May 9, 2002

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on May 9, 2002, at 1:00 p.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chairman Truman Scarborough, Commissioners Randy O'Brien, Nancy Higgs, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, and County Manager Tom Jenkins. Absent was: *County Attorney Scott Knox.

DISCUSSION, RE: FY 2002-2003 BUDGET

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated the County has received two budgets from the Charter Officers; and as staff is beginning its preparation of the preliminary budget, it would be helpful to discuss the proposed budgets with the Board to see if it wants to have any comments or direction to staff that may be helpful as it proceeds with development of the budget for next year. He stated the two requested budgets received are from the Clerk of Courts and Sheriff; and attached for the Board is a summary of the requests. He noted budget workshops will be held later in the year, once a preliminary budget is prepared; and the purpose of today's discussion is not to have elaborate presentations, but to see if the Board has any comments or direction to staff based on the information provided in the requested budgets.

Commissioner Higgs requested staff summarize the requests, including how much they are and the impact on the overall budget if the Board proceeds with the requests.

Budget Manager Dennis Rogero stated the Sheriff's Office's total requested increase compared to its amended budget for the current year is just over $12.7 million, which is about 29% over its amended budget for the current year; the General Fund comprises about $9 million and the Law Enforcement Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) is about $3 million; staff has an itemization of the primary allocations for the increase in the package provided; and there are two primary increases, the General Fund transfer and the Law Enforcement MSTU transfer, which will result in an increase in both the projected General Fund Countywide rollback rate of approximately 15% and an increase above the projected Law Enforcement MSTU rollback rate of approximately 41%. He noted those are absent any other increases, especially to the General Fund Countywide millage. He stated the Clerk's Office has requested an additional General Fund transfer just over a half a million dollars; an itemization is included in the package for the primary expense; and absent any other increases to the General Fund Countywide millage, there will be an increase over the rollback rate of about 0.69%.

Mr. Jenkins stated the difference with the Clerk's budget numbers at this point is that they do not include a salary increase or a health insurance cost increase. Mr. Rogero responded they do not include a salary increase for the next fiscal year, but include a projection for the health insurance increase. Mr. Jenkins noted there would be a slight additional increase, which has not been calculated in the Clerk's budget. Chairman Scarborough stated every time the County has a reduction in the interest rates there are refinancings, which generates doc stamps; the doc stamps help fund the Clerk's Office; however, there is a computer problem; and requested staff address the issue.

Mr. Rogero stated the Clerk's Office plans on submitting revised revenue projections to staff as soon as next month as it progresses in fixing the computer problems it has encountered. Chairman Scarborough inquired how much more revenue was generated from doc stamps this year as opposed to the year before; with Mr. Rogero responding he does not have that information. Mr. Jenkins stated that is on the Clerk's fee side of the budget; what is being discussed is only the General Fund portion of the Clerk's budget; the Clerk has two components to his budget; but he does not use doc stamps to pay for County expenses, which is the problem; and even though the Clerk may be generating money from recording documents, he historically does not use that to pay for County court costs. Chairman Scarborough noted he understands that, but it is money in the Clerk's Office. Mr. Jenkins stated the Clerk will have increased revenues on the fee side of his Office.

Commissioner Carlson stated the Board normally receives updates from the Clerk's Office concerning the status of improvements and fixing the problem with the computer system; however, she has not seen a report in a long time; she thought the Board was supposed to get quarterly updates; and requested staff give the Board some feedback at its next meeting. Mr. Jenkins stated staff will provide the report to the Board.

Commissioner Higgs inquired does staff have any estimated revenues on the County's revenues for next year. Mr. Rogero responded in terms of the millages and revenues from the tax rate, the County is running on projected valuations; it will get the official projected valuations from the Property Appraiser's Office the first of next month; based on the Budget Office's projected valuations, the General Fund Countywide millage is just over $2 million in additional revenue due to new construction; and it would be at the rollback rate. Chairman Scarborough stated the County may not reap the benefits of new construction immediately; and inquired has staff been able to run the numbers on building permits and Certificates of Occupancy (CO). Mr. Rogero responded staff has received quarterly CO numbers for the last fiscal year, but does not have the numbers on a monthly basis yet; and it will try to break down the numbers for the Board. Mr. Jenkins stated staff is anticipating a spike in ad valorem revenue in about two years; the Oleander Power Plant is going to be coming on; there are some big projects coming on line, but the County will not see it in the next fiscal year; and it is going to be the following fiscal year before it gets the benefit.

Commissioner Higgs stated with the Sheriff's request of $12 million and the Clerk's request of $500,000, and $2 million in additional revenues, the County is a long way from meeting the requests without increases in anybody else's budgets. Mr. Jenkins noted the $2 million is not even going to give County employees a modest salary increase or pay for health insurance increases. Chairman Scarborough stated the Sheriff is requesting approximately $16 million total; and requested Mr. Jenkins contact the Sheriff and tell him it is not legally possible with the TRIM, and he needs to prioritize the issues. Mr. Jenkins stated staff will have to list the changes in the budget as unfunded program changes while the Board considers how and which items it may be willing to fund, other than prior commitments made by the Board. He stated the Board cannot fund those items and staff balance the budget without making enormous cuts in other programs; and the unfunded program changes can be dealt with during the budget workshops if it is acceptable by the Board.

Commissioner Higgs stated the Board agreed to 20 additional MSTU deputies. Mr. Jenkins noted there are some built-in commitments that the Board already made which need to be included; there will be inflationary cost impacts as well; the jail costs are also going to have some inflationary impact; and changes beyond those can be shown as unfunded program changes if it is acceptable. Chairman Scarborough stated that is appropriate; the Sheriff can come back to the Board with a list of priorities in his budget; and he does not know how the Board could fund $16 million. Mr. Jenkins noted such request could not be funded without the County going to referendum.

RECOGNITION, RE: SATELLITE HIGH SCHOOL

Commissioner Carlson congratulated Satellite High School for getting the All Sports trophy; stated last year, the trophy went to Astronaut High School; the Space Coast Conference All Sports Association looks at all the different varsity sports across-the-board to see how they performed; and the particular school that does the best gets the trophy.

REPORT, RE: WATER WATCH

Commissioner Carlson stated St. Johns River Water Management District publishes Water Watch; it talks about Senate Bill 1906, which was passed during session; there are a few items that she would like staff to report back to the Board on concerning what the impact may be to Brevard County; and one item is the regional water supply plans, which require that the comprehensive plans of counties and cities be coordinated with a regional water supply plan. She noted the second issue deals with interlocal agreement review, which requires that as of January 1, 2004 all counties with a population exceeding 100,000 and all municipalities and districts within those counties conduct a review of their service delivery agreements relating to sewer, drainage, etc.; and the third item deals with the issue of reclaimed water.

*County Attorney Scott Knox's presence was noted at this time.

PERMISSION TO SERVE, RE: BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR FLORIDA ASSOCIATION
OF COUNTIES' COMMUNITY TRUST

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to authorize Commissioner Nancy Higgs to serve on the Board of Directors for the Florida Association of Counties' Community Trust, which meets four times a year and deals with line of credit and other issues. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ATTEND, RE: FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES' AND
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES' OFFICIAL FUNCTIONS

Motion by Commissioner Higgs, seconded by Commissioner Carlson, to authorize the Commissioners to attend Florida Association of Counties' and National Association of Counties' official functions. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO TRAVEL, RE: MEETINGS ON WATER ISSUES

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Scarborough, to authorize travel for Commissioner Higgs to attend the meetings concerning water issues on behalf of the Board. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis stated he received information yesterday afternoon concerning his Office's requested increase which shows $500,000 and General Fund transfer increase of 3½%; and inquired what does the 3½% represent.

Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten responded the 3½% is an increase in the millage over the rollback millage rate. Mr. Ellis inquired of what millage; with Mr. Whitten responding in a current millage rate scenario. Mr. Whitten stated if the current millage rate was brought forward into next year, the approximate $500,000 would be a 3.4% increase over the rollback millage. Mr. Ellis noted that is of the General Fund; with Mr. Whitten responded that is correct. Mr. Whitten stated it is only a scenario as the Board has not given staff any direction. Mr. Ellis stated the General Fund is projected at $77 million; and inquired how is one half million dollars 3½% of $77 million. Mr. Whitten responded it is not that simple of a projection; it is based on rollback millage and how it effects current millages; and staff can show Mr. Ellis how it is calculated on the spreadsheet. Mr. Ellis stated he understands the concept of rollback; rollback means the same amount of money, $77 million with a slightly lower millage; and one half million dollars is less than 1% of $77 million.

Chairman Scarborough suggested Mr. Ellis meet with Mr. Whitten concerning the issue; staff can provide a memorandum to the Board with the information; and there will be multiple discussions concerning the budget. He noted the Board is not making any decisions today; Mr. Ellis has a right to question and correct things; but it is not germane to anything the Board is having to undertake this afternoon. Mr. Ellis inquired is the Sheriff's budget based on the same numbers; with Mr. Whitten responding it is based on the same methodology. Mr. Ellis stated the Sheriff's budget for $9 million is 15%; the Clerk's budget is 1/18th of that; but yet it is considered to be one-fourth the percentage. Chairman Scarborough suggested Messrs. Ellis, Whitten, and Rogero meet and come back later in the meeting to discuss the issue further. Mr. Ellis stated besides the error, his Office received the information yesterday afternoon; and had he received it a week earlier, he could have met with County staff before now.

DISCUSSION, RE: OVERVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS

County Manager Tom Jenkins stated the first document is the analysis from the Sterling Award process, which is the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT); the Board and County Departments were involved; Leigh Holt has combined all of the information into one document, which was provided to the Board previously; and the Strategic Plan and Goals were then created. He noted the second document shows the goals and objectives that have resulted from the analysis; Ms. Holt transferred the information to a graphic chart; and the last document is the Strategic Plan and Goals, which is the same goals and objectives information provided to the Board previously, and includes the fiscal impact. He stated some of the items highlighted in yellow are already underway; staff put a time frame on the chart of April 2002 through September 2003; some of the items can be done quicker and removed from the Strategic Plan; others will take longer and may be in the Plan for several years; and it is a phased approach.

Strategic Planning Director Leigh Holt expressed appreciation to the Board for doing the SWOT analysis; stated it was thorough; the information provided in the analysis is useful; and it gives staff clear direction of the Board's priorities. She noted she read through the Commissioners' comments and matched what they said was important with those things the staff identified as goals, objectives, and priorities in the departments' plans; for example, Commissioner O'Brien said that Emergency Management Office should provide more public forums on a continuing basis where plans can be shared and the public informed; such Office has the goal of improving distribution of emergency preparedness information to local leaders, businesses, organizations, and the general public; and the plan in more detail includes objectives to accomplish this year and performance measures to say what has been accomplished toward the goal. Ms. Holt stated Commissioner Colon had more detail in her comments; one item is to hire a fulltime grant writer in Health and Human Services Department to bring in more funds for health and human service issues; the Department has a goal of providing sufficient level of services to meet the basic health, housing, and social needs of eligible citizens; one of the objectives is to increase grant funding by 50%; and one of the ways the Department feels it can do that is by hiring a fulltime grant writer to pursue grant funds. She noted there were a few things the Board members addressed that were not in the departments' plans; each Commissioner discussed property rights and environmental concerns, and balancing the two issues; and Goal II.E. is to facilitate discussion between property rights advocates and the environmental community. She stated staff is proposing that the Board hire a conflict resolution/facilitator person to do that; staff tried to make sure that everything the Commissioners identified as a priority or opportunity was included; the items highlighted in yellow on the chart indicate those goals that can be accomplished with existing resources over the coming year; and those items not highlighted in yellow will need to be considered as part of the Board's budget discussion either this year or in future years in order to be accomplished. Mr. Jenkins noted it is particularly evident there are some large capital items included; there is no realistic way currently to fund them; and the Board at some point will have to discuss alternatives for funding some of the capital needs.

Commissioner Carlson inquired is that how staff has incorporated the Capital Improvements Program (CIP) into the whole process; with Ms. Holt responding affirmatively. Ms. Holt stated staff has shown recurring, non-recurring and capital outlay from the CIP; recurring and non-recurring is approximately $7.5 million; and about $3.5 million is the estimated difference between the 2002 and 2003 health benefits. Commissioner Carlson stated the County has unfunded items in the CIP, which does not reflect the $14 million. Ms. Holt noted only the CIP numbers that connect to one of the goals are in the document. Mr. Jenkins stated not everything the staff does is going to be in the Strategic Plan; and they do a lot more than what is in the Plan. Commissioner Carlson inquired what does "The planning has started, execution has started, and completed" mean on the chart. Ms. Holt responded when staff reports back to the Board, it can use the chart as a measurement tool; it can provide a report monthly or quarterly; staff would begin to shade the boxes as the goals progress during the time frame; and the Board will be able to see where staff stands on each goal on the chart. Mr. Jenkins noted historically, staff has tried to report on a quarterly basis. Commissioner Carlson stated the shaded areas are identified using existing resources; and inquired does it mean that those
areas are included in the existing budget using existing dollars. Ms. Holt responded that is correct.

Chairman Scarborough stated under Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast and Tourism Development Council on the chart it says, "Continue private/public partnership for beneficial economic development and tourism development"; it is a continuation and not anything new; but some of the goals do not have enough definition. Ms. Holt stated it is important to look at the objectives that go with the goals; some goals are broad, but the objectives have more detail and include the measures; and every goal has a measure that the Board and staff want to accomplish.

Mr. Jenkins stated staff has been able to seek input from the County's departments, directors, and employees; everybody in the organization has been included; and the information has been blended with the Commissioners' comments. Commissioner Carlson stated the County will be incorporating Brevard Tomorrow's information, but it will not be this year; the chart reflects that the County wants to be aligned with the input from the groups; it will show what staff and the County Departments are saying, and what the Board feels are important goals; and such goals can be blended together with the communities' input. She noted it may change the focus on some of the issues; but right now the chart reflects what the County feels is important based on the current information and input. Mr. Jenkins stated over the years, Brevard County and other non-profit entities have developed a large number of plans; many of those plans have been considered as part of the Strategic Plan; Commissioner Carlson's Office has a list of every plan that exist in the County; and to some limited degree, the County Departments were able to consult the plans, extract the issues, and include them in the Strategic Plan. Commissioner Carlson stated Brevard Tomorrow attempted to do that; and County staff reviewed all the information and incorporated the same ideas. She inquired if the goals are prioritized; with Ms. Holt responding negatively. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board can start reviewing the priorities; the costs of doing the items that are not highlighted in yellow are large; given the dollars the County is talking about spending in this budget cycle on other things, the Board needs to prioritize what is important; the County is not going to have any choice in doing some items that are listed, such as health insurance; and the County has $3.5 million for health insurance. Mr. Jenkins noted the good news is that not all the $3.5 million is General Fund; some of it is Solid Waste and Water and Wastewater funds; it is still going to be a sizeable number; but the General Fund impact is not going to be that much.

Mr. Jenkins suggested the Board try to incorporate the Charter Officers in the strategic planning process in subsequent years since they consume a significant portion of the General Fund budget. He stated the Officers' plans and goals could be presented to the Board for consideration if they are interested in participating; it would be voluntary on their part whether to participate or not; but the Board can make that offer. Commissioner Carlson stated it is important to do that as the best plans the County has brought forth can be uprooted because it has a $13 million increase to the Sheriff's budget. Chairman Scarborough stated Brevard Tomorrow is not stopping with the County; the municipalities, School Board, and everybody is involved; and everything needs to work together. Commissioner Carlson noted the work groups will include every sector in the County; she has not seen some of the information, such as transportation issues or law enforcement objectives; those are things that will hopefully come out through the work groups with more people involved; Brevard Tomorrow is looking for approximately 25 people per sector; and it hopes to get representation from everybody.

The Board acknowledged Ms. Holt's presentation on the Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives, including the Strategic Plan Chart and the Board's SWOT Analysis.

Chairman Scarborough suggested the Board use the same format it used previously with the disc; and stated the Commissioners can put their additional comments on the disc. Commissioner Carlson noted the Commissioners have provided input, and now the Board needs to prioritize the issues.

Commissioner Higgs suggested supporting the schools and facilities being coordinated with growth, under Item IV., Creating Cooperative Partnerships Between Government, Business, Community Organizations and Residents; and the concept of drinking water, under Item II., Protecting the Environment and Conserving Valuable Natural Resources, needs to be specified as it includes the whole area of stormwater utility and not only natural resources. She stated there are going to be challenges not only to the County to provide drinking water here, but other people wanting to go into the unincorporated areas and use resources to supply drinking water to others; and the County needs to be sure it is a partner on that issue and not a doormat. Ms. Holt stated the school partnership issue could be added under Item IV.C., Planning and Zoning, to continue private/public partnerships for community planning, or it can be a separate goal.

Commissioner O'Brien stated there was discussion about a desalt plant at Port Canaveral to run the water across Brevard County; and the County will be part of that discussion. Commissioner Higgs stated the County may not have that opportunity unless it is proactive; perhaps a water sewer district in the unincorporated area of Brevard County would allow the County to be in control; and it should be a partner and not be told what somebody is going to do. She noted she is not talking about being a provider necessarily; but the County needs to be the decision body in the unincorporated area of Brevard County. Chairman Scarborough stated the County is having a struggle with the cities; Volusia County is also having a problem with fragmentation; at the MyRegion meeting there was discussion about how close some counties are to mimicking Los Angeles; and the County needs to work with the cities. He reiterated that the Commissioners need to articulate any additional comments they have on a disc concerning the strategic planning goals and objectives, and provide the information to staff.

Commissioner Colon suggested the law enforcement issue be kept separately pertaining to the partnerships, and include cooperation with the School Board and municipalities.

Mr. Jenkins advised staff will include the issues discussed on a disc and provide the additional data and information to the Board prior to its break in June, 2002. Chairman Scarborough advised another workshop will be scheduled after the data has been compiled and given to the Board for its review. Commissioner Carlson suggested the Commissioners provide any other discussion points based on the new information and their priorities to staff. Chairman Scarborough suggested Commissioners put on the disc any other important issues that need to be included. Ms. Holt stated she will work with the appropriate Departments to draft something and obtain their comments on the items brought forward today by the Commissioners. Commissioner Carlson stated the input and prioritization of items are going to affect the budgetary process, if the Board decides that certain things are important to fund this coming year. Mr. Jenkins noted most of the items are going to be unfunded program changes; with Ms. Holt reiterating that the items not highlighted in yellow are unfunded budget requests. Commissioner Carlson stated it is up to the Board to prioritize those items that are not highlighted.

Chairman Scarborough stated in the past when there were unfunded items, staff commented on possible funding sources or other ways to fund the issues. Commissioner Carlson stated the whole exercise will help if there is further discussion on where funding comes in general for capital items and other things.

The meeting recessed at 1:55 p.m. and reconvened at 2:05 p.m.

Mr. Ellis stated the 3.5% increase mentioned previously is supposed to be .5% instead. Mr. Rogero stated page 3 of the documentation gives the initial Clerk's Office requested increase of $534,000 and 3.49% increase above the projected rollback rate; and it is under the assumption that all millages are adopted by the Board at the current rate. He noted adopting General Revenue Countywide millage at the current rate will provide a 3% increase above the rollback rate; and the additional $534,000 plus the initial adopted millage at the current year rate provides a 3.49% increase above the rollback rate. Mr. Ellis stated none of the 3% goes to the Clerk's Office; with Mr. Rogero responding that is correct. Mr. Ellis stated if the Board's adopted millage remains the same, it is approximately a $4.6 million increase in revenue; his Office's increase is approximately $550,000; and it has folded the insurance into it, which increased over $300,000.

Commissioner Higgs inquired if Mr. Ellis is requesting 20 new positions; with Mr. Ellis responding negatively. Mr. Ellis stated when the Clerk's Office went through the budget last year, it had to use fees for County Court and is still doing so; however, in the correspondence he submitted with his FY 2003 budget, he made a statement, "While efforts are ongoing in balancing the Clerk's financial records, we continue to use estimates for revenues generated by this Office as presented as part of the budget. We anticipate this being completed by mid-May and plan on submitting a revised budget by July 1, 2002." He stated in the budget, his Office did not use $250,000 in fees again to supplement County Court; when it receives the real fee numbers within a few weeks, it will get a better look at his Office's budget; and the Clerk's Office is still running on estimates for court fees. Mr. Ellis advised he has people on board that are being paid out of the fees to run County Court; County Court is probably going to finish about $300,000 in the red; and it is being covered out of the fee side. Mr. Jenkins inquired have those individuals been here all year; with Mr. Ellis responding yes. Mr. Ellis stated the Clerk's Office's FY 2001-2002 budget showed approximately $250,000 in fees for County Court; he does not know where the fees are going to be next year because the court fees come out in the wash; and he does not know if it is going to end up like the traffic tickets did. He noted FY 1999-2000 and FY 2000-2001 fees need to be balanced, which are previously closed books; if FY 2001-2002 fees come up short, the Clerk's Office will have to take it this year; and there will be real numbers for FY 2002-2003.

Chairman Scarborough stated when there is a decrease in interest rates many people refinance; and inquired how are the doc stamps coming in. Mr. Ellis responded recording fees are what is paying for County Court at the present time; the projections now are $2.9 million; and his Office budgeted $2.4 million. He noted his Office has added people in the Recording Department; and most of them are students who do scanning and simple data entry. He stated the court fees are approximately three-fourths of the Clerk's fees; and reiterated there is not an accurate number for court fees.

Commissioner Carlson stated she requested staff obtain a status report on the Clerk's system; and inquired when is the last time the Clerk provided a report to the Board. Mr. Ellis responded January 2002. Commissioner Carlson inquired how often is the Clerk submitting a status report to the Board, as she has only seen one or two reports; with Mr. Ellis responding he provides a quarterly status report and can provide another report as well. Mr. Ellis stated his Office is waiting on the ATM network coming through Information/Communications Systems Department; the wiring for the Clerk's Office has been completed; everything is set up at the Jail, Viera Clerk's Office, and Melbourne Courthouse; BellSouth needs to do its work next; and the Clerk's Office is ready.

PERMISSION TO SCHEDULE EXECUTIVE SESSION, RE: LABOR AGREEMENT
NEGOTIATIONS WITH LABORERS INTERNATIONAL UNION, LOCAL 678

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant permission to schedule an executive session with the County Manager and appropriate staff to discuss the status of negotiations with the Laborers International Union, Local 678, on May 23, 2002 at 4:30 p.m. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE AND SCHEDULE EXECUTIVE SESSION, RE:
CHRISTENSEN V. BREVARD COUNTY

Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to grant permission to advertise and schedule an executive session on May 23, 2002 at 5:00 p.m. to discuss strategy related to litigation concerning the Christensen v. Brevard County case. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 2:15 p.m.

ATTEST: __________________________________
TRUMAN SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

_______________________
SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

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