May 18, 2006 Special
May 18 2006
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
May 18, 2006
The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on May 18, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chair Helen Voltz, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Ron Pritchard, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and Assistant County Attorney Shannon Wilson.
REPORT, RE: DEBRIS MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS
Commissioner Pritchard stated hurricane season begins in two weeks, and inquired if the debris management Contracts are in order; with County Manager Peggy Busacca responding affirmatively.
REPORT, RE: PROPERTY INSURANCE PROGRAMS
Commissioner Pritchard inquired have there been any increases in the County’s property insurance programs due to the various losses it has had or other actions that may have taken place legislative or otherwise. Ms. Busacca responded staff is still negotiating it; there will be increases, but she is not sure how much they will be; one of the County’s greatest problems in insurance is how much it is able to obtain; and Dade County was limited to approximately $10 million worth of wind insurance. She stated Gerry Visco has advised her that Brevard County is doing much better than that.
Commissioner Pritchard stated the County needs to see what it can do to maybe have its own Joint Underwriter Association (JUA); some sort of proactive action needs to be taken; he is open to suggestions as to how the County can do this; and it is in the best interest to individuals and government.
Ms. Busacca advised she will ask Mr. Visco to contact Commissioner Pritchard directly; and perhaps he can provide more information.
REPORT, RE: GRADUATIONS
Commissioner Colon stated it is graduation time, and extended congratulations to all the students and parents.
REPORT, RE: PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE REGIONAL VISIONING PROCESS
EVENTS ON SPACE COAST GOVERNMENT TELEVISION (SCGTV)
Commissioner Carlson stated the County does still photos on Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV) and includes dates and times of events that are going to occur that have significance to the County; and requested permission for staff to include dates and times of the Regional Visioning Process events on Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV). She noted she will get all the information and make sure it gets to all the municipalities.
Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to direct staff to include dates and times of Regional Visioning Process events on Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV). Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
REPORT, RE: COUNCIL OF CHAIRS
Chair Voltz stated the Council of Chairs is a 15-month process; by the time her term is up the end of November 2006, the Council of Chairs is going to be well into the process; and requested permission from the Board to allow her to finish the process.
Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to authorize the Chair to continue on the Council of Chairs after her term as Chair is up the end of November 2006 to finish the process. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Amy Tidd stated she serves on the Citizens Budget Review Committee; last week the Committee passed a motion to give the Board input on the salary and benefit changes that are going on in the budget for the upcoming year; the Board will be receiving a letter from Mr. Young, Chairman of the Committee, on suggestions the Committee has come up with.
Commissioner Scarborough advised the Clerk’s Office has been briefing Commissioners about some of the implementation issues; and inquired did the Committee receive the Clerk’s presentation. Ms. Tidd responded no; and stated that the Committee would like to review it. Commissioner Scarborough stated it would be advisable that the Committee hear the presentation before it finalizes its comments.
Ms. Tidd stated she is concerned with public lands and public access to waterways; at last Tuesday’s Board meeting an item was brought up under reports to sell some County property that is on the water; there was no public notice on it; and the property is in south Merritt Island. She advised a vote was taken to rezone the property and send it to the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Board; there was not enough consideration for the item; and requested the Board reconsider its vote and have the item placed on a regular Board meeting agenda for staff comments.
PUBLIC COMMENTS (CONTINUED)
Commissioner Carlson stated she thought the County had done reports about that piece of property; and requested County Manager Peggy Busacca get the Board back whatever information it may have already received on the property. She noted an analysis was done; the County went through a process after community input about what the uses were and feedback from the community; folks up and down the Point and in Merritt Island have concerns about taking publicly-owned waterway property and selling it; and it is a very small piece of property on a bluff that is hard to access and would be more appropriate for a home. She requested staff provide a report on what has been done to date to confirm there was public input back then; and if it is not sufficient staff can always put it on the July 11, 2006 agenda for discussion to make sure there is not a real concern by anybody.
Commissioner Colon stated the County wants to keep and maintain the integrity of the neighborhood; and that is what this is about.
Chair Voltz stated the Board should move forward with the residential.
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION
County Manager Peggy Busacca advised at the first budget workshop the Board said the Commissioners would provide requests for any additional information they wanted to discuss at this workshop; staff received one request of information by Commissioner Pritchard; it has been put together for the Board; and backup information is also included.
Commissioner Pritchard stated he had a constituent come to his office yesterday who is a major residential homebuilder; he would like to become involved with affordable workforce housing; the problem is the County does not have a list of people that would be eligible or qualified; and since there is not a list, the homebuilder would literally be opening the door to investors again that would be speculating. He advised such homebuilder has a good product; and he is trying to help the County with affordable and workforce housing.
Chair Voltz stated affordable housing should be based strictly on salary.
The Board discussed the housing group committee, regulations, availability of infill properties, taking proactive action, programs for the elderly and disabled persons, quality of life issues, and Communities for a Lifetime.
Commissioner Scarborough stated affordable housing is a problem that has progressed in society; prices have increased and people are not able to find homes; and it is an international problem.
Diane MacEntee, representing Children’s Advocacy Center, requested the Board consider some support for the Organization; stated everyone is getting older; unfortunately, many people under the age of 18 suffer from being victimized by child sexual abuse and physical abuse; and the
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION (CONTINUED)
Center is a public/private partnership, and includes organizations such as the Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office. She advised part of the Center’s mission is to increase perpetrator conviction rates on child victims; the Center does that by working concurrently through a multi-
disciplinary team of County agencies, city agencies, and private agencies. She stated the Center has been very fiscally sound and responsible for ten years; this last year it has seen a major decrease in funding; it has worked extremely hard to make up for that through fund raisers and grant writing at the federal, State, and local levels; and it has been somewhat successful, but has not been entirely successful. Ms. MacEntee advised on a daily basis children are being affected in the community; child victims of abuse without care, without treatment, without conviction rate, and without therapy are going to enter the criminal justice system at a rate of 62% of average; the County needs to make sure the children of the community are equally engaged in the process that it is equally supportive of these victims because in the long run it will benefit everyone; and the Center is asking for a fairly small amount of funding, which would equal 1/6th of its total funding. She advised the Center lost $125,000 last year in State funding.
Chair Voltz inquired has the Center ever applied for Community Based Organization (CBO) money; with Ms. MacEntee responding it applied last year and was turned down. Chair Voltz encouraged the Center to apply again; stated the Board recently increased the CBO funding this past year; it is $1 million at this time; and the process is ongoing now.
Housing and Human Services Director Gay Williams stated the CBO process was closed by the Board this last funding cycle; however, it provided support to child abuse in the amount of $37,000 last year; it has not received a funding request this year; and the Board provides mandated support for children as it relates to sexual abuse.
Commissioner Carlson inquired when are applications accepted for the grant. Ms. Williams responded it is a closed process and was closed by the Board; the applicants who applied for funding last fiscal year are the applicants who would reapply and the funding would be distributed; over 22 agencies applied for funding; and the Board increased the funding cycle. She noted those were the agencies that were allowed to apply again for funding. Commissioner Carlson noted the Center applied, but was turned down; and it could not apply throughout the closed cycle.
Commissioner Colon stated the dilemma is that the County has such a huge need in the community and just “x” amount of dollars; it wants to know how well the dollars are being allocated; and there are dollars being allocated to the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Ms. Williams advised the funding that is funneled to the Center is mandated funding that the Board has been providing; last year it provided $37,000; she does not know what it will be this year since the request has not been received; and it is automatically done because it is a mandated piece that the Board is required to pay for pursuant to Statute for the Child Protection Team.
Commissioner Colon inquired if the Boys and Girls Club requested perhaps $15,000 and would like to request more dollars, can it do so. Ms. Williams responded an agency is allowed to request more dollars if it was in the funding cycle that received dollars; the process has required
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION (CONTINUED)
agencies to do more partnering with other agencies within the community; they might have received the dollars, but with this cycling period, those agencies have partnered with other
agencies to expand the services they are providing throughout the County; and they have come back under an umbrella to say these are all the services and services areas they are increasing, which is why they are requesting additional dollars.
Commissioner Carlson stated if the Children’s Advocacy Center is expected to go in through the process then it has to partner with another group that has already been successful. Ms. Williams noted that is correct.
Commissioner Pritchard stated when the County had Bob Seemer come up with an evaluation on how it might be able to do things better, one of the items he said was if it follows his recommendations it could see a 40% increase in productivity; and inquired how the County is doing in complying or at least attempting to comply with the recommendations Mr. Seemer had and if it has seen any result, such as an increase in productivity or decrease in expenditure.
Ms. Busacca responded Mr. Seemer is working with staff to provide a report to the Board; he met with staff at a meeting yesterday; he is hoping to gather that information by the end of the month; and she will make sure it is on track.
Commissioner Pritchard stated the County talks about quality of life, but has no measurement, other than subjective, he supposes, of what that is; it may cut service, but has no measurement of its level of service and how that applies to quality of life; he does not see how the County can continue to infer it has a certain quality of life based upon its level of service if it cannot measure what either one is; and inquired how can it say the cutting of any position or operation will have any affect upon its level of service or quality of life. He noted the County needs to quantify its level of service and the effect of either cutting or increasing services or positions, otherwise, it is simply a drill of saying what funded, vacant positions does it want to cut; one final thought is maybe the level of service is okay as it relates to quality of life in many service areas; and maybe it is doing some things that do not need doing. He inquired why not have staff review what they are doing and see what improvements are needed or whether or not they should even be doing them. He stated the County tends to fall into the position of trying to be all things to all people; he is not too sure that is the role it should be taking; there are probably some important umbrella services the County should be conducting; and because of input and requests, it has gotten into other projects that maybe it should not be involved with.
Chair Voltz stated staff is not here to direct the Board; the Board is here to direct staff; she is sure staff feels uncomfortable coming to each Commissioner and saying the project he or she likes cannot be done; and it is putting staff in a very uncomfortable position in doing those things. Commissioner Pritchard stated he disagrees; input from all parties are very important; and for the Board to think it knows best on everything is a little arrogant on its part.
Commissioner Carlson advised Bob Seemer is going through the effort of efficiency; that is what is going to play out with all of Commissioner Pritchard’s commentary on how the County should
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION (CONTINUED)
cut or do whatever; everyone is very interested in saving tax dollars; and they are all supposed to be accountable and responsible for those dollars. She stated the Board needs to get
feedback from Mr. Seemer, including what the County is doing that it does not need to be doing; and he will get honest input from staff.
Ms. Busacca stated Commissioner Pritchard is talking about a fundamental paradigm shift; she can give the Board a way in which it can start that culture change; staff does not give the Board too many recommendations; and it could start that process by asking the Board if it has a recommendation on something. She noted the Board needs to decide what it wants from staff as they do not always get the same thing.
Commissioner Colon stated she came from a climate of five years of where staff recommended how she was supposed to vote; she does not think so; when she came to the County it was refreshing to know that she would be able to ask that individual what he or she thought; and she would hope the person submitted in his or her report the pros and cons. She noted it is up to the Commissioner to decide whether he or she should support something or not; she is extremely comfortable with that scenario as she is able to ask staff what he or she thinks; she asks for the recommendation; and recommendations from staff puts them in a very awkward position.
Commissioner Scarborough stated most of the items on the agenda come from staff and are routine matters; they put in comments if there are options that are possible; he asks staff additional questions, if there are additional options, and are there risks and other things beyond that; and he has no reason to believe that staff has not been very candid with him about those particular items. He noted on the other hand, there are certain things that are community driven; there needs to be an understanding there is a blending constantly between a staff driven and where they actually turn to the Board because things have gotten political and difficult; in between there may be some cases where an individual Commissioner has something; but he would not want to prevent Commissioners from champion a cause that he or she feels their constituents want; and he encourages them. He stated he does not feel uncomfortable with the present way; and there is an open exchange of all the options and a lot of discussion.
Commissioner Pritchard stated there is always room for improvement; government does not solve all problems and tends to create a lot of problems; he would like to see smaller government; and that is his philosophy. He noted he welcomes all input, recommendations, and options from staff. He commented on the list of 31 questions he submitted to staff to answer; and provided such list to the Board, including Item 24, indicating with salary increases in FY 2006, Departments need to review their operations/expenditures to help offset these increases, and if each Department could find 10% within their budgets to help offset the cost of salary increases. He advised there will be health insurance increases in FY 2006-2007, especially with new provider contracts; and inquired how will the Board fund the increases.
Chair Voltz stated when she took over as Chair she met with every single Department Head and asked them a number of questions; one of the questions she asked them is if they could cut their budget by 5%; only two Departments said they could, but it would cut services; and the Board needs to realize how tight every single Department is.
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION (CONTINUED)
Discussion ensued concerning measurement of services, necessary level of services, quantified capability and types of verification, understaffing, Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT), cutting services, County Departments evaluating their services, justification issues, required services versus wanted services,
Commissioner Carlson stated Commissioner Pritchard asks the same questions each year; the Board ends up getting in the same conversation; the majority of the Board feels pretty comfortable; but she always scrutinizes, just like Commissioner Pritchard does; and she understands it takes a certain level of staffing to get the service the people want. She noted she questions if the County really needs it, and staff gives her all the data that says yes; Commissioner Pritchard’s questions are fine, big general questions, and deserve answers; she does it during her briefings on a cumulative basis; and she sees how tight the Board is in the budget. She stated she has already heard the explanations if the Board cuts 5% and what it will do to services; she has already asked the questions about providing certain services; there might be a good question as to whether the County is providing more service than it really has to; and some issues are civil issues, including drainage, fencing, etc. She noted she relies on staff, just as the Board does; she relies on some folks as she believes their expertise is solid; the Board runs a tight budget; and everyone has a different view on what government should be doing, but agrees it should be as small as it can and still provide a good quality service to provide for the quality of life everyone wants and the citizens deserve.
Chair Voltz stated there is absolutely no fat in the budget; this year the County is going to be spending “x” amount of dollars for salaries; it already has needs for the coming year; and each Commissioner has certain needs within his or her Districts that they need to meet.
Commissioner Pritchard stated he is not interested in doing away with drainage, but is interested in doing away with the County’s intervention with a civil issue; if the County creates a problem then obviously it needs to mitigate the problem; he came from the public sector and had many years in public management; and he knows the drill. He noted as long as the County is going to do something it needs to make sure it is measurable and quantified; he does not tend to see the measurable and quantified part come out; he tends to see it cannot do it because it will affect the level of service and quality of life; and inquired what is that. He stated it is different strokes for different folks; the Board needs to have as much input as it possibly can; it needs to require staff input on a variety of issues; and he likes having the recommendations made by staff as they are closest to the fire and should be telling him how this should work.
Commissioner Colon stated all the Commissioners have a wonderful working relationship with staff; it is positive; staff is not afraid to speak to her; and they tell her exactly how they feel about issues and she welcomes that. She noted she has given staff the atmosphere that allows that kind of freedom; she likes the process as it presently is; it is good when folks give the pros and cons; and she supports the process and likes the options. She stated County staff is extremely professional.
Commissioner Scarborough stated he is happy with the current process. Commissioner Carlson stated she asks for recommendations when she has her briefings. Chair Voltz noted she does the same as Commissioner Carlson also.
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION (CONTINUED)
Commissioner Pritchard inquired how does the Board want to address his 31 items. Chair Voltz responded the Board needs to look at the responses and if they are satisfactory then she does not have any problems; Commissioner Pritchard asked good questions and received good answers; the only issue she believes needs to be addressed is the funded and unfunded vacant positions the County has; and it is an important item the Board needs to review.
Commissioner Pritchard inquired has the County come to the realization that since some positions have been vacant for a year or more that it might not need them. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board asked for an analysis of the vacant positions based on the salary issues to see which ones were not competitive; and staff was going to bring a report back to the Board to show such analysis. Ms. Busacca responded it was part of the Cody Study; the County is having the most problems with heavy equipment operators, solid waste floor handling, planners, SCAT bus operators, building inspectors, and plans examiners.
Human Resources Director Frank Abbate advised some of the vacant positions are not funded positions nor have they been for period of time; staff prepared the schedule, which was based on information from the County’s SAP system and the Budget Office; such schedule was sent to the County Departments for their review and input; and in certain areas some of the Departments have indicated some positions have not been funded because they are grant-funded positions and will not be filled until such time as grant funding is obtained. He stated the salary study looked at those hard to fill positions from a market only perspective.
Discussion continued regarding career ladders, additional resources to assist in providing training to current employees for advancement, work ethics, temporary employees, General Fund, cash forward, Enterprise Fund, overtime analysis, evaluation of positions; recruitment, training, and education of people; accountability, opportunity costs, fiscal responsibility, efficiency measures, and the Cody Study.
Ms. Busacca advised every day Department Directors are making decisions on how they can be more effective and more efficient; staff has spent a lot of time looking at vacant positions; the analysis has been provided to the Board; and staff does a very good job to get people that are qualified. She requested that whatever additional questions the Board has about vacant funded positions, staff can answer those questions; stated the Board can be assured that staff has looked at every position as it becomes available to see if it needs to be reclassified, deleted, or unfilled due to budget constraints; the County can focus on the huge need it has, knowing the clock is ticking and within five years it can try to figure out how it is going to replace 30% of its employees who are eligible to retire; and that is staff’s priority today.
Commissioner Pritchard stated what Ms. Busacca just mentioned is where he has been trying to go for the past couple of years; and the succession plan that may or may not be in existence needs to be fortified and moved forward.
Commissioner Colon stated recruitment and training is crucial and needs to be the focus as 30% of the County’s workforce is eligible to retire within the next five years; that is where the direction needs to be; it is not only a Brevard County problem; and everyone is experiencing it everywhere.
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION (CONTINUED)
The Board discussed job descriptions; employee skills, responsibilities, and duties; market study, pay plan structure, training program, educational requirements for different levels of management, certifications, incentives, various degree requirements, equivalent job experience, discrimination issues, academic achievement, and continuing educational units in certain professions.
Commissioner Pritchard stated transportation is the County’s number one priority in terms of what it needs to improve; his second priority is stormwater management; and inquired what can the County do to insure it devotes as much of its revenue monies, whether it is Local Option Gas Tax or whatever other revenue streams it has, to be applied directly toward transportation and stormwater management needs.
Ms. Busacca responded in the past stormwater has been specifically paid for by the stormwater utility fee; last year the Board contemplated for a short period of time increasing some of those fees and decided not to; and inquired is Commissioner Pritchard suggesting that it now think about General Fund for stormwater or consider increasing the stormwater utility fee.
Commissioner Pritchard responded what he has in mind is discussing what options the County has; and inquired is it diverting money that should be used for road construction and maintenance into other parts of the budget because it got involved with other things and did not want to increase taxes, so it found a way to fund the other things by diverting money that was otherwise going toward transportation projects. Ms. Busacca responded staff can provide the Board with the list of where the LOGT goes.
Commissioner Scarborough stated there are some questions regarding the Cody Study that the Clerk’s Office has brought forward; the Board needs to talk about such Study and the salary issue; he is interested in the Economic Development Commission (EDC); and Marshall Heard and Lee Solid are doing a fantastic job. He noted the transportation issue is a priority; he does not have a problem with park projects in District 1, but understands there are problems with other projects, such as the Wickham Park issues; he would like to become fully involved and hear from the Commissioners directly about how they see visions for completing their projects in a timely manner; and those are some of the issues he would like to see discussed.
Commissioner Colon stated she would like to know if there are any dollars concerning the landfill and permitting; and inquired when will the issue be coming before the Board again.
Commissioner Pritchard stated he wants to know what the projected expenses are going to be in total, including the County’s ability to fund the second half of Cody, as well as the revenues, Florida Power and Light (FPL), gas, Communications Service Tax, ad valorem tax, and any mid-year increases; he has seen projections everywhere from $10 million to $25 million on the mid-year increase based on construction and whatever. Ms. Busacca advised such information has been provided in the package given to the Board.
Chair Voltz stated she has a problem with the $15 million for replacement of the Palm Bay Library as the City of Palm Bay has decided to keep its own impact fee monies for the Library;
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION (CONTINUED)
she does not know if it has voted on it yet, but once it does then it is its responsibility; there are a number of projects the Board needs to look at; and included in the package are priorities the
Board mentioned previously. She noted it will have to review the projects to see how much money it has and what projects can be done.
Ms. Busacca advised staff is anticipating approximately $9 million in new construction; and the $25 million would require about eight percent increase above rollback. Commissioner Pritchard stated he would like to see a matrix; he wants to know the actual expense of operating next year, the expense with operating with some of the things on the wish list, including the second half of Cody, all the revenues the County has, including FPL, gas, ad valorem etc., the potential for whatever mid-year is going to bring and how much money the following mid-year, how much money the County will get from the Tax Collector, and how the County can apply it toward offsetting some of the costs it is going to incur during the upcoming year. Ms. Busacca stated staff will do its best to give the Board such information.
Commissioner Carlson stated staff will do an analysis on transportation and review all the possible avenues for funding, including what the County may be able to do to improve transit, either bus routes or whatever, and places for buses to pull off; it is a major issue; and she agrees with the salaries and the Cody Study, the EDC, funding for parks, and community planning. She advised Leadership Brevard, along with MyRegion, has been working together doing facilitations for the County; it has been a partner with them; she would like to see the County continue that partnership for as long as it needs to so it does not have to pay for an additional consultant; they are bringing a lot of good information; and more importantly, through the regional planning process, they are going to take that information, glean Brevard County pieces from it, and then put it into an upgrade to the Strategic Plan. She stated she would like to see the County continue whatever funding Leadership Brevard requests, which is not a whole lot; and it has been in the budget for the last five years.
Commissioner Colon inquired does Valkaria Airport need any funding or anything else in regard to the study. Ms. Busacca responded the study is done; there may be money needed for a match for the T-hangars; and the County has done commercial paper in the past and paid it back from the T-hangar rentals.
Commissioner Pritchard advised performance outcomes and Mr. Seemer’s philosophy need to be applied in every program and service in line with Commissioner Colon’s statement in 2005, where she said, “Look to the private sector to perform it. If it pays for itself then that is different because it is a wash. But if it is costing the County overtime or benefits and it does not add up then the Board needs to know that.”
BIRTHDAY WISHES, RE: BILLY OSBORNE
The Board extended birthday wishes to Road and Bridge Director Billy Osborne.
DISCUSSION, RE: INDIAN RIVER JOURNAL
Commissioner Carlson stated the new Indian River Journal, the Journal of the Brevard County Historical Commission, just came out; Volume 5, Number One, Spring/Summer 2006 covers Brevard County historical articles and features, organizations and activities, announcements, and reviews; and the Journal is available at each Commissioners’ Office.
Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
ATTEST:
__________________________________
HELEN VOLTZ, CHAIR
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
___________________
SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK
( S E A L)
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
May 18, 2006
The Board of County Commissioners of Brevard County, Florida, met in special session on May 18, 2006 at 9:00 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida. Present were: Chair Helen Voltz, Commissioners Truman Scarborough, Ron Pritchard, Susan Carlson, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and Assistant County Attorney Shannon Wilson.
REPORT, RE: DEBRIS MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS
Commissioner Pritchard stated hurricane season begins in two weeks, and inquired if the debris management Contracts are in order; with County Manager Peggy Busacca responding affirmatively.
REPORT, RE: PROPERTY INSURANCE PROGRAMS
Commissioner Pritchard inquired have there been any increases in the County’s property insurance programs due to the various losses it has had or other actions that may have taken place legislative or otherwise. Ms. Busacca responded staff is still negotiating it; there will be increases, but she is not sure how much they will be; one of the County’s greatest problems in insurance is how much it is able to obtain; and Dade County was limited to approximately $10 million worth of wind insurance. She stated Gerry Visco has advised her that Brevard County is doing much better than that.
Commissioner Pritchard stated the County needs to see what it can do to maybe have its own Joint Underwriter Association (JUA); some sort of proactive action needs to be taken; he is open to suggestions as to how the County can do this; and it is in the best interest to individuals and government.
Ms. Busacca advised she will ask Mr. Visco to contact Commissioner Pritchard directly; and perhaps he can provide more information.
REPORT, RE: GRADUATIONS
Commissioner Colon stated it is graduation time, and extended congratulations to all the students and parents.
REPORT, RE: PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE REGIONAL VISIONING PROCESS
EVENTS ON SPACE COAST GOVERNMENT TELEVISION (SCGTV)
Commissioner Carlson stated the County does still photos on Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV) and includes dates and times of events that are going to occur that have significance to the County; and requested permission for staff to include dates and times of the Regional Visioning Process events on Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV). She noted she will get all the information and make sure it gets to all the municipalities.
Motion by Commissioner Carlson, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to direct staff to include dates and times of Regional Visioning Process events on Space Coast Government Television (SCGTV). Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
REPORT, RE: COUNCIL OF CHAIRS
Chair Voltz stated the Council of Chairs is a 15-month process; by the time her term is up the end of November 2006, the Council of Chairs is going to be well into the process; and requested permission from the Board to allow her to finish the process.
Motion by Commissioner Scarborough, seconded by Commissioner Colon, to authorize the Chair to continue on the Council of Chairs after her term as Chair is up the end of November 2006 to finish the process. Motion carried and ordered unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Amy Tidd stated she serves on the Citizens Budget Review Committee; last week the Committee passed a motion to give the Board input on the salary and benefit changes that are going on in the budget for the upcoming year; the Board will be receiving a letter from Mr. Young, Chairman of the Committee, on suggestions the Committee has come up with.
Commissioner Scarborough advised the Clerk’s Office has been briefing Commissioners about some of the implementation issues; and inquired did the Committee receive the Clerk’s presentation. Ms. Tidd responded no; and stated that the Committee would like to review it. Commissioner Scarborough stated it would be advisable that the Committee hear the presentation before it finalizes its comments.
Ms. Tidd stated she is concerned with public lands and public access to waterways; at last Tuesday’s Board meeting an item was brought up under reports to sell some County property that is on the water; there was no public notice on it; and the property is in south Merritt Island. She advised a vote was taken to rezone the property and send it to the Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Board; there was not enough consideration for the item; and requested the Board reconsider its vote and have the item placed on a regular Board meeting agenda for staff comments.
PUBLIC COMMENTS (CONTINUED)
Commissioner Carlson stated she thought the County had done reports about that piece of property; and requested County Manager Peggy Busacca get the Board back whatever information it may have already received on the property. She noted an analysis was done; the County went through a process after community input about what the uses were and feedback from the community; folks up and down the Point and in Merritt Island have concerns about taking publicly-owned waterway property and selling it; and it is a very small piece of property on a bluff that is hard to access and would be more appropriate for a home. She requested staff provide a report on what has been done to date to confirm there was public input back then; and if it is not sufficient staff can always put it on the July 11, 2006 agenda for discussion to make sure there is not a real concern by anybody.
Commissioner Colon stated the County wants to keep and maintain the integrity of the neighborhood; and that is what this is about.
Chair Voltz stated the Board should move forward with the residential.
DISCUSSION AND BOARD DIRECTION
County Manager Peggy Busacca advised at the first budget workshop the Board said the Commissioners would provide requests for any additional information they wanted to discuss at this workshop; staff received one request of information by Commissioner Pritchard; it has been put together for the Board; and backup information is also included.
Commissioner Pritchard stated he had a constituent come to his office yesterday who is a major residential homebuilder; he would like to become involved with affordable workforce housing; the problem is the County does not have a list of people that would be eligible or qualified; and since there is not a list, the homebuilder would literally be opening the door to investors again that would be speculating. He advised such homebuilder has a good product; and he is trying to help the County with affordable and workforce housing.
Chair Voltz stated affordable housing should be based strictly on salary.
The Board discussed the housing group committee, regulations, availability of infill properties, taking proactive action, programs for the elderly and disabled persons, quality of life issues, and Communities for a Lifetime.
Commissioner Scarborough stated affordable housing is a problem that has progressed in society; prices have increased and people are not able to find homes; and it is an international problem.
Diane MacEntee, representing Children’s Advocacy Center, requested the Board consider some support for the Organization; stated everyone is getting older; unfortunately, many people under the age of 18 suffer from being victimized by child sexual abuse and physical abuse; and the
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Center is a public/private partnership, and includes organizations such as the Sheriff’s Office and State Attorney’s Office. She advised part of the Center’s mission is to increase perpetrator conviction rates on child victims; the Center does that by working concurrently through a multi-
disciplinary team of County agencies, city agencies, and private agencies. She stated the Center has been very fiscally sound and responsible for ten years; this last year it has seen a major decrease in funding; it has worked extremely hard to make up for that through fund raisers and grant writing at the federal, State, and local levels; and it has been somewhat successful, but has not been entirely successful. Ms. MacEntee advised on a daily basis children are being affected in the community; child victims of abuse without care, without treatment, without conviction rate, and without therapy are going to enter the criminal justice system at a rate of 62% of average; the County needs to make sure the children of the community are equally engaged in the process that it is equally supportive of these victims because in the long run it will benefit everyone; and the Center is asking for a fairly small amount of funding, which would equal 1/6th of its total funding. She advised the Center lost $125,000 last year in State funding.
Chair Voltz inquired has the Center ever applied for Community Based Organization (CBO) money; with Ms. MacEntee responding it applied last year and was turned down. Chair Voltz encouraged the Center to apply again; stated the Board recently increased the CBO funding this past year; it is $1 million at this time; and the process is ongoing now.
Housing and Human Services Director Gay Williams stated the CBO process was closed by the Board this last funding cycle; however, it provided support to child abuse in the amount of $37,000 last year; it has not received a funding request this year; and the Board provides mandated support for children as it relates to sexual abuse.
Commissioner Carlson inquired when are applications accepted for the grant. Ms. Williams responded it is a closed process and was closed by the Board; the applicants who applied for funding last fiscal year are the applicants who would reapply and the funding would be distributed; over 22 agencies applied for funding; and the Board increased the funding cycle. She noted those were the agencies that were allowed to apply again for funding. Commissioner Carlson noted the Center applied, but was turned down; and it could not apply throughout the closed cycle.
Commissioner Colon stated the dilemma is that the County has such a huge need in the community and just “x” amount of dollars; it wants to know how well the dollars are being allocated; and there are dollars being allocated to the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Ms. Williams advised the funding that is funneled to the Center is mandated funding that the Board has been providing; last year it provided $37,000; she does not know what it will be this year since the request has not been received; and it is automatically done because it is a mandated piece that the Board is required to pay for pursuant to Statute for the Child Protection Team.
Commissioner Colon inquired if the Boys and Girls Club requested perhaps $15,000 and would like to request more dollars, can it do so. Ms. Williams responded an agency is allowed to request more dollars if it was in the funding cycle that received dollars; the process has required
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agencies to do more partnering with other agencies within the community; they might have received the dollars, but with this cycling period, those agencies have partnered with other
agencies to expand the services they are providing throughout the County; and they have come back under an umbrella to say these are all the services and services areas they are increasing, which is why they are requesting additional dollars.
Commissioner Carlson stated if the Children’s Advocacy Center is expected to go in through the process then it has to partner with another group that has already been successful. Ms. Williams noted that is correct.
Commissioner Pritchard stated when the County had Bob Seemer come up with an evaluation on how it might be able to do things better, one of the items he said was if it follows his recommendations it could see a 40% increase in productivity; and inquired how the County is doing in complying or at least attempting to comply with the recommendations Mr. Seemer had and if it has seen any result, such as an increase in productivity or decrease in expenditure.
Ms. Busacca responded Mr. Seemer is working with staff to provide a report to the Board; he met with staff at a meeting yesterday; he is hoping to gather that information by the end of the month; and she will make sure it is on track.
Commissioner Pritchard stated the County talks about quality of life, but has no measurement, other than subjective, he supposes, of what that is; it may cut service, but has no measurement of its level of service and how that applies to quality of life; he does not see how the County can continue to infer it has a certain quality of life based upon its level of service if it cannot measure what either one is; and inquired how can it say the cutting of any position or operation will have any affect upon its level of service or quality of life. He noted the County needs to quantify its level of service and the effect of either cutting or increasing services or positions, otherwise, it is simply a drill of saying what funded, vacant positions does it want to cut; one final thought is maybe the level of service is okay as it relates to quality of life in many service areas; and maybe it is doing some things that do not need doing. He inquired why not have staff review what they are doing and see what improvements are needed or whether or not they should even be doing them. He stated the County tends to fall into the position of trying to be all things to all people; he is not too sure that is the role it should be taking; there are probably some important umbrella services the County should be conducting; and because of input and requests, it has gotten into other projects that maybe it should not be involved with.
Chair Voltz stated staff is not here to direct the Board; the Board is here to direct staff; she is sure staff feels uncomfortable coming to each Commissioner and saying the project he or she likes cannot be done; and it is putting staff in a very uncomfortable position in doing those things. Commissioner Pritchard stated he disagrees; input from all parties are very important; and for the Board to think it knows best on everything is a little arrogant on its part.
Commissioner Carlson advised Bob Seemer is going through the effort of efficiency; that is what is going to play out with all of Commissioner Pritchard’s commentary on how the County should
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cut or do whatever; everyone is very interested in saving tax dollars; and they are all supposed to be accountable and responsible for those dollars. She stated the Board needs to get
feedback from Mr. Seemer, including what the County is doing that it does not need to be doing; and he will get honest input from staff.
Ms. Busacca stated Commissioner Pritchard is talking about a fundamental paradigm shift; she can give the Board a way in which it can start that culture change; staff does not give the Board too many recommendations; and it could start that process by asking the Board if it has a recommendation on something. She noted the Board needs to decide what it wants from staff as they do not always get the same thing.
Commissioner Colon stated she came from a climate of five years of where staff recommended how she was supposed to vote; she does not think so; when she came to the County it was refreshing to know that she would be able to ask that individual what he or she thought; and she would hope the person submitted in his or her report the pros and cons. She noted it is up to the Commissioner to decide whether he or she should support something or not; she is extremely comfortable with that scenario as she is able to ask staff what he or she thinks; she asks for the recommendation; and recommendations from staff puts them in a very awkward position.
Commissioner Scarborough stated most of the items on the agenda come from staff and are routine matters; they put in comments if there are options that are possible; he asks staff additional questions, if there are additional options, and are there risks and other things beyond that; and he has no reason to believe that staff has not been very candid with him about those particular items. He noted on the other hand, there are certain things that are community driven; there needs to be an understanding there is a blending constantly between a staff driven and where they actually turn to the Board because things have gotten political and difficult; in between there may be some cases where an individual Commissioner has something; but he would not want to prevent Commissioners from champion a cause that he or she feels their constituents want; and he encourages them. He stated he does not feel uncomfortable with the present way; and there is an open exchange of all the options and a lot of discussion.
Commissioner Pritchard stated there is always room for improvement; government does not solve all problems and tends to create a lot of problems; he would like to see smaller government; and that is his philosophy. He noted he welcomes all input, recommendations, and options from staff. He commented on the list of 31 questions he submitted to staff to answer; and provided such list to the Board, including Item 24, indicating with salary increases in FY 2006, Departments need to review their operations/expenditures to help offset these increases, and if each Department could find 10% within their budgets to help offset the cost of salary increases. He advised there will be health insurance increases in FY 2006-2007, especially with new provider contracts; and inquired how will the Board fund the increases.
Chair Voltz stated when she took over as Chair she met with every single Department Head and asked them a number of questions; one of the questions she asked them is if they could cut their budget by 5%; only two Departments said they could, but it would cut services; and the Board needs to realize how tight every single Department is.
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Discussion ensued concerning measurement of services, necessary level of services, quantified capability and types of verification, understaffing, Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT), cutting services, County Departments evaluating their services, justification issues, required services versus wanted services,
Commissioner Carlson stated Commissioner Pritchard asks the same questions each year; the Board ends up getting in the same conversation; the majority of the Board feels pretty comfortable; but she always scrutinizes, just like Commissioner Pritchard does; and she understands it takes a certain level of staffing to get the service the people want. She noted she questions if the County really needs it, and staff gives her all the data that says yes; Commissioner Pritchard’s questions are fine, big general questions, and deserve answers; she does it during her briefings on a cumulative basis; and she sees how tight the Board is in the budget. She stated she has already heard the explanations if the Board cuts 5% and what it will do to services; she has already asked the questions about providing certain services; there might be a good question as to whether the County is providing more service than it really has to; and some issues are civil issues, including drainage, fencing, etc. She noted she relies on staff, just as the Board does; she relies on some folks as she believes their expertise is solid; the Board runs a tight budget; and everyone has a different view on what government should be doing, but agrees it should be as small as it can and still provide a good quality service to provide for the quality of life everyone wants and the citizens deserve.
Chair Voltz stated there is absolutely no fat in the budget; this year the County is going to be spending “x” amount of dollars for salaries; it already has needs for the coming year; and each Commissioner has certain needs within his or her Districts that they need to meet.
Commissioner Pritchard stated he is not interested in doing away with drainage, but is interested in doing away with the County’s intervention with a civil issue; if the County creates a problem then obviously it needs to mitigate the problem; he came from the public sector and had many years in public management; and he knows the drill. He noted as long as the County is going to do something it needs to make sure it is measurable and quantified; he does not tend to see the measurable and quantified part come out; he tends to see it cannot do it because it will affect the level of service and quality of life; and inquired what is that. He stated it is different strokes for different folks; the Board needs to have as much input as it possibly can; it needs to require staff input on a variety of issues; and he likes having the recommendations made by staff as they are closest to the fire and should be telling him how this should work.
Commissioner Colon stated all the Commissioners have a wonderful working relationship with staff; it is positive; staff is not afraid to speak to her; and they tell her exactly how they feel about issues and she welcomes that. She noted she has given staff the atmosphere that allows that kind of freedom; she likes the process as it presently is; it is good when folks give the pros and cons; and she supports the process and likes the options. She stated County staff is extremely professional.
Commissioner Scarborough stated he is happy with the current process. Commissioner Carlson stated she asks for recommendations when she has her briefings. Chair Voltz noted she does the same as Commissioner Carlson also.
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Commissioner Pritchard inquired how does the Board want to address his 31 items. Chair Voltz responded the Board needs to look at the responses and if they are satisfactory then she does not have any problems; Commissioner Pritchard asked good questions and received good answers; the only issue she believes needs to be addressed is the funded and unfunded vacant positions the County has; and it is an important item the Board needs to review.
Commissioner Pritchard inquired has the County come to the realization that since some positions have been vacant for a year or more that it might not need them. Commissioner Carlson stated the Board asked for an analysis of the vacant positions based on the salary issues to see which ones were not competitive; and staff was going to bring a report back to the Board to show such analysis. Ms. Busacca responded it was part of the Cody Study; the County is having the most problems with heavy equipment operators, solid waste floor handling, planners, SCAT bus operators, building inspectors, and plans examiners.
Human Resources Director Frank Abbate advised some of the vacant positions are not funded positions nor have they been for period of time; staff prepared the schedule, which was based on information from the County’s SAP system and the Budget Office; such schedule was sent to the County Departments for their review and input; and in certain areas some of the Departments have indicated some positions have not been funded because they are grant-funded positions and will not be filled until such time as grant funding is obtained. He stated the salary study looked at those hard to fill positions from a market only perspective.
Discussion continued regarding career ladders, additional resources to assist in providing training to current employees for advancement, work ethics, temporary employees, General Fund, cash forward, Enterprise Fund, overtime analysis, evaluation of positions; recruitment, training, and education of people; accountability, opportunity costs, fiscal responsibility, efficiency measures, and the Cody Study.
Ms. Busacca advised every day Department Directors are making decisions on how they can be more effective and more efficient; staff has spent a lot of time looking at vacant positions; the analysis has been provided to the Board; and staff does a very good job to get people that are qualified. She requested that whatever additional questions the Board has about vacant funded positions, staff can answer those questions; stated the Board can be assured that staff has looked at every position as it becomes available to see if it needs to be reclassified, deleted, or unfilled due to budget constraints; the County can focus on the huge need it has, knowing the clock is ticking and within five years it can try to figure out how it is going to replace 30% of its employees who are eligible to retire; and that is staff’s priority today.
Commissioner Pritchard stated what Ms. Busacca just mentioned is where he has been trying to go for the past couple of years; and the succession plan that may or may not be in existence needs to be fortified and moved forward.
Commissioner Colon stated recruitment and training is crucial and needs to be the focus as 30% of the County’s workforce is eligible to retire within the next five years; that is where the direction needs to be; it is not only a Brevard County problem; and everyone is experiencing it everywhere.
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The Board discussed job descriptions; employee skills, responsibilities, and duties; market study, pay plan structure, training program, educational requirements for different levels of management, certifications, incentives, various degree requirements, equivalent job experience, discrimination issues, academic achievement, and continuing educational units in certain professions.
Commissioner Pritchard stated transportation is the County’s number one priority in terms of what it needs to improve; his second priority is stormwater management; and inquired what can the County do to insure it devotes as much of its revenue monies, whether it is Local Option Gas Tax or whatever other revenue streams it has, to be applied directly toward transportation and stormwater management needs.
Ms. Busacca responded in the past stormwater has been specifically paid for by the stormwater utility fee; last year the Board contemplated for a short period of time increasing some of those fees and decided not to; and inquired is Commissioner Pritchard suggesting that it now think about General Fund for stormwater or consider increasing the stormwater utility fee.
Commissioner Pritchard responded what he has in mind is discussing what options the County has; and inquired is it diverting money that should be used for road construction and maintenance into other parts of the budget because it got involved with other things and did not want to increase taxes, so it found a way to fund the other things by diverting money that was otherwise going toward transportation projects. Ms. Busacca responded staff can provide the Board with the list of where the LOGT goes.
Commissioner Scarborough stated there are some questions regarding the Cody Study that the Clerk’s Office has brought forward; the Board needs to talk about such Study and the salary issue; he is interested in the Economic Development Commission (EDC); and Marshall Heard and Lee Solid are doing a fantastic job. He noted the transportation issue is a priority; he does not have a problem with park projects in District 1, but understands there are problems with other projects, such as the Wickham Park issues; he would like to become fully involved and hear from the Commissioners directly about how they see visions for completing their projects in a timely manner; and those are some of the issues he would like to see discussed.
Commissioner Colon stated she would like to know if there are any dollars concerning the landfill and permitting; and inquired when will the issue be coming before the Board again.
Commissioner Pritchard stated he wants to know what the projected expenses are going to be in total, including the County’s ability to fund the second half of Cody, as well as the revenues, Florida Power and Light (FPL), gas, Communications Service Tax, ad valorem tax, and any mid-year increases; he has seen projections everywhere from $10 million to $25 million on the mid-year increase based on construction and whatever. Ms. Busacca advised such information has been provided in the package given to the Board.
Chair Voltz stated she has a problem with the $15 million for replacement of the Palm Bay Library as the City of Palm Bay has decided to keep its own impact fee monies for the Library;
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she does not know if it has voted on it yet, but once it does then it is its responsibility; there are a number of projects the Board needs to look at; and included in the package are priorities the
Board mentioned previously. She noted it will have to review the projects to see how much money it has and what projects can be done.
Ms. Busacca advised staff is anticipating approximately $9 million in new construction; and the $25 million would require about eight percent increase above rollback. Commissioner Pritchard stated he would like to see a matrix; he wants to know the actual expense of operating next year, the expense with operating with some of the things on the wish list, including the second half of Cody, all the revenues the County has, including FPL, gas, ad valorem etc., the potential for whatever mid-year is going to bring and how much money the following mid-year, how much money the County will get from the Tax Collector, and how the County can apply it toward offsetting some of the costs it is going to incur during the upcoming year. Ms. Busacca stated staff will do its best to give the Board such information.
Commissioner Carlson stated staff will do an analysis on transportation and review all the possible avenues for funding, including what the County may be able to do to improve transit, either bus routes or whatever, and places for buses to pull off; it is a major issue; and she agrees with the salaries and the Cody Study, the EDC, funding for parks, and community planning. She advised Leadership Brevard, along with MyRegion, has been working together doing facilitations for the County; it has been a partner with them; she would like to see the County continue that partnership for as long as it needs to so it does not have to pay for an additional consultant; they are bringing a lot of good information; and more importantly, through the regional planning process, they are going to take that information, glean Brevard County pieces from it, and then put it into an upgrade to the Strategic Plan. She stated she would like to see the County continue whatever funding Leadership Brevard requests, which is not a whole lot; and it has been in the budget for the last five years.
Commissioner Colon inquired does Valkaria Airport need any funding or anything else in regard to the study. Ms. Busacca responded the study is done; there may be money needed for a match for the T-hangars; and the County has done commercial paper in the past and paid it back from the T-hangar rentals.
Commissioner Pritchard advised performance outcomes and Mr. Seemer’s philosophy need to be applied in every program and service in line with Commissioner Colon’s statement in 2005, where she said, “Look to the private sector to perform it. If it pays for itself then that is different because it is a wash. But if it is costing the County overtime or benefits and it does not add up then the Board needs to know that.”
BIRTHDAY WISHES, RE: BILLY OSBORNE
The Board extended birthday wishes to Road and Bridge Director Billy Osborne.
DISCUSSION, RE: INDIAN RIVER JOURNAL
Commissioner Carlson stated the new Indian River Journal, the Journal of the Brevard County Historical Commission, just came out; Volume 5, Number One, Spring/Summer 2006 covers Brevard County historical articles and features, organizations and activities, announcements, and reviews; and the Journal is available at each Commissioners’ Office.
Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
ATTEST:
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HELEN VOLTZ, CHAIR
BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA
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SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK
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