of costs. Mr. Long said the upgraded software will help with the numbers. Mr. Lounds asked what they would have to do to reduce 5%. Mr. Long said it depends on if you use Ms. Outlaw's math or his. Ms. Outlaw is asking for an additional $2 million. That would result in a reduction of 30 law enforcement positions. They have reduced the non- lawenforcement positions in the past to the point they cannot lay off anymore and run the agency. They are required by law to ID every inmate. The ID techs are not support staff. The people that maintain and safeguard evidence are not support staff. They are essential. Chief Deputy Wilson added that everybody now at the Sheriff's office is essential. Any further cuts will have an effect on public safety. The School Resource program took a hit last year, and they got by. Any further cuts will result in cuts in public safety. It will impact their ability to do their job. Mr. Lounds asked about automobile units. They were on a rotation to replace 15 units per year. They have no plans to purchase vehicles this year or next. Mr. Lounds asked about maintenance. It runs the maintenance costs up. Mr. Long said they may approach the County about using infrastructure tax for vehicles. If sales tax comes back quicker than property tax, maybe they can get with the County to use some for vehicles. Ms. Gouin said you would have to do a referendum. Mr. Long said that might be a possibility. It depends on the budget, when they can buy new cars. When Sheriff Mascara came into office, the fleet was in bad shape. They have it in fairly good shape after eight or nine years. New vehicles are under warranty so repair costs are lower. Mr. Mundt asked about the decrease in insurance costs. Mr. Long answered that most of the reduction is related to the pension change and worker's comp. Mr. Culverhouse asked about the recent helicopter mishap. The pilot is ok. Chief Deputy Wilson said they are fortunate to be part of a program where they can purchase surplus government equipment. They had three helicopters. Indian River had a helicopter they were going to return that will be given to the Sheriff's office. They have to move some equipment, and they will be backup in strength. There is little or no cost to the County or taxpayers when they are able to participate in the program. Mr. Hensley asked for a dollar impact on what the Sheriff's office does for the Cities. The Sheriff's office will work with Mr. Southard to try to get a number. They can't refuse to service. Everybody is a taxpayer. If a Deputy Sheriff is requested, they are sent. It has been happening more frequently in both jurisdictions. Mr. Hensley added that it appears the Cities may not be pulling their weight. Mr. Knaggs asked if the Sheriff's office has to increase staff because of Fort Pierce officers' furlough days. Mr. Long said they don't increase but they may reallocate. Mr. Knaggs asked what would happen if Port St. Lucie closed their police department. Mr. Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 6 Long said their residents would be up in arms because the Sheriff certainly does not have the staff to handle that. Chief Deputy Wilson explained the difference in the Sheriff's office and City police department. The Sheriff's Office has a constitutional responsibility. It is a choice of a City to have a police department. They could decide to get out of the business and the Sheriff would have to provide services. It would be greatly reduced unless they contracted with the Sheriff. Mr. Hammer believes they should look at the apportionment of costs in the near future. Mr. Lounds asked Mr. Long how much they spend on IT services. Mr. Long said nobody does it more efficiently than they do. They have about 600 devices, a manager and six technicians. The total cost is the personnel cost plus technical maintenance contracts. They are similar but everything is specialized. One employee is in charge of the Jail management system and has lots of experience. It is not easy for someone to walk in and do the job. That is the reason that agencies have gone to their own IT department. Mr: Lounds asked about communication between the agencies. Mr. Long said it is still good. The challenge they are working on is getting dispositions from the courtroom. They cannot free someone without a document signed by a Judge. Mr. Hammer said security needs to be checked on all elements that use IT. SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS -Gertrude Walker Ms. Walker's assistant handed out copies of her budget and a list of unfunded mandates (see attached). Her office is funded 100% by the Board. She is disappointed that she cannot meet Ms. Outlaw's request for her budget amount. She does think it is a fair request. She has been working to bring the budget down even though the County has grown significantly. Elections have changed. They have to report directly to the State. She had received information just a few days earlier that the Federal government will be giving them $31,155.98, so she will be submitting an amended budget to Ms. Outlaw. Ms. Walker explained the impact of the Federal Voting Rights Language Assistance Act. They will have to have the ballots printed in Spanish and maybe Creole. This affects the cost of printing, envelopes, postage and tabulating. They've been fortunate to perform their task in time. There have been changes to the time absentee ballots have to be processed. She does not believe they can meet the requirements with the current equipment. Ms. Walker is looking at impacts to the 2016 election. There will be changes for persons with disabilities. There is a projected cost of $770,000, which she thinks is low. She has requested proposals from vendors. Ms. Walker does plan to run for reelection. She knows that increasing her budget prior to running for office is not something a public servant wants to do. It is a one-time unfunded mandate. She plans a decrease next year. She is working diligently to bring costs down. Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 7 Mr. Hammer complimented Ms. Walker and her staff on the job they have done over the years. He asked if the 16.6% Hispanic population is the total population or the percentage they anticipate would need assistance with language. Ms. Walker answered that it is the total population. They should receive. information from the Census Bureau by August. It is earlier than normal to insure that the mandate is for the year. The Census Bureau will advise how many are deficient in English. Usually, the percentage is a lot less. In the past, folks who moved up from South Florida were English speaking. We have a different group now, they are Mexican. Even though they are not citizens or registered voters, the Supervisor's office has to accommodate them. The census does not ask if they are a citizen. Mr. Hammer asked how many polling places will have to accommodate the non-English speaking voters. Ms. Walker said the Justice Department has been very inflexible. She gave examples from other Counties. Mr. Hammer asked about combining elections. Ms. Walker said this year will include the City of Port St. Lucie and the City of Fort Pierce in the primary election. She does think all items possible will be on the general election ballots in the future because of the cost of separate elections. The school district has the option of having a special election. Ms. Hensley added that they have not ever had a special election. Mr. Lounds asked about four ballots. Ms. Walker said it is a possibility, she hopes not. The wording would have to be in each language. She hopes they will be more lenient in the future. Elected officials in Counties that have had to provide ballots in other languages have had to endure many complaints. The Justice Department enforces the law and the County will have to pay the costs. Mr. Pancoast expressed his praise for early voting. He asked how the recent changes affect early voting and her budget. Ms. Walker answered the most recent changes limit the early voting days from 12 to eight. They extended the hours. Other Supervisors plan to have early voting the entire 12 hours available. Ms. Walker has always kept her precincts at a minimum. Leon County has almost twice as many precincts for the same amount of voters. She maintains that other options help her have fewer precincts and fewer poll workers. She thinks early voting is a blessing. With absentee and early voting she no longer has to have a call center on Election Day. The current budget is less than the 2005-2006 budget. Technology has increased. They are all connected to the State, which is an added cost to her agency, but they have worked to decrease the overall cost. Mr. Culverhouse knows in Miami-Dade the sample ballots have English, Spanish and Creole on one ballot. Mr. Culverhouse asked if there was money in the budget to notify voters of changes if House Bill 1355 is approved. Ms. Walker said a sample ballot is in her budget and in a sample ballot the public is made aware of the law. The sample ballot is sent out prior to the election. Changes can take place until the final file is transmitted. Ms. Walker gave an example of changing an address. They are shortening deadlines but increasing possibilities of delays. She believes her office will be able to make the Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 8 deadlines and continue to cut the budget. Mr. Knaggs asked if the $100,000 could come out of contingency. Ms. Outlaw answered that it could. It is not in the budget. Ms. Walker spoke of the County's contingency that could be available if she had an unforeseen situation. Ms. Outlaw said the County's contingency budget is $1.4 million. It is used for unanticipated costs. Requests are taken to the Board. On an infrequent, regular basis, it is requested by the County Attorney for contracting for a specialized legal service or an emergency. Ms. Outlaw understood that what Ms. Walker was requesting in-her letter could be handled by the same process. Mr. Lounds added that it would not be earmarked for the Supervisor of Elections. Ms. Outlaw agreed. Mr. Hensley asked about the penalty for not being able to get the information to where it is supposed to go in the limited time and if she felt other Counties could do it. If not, what will happen? Ms. Walker answered that part of the House Bill is to fine the Supervisor of Elections personally. To her knowledge, this has never been done. She thinks there will be several in front of her. She believes it will be impossible for some Counties. She gave Palm Beach as an example. Because of the frustration in the last election, some legislators went into office with their concerns and implemented laws to force the Supervisors to do a better job. CHAMBER SMALL BUSINESS TASK FORCE UPDATE Linda Cox, President of St. Lucie County Chamber of Commerce, complemented County staff. They worked hand-in-hand and did a great job. Brad Currie took over leadership of the task force when the former chair left the area. Mr. Currie summarized the review. A copy of the Task Force Review is attached to the minutes. He said staff may also have questions since after they gave information to the Task Force, the group met without them to make the recommendations. Peter Harrison did a good job of summarizing the meetings. A business navigator could help shepherd applicants through the system. Ms. Outlaw said they are discussing an existing staff person changing their duties to make that happen. Mr. Lounds asked for clarification about aright-of-way. Mr. Currie feels the important thing is for the land to be set aside, but it is a significant cost for the applicant. Four thousand dollars on a twenty thousand dollar project is huge. He has had people walk away from a small project because of it. Mr. Currie enjoyed the Task Force group and feels it should stay in place and meet regularly. He thinks the County could use the group to review changes. He thinks a private sector group that could provide feedback would be an asset. Mr. Pancoast heard a lot of good things and thinks that it shows that if you put citizens together they come up with good ideas. He asked about a core of volunteers. Ms. Outlaw answered that they have not used volunteers in that capacity. They have identified the staff position that they think can be restructured to fill the role of the navigator without Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 9 affecting the budget. Mr. Currie added that he thinks it is important to have a County employee in the position and they be here 9:00 - 5:00. Other advantages were discussed. Mr. Knaggs agrees there should be a County employee, but maybe that employee could use the volunteers. Mr. Currie thinks the Task Force could fill that role. Mr. Knaggs asked what happens now and why the situations were allowed to occur in the first place. Could it be prevented in the future? Mr. Currie thinks some of the things were put in codes to protect the public. He thinks Mr. Satterlee would say that the Planning Director should have more flexibility in his ability to apply the rules. He thinks that would be good with Mr. Satterlee, but might not be if someone else was in that position. He thinks common sense in government would help. Ms. Outlaw added that different Boards have different perspectives. Sometimes codes change. She thinks it is a combination of factors. Mr. Satterlee believes it is sometimes a combination of rules over time and he agreed with Ms. Outlaw on the philosophies. They have to balance protecting the greater interest of the public versus the land owner. Current economic times cause them to focus on what they are really trying to achieve. He likes the idea of keeping the Task Force together. He suggests they work together to implement the suggestions. Mr. Mundt said it was a wonderful group to work with. Mr. Currie was a wonderful leader. He feels all the members were willing to continue to serve and wanted to help. They had small business owners share their experiences with their group. Their frustrations were interesting. Ms. Morgan complimented the report and agreed with flexibility. She told of an instance from Planning and Zoning. Mr. Lounds was overwhelmed with the report and thinks it would be terrible to lose the momentum. He expressed his appreciation and hopes they offer help to other businesses that would like to expand. Mr. Culverhouse agreed, especially with the right-of-way suggestion. He thinks keeping the momentum going will not only continue to produce great ideas, but also show businesses that the County is serious about trying to improve the process. Ms. Outlaw thanked the Committee for the suggestion of creating the Task Force. She thanked the Task Force for their time and effort. She is excited about their achievement. She agrees that the Task Force should be kept in place. Options are as part of Strategic Planning, have the group give a presentation to the Board, have an informal work session or have a special Board meeting so the Board could take action on the recommendations. She feels some very good things have come out of the meetings. It is a great step in the right direction. Ms. Cox said they prefer it to stay a Task Force of the Chamber rather than a Committee of Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 10 the County. She feels they worked well together. Ms. Smith said they had the flexibility to stop the Endangered Species surveys. They have defaulted to the Federal process and there are no longer duplicate processes in place in that area. A wetlands study is in the final stages. Mr. Lounds asked if a motion would help move it forward. Mr. Hensley said they can make recommendations but the Board makes the decisions. If they change the rules for two years and they are good changes, why not keep them? Mr. Currie said the Task Force discussed what would happen. They gave suggestions that need to be analyzed. There is some work that has to be done. They need direction from the Board. They feel this is the first step. They thought staff would review and present to the Board. Mr. Pancoast thinks it should be moved on to the Board. Mr. Knaggs thinks if it is presented informally, it gives the Board more flexibility in the way they want to go. He asked Ms. Outlaw for a recommendation. Mr. Hensley feels they need to study the report more and would have that opportunity in an informal meeting. Ms. Outlaw recommended that as part of their motion they specify it be presented in an informal meeting as a single subject agenda. Before or after Strategic Planning was discussed. Ms. Ferrick asked if Senate Bill 2156, which the Governor signed into law, would affect the report. Mr. Satterlee said House Bill 7207, which amended the Growth Management laws of the State, mostly had to do with comprehensive planning. He was not familiar with anything that would affect the recommendations. Ms. Outlaw was not aware of anything in the report that would be subject to DCA review. She does not think it would impact the Task Force recommendations. Mr. Currie agreed with Mr. Satterlee. They attended some of the same meetings. Mr. Lounds was in favor of a presentation at Strategic Planning. He did not want to lose momentum. If he was a business in another State, he'd be impressed with the help. Ms. Outlaw said an abbreviated presentation could be made at Strategic and more discussion in an informal meeting. Mr. Mundt asked if the business navigator would be discussed at Strategic Planning. He thought that could lead to discussion for direction from the Board. Ms. Outlaw said the change in position would be done administratively. Mr. Mundt said he thinks they just want encouragement for the Task Force to continue and a motion from the Committee would do that. Mr. Lounds said, "So moved." Mr. Pancoast seconded. Mr. Hensley asked for the wording of the motion. Mr. Mundt recommended that the Citizens' Budget Committee continue to work with the Task Force and staff to develop policies that would implement some of the recommendations that were made in their report. Mr. Lounds asked to add that the Task Force continues to reach out to small businesses. Mr. Knaggs asked about implementation. Ms. Outlaw will handle that. It was unanimously approved. OTHER ISSUES Ms. Outlaw asked the Committee to consider holding a special meeting on June 30 so she Citizens' Budget Committee June 17, 2011 Page 11 could present her recommended budget, Strategic Planning schedule and proposed sustainability plan to them. She asked the Committee to decide who they wanted to sit at the table during Strategic Planning. She suggested it be the Chair or Vice Chair and decide an alternate in their absence. Mr. Hensley asked about a special meeting. Time, quorum and getting the information to be prepared for Strategic Planning were discussed. Itwas-decided to meet at 7:30 a.m. The Strategic Planning meetings will be July 6 -14. Mr. Hensley will sit at the table, but not-eight to nine hours each day. Mr. Hammer expressed his concern about continuity and asked if anyone plans to attend all sessions. Mr. Mundt has attended the last five years and wouldn't miss it. Mr. Hammer again expressed his concern about gaps. Mr. Mundt volunteered to fill in if the Chair or Vice Chair were not able to be there. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Hensley thanked everyone for their patience and adjourned the meeting at 10:06 a.m. Respectfully submitted by: Brenda Marlin A special meeting will be held on Thursday, June 30, at 7:30 a.m., in the Fenn Center. The next CBC regular meeting will be held on Friday, August 19, 2011, at 7:30 a.m., in Conference Room #3, at the St. Lucie County Roger Poitras Administration Annex.