MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

February 24, 2009

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in workshop session on February 24, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. in the Brevard County Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairman Chuck Nelson, Commissioners Robin Fisher, Trudie Infantini, Mary Bolin, and Andy Anderson, Interim County Manager Stockton Whitten, and County Attorney Scott Knox. 

 

 

Commissioner Bolin requested everyone keep the family of Mayor John Buckley, who passed away last weekend, in their prayers.

Chairman Nelson stated Mayor Buckley was a true public servant and great man; and he enjoyed working with the City of Melbourne over the years.

 

 

 

Chairman Nelson advised there is a meeting tonight at the Agricultural Center on Lake Drive in Cocoa at 6:30 p.m. regarding the flooding issues that occurred with Tropical Storm Fay; the citizens are invited to attend; and staff will go over the some of the possible solutions.  He stated the area of West Cocoa is a difficult area because it is flat, so it is hard to get water to go anywhere.

Interim County Manager Stockton Whitten stated the workshop is facilitated by the University of Central Florida (UCF) Institute of Government; Marilyn Crotty is the Director of the Florida Institute of Government at UCF; she serves as the Executive Director of the Tri-County League of Cities; Ms. Crotty has facilitated numerous workshops and strategic planning sessions for local governments and not-for-profit organizations; and she is also a faculty member for the Florida League of Cities Institute of Elected Municipal Officials.  He advised Teresa Jacobs, prior to joining the Institute, also served as an Orange County Commissioner for eight years until her term limits required her to step down; in 2007, she was elected by county commissioners throughout the State to serve as President of the Florida Association of Counties; in addition to her role as county commissioner and FAC President, Ms. Jacobs also served on numerous State and Regional boards and commissions, including serving as Chair of the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council; and she is a graduate of Florida State University (FSU).  Mr. Whitten stated they are hopeful that the Board will find the workshop beneficial; they  have  done  this  for other Counties, including Alachua, Clay, and Martin, just to name a few; and locally, they have done strategic planning and facilitation services for the Cities of Melbourne, Cocoa, and Titusville.

Marilyn Crotty stated strategic planning is something that many organizations engage in, but there is probably more who do not bother to do any kind of thinking ahead and planning for the future; in this day and age, it is more critical, more important than ever; what they hope to assist the Board with today is spending some time talking about what is happening in the world, State, County, and Brevard County, and talk about what needs to happen; and it is part of the County’s budget process.  She noted the ideas generated today will give direction to County staff as they begin to put the budget together for the next fiscal year; while it is preliminary, it really fits in to the overall picture of what important decisions the Board will be making; the kinds of discussion and the information generated will be part of the basis for the decisions the Board will be making in the next few months; and it is the task of Ms. Jacobs and herself to make sure that by the end of the workshop that they have accomplished the things that have been identified here as important.  She stated the things that are key to this are that ultimately the Board will establish a series of goals, some objectives under each of those goals, and then identify priorities; they are looking for a consensus of the Board; accountability is one of the things that strategic planning brings to the forefront; once the Board determines a series of goals, objectives, and priorities, then staff is charged with implanting it and giving the Board regular feedback and reports on where the County is in the plan; and any strategic plan the Board determines has to have some flexibility.

 

Teresa Jacobs inquired where the Commissioners see the Brevard County community and its government in two years from now; and stated these are different times.

 

Chairman Nelson stated one of the things he would like to see at the end of the two-year period is the County being leaner and cleaner, and having an organization that has a better focus; it is certainly going to be more concise; and also an organization that is ready to continue to move forward.  He noted there will always be opportunities and needs; the law has changed regarding surface water improvement; the County is going to have to deal with that; there are issues with courtroom security, as well as the issues of the jail; and the County is going to have to meet those needs as they are not going to go away.  He stated the jail population is going to increase; he would like the County to be more crisp in its delivery of services; and the ability to, in future years, begin to pull out of the economic downturn that the County has been through. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the County needs to reinvent itself with the government side and be more helpful; she can envision Brevard County going gangbusters with new, young entrepreneurs with new businesses; and that is where she would like to see the County go very strongly because they are the ones that are going to be pulling the County through these tough times.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated it is one thing to say that a county government is business friendly; it is important for Brevard County to be known and recognized nationally as very business friendly; otherwise, the challenges it faces, the revenues will not be there if the County cannot supplement its economic development, especially with the Shuttle Program winding down.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to see changing the County government structure; she would like to have an opportunity to reorganize the way Brevard County has been set up so that it can move forward and deliver those services, which government should be delivering, rather than trying to be everything to everybody in the entire County.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the County also needs to develop more relationships with its Cities in a positive way; and as the County moves forward it is going to see more consolidation of services where it is appropriate and sharing of responsibilities instead of each Commissioner trying to take them on itself.

 

Ms. Crotty inquired what does the Board see Brevard County looking like for its residents, businesses, etc., and how will things be for them in perhaps two years from now. 

 

Commissioner Infantini responded the St. Johns Heritage Parkway will be built.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she can see regarding the faith-based community services doing a lot of holding of hands, maybe consolidation, because in tough times that is usually when people come together; this is going to be an opportunity for them and all organizations who do service to the community to come together and maybe do some friendly talking also.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he believes the community perception of government is wasteful; he would love to see Brevard County prove that it is efficient in the way it operates; and the whole perception of government is not good.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the County needs to continue to try to develop its high-tech nature of its community; it started moving that direction, diversifying the Space Center; the County has high-tech people, but not rely on the Space Center; and to continue to bring those kinds of businesses to the community; so besides the friendly business part of it is to become the Silicon Valley of Florida related to high-tech.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated to use those skills to be one of the first communities out of the recession that the County is in; and the residents believe that Brevard County can be one of the first communities out of the downturn.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated the best way to get out is to use the brain talent in Brevard County; there are smart people in the County; she would like to see an overabundance of new industry working out of garages; and that is where the County needs to get its emphasis.

 

Chairman Nelson stated throughout the entire process the County still has to protect the quality of life; so many folks moved here because of that; and the County cannot lose track of that at the same time it is doing everything else.

 

Ms. Crotty inquired what is the current unemployment rate in Brevard County; with Assistant County Manager Mel Scott responding 8.3%.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated a lot of employment was based on construction and very heavily so in South County; so a lot of that high unemployment rate is based on out of work construction workers, drywall, tile, etc.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated Space Florida is totally committed to trying to get more Research and Development companies here, so that is going to be a help; Brevard County has been very proactive; it has a federal lobbyist; the area of Space has been a high priority in the County; and through the Economic Development Commission, it has three consultants that are also working on it.  She advised the Commissioners have been talking with the Presidential Transition Teams; and that is her most hopeful area that the County can be effective, besides the geographic area of Brevard County.

 

Ms. Crotty advised aging of the population is happening throughout the Country; and inquired how are the demographics looking in Brevard County.

 

Assistant County Manager Mel Scott stated the County gets about a year older median age almost every two years; it is now approaching 40 as its median age; going back to the last Census in 2000, the County would be at about 36 or 35; so it has been that way for the last 20 years; and the County is just seeing that slow move up.  Ms. Crotty inquired what implications does that have for Brevard County government; with Commissioner Bolin responding it changes its core services that it needs to look at.  She stated unfunded mandates is another issue; it certainly impacts County government to a great extent when it is looking at constrained resources and there are unfunded mandates; and it makes it even tougher.  She inquired regarding citizen distrust of government, how does the Board see that currently in Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Infantini responded the permitting process is an issue, not just Brevard County, but the St. Johns River Water Management District as well; they are running into so many obstacles; sometimes employees within Brevard County are concerned about the way things are being run; and they come forward and say there is some waste.  She stated she would like to approach going to the employees and giving them a sheet of paper to include if they could fix one thing or change one waste, what would it be; and they could submit the information to perhaps the Citizens Budget Review Committee.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he thinks it is overall from the federal government on down, but on a local level, there is a positive and a negative; the negative is he does not think residents felt that local officials were good stewards of their money; there are a lot of different reasons for that; however, with the new election cycle, this is a new County Commission, and there are a lot of new legislators.  He noted there is optimism that the County Commission is going to bring new ideas to the table to fix some of those issues; and as long as it stays on the path regarding efficiencies and effective government, that trust will start to increase.

 

Ms. Crotty inquired regarding continuing demand to serve the increasing population, is Brevard County’s population now static or diminishing; with Mr. Scott responding the County still has modest increases in population a year, and it is about .5 to 1.2% still growth.  Commissioner Anderson stated that is dependent on what part of the County one is talking about; and there are some decreases in some of the municipalities.  Mr. Scott stated there are some local decreases, but as a County, it continues to grow very modestly.  Ms. Crotty advised the demand for services, whether the population is increasing or not, is there; regarding the special interest service demands, is increasing the Board’s perception rather than decreasing.  Chairman Nelson stated the non-profits are having a very difficult time. 

  

Ms. Crotty inquired about changes in growth management requirements and what Brevard County might be expecting from Tallahassee.  Mr. Scott responded there are the full range of ideas that are being bandied about right now; he has heard very real talk of DCA not being DCA after this session; that has been a Bill that has been before the Legislature the last couple of years and is a perfect opportunity with the economic climate to see that happen this year; and there are Bills that have already been filed this session that would do away with Development of Regional Impact (DRI) requirements in most urban counties.  He stated there are provisions in some Bills that have already been filed that are talking about doing away with local environmental regulations and deferring to the State or federal regulations that would drive those requirements; there is everything from fees that would have come through Chapter 163 of the Growth Management Act, to concurrency, to the DRI process; so the full range of opportunities and things that may happen in the Growth Management Action are out there and will be talked about in earnest this session.

 

Chairman Nelson stated he hopes they do it at more of a regional level than at a State level; that is where the breakdown has been; the State in Tallahassee is trying to determine what the needs are; they are weighing in on topics they have no idea what the impacts are at a local level; so he would like to see more regional responsibility for growth management instead of at the State level, not to say they would go away in its entirety, but certainly pass it down to the Regional Planning Councils.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated Governor Crist is supporting four new tax reductions; these are difficult times; it is popular to support four new tax reductions; but the reality is that services are going to suffer if there are numerous reductions.  He noted it sends a mixed message to citizens; inquired is Governor Crist right or is the County, and is the County greedy and wrong; and stated that is a hard battle when there is top leadership pushing that down.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated she struggles with this also because there seems to be a disconnect between the idea of economic stimulus and wanting government to put money out there so that people have it to spend, and yet local governments having less money to spend; some of this does not seem to be adding up; and she shares some concerns about the Legislature taking over the role of local governments and the Regional role in these terms.  She noted the Board is perfectly capable of making decisions if it feels it is time to cut taxes or cut fees; and it should not be a decision made in Tallahassee that lasts indefinitely.

 

Ms. Crotty stated one factor staff identified is employee morale; and inquired what is happening there. 

 

Mr. Whitten responded as the County goes through a contraction of services and programs, it is very difficult to maintain employee morale; it has been an uphill battle; his staff is trying to stress now that these are the necessary steps the County has to take based on the economy and based on the philosophy of the Board, that it is going to include staff in the process; and his staff wants to be open and honest about where they are going and what their thought processes are for developing the budget.  He stated it is a challenge for all employers because of the economy.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the idea of making this a participatory process is probably an important thing now more than in the past.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the Board is committed to preserving as many jobs as possible; and every person is important and they all have their important roles.

 

Ms. Crotty stated regarding the potential consolidation of services and outsourcing of services, other governments are looking at these kinds of things as something that is important.  She noted concerning the environmental concerns, the Board talked about in the future making sure it does not diminish the environmental resources and the natural resources that are here; the County has done a good job of protecting them; but with changes coming from the Legislature and other constraints, who knows what role that will continue to play in the next few years.

 

Chairman Nelson stated voter-initiative for the most part has done a good job of having concerns with environmental resources and natural resources; it goes back to the education part; the County is accused of having too much land off the tax rolls in Brevard County; and in looking at the numbers, one-third of that is Kennedy Space Center.  He noted while it is being managed as a wildlife area, it is a heavy industrial area; the question is does one count that as conservation or is it truly an industrial park that has a lot of vacant land that is used for other purposes; it is coming down to understanding how those lands occur and what would happen if they were not there; the St. Johns River Water Management District protects a lot of the St. Johns River; and in the southern part of Brevard County it is flood control.  He stated the County has done a pretty good job; it needs to be ever vigilante about what that means; and he does not know that it has done too much at this point, although sometimes it is accused of that.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated there are duplications in some County Ordinances on stormwater and such; his concern is a reduction of oversight that provides jobs to people that need jobs to feed their families is probably what the Board should be looking at; if St. Johns River Water Management District is already doing something then Brevard County should not be in the business; and it is no secret a lot of the Ordinances were put in place in Brevard County to stop growth.  He noted there was an anti-growth coalition; the free market stops growth; free market works better than any environmental regulation; and now those issues need to be revisited and get people back to work.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated a lot of times it seems there is this perception that it is the environment versus business and that someone has to pick one or the other; there is a way to go forward and to do both; and to make sure the County does everything it can to promote business where it needs to be and protect the environment where it needs to be protected, and not let these two factions force the Board to choose between two very worthwhile goals for the community.  Ms. Crotty advised it is all about balance.

 

Ms. Crotty stated Charter Officers’ budgets is an interesting item,  Commissioner Anderson stated he just wants them to show up at the Budget Workshops and explain everything they want; it is not too much to act; Sheriff Jack Parker does it very well; and the Supervisor of Elections told him she would attend.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated his Office has invited all of the Constitutional Officers to District 1 on March 1, 2009; all but one has agreed to come; Mr. Whitten will be giving a presentation; and the message is we are all a team and they need to understand the Board’s challenges and it needs to understand theirs.  He noted he is working on that one Constitutional Officer; so hopefully he will get him there as well so there is a full team.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the discretionary program funding goes back to the idea that the County cannot be all things to all people and making decisions; so some things in the past that were fairly easy for the Board to support and fund, that may no longer be the case; and it is going to cause some pain and conflict in the community and for the Commissioners individually.  She noted concerning increasing non-mandated service demands are things the County does not have to do, but people like them, want them, and need them; on population diversity, Brevard County is growing minimally; inquired is the mix changing or staying the same, and does the County think in the next couple of years that it will see any changes in its diversity; and she is referring to Ethnic, racial, age, etc.

 

Mr. Scott responded he does not see any real forces in play right now that would point to the County’s established percentages and ratios changing at this point. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she saw a study where one of her former coworkers at the Clerk’s Office did a study for guardianships; Brevard County is one of the leading Counties in the State of Florida for retired population; and that is going to be a situation the Board will need to address as the County is going to need more guardianship services.  Ms. Crotty stated to continue to attract young families and that kind of mix is going to be important.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the County has some developers that have some neat programs or projects slated for the future that would mirror something like that of Hyde Park in Tampa, which attracts all the young people; it is a great community; everything is walk able; so there are businesses interacting with homes and families.  Ms. Crotty noted a community like that would be great for older folks who cannot drive and need to be able to access services that they can walk to or are close by; so maybe intergenerational aspect of a community like that is interesting.

 

Chairman Nelson stated that gets back to the Smart Growth concept, which is to revitalize many of those areas so that raw land is not being developed and one if redeveloping existing infrastructure; that is a concept Brevard County needs to pursue; but at the same time, not use it as a methodology just to stack more in.  He noted he has always had the issue of someone is going to do that, he or she also needs to preserve land; if they are going to give the benefit of additional density in the infrastructure areas they should also set aside open space that offsets that growth; in the end one will end up with the same numbers, but they will do it smarter.

 

Mr. Abbate stated the Board mentioned infrastructure issues recently in terms of whether it is throughout the County, roadways, other areas, or more specifically, within County buildings, air conditioning systems, County structures, etc., and the very significant needs the County has in those areas; and they will all come into play as additional external issues that the County is going to need to deal with.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated under external, there is still the issue in Brevard County of another government controlling the schools and their budget; that is going to have a big impact on the County; and it cannot control it.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated there is the hurricane issue; and he does not know if Brevard County has experienced a serious storm in these economic times.

  

Assistant County Manager Heidi Denis stated the whole health care system is impacted and the mental health systems as well in the County’s inability or ability to deal with the population.

 

Ms. Crotty stated it is access and affordability; and it affects the County internally because it provides some benefits to its employees; and those costs are continuing to increase.  Ms. Denis advised the County has some mandated services that are related to Medicaid, etc.

 

Interim County Manager Stockton Whitten stated regarding the Economic Stimulus Package, the State is using part of those projected proceeds to balance its budget; Brevard County will eventually get some amounts of money; that is going to be an issue for the County and its projects; and an internal issue will be new leadership as the Board goes through the process of selecting a new County Manager.

 

Chairman Nelson stated there is still a broken tax system in the State of Florida; everyday that impacts Brevard County in its ability to deal with the issues because the businesses are still paying a disproportionate share; new residents are paying a disproportionate share; and until that is fixed, he does not know how to get out of this kind of a spiral they are in.

 

Ms. Crotty inquired is it the inequity of the tax system; with Chairman Nelson responding affirmatively.

 

The meeting recessed at 10:20 a.m. and reconvened at 10:35 p.m.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated the discussion will be Brevard County’s budget, its budget process, the Board’s role in that process, and what it needs in the next several months to make this process one that it can have confidence in and it can vote on a budget knowing it has received the answers to its questions.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to see the Board go to zero-based budgeting where each Department would build up so the Board can see specifically Department by Department, line item by line item, what they need; the dynamics have changed; Departments are going to be changing because the demands on them are different; some Departments have increased demands and other Departments have decreased demands; and that is a great opportunity to relook at where Brevard County is spending its money.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she would rather have Brevard County do some services very well than a lot of services poorly.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he needs every option explored that does not impact the millage rate; and the priority for him is to exhaust everything before the Board goes forward. 

 

Ms. Jacobs inquired are levels of service in terms of information that is provided back to the Board rather than just dollar choices between different Departments something that is done in the budget process.  Commissioner Anderson responded levels of service are important; the fire truck and the Sheriff need to show up, and the utilities need to work; and everything after that starts having a lower priority on levels of service.  He stated Brevard County has core functions that it is responsible for, and that is health, safety, police, fire, and utilities; and after that, everything else the County can adjust level of service.

 

Chairman Nelson stated he believes the better process for public input is the workshop process the Board goes through; his concern with the Citizens Budget Review Committee is that it meets monthly; in terms of the reality of the County’s budget process, he does not know how much quality information it can get from a group who has never dealt with County government and meeting monthly to give the Board timely information; the Committee has a purpose; the Board needs to be more directive of the kinds of things the Committee looks at as opposed to saying here is the budget, what do you think; and it is such a dynamic process.  He noted he thinks the Committee’s best utilization is on an annual basis looking internally to the budgets the Board has approved as opposed to them saying they think this is a good budget; the Commissioners were elected to do the budget; it needs to have those discussions on camera, which is what the workshops provide them as opposed to the Committee that is dealing with it off camera without the benefit of necessarily all the issues; Brevard County’s budget is large; he cannot imagine the Committee weighing in on the Sheriff’s budget; and he does not want to set the Committee up for failure.  Chairman Nelson stated he believes the Committee has a purpose, but the Board needs to be more specific.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated July 15^th is too late; she would like to see a balanced budget in April; waiting until July is not enough time; and she has seen past Commissions make poor choices because they had insufficient time.  She noted if the Board is going to cut retiree benefits, she would rather them know in July rather than find out in September; if there is going to be any reduced staffing levels of service, people need to have more time to know about that; and she would personally prefer to see budget numbers and a good working document in April.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the State system is terrible as it relates to putting the budget together; and he agrees it should be done earlier.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the County can make projections and estimate different levels of decrease so it can have budgets for any different scenario.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the County wants citizen input; some of these budgets are difficult enough just if one knows what the target is, much less having these different levels; at various levels, the County is closing parks or libraries; and if there is the 20% discussion, then one needs to be prepared for what happens at the 20% discussion.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated in a public forum the Board needs to ask the Property Appraiser for help; and he has constituents too that need to let him know the Board needs that help so it can make those decisions.

 

Chairman Nelson stated to some extent, Mr. Whitten, in the presentation he made to the Board a couple of weeks ago, did that where there is an anticipated number; that is the target the County is working with; it may go up or down; and he believes that is sufficient.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he agrees with Commissioner Infantini’s suggestion that if there is going to be any life-changing issues for employees or retirees, they need to know sooner than later.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated part of the challenge the Commissioners have is to make sure they appoint people to the Citizens Budget Review Committee that can help give the Board some advice; his appointee is a CPA and has a Masters in taxation; he understands numbers; and he will figure that part out.  He noted part of a Commissioner’s job is to put qualified people on the Committee; maybe there should be criteria for those on such Committee; he does not know all the members of the Committee and does not know their strengths or weaknesses; and it may give the Board more confidence in that group.  He stated one of his goals is to not lay off any County employees; there is a law that says any county office may be abolished and there can be a consolidation of duties with other county offices; if it is on the table, it is very possible, through this law that could be approved by the Board or by its Charter, it can make some consolidations in some of these offices; it is possible it may help to be more efficient; and it may be something the Board also reviews.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the last two years the Board has met for budget purposes 20 times to get the budget prepared; he does not know how, out of three meetings, it is going to get much from a Citizens Budget Review Committee; it is not that he does not say it has a value; and the question is reasonably what does the Board expect from the Committee with a budget that is going to be thick, and it took the Board 20 meetings to finally finish it.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the Committee is not limited and can meet more than once a month; and it is incumbent upon the Commissioners to appoint the correct people that are up to speed.

 

Mr. Whitten advised the Committee meets once every two weeks.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the Citizen Advisory Boards come with recommendations; ultimately, it is the Board’s responsibility; the final answer relies on the Board; and she feels comfortable with her appointees.

 

Mr. Whitten stated the difficult part of doing the budget is that there are buckets of funding; the bucket the Board has the most control over, a lot of dollars go out of that to the Charter Officers; on Thursday, staff is going to give the Board all of the options with regards to if the Tax Roll drops 5%, 7.5%, or 10%, what the County loses in revenue and what it does not lose in terms of a roll forward or a rollback rate; it is not a problem making those sort of projections; and the official numbers are not going to come to the Board until June 1^st.  He stated considerations for Fiscal Year 2009/2010 include the reduction/elimination of programs and services, layoffs, salary reductions, furloughs, voluntary early/leave retirement program, consolidation of Departments/Offices, outsourcing services, reducing service hours, delaying the opening of facilities, reduction of capital outlay/replacement, and reduction of Capital Improvement Projects. 

 

Ms. Crotty stated jail overcrowding and increasing homelessness may both be a factor of the downturn in the economy; with the jail, Brevard County does not have much choice because it will be under State and federal demands, lawsuits, etc.; the homeless situation there are some options there; but there is a ripple affect of how that impacts the community.  She noted uninsured is another part of the economy; and who knows what is going to be happening at the State or federal levels that may give some relief.  She noted at this point, all of those items listed are  options  that  can  be  looked at; then the Board will have the debates on whether or not it is willing to do it or not do it; so to staff the direction is continue to consider these options as they look at the revenues and how they are going to have to deal with it.  She stated the Board needs to try to identify what it thinks are strategic issues; staff can add some thoughts to this of things they think the County needs to deal with; these are issues that in the next fiscal year Brevard County needs to address in order to keep the County and its citizens functioning in the way the Board wants it to function.

 

Commissioner Bolin suggested passable and drivable roads, and the permitting process.  Chairman Nelson suggested reduced duplication of services where the State has jurisdiction and Brevard County has additional jurisdiction.  Commissioner Infantini suggested more Baker Act beds.  Commissioner Anderson stated Brevard County has to preserve the health and public safety of its citizens; it has to be committed to fire protection, police protection, and provision of utilities.  Commissioner Fisher suggested quality of life issues, including parks and recreation, and libraries.  Commissioner Anderson suggested Brevard County’s commitment to economic development.  Commissioner Bolin suggested the Space Program.  Commissioner Anderson stated the County needs to ensure that County employees are well informed to the process so they know what their future is going to be; it is very important; and it helps with the morale.  Commissioner Anderson stated one of the things the County cannot lose sight of from the private sector is County facilities and how it does preventive maintenance.  Commissioner Infantini stated the County needs to make sure its emergency needs are met, including having the necessary radio frequencies, generators at the hospitals, and care facilities and shelters.  Commissioner Fisher suggested technology for efficiency and effectiveness. 

 

Assistant County Manager Heidi Denis stated staff should get a general idea of how it will address the social needs, which includes transportation, affordable housing, etc.

 

Chairman Nelson stated he believes the County can do better at the educational process to its citizens; and the fire assessment is a classic example that the County did not do a very good job of educating the people.

 

Human Resources Director Frank Abbate stated two additional areas based on input he has heard from the Board recently includes development or expansion of additional regional or interlocal partnerships with other organizations; and to focus on outcome based performance measures or benchmarking with other jurisdictions, which would help during the budgeting process.

 

Commissioner Anderson suggested including fiscal stewardship on the list.

 

Mr. Scott stated how to strategically contract is going to be the issue. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the prioritization of essential services is where Brevard County has to get really good at that.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the County is going to have to deal with how it deals with voter-approved initiatives; and it is balancing what the voters said versus the County’s fiscal reality and trying to make sense of that.

 

The meeting recessed at 12:00 noon and reconvened at 12:30 p.m.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the goal areas include infrastructure issues, public safety, social service needs, provision of services, fiscal issues, employee issues, economic development, intergovernmental relations and public/private partnerships.

 

Ms. Crotty explained the following definitions:  Mission – A statement which gives an organization’s reason for being; why it exists; Goal – A broad directional statement of emphasis or intent to do or accomplish something in the future; Objective – A desirable specific output or result which is measurable, observable, or identifiable, with a timetable and a person who is accountable or responsible for its accomplishment; it generates a general direction; it is global in nature; it is timeless; and it voices what will be done to meet a need.  She stated an example of a goal statement is to meet the long-term financial needs of Brevard County; and the definition of Activity is - an action or input which contributes to the accomplishment of an objective.  She advised objectives are specific measurable steps taken to accomplish a goal; they are end products; they are “what” statements, not “how” statements; and they are “not means”.  Ms. Crotty stated each objective should state four things:  What will be accomplished; by whom; what level of measurement/degree of accuracy; and by when; and an example of an objective statement is that the County Manager will identify a minimum of three budget reduction strategies by May 1, 2009. 

 

Ms. Crotty requested the Board list the objectives for infrastructure.  Commissioner Infantini noted preventative maintenance of existing infrastructure for the list.  Commissioner Anderson noted there is a PD&E for the St. Johns Heritage Parkway; he wants to insure that the County hits the target to finish that by the end of the year; all projects Brevard County needs to stay on target on that are identified as major road projects; and next year the next step is the acquisition of right-of-way.  Commissioner Fisher noted consolidation of networks for the list.  Commissioner Infantini noted document management plan and implementation for the list.  Ms. Crotty requested the Board list the objectives for public safety.  Commissioner Anderson stated the County needs to become more effective at its utilization of its assets, for instance, medical calls; and it is hard to do for emergency situations.  Ms. Crotty noted improve allocation of emergency resources and maintain industry standards as a minimum can be added to the list. 

 

Ms. Jacobs stated what is included in this category is emergency needs are met, interface of technology, communication re-banding, and public safety/fire safety.  Commissioner Anderson noted the jail is an infrastructure issue.  Chairman Nelson stated the County needs to address meeting the needs of its judicial system for jail space.  Commissioner Infantini stated in a safety aspect, she would like to make sure the County maintains effective code enforcement and building inspections.  Ms. Crotty commented on having adequate pre and post disaster preparedness plans.  Commissioner Infantini stated she does not want to not have sufficient shelters available for emergency evacuations and facilities available to accommodate those citizens that have to evacuate.

 

Emergency Management Director Bob Lay stated for persons of special needs there is adequate shelter space, but the County is hurting for adequate medical staffing and adequate County  staffing  of  the  shelters; his budget was cut about $35,000; that actually had an impact on special needs, where they were spending about $50,000 on special needs supplies; and it is reduced now and is down to approximately $15,000.  He stated on the communications side of the  house, 800 MHz, it is really infrastructure; it is the radio system infrastructure that is over 20  years old; re-banding is a process the County is going through; and Sprint/Nextel is going to pay for the re-banding. 

 

Mr. Whitten stated the 800 MHz system could be addressed under preventative maintenance of existing infrastructure.

 

Ms. Crotty stated social services includes safety net, support, homelessness, affordable housing, shelters, health care, Baker Act beds, and allocation of County dollars to Community Based Organizations (CBO) for providing a variety of services.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the Community Based Organizations are going to have to start looking for alternative sources of income and not rely on the County so heavily; and it is very important that early on the County communicates that to those organizations.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated such organizations have to become less dependent upon the County, and the County wants to decrease the funding annually; but to go from depending on the County to zero is too drastic of a step for most of those organizations.

 

Ms. Crotty stated there may be ways to partner with the organizations on limited County assistance, which may be in the form of helping them write grants and things like that.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she wants to see which organizations are doing the best leverage of the money.

 

Ms. Crotty noted the County may be looking at that whole process of how it allocates the funds and base it on a different formula; and how many people the organization serves.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated the County can develop a methodology to decide how to allocate those funds.  She stated the next issue is provision of services, which includes prioritization of essential services, quality of life, maintaining parks, libraries, etc.; and reduce duplication of services. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she would try first of all to keep all the libraries open; and her priority is to cut down on the hours to be able to keep all of them open versus closing them.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated if the MSTU is the revenue stream, if property values are decreasing, and the Board does not plan on raising their millage rate, it should probably, conservatively assume that that number is going to go down 10%, so she would suggest building a budget for the libraries to be decreased by 10% and maybe even a separate scenario of 20%; and she will not raise anybody’s millage rate.

 

Ms.  Jacobs stated one objective would be to maintain operational status of all the County’s libraries, but reduce if need be the hours of operation.  Ms. Crotty noted to make reductions based on available revenues.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated the next issue is parks.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated some municipalities are not against absorbing some of the park operations as long as the money goes with it. 

 

Ms. Jacobs stated one of the strategies the Board listed was to reduce the duplication of services.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated for provision of services, there can be reduce duplication of services; and one example of that might be parks.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated he has been asking people the question if service is still important to them and are they willing to pay the same amount today in taxes as they did last year to keep some of the services; it has been amazing that most of the people in the different groups have said yes they would; and they are concerned enough about the drop in the level of service that they are willing to stay at the same maintained level.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the next goal area is the fiscal objectives; under that is fiscal stewardship, benchmarking, performance measurements and outcomes, how to cut the budget, and how to strategically contract; and that is where additional interlocal partnerships is included. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated concerning how to strategically contract, the County needs to aggressively pursue interlocal agreements to benefit all government jurisdictions.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated one of the things she has wanted to implement is to have customer satisfaction surveys.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the Board definitely needs to review its organizational structure; there are some models in Florida and the United States that it should be looking towards to make Brevard County more efficient and save money; and that is mostly on the administrative side.

 

Ms. Crotty noted it is a review of organizational structure for improved efficiencies.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated next on the list of goals is employee issues; Commissioner Anderson suggested it is beneficial to the employees to be as well informed as possible and as early as possible on the budgeting process and the decisions.

 

Ms. Crotty noted the County is going to be asking employees to do more with less.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated employee morale is important for a number of reasons; it is not just that it is good for the organization and good for the people that work for the Board and serve its constituents; it is also good because the Board thinks it is the front line, but the fact is the staff that is out in the field is probably touching a lot more of the Commissioners’ citizens than they are; and they are a reflection of the Commissioners. 

 

Commissioner Infantini reiterated her suggestion on County employees having the opportunity to fill out suggestions for ways the County can improve their Departments or any Department they   have   become   exposed   to; County   employees  talk  to  each  other  and  share  ideas, including areas of waste; and she is sure there are a lot of ideas out there that have not been seen.

 

Chairman Nelson stated the Board has cut the budget now for two years in a row; they are still sorting through what the final job is because in some cases they are still working through what the ramifications of those cuts were; and it is a little bit difficult to talk about savings when they are still trying to figure out exactly what it is they are able to do with what they have been left with.  He noted the County has a great workforce; the employees have been hammered for the last two years; and the economy at home is hammering them.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the employees do not need to hide from the Commissioners and can talk to them; there is a lot of fear out there; it is also in the private sector; and that is very detrimental and counterproductive.  He noted to eliminate some of that fear by telling employees they can come to his office and talk to him; he will make sure he relays their comments to Mr. Whitten; they are not violating anything; and the Commissioners are letting the employees know that everybody is in the boat together.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she agrees with Commissioner Anderson 100%; County employees deserve respect; they are on the front lines; and they have a lot of information that the Board needs to have.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the fact of the matter is people are not getting raises, training is being cut, travel is being cut, etc.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated the County could add develop a non-monetary way to recognize employee accomplishments to employee issues.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated the next goal is economic development.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the Board listed several things for economic development, including the Space Program, economic development overall, and the permitting process to make Brevard County business friendly.  She inquired what specifically would the Board like to put as objectives that staff and the Board can engage in.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the County needs to actively review its Ordinances and determine where it can make improvements that would make Brevard County business friendly, streamline processes, or eliminate some Ordinances if that is necessary in this economic environment to make it easier to do business.

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to remove the duplication of licenses to the extent that the County requires licenses of individuals that are already licensed within their cities.

 

Commissioner Fisher stated the one challenge with that might be, for example, code enforcement; some of those enforcement issues and road and bridge issues are fee generated; they pay for themselves through fees; and if the County stops requiring some of those licensing then it may mean laying off more people or the Department does not pay for itself.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the Board may want to explore ways it can consolidate, cooperate, and coordinate the licensing activities with the municipalities.  She inquired what does the Board want to do about the Space Program.

 

Commissioner Bolin responded to continue what it is doing; and stated the Board is very proactive on it.

 

Ms. Crotty stated to continue to support and advocate for continuation and expansion of the Space Program in Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired should the Board establish some policies on where it can assist the Economic Development Commission, the Chambers of Commerce, or whomever to attract industry coming into Brevard County; stated it is not always feasible to do tax abatements or giving them cash; maybe the County should look at land and workforce encouragements; and the County needs to start thinking outside of the box, what is the need they have that the County can match up. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to get rid of the impact fees and give a free lease for a couple of years.

 

Ms. Crotty stated there could be a range of incentives.  Commissioner Infantini stated it could be an incentive package, including impact fee waiver.

 

Chairman Nelson stated he does not have a problem talking about incentives for that; but the detail needs to be worked out later.

 

Ms. Crotty stated this is not committing the Board to any particular incentive; it is just saying think about incentives that the County could offer.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the current funding level for the Economic Development Commission is $1.7 million; he is not saying if there should be an increase or a decrease; but the Board has to look at it; and it is a lot of money.

 

Ms. Jacobs stated the last goal is citizen engagement and education; there are two strategic issues related to that; one is increase education of the public of Brevard’s challenges, the budget challenges particularly; and the second is how to deal with voter-approved initiatives that may no longer be cost feasible. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the County needs to continue to improve on how it tells its story about any given issue; Space Coast Government Television does a good job; Dr. Richard DiPatri, Superintendent of Brevard County Schools, is very creative at telling the story; and Brevard County needs to get as good at that as he is. 

 

Ms. Jacobs inquired how does Brevard County tell its story now; with Chairman Nelson responding inadequately.  She inquired what method, is it through workshops and meetings, and is there another method by which the County communicates directly with the electorate.

 

Commissioner Bolin responded all the Commissioners have their own method in their own District to do town hall meetings or homeowners association meetings; but the County does not have one uniform method; and most of the time she feels like most of her communication is reactive.

Commissioner Anderson stated the County does not utilize its website as effectively as it could; and Brevard County could be a lot more effective.

 

Ms. Crotty stated there can be a variety of methodologies.

 

Ms. Crotty advised there are eight goal areas—economic development, public safety, citizen engagement, social services, infrastructure, fiscal, provision of services, and employee issues;  and there are 28 objectives.

 

Ms. Crotty stated the Tier 1 priorities are developing a prioritization, reinvigorating the employee suggestion program, continuing to be proactive with the Space Program, and establishing the policies to assist the Economic Development Commission and Chambers of Commerce, and possibly incentive programs for economic development.  She stated Tier 2 priorities are partner with the faith-based and non-profits to provide a safety net, communicate early to the social service organizations that funding may be reduced, and St. Johns Heritage Parkway.  She advised in the Report that she and Ms. Jacobs will send back to Brevard County, they will indicate those priorities; and in those areas, the staff needs to develop a work program and some measures to the objectives discussed to bring back to the Board for actual confirmation.  She noted all of the objectives will be included in the report; as the County works through its Strategic Plan, if there are things on the list that did not rise to the level of a priority, but later on if it is something that becomes more important or there are available resources to deal with it, it could move up in its priority; but for now County staff has some clear direction on the things the Board wants to see some activity; and when staff brings back a work program, if there is any fiscal implications, it is again a decision the Board makes in the budget process. 

 

Ms. Crotty advised this starts the process; the Board and staff have done a great job; there was terrific participation by them; and she hopes it has been beneficial to the Board, staff, and citizens of Brevard County.

 

Commissioner Infantini recognized Ms. Crotty and Ms. Jacobs for doing such a great job.

 

Chairman Nelson expressed appreciation to Ms. Crotty and Ms. Jacobs; and stated it has been helpful.

Interim County Manager Stockton Whitten stated on Thursday the Board has a Budget Workshop; March 19, 2009 it has a Budget Workshop, April 23, 2009 it has a Budget Workshop, and  there  are  two  open  workshops  in  May  2009, so  the Board may want to turn those into

 

Budget Workshops; and the Board has no meetings in June 2009.  He noted the Budget Workshops in July 2009 are July 16, 2009 and July 23, 2009.

 

Chairman Nelson stated as the Board goes through the budget process, it can always schedule other workshops based on the availability.

 

Commissioner Anderson requested keeping the May 21, 2009 workshop date open, unless something urgent shows up; and if the Board needs the workshop to discuss the budget it can do so.  Chairman Nelson stated that is fine.

 

Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to appoint Peter Aydelotte to the Planning and Zoning Board, replacing Damian Wilson, with term of appointment expiring December 31, 2009.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

                        South Mainland Library Advisory Board

Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to appoint Lisa Stephenson to the South Mainland Library Advisory Board, replacing Marie Bergamini, with term of appointment expiring December 31, 2009.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

                        Personnel Council

Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to appoint Paul Brooks to the Personnel Council, replacing M. Bonnie Will, with term of appointment expiring December 31, 2009.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

                        Investment Committee

Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to reappoint Milo Zonka to the Investment Committee, with term of appointment expiring December 31, 2009.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

                        Environmentally Endangered Lands Procedures Committee

Motion by Commissioner Anderson, seconded by Commissioner Fisher, to appoint Thomas Leser to the Environmentally Endangered Lands Procedures Committee, replacing Wayne Mozo, with term of appointment expiring December 31, 2009.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                __________________________________

                                                                               CHUCK NELSON, CHAIRMAN

                                                                               BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                                                               BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

 

 

 

             (S E A L)