Attendee Name	Title	Status	Arrived
Robin Fisher	Vice Chairman/ Commissioner District 1	Present
Chuck Nelson	Commissioner District 2	Late	1:00 PM
Trudie Infantini	Commissioner District 3	Present
Andy Anderson	Commissioner District 5	Present
Mary Bolin	Chairman / Commissioner District 4	Absent

CALL TO ORDER

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated this is the May 4, 2010 Strategic Budget Workshop; Commissioner Nelson will be joining the meeting shortly; and Chairman Bolin is absent, because her mother is ill.

Howard Tipton, County Manger, stated today is a continuation of the discussions began last week, with a series of workshops that are intended to help give direction and guidance in putting the budget together; and he will be presenting it to the Board in the middle of July.  He stated today's Agenda is a similar format to the workshop held last week; there will be a quick overview of numbers that have been discussed; and the strategic focus area for today is around infrastructure areas, such as Public Works, Utilities, Transportation areas of Transportation Planning Operations (TPO), Space Coast Area Transit, and Environmental Services.  He stated there will be a revisiting of an Item from April 29, 2010 to discuss briefly, which is the Voluntary Separation Program; if the Item moves forward, there will need to be some direction from the Board; and then staff will conclude with the next steps.

 

Commissioner Nelson's presence was noted at this time.

 

Alphonso Jefferson, Budget Director, stated he will take the Board over a quick budget overview and highlight on some of the charts that will be seen today, to try to recap a little bit of what is being discussed in these strategic workshops.  He stated when the FY2010 adopted revenue budget of $1.093 billion is looked at;,it is really showing $580,816,023 million of recurring-type revenue, such as General Fund, Enterprise, Internal Services, and Special Revenue; and the other $512,727,005 million are the nonrecurring types of activities for balances forward and transfers.  He stated the $580 million is broken down to $363,641,631 million for the Enterprise, Internal Services Charges, and Special Revenue; the General Revenue is showing $217,174,392; and Infrastructure, Transportation, and Environmental Services are the Enterprise and Internal Services of the revenue re not focusing so much on General Fund, although, there are General Funds associated with this are as well; and he will break it down for all to see.  He stated $423 million is encompassed with Public Works, Utilities, Solid Waste, Planning and Development, and Environmental Resources; of that, about $44,249,514 million comes from the General Fund, $160,412,870 for recurring operating revenue; and the nonrecurring operating revenue is about $240,504,077.  He introduced Dr. Herb Marlow and Larry Arrington, of Arrington, Marlowe and Associates.

 

Dr. Marlowe stated Infrastructure, Transportation, and Environmental Services will be discussed today; the major differences are Facilities, Natural Resources, Planning and Development, Public Works, Solid Waste, Transportation Planning Operation (TPO), Transit Services, and Utility Services are all businesses the County has, that essentially run with the economy, are more similar to the traditional businesses found in the community, and are having to respond in many of the same ways as businesses in the community, because there is less revenue; and this is not solely a Brevard County issue.  He stated Infrastructure, Transportation, and Environmental Services Idea Matrix has various strategies being employed; he wants to point out to the Board, there is a wide range of thinking with efficiencies, outsourcing, partnerships, services levels, and changing of role innovation; and how to do businesses differently, to maintain fiscal liability and provide the services.  He stated there are several ideas of sufficient scope, that he wants to have good discussions about, which will be called the guidance on budget development strategies for some sense of what needs to be done; and he would like to start shaping this particular area in accordance to the Boards wishes; but no decisions have to be made today

 

Mr. Tipton stated Solid Waste is one of the most interesting of businesses; it is certainly tied to the economy, but also, it is very much tied to the environment, which is an area that has done some wasted energy; and within itself it has some very interesting and unique applications.

 

Mel Scott, Assistant County Manager, stated one of the budgetary phenomena’s that Solid Waste is experiencing right now is the downturn of the economy; and the revenues at the gate have declined proportionately.  He stated one of the things being looked at will actually help the cities in this upcoming year by lowering the disposal fees collected for sludge disposal that some cities need to take care of at the Landfill, which could reduce the cities costs; but in doing so, it increases the amount of sludge, they are finding it economical, and making good sense to bring it to the County's Landfill.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to point out that Chuck Bailey, City Manager of Cocoa Beach, has contacted him; he got with Dick Martens, Utility Services Director, and Euripides Rodriquez, Solid Waste Management Director, to talk about concerns of costs going up; it was interesting to talk with the two department Directors in a brainstorming session, to see what could be done; in the end Solid Waste is going to benefit by reducing the revenues and getting the County's sludge, which was actually hauled out of County; and Utilities will benefit as well.

 

Mr. Scott stated the other thing coming out of Solid Waste is an industry-wide paredine shift, which is critical for all Solid Waste facilities nationally, with emerging markets to not view its ever growing piles of trash, as the final destination for those things that are being thrown away; there is money in those Landfill's; and the resources are being investigated to see what can be extracted from the Landfill and waste stream, to revert markets to use those materials.  He stated one thing that Waste Management has approached the County with is to actually pay the County, to allow themselves to go to a single stream collection, which will again be one of those win-wins for the consumer and the private industry.  He mentioned with single stream it is nothing different done at curbside, but instead of having each individual compartment silos in the trucks it may be to take those silos out, throw everything in the truck, and sort it single stream at the Landfill.  He hopes it will encourage more citizens to recycle more materials.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if the State passed a rule that allows for yard waste to go into landfills.  Mr. Rodriquez responded he believes it has not passed yet to his knowledge.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if Mr. Rodriquez would check, because the session has ended; stated one of the biggest complaints received is yard waste cannot be put into a plastic bag; and if the State is allowing it, it may solve some problems for some individuals.  Mr. Rodriquez replied he will check into it.

 

Dr. Marlowe advised they will now move into the Facilities section of the presentation.

 

Mr. Tipton stated one of things that are a challenge when in a high growth community, such as Brevard County’s growth demands of the building of facilities, when in a down turn, as of current, it becomes a challenge to keep up with the maintenance that facilities do require, because once it is built, it does have to be maintained.  He stated one of the challenges for the team is to further reduce the costs for maintenance, how to become more energy efficient, and facilities that can be looked at that are not currently in demand as there once was; and there may be some opportunities in those areas.

 

Stockton Whitten, Assistant County Manager, stated this will be a very short discussion today; it is believed the County is closer to the tipping point in facilities than previously believed; and to avoid the deferral of repair and maintenance of roofing projects.  He stated last year it was presented to the Board about exploring the operations and access ability from going from five days a week to four days a week, which would be a savings of about $500,000 to the General Fund; and there will obviously be some hurdles to implement that.  He stated it is up to the Board to consider a consolidation of certain facilities up and down the 72 miles stretch of the County; for certain facilities to be closed, sold, or not utilized for a certain period of time; and those options could be explored throughout the Summer.

 

Dr. Marlowe inquired if the Board has any questions about those strategies; and stated he will move forward with the presentation.

 

Mr. Tipton stated the Natural Resources Management Department has several different responsibilities, such as making sure it is enforcing a lot of the State Environmental Codes and Rules; additionally, one of its major functions is in the area of stormwater quantity and quality; and as moving forward with Natural Resources services, it might be able to provide to others that the County is currently using itself.  He stated as an example, with stormwater administration it has already several agreements with municipalities where the County is providing a service; and there are opportunities to expand.  He stated Natural Resources touches a number of our areas such as emergency response; he hopes it will not have to be to the beaches, as a result of the oil spill; and it is unfortunate and everyone is praying that it does not come to Brevard County, but if it comes soon it will be right in the middle of turtle nesting season.  He stated Ernest Brown, Natural Resources Management Director, will likely be deployed to a unified command point; and he is all for that, because all the experience is needed on the front line before it gets here.

 

Mr. Scott stated Natural Resources over the years has experienced a 43 percent reduction from the General Fund since fiscal year 2005/2006; he commends them for front line jobs done and with the loss that has been experienced with lot drainage, the site specific kinds esthetic, and sustainable natural resource kind of protections at specific properties.  He stated Brevard County also partners with Indian River County to oversee the Underground Tank Compliance Program, that is headquartered in Brevard County; and he thinks moving forward into this next budget there will be continued conversations about waste disposals and sludge issues, with some of the cities seeing if there can be some type of partnerships made.

 

Dr. Marlow stated he would like to point out that he does not want to pretend that technology will solve everything; and inquired if there are any questions.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated on the matrix chart none of the Departments have anything when it comes to reinvestment and development; he inquired what is the reinvestment and development to Dr. Marlow.  Dr. Marlow responded an error was made with that; and an "X" should have been placed there; and he thinks there are a number of items that are ultimately the purchasing technology of tools to allow efficient operations.

 

Mr. Arrington stated one thing that is really being seen around the State right now is the notion of governments that develop expertise and technology in a certain area, entering into agreements with others, to share the capacity, and produce a revenue stream in exchange.  He stated over time it will create more efficiency for everyone involved; he sees there is one opportunity in Brevard County; and he suspects as the presentation keeps moving through the process there may be others as well.

 

Mr. Jefferson stated the matrix table is really a snapshot in time, with continuing several different ideas from the departments, but also, it was tried to be put into several different categories; and as a lesson learned it can be put in multiple areas.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated his concern is how to generate revenue, which is what the County needs more of; and inquired if the reinvestment is looking at when will the County start thinking about driving revenues instead of always cutting, because investment means a lot of things to a lot of people.  Dr. Marlowe responded in this presentation he thinks there are a lot of ideas in this particular area that will reflect that way of thinking about how to do business differently, to generates additional revenue, and allow for a higher profit.

 

Mr. Tipton stated if there was ever an area that mirrored the construction economy that is currently in place it is Planning and Development; it is defined as a boom area; and now it is found that just a fraction of where it was a couple of years ago with staffing.  He stated one of the challenges today is to maintain the expertise in the capability, because the economy is going to come back, and the building and construction world will return; and the challenge is while reducing costs, the expertise in capacity will allow for response when the economy comes back.  He stated the other area of this particular Department is the area of Code Enforcement, which is also when the economy goes down there are a lot more homes in foreclosure and calls come in for yards and pools; and increased activity is seen in properties no longer being maintained and a tremendous decline in the actual development of new areas.

 

Mr. Scott stated the Billing Department with Planning and Development have been engaged in a review of all the cities in the counties; he was very encouraged when the private sector had reviewed the process collectively and came up with suggestions that they would like to see implemented in the development review process; 80 percent of the points they made were already in place; it was really encouraging to be a part of that process; and will continue to be apart of the process, if feasible.  He stated one thing heard from the Development Review Process is there currently is no collection of building permit fees until the end of the process; and a budget proposal would like to be presented to collect 30 percent of the building permit fee upon application; and he would like to mirror the building permit fee collection to the private sector to get an earnest down payment for that building permit up front.  He stated in the past, there have been hundreds of hours expanded, and if that plan does not move to a building permit issuance, then there is no compensation for it; it was something that was acceptable to the business community; the County is the entity that helps them get to where they need to be; and the County does not get paid until the private sector gets the building permit.  He stated an interesting analogy that came from a construction of a house regarding how many paychecks wait for the building permit to be issued; a process flow was done; and it found over 200 people might be waiting to be paid as a result of somebody pursuing the construction of a house.

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired what if the building is not built; stated she is not comfortable with that, because she had to pull a permit for her driveway; and inquired what happens if she decides not to clear her driveway, will the money be refunded.  Mr. Scott responded he is talking about building permits to construct something, not something that a person would do to have activity done where there might not be a final inspection; but if design plans are given to construct a strip center, those fees are not collected until the building permit is issue, which could be months and dozens of hours of time expended to review it, so what is being suggested is to collect earnest money as a down payment for that plan that would be reviewed to issue a permit on.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated there might not even be any private providers left; the State Legislation allows for private providers to perform some of the services; and he inquired if outsourcing can be done with them and let them worry about collecting fees.  Mr. Scott responded it would be a policy call from the Board; it seems that when there is a certain population threshold most communities go to having its own building department; there is a public accountability; and if it is outsourced to the private sector, some would argue the ability to seek recourse could be lost.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if there is a way to investigate it or have an agreement with them; he is not comfortable about leaning on the private sector for fees up front right now; and he does not know if it is even a good time to start doing it.  Mr. Scott responded if it were to be done, it would move forward with the private sector, because they are telling the County that they need it as well; and it is not a general taxpayer phenomena.  Commissioner Anderson stated the first thing to find out is if there are any private providers left, since the housing bubble.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated a private firm is not going to do all the work up front for free, because it will want a cash flow too, because they will have salaries; he thinks it is not a matter of who does it, the question would be when to pay; and the County has always chosen to do it at the end, but now the County is in a position to where it cannot.  He stated he thinks this discussion has been had before; he has always felt there was a minimum level needed, because people just call and ask questions, which there is no billing for that and there should not be; but the person that pulls the permit is the one paying and the ones that inquire may never pull a permit and pay.  He stated building used to be funded by the General Fund and they were making so much money from permit fees; and it was easy to say that would not be done anymore.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated he thinks some of the stuff has to be mandated or managed by law like the Comprehensive Plan.  Mr. Scott stated yes, like Fire Code and Building Official Inspection, which ultimately would be hiring a building official and would still be paying for that State licensed individual whether it was a County employee or a firm that had somebody with those credentials.

 

Mr. Tipton mentioned Chairman Bolin's meeting with the City of Titusville discussing the opportunities for them to give assistance to the County, for building inspections since North of Titusville is tough for the County to get to and what services the County can offer to municipality.  He stated great dialogue took place.

 

Dr. Marlowe stated there were a couple of ideas put on the table that will be looked into.

 

Mr. Tipton stated Public Works has gone through some changes over the last couple of years with consolidation; and one of the areas that is interesting when looking forward with roads and bridge; and whether the opportunity's are to go forward or not.  He mentioned Commissioner Nelson brought up a good point earlier about County dollars being spent inside the city lines; and inquired how does it prioritize maintenance of County roads; it has been discussed before, but there is just not enough money; and prioritizing has to be done.

 

Mr. Scott stated the Asphalt Management Program was presented to the Board and has been given the approval to pursue; it is hoped the Request for Proposals (RFP) will be out on the streets in the next couple of weeks for the Asphalt Management Program; it is a know fact that as a lifecycle of a road degrades, it costs to repair it expediently higher if it is not caught at its most critical point of decline; and what is needed is to make sure channeling of the most dollars for repaving to help make the dollars go further; and that is hoped to be started in the next couple of weeks.  He inquired if the Local Option Gas Tax (LOGT) should place a consideration for where dollars will go, identify the road segments that have seen taxable value on either side of it going to cities, and if LOGT is collected Countywide should focus of the County's portion, be taken of the allocation and place it on the roadways that are entirely unincorporated; and that would be a policy call if the Board would like to incorporate it into the prioritizing process.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated as an example, Minton Road is used heavily by unincorporated residents to go to the Harris Corporation; and the road is falling apart.  He inquired why Minton Road would not be fixed, because now it is inside of a municipality; and stated at some point it is an economic development liability of that area, which serves the County in general in the end.  Mr. Scott stated a more balanced partnership is encouraged in the funding of that roadway segment; he is aware of the saga with Malabar Road, the city signed it, and it was a substandard road, which was the cities fault that cost millions of dollars of the city money to fix, because somebody dropped the ball on the County end a long time ago, with not inspecting it properly.  Commissioner Anderson stated most of his constituents live in municipalities and he cannot spend his Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) on Minton Road; it has to be determined what is going to be done, because it is heavily used by people who live in unincorporated areas; he has a situation with all of his County roads being mostly in municipalities, which are falling apart now; if the County is going to do something like this, he would be willing to fix the road with an Interlocal agreement, after it is fixed and prepared the municipality to take maintenance of it; but he is not going to hand them a substandard road.

 

Dr. Marlowe stated Commissioner Anderson mentioned a couple of options were given; one is an Interlocal agreement; and secondly, the criteria pointed out is used by an incorporated residents is an important variable.  Commissioner Anderson stated that is correct.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated what he sees is a lot of the roads became city roads, because the city chose to annex out and encompass those roads; the calculation of LOGT is the city gets their portion; and why the County ends up with County roads in the City is really a bigger issue.  He stated that is a legislative in nature and every time it is done the maintenance mechanism to take care of the roads; and if a formula is going to be created then everybody needs to pay into it, not the unincorporated collected there and then spend it in the cities, which is kind of the bind the County is in, and the cities will have to agree to it.  Commissioner Anderson stated something has to be worked out; he does not disagree with what anybody is saying; it is just he has a major roads in bad condition; and another example would be the roads leading in to Melbourne Airport, which people consider it as the County's Airport for passenger service.  He inquired if those roads should not be maintained and just leave them to the City of Melbourne to take of.

 

Dr. Marlowe stated other criteria just mentioned is economic development impact, which needs to be a variable in the equation.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated the real form of the equation is there is not enough revenue to maintain the road; a decision at some point has to be made; and inquired how it will be solved.

 

Commissioner Anderson responded all roads from Titusville to Melbourne needs a prioritizing of  trip count and on emergency services, because if it is a major evacuation route the road should not be allowed to fall apart.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated he has a concern in the unincorporated area being done with trip count; he may not have as much trips as somebody in Palm Bay; his taxpayers are paying taxes; and they are not getting the amount of money needed to service themselves.                       

 

Dr. Marlowe stated if the trip count were used a balancing of natural demand levels, it will have to be balanced.  He stated emergency response is noted as criteria as well.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated there are a couple of roads in her district such as Babcock Road, which is a major artery in her community; and she needs to have that road serviced.  She stated she needs work on Minton Road, because it is another major artery, which are part of the two north/south corridors of her district that is relied on heavily; she drives on those roads daily, because she lives in the unincorporated area and drives to the incorporated area; and to dismiss those, because unincorporated people are paying tax dollars and everyone is going to be using those road because they are major corridors.  She stated there has to be some kind of brake down of the territorial boundaries in the city and the County; and she needs stuff fixed and is willing to allocate.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he agrees with what Commissioner Infantini is suggesting, but the flip side is taking all of the unincorporated monies and spend it in the cities, and that is the dilemma; it needs to be across-the-board, with everybody paying an equal amount; and not one segment of the community is contributing because they live further out.  He stated in Vice Chairman Fisher's district there are a lot of County roads that have to be traveled before getting to a city, that has a County road in it, that she wants the County to pay for; it may have been ten miles to get to that one half mile segment; and all the roads need to be fixed that is not the problem, there has been no mechanism found that is fair.

 

Mr. Tipton stated everyone has talked a little bit in some of the previous meetings; he is using rough numbers; he thinks there are well over one thousand miles the County is responsible for maintaining, when talking about roads; and the County needs to maintain or get to 50 miles of that every year, which currently has funding for about one-sixth of it.  He stated it is a prioritization; it may be for the major focus to be arterial areas; but then everything else gets pushed back, which is the challenge of going back to Mr. Scott's point of the roads being caught before they get bad, because once the base is lost, the factor of cost to bring the road back up to pace is huge.    He stated the County is racing against some tough odds, in terms of how to keep up with the costs, with the revenues the County has with some of the LOGT dollars in that revenue trend, which is going south on the County due to more fuel efficient vehicles; and the costs are just higher.  He stated it is going to be a real conundrum for the County when looking to build that five year plan for maintenance, as to how to get these things done; in terms of investing and reinvesting the County wants to make sure it has the technology to work for it, so the roads can be caught at the right times; and he does not want to repave something when it is perfectly fine and could go another year or two

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired when the Asphalt Management Program will be available.  Mr. Scott responded in the next several weeks.  Commissioner Anderson stated Palm Bay has seen a lot of success with what it is doing, and has saved a lot of money.

 

Mr. Scott stated he would like some feedback on community street lighting; in a different time, the County would install a street light whether there was transportation safety implications to the street light or not; a million dollars has been identified out of the General Fund for street lighting; and many of those are marred community safety lighting, but not related to the transportation network.  He stated staff would like the opportunity to go back and approach Homeowners Associations (HOA) and tell them of the street lighting, it can be kept on, but the dollars expended have no benefit to the safety of the motoring public.  Commissioner Infantini stated she thought the County was already doing that; she had a constituent come to her inquiring about a street light, and was told no; and she inquired why other communities get to have them when it is not a safety hazard issue.  Mr. Scott responded new ones are not installed, but there are street lights at the end of cul-de-sacs that were installed 15 years ago; and he is talking about converting that yearly bill back to the HOA, or turning the light off.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if it is known how many lights the County pays for that have HOA's.  Mr. Scott responded the number is exactly known.  Commissioner Anderson stated that is interesting.  Commissioner Infantini stated she never thought of going for this as a cut, because since she was told she could not move forward for the constituent; she never knew there was already a stopgap in place, but retroactively if there is a street light it is kept; and did not know there was anything like this in place.  Commissioner Anderson stated he had the same situation in a neighborhood in his district; and Florida Power and Light (FPL) was involved and told them that the neighborhood had to pay for its own street light, which they do.  Commissioner Infantini mentioned she had to pay for a street light in front of her commercial building on A1A, and she pays for it.  Vice Chairman Fisher stated he thinks historically FPL will come and put in a street light; and the person pays the monthly bill, which is totally different than what Mr. Scott is talking about. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated if the Board thinks that library communications are going to be ugly, and it will be even uglier when a neighborhood is told that the County is going to turn of its street lights.  Commissioner Anderson stated he never ran for office for a popularity contest; and he has not decided if he is rerunning, so he is willing to do whatever it takes to save $42 million.

 

Dr. Marlowe inquired if the direction for staff is to pursue the direction of street light discussions with HOA's.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he thinks everything should be put on the table; and it may not be the right thing to do, but he wants to see the numbers.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated there was a time when everyone had to state why they were running for office; and he hopes that everyone tries to leave the County in a better position than when becoming a Commissioner.  He stated if there is no funding, no libraries open, no parks open, no roads maintained, no roads fixed, and then is the County better off as a County four years ago.  He stated at some point in time he would like Mr. Tipton, Mr. Whitten, Mr. Scott, and Mr. Jefferson to give him an idea of what the County will look like as an organization if the same position is kept this year as last year in two years, because he thinks there will be another decline in 2011 and 2012; and when that happens it needs to be understood.  He stated he would also like the next time there is a presentation like this there will be a good explanation for where the money is actually going, so it will help clear up some of the dollar misunderstandings.  He stated for an example, he pulled all the Commissioner's tax bills for an example of the different millages to be seen, because as Commissioner's, they seem to get most of the blame even though there are other agencies and municipalities part of it too.

 

Mr. Arrington stated what Vice Chairman Fisher just stated is the most important statement heard in a long time; he is not the only one asking; there are others around the State; but others wonder what it will really look like when done with all of the revenue reductions and cost cuttings that are going on.  He stated he thinks the answer is the picture is being painted and will be painted further as going through the budget process; and he thinks it is going to become clear, that it is going to look very different, with significant cuts and reductions in service in this County and in this State.  He stated not only do the revenue reductions need to be worried about, but the business of maintaining what is already built and in place; all over the State, cities, and counties got very good in Florida responding to the demands of new growth; and the government was set up to build a new road and put in street light, but now it is not set up to deal with the consequences of having done all that.  He stated infrastructure maintenance money is a national problem, but it is an acute problem here in Florida, so the discussion about having to pinpoint the priorities, for the little bit of money the County has to deal with are extremely important decisions.  He stated there is no way from a revenue standpoint that the County is going to make everybody happy; and there will be tough, tough consequences with some of this.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated it was clear to her the first few meetings with Arrington, Marlowe, and Associates that everyone seemed to be on the same page; and then it was an incredibly different tone presented at the last budget workshop; and she decided and realized somebody crunched some numbers and panic struck about how to find $37 million.  She stated there are $37 million in cuts to be found; the quality of life is always tossed around such as when she lived in Boca Raton and moved to Melbourne Beach; she moved into a home that was half the size; and she added an extra kid.  She stated her quality of life did not go down at all; she did spend a lot more time with her family in a lot less space; but her quality time was much better than it ever was in Boca Raton.  She stated there needs to be some redefining of the quality of life, how many libraries were open in 1990 when she moved here versus how many there are now; she used the library back then, but does not use it any more or less now.  She stated there were plenty of parks in 1990 and now suddenly it seems there is a need for more parks; if few facilities need to be operated to have top notched facilities than that is what it has to be; and it is not a bad thing once the new reality has been accepted.  She stated there are a whole bunch of opportunities out there; and they are gong to have to be found and get more creative and upbeat about what is going to be done.  She stated she will keep her campaign pledge because she knows the money is there; she ran for office because she saw how much money was being wasted; and everyone needs to look a little harder for it.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired which libraries Commissioner Infantini wanted to close.  She responded she does not know, she will look through the numbers, and if he wants her to come up with some suggestions, she will do so; and she will have her engineer draw demographic circles around the base of the area of a library, so that somebody can always access a library with an equal distance for all to have access.  She stated she does not want people to have to drive more than 12 or 13 miles to the library like the people have to do in the South Beaches area; if that is what has to happen, Commissioner Nelson, then that is what has to happen, because the Board cannot keep spending in prosperity.  Commissioner Nelson stated that means closing one library in Palm Bay and Melbourne, because there is a library in Eau Gallie; and  all of those are in your district.  Commissioner Infantini stated Commissioner Nelson is very good about making threats; she is not trying to make threats, but if the library situation end up happening, that way then that is the way it is; and she stated she is only trying to create opportunities.  Commissioner Nelson stated it was not a threat; it is about the reality of the discussion, which she just threw out onto the table, such as being willing to cut libraries; there are two libraries in Palm Bay and Melbourne, so those are the realities that will be facing cuts.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated those locations have the largest population.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it is not about the population it is about density.  He stated one thing done in Public Works with transportation was to put General Fund money into Road and Bridge to free up LOGT, which was being used for maintenance bonding, and that can be undone because there is still money, but that is $20 million that can be freed up, General Fund can be freed up so it can be cut; and he inquired why it is not a legitimate discussion.  Commissioner Anderson responded, because three Commissioners had stated that is not on the table.  Commissioner Nelson stated then philosophically Commissioner Anderson is not being as accurate as he says he is, because he inquired how a new road is built when the old roads cannot be maintained.  Commissioner Anderson responded there were three Commissioners that stated that project is moving forward and the $20 million is staying, unless something changes up here; and he does not think that vote is going to change, because that is how it works with this.  He stated if Commissioner Nelson gets a third vote to take the money away, then the consequences will be dealt with.  Commissioner Nelson stated he will not have to deal with the consequences because Commissioner Anderson is their representative.  Commissioner Anderson stated he is not changing his position on the Parkway or millage rates.  Commissioner Nelson stated there have been other County Commissioners agree to make that transition, to put General Fund money into Road and Bridge, which is now being cut, so the roadway can be build, and it was actually a unanimous vote; and given the approach that he has seen from this Commission today, he would have voted differently, because the County and all other aspects have not been looked at.  Commissioner Anderson stated he believes governments only function is emergency services, roads, utilities, and basic safety; everything else to him is on the table; and when he walked those ten thousand doors, he told every person of that, and not all voted for him, but a majority of them did.  He stated that is the difference between the two of them when it comes to the aspects of government; he is sure he and Commissioner Infantini disagree on government aspects also; and he stated that is just the way it is.  Commissioner Nelson stated if all the parks are closed; it stays consistent with Comprehensive Plan; and inquired if it would be okay; it is State Law.  Commissioner Anderson responded he does not agree with State Law or the Comprehensive Plan itself; he thinks that some radicals have to get in there and make changes; and it will be seen nationwide.  He mentioned there are groups of people that see things the way he does; and the status quo is no longer acceptable.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated he thinks everybody believes in status quo; there are no dollars for the status quo right now with some of the items Commissioners Anderson and Nelson are speaking about, such as libraries and parks and recreation; those were voter-approved items that voters wanted at that time; he thinks what happened was somebody in Scottsmoor or Mims said he or she wanted a library in their community, because they did not want to drive to Titusville; and somebody in Palm Bay said he or she wanted a library close to them, because they did not want to drive to Melbourne.  He stated voters came before the Board and stated the libraries are important to them; the same thing happened with parks; those are issues that came up that voters approved; and the challenges now being the dollars are gone, and it is hard to maintain the facilities.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated voters approved it, because they were lied to, told there was enough money, with the millages to be able to run the parks, pay the debt service, and it would not cost the taxpayers anymore; and now the taxpayers need to be asked how much more are they willing to pay, because they were misled in 2006.  She stated she appreciates the voters approving it; she has approved things that were presented to her one way; and after she did her own homework, she found out it was completely inaccurate.  She stated when there is inaccurate information, bad decisions will be made, and good decisions can only be made when full, thorough information is at hand.  Vice Chairman Fisher stated today, with inaccurate information the library people came out in groves and told how they felt about them.  Commissioner Infantini stated the no library people did not come out in groves.  Vice Chairman Fisher stated maybe those no library people need to come out in groves; and it would be more clear to him.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he has people come into his office all the time, because it is located right next door to the Tax Collector's Office; they come in yelling at him about how much they are paying; and not one time has anybody ever told him they are not paying enough in taxes.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated in all honesty, in the one and one half years he has been in office he has had probably five conversations on the tax bill.

 

Dr. Marlowe stated he is seeing this process as a tremendous thought challenge; so many assumptions are having to change along with expectations; he appreciates and accepts all the comments made; and it is being seen as a great challenge.  He stated as the Commission proceeds with this process, it will be a setting model; and others will be looking at choices made.

 

Mr. Tipton mentioned the tone of these sessions; he does not want the Board to misread anything; he does not think there was any jubilation or joy in tackling the challenge the Board has; it is the new reality and they are forced to deal with it; it is a difficult task, with levels of services impacting peoples lives; and trying to go through this process is a very serious and deliberate manor.  He stated when looking to the future the tone he has set for the team is in the most serious and direct way possible; he does not think it has changed; it is a new reality in dealing with it, but the enthusiasm for it is just the task that is before the County; and failure is not an option.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated he thinks it is important also; if there is $42 million left in revenue, the County is going to have to deal with $42 million less; and some of things that have been done will not be able to be continued to be done.

 

Mr. Tipton stated he agrees with Vice Chairman Fisher, there is always the opportunity to improve and do better with processes and systems; and it is just difficult.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated what it really comes down to is the choice of when and what is needed; he does it everyday at home on one salary; and has a stay-at-home mom.

 

Mr. Arrington stated he has been reinforcing Mr. Tipton with communications held together; he thinks Commissioner Infantini is on the same plane of thinking; it is that when there is a crisis, such as this, there is opportunity for change that is very positive; and many of the strategies seen in the workshops are going to talk about things that are not necessarily brand new ideas, but are ideas for whatever reason were never implemented, because they are tough and controversial, such as outsourcing, consolidating services, and setting up new relationships in partnerships are tough unless there is a real strong incentive to do them, because it usually takes two-to-tango in new relationships.  He stated the opportunity that is present in the midst of this crisis, to do them well, and to look better long-term from doing it is really the goal as best as possible, because failure is not an option; and some opportunities produced are for being more sustainable, better, stronger, more resilient as an organization.   

 

Mr. Tipton stated moving on to Transit Services; Brevard County is very fortunate in Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT), to have an organization that has really grown with the community; SCAT is close to serving its 10 millionth customer in a current campaign right now; it has had  tremendous growth, with a transportation system that is seeking to minimize the number of cars on the roads and meet the needs of individuals; and there will be some challenges with funding.

 

Mr. Whitten stated SCAT has celebrated the 10 millionth customer last month, who was a Brevard Community College student, which is a good example of the folks who are actually taking advantage of the services; SCAT is at its all time high for ridership services being utilized; and it is about the leveraging of General Fund dollars in Transit Services to ultimately provide the service.  He stated there is a General Fund transfer of $1.5 million to leverage on a recurring basis $13 to $14 million of federal dollars; it has been boosted in the past two years by the stimulus funding, which was $6.9 million; the County residents are contributing $1.5 to leverage to $22 million, the $6.9 million will go away next year, so when looking at a reduction in the General Fund dollars, there were actually impacting the ability to leverage those federal dollars; as reducing the General Fund transfers it will get to a point where transfer dollars will be at a tipping point; it is believed that when going from a 20 percent reduction of $1.5 million, it will become a $1.155 million transfer; and it will be impacting the ability to pull down those dollars.  He stated a number of the items on the screen will have to be looked for cost sharing with municipalities; the system is funded from three sources, such as the fairs, General Fund transfer, and Federal dollars; and it is believed to have opportunities to share in the costs of the operating services with municipalities.  He stated about $13 to $14 million of SCAT's budget is for the operating expense, such as the bus drivers and the fee to actually run the system; and he hopes there will be opportunities to go out to the cities to explore cost sharing opportunities.  He stated if the General Fund dollars are not going to be there and the Federal dollars are reduced; and the impact will have to be explored to reduce or eliminate some fixed route bus services.  He stated the Paratransit Operations will have to be addressed because General Fund dollars are being utilized of $116 million to pull down $1 million in State funding; and it is the cause and effect of General Fund dollars shrinking down and the State and Federal dollars are being reduced, so the services will ultimately be reduced.  He stated at the last workshop Sara Ann Conkling mentioned the use of the unobligated dollars; the Board approved an Item earlier today, which was the recurring Federal dollars that are generally used for capitol expenditures except a small portion can be used for operating dollars in the City of Titusville; the encountered problem is two-fold, there are Stimulus dollars that were for the exact expenditures that are allocated for the recurring capital dollars; a placed time frame on the Stimulus dollars is shorter than the time frame for expenditure of the Federal dollars; and the Stimulus dollars will have to be spent first.  He stated the County is in a predicament with two to three years to spend the $7.7 million Federal dollars; the opportunity is to utilize some of those dollars for road infrastructure, which is a complicated process that has never been done; and he would like to put on the table the possibility of exploring through the TPO, utilizing those dollars that will not be utilized in SCAT to fund some road projects.  He stated the dollars are not utilized because the Stimulus dollars came in and replaced those dollars; there was a capital plan that actually replaced the South Terminal, which has been renovated; and there needs to be Board consideration to determine whether or not SCAT dollars can be taken and used through the TPO process to fund road projects.

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired why does it have to go the TPO for discussion; stated she feels she has a bit more control over it competing one-out-of-five instead of one-out-of-a-bunch; and she would much rather keep it for the Board.  Mr. Whitten responded he would much rather keep it for the Board, as well; but these are Federal dollars that are under the control and authority of TPO's; and that is the reason for it having to go through the TPO process.  Commissioner Infantini inquired if that is the only way she can have access to it.  Mr. Whitten responded yes, according to Mr. Scott, Robert Kamm, Transportation Planning Director, and James Liesenfelt, Transit Services Director.  Commissioner Infantini stated she knows Minton Road could really use some improvement; and she does not know if she has enough votes on the Board.  Mr. Whitten mentioned one last point to inquire about is the possibility of not only swapping or moving those dollars to TPO, but the possibility of some TPO funding moving into SCAT for operating expenditures; and he believed it would be a win-win for both agencies.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if Mr. Kamm would come to the podium; and inquired how he envisions this to be prioritized; and there seems to be a lot of different pots and wants to know where Minton Road would come out of.  Mr. Kamm responded there will be a presentation at the May TPO meeting about the funds that are under the control of the TPO; and as part of that discussion, the Federal rules require any flexing of funds must be funneled through the TPO on its way to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), which means it would have a request from the Board, to the TPO, which would then go to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) and FTA.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if it would not be an actual selection of any projects.  Mr. Kamm responded the flexing of Transit funds to Highway has occurred four times from what he has been told; it is a very rare situation, so he thinks what really needs to be done is Mr. Liesenfelt and he need to do diligence in understanding the whole process along the line, so the Federal partners understand the process to.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if the money will be available to all of Brevard County and not get snagged by someone else.  Mr. Kamm responded $7.7 will come back to the TPO; he is sure of the source of the funds; and he thinks the Board could make a case to the TPO of the Board’s preferences to those funds should have a bearing on the final decision of how to deploy.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher inquired if these are Federal Stimulus dollars.  Mr. Kamm responded no.  Vice Chairman Fisher stated just Federal Transportation dollars.  Mr. Kamm responded yes.

 

Mr. Whitten inquired the request comes from the Board, to the TPO from the Board to the FTA.  Mr. Kamm responded the request has to come from the recipient, which is the Board; it is not clear who that request goes to, he believes it is the TPO; and the details of this will have to be worked out, so all questions will be clear.

 

Commissioner Anderson mentioned as soon as TPO is mentioned it seems to become very complicated; it is not Mr. Kamm’s fault; it is just they way things allocate out; and expressed his thanks to Mr. Kamm for the clarification.

 

Dr. Marlowe stated he is hearing no objections and the inquiries will be pursued; and now will move into the Transportation Planning Office portion of the presentation.

 

Mr. Tipton stated TPO in terms of actual dollars to the County, it is a very small expenditure of about $70,000; one consideration to remember is the TPO not only works for the County, but it works for all the municipalities as well; it has the possibility of becoming a more independent agency and not necessarily under the list of the Board’s departments; there would still be contracts with TPO for the TPR; and there is that opportunity to move out from under the Board’s organization chart is a consideration.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated way before anybody on this Board was a Commissioner it was a huge concern from a municipal standpoint, with a little too much control; and he feels with his relationships with the municipalities, it is a better way to guide.  He stated when he was on the Executive Board a couple of years ago, he thought it was moving into that type of direction, but he does not know what happened.  Mr. Tipton mentioned it may now be picking up steam.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher inquired who the $70,000 goes to.  Mr. Tipton responded it goes to the TPR that is done in the TPO office; and it is a function the County currently does not have within its Board department and that is contracted out.  Vice Chairman Fisher inquired if Mr. Kamm is a County employee.  Mr. Tipton responded no; and he is a TPO and Federal employee.  He stated he does not think much will change; the County has a great working relationship with Mr. Kamm and his team, who represents the County and all of the municipalities in a very professional manor.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if the TPO currently leases the space.  Mr. Tipton responded he does not know if the County just provides TPO space.  Mr. Whitten stated TPO is charged through an allocation.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if it would remain the same.  Mr. Whitten responded yes.

 

Dr. Marlowe stated he would like the Board to move on into the direction of Utility Services.

 

Mr. Tipton stated the County’s Utilities area of both water and wastewater is critical for a number of things; not the least of which is making sure it is ready for the economic rebound and recovery; right now things are thin; if a condominium is used, as an example, with 100 residents in the condominium and everything is built on 100 residents paying for the security, elevator, or the commons area, with 75 people in the condominium, there are still the same fixed costs; and Utility Services has a lot of fixed costs, as a rise in foreclosures and vacant homes, there are fewer people who pay the fixed costs.  He stated one of the things that are being watched very closely are the revenues coming in are meeting the current operating costs, but the debt obligations; within this past year, the County just skirted through, it was very tight within less than $15,000 when talking about a multi-million-dollar-system, to have coverage run that thin, that means it is right on the line.  He stated Utilities do a great job with little capital, but there will be a potential tipping point where there has to be some alternatives to consider.

 

Mr. Scott stated the County retire debit in 2014; it is the County’s goal to keep the operations running without the Board needing to consider a rate increase; and staff is doing its best to keep a rate increase from happening.  He stated there is an opportunity to look at some different to look at some charges for some of the nastier things processed in the plant of the strong waste surcharge; but the bottom line in Utility Services is trying to hold the line with what it has.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if there is a way to get an RFP structure for residential compared to other municipalities; and can it be sent to him in an email.  Mr. Scott responded yes, he has all of that data; and he will forward it to all of the Commissioners.

 

Dr. Marlowe inquired if there are any comments of questions from the Commissioners.      

VOLUNTARY SEPARATION INCENTIVE PROGRAM

Mr. Tipton stated he would like for Frank Abbate, Human Resources Director, to come to the table and speak about the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program; it was talked briefly about last week; it has been in place for two years; and the consideration is if the Board wants to have it again for a third year.  He stated it will save a considerable amount of money on next years; and Mr. Abbate has some numbers of amounts saved for this year; and staff is asking for the Board's concurrence to move forward again.   

 

Mr. Abbate stated the same program has been utilized for the last two years; last year there was a rather extensive discussion about a variety of different options; and that has been updated and has information available.  He stated the first year that this program was offered the County had nine people participate; after participation, the position was eliminated, and the dollar value of time with those nine positions was $489,000; and last year there were 42 people who participated; and the total saving of those 42 eliminated positions were $2.7 million.  He stated there is a cost with this; he is looking for the Board's permission to pursue the same program implemented last year; it was offered with a 30-day window period; it would be offered to full-time and part-time employees, because with reduced services and hours, it is going to effect part-time employees as well.  He stated it will have the same terms as last year, which was people who participate will have to have the concurrence of his or her Director and if chosen not to participate, there is still the window period of one year if their position is eliminated, to allow participation in the program.  He stated it is believed to be cost affective; the Budget Office has ran an analysis of the costs versus the separation and it was a pretty significant payout leave incentive of about $389,000 for cost the first year and $2.7 million the second year.  He stated the program would roll out about the middle of the month; and he is looking for feedback from the Board, or other alternatives to consider with what a variety of other counties or municipalities have done.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher inquired if part-time employees participated last year.  Mr. Abbate responded no.  Vice Chairman Fisher inquired if it is unusual to have part-time participation.  Mr. Abbate responded he does not think it is unusual, because it would be pro-rated; part-timers would only receive the incentive based on their hours either quarter-time, half-time, or three-quarter-time; and the way it was done in the past is the two years the Board has given a one-week salary and it would be prorated for part-timers for every two complete years of service.  Vice Chairman Fisher stated usually part-timers do not have benefits; and he is trying to figure where Mr. Abbate is coming from by offering it to part-timers.  Mr. Abbate responded there two provided incentives; the first is the salary based on years of service; the benefits incentive would not be applicable to part-timers, because that is a three monthly continuation of group health insurance; and he or she is not eligible for it.  He stated there are a number of people that have been part-time for a number of years, that perhaps might take advantage of the program; and those individuals would be limited; and for example, if a 20-hours a week employee, with 10 years of service took the program, five weeks for 20 hours a week would be the incentive provided.

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired what Mr. Abbate recommended.   Mr. Abbate responded he recommended it since it is a way to eliminate positions, get employees who typically have many years of service to participate, and the return on the investment is worth while, and it also has the potential of saving the County unemployment compensation costs, because that cost can be significantly expensive.  He stated if there was a straight layoff and individuals would be entitled to unemployment compensation benefits; and he would recommend that the Board approve it and give the 30-day window.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher inquired if part-timers are entitled to unemployment compensation.  Mr. Abbate responded yes.

 

Mr. Tipton stated staff is working aggressively to make sure a savings is found to pay for this now; it is not easy and are under expending; it will be wretched down a little bit more to continue to save dollars; and it will look at targeting some of these departures sooner rather than later, which are budgeted for the remainder of the fiscal year.  He stated one thing that has to be made sure of is there is a dollar limit that it will not exceed; and what that dollar limit is has to be made sure of to cover it.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher inquired if an individual does this he or she cannot file for unemployment.  Mr. Abbate responded most will not be eligible, however, there are conditions where otherwise eliminating the positing, which in the past, about 20 percent have been eligible to get unemployment; and those decisions are made by the Unemployment Compensation Bureau, not the County, which is a self-insured employer, so it pays.  He mentioned right now anytime someone is laid off to create the vacancy the person will be eligible for unemployment; and when that occurs, the extended benefits, as a public employer, now has potential liability extending to 99 weeks, with the extended money.  He stated the County is not eligible for reimbursement for Stimulus dollars, because the Federal extension of these benefits.  He stated anything that can be done with voluntary separation, attrition, or eliminating positions is very cost effective; and the Board should try to maximize those opportunities.

 

Vice Chairman Fisher stated he is doing the math with a person having 15 years of service, one week per two years of service, would receive seven weeks up front.  Mr. Abbate stated plus three months of the group health insurance at the current employee rate, which is obviously very reduced versus paying someone who is vested or retired.  Vice Chairman Fisher inquired why not just lay the person off and give them 99 weeks.  Mr. Abbate stated that is a possibility for those who do not participate in the program and it would happened if potential lay offs happen; and this way the extra incentive is there for people with more years of service to look at that as a benefit.  He stated he would project that there would be increased participation this year over last year.

 

The Board approved offering the Voluntary Separation Incentive Program (VSIP) to employees, including part-time employees.    

 

MOVER:             Trudie Infantini, Commissioner District 3

SECONDER:     Andy Anderson, Commissioner District 5

AYES:                 Robin Fisher, Chuck Nelson, Trudie Infantini, Andy Anderson

ABSENT:           Mary Bolin

 

 

Dr. Marlowe stated Mr. Tipton will explain the next steps of the presentation.

 

Mr. Tipton stated the next Board workshop will be May 13, 2010; it will be the time when Library and Park budgets are discussed; he inquired if this room will be big enough; and he is going to make sure the facility is adequate for what could be a large group.

 

Commissioner Anderson suggested using the Board Chambers.  Mr. Tipton stated it is up to the Board and he will wait to see how many are present for the discussion.  He stated May 27 and July 8, 2010 are the scheduled workshops to follow the May 13th meeting.  He stated the public engagement sessions will be held on May 17, 2010 in Cocoa, May 20, 2010 in Palm Bay, and May 24, 2010 in Titusville.

Sara Ann Conkling stated she has good news for the Board; she knows Mr. Whitten is going to restore the $6.9 million for the accessible bus stops and shelters; she would really like to see that money be used for its intended purposes; and Senator Thad Altman is now working with Country Acres, to help speed up the Medicaid money coming in.  She stated employment and economic impacts of fixed routes of SCAT service; she inquired if there is anybody in this room that does not want employment for people in Brevard County, because this is the ticket for employment; she wants to walk the Board through some of her calculations provided; and she expressed her thanks to Mr. Liesenfelt for giving her the ridership figures yesterday.  She stated the first thing she did was project the total ridership on SCAT fixed routes based on the first six months, which shows 1.5 million trips; the American Public Transportation tells 59.2 percent of those trips are to get to work; and if that percentage is applied to the trips, it is 893,000 plus are the people going to work, with the average worker making two trips, times fives times a week, times 49 weeks a year, and that gives 490 trips per worker.  She stated the economic impact of those people using the bus service has an economic impact of over $27 million; by providing what is provided now it is helping to keep employment in Brevard; people cannot lose their jobs if the fixed route services are messed with; and similarly, for every extra dollar given for operating pubic transportation there is $17.53 going into a workers pocket in Brevard County.  She stated she does not know if there is any other department that can make a direct association between the money it puts in and the wage income of going into the pocket of somebody working in Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if this is all assumption that the workers cannot get to work.  Ms. Conkling responded she is telling the Board that the people who ride the bus need the bus to get back and forth to work.  Commissioner Anderson stated those jobs would not go unfilled, the jobs would be filled with somebody that has a vehicle.  Ms. Conkling stated or not, because some of these jobs may have a hard time being filled.  Commissioner Anderson stated he does not know anybody that is turning down jobs right now in his district; and he has engineers working at McDonald's.  Ms. Conkling stated there should be no reason to take 1,800 economically vulnerable people and put them out of work, so other people can take those jobs.  Commissioner Anderson stated he is not saying that; and it is just an assumption.  Ms. Conkling stated the people who would be leaving those jobs would be the economically franchised and disabled workforce; and throwing those people who have not other options out of a job.  Commissioner Anderson stated when the times get better Ms. Conkling's assumptions are right; but not right now during the current unemployment problems.  Ms. Conkling stated last year there was 24 percent cut from public transportation operation; but for every extra dollar given, it will help put and keep people working in Brevard County.

 

Robert Lancaster stated contrary to all of the gloomy news he has been hearing today about the budget, he thinks he has some good news.  He stated he was at Port Canaveral on March 24, 2010 and seen a lot of Police and Sheriff vehicles congregated at one lot; he was curious; he called the Port Commission; and inquired what it was all about.  He advised  the person on the phone told him the Port now has its own police force, with one Chief, three Sergeant’s, and eight Officer's, and it was to be expanded up to 22 people.  He stated those 22 people are going to replace eight Sheriff Deputies that have been providing security at the Port; it is presumable that the Sheriff Deputies will be replaced and not needed there anymore; if the Sheriff's are not going to be needed there he inquired if their slots can be eliminated; and it seems to be a win-win situation, because there would be no reduction in service to the citizens of Brevard County, because those Deputies were not patrolling.  He stated if those Deputies are not laid off and just let their jobs disappear through attrition of retirement or if they quit; and by his calculations $1 million could be saved a year, which would be going back into the budget.

 

Commissioner Anderson mentioned the Port Commission and the Sheriff are separately elected officials, so there is not much influence from this Board over that.  Mr. Lancaster stated the County funds the Sheriff; and if the slots for those eight Sheriff Deputies are eliminated that will take care of the problem.

 

 

Upon motion and vote the meeting adjourned at 2:41 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                              _________________________________

                                                                             MARY BOLIN, CHAIRMAN

                                                                             BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

___________________                                 BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK