MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

July 28, 2009

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida met in regular session on July 28, 2009, at 9:02 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairman Chuck Nelson, Commissioners Robin Fisher, Trudie Infantini, Mary Bolin, and Andy Anderson, Interim County Manager Stockton Whitten, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

 

 

The Invocation was given by Eric Wright, Journey Church, Melbourne.

 

Commissioner Anderson led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

Commissioner Bolin read aloud a Resolution recognizing Eagle Scout Brandon Wesley Smith for his accomplishments as an Eagle Scout.

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commission Anderson, to adopt Resolution recognizing Eagle Scout Brandon Wesley Smith.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she would like to announce for Commissioner Anderson that his son was inducted into the Army yesterday, and she would like to give him a round of applause for having raised a son who wanted to serve the United States of America.

 

 

Chairman Nelson stated he attended the Fire Training Academy graduation last night for Class 125, they had 18 members who started and 18 who graduated; and that is a rarity because it is a tough, tough process.  He stated they actually train on Saturdays and Sundays starting at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday and finishing up at 6:00p.m. on Sunday, as well as going to classes two nights a week; they do that for a six month period; and it was quite a group and everyone is in good hands.  He stated he would like to thank Commander Bill Klein with the Academy because he does such a great job.

 

  

Chairman Nelson stated he would like to pull from the Consent Agenda, Item III.A.1., Escrow Agreement with United States of America and Suntrust Banks, Inc., Re:  South Reach Federal Shore Protection Project for discussion.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to execute Task Order 00-49 with S2L, Inc., Solid Waste’s continuing engineering consultant, for Supplemental Environmental Resource Permitting Phase Services for the US-192 Site.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to authorize County Finance to select a new paying agent for specific bond issues.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the Bills and Budget Changes.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

William M. DiMarzo stated the reason he is here today is because he is a World War II Disabled American Veteran (DAV) from 1944 to 1946; and he goes swimming at the Brevard County swimming pools in Palm Bay, not for recreational purposes but for physical therapy.  He stated this year the prices were raised and are now double what they use to be, which puts him out a little bit in the number of visits he wants to make; and he would like the Board to consider rolling back the prices of last year for DAV’s and Members of the Armed Forces; and this would be a small token of appreciation for the work and the horrific experiences that they go through.  He stated he goes to the V.A. Viera clinic over a dozen times a year and when calling a person will hear a different recording for Army suicides; last year 128 soldiers took their lives, up from 115 in 2007; with an increasing strain on the Army troops serving in repeated combat hours with the trauma of combat combined with affect of repeated tours has led to a record rise in suicides across the armed services, particularly in the Army, which carries the heaviest burden in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  He stated veterans thinks that they should be allowed to come in at last year the prices; it is well deserved, as many who come home become depressed and despondent; and he thinks that with some of the experiences they have gone through they might want to go out for a swim and get things off their mind.

 

Chairman Nelson directed Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, to provide a report to the Board on what the impacts would be of rolling back to pool prices for DAV’s and military personnel; and provide Mr. DiMarzo with a copy.

 

Jerry Brinegar stated he wants to address Code Enforcement abuse again; but he wants to come from a different way; this morning he wants to talk about how everybody gives pledges to the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and talks about One Nation Under God; if it really is One Nation Under God, then the rest of us should be under God, and he wants to read some of Gods word this morning.  He stated he does not know if he can get through it within three minutes or not, but has a timeline, and whenever God’s word is spoken everyone needs to listen.  He stated he appreciates Eric Wright giving the prayer about wisdom for God to give wisdom; the only wisdom comes from the Bible and this is the New Testament that comes from God and he wants to read aloud from First John, Chapters One and Four.  He stated he is hear to tell the Board that Code Enforcement abuse is not walking in the light and it is not obeying God’s commandments; he does not know what excuses people have by letting this go on; it may be the law but there were laws in place when “We the People” decided to make this Country; and it should be stopped.  He stated he does not know what is going on and some are working on it about how they allow one of these Code Enforcement people to stand with his hands on his hips and tell a 70 year old man to pick up that stuff off of his ground and put it in his truck because they do not want anything on the ground; that is wrong and it is walking in the darkness; and it makes him so mad because he hates it.  He stated if the Board could see the hurt that these individuals go through just as other speakers here today are going to tell you about; and the Board needs to stop it.

 

He read aloud a verse from the Bible.  He stated he does think it is God’s will for Code Enforcement to be destroying these individuals’ lives with the abuse, humiliation, and harassment.  He stated he has talked to mostly every one of them and it makes him sick and is sure it makes God sick; and he does not know what the Board is doing about this but it needs to straighten up because it is not his judgment it is Gods.

 

Joy From read aloud, “To Whom it May Concern, my profile, part of it, because I believe it is possible to determine a persons character or qualifications for employment of other engagements by simply reviewing an application or profile.  I thought it would save time for everyone if I presented some information about myself, that shows what kind of person I am.  We can all recommend ourselves; but the most creditable and accurate assessments are those of employers, or others who had long-term dealings with us.  I have records of my five and a half year with Excel Agent Services, which I meant to bring here; but it is in the car, in Rockledge from 1996 to 2002.  I have all my paystubs that show perfect attendance during that period, as well as numerous awards and recognition for excellent work ethics.  At the Excel they employed 1,300 people but that decreased over time to about 600 before I left there employ; when her father died unexpectedly.  All assessments were done remotely, no one knew who the ID numbers belonged to, so the surveys are without prejudice and I have a whole bundle, which I showed to Mr. Fisher of my awards, my perfect attendance, and so on.  My drivers’ license bares the safe driver designation and my auto insurance rates reflect this good record.  I truly believe that the law is for our protection and should be upheld and respected.  When I paid off a $10,000 balloon note with two credit cards in the late 1990’s, one of the credit companies doubled my interest rate to 28 percent; because they said “I was paying it off too fast”, so I called my credit union to see if they could help; they told me just stop by on my way from work to sign  the  papers  and  they  would  payoff the credit card and let me pay them instead.  They offered me loans regularly because of my good payment history, although I do not use credit for anything frivolous.  After the hurricanes in 2004 a friend needed help, so at that time I allowed the friend to use my available credit, to the tune of $12,000; and since then I have been making over half the payments to keep them current and I am holding security for only about 25 percent of it.  When my parents farm was destroyed by hail in 1960’s and they had to move to another area; I paid their mortgage for years to help; because I am the second, of ten children, so I have taken a lot of responsibility most of my life; and I was happy doing it, very happy; and I am so proud to tell my children what I did for my parents.  I never regretted it and I tell them if you want to get old with no regrets, do a decent thing for your family.  I insist on working enough to pay my own way; even though I am old enough to retire; because my motto is never be afraid to do more than your share.  Over the years I too have been in need on occasion and have learned how useful it can be to have a good solid reputation.  I make a point of manicuring my yard before holidays, so that none of my neighbors would be embarrassed to have out-of-town company.  I look out for everyone I can and watches for items they are in need of; because I am finished raising my children; and I am able to extent myself in behalf of others, who have a very full schedule.  I have been called the yellow-pages among other affectionate pet-names.  I think I have a good report with most people; and I am not aware of any enemies.  I truly believe in being a good neighbor at all times, which includes pet sitting, cats, dogs, birds, fish, lizards, and plants besides elderly persons and children.  If any of you Commissioners feel the need to meet with me in person for further discussion, I am very available.  I will call your office later to confirm.  Thank you being so kind to hear me out; and I hope this has been informative in a positive way.  Thank you very much and I hope you all have a good day”.

 

Lorrine Kadlec stated this is in regards to Code Enforcement harassment; she feels that Code Enforcement is trying to take her property because it is prime commercial property located on S.R. 46, one block west of U.S. 1; it is also a historic landmark; and it was built 100 years ago and is one the national historic places list as the Hotel Mims to be built as the towns; hotel and she is very proud to be able to be there.  She stated in her husband’s words, he feels like he is a bird in a cage and it seems like he cannot have anything he really likes displayed in the yard; and he likes to refurbish yard decorations, bird baths, statutes, and he loves flowers.  She stated her husband bought the commercial property from Mr. Shealy who owns Home furniture; when he looked at the home it reminded him of his beautiful grandma; it stood all alone with very little shrubbery and it looked naked; between the two of them, they asked folks for cuttings; and slowly they built up a beautiful garden that now they give cuttings and plants to folks that would like them.  She stated one of the complaints Code Enforcement has against them is that the property is overgrown; but it is not overgrown because nature is in their hearts; her husband cannot read or write, but God has blessed him with being mechanically handy; he use to commercial fish, scrap junk, and work in orange groves; and he is 73 years old and very ill, on oxygen, and has a very bad heart.  She stated Code Enforcement demands that the land be swept clean and nothing for her husband to work with such as a lawn mower, no pipes on the ground, and no outboard motors; and nothing can be on the ground.  Ms. Kadlec stated the Code Enforcement officer’s name was Steve; Code Enforcement wants the property to look sterile like nobody lives there; it is wrong and un-American, and Code Enforcement has crossed the line; and she has been forced to purchase a storage shed at a cost of $6,500 plus a delivery fee and the permit to put it on her land in Oak Hill.  She mentioned the attorney fees were approximately $1,400 and with everything added together, costs total approximately $10,000; and that is a lot of money for people living on social security.  She stated all the man-hours of work plus the financial hardship has put a real hardship on them; and they want the harassment to stop.   Mr. Kadlec stated he buys an old lawnmower to fix it up  to make a couple of dollars off of it; everyone knows what boat trailers are; the springs rot off, an axel will break, and a lot of people put it on a curb or put it on Swap-Shop; and if he has $10 or $15 he will buy it and fix it up.  He stated he has two or three trailers on his land right now; he saved the money to buy a spring, but Code Enforcement wants him to get rid of it all for iron and junk; but he stated he cannot do that; and he would like to be left alone.  He stated he grew up in Brevard County since 1947, and he fished; he could not go to school because he had to raise himself; if someone put a motor in front of him in pieces, he will put it together, which is Gods gift; and if it was not for that he would not be here.  He stated he has never asked for welfare; he gets Supplemental Security Income (SSI), and his wife gets a disability check, and that is what their income is.  He stated they are right on the edge and almost begging for mercy; he does not want to die being a bum; he wants to work; he sits down and works on motors and wants everyone to know that, and he does not need this harassment.  

 

Chairman Nelson inquired if Commissioner Fisher would be so kind as to work with the Kadlec’s to see what the issues are; the Board is at a bit of a disadvantage and does not know the specifics of the circumstances; but Commissioner Fisher will work with them to see if there can be some resolution that works.  Mr. Kadlec stated when he moved to Mims, the house was a beautiful white ghost with nothing around it; they put in shrubbery and they brought the town back to life; he loves old cars and there is a garage in the back; and he made the garage look like the 1930’s with finding an old broken gas and oil pumps and dressed it up; and everybody would come there and take pictures and were so pleased with his place.  Ms. Kadlec stated they had an artist paint a mural on the garage door of an 1940 pick-up truck pulling out and it looks real.  Mr. Kadlec stated he would love for every Commissioner to come to his home and take a picture of it; and stated when he first bought it, it brought life to Mims in 2001.  Chairman Nelson stated Commissioner Fisher see what he can do and find out.                 

 

Sara Ann Conkling expressed appreciation to the Board for its hard work; and she knows how hard it is working for individuals that need help from County government.  She stated this morning, the Board is about to make the biggest budgetary decision of the year, which is to set the millage rate; virtually every budgetary decision made will subsequently fall out of this decision; and she wants to applaud the efforts to try to get the budget balanced.  She mentioned Commissioner Scarborough used to joke that whenever she showed up it was because she loves to pay taxes, which is partly true; she is proud to pay her taxes in the community because she thinks Brevard County is an awesome community; and she thinks the Commissioners are symbolic of it.  She mentioned the Board is basically going to have two competing ideas going on today with huge pressure to keep taxes stable; to not roll forward the millage, to not raise enough tax money to prevent sever cuts, and public and human services.  She stated she wants the Board to think about the other side of the coin, which is the kind of community that needs to be maintained; Brevard County needs to be different and be the kind of community were people look and say, even when it hurts, even when individuals have to pay a little more, and even when sacrifices are made that everyone in Brevard County is taken care.  She stated when looking at the budget, millages, and proposed cuts, she is asking the Board to please think about the people in the community who are going to need those services that are on the chopping block; she can personally say that for herself and a silent majority versus a noisy minority that does not like paying taxes; she believes there is a silent majority when faced with the human needs of neighbors whether they are disabled, needing public transportation, County aide, library services, and all the things for which utilization goes up in an economic down-time; and they all are willing to pay a little more, and it would behoove the Board to consider that when  it  comes  time  to  make  that millage decision.  She stated it is going to be tempting, and she knows how wonderful it is to be able to hold taxes stable and she appreciates the Board’s effort to do that; but the far greater issue is how will the community be preserving values in taking care of each other; and especially taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves.  She stated she wants to thank the Board in advance, and she truly believes as the Board approaches this budget and all the people who need the Boards help in the County, that its love and care will be directed in the way serves all.

 

Ernest Brown, Natural Resources Management Director, stated what is before the Board today is one step in a large process to deal with the management of Brevard County’s beaches; as most of the Board members know, the Beach Management Program in Brevard County has been acknowledged as probably the best Beach Management Program in the entire State of Florida; as a result of that, beach management is taken very seriously with focuses on an economic, ecological, and recreational restoration approach to that.  He advised with this particular aspect of it is a 50-year Federal Shore Protection Project that has three components to it; the South Reach is about 3.8 miles that includes Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, and portions of the unincorporated area of Spessard Holland Way.  He stated this particular step in the process is to create an escrow account that all of the monies the State and Federal cost share; the local cost share in this particular project is about $3.5 million out of the Tourist  Development  Commission  (TDC)  Beach Improvement Fund that will be put into escrow; the Corps of Engineers will initiate the process and go out to bid to re-nourish that 3.8 miles in Indialantic, Melbourne Beach, and the unincorporated portions in Spessard Holland Way; and this is another step in the process that re-nourishes those beaches, which all of Board Members know is a primary draw for tourism and the stability of that district of Indialantic and Melbourne Beach.

 

Chairman Nelson inquired what will be the next step.  Mr. Brown responded if everything goes smoothly and all of the bureaucratic steps are in place, there should be an actual dredging project pumping sand from off-shore onto the beaches; and that project will begin in the November timeframe and run through April 2010.  Chairman Nelson inquired if that timing is based on sea turtle nesting season.  Mr. Brown advised the sea turtle nesting timeframe allows construction after November 1 through April; and after that the turtle nesting closure periods begin.  Chairman Nelson inquired how the beach is currently; he knows there was some damage a little bit earlier in the year; and inquired if the project will be stable at this point.  Mr. Brown advised there have been a number of Dune Restoration Projects that have occurred over the past couple of years that have not focused on the full re-nourishment of restoring the beaches back to the pre-existing Federal Shore Protection Projects in this area; since 2004 dune projects have been done almost every year to stabilize the dunes, to protect homes, and to maintain a minimum beach width protection measure; and so this particular project will be re-nourished between seven to nine years.  He stated in 2000 County staff worked with the Army Corps of Engineers and actually revised the template for Brevard County’s beaches; it has actually allowed Brevard to prolong the stability of the beaches; there have been far less sand lost than other communities as a result of how staff has worked with the Federal entities to recreate a beach template that is more stable; and therein lies the benefit to the economy through tourism, the protection of private and public infrastructures, as well as a very sound ecological approach towards Brevard County’s natural systems.

 

Chairman Nelson inquired as far as structures, is there any in danger on the South Beach at this point, or is the work done around them to stabilize.  Mr. Brown responded this particular project is South Reach; then there is the South Beach, which is going all the way down to Sebastian Inlet; there are some properties there that were in jeopardy; that is what resulted in allowing the County to work with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to get the Dune Restoration Projects completed; and currently they are doing quite well and that project is doing its job.  He mentioned there are about 40 miles of beaches that are currently under management for the ecological aspect of the County’s beaches.  Chairman Nelson stated thanks for the update; he thought it was important because this is a huge undertaking of the Board and important from the perspective of tourism; as well as protecting Brevard County’s citizen’s structures; and he appreciates the update very much. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to execute Escrow Agreement with the United States of America and Sun Trust Bank, Inc. for construction of the South Reach Federal Shore Protection Project.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously. 

 

 

 

Chairman Nelson called for the public hearing to consider a resolution vacating Public Utility and Drainage Easements on LaHavre Court in Colony Park Subdivision, as petitioned by Steven Gregory Walters.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve vacating Public Utility and Drainage Easements in Colony Park Subdivision for Steven Gregory Walters.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.           

  

Tad Calkins, Planning & Development Department, stated the Commissioners may remember back on February 5, 2009 there was action taken on the escrow agreement for Waters Mark Plantation; at that time the Board gave the developer 45 days to come back with a new Performance Bond; a Performance Bond was done to make up the difference from the escrow; and at the time the Board gave the developer 120 days to finish the project.  He stated the Bond being released today is for the difference and it is not the original escrow money; there will be an Agenda Item brought before the Board’s next scheduled meeting for discussion; and all of the work associated with the Bond has been completed.

 

Chairman Nelson stated it is his understanding all of the issues related to the Donaldson’s have been taken care of, such as their driveway and waterline; and with those issues being resolved, he appreciates the Boards help because it was not going well, but it has been turned around and has came a long way.

Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to adopt Resolution releasing the Contract dated March, 30, 2009 with Mark W. Brandel, Inc. for Waters Mark Plantation.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve Legislative Intent and permission to advertise a public hearing to consider adoption of an Amendment to Chapter 62, Article VIII, Division 2, entitled Landscaping, Land Clearing, and Tree Protection.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the Brevard County FY 2009-2010 HOME Consortium Consolidation Action Plan and Brevard County’s FY 2009-2010 Annual Action Plan; execute the required certifications and SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance Forms for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Programs; authorize the County Manager or designee to execute the CDBG and HOME Grant Agreements and the Disbursement Agreements with the four HOME Consortium member cities (Titusville, Cocoa, Melbourne, and Palm Bay) upon approval from HUD, and sign Contractual Agreements for projects identified in the Action Plan after approval from Risk Management and the County Attorney’s Office; and authorize Facilities Construction, Parks and Recreation Department, and Public Works Department as construction managers to use competitive bids, state contracts, or sole sources to secure contractors to carryout the proposed projects.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

Chairman Nelson advised Deborah Miller is not present.  

 

Gregg Eddie stated she has no idea who Deborah Miller is, but since she wanted to speak on the topic of the Animal Services she is going to take the advantage of the Board letting her speak.  She stated as the Board knows she has been present here numerous times and has been round and round; she has been attending the Animal Welfare Working Group (AWWG) Meetings and does not see a whole lot being accomplished; and she is getting worn down, but she is going to stick in until the end.  She stated she guesses the decision is not going to be made on a new Director until there is someone in the County Manager position; she would like to stress strongly that whoever is chosen for the position be an animal person, someone who has background in working with animals and cares, not just a politician or a businessman; and it is important to the people at the shelter, but more importantly to the animals in the shelter.  She stated the Board cannot just have someone come in who does not know anything about animals or even know their breed; the current Interim Animal Shelter Director Bobby Bowen is putting things on Petfinder that do not match; cats are listed under dogs; a black dog is listed as a white pit bull; they do not even know how to specify breeds, let alone evaluate a dog, and those things are important to get the whole thing under control and get it ran properly.  She stated the Board is losing people over at the shelter; they are very short staffed; the Board knows she has been fighting some of the people at the shelter; but there are some good people over there that need the help; and it cannot be dragged out much longer because decisions really need to be made and something needs to be done about it.

PERMISSION TO FILE A “FRIEND OF THE COURT” BRIEF, RE:  STOP THE BEACH
     RENOURISHMENT, INC. V. FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
     PROTECTION, ET AL, SUPREME COURT CASE NO. 08-1151______________________

Scott Knox, County Attorney, stated as Ernest Brown, Natural Resources Director, discussed earlier, about Beach Renourishment Program in Brevard County is pretty timely; and given the fact that the case in now pending before the United States Supreme Court, Brian Rogers, Intern of University of Central Florida would like to make a short presentation to the Board about the issue.

 

Mr. Rogers stated as the Board knows, the Supreme Court has decided to review a case that was recently decided by the Florida Supreme Court, Walton County v. Stop The Beach Renourishment, Inc.; and it seems a group of beachfront property owners in Walton County are claiming that Florida’s Beach and Shore Preservation Act (FBSPA) has taken their property rights, specifically the right to excretion and the right to direct contact with the water.  He stated the FBSPA permits Counties in the State to restore the beaches after a hurricane or some other disastrous event; and in Florida he would assume it would always be a hurricane where there has been a sudden erosion of the beaches.  He stated as it has been discussed already today that this is clearly important to Brevard County considering the importance of the beach to the community, as well as the owners of beachfront properties whose houses face paril if the County is no longer willing or able to renourish the beach after a storm.  He stated the beachfront property owners in the Walton County case are claiming it is a taking and that they are due just compensation; he is asking for permission today to file a “Friend of the Court” Brief, so that the Supreme Court can understand Brevard County’s perspective, although it is along the Atlantic Ocean and not on the Gulf of Mexico; and of course Brevard County has the longest shoreline in Florida.  He advised there are some affects of a negative ruling that Brevard should be aware of if renourishment is going to acquire substantial compensation to beachfront property owners for the taking; a lot of Governments might opt not to do it, which means the beaches will likely often be destroyed; there will be a reduction in tourism, ecological damage, such as reduction of sea turtle habitat; and of course, houses might start falling into the ocean.  He stated Brevard County is placed in sort of a bind; the County has an Agreement with the United States Army to do renourishment projects for the next 50 years; the Army itself is contractually obligated to some property owners in the North Reach to perform that same renourishment; if Brevard County decides not to continue to do the renourishment, it could face action by the Federal Government from the Army or beachfront property owners as third-party beneficiaries, or the County can continue to possibly participate in the renourishment and have to possibly pay millions of dollars in compensation for the taking of those properties; and stated again, he is asking for permission, and maybe some guidance, to file a Brief with the Supreme Court to let the justices know of the unique perspective.

 

Chairman Nelson stated it would be really tragic to lose the ability to manage Brevard County beaches, and that is the potential if this is not responded to favorably, so he thinks there is a large stake in this issue; there should always at least be the possibility that Brevard County can participate in beach nourishment; and he does not want to see it taken away.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she concurs with Chairman Nelson and she thinks it is vital to Brevard County to be out in front the issue.

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to approve permission to file a “Friend of the Court” brief in Stop the Beach Renourishment, Inc. v. Florida Department of Environmental Protection, et al.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated for the record that she is employed by Florida Institute of Technology as an Instructor; and as such she will need to abstain from the vote.

 

Chairman Nelson stated he would like to inquire if Scott Knox, County Attorney can tell if it is an abstention or conflict of interest.  Attorney Knox responded Commissioner Infantini has to abstain because of her employer is going to get special benefit out of the vote. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to approve for purposes of Section 147(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, tax-exempt financing by the Brevard County Educational Facilities Authority for campus-wide energy conservation and efficiency improvements for the University.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.  Commissioner Infantini abstained vote. 

 

 

 

Chairman Nelson stated there is a time certain at 11:00 a.m. and the setting of the tentative millage, which he believes will be one hour’s worth of discussion; he would not want to get in the middle of that and have to break and take the next item; and he suggested the Board take a break until the 11:00 a.m. time certain, and then pick up at that point.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she feels comfortable with that decision because she knows of some people from the community who will be present at 11:00 a.m.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she feels comfortable that the Board should be able to address the item in a short period of time; and does not need a whole lot of thought process on it; she sees a several individuals in the audience, whether they are staff or not, that are here for the specific topic; to postpone it for an extra hour because of a time certain seems not a good use of her time, personally; and she would prefer to go as far as possible on the Agenda.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he thought most of the discussion was done in the Workshops; he does not need a lot of discussion on the millages; and thinks the Board can be finished before the 11:00 a.m. time certain.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he asked County staff members Steve Burdett, Finance Director, and Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, to provide the Board with some information; and knows their presentations will take several minutes, besides the Board’s conversation, so he is not sure if it could be finished in the one hour timeframe.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated it is nice to have staff make presentations, but he knows how he is voting already and he is not going to change his mind because he is not the swing vote on the millage item; he is not moving to roll forward at all, period-end; and he does not care what is presented.  He stated there have been windfall revenues in the County for many years; he will leave it at that for awhile, so if the Board wants to postpone until 11:00 a.m. and have staff present and tie up staff to try and get another vote, that is fine because he is not changing his mind; and he believes that Commissioner Infantini will not change her mind either.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she will not be changing her vote; she thought that was why there has been all of the budget meetings and presentations from staff, which has done an excellent job explaining where the Board stands; Mr. Whitten has done an excellent job putting together what he has put together; and she is very comfortable with making her vote right now and does not need more presentations as this point to make a decision.  She stated she will not be raising the millage rates, and thus increasing taxes; and regardless if it is called a roll forward or a rollback, it is still increasing taxes.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the Board has listened to maybe 25 percent of the agencies; and he hardly thinks that is the County’s entire staff.

 

Commissioner Fisher mentioned there are 15 or so departments; and inquired how many more to hear from.  Mr. Whitten responded he thinks there are about 16 that the Board did not hear from.  Commissioner Fisher stated maybe the use of the hour could be to listen to some of the other departments; and that would make some sense to him of what was heard the other day.  He stated maybe he received a mixed message, but if the budget is taken exactly as it is presented, then the Board does not have the ability to handle First Responder; the Sheriff’s Department and Public Safety is important to all of the Board members; there was a number for funding the step-raises with Public Safety; he was of led to believe that was $700,000; and when that was analyzed he found out it is about $1.4 million.   He stated Road and Bridge indicated that more would be needed to shore them up a little bit more; and he is not sure how those other departments will be funded that the Board kind of led them to believe that it would help them, unless that is just a misconception on his part.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated that is fine, but he is not going to change his vote.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if the Sheriff’s Step increases will be funded or not.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated like he has said before, he was not comfortable on the $1.5 million funding for the Economic Development Commission (EDC); he has made his position clear and is pretty steady on where he is with core functions, such as police, fire, and some parks; that is what has been mandated by his constituents; and that is where he is moving.

 

Commissioner Fisher responded they are being funded, but it is just a matter of how. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated it is obvious that she is the swing vote; her personal feeling is she is willing to donate an hour of her time so that everyone would be able to have a lively conversation, and anyone who wants to come up and speak is allowed to come up and speak; she would prefer to wait so that the discussion can take place with no time restraints for all to speak before a final decision is made; and she will not say which way she is going to vote as she wants to hear what everybody has to say.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated all the Board is doing today is setting the millage; it is not setting in stone the budget that was presented to the Board by Mr. Whitten; he did an excellent job, but she has done an extensive amount of research with the assistance of her staff and others; and she feels comfortable that she has millions of dollars that can be shifted from one location to another in the budget.  She stated she is only setting the millage, she is not saying specifically which dollar is going where; millages will be set today, so it is all good and well with lively conversation; and she will sit and listen, but in the end she is not going to increase the millage rate because that is what she has told taxpayers that she will not do at a time when they are losing their jobs.  Chairman Nelson inquired if she would share that list of savings that may impact how everyone votes.  Commissioner Infantini responded she will when the time is right; but she just wants to get the millage set.  Chairman Nelson stated Commissioner Infantini does not want to tell the public or the Board; if the Board is going to be transparent it should be discussed; and if she has a list he would love to see it right now.  Commissioner Infantini stated no, she is not sharing it right now.  Chairman Nelson stated she is withholding that from the Board then.  Commissioner Infantini responded yes, if Chairman Nelson wants to word it that way, she is withholding it; but she is just not sharing right now. 

 

Jim Rosasco stated he is here to ask the Board to not raise the millage rate; the direction given to staff in the Spring was no increase in tax rates, “stick to your guns, talk the talk, and walk the walk” this is shortly after the beating that Commissioners Colon and Voltz took because the taxpayers were fed up with the spending that is going on; there is a budget that can be worked with, set the millage rate and do not raise the taxes.  He stated to sit here and try to pin Commissioner Infantini about a list is just a cheap shot by Chairman Nelson, the budget is not going to be talked about right now; talk is to be about setting the millage rate.

 

Chairman Nelson stated what Commissioner Infantini said was that she had a list of potential monies that could be moved around; that could potentially change his mind on where he would like to go on a variety of issues; for her to withhold that, he thinks it is a cheap shot; if transparency needs to be talked about in government, those issues need to be talked about; and he thinks there are three Commissioners that are willing to talk about it and listen to what the citizens have to say and what other Commissioners have to say.  Mr. Rosasco sated that is fine, but he does not think it is fair to pin Commissioner Infantini down right now and tell her to give up all the research she has done; this is not the time for that; the Board is setting the millage today people are really fed up; it has been nine months since the Board heard what those individuals were saying; and the November 10^th elections are not that far away.  He stated the Board always blames previous Commissions; it is always somebody else’s problem; and it is time for the Board to step up and take care of the taxpayers.  Commissioner Nelson stated he has done that, and has done nothing but cut the budget since he has been in office; and he was not here for any boom, so if there was a boom he did not hear it.  He advised the Board has had to  deal  with  those  issues, and it has yet to see a list of all of those unwise spending areas that previous Boards had spent; and all Commissioner Nelson knows is the Board has cut over 200 positions over the last two years, reduced the budget significantly, and is going to end up doing the same this year.  He stated the question is what services will be lost: he has a duty to explain to his citizens what they are not going to get as a result of the decision based on an action that two Commissioners would like to take; today he is going to pay just as much as he paid last year but will have less services for it; and inquired how he is supposed to explain to his citizens that he did not save them a dime and he cut their services.  Mr. Rosasco responded it is happening to everybody; inquired why should the County government be different than anybody else; any homeowners or businesses are all going through tough times; to sit there and say that the government is not having to suffer like everyone else is wrong; to keep the flat the same taxes from the year before the Board will have to live within its means like everybody else; and to sit there and ask where a Commissioner wants to chop some stuff, he thinks comes from committees giving recommendations of where to chop some things.  He stated the Commissioners are the ones that were elected to make these decisions; but it always throws it back on staff or other people; and the Board needs to step up to the plate and do the right thing.  Chairman Nelson inquired if Mr. Rosasco is a member of the Citizens Budget Review Committee.  Mr. Rosasco responded correct, but he is not here today in that capacity.  Chairman Nelson stated the Board has seen six recommendations form the Citizens Budget Review Committee, none of which had cost savings associated with them.  Mr. Rosasco stated there were recommendations that could be looked at and be recognized for what costs savings the Board would like to make out of them.  Mr. Rosasco stated he does not want to take up everybody’s time making this argument; he is just asking the Board to not raise the millage rate; that was the direction given to staff in the Spring and that is the direction of the proposed budget; apparently Commissioner Infantini has been looking at some things to move around; and that is what the workshops are for.  He stated today is to set the millage rate with whatever term the Board wants to use, such as roll forward or rollback; and if the Board does not go for the same one used last year, it knows it will be raising the rates at the end of the day.

 

Chairman Nelson mentioned in his District he had significant flooding in two portions of his community, and Mr. Rosasco is saying that he should do nothing for those folks.  Mr. Rosasco stated he is not saying that at all; but he is saying to find it in the budget to do that.  Commissioner Infantini stated Chairman Nelson is putting words into Mr. Rosasco’s mouth; and Chairman Nelson is not here to badger the people that come before the Board, and he did not badger any of the other folks who came before the Board.  Chairman Nelson stated he has the floor.  Commissioner Infantini stated Chairman Nelson is being disrespectful.  Chairman Nelson advised no he is not; this is an honest discussion and it is a very good discussion; and that is what the Board does.  Mr. Rosasco stated he is not offended at all.  Chairman Nelson stated in his circumstance, with the reduction of the Road and Bridge Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU), he will not be able to take care of the drainage issues that he has on Merritt Island and in the West Cocoa area, so what he has to do is tell those folks who went underwater last year that he still has no help for them; and for him that is a difficult decision, but it is what has to be looked at.  Mr. Rosasco stated he is not saying that at all; the Board has decisions to make, which is why the Commissioners were elected, to make the tough decisions; he is not telling Chairman Nelson to not fix somebody’s drainage; he is telling him to live within means; if someplace else has to be chopped then he has to chop someplace else; he does not know that every Department is the same; and he is just a citizen trying to be involved.  He stated the Board has all of the information; it should decide on the cuts and not ask a citizen to decide what the Board should make as the priorities; if it has to take care of the drainage issues, then take care of it;  but live with the means as everyone else has to.   Chairman Nelson stated in the end, Commissioners are all responsible to the constituents, and will deal with that; and if that means that he believes that on Merritt Island and West Cocoa it is necessary to increase the Road and Bridge millage to fix some of those drainage problems he will stand by that because he has to be responsible to them.  Mr. Rosasco stated the Board can take a little bit off of the Parks area or maybe another area; he does not care how the Board gets there, he just does not want his taxes raised; but he is not telling the Board how to do it.  Chairman Nelson stated he appreciates Mr. Rosasco’s position and understands his concerns. 

 

The Board recessed at 10:14 a.m. and reconvened at 11:04 a.m.

 

Thomas Gaume stated Commissioner Bolin contacted him and mentioned that she was getting ready to bring this to light; he knew previously there were some discussions with Commissioner Anderson; and he had been a part of the Buy Local Preference when it was passed in Palm Bay.  He stated local preference is a great thing because it keeps money in the local economy; some people will be in opposition; but the thing to consider is that if the Board awards a $1 million contract, that money stays in the local economy and then it goes back to the local workforce to regenerate those funds back into the County’s tax base, so it is good for the County even if it does cost a little more initially; and in the long run the effects of not doing having local preference are devastating with the workforce being lost because they move to other places in order to find work with because companies are going out-of-business.  He stated in these difficult times resolutions such as local preference are important; it also speaks to the community that there is support for each other; and he would greatly appreciate the Board’s full support of this resolution.

 

Peri Campbell stated she represents Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), which is an association that represents local Brevard County commercial construction contractors, sub-contractors, and their vendors; as a group they are opposed to local preferencing, although they believe that the Board’s heart is in the right place; and over time, local preferencing could actually hurt local contractors.  She stated there are many contractors who call Brevard County home and surrounding counties, which she understands have adopted similar local preferences; and it could hurt the local contractors’ abilities to find work outside the County in the event there is not enough County work to go around.  She stated potential contractors’ and residents’ jobs could be lost should these companies seek to establish their business in other counties that have more work, such as Orange County.  She mentioned historically, when a contract is awarded to an out-of-area contractor, generally they use local sub-contractors and vendors for their projects; she remembers when the Government Center was built by Brown and Root, a Texas company; nearly all sub-contractors were local; and having local preferencing could potentially lead to unfair labor practices.  She noted if a local contractor is required to have a least 50 percent Brevard County residents as employees, the potential is there to hire only Brevard County residents, which sounds good in theory; but a vast majority of residents work in other counties; and it could have the reverse effect by driving people to move out of Brevard to take up residence in counties in which there is more work.  She stated ABC is all for promoting and buying from local companies; and everyone needs to be supported at all times, not just when the economy is bad.  She mentioned she just recently lost her own business to local businesses buying from lowest prices instead of from buying local; she and her husband owned their  company  for  17  years  and  found  themselves  unable  to  compete  with  large  national companies; the Board would think that Ms. Campbell would be on the opposite side of the argument; however, what businesses need right now in order to survive is less government intervention, regulation, and government red-tape; the country was built on free-enterprise and healthy competition; and the motto should always be Buy American and let the best, lowest, and responsible bidder win.

 

Melissa Stains from the Cocoa Beach Area Chamber of Commerce stated they already have a local preference for their service areas and have signed Agreements with their local cities; and it has proved to be very beneficial to the businesses.  She stated she is in strong support of local preference; everyone needs to buy Brevard and stay in Brevard to ensure that workers have a reason to be here; and they need to know that there is a good reason to be in Brevard because they are going to take care of their own.  Ms. Stains mentioned that they are in a situation now of good or bad economy; everyone should be out buying local; but a bad economy forces people to come together more; when there is a poor situation in a family, everyone comes together tighter; and she believe the County should come together tighter to help the citizens and businesses to ensure that the most is being done for the people who live, work, go to school, and supports the County through taxes.  She stated she is in full support of local preference; she thinks it will be beneficial in present time and in the long run for Brevard; she may live in Cocoa Beach, but her County is where her heart is; she respectfully requested the Board’s vote.

 

Annette Armstrong stated she is lifetime resident of Brevard County and loves it very much and she never wants to leave.  She stated she has sat on the Board of Directors for Home Builders and Contractors Association (HBCA) for the past six years and she is currently serving as the second Vice-President for the Associates for the Builders.  She stated as well as her involvement with HBCA she is a small business owner currently and has for the past year actively bid on Brevard County Contracts; she is actually up for an award for one and she is very excited about that; and it was a proposal, not a bid, but it is just something a little different to throw out there.  She stated she has had first-hand experience of the bidding process and the award process; and she too has lost contracts to the out-of-town businesses that did not have local presence, which bus their employees in, buy or rent houses, shop, buy equipment, gas, food out of the County.  She mentioned local preference is not a guarantee for locals to get the work; but it is a very small advantage to show the support with the Commissioners and the County showing support to local business; and she thinks that is important.  She stated by looking at what is currently awarded, which has been done in the HBCA meetings, it is a very small percentage that would have went the other way if this local preference would have came through; and by that mirror number of the very small percent would have made a big difference to have such a local preference because it just shows the support that the government and local government is showing some kind of loyalty to their own.  She stated she is asking for the Boards support on the resolution and she thinks it would be in the best interest for small business owners.

 

Milo Zonka stated he is not representing the City of Palm Bay today; he is a business owner, a member of the Palm Bay Chambers, and the Kitchen Cabinet, on which Commissioner Bolin has asked him to serve.  He stated the City of Palm Bay has passed a local preference as the Board has heard; and Cocoa Beach and Titusville, along with a couple of other cities, are also considering local preference.  He stated in the Kitchen Cabinet meeting was there was a contractor there who talked about some of the rationale as to why he had never supported local preference  in  the  past;  but in the business environment he was seeing other communities and counties putting buy local provisions in place; he viewed that action as a defense mechanism against what some other counties are doing, which is acting far more severely than what Brevard County is proposing; and it was a unique perspective that he has not heard of before, but given the environment it is extremely valid.  He mentioned local preference only applies up to the budgeted amount; so if the Board wants to assist local businesses, they cannot be assisted in the form of a subsidy, but they can be assisted up to the budget amount, which he thinks is critical to the same way as Palm Bay’s Resolution; and it did not cost the City a single penny more than doing typical business.  Mr. Zonka explained the Chambers and the Economic Development Commission (EDC) can be extremely helpful to the Board in the process because the Board is leading in local preference; and it starts to send the message to everybody else to buy local and the benefits of buying local.  He stated business to business, consumer to business, is what the value of buying in a local shop is versus going online to Amazon.com and hitting click and send; if that is done, that dollar is gone for ever; if it is spent in a local shop with a local business then that dollar will rotate around just a little bit more; but the more that, the dollar rotates around in the community the better off Brevard will be in economy.  He stated he would certainly encourage the Board to take the measure and move forward with it; it has been designed with great care for the taxpayer and an initiative of the desire to lead the community towards an understanding of the benefits of what local preference is all about; there are all sorts of circumstances under which the Board can operate under terms it would prefer to use; and it can waive it for the particular needs of a certain contract.  He stated he believes it sends a message and indicates the desire to lead the business community, and it does it at a time when that leadership is necessary; it may not be something that is on the books in any government two, three or five years from now, but what everyone is seeing in other governments around the State and Country is certainly the Buy American first and foremost initiative that is being seen in local bits and pieces because everyone understands they are all Americans; but the bread is buttered right here in Brevard County and the various cities in Brevard while supporting the local businesses in the County and State through this process without impairing the taxpayer and the right to free trade and enterprise in government.

 

Christine Michaels, Melbourne and Palm Bay Chambers of Commerce, stated she was also a member of the group that deliberated at length about the local preference resolution; and she urges the Board to vote in favor of it.  She stated its impact on local business will be huge; that is not just in the quantity of businesses that would be affected but the positive impact to those few even will be immense; and will not only boost the business, but maybe save a business.  She stated the local workers will be spending their money locally; they will be paying their mortgages and will be contributing to the local tax base.  She mentioned the resolution format allows the Board to implement the Program, test it, tweak it as needed, and to continually be able to evaluate it as to how it performs.  She mentioned it really provides a no-risk way to test this type of Program; her Chambers are doing their best to encourage businesses to buy from one another and get the residents to shop locally; and she encourages the Board to send the same message and adopt the resolution.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated with all of those fine speakers she does not believe she cannot say anything more eloquent than what has already been said; the Board has considered the resolution very carefully and has looked at all of the angles; and she believes the resolution brought forward is going to be the best for the citizens and the businesses of Brevard County, so she strongly supports local preference and hopes the Board will pass the resolution. She stated at one point it was mentioned that the Board be able to look at it at anytime; it is anticipated  that the Kitchen Cabinet group would like to have a six-month report to see what the results are going to be; it will be monitored very carefully; and she would like to petition the votes of the Commissioners to assist in helping the businesses in Brevard.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the only thing he would like to comment is a situation where other counties throughout the State are passing Brevard; he believes what needs to be done in the end are penalties; some counties actually already have assessed local preference, but Brevard has not done that.  He mentioned Brevard was playing fair by working with the Legislators to find out how it can come to a common ground with all of the counties, so it is fair for all Floridians; he wants to support the resolution right now because he thinks it is in his best interest to look after his constituents, which are Brevard County businesses; but with that said, he received a letter from ABC, who is a local business, that has concerns and if that has not been placed in the record he would like to do so now.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he appreciates Commissioner Bolin taking the lead and for putting her cabinet together.  He stated he is for local preference, but he has to admit that when he first started looking at it he was kind of under the impression that if two contractors bid and one was from out of the area and one was in the area, with both having the same quality with scope of work, that if the contract were within five percent the local business would get it; and he did not realize until the resolution was written up that the taxpayer could pay up to five percent more with the local business.  He mentioned it was a bit concerning to him that the local businesses should be pretty competitive too, in the process and he was wondering if there was a friendly amendment to the resolution and if it could be discussed; but if he gets to bid against a guy in Orlando and is within five percent of his price that they will go back for final and best offer versus taxpayers automatically paying five percent more.

 

Commissioner Bolin mentioned the five percent was discussed in great depth and it is understood that the rationale also is with a sliding scale; she does not want to say that every amount of money was five percent; and when it is one-half million dollars there is a difference.  She stated in doing the research it was found in some of the very large projects there are no companies in Brevard that can do that certain type of service also, so the majority of them were in the more service level and the lower pricing level; that is why she wanted to do the five percent scale; and she does understand what Commissioner Fisher is saying.  She stated the money though is going to come back to the Board because it will keep the Brevard County people employed and they are going to stay in Brevard County and pay taxes.  She stated the County will reap the reward of that money on the back side versus if they do not have any outreach to help these companies because then they could run into problems. 

 

Deputy County Attorney, Shannon Wilson, stated there were several other points made during the discussion; and one being the feeling is that it will generate more interest in local companies because they will realize that they are within a certain range and will be sharpening their pencils and becoming more competitive where sometimes they just kind of hang-it-up.  She mentioned the other aspect of the resolution is written such that the Board can waive it on any particular project were it does not believe that it would be appropriate to risk the expenditure of a great deal for significant more funds.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if the local business was in the five percent could it be said to the local contractor if they match the other out-of-areas price there local business could get it.  Ms. Wilson responded there are some counties and cities that have done it, and to her knowledge it has not been sanctioned by any court, but there are counties and cities that are doing it; and going forward with that.  Commissioner Fisher mentioned  his overall goal was to one, get a quality project; two, hopefully the local guy does it; and three, that there does not have to be anymore taxpayers to pay to get the local guy to do it; that they would be competitive; and the Board would give them opportunities to at least match the number or win it outright.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she understands and agrees with the concept; the problem is with local companies sometimes the County is going to have much smaller companies and as a result the Board does not have a way to defer the overhead cost that a large company coming from Orlando might have because they are so large and they can defray the overhead cost and send it to another project; and Brevard does not have that and she thinks even if somebody is asked to come down five percent their overhead will be cut so much that it is gong to make such an inefficient use of their resources.  She stated she thinks it is a good idea, but conceptionally she does not think it will work.

 

Chairman Nelson stated one of the observations that he had was when Palm Bay, for instance, has a person in Melbourne, they are not considered local; and so even within the County there is a creation of tiering the system.  He mentioned Cocoa had done that and they went back and actually amended theirs to say local preference included County, and that was based on a conversation, which is if a person is in Rockledge and is bidding in Cocoa, suddenly the person cannot be treated the same; and he is seeing this happen in the community and does not know how the Board is going to deal with that because there is a large part of his constituents that is unincorporated that even with their own County it is considered from somewhere else.  He stated he has a concern with that and that is what is going to be seen throughout the region as these things evolve more and more, where businesses are being treated in that type of fashion.  He stated it feels good to the extent that he would love to be able to do this; but he thinks in its implementation he has a concern that the payback will be on some of the businesses that are larger than go out of the community that work in other locations; and that is where they are going to be hurt.  He stated he buys local and rarely leaves Merritt Island for anything other than to go to Cocoa or Cocoa Beach to shop, because he has his businesses that are local for him; and stated he is really struggling with this one, and he just does not know what would be accomplished if it is adopted.  He stated he might be able to accept the leveling of the playing field to bring those numbers up; and he has just ran a number for bid on a community center in South County for Rodes Park that was about $2.4 million and there was potential for a $40,000 difference; and that is a lot of money, and he is struggling with that.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she feels very strongly that the Board needs to reach out and help the businesses in Brevard County as much as possible; the resolution is one way of doing it; the Board will be watching this, and after six months if it is seen that it is not doing the job that needs to be done then it will be tweaked; and she just does not see how the Board can afford not to.  She stated going through the last 46 months of everything that Brevard County purchased there were companies who were within these percentage rates; they could have gotten the business if this was in place; and she feels with the situation now and the economy the way it is in Brevard County, the Board needs to do everything possible.   She stated it needed to be tried, it might need to be tweaked, and she is not saying it is perfect; but it is the best that could be done with the group; and the membership of the group was quite a mixed group consisting of the Chambers, private businesses, economic development, consultants, and people who are also involved with cities; they have looked at the resolutions/ordinances done by other counties and cities so this was not done “in the heat of the night”; and in fact, she stated she got chastised a couple of times because it was moving kind of slow because they wanted to be so thorough.   Commissioner Bolin  stated the resolution is the best that could be done at this point-in-time for businesses of Brevard County; and she stresses that the Board should move forward with it.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if the 40 companies looked at were for goods and services or construction projects; because with goods and services, he does not seem to have as much heartburn as he does with the construction side of it.  Mr. Stultz responded the bids and awards that were looked at encompassed all of the most recent awards consisting of construction, professional, and commodities services.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if he could get an example of a construction project that was looked at.  Mr. Stultz responded with the Rodes Park and the Pineda Extension.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if anybody locally bid on the Rodes Park.  Mr. Stultz responded yes, on both of those projects.  Commissioner Fisher inquired what contractor got the job.  Mr. Stultz advised both of those were awarded out of County.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if the local contractor was within five percent.  Mr. Stultz responded he believes on Rodes Park it was right within five percent, about four point something; and with the Pineda Extension it exceeded ten percent.  Commissioner Fisher mentioned his way of thinking is with that example if the one bid that was at four point something they would have had the opportunity, if the resolution was how he would like to see it, that bidder would have had the opportunity to come back to the table because they were local; the two bidders could come back with a final and best number, with the only reason being back at the table is because they were lower; and at times lower is not always the best deal either.  He stated that is what his idea is and then that way the taxpayers are getting the most bang for their buck.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated if Commissioner Fisher is referring to a large contract like Rodes Park or Pineda Extension it is not five percent, it is a scale down to two percent.

 

Ms. Wilson stated specifically, in dealing with Rodes Park, the awarded bid was $4,636,000 and the closed local bid $4,844,485 with a difference of about $209,000, so it is a percentage point difference of 4.5 percent. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated because of the amount of the Contract it would be a two percent.  Ms. Wilson mentioned it would have to be within two percent.  Commissioner Bolin stated if there is no further discussion she would like to move the item.

 

Chairman Nelson inquired instead of waiting six months, could there be a running total, and also for the business community, where the issues of what the concerns he and Commissioner Fisher have from where there may be some push-back from other communities; and he would like to know when that happens and what those numbers are instead of trying to do it in six months just keep a running total because he wants to know real time, so the Board could stop doing something that may be causing problems.  Commissioner Fisher stated with the spirit of negotiation, cooperating, it seems to be very important to Commissioner Bolin, and he will be in support of it.  Chairman Nelson inquired if Peri Campbell and Jan Conrad would please let the Board know if they are seeing any push-back from other communities; he really does have a problem with how Palm Bay treats everybody outside of Palm Bay; he may have been looking at Milo Zonka, but he was saying it generically; and inquired he if the playing field could be leveled, that all of the communities ought to treat Brevard as Brevard instead of localizing it to that extent.  Mr. Zonka responded that is a great point and he thanked Chairman Nelson for giving him the chance to respond, because one thing that was not covered in this document and has not  been  gotten  to  in  Palm  Bay  and  Palm  Bay is reciprocity; that is where he thinks that as these documents continue to evolve; and they can actually be used as open markets and level the playing field.  He mentioned he would love to go to Orange County, for example, and say they have local preference and so does Brevard County; if they would include Brevard in their local preference policies as tier so Brevard’s companies are treated like Orange County companies; Brevard will extend the same to Orange County automatically reciprocating; that is where to start and everyone wants that level playing field with that being the whole point of this too; and that is where reciprocity can play a role.  He feels the first thing to do, as Commissioner Anderson pointed out, is to not go in and do it with a penalty and the reciprocity is something that can be used to open doors for a longer standing policy.  Chairman Nelson stated Mr. Zonka is right; and the irony is that if the Board had done nothing, there would have been accomplished reciprocity.  Mr. Zonka stated that is correct, and this is kind of in response to the EDC; he does not think that anybody here is a huge fan of EDC; if everyone could have been there the day that the first guy that came up with it everyone would beat him with a stick; but that is the environment that is operated today.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated what she wants to say along the lines of Palm Bay and Cocoa Beach, if they remove their restrictions for Brevard County, and she is giving benefits to the residents of Cocoa Beach and Palm Bay, but then that same time is not being respectable to her unincorporated areas; so before she would approve a resolution like this she would want those communities that have these restrictions in place to remove Brevard County and place them on the same playing field as residents of Cocoa Beach, Palm Bay, or whatever municipalities.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to make a motion to amend it; that is her suggestion before she would go forward and approve something like this that Brevard County is included so it would be a contingency; and she would second the motion to approve provided that those municipalities that have excluded unincorporated Brevard County, removed their restrictions from unincorporated Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated at this point in time she does not feel comfortable telling any of the cities what to do with their own resolution; she is just working diligently for the businesses of Brevard County; and the municipalities shall do what they shall do.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he thinks that if the resolution passes today he knows that he and Deputy Mayor Zonka have a good working relationship; he knows that he and Commissioner Infantini have a good working relationship with West Melbourne, and could do it on their own; and he thinks they should along with Commissioner Fisher and Chairman Nelson.                                                                   

 

Commissioner Infantini stated like Chairman Nelson said, the Board can come back and revisit this if it is not working, so if it can be approved on a roll forward to get with the municipalities, and if they are not willing to work with Brevard, then at that time it could be revisited.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if Jan, Peri, and ABC, can there be something in writing if there is an issue instead of just calling to make sure; and inquired if a letter format could be used, please.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated on her motion to approve she does want to make one adjustment to reflect  the information  request that  Chairman Nelson had requested to change the report-back date, instead of six months, to be a running total that could be inquired at any time; and inquired if that information is possible.

 

Mr. Stultz responded yes, that information will have to be maintained on an on-going basis anyway to accumulate it for a six month report; and he does not think that would be a problem.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated that the report back should state that the information will be available on-going.

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to adopt Resolution for Local Preference of goods and services by Brevard County Government; and direct staff to report back to the Board the affects of the Local Preference Resolution on an ongoing basis.  Motion ordered and carried unanimously.

 

Commissioner Bolin expressed appreciation to everyone involved for putting in the hours.

 

 

PUBLIC HEARING, RE:  ADOPTION OF TENTATIVE FY 2009-2010 AD VALOREM
     MILLAGES                                                                                                                                   

Chairman Nelson called for the public hearing to consider adopting tentative FY 2009-2010 AD Valorem Millages.

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, stated he is going to briefly walk the Board through the presentation; a lot of it has been heard before, and he thinks the main focus today would be to talk to the Board and highlight fund balances; he knows that was an issue that was raised at the last budget workshop; and hopefully he can provide some clarity to that issue.  He stated he thinks Steve Burdett, Finance Director, will be supplementing with his own presentation parts of the report; but for the audience members at home, he has a PowerPoint presentation.  He stated the current budget is indeed $1.184 billion, and the proposed budget is $1.084 billion; and that represents a decrease of $100.5 million, which is also a percentage decrease of 8.49 percent.  Mr. Whitten stated the purpose of today’s meeting is to approve the millages; stated he has focused primarily on Aggregate Operating Tax Rate; the rate proposed is 5.4752, which is .06 percent above the current rate of 5.4720; and that is 13.92 percent below the roll forward or the rollback rate of 6.36.  He mentioned just to highlight for the Board again the number of the parameters that were used to balance the budget, it is by no means all of them, but he just wants to highlight those ones that actually will have primarily an impact on what he will call the structure, or the stability, of the budget going forward.  He stated there is elimination of virtually all vacant positions; there are no Cost of Living Raises (COLA), merit, or Step Plan in the budget proposal; there is elimination of employer paid Short-Term Income Protection Plan (STIPP); there will be program expense reductions and cost shifts within health insurance and other benefit programs; and a reconsideration of raising the Court Facilities fee to again to assist the Board in meeting the State Court System funding obligations.  He advised there are revenues that are anticipated from the sale of the West Melbourne Health and Rehabilitation Center, a portion of Risk Catastrophic Reserves that were transferred to General Government Reserves, and a portion of General Government Reserves that were utilized for operating expenditures; there is a portion of STIPP Reserves that were used for operating expenditures; and continued use of Fund Balances for operational expenditures.  He mentioned he really wants  to  focus  the  discussion  on  that;  Brevard  County  has a long history of using balances forward; revenues are actually a savings to actually balance the budget; it is a balanced budget proposal and without these revenues it would actually be very difficult, if not impossible, to balance the proposal without some additional severe cuts.  He stated for the 2009-2010 budget the fund balance was $28.6 million, which is down approximately $7 million from last year’s fund balance total; the County is able to establish a reserve of $16.9 million but all need to utilize $11.6 million of those reserves to balance the budget, which represents 40 percent of the fund balances used to actually balance this budget; stated he would like to point out that is not the largest percentage that has ever been used; and the history can be shown by going back to FY2000, so the issue continues to be raised with regards to fund balances and it can be seen that this is a budget that is historically and proposed to be balanced with the use of those dollars.  He stated the County is able to do that because statutorily only 95 percent of the revenues can be budgeted, so that gives a built in savings and as the revenues shrink, obviously those savings begin to shrink; also, as the vacancies are eliminated there will not be the built in savings going forward; the dollars are achieved through savings through/from operating expenditures; and in some cases where revenues planned or unplanned actually exceed expenditures.  He stated the effect going forward is those fund balances are shrinking over time and in the current fiscal year the general government, or general countywide, property tax was $141 million; the fund balance was $35 million; and other major revenues $43 million; for the budget proposal at the millage rates that are proposed that general countywide tax shrinks to $224 million; the fund balances are reduced by $7 million; and the other major revenues are fairly stable.  He stated some scenarios have been ran and some will recall that Commissioner Fisher requested for some scenarios be ran and will give the assumptions that those are based on if FY2011 is looked at, assuming that the taxable values are going to continue to decrease by the same percentage that they decreased this year; then there would be an additional $14 to $16 million lost; the assumption is also that there will be approximately half of new construction revenues next year that have been received this year; and the fund balances will continue to decrease.  He stated Steve Burdett, Finance Director, will speak about the ability to pay the bills; there have been a couple of fiscal years where actually needing and required the County to borrow dollars from other agencies or enterprises or special revenue funds; and so the pictures of going forward into fiscal year 2012 is that hopefully the economy is back and those tax receipts are stabilized; but because the dollars have shrunk again, the fund balance figures continue to decrease.

Mr. Whitten stated with regards to decreasing revenues and the Boards emphasis on core functions, currently this is a combination of the tax revenues and those other major revenue sources that Public Safety, being defined as the Sheriff, Detention Center, EMS, and Lifeguards, make up approximately half of that total; as the revenues begin to shrink they begin to approach all the way in FY2012, 65 percent of that total as the dollars shrink; public safety remains a primary goal or consideration of the Board ; and there is less within the budget to cut if the Board is not going to reduce public safety by some proportional percentage.  He stated the use and shrinkage of fund balances are not as big of an issue when there are a lower percentage of the operating revenues; and it can be seen as they have increased in terms of the percentage to that they are of the operating revenue; it does cause a problem when the Boards fund balances shrink; and in essence, there will be less dollars that are saved to go towards balancing the budget for the next fiscal year.

 

 

Steve Burdett, Finance Director, stated the schedule hand-out for the Board was provided by Finance  pulling  numbers  from  the first version of the budget as it is balanced; what Finance is emphasizing is the General Operating Fund is really what the creditors and other agencies allow the Board to finance; and that is the Operating Fund that is looked at and it measures what the County’s policies are as far bringing in adequate revenues to fund the levels of services that they wish to appropriate for, and so that is the emphasis of the schedule.  He stated the top is the expenditures beginning with compensation going all the way through capital outlay as far as the transfers; in the first column are the main General Funds; that is where the Countywide property taxes are coming in and also received the half-cent sales tax that the State Revenue is sharing; and those are the main general revenues that are coming into the County.  He stated the second column represents the entire General Operating Fund, which is only on the Board side, as he is not including the effects of the results of the other officers; but he is including what is appropriate to them, so if the second column is emphasized what his schedule shows based on the budget that is in there right now; it is his understanding the budget does not include any factoring of transferring costs of health insurance and effects of any potential furloughs; and this is strictly from what has been presented so far.  He stated what is going to happen, assuming the County spends what they budget for, is that at the end of the year there will be an operating deficit of $21 million based on this schedule and that is half of the fund balance, which is what the County has right now; and if the Board is asking Departments to cut personnel and look at more efficient ways of funding their offices, then the surplus that the Board may have had at one point is not going to be there as much as it has in the past; so logic tells him that if 85 percent was spent in past years then they are going to start going up in spending to 90 percent of their budgets; and the higher they go the less there will be on the expenditure side.  He mentioned the Board will be faced with what is happening to their revenues; he knows the television news says maybe the recession is ending; but he will feel more comfortable when he sees three successive months of level sales tax being distributed from the State of Florida; and that is when he will start feeling better, but he has not seen that as of yet.  He is stated assuming that whatever the Board is allowing departments to budget for it is allowing the departments to spend it; and that is his concern if the departments are allowed to spend at this level and the County spends down half its fund balance, that gives the Board one year left to where it will not have any money left at the end of that year, which will be 2011, so the revenue side has to be dealt with or cutting on the expenditure side.

 

Mr. Whitten stated he is not suggesting the Board is going to save the same amount of dollars it has traditionally saved; quite the contrary, the presentation sets off the alarm that the Board is going to have to look at this on the revenue side, on the expenditure side, or perhaps both; he and Mr. Burdett are kindred spirits with regards to that topic; and the Board will not be able to save as much as traditionally saved.  He stated as a matter of fact, he is suggesting that the days where there were actual savings to budget toward expenses for the next fiscal year are potentially gone into this fiscal year, and certainly the next fiscal year if the revenues from taxes continue to shrink.

 

Mr. Burdett stated he has five years on a graph that starts with 2006 that shows the General Funds fund balance at about $45 million; in 2007 the maroon column results of that years increased the fund balance; in 2008 there was a slight deficit in the General Operating Fund; going on to 2009, right now, the projections are that the Board’s General Fund will spend about $7 or $8 million more than what is being brought in revenues; and that is what brings the fund balance down to just over $40 million; and the next column is strictly based on what the budget is for 2010 right now; and if the deficit is spent and the revenue is coming in as what was projected, the  spending  will  be  about the same amount of what the fund balance will be at the end of that year.  He stated that was part of what his point was when getting into 2011; and that is if the same pattern is continued there will not be anything left at the end of 2011.

 

Chairman Nelson stated one thing that is a bit troubling is the budget that has been presented has some significant cuts in it and now there is talk about not letting the Departments spend the budget that the Board has asked them to; he does not know how to provide the service at that point in time, which is a cut that is greater than what was even discussed; and they will not be able to use the dollars to perform the services that the Board thinks they are going to provide.

 

Mr. Whitten stated he did not say that there are no hiring freezes that the Board can have because there are vacancies, and they are not to be filling positions because they have no positions to fill, so he assuming that the County will go forward and provide the services based on the disposition of expenditures that is approved by the Board; again, the caution is that they are repeatedly beaten up on fund balances; and fund balances have been a large part of how the Board has balanced the budget from year to year.

 

Chairman Nelson stated if the Board were to implement some kind of artificial constraint within the existing budgets; now it has actually been restricted more; and it is a greater cut just to protect the fund balances.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he asked Mr. Burdett and Mr. Whitten to help him understand the history and how what is done today will effect of the next couple of years; what he realizes is in two years the County will be broke; that is not a comfortable situation for him; and wants to talk a little bit about some things heard here with business owners.  He mentioned he is a business owner and he employees people and it is the main thing that he does for income; he can invest in ten different companies, whether as a share-holder, or an owner; and he understands running a business, making adjustments, living within means, and expenses; but also that part of the responsibility of a business owner.  He stated he has heard people talk about the County and that it needs to be viable for the next ten to 30 years and not just doing things to operate on an annual basis.  Commissioner Fisher stated it is important to make sure that he has a good understanding of the financial implications over the next couple years; that is why he asked for Mr. Burdett and Mr. Whitten’s presentations; but each one of those different companies have goals, missions, incomes, and expenses; fortunately, at times there is a drive for more revenue and also the need to lower expenses, but that is part of being a business.  He stated when people talk about a taxpayer he understands what a taxpayer is; he looked at those different businesses and different partnerships, and his tax bill was $67,000 last year; so he has a real understanding that he does not want to pay any more taxes; he understands what it means and what has happened over the last couple of years; and the interesting thing is he went and looked at his home bill taxes over a ten year period and his actual real estate taxes are within $30 of each other for the last ten years; that is not a huge increase, but he is also the guy who is in business and the company is talking about pulling out of the marketplace; he is going to be affected pretty drastically; and he understands the ups and downs of that kind of stuff.  He stated when talking about the County and services provided, he has not figured out, when he looks in that budget book, what is not viable versus core services; stated Road and Bridge, Parks and Recreation, Solid Waste, and Public Safety are core services; and there has to be funding for Constitutional Offices, so he really does not see a lot of things that the Board can say they are not going to do.  He stated there is Natural Resources and Permitting with growth and  business  that  all  has  to  be  funded;  then  in  his  situation,  his  District has 100 miles of unpaved roads, but he has heard Commissioners talk about building a new parkway; and from a personal standpoint he will be darned if he is going to pave a new parkway when he cannot pave 100 miles of his own roads in his District.  He stated if there are no core funding of things available today, then he is going to be anti-funding anything else in the future, including the parkway; and he wants Commissioners Nelson and Anderson to understand that his position is that there are certain things that need to be done and handled; and if the Board is not going to handle business and position itself to make sure that the County is not out-of-business in two years, then the spending is definitely going to stop.  He stated what he would really like to see in this Commission today is not a day to determine a decision to determine a budget; but what the Board will fund or not fund; it does have to set a millage rate and he thinks it would be very important to set the millage rate at a level that is acceptable; and then come back down as the budget is tightened up; but to set a millage rate that is going to lock the County in, knowing that the Board cannot fund the things that are on the table today, is irresponsible of the Commission.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he does not think of it as irresponsible; for instance, he did an analysis in his office because he has a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) and was a business manager for several years, so he knows fund balances; and he will give a short example with two mills that will fall off next year that could be thrown into the aggregate.  He stated Mark Twain said “there is statistics in the analyzed”; that is such an accurate statement; throughout life he has stood by it and it has been pretty true; and he does not think the County is going to go broke.  He stated the other thing on the Parkway, he does not think that Commissioner Infantini is going to go that way and Commissioner Bolin either; with $20 million set aside he thinks that telling 50,000 people that they are not going to get a road at all, which is a health and safety road as an evacuation route for a high school, is very responsible.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated his constituents want paved roads.  Commissioner Anderson responded that is fine; but at least they get roads.  Commissioner Fisher stated no, they do not, they have dirt roads.  Commissioner Anderson stated when the brush fires happened those people almost died on those roads.   He stated at least Commissioner Fisher has roads.

Commissioner Fisher responded Commissioner Anderson has roads too.  Commissioner Anderson stated if Commissioner Fisher wants to vote against that, that is fine and he will just start voting against some of the things in other Districts if everyone is trying to be parochial; he was trying not to be parochial; he bases his decisions based on principle; that is how he has led his life since he joined the United States Army at age 17; and he is damned if he is going to change now.  Commissioner Fisher responded that is good and he is for principles too.  He stated there are two County financial officers telling the Board that the County is going to go broke; and maybe he is exaggerating, but he thinks Mr. Burdett is being pretty honest with the Board.  Commissioner Anderson stated he does not believe the County is going to go broke; and again, it goes back to philosophy about what is wanted and what is needed are two different things.  He stated Commissioner Fisher thinks parks are important and he is not necessarily of that mindset; everyone is different and it does not mean everyone is wrong that is just what he believes in life; and at this time he will not vote for any millage increases.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she will also not vote for any millage increases and she understands exactly what Mr. Burdett pointed out; and she appreciates what he did by showing the Board that if the spending pattern is continued there will not be any money left in the savings account; what the County has is a spending problem; even when she starts dipping into her savings account at home to pay her reoccurring expenses such as an electric bill, then it is time to change the thermostat; there is a spending problem not a revenue problem; and the County needs to quit spending so much and stop dipping into savings.  She mentioned today, the Board is here to set the millage rate; she will not raise the millage rate and put herself a cushion so that she can possibly charge her taxpayers more tax dollars next year; regardless if they are going to receive less services, she is okay with that because the County has overspent in the past and did not save like they should have in prior Commissions; that is not her fault; her job now is to correct the mistakes made by prior Commissions, so she is here to help correct the spending and she has used her Certified Public Accountant (CPA) license out there all the time when she was running for office; she said she would use that to help correct the spending problem; she plans to do that and she does not plan to dip into the savings account to the tune currently expected to; and she just wants to set the millage rate and not go higher.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if he could get a clarification of what spending; and inquired is the County not spending $11.6 million this year in savings.  Commissioner Infantini responded, the way it is established in the budget that was presented, the County is; but the Board is just setting the millage rate today and is not saying where to spend those dollars and where to get those dollars; the Board is just saying the maximum amount the Board is going to charge the taxpayers “X” amount of dollars; and two Commissioners have stated they will not charge them to a higher rate regardless of what it is called and how it gets publicized.  Commissioner Fisher stated he wants to make sure he understands; and inquired what will be taken out of reserves.  Mr. Whitten responded with the dollars that were saved or projected to be saved from last year the Board is going to appropriate $11.6 of the $28.6 million; and that is on the chart on page six of the presentation.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if the County would need to cut additional $11 million on expenses if the Board did not take balance forward.  Mr. Whitten responded yes.  Commissioner Fisher stated he thinks that the ones that want to stay at the same millage rate, the Board needs to do that; if the loss is taken to keep the millage rate the same, there has to be another $11 million cut somewhere else; and that is how he understands it.  Chairman Nelson inquired if Mr. Whitten would like to follow up on anything.  Mr. Whitten responded he would like to say he does not think that anything has been exposed; the chart is there and it can be seen that with going back to 2002 that the County has always used a portion of its savings for reoccurring expenses; and actually, there are two fiscal years where the County was able to put away some dollars from the reoccurring revenues.  He stated he does not feel like he has been exposed or has done anything that puts the County in an awkward position; and the whole point of this matter is those fund balances are shrinking, and in the next year or two there will be a real issue with regards to the Boards ability to balance the budget and utilizing those savings because they are not going to be there. 

 

Chairman Nelson stated he wants to make a point on the question of being parochial; he does not think it is being parochial; in 2007 when he was elected, the Board of County Commissioners looked at how to fund roads; one of the roads that was going to be funded is the St. John’s Heritage Parkway; and he, as a Commissioner, gave up, without being parochial, some dollars that were used from Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT) to maintain roads in his District as well as in the other Districts.  He mentioned that was a decision made to give up those dollars that helped maintain and build roads through each of the Commission Districts to focus in some of those areas where the roads were needed; now the Board is taking away the replacement dollars because the County Commission put General Fund into those areas and now is taking that General Fund away.  He inquired what he should go back and tell his constituents; is it that because he was not being parochial he voted on the decision to build a road in Palm Bay but is not going to be able to maintain the roads in his District; that is what is happening to him; and so he was not being parochial, he was just being the opposite.  He noted out of $200 million, District 2 got $10 million; he was okay with that because he understands the need for that, but he also had a Board that put dollars in there for maintenance from a different source; and that is how the Board constructed that operation.  Chairman Nelson stated Commissioner Infantini says the Board has a spending problem; if that is a spending problem then the Board can get rid of all the money that was put into LOGT, bring it back into operating dollars, and just call it even; the budget will get down under $1 billion because that $200 million will go away; he has heard discussion about giving it back; he will be the first to say that it is absurd; but it is not about being parochial, it is, about looking District by District with what the needs are.  He stated in Commissioner Fishers District there is an Interlocal Agreement with the City of Titusville to provide recreation services; the Board is going to significantly cut those; philosophically, he is not saying that it is right or wrong, it is just not a high priority for Commissioner Anderson; but the difference in Palm Bay is they have their own recreation department, so the Board just made a decision for the City of Titusville about how to provide recreation services; and he is uncomfortable with that because he really thinks that the Board has tried in certain parts of the County to cut costs, do it more efficiently, and now will be penalized because they, as a City, made the mistake of dealing with the County.  He stated the Board really needs to step back and say okay, what are the cause and effects, which is the District by District importance’s, and can everyone as a group work together to get there.  He stated in his District, recreation is important and roads are a different issue; he works with Department of Transportation (DOT) and they mess with the Board; but at least it is a different organization doing it; the Board is not doing it to the County, it is the State doing it to the County; and Commissioner Anderson needs to help the Board with the things that are important in an area-by-area basis because Commissioner Anderson’s vote counts just as much to his citizens as Commissioner Fisher’s does.  He mentioned that on Saturday morning he is going to be at Mitchell Ellington Park with the opening of the Merritt Island Youth Football Program; and there is going to be 500 kids, 1,000 adults, and parents who believe it is important;  and  he  cannot  go  out  there  and  tell  them  that  as a Board, it decided it is not.

 

Chairman Nelson stated one of the things that he looked at in terms of cause and effect is the big picture for the constituents; he has benefited dramatically over the years from Save-Our-Homes and all the different State changes that have been made; his taxes have gone and literally it has flat-lined for the last 15 years; his neighbors who have been there just as long are the same way and have benefited from that; and now the first thing that has been fair about the tax system in the State of Florida is about to occur, which is that those who were charged more, such as the businesses and the people who bought during the 2004 and up time frame, their values are going to come down; therefore, their taxes are going to come down; and it is not changing, his market value is coming down, but his assessed values have not changed.  He stated he looked at just going to a five percent above rollback; it would cost him less than $20 for that five percent flexibility to decide on a case-by-case basis what is important to the communities; for $20, businesses are still going to save because they have came down so dramatically in those areas; residents who bought in 2004 and up are going to save; but those who have benefited, and actually artificially so, for such a long period of time will pay slightly more  just  to  get  to  that five percent; he does not know if that is unreasonable, but it gives him the ability to deal with those drainage issues, which are important in his neighborhood; it gives Commissioner Fisher the ability to deal with the road issues that he has; and it does not get the Board into a fight of whether or not the Parkway should be built.  He stated this is a community that is greater than any of the individual Districts and the Board has to look within each of those communities to figure out a way to make it work for all; to lock up on a number before the Board has even heard the ramifications of the budget in its entirety; he thinks it is cutting the citizens out of the public comment and they are not going to have an opportunity to say what they find acceptable or unacceptable because he does not think they really know what is in here; the Board is struggling to understand what is in the package and knows what the bottom line number is by only talking with 25 percent of the Departments; and some are not even agreed on.  He stated he was talking with Chief Rocque last night at the ceremony; First Responders to him is just as important as the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) system and as the ambulances themselves because it is an extension of that; if the Board provided that service, and had a consolidated Fire Department, it would still be paying for it, and in effect contracting with cities who provide that service; it is important to them and he thinks that there is a benefit; that is his position and he realized there are other positions; but those are the kinds of discussions because it is not currently funded.  He stated the Economic Development Commission (EDC) has stated their position has not locked into that final number; the Board is getting ready to paint itself into a corner, and that is what he is uncomfortable with; and it may end up being no increase at some point; but it would have been a legitimate discussion because when somebody comes before the Board, and the decision is already made, where does the person go.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated say she has been working on the budget and putting a lot of thought into it by talking with a lot of people to try and make the right decision; she wants to go back to when she was first elected when the Board did some cutting; it also did roll forward; and it seems like there was always things that got added in.  She stated she is concerned about the citizens in District 4; she has a lot of people teetering now; it might be a quarter, a dollar, ten dollars, or a couple thousand; she has done a lot of case studies of residential and business to see what this is going to do for them or against them; last year the Board did a roll forward and before the vote was inked to the paper that money was spent; and she did not agree with that because she voted against the budget last year because she wanted to put that money into reserves, but it was spent.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated that was a lesson learned for her, and in looking at everything and giving it a great deal of consideration, she has made the decision for the benefit of the people in District 4 that she is not going to roll forward; and she will keep the millage rate as is.

 

Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to keep the rate at the rate it was set last year.

 

 

Chairman Nelson inquired what that rate is.  Mr. Whitten responded that rate is 5.4720; but what is before the Board is 5.4752, with the difference of about $1.17 million.  He stated if the Board is going back to the 5.4720, staff will take that out of the General Countywide; the only millage under the aggregate operating that has gone up is the Law Enforcement Municipal Services Taxing  Unit  (MSTU);  and  he  is  assuming  with  that  motion  the  Board is approving the Law Enforcement MSTU at that percentage increase, and would want to take the $100 or $ 117 million from the General Countywide.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated that is correct.

 

Chairman Nelson suggested doing a vote on a millage-by-millage basis because there are some millages that he wants to be on record that he voted on in a particular way.  Commissioner Infantini stated there is a motion on the floor and a second; and it is her right that she can call for the vote.  Chairman Nelson responded she certainly can call for the vote, but he is going to ask the seconder to withdraw to allow the Board to vote on an individual basis, because he thinks that he would like to be on the record on particular millages in his District; and as a Commissioner for that District he should have that right.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if that will be done without a discussion and just go though it; and he will amend it if that is okay with Commissioner Infantini.  Commissioner Infantini responded affirmatively. 

 

            General Revenue - Countywide

           

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised the General Revenue Countywide current millage is 3.7193; and that proposed millage will stay the same.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve General Revenue Countywide millage at 3.7193.  Motion carried and ordered; Chairman Nelson voted nay.

 

 

            Library District

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised the Library District’s current millage is .44221; and that proposed millage will stay the same.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Library District millage at .44221.  Motion carried and ordered; Chairman Nelson and Commissioner Fisher voted nay.

 

 

            Mosquito Control

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised the Mosquito Control District’s current millage is .1827; and that proposed millage has been reduced to .1589.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the Mosquito Control District millage at .1589.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

            Fire Control MSTU

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised the Fire Control MSTU current millage is .6187; and that proposed millage will stay the same.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Fire Control MSTU millage at .6187.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Nelson voted nay.

 

 

            Recreation District 1 MSTU

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Recreation District 1 MSTU current millage is .4650; and that proposed millage will stay the same.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve Recreation District 1 MSTU millage at .4650.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Nelson and Commissioner Fisher voted nay.

 

 

            Recreation District 4 O&M

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Recreation District 4 Operation and Maintenance current millage is .3725; and that proposed millage will stay the same.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve Recreation District 4 Operation and Maintenance millage at .3725.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Nelson and Commissioner Fisher voted nay.

 

 

            Law Enforcement Countywide MSTU

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Law Enforcement Countywide MSTU current millage is .9047; and that proposed millage is 1.0013.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve Law Enforcement Countywide MSTU millage at 1.0013.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Fisher voted nay.

 

 

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Road & Bridge District 1 MSTU current millage is .4005.

 

Chairman Nelson inquired if Commissioner Fisher wanted a specific millage to recommend; and he  would  offer  the  same  to  each  Commissioner  to  be  able to do so.  Commissioner Fisher responded he is at the point where there is so much still undecided that he is not ready to vote on any millages right now; he thinks there are a lot of questions that need to be answered; he has not seen the full budget proposals, the ramifications of the millage stand, and the first millage that was voted on; and he really is uncertain about a lot of things.   

 

Chairman Nelson stated what he was going to do on District 2 is to generate the same; to make a motion that he knows is going to fail, but he is going to do it; he will make a motion to generate the same revenue this year as last year, which would be a roll forward; but he will make that motion when it gets to his District; and he does not know if Commissioner Fisher wanted to do the same.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated his goal would be to set the millage at the roll forward rate, then be able to come back and dial it into the whole budget issue, and then see where there can be some additional cuts if it is possible. 

 

Chairman Nelson stated the Board is clearly not going to get there on the overall; but he would like to make that motion for his millage district.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated Chairman Nelson and Commissioner Fisher want to increase taxes for their taxpayers; she was elected by her people and she represents the entire County; but they specifically represent their Districts, and maybe they want to provide something extra to their Districts.  Chairman Nelson stated it is not extra, it is trying to maintain.

 

Chairman Nelson stated he is going to second Commissioner Fisher’s motion even though they are going to go down in flames; but the motion is to generate the same revenue level; and inquired what would that millage be.  Mr. Whitten responded the roll forward millage is .4602 that is in comparison to the current millage of .4005.  Chairman Nelson inquired if that would give Commissioner Fisher the ability to maintain the roads at least to the existing level.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Fisher, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to roll forward Road and Bridge District 1 MSTU millage to .4602.  Motion does not carry; Commissioners Infantini, Bolin, and Anderson voted nay.

 

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve going back to last year’s current number of .4005 for Road and Bridge District 1 MSTU Millage.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Nelson voted nay.

 

Chairman Nelson passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Bolin.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired what would the millage be for generating the same revenue for this year.  Mr. Whitten responded the current millage is .2367, the roll forward is .2862.

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to roll forward the current millage to .2862 for Road and Bridge District 2 MSTU.  Motion does not carry; Commissioners Infantini, Bolin, and Anderson voted nay.

 

Vice Chairman Bolin passed the gavel back to Chairman Nelson.

 

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Road and Bridge District 2 MSTU millage at .2367.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Nelson and Fisher voted nay.

 

 

            Road and Bridge District 3 MSTU

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Road and Bridge District 3 MSTU current millage is .3322; the proposed millage is .3322.

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Road and Bridge District 3 MSTU millage at .3322.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

            Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU current millage is .2618; the proposed millage is .2618.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU millage at .2618.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

            Road and Bridge District 5 MSTU

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Road and Bridge District 5 MSTU current millage is .3597; the proposed millage is .3597.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve Road and Bridge District 5 MSTU millage at .3597.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU Beaches current millage is .2856; the proposed millage is .2856.

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU Beaches millage at .2856.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

            Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU South

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU South current millage is .1229; the proposed millage is .1229.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve Road and Bridge District 4 MSTU South millage at .1229.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

            Environmentally Endangered Land (1991)

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised the Environmentally Endangered Land (1991) current millage is .0343; the proposed millage is reduced to .0321.

 

Chairman Nelson inquired what the basis of that reduction is.  Mr. Whitten responded he believes there was millage moved down to make the debt service.  Elizabeth Swanke, Assistant Budget Director, responded the millage is coming near the end of its life.  Mr. Whitten stated the County is using reserves for operating.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Environmentally Endangered Land (1991) millage at .0321.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

            Environmentally Endangered Land (2004)

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised Environmentally Endangered Land (2004) current millage is .0311; the proposed millage is the same.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve Environmentally Endangered Land (2004) millage at .0311.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

            Port St. John/Canaveral Groves Recreation MSTU

Chairman Nelson mentioned he sees no numbers on the chart.

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised the millage is going from .1736 to zero.

 

Chairman Nelson inquired if that millage is ending.  Ms. Swanke responded the only millage that they are showing is for the debt side of that particular millage with no operating.

 

Mr. Whitten inquired if Larry Wojciechowski, Parks Finance Officer, needed all of it for debt.  Mr. Wojciechowski responded it is never used for operation just capital projects.  Mr. Whitten stated it will all be used on the debt side.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired how is Mr. Wojciechowski handling is operations.

 

Mr. Whitten stated the two questions are how will Mr. Wojciechowski operate and what the millage maximum is for Port St. John/Canaveral Groves.  Mr. Wojciechowski stated those funds were never used for operating as it was always just to do capital projects.  Chairman Nelson inquired what is the maximum millage that was voter approved.  Ms. Swanke responded .0900.  Chairman Nelson inquired how much of that is going to debt now.  Mr. Wojciechowski responded .4713; historically, those dollars were used to finish off a park completely; and inquired if Commissioner Fisher has a preference.  Commissioner Fisher responded he is okay.  Chairman Nelson stated there is no millage and there is no need to take a vote.

 

 

 

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised North Brevard Special Recreation District current millage is .2084; the proposed millage is .1200.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he would like to roll forward.  Chairman Nelson inquired what that number to roll forward is, or is there any capacity to roll it up. 

 

Mr. Whitten advised Mr. Wojciechowski is going to need most of it for the debt, so there is no ability to move up the millage because there is going to have to be a remainder; and whatever is allocated is allocated to debt.  Mr. Wojciechoswki stated the millage, not the maximum.  Chairman Nelson inquired what would the maximum millage be.  Mr. Whitten responded the maximum is .8.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if it can be used for some operation.  Mr. Wojciechoski responded yes.  Elizabeth Swanke stated she has .1319 as the maximum for the operating millage.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if that is with the roll forward; with Ms. Swanke responding yes, that is the maximum roll forward.  Commissioner Fisher inquired again what the number is; with Ms. Swanke responding .1319.

 

There being no objections hear, motion was made by Commissioner Fisher, seconded Commissioner Nelson, to approve roll forward of the North Brevard Special Recreation District to .1319.  Motion does not carry; Commissioners Infantini, Bolin, and Anderson voted nay.

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded Infantini, to approve the North Brevard Special Recreation District millage at .1200.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Fisher and Nelson voted nay.

 

 

            Merritt Island Recreation MSTU

Chairman Nelson inquired if this millage is at the max.  Ms. Swanke responded the maximum that it could go to under that cap is .0703.

 

Chairman Nelson passed the gavel to Vice Chairman Bolin.

 

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to approve roll forward of the Merritt Island Recreation MSTU to .0703.  Motion does not carry; Commissioners Infantini, Bolin, and Anderson voted nay.

 

 

There being no objections heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Infantini to approve the Merritt Island Recreation MSTU to .0694 as recommended.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Fisher and Nelson voted nay.

 

Vice Chairman Bolin passed the gavel back to Chairman Nelson.

 

 

            South Brevard Special Recreation District

Stockton Whitten, Interim County Manager, advised South Brevard Special Recreation District current millage is .2153; and the proposed millage is .2098.

 

Motion by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the South Brevard Special Recreation District millage at .2098.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Mr. Whitten stated he thinks the way the Board voted the aggregate is the 5.4752, which was the .06 percent above the current aggregate.

 

Chairman Nelson inquired from which millages it would come from.  Mr. Whitten responded it can be taken from anywhere, but it is 107 or 117.

 

Ms. Swanke advised it is 100,444 and it is .003 mills if it is the General Fund millage.

Chairman Nelson inquired if the General Fund needs to readdressed.  Mr. Whitten responded if the aggregate is to be flat; and the anomaly is that everything is flat or decreased with the exception of the Law Enforcement MSTU.

 

Chairman Nelson stated what is happening is the Board is being pencil-whipped by the math associated to those two changes.

 

Ms. Swanke stated to take the .003 mills from the General Countywide millage rate would leave the Board with 3.7163 mills.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to reconsider the millage rate.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioner Fisher voted nay.

 

 

Chairman Nelson stated the Board needs to vote on the millage itself and then the aggregate.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Infantini, to approve General Revenue millage to be 3.7163.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Fisher and Nelson voted nay.

 

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired if there could be a discussion with the new tax, Save-Our-Homes and the Customer Price Index (CPI) increase; he asked for an explanation of how that works if the Board finds itself in a difficult situation two years from now; what is the maximum the Board can increase.  Mr. Whitten responded there are a couple of caps in place such as if the State designates a maximum millage for each of the 21 operating millages; and the Charter Revenue Cap, which says that CPI or less, excluding new construction revenue.  He stated there are three caps in place that have to be overcome; and it is not going to be a question that can be answered off the top of their heads right now; but there is the Charter Cap that says CPI or less, minus the new construction revenue there is the State maximum
calculations, which if the maximum millage is exceeded for each of the districts is that a majority or a super-majority.

 

Ms. Swanke responded if the maximum millages are exceeded for each of the districts it can go up to ten percent above the calculation with a super-majority vote; and above that it goes to the unanimous vote or referendum.

 

Mr. Whitten advised also with regards to referendum, this special act, which includes the operating revenues for everybody except for Library District, required a cap at ten percent of last year’s revenues for operating purposed; and if the Board wants to exceed that ten percent cap it has to go to a referendum.

 

Commissioner Fisher inquired in Mr. Burdett’s example earlier, if the fund balance is spent down in two years, which means going through a total of $21 or $28 million total.  Mr. Burdett responded the total would be $21 million the first year and the same the second year, so that is $42 million.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if the additional dollars were needed at that point in time; and with the new laws and the cap can Mr. Whitten get it.  Mr. Whitten responded the operating revenue is 20 percent of $160 million, ten percent of $163 is $16-something million; and simple math shows the Board cannot get there without a referendum.   Commissioner Fisher advised part of his concern during this meeting today is it has a great opportunity to try to get  where  most  of  the  Commissioners  want  to get; that is to make sure that the Board is not

spending crazy and setting the millage rate; and working the Boards way back down versus locking it into something that could be very detrimental to this County long term.

 

 

Mr. Burdett advised what the Board also needs to take into consideration as it goes through the next few years on budgets, is there has already been a point made that this year the General Fund is probably going to spend $7 million more than what has been brought in, so there is an operating deficit right there.  He mentioned when the Administration and he deal with the rating agencies in New York, their question would be operating at a deficit this year, and what does the Board think it is going to do in its exceeding year; and when giving that answer, it is preferred to tell them that it is going to improve and not get worse.  He mentioned as reality sets in, and the Board is moving towards setting the budget for next year, with the situation the Board is at, is it going to continue to maintain a decent credit rating when the County needs to go out and finance its Solid Waste, Water, and Sewer; whatever the case is, it would be wise to reduce the deficit that it is operating at this years $7 million to something less; if it goes from $7 million to $13 million, that is not what he would define as progress; and that is another consideration that the Board wants to take into account when it comes to whatever the capital financing needs might be in the future.

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired does the Board have to vote on the debt service millages; and is it stuck at this rate.  She stated she would rather vote on them if there is some change that is needed.  Mr. Whitten responded those are there to pay the debt, so there will be sufficient to pay the debt; they are not apart of the aggregate operating millage; and the Board will actually approve those as apart of the budget.

 

There being no objection heard, motion was made by Commissioner Infantini, seconded by Commissioner Anderson, to approve the aggregate millage.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Fisher and Nelson voted nay.

 

Chairman Nelson mentioned he is really disappointed because he thinks the Board has injured the community with the action today; and time will tell who was right.

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 12:44 p.m.

 

 

ATTEST:

 

                                                                        ­­­­­­­­­­­­_________________________________

                                                                        CHUCK NELSON, CHAIRMAN

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                                                        BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK