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

.

 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated she would like to present a short slide; there was some confusion in yesterday's meeting on whether or not tax rates were increasing or not increasing; and she had done a PowerPoint presentation for the residents of South Melbourne Beach about a cell tower, and it also had information about the taxes. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated he had asked for the information yesterday, but Commissioner Infantini did not provide it.  Commissioner Infantini stated she had to leave yesterday before she could get the information to Commissioner Nelson.  Chairman Fisher inquired if staff has reviewed Commissioner Infantini's presentation. Commissioner Bolin requested the slides not be shown.  Commissioner Infantini stated she does not understand what the County is concerned about.  Commissioner Nelson stated, as was discussed yesterday, if Commissioner Infantini would like to provide the information so all of the Commissioners have an opportunity in advance of her presentation, so they can all be prepared, then that would be great, but this is not transparency.  He stated the Board has another meeting tomorrow, and if Commissioner Infantini would like to make her presentation, then she can provide the Board with her information; and stated he would like to see the spreadsheet that Commissioner Infantini referenced. 

 

Commissioner Anderson stated tomorrow's meeting is for public input, and it might be a better place for Commissioner Infantini to do her presentation.  Chairman Fisher agreed, and stated staff can also have a chance to look at the presentation and confirm Commissioner Infantini's numbers.

 

 

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated this morning the Board will hear from some of the Charter Officers; and they are all funded a little bit differently and have their own separate charter and duties as spelled out in the Constitution and Florida Statutes.  He introduced Lisa Cullen, Tax Collector.

 

 

 

Commissioner Infantini announced for the record that she had made a mistake yesterday when she said the tax bills were mailed out a little bit late last year; and stated actually, it was the TRIM Notice.  She stated she wanted to make the correction publicly, because she did make a mistake in which of the two notices were mailed out; and she apologized for the error.

 

Lisa Cullen, Tax Collector, expressed appreciation to Commissioner Infantini for the correction.  She stated it is a pleasure to be before the Board and also a pleasure to be the Tax Collector in Brevard County, to serve the citizens.  She stated when she talks to her constituents, one of the questions she likes to ask is what they think the Tax Collector's Office does; usually the first thing people say is property tax collection; her staff prepared over 3,000 tax bills for the parcels in Brevard County, working with 57 ad valorem authorities, and 41 non-ad valorem authorities and districts; and to date, her office has distributed over $620,000.  She advised the Tax Collector's Office is also responsible for tangible personal property taxes, of which her staff prepared approximately 15,000 of those bills last year.  She stated her office also serves as the collection point for tourist development taxes; and currently, staff has distributed over $6 million to Brevard County.  She advised as required by Florida Statutes, the Tax Collector is the agent for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, providing motorist services to the County; it includes the titling and registration of motor vehicles, vessels, and mobile homes; to date, her office has registered over 56,000 vehicles, and applied for over 20,000 titles.  She noted encompassed in motorist services is also drivers license issuance, renewal, and other related matters, such as revocations, suspensions, and voter registration; to date, her office, in this fiscal year, has issued over 12,000 drivers licenses to U.S. citizens, almost 400 drivers licenses to non-U.S. citizens, and completed over 800 driving tests.  She stated she also acts as the agent for the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, issuing hunting and fishing licenses; and in the current fiscal year, staff has issued almost 600 of those licenses.  She stated as Mr. Tipton mentioned, the funding of her office is a little different; the Tax Collector's Office receives a fee, or commission, for the services or taxes that it collects; on October 1st, her office starts at zero; her office has no reserves; and it works off of the fees it collects.  She stated because of the mechanism of funding for the Tax Collector's Office, each time a tax roll decreases, so does its commission, and so does its budget.  She stated currently, her office is running at a 97 percent collection rate, which is very good given the economic situation; it is due in large part to a very successful tax certificate sale at the end of May; usually what is left over, her office has a County-held sale; stated she is proud to say that only about $600,000 in certificates were put out for issue; and $200,000 of those have already been sold.  She stated there are fewer parcels and accounts going delinquent.

 

Chairman Fisher stated there is a perception that people cannot pay their property taxes, parcels are in foreclosure, and the County is not collecting money.  He inquired if that was not true.  Ms. Cullen stated that is not true; part of the collection rate is through the tax certificate sale, where the certificates were sold, so someone else did pay the taxes, but the County is looking at a 97 percent collection rate.  Commissioner Infantini inquired if that was because people were unable to pay their taxes; and inquired why Ms. Cullen would have to sell someone's tax bill. Ms. Cullen replied they are taxes that are unpaid, but there were fewer of those this year that went to sale, and the dollar number was lower.  She stated some people look at the tax certificate sale as a loan, per se; if someone does not want to pay the taxes on a property before they go delinquent in April, they look at selling that certificate and paying that interest on the certificate as a short-term loan; and some business people use that in their model. She stated she does not have the facts on the number of homesteads that were sold.  Chairman Fisher inquired what is the loan rate.  Ms. Cullen responded it can be as high as 18 percent, and it can be as low as zero; and it just depends on the bidding process.

 

Ms. Cullen continued by saying her office has fewer parcels and accounts that are delinquent.  She stated another great accomplishment has been that her staff is cross-trained and is completing an increased number of transactions in the offices, which is in addition to duties such as drivers licenses and also through statutory requirements; and many of the transactions take more time than they have in the past.  She stated an accomplishment that was achieved in February 2011 was that her office had a full transition of drivers licenses services to Brevard County; it is statutorily required that Tax Collectors take the service over prior to 2015; she transitioned early in order to gain some advantages; Brevard County has received over $323,000 in equipment to issue drivers licenses transferred from the State; her staff has also received over 6,400 hours of training; and the closer 2015 gets, the less resources there will be available to the Tax Collectors. She commended her staff by saying they have done an excellent job with the transition.  She stated she is also very proud of a disaster recovery system that she has implemented; the data that the Tax Collector's Office is responsible for is now all fully protected and backed up, and in a hurricane rated facility; and within a matter of hours after a disaster, her office can be back up and running.  She advised the Tax Collector's budget is pretty simplistic; it could almost be compared to a home budget; there are personal services, which is the largest part of the budget; operating expenses; and operating capital outlay.  She stated she will submit her budget to the Department of Revenue late next week for approval.  She further explained, in personal services the Tax Collector has had 161 budgeted positions; in the budget that she will submit, she will fund 155 of those; it is an addition of four positions; after the complete transition of drivers license services, what she has noticed is the increased number of transactions and the wait times for customers; and that is what is requiring the extra positions to handle that workload.  She mentioned her office has an increased worker compensation insurance cost, which is largely due to the drivers license road test; and noted her office is also responsible for issues such as medical testing, where it is determined if someone is medically capable to drive a vehicle, which is a lengthy process.  She stated her budget will reflect no increase other than the additional positions she funded in personal services.  She complimented the men and women of the Tax Collector's Office who are on the front lines everyday; they do an excellent job; and she is very proud of them.  She went on to discuss operating expense, explaining that the Board will see no significant changes there; her office works smarter, buys in bulk, and does everything it can to keep the price as low as it can.  She stated one issue she is facing is vehicle replacements this year, which she feels is critical for the operation; she will replace a 2004 cargo van that makes the trip from Titusville to Palm Bay, and every office in between, each and every day; there are a lot of miles on that van; staff has taken good care of the van, and has gotten good life out of it, but it needs to be replaced; and she will also have to replace a 2001 passenger van, and a 2001 Impala that is used for operations.  She stated she feels her greatest challenge is retaining a trained and knowledgeable workforce, because the Tax Collector's Office is service, which is offered to the citizens.  She stated there are two complaints she receives the most from citizens; the first complaint is that an employee did not understand a transaction, or had to go get help to complete the transaction; and she understands that because a quarter of her staff has turned over since she has taken office.  She stated another complaint she hears often is about wait times; a gentleman told her the other day that he waited for 45 minutes to pay his tax bill; and stated she knew what office he must have been in if he waited that long.  She stated each of her employees represents a large training investment; they make it look easy to issue a license plate or drivers license; but there is a world of knowledge behind that, and also in tax collection; and she would like her office to be able to explain what is happening on a person's tax bill if someone comes in seeking that information.  She stated her goal is to retain quality staff.  She stressed that operating costs are increasing; everything costs more, such as gas and postage; her office goes through an enormous number of toner cartridges, which are not cheap; and paper is another expense, which she buys in bulk.  She stated she gets asked why she has to send so many notices, or put advertisements and notices in the newspaper; it is all statutorily required; and she must do those things.  She informed the Board that the Sarno Road Tax Collector's Office facility is absolutely inadequate for her needs; she needs to add staff to the branch; and she might be able to add one more staff member; but after that, there is no room at the end.  She stated there are customers everywhere in the Sarno branch; Commissioner Anderson has seen the traffic that her office attracts at the Sarno banch; she is fearful that the fire marshal is going to come in and close the branch; and it is a great challenge that she has discussed with Mr. Tipton.  She advised the budget she will propose are the necessary funds to run her office; she stands behind what she has done; and stated it is an honor to stand behind the citizens of Brevard County as they elected her to do. 

 

Mr. Tipton stated the County has a great working relationship with all of its Charter Officers; and they are partners in so much of what the County does for the community.  He stated Ms. Cullen's office, in particular, has been a great partner; when he looks at what her office can turn back in terms of unused tax revenues to the County, they are efficient; and more important than efficiency is the timing of the dollars coming back, which is helpful to the County's cash flow. He noted one of the big changes in the Tax Collectors across the state recently is the acquisition of the responsibility for drivers licenses; that is a fundamental change in the business that they are providing; the facilities the Tax Collector was in, was never intended to accommodate that; and it is requiring the County to go back and take a look at what is available in those areas, and staff is in the process of doing that.  He stated waiting for one hour and a half or two hours for a drivers license is not working, but staff is looking into it.

 

Chairman Fisher inquired if staff will be able to add some space in the Sarno location, or if Ms. Cullen will have to find a new location.  Mr. Tipton replied the Sarno Road office is not really an expandable space.  Ms. Cullen noted in order to do that, someone would have to be kicked out.  Mr. Tipton stated staff is looking at all options, but still trying to keep it in that particular area if possible. Commissioner Anderson stated the amount of traffic the Sarno Road Tax Collector branch gets is mind boggling.  Ms. Cullen reiterated it is one of the offices that serves the most citizens; and getting one more staff member there is not going to accommodate the wait times.  

 

 

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, introduced Jack Parker, Brevard County Sheriff, and stated in terms of partnership, the Sheriff's Office does a great job for the County, not only in law enforcement, but also remembering that the County's jail is run by the Sheriff's Office, and it is a very efficient operation as well. 

 

Jack Parker, Brevard County Sheriff, stated since being elected in 2004, the BCSO (Brevard County Sheriff's Office) has always strived to be strong partners with the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners; and he is happy to say that his office has worked to provide strong public safety services, and together have tackled some very tough issues and provided a safer Brevard County for the citizens.  He expressed that he is proud that the BCSO continues to provide a very high quality of service at a very low cost; the citizens pay much less for sheriff's, law enforcement, and correction services in Brevard County than they do in other counties; the BCSO has a distinguished history and a strong track record of working hard to do more for less; and using tents to solve jail overcrowding, using inmates to build their own jail space, eliminating unnecessary management positions, and creating strong law enforcement partnerships to share limited resources are just a few things the BCSO has done that has contributed to the low overall cost of operation.  He stated his budget has declined in recent years, and his budget for next year drops another $4 million, from $109 million to $105 million; included in the $4 million reduction is a greatly reduced General Fund request of more than $1 million less than it is this year; thanks to reduced expenses and retirement costs, the BCSO was able to pass $1 million of General Fund savings onto the County, while providing conservative cost of living adjustments to the deputy sheriffs and employees, while maintaining a status quo level of law enforcement services; but unfortunately, there are still many priorities in the agency that are and will continue to be unmet and unfunded.  He advised he could have made the decisions to fund some of those priorities in lieu of providing cost of living adjustments, but when he considers that the deputies and employees are making thousands of dollars less today than they were just a few years ago, he felt compelled to invest in them and make them a top priority.  He stated for almost two decades he has been coming to this room to discuss budgets and the desire for everyone to do more with less; the BCSO and the County have consistently discussed through the years that government should operate more like successful businesses do in the private sector; when things get financially tough for private companies they eliminate efficiencies by laying off less essential employees and closing down less productive divisions; but that is just part of the story, as companies also put a tremendous effort in caring for and seeing to the needs of their remaining employees.  He stated private companies know their most important resource is not their computer system, it is not their equipment, it is not their facilities, it is their people; companies know more than anything else that their company depends on their employees; and government can learn by continuing to look at the private sector.  He stated while government has to make every effort to eliminate unnecessary services and unproductive workers, it must hold its remaining employees in high regard, just as its private sector counterparts do; government cannot continue to put its head in the sand and have an our-employees-are-lucky-to-have-a-job-philosophy; and if it does, the only thing that will be faster than the rate at which exceptional employees is lost, will be the decline in the quality of services provided.  He noted when the quality of service declines in a jail or law enforcement agency bad things happen; because the BCSO currently has 67 fewer deputies that are required under the County's Comprehensive Plan, he is in no position to lose what limited experienced deputy sheriffs or law enforcement personnel it has now.  He stated in the private sector, the loss of an experienced, dedicated employee is a big deal that affects the bottom line; but in the public sector there seems to be much less desire, or interest, in retaining public employees; and he would suggest that although the loss of a public servant may be harder to quantify because government is not evaluated by profit margins, it is equally impacting.  He stated in order to ensure success, government must invest in its employees and its future; the best thing he can do as Sheriff is to lead a quality Sheriff's Office that ensures the safety of the citizens while spending as little of their money as possible to do it; and stated he has given the Board a budget that does just that.  He went on to say that his budget saves more than $1 million in tax dollars over this year's budget while maintaining the same level of essential services; it also sends the right message to the deputy sheriff's and essential law enforcement personnel, that they are proud of the risks they take and the sacrifices they make, which result in a better and safer Brevard County for everyone.  He expressed appreciation to the Board for the opportunity to speak to the Board.

 

Commissioner Bolin commended Sheriff Parker, as his speech was a very compelling story of the value of the public service employees.

 

Chairman Fisher stated Sheriff Parker's comments about investing in one's employees was interesting; the County has the same issue as the law enforcement side, when it comes to the General Fund; and stated he knows Mr. Tipton deals everyday with trying to keep valuable employees motivated and happy in a time when cuts have been made. Mr. Tipton stated hopefully as the Sheriff, and himself yesterday, indicated, there has to be investments in the most valuable resources; government has not been doing that; the folks who work in Brevard County government are people who are typically doing very complicated and difficult work; and there is a great investment in them already, but they are not feeling invested in recently, which is why he has proposed what he has proposed.

 

Commissioner Nelson expressed his appreciation to Sheriff Parker for his presentation; stated in the five years he has been in office, Sheriff Parker has not come before the Board with huge requests for additional money; and Sheriff Parker has taken what he has been allocated, and utilized it and improved service, and reinvested in the service itself, and it has gotten better and better.  He stated it can be seen throughout the State of Florida where sometimes sheriffs ask for huge increases and it turns into a bloody battle, but Sheriff Parker has always been a partner in providing a service.

 

Commissioner Bolin commented on the positive partnership between the County and the Sheriff's Office, and mentioned the trees planted by inmates for the Pineda Extension.  Sheriff Parker stated he enjoys having the ability to put the inmates to work; his office is getting close to hitting the two million pound mark of trash being picked up by the inmates off the sides of the roads; and those kinds of things are good because it not only gets the inmates out, but it actually improves their self esteem and like they are doing something; and there has been a recidivism rate as a result of the people that are in those work programs, not to mention it is saving the County close to $1 million a year in those kinds of efforts.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated Sheriff Parker is a true advocate for his employees; he supports Sheriff Parker's investment in his employees; he has always been a big proponent of law enforcement; and stated not to elevate any one profession above any other County employee, but the truth is the reason he supports the incentives for the deputies is because every day they have dealt with life or death situation; it is certainly appreciated by his constituents; and he would be glad to do anything to help the Sheriff's Office and law enforcement deputies.

 

Sheriff Parker expressed appreciation to Commissioner Anderson for his statements.  He stated with television shows the way they are today, people start to get a sense of what the deputies do; but the BCSO also tries to illustrate what a deputy sheriff does off duty.  He advised a deputy sheriff is never off duty; they are constantly working and affected by everything they do; if they go to a movie with their family they always have to be watching for what is happening around them; and they are expected to engage a bad situation, and not to ignore it.  He stated always being on a state of alert does impact the deputies 24 hours a day; they worry when they sleep because of the people they arrest, so there is always a potential threat to their family; deputies deal with the same things as firefighters, such as blood borne pathogens; and there are deputies in the BCSO who are dealing with diseases or who have contracted tuberculosis.   He stated everyone understands the perception of a pension system, and how it had to be looked at to make sure it was a better, more solvent system; and he understands that; but the thing that bothered him was the off-the-cuff decision to change the retirement ages without any studies in Florida, or any issues whatsoever.  He stated back in the '70's, when it was created, it took years of studies to figure out where a law enforcement officer should be as far as their retirement age, and it was based on the length of their life; there were legislators who said 60 is the new 40, things are better now, and people are living longer; but while that may be true for the general public, it is not true for deputy sheriffs, police officers, and firefighters.  He stated in just the last four funerals he attended from natural cause deaths of deputy sheriffs in Brevard County in the last year, the average age was 51; it is not unusual to see officers dying in their 50's; and when he sees the retirement age move to 60, it is very distressing. He noted he has met with the Governor on that issue, and he has given his word that it will be his legislative top priority to reverse that this year. 

 

Commissioner Infantini stated the lower crime rate reflects what a good job the BCSO is doing.  Commissioner Anderson stated he does a lot of charity work; and anytime he has asked the Sheriff's Office for anything, they have been more than willing to help out, and he appreciates that. Mr. Tipton commended the Sheriff's Office as well for its efforts with the United Way campaign, and raising over $60,000. 

 

 

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, introduced Supervisor of Elections, Lori Scott.

 

Lori Scott, Supervisor of Elections, stated it is important that the public knows what is going on, certainly with their tax dollars and what they fund in tough economic times.  She stated Brevard County is the eighth largest county in the state; she is proud to have great voters; and although the County is eighth in size in the state, it is typically in the top five in voter turnouts.  She stated her office has a very cyclical budget, unlike other Charter Offices; her office is moving from a one election fiscal year to four elections in the next 16 months; there will be the 2011 Municipals in November; there will be the Presidential Primary; and she is still waiting for notification from the legislature to find out when exactly that will be held; there will also be the Primary for the Presidential General Election in August; and part of the cost for the Presidential General Election will be in this fiscal year.  She stated in addition, her office is dealing with adjusting to a 158-page Election Bill that came out of this legislative cycle.  She advised she inherited a staff in 2009 of 32, but has been working at a staff of 23; she just hired someone last week that brings the office to a staff of 24; and as other offices, her office has been doing a lot more with less staff.  She noted her office has had significant increases not only in Brevard County, which had a 17.6 percent increase in population in the last 10 years, but the voter rolls grew 26 percent, and in the last 20 years, 64 percent; and there are great voters in Brevard and a great turnout, but that also impacts her office.  She stated there are three methods of voting in the State of Florida, which are early voting, voting by mail, and poll voting; her office, with the Board's assistance, went through consolidation of polling locations and reduced that number by 13, which saves about $45,000 every election cycle; her offices salaries and benefits since 2008 is down over $500,000; and she applauds her staff for doing a lot more with a lot less.  She stated Tax Collector Lisa Cullen mentioned the Sarno Road facility, and she would like to reiterate that not only with the increase in drivers license customers that Ms. Cullen is dealing with, the Supervisor of Elections Office will be having early voting, and Sarno Road is the busiest location for early voting; in 2008 there were three and four hour lines of early voters at that facility; and with the TRIM Notices going out from the Property Appraiser, it is a recipe for disaster.  She stated part of the issue with early voting, which is a very popular form of voting, she does not like the voters to be standing in the heat for three and four hours; in the 2008 election there were voters who were ambulatory from the Sarno Road location, as well as the Merritt Island location, from standing in the heat; she is looking at expanding the early voting sites, because although there are machines to facilitate putting more voters through, there is not the space to do it in any of the current locations; and she is looking to expand into libraries and going to eight early voting sites instead of five early voting sites and looking at some technology that hopefully processes the voters through quicker and safer.  She expressed appreciation for the discussions she heard yesterday and today about rewarding the hardworking employees; her staff, as County staff, has not received any cost of living raises, and are adjusting to the three percent pension reduction; stated Constitutional Officers were mentioned yesterday in terms of who was part of the agreement to go forward with the stipend; she has not agreed to do that yet; she still wants to hear more about that; and she applauds the County Manager's office for looking at that, as it is important to reward the hardworking staff, but she is concerned about doing something that will go away next year.  She stated she is not sure how much of a benefit that is, but she will continue to be very interested in what the Board's decision is and then make her decision after that; however, she did not put it in her budget.  She expressed appreciation to the Board for everything it does for her office, such as the County Manager looking into her facilities issues; she has had nine requests to have roof leaks repaired in facilities; the most recent one being two weeks ago, which is still in the warehouse and still has rain getting inside, increasing the chance of mold.

 

Mr. Tipton stated one thing Ms. Scott has consistently reminded him of is that in addition to early voting, there is absentee voting and voting by mail, which are easy ways of not having to stand in line; and he is sure the public will be reminded of that option as well. Ms. Scott stated she is a big fan of voting by mail; her staff tries to go out into the community every day to talk to voters and dispelling the myth that absentee ballots are either not counted, or only counted in a close race; and stated that is absolutely not true, as they are the first ballots opened in canvass.  She stated the Commissioners that have served on the Canvassing Board know they are the first numbers that are seen released from the Supervisor of Elections on election night, along with the early voting numbers; and she encourages voters to know that it is a secure method of voting, and with the changes that have been done on the website, the ballot can be tracked through the whole process from the day it is requested from her office and the day it gets back to her office.  She noted if there is any problem with any mail ballot, the voters would receive a letter from her.  She stated her office has re-districting, which costs are part of her budget this year; it is federally mandated and happens every 10 years after the census, and hits a three-election cycle once every 20 years, which is part of the increase the Board will see in her budget.

 

 

 

Sara Ann Conkling stated she applauds the County employees; in the past couple of months she has dealt with three different departments; and despite having no salary increases, the level of service in the County is outstanding.  She stated she would also like to applaud the County Manager and Assistant County Managers on the budget, as well as the Budget Office.  She stated there are two transit improvements she is seeking for the north end of the County this year; and it is in direct response to the layoffs that are being experienced at Kennedy Space Center, particularly, both the economic hardship and the fat that there is now thousands more people looking for work.  She stated one improvement needed is the route for Port St. John; Port St. John currently has practically no bus service, only a couple of stops; the route would connect Port St. John with other trunk routes; that route is currently in the planning stages; and part of her request is to get that particular bus on the road in the middle of this fiscal year, as it takes time to get a bus because they are hand built.   She stated her second request is to add service to Route 2, which is the Titusville Loop; she would like to make that route commuter viable; and stated last year, there were three routes in the County that were not viable for commuters to use to get to work; two of them were in North Brevard, which are Routes 2 and 5; she is asking that Route 2 be expanded so that people can actually use it to get back and forth to work.  She stated those are her two requests that directly impact the north end of the County; the costs are outlined on the handout she gave each Commissioner and they are based on a spreadsheet that was given to her by Jim Liesenfelt, Transit Director; and the costs per hour is approximately $43 per hour.  She stated the important thing to know about the money is that there is a balance forward in the SCAT budget, which would normally be swept, over $103,000, which could be added back in fairly easily by the good wishes of the Board, which would take her request under $30,000 to make both improvements; and that would be the new revenue that would have to come from somewhere else.

 

Chairman Fisher stated there was a request yesterday for a bus route, and inquired if there is a way to coordinate Ms. Conkling's request with the request for Cocoa yesterday. Jim Liesenfelt, Transit Director, replied no, they are two different geographic areas; with West Cocoa it was easy to do because they were just buses traveling back and forth between neighborhoods; and the bus that comes from Titusville actually serves West Cocoa.  He stated if Titusville is expanded, then he would have to figure out a different way of serving West Cocoa.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if a bus could be added.  Mr. Liesenfelt stated if a bus was added, yes, but it would have to be figured out on paper for scheduling.  Chairman Fisher inquired if Mr. Liesenfelt could do that for the Board.  Mr. Liesenfelt stated he would be happy to report back to the Board.

 

 

 

Mitch Needelman expressed appreciation to the Board for inviting him to present the Clerk's Office budget for fiscal year 2011/2012; thanked County staff for working with his office to achieve what is about to be presented to the Board; and stated County staff are outstanding people who reflect the Board very well.

 

Mike McDaniel, Clerk Finance Director, advised the Clerk of Court Office shows a 2.52 percent decrease from last year's budget submission; last year's submission was $2.028 million, compared to this year's $1.977 million; and it is a reduction of $50,946.  He stated the County Finance Department has a reduction from $1.717 million down to $1.694 million; it is a bottom line reduction of $23,610; and it is a 1.37 percent additional reduction from last year that the Clerk's Office is taking again this year.  He stated in Board Minutes and Recording, the budget request is $283,162, which is down from last year's $310,497, and is a net reduction of $27,335, or 8.8 percent.  He stated the Clerk's Office started out at a high of $2.4 million, and is now requesting just under $2 million; the office took a significant drop last year, and followed it up this year with another decrease; and the Clerk's Office is following the trends that it has set forth already.  He advised as far as the number of employees, the Board funded employees have gone from 42 in fiscal year 2001, all the way down to this year's request of 28 1/2 FTE's (full-time equivalent employees), which is a steady decline.  He stated the CCOC (Clerk of Court Operations Corporation), which is the governing body for Clerk's Offices, has mandated that the office maintain a baseline of 80 percent; prior to January 1st, there were three areas in which the Clerk's Office was not achieving the 80 percent baseline measure, according to the State; for the last two quarters of the State fiscal year ending June 30th, the office has achieved every one of its performance measures that the State has set forth; and even though there has been reorganizations and changes within the Clerk's Office structure, it is meeting the State mandated guidelines.  He reiterated that even though the Clerk's Office is requesting the decrease in its budget, it is still maintaining the standards that have been put forth from not only the Board, but the State as well.  He stated health insurance premiums have steadily gone up since 2001; and even though the insurance has increased over time, the office has always been able to absorb that within the funding requests it has made.  

 

Mr. Needelman stated the budget before the Board represents a General Fund transfer decrease of 2.5 percent for the Clerk; part of the Clerk's cost is also under Court Operations, under Judicial Support, which had a decrease of 4.96; part of the 4.96 percent is that the office has removed the request for $120,000; and so the Clerk's Office has found ways to save money more than just through the general revenue, it has done it through the court system, too.  He stated in addition to that, the Clerk's Office has been successful this year in doing the things necessary that the taxpayers look for, such as reducing costs in government; and one of the things he has always liked to do is return money to the taxpayers.  He announced that he would like to present to the Board a guarantee of at least $50,000 from this last fiscal year, for carry over; and stated that is the minimal amount he can guarantee, as the fiscal year does not end until September 30th.  He stated if the Board adds the savings up together for the next fiscal year and the savings that the Clerk's Office has done on behalf of the taxpayers, and the County Commissioners, while recognizing that the Clerk's Office only represents one percent out of the Board's general revenue, the total savings being passed to the Board equals 10.28 percent; and stated that is the Clerk's budget, which shows the Board that it is doing its best to cut costs and provide the Board with the funds necessary to perform the duties, responsibilities, and services it is looking for.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated the Board and some other Constitutional Officers are proposing a 2.5 percent stipend to their employees; and inquired if Mr. Needelman is also providing stipend raises to his employees.  He noted he does not want the Board employees to get something the other Constitutional Officers are not providing to their employees.

 

Mr. Needelman inquired if Commissioner Anderson is referencing the stipend of 2.5 percent because of the savings the County has received, and spreading it out for all County employees across-the-board; with Commissioner Anderson responding affirmatively.  Mr. Needelman stated unfortunately, the way his agency is set up, the Board is a very small part of that; giving partial to part of his agency and not another would create a problem within the Clerk's Office; and he is not moving forward with a stipend.  He advised his office made its adjustments in June; there were pay differentials that were looked at; there were pay grade adjustments which brought his office up to speed with the current level; but unfortunately, the 2.5 percent the Board is providing, just for the County Finance side of it, will not cover the other employees; and it would not be fair to one group and not the other.  Commissioner Anderson stated everybody is getting something right now, whether it is a pay grade adjustment or the stipend of 2.5 percent. 

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, informed the Board that Mr. Needelman's organization basically did a restructuring; pay grades, duties, and functions were looked at; and the restructuring ended up in a higher percentage amount going to each of the employees.  He stated there was an issue with the State agency that oversees the Clerk's Offices; and inquired if Mr. Needelman has worked through the concerns of the CCOC, or if it is still an ongoing dialogue.  Mr. Needelman replied the CCOC is concerned with the perception that is out there, because there were not pay raises to the employees, but they were pay grade adjustments to bring the Clerk's Office up to par with the competition in the community and across the State of Florida; and stated that debate process is still ongoing, but he feels comfortable that he will prevail because the other 66 Clerks had the same concerns of whether or not an agency or a State agency under the legislature actually had the control to do such a factor with Constitutional Officers. 

 

Mr. Tipton advised the Board that staff will look at individual employees' situations and review their classification and duties; and if a change is warranted, it will be executed; but it has never been done on such a large scale as the Clerk's Office has done.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated in looking at the savings, it appears the bulk of it is not related to the outsourcing; and inquired what is the savings from the outsourcing.  Mr. Needelman stated the Clerk's Office has only been in the outsourcing process since March, so the Board is going to see the small numbers at this time; the projected savings over a period of time is averaging somewhere between 13 and 17 percent per week, which is what is projected from the numbers currently; March of next year will be a full year; and the savings projected for a year is approximately $796,000; but what the Board sees projected today is from a very short time period. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Clerk's budget presented today is an annual budget.  Mr. Needelman stated that is correct, which is why his office is able to reduce the budget request this year for the first time in a decade; his request for funding for operations in the Clerk's Office from the County is below $2 million; he has continued the trend from last year that was done by the previous Clerk, in which to lower his costs to the Board; and stated this was one way he was able to do that.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated it appears Mr. Needelman is going to outsource more of the Clerk to the Board employees; there were eight Board funded employees before outsourcing, then it was six, and now it is three; and inquired if that represents three more employees being outsourced. Mr. Needelman stated he is showing where budget dollars are coming from.  Mr. McDaniel stated what Commissioner Nelson is looking at are the full-time positions that are budgeted Board funded positions directly; and they are not staff sourced positions.  Commissioner Nelson stated he understands that, but the number goes from six to three; and inquired how many positions are currently outsourced under Board Records.  Mr. McDaniel replied there are four positions that are staff sourced under Board Records.  Commissioner Nelson inquired what was the savings from the FRS changes for the Board portion of the Clerk's budget; with Mr. McDaniel responding he does not have that level of detail with him, but he will get it for the Board.

.

Commissioner Nelson stated he does not like the outsourcing of that particular operation, because those folks do some very specialized things for the Board, and he would prefer that they not be outsourced.  He noted there was not an opportunity for that discussion earlier; and he knows it is a test program, but he would like to see it go back, because he does not see a significant amount of savings being achieved from the outsourcing, at least not on the Board funded positions.  He went on to say that a two percent drop in a $2 million, or $1.9 million budget, with the understanding that FRS achieves some savings for it, seems like it is almost a break-even over what the Board was doing; but now half of the folks who provide those services are outsourced; and the Board pays for the service, so it should have the ability to say what it wants in the way of that service. 

 

Chairman Fisher inquired if the Board funds the Clerk $1.9 million currently for the functions it does for the Board.  Mr. Needelman replied no, it is currently $2.3 million that the Board funds.  Chairman Fisher inquired what the funding request will be for the next budget cycle; with Mr. Needelman responding $1.97 million.  Chairman Fisher inquired if that is a $400,000 savings; with Mr. Needelman responding yes, including the court side.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the $120,000 should be taken off the table because it is not associated with the employees, as it is a hardware issue and not a staff issue. Mr. Needelman noted the total is including all costs that is involved with it for the savings; and reminded the Board that the staff sourcing only went into effect in March of this year, so it has been a very short time of only approximately 12 or 13 pay periods.  He stated he can guarantee Commissioner Nelson that the Board's service level will remain the same; the employees were not outsourced to another country; the staff sourcing is a way of keeping employees from being laid off and to keep from closing offices; and it is basically a leasing program in which the same employees stay in their current positions doing the same work.   He added because of the savings he is able to pass on to the Board and the CCOC, his office is looking at returning close to a quarter of a million dollars to the taxpayers of Florida; and it has given him the opportunity to finish the vision of making sure he can offer pay grade adjustments.

 

Chairman Fisher stated the staff sourced employees were taken out of the Florida Retirement System, and had some benefits taken away; and stated what he thinks Commissioner Nelson is saying is that the Board prefers the employees work directly for the Board of County Commissioners, since it is paying the salaries and the costs.  Mr. Needelman stated the Board would be bringing the employees back with a three percent reduction in their salaries; stipends were provided to them, as well as benefits; the staff sourced employees were given a stipend of over $3,800 for health insurance; and over 28,800 hours of PTO time was transferred over, providing every opportunity, the same thing as being employees at a reduced rate.  He noted maybe the insurance costs for a family increased by $300 or $400 per year, but the opposite side of that fence is that there are opportunities for those individuals who chose out of the group of five or six different choices, to pay no cost for insurance.  He stated the program is not as generous as the County had a year ago, and except for health insurance, it is equal today.  Chairman Fisher pointed out that the retirement is not equal.  Mr. Needelman stated with the pay grade adjustments, the staff sourced employees can invest in their own 401(k) at three percent; it is no different than what has occurred for the Board's employees, that they have to pay three percent into their retirement; the staff sourced employees have the same opportunity to do it privately; and they have the funds in which to do that now.

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired, between County Finance and Clerk to the Board, how many employees have been retained that are not working for the private contractor.  Mr. McDaniel replied the Board funds 16 1/2 FTE's.  Commissioner Anderson inquired of the dollar amount of the three percent FRS offset that the Board gets to retain.  Mr. McDaniel replied he did not have that information.  Commissioner Anderson stated he would like to have that information; inquired if the Board should not retain the $50,000; and inquired if Mr. Needelman is not going to give the 2.5 percent stipend to those 16 employees, should the Board also get that savings on top of the $50,000.  Mr. Needelman noted the numbers are from last fiscal year, and what Commissioner Anderson is talking about would be for the next fiscal year.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if the Board is going to retain that three percent for this fiscal year.  Mr. McDaniel advised it is factored into the budget.  Commissioner Anderson requested clarification on what it equates to.  Mr. Needelman stated he would be happy to bring those figures to the Board.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is concerned because with the Constitutional Officers and with the County employees, he does not want to create a have and have-not situation with the stipend the County is providing, if Mr. Needelman is not providing it for those 16 employees; and he would like to make sure everyone is on the same sheet of music, as far as fairness, to all the employees in the County.  Mr. McDaniel clarified that the total number of employees would be 28.5.  Mr. Needelman stated to give 28 or 29 people out of 350 people a 2.5 percent stipend would be unfair and unjust; it is something he has to live with; it is not something he has created, but is something he inherited; and it is just the way the Clerk system is set up. Commissioner Anderson stated he is not talking specifically about the Clerk; and he is looking at how the Board is treating all of the employees globally.  He stated it puts the Board in a bad situation.  Mr. Needelman stated it puts him in a bad situation as well.  Commissioner Anderson reiterated he is talking about all the employees, and not specifically the Clerk's employees. 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if the Board wanted to go back to the way it was, what would it cost; and stated he does not see the savings.  Commissioner Anderson noted the employees will get a three percent reduction automatically if the Clerk is not providing the stipend.  Commissioner Nelson advised the real savings to the Board is 2.5 percent, because that is the salaries piece; and the other savings are from excess fees and hardware.  Commissioner Anderson concurred with Commissioner Nelson; stated if the Board went back to having Board funded employees, not subcontracted employees, and those stipends are not being provided, it would get a three percent savings automatically; but that brings up another issue about fairness; and the Board has to figure that out.

 

Chairman Fisher stated the numbers are not adding up to him; and stated the Board funded $2.3 million or $2.2 million last year for the employees who worked for the Board of County Commissioners.  Commissioner Nelson advised the Board funded $2 million for the employees; and that number is a little bit skewed by the phone system; but the actual transfer for those services was $2.028 million. Commissioner Fisher inquired if the Clerk is now requesting the Board to transfer $1.977 million.  Commissioner Nelson stated if they can be Clerk employees, under FRS or outsourced, he does not know why the Board would outsource.  Commissioner Anderson stated it could be quickly figured out; and inquired if the Board can do it during a break, or come back to it.  Chairman Fisher advised it might be best to bring it up under reports. 

 

Mr. Needelman stated with the Board's permission, his staff will break out those individual positions inside Finance and Clerk to the Board, and do a cross reference on the savings that has been affected since March 4th or 5th; and stated the numbers he has provided are general numbers across-the-board savings for the two.  He reminded the Board to keep in perspective that the Board is only seeing savings from four or five months.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he would like to see the Clerk's budget showing the employees as if they were still government employees, minus the three percent on their salaries; and stated he understands the operating costs have increased a little bit.

 

Mr. Needelman inquired of the Chairman's direction, and if his staff should prepare for another meeting or individual meetings. 

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired how Mr. Needelman was able to save $120,000 on phone services; and further inquired if there is something the County could do to increase its savings.  Mr. Tipton replied it is something the County and the Clerk's Office did jointly; the Clerk's Office came back to the County's phone program; that is how the savings were achieved; and it is part of the partnership between the two entities.  Mr. Needelman confirmed the phone system provides a faster service than the service his office had bought outright; there has been improvements seen in the Merritt Island and Palm Bay offices; and it made better sense in savings and services to jump back on to help cover those costs.

 

Chairman Fisher stated if he understands the Board, it would like Mr. Needelman to consider the employees that work directly for the Board to come back to the Board, and not work for Source 2; and stated his direction to Mr. Needelman would be to take that into consideration.   Mr. Needelman stated he is more than willing to do that, and he looks forward to providing the Board with the facts and figures to show the savings there and incorporate it into what his office has done. He inquired if the Board would like the information provided individually, or would the Board like to schedule a meeting; and stated he has no problem with meeting with the Commissioners individually.  Commissioner Nelson advised Mr. Needelman to give the information to Mr. Tipton, who will then forward to the Commissioners. Mr. Needelman assured the Board he will sit down with County staff to make sure it gets the information; and stated he looks forward to showing the Board how much his office has saved the taxpayers in Florida and Brevard County.

 

 

 

Howard Tipton, County Manager, stated the Board first heard from Tax Collector Lisa Cullen; her budget remains unchanged at $7 million; she is a fee-based office; and as she indicated in her presentation, other than some small capital for a new van, there is really not much in the way of changes in her budget.  He stated he understands from earlier correspondence that beginning July 1st, Ms. Cullen was providing an FRS offset adjustment of three percent to her employees.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if that was a recurring adjustment; with Mr. Tipton responding affirmatively. 

 

Mr. Tipton stated the Sheriff's Office shows an overall decrease of almost $4.2 million, and a percentage change of 3.84 percent decrease; the Sheriff mentioned returning $1 million to the General Fund, which is accurate and true; the BCSO has seen a decrease in the contracted services as Port Canaveral is moving to its own police functions; and the Sheriff's overall request is $105,000.  Commissioner Anderson inquired what if the Sheriff's Office's offset for FRS is recurring.  Mr. Tipton replied the Sheriff's plan is to provide that offset as a permanent Step Plan adjustment.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if it was for a full three percent; with Mr. Tipton responding it varies, but it is recurring. 

 

Mr. Tipton stated the Supervisor of Elections' situation is unique amongst all of the offices, and that is because every four years she has a lot of activity; and 2012 is the year for that activity.  He stated it is anticipated as the Board gets through this cycle that Ms. Scott's budget will show a sizeable decrease the following year as the expenses associated with an election cycle of this size goes away.  Commissioner Anderson pointed out that Ms. Scott's budget shows no stipend or recurring costs for an FRS offset.  Mr. Tipton replied Ms. Scott does not have a stipend, or recurring cost, in her budget.

 

Mr. Tipton advised the Clerk's Office is a little bit different in that the Clerk of Courts wears several hats; there is the Finance hat, the Clerk to the Board hat, and the Recording hat; and then there are court functions, which the Board is not responsible for.  He stated the Board is really just focused on the Clerk to the Board Office and the Finance Department; and the overall reduction is just under eight percent if the Article V expenses are included.  He stated Mr. Needelman's situation is that as the new Clerk coming in, he went through and made a fairly significant reorganization and provided some pay adjustments earlier this year, and is not anticipating any of those going forward; stated Mr. Needelman's office is the most difficult because of the way its funding is split; there could potentially be pay cuts on the court side, which are the majority of his employees, but the Board side could stay the same; and it just depends on the funding sources. 

 

Mr. Tipton stated the Property Appraiser's budget is one that is approved by the Department of Revenue; the Board should be getting a letter from them asking for its input as to whether or not it thinks it is satisfactory; but the Board of County Commissioners does not approve the Property Appraiser's budget.  He noted the Property Appraiser's budget has proposed a decrease this year.  Commissioner Anderson stated Mr. Ford will follow the Board's lead, so he is assuming any stipends for FRS have not been included in his figure of $629,000; with Mr. Tipton responding that is correct. Commissioner Anderson inquired what that figure will be if Mr. Ford follows the Board.  Mr. Tipton replied that figure is not known at this point.  Commissioner Anderson stated it really does not affect the Board.  Mr. Tipton stated it will affect the Board in terms of what it pays for Mr. Ford's services.  Commissioner Anderson inquired if the Board could request that number from Mr. Ford; with Mr. Tipton responding affirmatively.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he is concerned that the Board has several of the Constitutional Officers providing, if not one-time stipends, then recurring three percent cost adjustments for FRS; at some point, he realizes there is a guy who worked today for Road and Bridge filling potholes who is going to lose a lot of money, and he is not getting treated the same; and stated it is very unequal treatment.  He stated he may not approve of a rollback, and he may not approve of the whole budget, but the Board needs to take care of those guys that are down there digging ditches who see nothing but a loss when everyone else is giving raises to their employees; and it is either all or none for him. 

 

Commissioner Infantini inquired about the individuals who earn over $100,000.  Commissioner Anderson stated the Board can have that discussion.  Commissioner Infantini stated at some point there has to be some kind of cap.  Commissioner Anderson stated that is a fair discussion because it is his understanding that the Tax Collector did cap her FRS offset.  Mr. Tipton advised it is $50,000 or $60,000.  Commissioner Anderson stated the people making $60,000 are working hard and not complaining, and everyone else is getting a benefit that they are not receiving.

 

Chairman Fisher inquired if staff is in agreement with the Constitutional Officers' budgets as presented, or if there are any budgets they are not comfortable with. Mr. Tipton replied, for all but the Supervisor of Elections, the budgets are going down; in working with the Constitutional Officers through the budget process staff believes what they have requested is necessary to perform their statutory and constitutional duties; and staff has no major concerns with what they have recommended.  Commissioner Fisher inquired if Mr. Tipton would have the same position if the Board did not go to rollback.  Mr. Tipton responded no, there would have to be some discussions with the Charter Officers if the Board did not go to rollback, because they are such a large part of the general revenue picture.

 

 

 

Frank Abbate, Human Resources Director, outlined the presentation for the Board. He stated the County's group health plan is in a healthy state; there are reserves in the area of $15.4 million at the beginning of the fiscal year; on a State level, the actuary certified required reserve is $11.7 million, which is almost $4 million above the minimum the State requires from an actuary perspective; but that does not mean the County has extra money, because there post-employment benefit liabilities, which is an unfunded liability called GASB-45 (Governmental Accounting Standards Board); and that particular liability was assessed in 2008 at $141 million for the whole plan.  He reported that as a result of a variety of steps that the Board has taken over the last three years, that liability has been reduced significantly to the point that the OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits) liability at the end of 2010 was $96.6 million; and the Board's liability was reduced to $57.5 million.  He stated based on the plan history, in terms of medical expenses, the projected trend for next year is approximately six percent; and that equals about $3.5 million when looking at all of the plan costs, including the employee contributions, retiree contributions, and their out-of-pocket expenses. He stated the Board can see the difference in the revenues over expenses; it is one reason why part of the recommendation in the County Manager's recommended budget has a zero percent employer and employee contribution increase, because basically, that surplus will be eliminated; and by surplus, he means revenues over expenses that the County has experienced this year. He mentioned the economy is a big part of why that has happened; and stated other reasons are the cost shift that has occurred and the employer contribution to the plan. He stated the employer contribution is consistent with 2011/2012; and that is really all the $36.6 million represents.  He noted the member premium contribution shows a slight increase in the projections in terms of what is being recommended, and that is because the Board has followed a strategy for the last several years of increasing retiree premium contributions one and a half times the medical inflation rate; and the recommendation staff is coming forward with is to continue with that.  He stated the Board has maintained a competitive model; the current two providers are Cigna and Health First Health Plans; the HRA (Health Reimbursement Account) is the consumer-driven high-deductible plan and has about 67 percent of the membership when taking out the people who are participating in the over-65 Health First Medicare option; and it is what staff had initially predicted when the County went into the plan. He mentioned there are about 25 percent of the Medicare eligible people participating in the Health First Medicare program, but those numbers are likely to increase in terms of who is going to participate in the fully-funded options.  He stated in 2000, the County had a plan expense of $18 million, with 3,700 employees and retirees; 553 were retirees; the cost was $408 per employee or retiree per month, but over time, that has increased; and the high was in 2009 when the plan expense was $50.7 million, with 4,800 employees, and of those 899 were retirees, with the cost to the Board of $874.   He noted since that time the Board has made a variety of plan adjustments in terms of plan design, recommended by the EBIAC (Employee Benefits Insurance Advisory Committee); some were industry recommendations that came in the industry review that occurred; and the County has had a very significant drop in costs; but medical inflation has not dropped, and has only continued to go up.

 

He stated the projection for 2011 is that the employer contribution is about $40.4 million; there are less member participating today for a couple of different reasons; one is the change in terms of what happened with the Clerk's Office, in the loss of approximately 100 plan members this year; and the County also lost 200 employees when Port Canaveral pulled out of the plan on January 1st.  He noted the retiree membership has continued to increase over the years at a lower pace than it has in the past; and the reason is because as the premiums continue to go up for the retirees, fewer have chosen to stay on one of the options.  He stated there was a five percent increase this year; the projection for 2012 is zero on the employer side; the average has been about 3.43 percent over the last five years; and the national medical trend has been over 10 percent; and for 2012, 9.5 to 12.5 percent is the anticipated medical trend increases that are occurring. 

 

He explained the next slide shows the employer and member cost allocations in terms of what they are paying out-of-pocket in terms of what the employer contribution shows in 2001, with the employers contributing approximately $48.4 million; $6.0 million on the member premiums is what employees paid for dependents in out-of-pocket expenses; and $5.6 million is what retirees paid in out-of-pocket expenses.  He stated the Board went from $48 million to $36 million as the employer contribution because of the cost shift that has occurred; the Board still has those expenses, but the employees are picking up $5.6 million instead of $5 million; and out-of-pocket they are picking up $14.8 million, because that is how high the deductibles, the out-of-pockets, and the co-insurance has gone over that period of time.  He advised the cost allocation in terms of employer contribution has changed; in 2009 it was basically 80 percent of medical costs that were being paid by the employer; the members were paying approximately 20 percent between the premium and out-of-pocket; and today, the employer is paying about 62 percent, with members paying 38 percent.  He explained today, under the HRA plan, which 70 percent of the employees are in, the individual deductible is $1,500; the family deductible is $3,000; and the out-of-pocket maximums are $3,000 for an individual and $6,000 for a family.  He stated with the HRA, the employees get a contribution from the employer, which is part of what a consumer driven health plan provides; the County did the opposite of what most employers do, in that it gave the lower paid employees more contribution, with the higher paid employees getting less contribution. He stated the Board has stayed with the strategy for a number of years in a row to implement incremental retiree premium increases that were one and a half times the medical trend.  He further stated a couple of years ago the Board implemented the strategies recommended from the Industry Review Committee, one of which was the spousal premium surcharge; and that has been another area where the employers cost has been reduced over time.  He noted the County conducted a prescription RFP and introduced Step Therapy; the HMO plan design has been eliminated, which is why Port Canaveral left; Stop Loss insurance was also eliminated because of the size of the group; and the County has benefited from that for the last two years, saving over $200,000, but the County cannot continue doing that over time, so there will be that additional expense moving forward. He mentioned staff conducted an RFP for EAP (Employee Assistance Program) and brought new providers in this year.  He stated as the Board has that discussion relative to what to do with employees, benefits, and salaries next year, these are real dollars that were taken that employees are now contributing in addition to FRS; those dollars were shifts that employees are now paying throughout the plan, whether it is the Sheriff's Department or Road and Bridge; every employee participating in the program picked up these additional expenses; and they were pharmacy costs and HRA/PPO net savings.  He advised in terms of who is participating with the County today, the Board is the largest employer, followed by the Sheriff; The Clerk of Courts number of 205 employees was a reduction of 127 lost from where he was earlier in the year because of the staff sourcing; and Port Canaveral is no longer participating; but when the Port left, they took all of their retiree with them, because that is one of the provisions of the Interlocal Agreement.

 

He stated over time the employee participation numbers are going down, while the retiree participation numbers are going up; that is a concern, not only to the County, but to any employer; and it is happening across-the-board with employers.  He stated the Interlocal Agreements were executed in 2008 by all of the County's participating entities; they clearly delineate all the agency obligations and responsibilities; the Board has the ability to establish the funding methodology, the terms for participating, and terminating from the program; and termination can be done voluntarily by September 30th, such as Port Canaveral did.  He added, the Interlocal Agreements address the plans financial obligation, including GASB-45 liability for retirees, in that if an agency leaves, they have to take their retirees with them; the Agreements also outline the EBIAC participation in the process that they all have as a participating member serving on that committee; but ultimately, while the EBIAC makes recommendations, it is the Board that has the exclusive final control and decision making authority for the plan. 

 

He stated for next year there is no recommended employer premium contribution increase; there is also no recommended employee premium contribution increase; any retiree premium increase is based on the lowest medical trend that could be used, which would be the six percent of the plan, as opposed to the national trend; and it is just in case the Board wants to continue the strategy of reducing retiree subsidy incrementally over time.  He stated one of the things staff would like to do to assist retirees in their choices moving forward, is look at Medicare Advantage, some supplements, and some prescription drug options; and those would range anywhere from zero in terms of premium on a monthly basis, to up to $334.  He stated staff is also recommending to the Board a Live In Good Health Wellness Incentives Program; if a member wants to stay where they are in the plan, they would need to complete a biometric screening, which would include cholesterol and blood pressure; members would also have to sign a No Tobacco Pledge, which is an honor system affidavit from the employees, or retirees, but not dependents; and that is the way the EBIAC wanted to take a look at recommending changes in terms of the surcharge that was mentioned by the Board in April.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if there will be a financial reduction to an employee if he or she does not take the screening or sign the pledge.  Mr. Abbate replied the HRA contribution if an employee does not do that would be reduced; and the deductible in the PPO would be increased if an employee does not take the screening and sign the pledge; but by doing both of those things, employees will be able to maintain their current status in their HRA contribution or the current deductible on the PPO. 

 

Mr. Abbate advised within the last several months, staff has conducted an RFP for fully-insured options for retiree Medicare, which is for the over-64 coverages; the staff has received five proposals and the EBIAC will recommend to the Board on Tuesday that it consider continuing with the Health First Plan Medicare Advantage HMO and POS options; and the EBIAC is also going to be recommending United Health Care Medical Supplements, prescription drug, and Medicare Advantage options.  He stated if employees complete the health risk assessment from either the Cigna or Health First Health Plan websites, they would be meeting that incentive; the tobacco cessation is similar to what the County does for the spousal affidavit for the spousal surcharge in that the employees are just asked to verify; employees have an obligation to be truthful; they jeopardize their employment if they are not; but if they complete the no tobacco affidavit affirming that they do not have tobacco use at the time of signature and throughout the plan year, or that they plan to enter a smoking cessation program to achieve the incentive, then they will be able to maintain the current amounts provided in terms of the HRA contributions or the current deductibles.  He stated what the EBIAC looked at was $250 for the biometric screening under the HRA; if they sign the no tobacco pledge they would have another $250; and so they would maintain their current $1,000.  He stated the current deductible for the PPO is $500; the deductible that is going to be recommended is $750; however, it would be adjusted down to $125 for the biometric screening, and another $125 if there is a no tobacco use pledge; and that would maintain the current $500 deductible.  He noted the EBIAC felt that was a more appropriate way to move forward; and staff hopes the Board is satisfied with that rather than adding a premium surcharge. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if an employee would lose their credit if they genetically have high blood pressure.  Mr. Abbate replied it is only a screening; employees do not have to reach certain levels; and they get the credit once they have shown to the plan that they have had the assessment.  He stated the EBIAC tried to look at what other jurisdictions are doing; staff wants to be as reasonable as possible, but yet meet the objectives the Board indicated as a concern moving forward with the smoking policy. 

 

Mr. Tipton commented on the biometric screening helping people to identify particular problems they are having that they might otherwise not be aware of. 

 

Mr. Abbate stated the Board had a lengthy discussion in April with the Clerk of Court, relative to the group health insurance program; there were a variety of concerns raised about the current funding methodology that was being utilized; the Board may recall that the funding methodology involves a composite employer contribution rate that is based on all group health plan full-time benefits-eligible employees; and stated staff looks at who is eligible and divides that number by the number eligible, and that is the monthly premium.  He stated there was some concern by the Board, as well as by the Clerk about that methodology being the one that the County should move forward with; and staff followed the Board direction and prepared a variety of options.  He advised those options were provided to the Board, the EBIAC, and the Clerk's Office in a memo dated May 24th; staff has had multiple meetings with the Clerk's Finance Manager to discuss some things; in April there was a surcharge issue that was unresolved; the Board's direction was to try to work it out and collect the surcharge on a monthly basis; and staff discussed with the Clerk two options other than the current option.  He advised the first option was a composite employer contribution rate based on only enrolled employees; it would require a different rate than if charging all just eligible employees because the same overall dollar amount is being sought; and the second option is based on a tiered employee contribution rate based on what the employees select, whether they are individuals or have dependents.  He explained under the current model, for every full-time benefits-eligible employee, the monthly cost is $822.77 per employee; that takes into consideration all plan costs, the reserve, and revenue requirements to cover active employees, dependents, and retirees; the revenues the County has collected under the current model are producing $3 million in revenue over expenses; and that is what enables the Board to have a zero percent increase moving forward.

 

He stated the first option of alternatives to the current methodology would be where the Board would look at only charging for active participating employees in the plan; instead of being $822 per month, the rate would be $831.44 per month; and that is a slight increase, but it is because it is only considering those who are actively participating.   He advised for there would be a single composite employer contribution rate based on all enrolled retirees; and that is projected to be $391.72 per month per retiree.  He stated the second option staff provided was employee contributions that were tiered based on each enrolled employee's tier of coverage elected; for employees under the HRA the rate would be $480; and the employer contribution for the PPO would be $505.  He stated it would be a funding nightmare on an annual basis to try budget that for each one of the Board's staffs, but it is available, and some employers choose to do it; but the most common is a composite rate, as is currently done by the County.

 

He stated since the Board meeting in April, staff has reached out to the Clerk's Office on a multitude of occasions; staff met with the Clerk's Office and discussed the surcharge with the Finance Director, who indicated his understanding of what was going on, but that the issue would have to be discussed internally before a final decision was made relative to that particular  number; he received a memo from the Clerk's Office asking whether or not the County could charge a surcharge; and the Board could do that, however, staff reached out to the Clerk's Office in May and indicated they could help the Clerk's Office look for alternative plans, or they would be happy to work with them, and the Clerk's Office was receptive to continuing the dialogue.  He stated that himself and Jerry Visco, Insurance Director, met with Mr. McDaniel, Clerk Finance Director, and Sean Campbell, Chief Deputy Clerk, a week ago, at which time the Clerk's Office was told there were alternatives; Mr. McDaniel and Mr. Campbell are still looking at the alternatives; they have indicated an understanding and a willingness to still try to work it out; but he does not know if the Clerk will choose to go to another plan in January; but County staff is working with them and hopes the outstanding issues can be resolved relative to the change in the demographics that the Clerk's Office had. 

 

He summarized that staff believes the current funding methodology has a time-tested successful approach; it pools the risk over the largest population that is available, which is the benefit-eligible employees; it allows for the most consistent and stable budgeting over time; and it is a uniform allocation of plan liabilities across all participating agencies.  He stated as indicated before, when smaller agencies leave, they cannot do what the County does as a self-insured plan, because they are going to be community-based; and they cannot get self-insured because no one would self-insure with a rather small group.  He stated he is extremely hopeful that staff will be able to work things out with the Clerk relative to where they are with the plan in the future; but if it does not work out, staff will be very accommodating and eager to work with the Clerk's Office to help them move to a plan that would be most beneficial to where they think they should be, and taking their retirees with them, as the Port did. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if staff would be able to reach out to the retirees and have some type of interaction with them to discuss the plan in more detail.  Mr. Abbate replied if the Board approves the recommendations on Tuesday, there will be a lot of individual reaching out, because of the individual products; and retirees are going to have the opportunity to look at a smorgasboard of individual options.

 

Mr. Visco stated staff has a meeting tomorrow with United and Health First; one of the commitments those two entities made in the RFP process was to hold town hall-style meetings in advance of open enrollment to try to get the word out to retirees and start educating; and United, in particular, has made a commitment to try to accomplish one-on-one enrollment with that target population. 

 

Chairman Fisher inquired if the retirees decide not to opt in the County's plan and go buy coverage elsewhere, will they be given a monthly stipend.  Mr. Abbate responded the stipend retirees receive on a monthly basis is $5, but that is through the FRS and not the County.  Chairman Fisher stated the County has seen some exit of retirees; and inquired if they just cannot afford the plan.  Mr. Abbate replied as the cost go up they become prohibitive; there are some retirees who have their whole FRS checking going to pay their premiums on health insurance; but it depends on what their use of service is, and what they are getting in their retirement check.  He stated the employer contribution on behalf of retirees as a group continues to be higher for the Board in Brevard County than many other employers; but it is going down and has been going down for the last several years. 

 

Mr. Tipton thanked Mr. Abbate and his staff for the presentation; stated health insurance is one of those areas that employers wrestle with every year; healthcare in America, generally, continues to be a challenge, especially at the local level.  He advised the average retiree from Brevard County has about 17 years of experience; and that would be about $85 per year that FRS would contribute towards their premium.

 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Board will hear additional public comments tomorrow; after hearing from the public, the Board could have discussions; and most of his questions have either been answered, or are in the pipeline to get answered. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired of the format for tomorrow's meeting.  Howard Tipton, County Manager, replied staff will do a much abbreviated version of what he presented at yesterday's Workshop; there are no departmental presentations; and it is really public input, unless the Board would like for him to cover more.  He mentioned having the employee investment discussion later, and suggested the Board consider that Charter Offices did not participate in the furloughs this year; it is a big impact for the County employees; as the Board thinks about a cap, he would remind it that directors and above took five percent; so in terms of trying to limit who might benefit from an investment back into the employees, his recommendation and perspective is that it would be fair to go across-the-board because of that additional burden that they accepted. 

 

Commissioner Anderson inquired if Sheriff Parker set a cap on his stipend; with Mr. Tipton responding no.  Commissioner Bolin suggested cutting the stipend in half; offering half in the first six months; and the second half in the second six months.  She stated she is just being a little more conservative because she is not sure where the Board is going to be in the future.  Commissioner Nelson stated his perspective is the Board can decide to change directions at any point; and he is not sure it needs to be formalized in that way.  Commissioner Anderson stated it might be wise to spread the stipend out over pay periods.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated his view is that there are Constitutional Officers that did not participate in the furloughs who are giving increases; and the auditors also have given raises to their folks in the past year.  He stated five years is long enough; the Board has reduced down; and it has to take care of the ones that are left.  He stated he believes the stipend needs to be across-the-board, and it needs to be permanent; the employees are doing much more; they are doing a great job; and it is almost remarkable what is getting accomplished.

 

Chairman Fisher stated in his personal company he gave his key employee raises because of the added workload, service load, demand, and the issues they deal with on a daily basis; and stated he also factored in that their incomes have changed.  He stated he made the decision in his operation to give pay raises in a time when it is very difficult to do such a thing, but employees need to be taken care of.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated he appreciates Commissioner Nelson's views; however, with the recurring issue, and the legislature telling the Board what they are planning on doing in the out years, he cannot support a permanent increase.  Commissioner Nelson stated he does not see the legislature raising the rates because then they have to fund it themselves; there was a report in the last month that says the system is funded 100 percent, so it is in great shape; and the legislature will use that as a reason to continue what they are doing.

 

Commissioner Anderson stated his fear is that the political winds may shift, and since under the current legislation that allowed the FRS participants, the employers, to keep that money, if they get a lot of blow-back by everybody offsetting the three percent, they could say that from now on that three percent goes to Tallahassee; and if that happens, the Board will be stuck with a recurring cost.  Commissioner Nelson stated the legislature cannot keep the County's money; but whatever they do, they have to fund themselves.  Commissioner Anderson stated his preference is to offer the stipend for one year only.  Chairman Fisher inquired of the dollar figure; with Mr. Tipton responding it is $2.7 million, across-the-board for Board employees, including the Supervisor of Elections; the Property Appraiser is not in that number, but he said he would be, so the amount of reduction that he had would just be reduced.  

 

Chairman Fisher advised he has a conflict with the Board meeting on July 26th, and may not be able to attend, but he will let staff and the Board know.

.

 

The meeting adjourned at 11:49 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                                                                                

                                                                        ROBIN L. FISHER, CHAIRMAN

                                                                        BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                    _______                      BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

MITCH NEEDELMAN, CLERK