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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJune 30, 2011 Approved MinutesCITIZENS' BUDGET COMMITTEE Meeting Date: June 30, 2011 Fenn Center MEMBERS PRESENT: Carl Hensley, Chair John Culverhouse, Vice Chair Craig Mundt Richard Pancoast Ron Knaggs Patricia "Pat" Ferrick Bill Hammer Stephanie Morgan Dana McSweeney MEMBERS ABSENT: Dan Kurek Jane Bachelor Randy Ezell Jay L. McBee Edward Lounds OTHERS PRESENT: Faye Outlaw Sophia Holt Lee Ann Lowery Jennifer Hill Bill Hoeffner Marie Gouin Stefanie Myers Jim David Terri Palumbo Robert O'Sullivan Todd Cox Karen Smith Ken Mascara Beth Ryder Garry Wilson Toby Long Audrey Jackson Kara Wood Debbie Brisson Alexi Howk Anthony Westbury Michael Quinn. Don West Guy Medor Robin Meyer George MacArthur Mark DiMascio Mark Satterlee Michael Brillhart Frannie Hutchinson CALL TO ORDER Mr. Hensley called the meeting to order at 7:35 a.m. PROPOSED FY12 BUDGET Ms. Outlaw explained that the specially called meeting was for her to present her proposed budget and the major thrusts of the sustainability plan. She went through the attached PowerPoint presentation. The Revenue slide underscores that we are still relying on one- Citizens' Budget Committee June 30, 2011 Page 2 time money to balance the budgets as we move forward. Ms. Outlaw presented 2012 Recommended Budget: Major Highlights (see attached). Some items listed were moved from operational funding so that what was left was truly operational cost. Mr. Knaggs asked for a definition of fund balance funding. Ms. Outlaw answered the one-time money returned from the Tax Collector, Property Appraiser or unspent money by the County. Mr. Hensley asked if there was no money left over, would no maintenance be done. Ms. Outlaw answered that he was right. Mr. Knaggs asked for clarification on why she is differentiating whether it is current or prior revenue. Ms. Outlaw explained that for certain agencies the Board already tapped the funds coming back from the Tax Collector and Property Appraiser. She is making the point that if there is not enough fund balance coming in, the new agencies on the list will not be funded. It is her intent that by taking items out of the operating budget, it helps bring the costs in line with the operating revenues. The Board has a range of options. Slide 6 refers to money now put in account 102 and is about $600,000. Mr. Mundt asked for more information on #3 on slide 5. Are they not about out of Budget Stabilization Funds? Ms. Outlaw said we are running out of our ability to build up the one- time money. The money there is not being touched. Prior to the current County Administrator, there would be a big dollar amount in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) that was not designated for any purpose. It is now designated for Budget Stabilization, but the Board has the option to use it for a need. The FY2010 CAFR shows the Budget Stabilization Fund as $38 million. The recommended budget keeps that in place. $21 million of that will be used for FY2012. She compared it to a savings account that was used for paying the mortgage without replenishing it. Mr. Knaggs asked about a three-year outlook. Ms. Outlaw said it was part of Strategic Planning. Based on fund balance projections, at the end of FY2011 there would be about $50 million in fund balance money. At $21 million per year, that would give 2.3 years of fund balance money. There would be about $7 million for FY2014. Mr. Knaggs said that would assume the revenue and expense sides remain frozen. Ms. Outlaw agreed. The BOCC recommended budget for FY12 is $38,420,986. By comparison, it is about $7.2 million under the current operating budget of $45.6 million: Ms. Outlaw read the Statutorily Mandated Judicial Agencies and the Health Department sheet attached that lists their last year, requested and recommended budgets. Mr. Hensley asked how long they can continue to cut budgets before the agencies die. Ms. Outlaw said they can cut operations $21 million if that is the only strategy to close the gap. She doesn't think they can go any lower and maintain services. If you cut any further, you are going to take away the ability to operate. Ms. Outlaw read the Constitutional Officers budget comparisons (see attached). Mr. Hensley asked if they are funded because of statute. They are. Mr. Knaggs asked if the funds were in the budget. The Add. Support amounts are not in the requested amounts Citizens' Budget Committee June 30, 2011 Page 3 because the County must pay these charges. Mr. Hensley asked if they were unfunded. Ms. Outlaw answered that we do not receive funding. Mr. Mundt asked Ms. Outlaw if she anticipated any changes to personnel staffing levels. Ms. Outlaw answered that she is not recommending any layoffs for FY12. She won't know until after the following week's session. Mr. Knaggs asked about a list of recommended actions. It will be the next item and copies of the Executive Summary attached were distributed. Mr. Knaggs said it was hard to comment on the Constitutionals & Judicial Agencies without knowing the composition of the items. Mr. Hensley asked how Ms. Outlaw took $7 million out of the Board's budget. Ms. Outlaw answered that a large part is the 3% reduction of the Florida Retirement System (FRS) contribution, $1 million for maintenance, operating cost for Research and Education Park and reduction of $125,000 from Economic Development Council (EDC). Another big part is the $2.5 million reduction for inmate medical. There is also a $1 million reduction in health insurance. They were able to identify the big component that was causing the premiums to be so high. Mr. Knaggs summarized the reductions: 3% FRS is about a million, maintenance is a million, the inmate is 2.5 and the health is a million. Ms. Hill added that the other big one is $1.3 million for Criminal Justice. Ms. Outlaw added EDC and the Research Park to make $7 million. The personnel number, with the exception of the 3% FRS, does not change because there is no proposed reduction in positions for the County. Mr. Knaggs confirmed that salary freezes remain in effect and furloughs are not implemented. Mr. Knaggs asked about the $150 million capital budget at the beginning of Ms. Outlaw's presentation. Ms. Outlaw explained there were no new General Funded capital projects. There is capital funded out of special funds. Ms. Gouin added that you will always have impact fees. The funds being used cannot be used to help the General Fund. The Board will discuss the $7 million of projects that are funded by the General Fund during Strategic Planning. Mr. Mundt asked if specific areas had been targeted in the Sheriff's budget to be cut or if Ms. Outlaw was leaving it to the Sheriff. Ms. Outlaw answered that the statute does not allow the Board to line item fund the Sheriff's budget. The Sheriff has been gracious in discussions. She would prefer to line item his budget, but the Sheriff is not that gracious. They have broad discussions on impacts and she respects his position and believes he has been cooperative. The $59.2 million is her recommended budget. Mr. Knaggs asked if it is the only case where her recommended budget differs from what was requested. Ms. Outlaw agreed. Mr. Knaggs asked how much of the $61.2 million was the Jail. Ms. Outlaw does not know how it is divided. Mr. Long answered $26.8 million before the revenue from the Federal Inmate program. Ms. Outlaw moved on to the proposed sustainability program that would be presented to the Board. She gave the history of arriving at the $21 million. Ms. Outlaw stated the obvious, that it was with a great amount of trepidation and agony that she put together the plan to bring to the Board for a number of reasons, including the cuts to the County and Citizens' Budget Committee June 30, 2011 Page 4 other agencies. She knows the public sentiment about tax increases. Yet, it is her job to bring recommendations to the Board to help address the budget situation. Ms. Outlaw read the definition of trilemma from the first page of the Executive Summary. She gave the highlights of the report and used the libraries as an example of cuts. They are painful and will have a widespread impact. The millage increase would be even more if these cuts are not made. There are no good choices. It is not an option to continue to operate until we get to the point of not having a balanced budget and someone else coming in to make decisions for us. Mr. Pancoast is concerned about the FRS. There is a lawsuit to keep the 3% employee deduction from happening. Ms. Outlaw believes there are a couple lawsuits. If it is overturned, they would have to eliminate other items or fund on a fiscal year basis from fund balance. Mr. Knaggs asked about the $21 million. He thought we were good until 2014. Ms. Outlaw agreed we would be balanced in FY12, balanced in FY13 and have about $7.5 million for FY14. The Board has the option to not take action this year. Mr. Knaggs asked for an explanation of the $21 million. Ms. Outlaw explained that when we started there was a $57 million operating gap between revenue and expenditures but there was a huge amount of one-time money on account. The plan was to reduce the budget to balance revenues and expenses. If the recommended budget is approved, the $57 million will be reduced to $21 million. The plan proposes a method to close the $21 million gap. The important point is that at some time the gap has to be closed. Mr. Knaggs agreed. He asked if the first paragraph of the third component said if we don't do one or two, then we would go to three. So you are telling a taxpayer, first raise taxes, then we will cut quality of life if not. Ms. Outlaw said it could be interpreted that way. He thought she .needed all three. She said she does. Mr. Knaggs thinks she should remove that paragraph. Ms. Outlaw said it is all three in a sequence. The best of all worlds would be for the Board to adopt all three for FY12. We would be done and not have to come back and do this again. But, given we are balanced for FY12 and FY13, the Board has the ability to phase in the measures. If they did all the options in FY12, it would give revenue to build on account. They could deal with equipment and vehicle needs. She thinks she would be too optimistic to believe they would do all three. Mr. Knaggs believes one and three would be quick, although painful to do. How soon could two be accomplished? Ms. Outlaw said it could not be accomplished overnight. It is requested for FY13 because of the time needed to work with the Sheriff on a plan. FY12 would be the planning year, so it could be implemented in FY13. The tax increase is recommended for adoption in FY12. The detention/correction option could be implemented in FY13. In FY14, there would still be a gap, so they would look at the third option. But, if the other options were put in place, there should be additional fund balance money. Maybe values would come back and you would not get to that point. At least it would push it out one or two years. Mr. Knaggs said he would like to see two done so you could get an idea of what the magnitude of one and three need to be. Citizens' Budget Committee June 30, 2011 Page 5 Mr. Mundt asked for an explanation of the first paragraph of the third component. Ms. Outlaw said it is probably based on hope or wishful thinking. She hopes values are stabilized and will not drop further. Increased values would generate more revenue. If one and two are done, we could push out option three. Mr. Mundt summarized that she was looking at rising property values to offset one of the $7 million. Ms. Outlaw agreed. Ms. Ferrick asked about comparing millage rates from past years. Ms Outlaw said she believes in 1993 the millage rate was about 7.9, the highest she had identified in recent history. Ms. Outlaw said there were similarities with the unemployment rate, but the population has increased significantly. Ms. Gouin said that in 2003 the rate was 7.9 mills. Mr. Hammer asked if the 3% homestead increase was part of the calculations. Ms. Outlaw asked for an explanation. Mr. Knaggs said the number was from the Property Appraiser. Ms. Outlaw added that the Property Appraiser's office does the calculations before they give the County the value. Mr. Knaggs said we had a forecast last year from the Property Appraiser's office. Is there a new forecast? Ms. Outlaw said the 4.75% reduction in property values was given the day before for FY12. There is no forecast for FY13. Ms. Outlaw said Mr. Furst projected the drop for FY12 to be 5%, so the~r based everything on that. Mr. Pruitt did not give a projection. He waited for June 1 S for the preliminary number. Mr. Pruitt will not continue the practice of projecting. Ms. Outlaw said they would probably assume the values would be flat for FY13 and adjust if needed on June 1St. Mr. Knaggs asked the amount of the difference between 5% and 4.75%. Ms. Gouin answered about $200,000. Mr. Hammer gave his views on former and current home prices. He thinks it should be factored into the thinking going forward. Ms. Outlaw agreed.. At the staff level, they put together different scenarios. Without future forecasts, it is a challenge. Mr. Hensley said the third component is mostly a reduction in employees. There will still be an expense involved in maintaining. Ms. Outlaw said they backed out the maintenance and utility costs where possible. What is not reflected is the payout for employees that are let go. If laid off, you are eligible for two weeks pay for every year. We are not capable of putting together an early retirement program. She gave details from a prior year. The layoffs last year were about 1/3 of that. Mr. Hensley asked about other Counties. Ms. Outlaw said it varies. Some are better, some similar and some are worse. She gave some examples. The State is coming into take over the finances of the City of Lauderdale Lakes. The City of Hollywood declared financial urgency. Ms. Outlaw gets calls from City Managers and County Administrators. There are not a lot of options. You can do layoffs, furloughs, pay cuts, cut programs and cut services. We have done all but furloughs, which is still on the table. Mr. Hensley asked if any are considering tax increases. Ms. Outlaw said some within the State have. She knows that Port St. Lucie, Palm Beach County and others have. Mr. Hammer said there are two sides to the tax program, what you spend and what you Citizens' Budget Committee June 30, 2011 Page 6 bring in. He asked about the bed tax, gas tax and potential revenue. Ms. Outlaw said they have done analysis on facilities. It is a modest amount. The bed tax dropped because of the economy. It was not generating enough revenue to cover the expenses at the Stadium that were planned to be covered by the tax. That caused an increase in the Parks and Rec operating budget. The bed tax has had a 20% increase. The gas tax funds. the Transportation Trust Fund. that is used for Public Works and cannot be used for other purposes. Ms. Hill said there was a slight decrease. It is distributed by a formula and most of it goes to Port St. Lucie. Mr. Hammer asked about other revenue raisers. Ms. Outlaw is not recommending the boat ramp fee. She put together teams to study items for Strategic Planning. One is a Revenue Review Work Team. There are a number of proposals that will be presented to the Board. She believes there are two that would generate revenue, but not huge amounts. There is a balance of operating costs when imposing fees. Mr. Hammer thinks the Sheriff's reports of break-ins to vehicles at the beach locations would encourage privatizing a parking arrangement that would generate revenue without input costs. Ms. Outlaw said that is one that they are looking at. Mr. Knaggs gave his opinion on the order of the agenda for Strategic Planning. Ms. Outlaw explained the intent of the layout. Mr. Knaggs asked about the public hearing on tentative millage. There is a statute with a timeline. They hope to have the time scheduled by the Monday before. Mr. Culverhouse said it would be hard to solve problems without increasing millage and other revenues. He asked how close we are to financial urgencies mentioned about other locations. Ms. Outlaw explained the circumstances in two other locations. They are taking drastic measures. It puts the State on notice. Her strong hope is that we don't get into that situation. We can't put our heads in the sand. Mr. Hammer asked if there is a fee associated with the State taking over. Does it take away the decision making power from the local officials? Ms. Outlaw answered that it does take away the power and she does not know about a fee. She told how it worked in Miami Dade a few years ago. By State statute, you have to have a balanced budget. Mr. Mundt thanked Ms. Outlaw and staff for all the hard work done on the presentation. He does not see a doomsday scenario for St. Lucie County. Ms. Outlaw appreciated his comment. Sheriff Mascara commended Ms. Outlaw. He knows she has been working hard. He apologized for missing the last meeting. He helped with the presentation that his staff gave. He is concerned that there will be dire consequences if they are asked to meet the request of the County Administrator. They are approximately $2 million off and he hopes they can meet in the middle. He asked about the $21 million gap. Ms. Outlaw explained that this year there is a $34 million operating gap, but there is one-time money to cover that. With the reductions in the FY12 budget, it brings it to $21 million. There is one-time money to deal with FY12, FY13 and a portion of FY14. Ms. Hill added that when Ms. Citizens' Budget Committee June 30, 2011 Page 7 Outlaw says FY14 she means starting October 1, 2013. Sheriff Mascara said people think St. Lucie County is special because of the unique assets we have here. He thinks losing personnel in a manner described in the third component would make the County less attractive to people who live and visit here. Personally, as a tax payer the proposal of getting rid of 82 personnel does not sit well with him. If the Board approved the millage increase, that would generate $7 million this year, it would be $21 million in three years that would close the gap. Mr. Knaggs explained that the gap between revenue and expenses is $21 million this year. There will be another gap next year and the following. We are fortunate to have the savings there to kick the can down the road. Sheriff Mascara commented on the Second Plan Component. The $7.2 million suggested cut would be 27%. He does not believe it is possible, no matter who you hire. Ms. Outlaw appreciated him walking her through the process of going from Sheriff operated to other models. Part of her thinking is the other categories that fall under correction/detention services. The Board could look at reducing other areas. She has to rely on his expertise and them looking together. The Criminal Justice budget is $3 million. The maintenance side of Parks and Rec is $2 million. She is looking at all of it, not just the Jail. Mr. Hammer thinks we should promote that our educational system can match the skilled workforce. industry, that might want to locate here, would need. Ms. Outlaw is part of the team that meets with perspective agencies. Education is always priority in the discussion. Looking back at how the incentives were structured, one of the missed opportunities was requiring the new industries that we incentivized to hire locally. We now do that. On the topic of missed opportunities, Mr. Hammer continued that the best ambassadors for the County are the residents. Maybe we should work with the local media to educate the residents. Ms. Outlaw said a Commissioner made a similar recommendation. Staff is working on it. A billboard program was also mentioned. Mr. Knaggs asked how the Committee would respond if asked about the proposals. Mr. Knaggs asked about having a meeting of the Committee during Strategic Planning. Ms. Outlaw likes the idea of them meeting. She thinks they should be ~repared before Monday afternoon. It was decided to meet at lunch on Monday, July 11t . Ms. Outlaw said they would have a room available. OTHER ISSUES Ms. Outlaw thanked the Committee, staff and the Sheriff and his team for attending and their input. She encouraged everyone to continue to work cooperatively. She repeated Mr. Mundt's comment of being responsible to avoid our County being put in the situation of some other Counties. Mr. Hensley thanked staff, Ms. Outlaw and the Committee for faithful attendance. The Committee can make recommendations, but individuals can also call or email the Commissioners directly. ADJOURNMENT Citizens' Budget Committee June 30, 2011 Page 8 Mr. Hensley adjourned the meeting at 9:26 a.m. Respectfully submitted by: Brenda Marlin A special meeting will be held on Monday, July 11 at 12:15 p.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.