MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

 

 

July 17, 2008

 

 

The Board of County Commissioners Brevard County, Florida, met in special workshop session on July 17, 2008, at 9:02 a.m. in the Government Center Florida Room, Building C, 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, Viera, Florida.  Present were:  Chairman Truman Scarborough, Commissioners Chuck Nelson, Helen Voltz, Mary Bolin, and Jackie Colon, County Manager Peggy Busacca, and County Attorney Scott Knox.

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised the Elderly Issues Workshop has been rescheduled from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on August 28, 2008.

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if Dr. Greer would be present at the workshop; with Commissioner Voltz responding he will not be able to come.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson to approve rescheduling of the Elderly Issues Workshop to 1:00 p.m. on August 28, 2008.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Commissioner Nelson presented plaques to all the Commissioners on behalf of the Veterans Council; and advised he attended the Veterans Council Awards Ceremony.  He stated the Veterans Council is very appreciative of all the support from the Board; the Memorial Garden will be completed by the end of the year; and they are still working on the design of the building for expansion.

 

Commissioner Colon acknowledged George Taylor for giving so much to the Veterans and continuing to do so, and focusing on disabled Veterans coming back from Iraq.  Commissioner Colon asked George Taylor to share with the community and the Board what the Veterans Council has done, and how the community can help.

 

George Taylor commented on the accomplishments of the Veterans Council; and stated help is needed with transportation on the north end of the County.  He stated there are 12,000 homeless Veterans documented, with one percent being in Scottsmoor and Mims; and they are receiving new Iraq Veterans daily.  He advised some issues with the homeless are transportation and the lack of hospitals; and more support is needed for the Veterans of the County.  He stated the Veterans are grateful to the Board, Sherriff’s Department, and different organizations that come together for the veterans.

 

Commissioner Colon acknowledged Chairman Scarborough for working closely with Mr. Taylor throughout the years, with this being his last year; and stated Chairman Scarborough has been a key player in different activities for the Veterans in the north part of the County.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he has served on a lot of Commissions and has found that the veterans are one of the prime thoughts and concerns in the County; and it is because of people like Mr. Taylor that keep the efforts correct.

 

 

Carolyn Hattaway stated she has lived in Brevard County since 1961; and she has had the need for inspections to be done at her home. She stated the inspectors have no authority to make a decision; they are knowledgeable, but when coming out to inspect something they just see that it is there, and not actually inspect it; stated that could be done without sending out an inspector to take a picture and then another picture when it is done; that is as much as an inspector is allowed to do; and that is unfortunate.  She stated keeping the electric and plumbing inspectors is important; when inspectors make a decision it has no weight; it goes to the director of the department, and if the director does not agree then the he or she will make the decision; and that makes a total of 10 inspectors, plus the people who back them up, plus vehicles, insurance, and all the money that goes into this.  She stated she has sent copies of the problems she is having to each Commissioner and thanked them their responses; all of the Commissioners except one responded; she would like the Board to look at the issue because the inspection department has no bearing; and if a contractor is licensed by the State, the Board has no jurisdiction over them, the State does.  

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Ms. Hattaway had a particular problem and things did not work out for her; and she is here today to help the Board work for the whole community.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if this is something the Board will address; Chairman Scarborough stated a Bill was introduced that did not pass; but it would have allowed the Board to get involved in the State licensing.

 

 

Jerry Storrs stated he represents the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA), which is the national certifier of lifeguard services for the whole country; it should be fairly well known that last year there were 10 drownings in Brevard County; this information came from a report done by Forbes Magazine; and Brevard County has six of the world’s most dangerous beaches.  Mr. Storrs stated word is getting out that Brevard County beaches are a dangerous place to swim; besides the human tragedy aspect is the business aspect; there is at least $500 million a year left by tourists in the beach zone out of the $2 billion they leave in Brevard County; and if that business is threatened with things like this there is a budgetary income impact.  Mr. Storrs stated that he received a letter from Harris Rosen of Rosen Group Hotels in Orlando, expressing his concern about the water safety situation; and it is his understanding in speaking with Mr. Rosen that he has gone from recommending Brevard County beaches to just being silent because if one of his guests has a tragic outcome as a result he does not want to be one of the people who steered them into danger.   He stated Brevard County has had a bad situation for three years with drownings taking an upswing; nothing in particular was done about it to find the cause; two years ago the drowning rate was also going up and no evidence or analysis was done to find what the core of the problem was; finally after midway through, the USLA was asked to make an assessment of the water safety situation in Brevard County; and he was one of the co-authors of the report.  He noted the report was published in March with no cooperation from Fire Rescue; the Chief would not meet nor speak with anyone; the report called for a dozen full-time lifeguard stands; following the report, Fire Rescue made a report and came up with essentially the same answer; the problem is the norm for lifeguard services is a core of full-time people who offer coverage on each end of the season; and another thing needed is supervision on hand.  Mr. Storrs stated there cannot be one person at Lori Wilson Park supervising lifeguard services from Sebastian Inlet to Jetty Park; this was the focal point of both studies; and all of the sudden the proposal from Fire Rescue is a couple of stands, seasonal guys, and no full-time people whatsoever; and the core of this is the budget.  He stated the norm for a typical Florida fire rescue department, which has ocean lifeguard responsibility, is seven percent or better of its budget; in the case of Brevard County, it is less than seven-tenths of a percent; the difference in money would be for a typical lifeguard service under a fire rescue department in an area with Brevard’s budget would have approximately $5 million allocated to it, but Brevard County has $600,000; and the core of the problem is the failure to provide funding for an adequate service.  He stated the point he would like to make is that it is inconceivable that Brevard County would have a lack of money within the 35 pages of Fire Department budget to allocate the proper funding for lifeguard services.

 

Commissioner Colon noted she has met with Mr. Storrs focusing on the  drownings and how that is unacceptable; most upsetting is that they were tourists and their bodies were sent back to there hometowns; and that is why the magnitude has not hit that height.  She noted that a lot of work went into the report to give the Board a recommendation; when meeting with the Fire Chief it was discussed that a lot of different cities on the beach are supposed to be partnering with the County; there is concern because a great deal of the drownings were coming from Cocoa Beach; there are some hoteliers that are interested in partnering with the County, but there is a lot of red tape; and unfortunately, it is not possible to have that kind of partnering.  She stated she has inquired about untying the hands of the Board so that private sectors can give funds so that the County can have full-time lifeguards on the Beaches.  She commented on the bad reputation being bad for Brevard County’s economy; stated this is one particular area she would like the Board to take a good look at so that funding can be made for full-time positions; and usually it comes to the budget because it is challenging and the Board looks at them at the end.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the deaths were related to rip currents, and could the lifeguards have saved those lives.  Mr. Storrs replied that talking about drownings is essentially like talking about rip currents in the same breath; the national statistics show that the chance of drowning in a protected area is one in 18 million, so yes, lifeguards could have saved some lives; and it has been proven in Lake County where a proper force was put on the beach where there was not one before, and the drownings were two-thirds as opposed to 12 to 13 per year. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated Cocoa Beach contributes to the County’s lifeguard services in the Cocoa Beach area; he has been involved in having lifeguards for a long time; sometimes there are good years; sometimes there are bad years; so far this year there have been no drownings, so hopefully Brevard will be on the list of the safest beaches in the world; but that is not to say that Brevard cannot do better.   He stated one case last year was heart attack related, two were alcohol related, and some were after lifeguard hours; there are a whole series of reasons that these things happen; the Board can do a better job of analytically looking at what caused the drownings; and in some cases the drowning victims were literally in sight of the towers, but were not within the guarded area.  He stated Volusia County this year has had two drowning deaths in guarded areas; sometimes bad things happen to good people; and the Board can put a lot of money into guards and still not have the impact the citizens are looking for.

 

Commissioner Bolin agreed with Commissioner Colon on a partnership; stated maybe some of the Orlando area hotels would be interested in joining a partnership for their clients’ safety; and the Board has to be fiscally reasonable for the Brevard County money.

 

Commissioner Colon stated the recommendation strictly came from the County’s own Fire Department; the Fire Department also had a great concern over the numbers once the study came in; so it is not based just on the fact that she is appalled over the fact that human lives have been lost and how a dollar sign can be put on a human life; and that is where the concern comes in because Brevard County does not have someone that is there full-time.  She stated she believes it is the Board’s responsibility; stated Commissioner Nelson mentioned Cocoa Beach is partnering; she would suggest Commissioner Nelson discuss how much of a partnership the County would like with the City of Cocoa Beach; and she believes it will not be as much as the Board would want it to be based on the feedback from the Fire Chief. 

 

Chairman Scarborough noted the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did an evaluation that stated the value of a life is worth $6.9 million, that went down $1 million from five years ago so if they are doing any regulations someone does not have to comply with regulations because they do not have to spend more than $6.9 million in saving a life.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the Board needs to look at funding for lifeguards; but when the Tourist Development Council (TDC) advertises Brevard County having 72 miles of beaches, it is not really 72 miles of protected beaches; so the TDC needs to be careful with the advertising; and if the TDC is going to advertise 72 miles, then maybe the TDC needs to step up to the plate a whole lot more than what it has.  She inquired if the County was maxed out on the tax; with Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten responding yes, the five cents that is eligible to levy is levied.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if any of that changes does it have to go before the voters as to how it is spent; with Mr. Whitten responding the County is only eligible for five cents; but there is six cents that larger counties are eligible for.  Commissioner Voltz inquired what is considered a larger county; with Mr. Whitten responding counties that are defined as some magnitude of tourism impacts and Brevard County does not meet that definition for the six cents.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated legislation does not allow the use of the tax for lifeguards.  County Manager Peggy Busacca stated the tax cannot be used for personnel, but it can be used to buy stands.  Commissioner Voltz stated maybe the Board needs to change that; it has to start somewhere, and that may be a good way to start, not knowing what the issues are with other beaches up and down the coast on both sides; and if they have similar problems and they are able to protect their beaches better then so be it, then it affects 90 percent of the legislature.

 

Randy Smith stated he is the founder of Brevard County Sea of Dreams and best friend of Ted Hunt, the most recent drowning victim; stated Mr. Hunt saved the famous mystery writer, Maureen Jennings, from Canada; and maybe if she died instead of him things would be different and the Board would find funding for lifeguards.  He stated Brevard County Sea of Dreams’ mission is to provide lifesaving education, training, and equipment so that another life is not lost in Brevard County waters; stated Sea of Dreams wants to be partners with the County to help make sure there are no more drownings; and the County needs more full-time lifeguards.  The report Jerry Storrs talked about is available on the Sea of Dreams website, seaofdreamsinc.com; stated last year his best friend came to Brevard County to visit him and selfishly went in the water and saved this woman’s life.  Mr. Smith stated he wanted to bring a human aspect to the reason why there needs to be more full-time lifeguards; his friend drowned in October when no lifeguards were on duty; and now the beaches are approaching the times when the lifeguards are no longer going to be guarding the beaches.  He noted Sea of Dreams is asking the County to fund more full-time lifeguards; the season is coming that the beaches will have more rip currents; and more people will be coming from up north to swim in the warm waters.  Mr. Smith noted that he is from Maine and the water up there only gets to 60 degrees, and so 70-degree water is heaven for the people up north; and he wants everyone to know about the seaofdreamsinc.com website and that they want to be partners with the County to stop the drownings. 

 

Commission Nelson stated Mr. Smith had come to one of his walk-ins and he likes some of the ideas that Sea of Dreams has, which are to place additional safety equipment throughout the community; the reality is Brevard County is not going to be able to afford lifeguards at all locations; even though it is not 72 miles, it is a significant number of miles of beach; and some ideas that Sea of Dreams had was related to available equipment, such as throw rings, would be of great help.

 

Mr. Smith noted Sea of Dreams is researching the possibility of having a volunteer lifeguard force and hoping the County or the cities will cover the volunteers, liability wise; stated Sea of Dreams wants to train lifeguards; and hopefully the restaurants or hotels will fund the volunteer lifeguard forces by giving donations.  He stated volunteer fire departments have been a mainstay in small communities throughout the country; stated Sea of Dreams is in the research mode, and if Brevard County does not hire full-time lifeguards, Sea of Dreams would like to get a volunteer lifeguard force and man the places that are needed like Lori Wilson Park; five people died from Lori Wilson Park to 16^th Street in Cocoa Beach; and that is 50 percent of the people that died last year.  He advised the website charts the areas where people died last year along with the dates and times; and the website also charts when the lifeguards were on duty.  He stated if Brevard County does not hire full-time lifeguards, or if it gets a small percentage of full-time lifeguards, it could be supplemented with a volunteer lifeguard force; and the volunteer force could come from surfers or avid swimmers.  He stated Sea of Dreams would train the volunteer lifeguards, which is where they hope to partner with the County; stated Sea of Dreams gets its funds from volunteer donations, fundraisers, and hotels; and ideally, everyone would benefit if the beaches were safer. 

 

 

Sara Ann Conkling stated she would like to thank all the Commissioners who have met with Brevard Transportation Advocacy Coalition (BTAC) individually; the Board has been very generous with time, expertise and suggestions; and she would like to thank the Board publicly for its vision for public transportation for Brevard County, especially in a lean, tight, budget year.  She expressed appreciation to the Board for having compassion to citizens who have to cut their budgets because of rising fuel costs and the associated increases of goods and services in the County.  She stated she is the Co-Chair of BTAC, which is a group of concerned citizens, consumers, and human service providers who are committed to preserving and enhancing the excellent public transportation services that Brevard County has; BTAC is a big fan of Space Coast Area Transport (SCAT), as it provides a valuable service and ridership is at record levels; stated SCAT will hit one million riders this year; and it is already at 15 to 20 percent on the existing fixed routes.  She stated she is speaking on behalf of 15,000 Brevard citizens currently looking for work, who are dependant on public transportation to get to job interviews, job training, and job enhancement activities in order to find work; stated she is also speaking on behalf on 95,000 citizens who live with a disability, many of whom are completely dependent on public transportation for all quality of life issues, including work; and many of these  people work, but many of them are also seeking work and are dependent on public transportation for those efforts.  She stated she has been riding several SCAT buses and recently witnessed a cell phone conversation between a woman with a disability and a vocational rehabilitation about the job they had helped her find, and she was asking them to please renegotiate the hours so she could use public transportation to get to the job; and there is a intense need for bus service that will get people to work.  She advised she is also speaking on behalf of 248,000 people in the workforce who are looking for affordable transportation opportunities; stated she is speaking on behalf of 165,000 people in Brevard County who live at 200 percent or below the federal poverty level; these people, if they have cars that work, can no longer afford to put gas in those cars; those numbers all lap over each other; and there some people in all these groups.  She requested the Board consider doubling the frequency of Route 1, which is the County’s trunk route; it goes from the north part of the County to the Government Center, all the way south; and she would like to extend Route 1 to Highway 46 in Mims along US 1.  She stated the cost to double the service of Route 1 and take it to Mims is currently in the $350,000 range; that will take Route 1 from two hours to one hour; and it will go to Highway 46 in Mims.  She noted that does not really translate to a lot of money; Brevard County currently provides about $2 million to Space Coast Area Transit, which has already agreed to cut almost $200,000 in other parts of its budget, so the Board is only looking at a $160,000 increase, which is approximately 30 cents per citizen; and so the Board is being asked to spend 30 cents for every person in the County to help them get to work and to help them patronize the businesses.  She stated she is very concerned about the business community, as it may suffer from having people not elect to take trips for elective goods and services; most people are continuing to drive to work and the grocery store, but may not be going to the movies or out to eat; and those are things that if the bus service were enhanced would become more likely for our citizens enjoy.  She stated Volusia County compares very much in size to Brevard County, as it has about 510,000 people, and Brevard County has 550,000 people; Volusia County’s current expenditure on public transportation for its citizens is $19 per capita, and contributes almost $10 million to public transportation; and Brevard County’s contribution is around $3 per capita.  She stated she would like to encourage the Board, at a time when every citizen, especially those who are completely dependant on public transportation and the workforce that uses SCAT to be able to continue to get to work, being able to find jobs; the average citizen spends between $300 and $400  on  gas  to  get to work;  if that  turned into a  $35 SCAT  pass  all the  rest  of  that money  would  become available to put in the local economy; and there would not be a single business person that would complain about that kind of rebate.  She stated studies have shown when doubling a frequency route, the ridership will double; and it will also spill over into all the other SCAT routes that connect to it.  She noted this is one thing that could be done in a very tight budget year, and would be approximately $160,000 net increase over last years funding for SCAT; if the Board was to keep SCAT level from what is was last year, all that is being asked is to add $160,000, or 30 cents per citizen, to greatly increase the chances of getting to work affordably.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she would like to apologize to Ms. Conkling for having to cancel her appointment, as she has been sick for the last two weeks.  Ms. Conkling stated Commissioner Voltz’s staff is outstanding; and reiterated her thanks to the Board for the ongoing support for public transportation and continued commitment, from all that depend on public transportation. 

 

Diane Ruth stated she is a resident of Titusville and lives with her disabled son; one of the things that strikes her as curious in Titusville is that the bus service, compared to when she lived in Melbourne, is almost non-existent in the area in which she lives off of Diary Road, which is three miles north of Garden Street where the bus ends.  She stated she is present because of her son’s participation as a client with Space Coast Center for Independent Living, which is trying to bring the economic advantage of increasing the bus service and enhancing it to the north area of Brevard.  She advised her son, who was diagnosed at two and a half, has been encouraged to be independent all his life; in Melbourne, he could get out and catch a bus with no problem; now there is a four-mile trip he would have to make in his powered chair because Titusville taxi services will not pick someone up in a powered chair; the Space Coast Center for Independent Living has one van that covers the whole County to help someone in a wheel chair to have travel; all shuttle services have fees that are unaffordable for her son; and so he is put in a position of his limitations only due to the transportation situation, which she believes should be changed. 

 

Robynne Hester stated she is Community Liaison for Vitas Innovative Hospice Care and Chairperson of the North Brevard Coalition of Human Services; she is an advocate for more than 80 agencies, organizations, businesses, faith based communities, and those who are unable to advocate for themselves; and the Coalition’s mission is to provide a hand up, not just a hand out.  She stated her purpose today is to hopefully enlighten and emphasize the urgent need of a modest budget increase for Space Coast Area Transit; citizens would like the Board to increase the support of SCAT, double the frequency of Route 1, and to extend Route 1 north to the intersection of State Road 46 and US 1 in Mims; Route 1 is currently a trunk route and the route with the lowest frequency in the public transportation system; and the citizens need the Board’s help to increase the frequency of Route 1 to once per hour to correspond better with normal work hours and transfer times to other SCAT routes.  She noted as of May 2008, approximately 15,000 people are searching for work; and for these people, public transportation could mean the difference in being able to accept and maintain a job.  She advised based on the data from the latest census, 165,000 citizens live at 200 percent below poverty level; and for these consumers, buying a tank of gas for a car is either currently impossible, or it cuts into the ability of basic human needs, such as food and shelter; and the majority of these citizens are working at a minimum wage job and they need the Boards help to provide affordable public transportation to keep the jobs they already have.   She  commented  on it  costing  the average worker in Brevard County $100 to $400 per week in gas to get to work; and stated the money saved on gas by commuting on SCAT can be put back into the local businesses.   

Thomas Hargrave stated he represents the Brevard Achievement Center, Interagency Council of Brevard Legislative Task Force, and the Persons with Disabilities Assessment Project; and he would like to thank the Board for the opportunity to deliver a statement of support for SCAT. He noted in March 2007 SCAT launched its new evening and weekend services; the goal was to provide 96,000 trips; to date, the extended services have provided 142,590 trips; weekend services continue to provide a tremendous service as well; and total overall ridership is up 20 percent due in large part to the Board’s support.  He stated this past year, SCAT has had many distinctive firsts; on September 24, 2007 SCAT celebrated its millionth passenger trip; fixed-route ridership exceed 100,000 in the months of August 2007, April, May and June 2008, for the first time in the history of the public transportation system; in fiscal year 2000, SCAT passenger trips totaled 300,000; and in June 2008 SCAT provided over a 111,000 passenger trips.  He stated transportation is a critical issue with people with disabilities, often affecting their ability to live independent lives; with the continued support of the Board and in keeping with the vision of the Board, community members’ quality of life has increased tremendously in Brevard County; and individuals can access public transportation to get to and from work as well as educational opportunities and social events later in the evenings and on weekends.  He advised three routes in particular have been identified as needing an increase in frequency most; and they are Routes 1, Route 4, and Route 23.   He added in this difficult economic time of high gas prices and budget cuts the citizens are asking the Board to seriously consider not reducing SCAT services.  He stated with the Board’s continued support, all members of the community, including individuals with disabilities, will have the opportunity to access all Brevard County has to offer; and on behalf of the Interagency Council of Brevard and the Persons with Disability Assessment Project he would ask that when funding becomes available, the Board seriously consider an increase in frequency of the mentioned routes. 

 

George Taylor stated the Veterans Administration has stopped transportation except for the legally blind; stated World War II Veterans are losing $1,000 per day; and if a Veteran is physically handicapped and cannot drive, there is not transportation offered to get people from the north end of the County to Viera.  He noted there are 12,000 Veterans in Mims and Scottsmoor; 20 percent of those are housebound and cannot get to South Street or Parrish Road for transportation; and himself and 10 other individuals are spending $200 per week trying to transport Veterans who do not have transportation.  He stated the VA system has approximately 4,000 cancellations per month in doctor visits in Viera; a big reason for that is transportation; Veterans need transportation; and it would be easier to get Veterans to Highway 46 than to take them to Viera.  He noted Mims and Scottsmoor only have one percent of the homeless Veteran population, but transportation is still needed. 

Karin Mack stated she lives in Cocoa Beach and supports and is a member of Brevard County Sea of Dreams.  She stated earlier, Commissioner Nelson made a comment that Volusia County had two drownings; and inquired if Commissioner Nelson also knew that during those two drownings, 200 people were saved by lifeguards.  She advised Sea of Dreams is working on  brochures  to  hand  out to  people in the parking areas as they come in and out of town with information about rip tides; and Sea of Dreams is working on getting local hotels to put brochures in their rooms to notify tourists what a rip tide is and what to look for.  She noted the deaths  happened  after the lifeguards  were gone;  but it is not that  Brevard County  cannot get lifeguards, as they used to be up and down the coast until five or six years ago; but there were no major drowning catastrophes and 19 deaths in the last three years.  She stated when tourists go online looking for a nice place to go, Clearwater is coming up most because it has lifeguards and calm water; Brevard County has surfers who know how to swim, but yet four of them died last year because they could not get out of a rip current, and the beach had no lifeguards; and she would like to ask the Board to please try to fit lifeguards into the budget; and if nothing else, have them stay a little longer because the deaths that have happened have been just before or just after. 

 

 

            Budget Overview

 

Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten stated this is the first of two planned Budget Workshops for development of Fiscal Year 2008–2009 budget; in summary, the current fiscal year budget is $1.3 billion dollars; the proposal before the Board today totals $1.019 billion; and that is a decrease of $222 million, or a percentage decrease of approximately 17 percent.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated the budget was $1.091 not $1.019; Mr. Whitten corrected himself and confirmed that the proposed budget is $1.091. 

 

Mr. Whitten stated in looking at the different fund categories and the increases or decreases associated with those budgets from current fiscal year to this fiscal year, the chart represents that; the General Fund has a decrease of approximately $24.5 million, or eight percent; special revenue funds are $85.3 million reduced, or 18.29 percent; and debt service is approximately $668,000 reduced.  He noted capital projects are $99 million, reduced 55.12 percent; enterprise funds are reduced by approximately $12 million, representing 6 percent; and there is a slight increase in the internal service funds.   He stated in categorizing the increases by taxing districts, those districts that actually levy a property tax, the Board can see the associated changes on the chart; the general Countywide property tax has a decrease in revenue of approximately $6.7 million based on the budget proposal; and that is a percentage decrease of approximately 4.5 percent.  Mr. Whitten stated the Board will not see all of the Road and Bridge MSTU’s because he grouped those together and that represents the six Road and Bridge MSTU districts, a funding loss of approximately $600,000 rounding up to 12 percent.  He noted there are approximately 21 taxing districts that make up the operating revenue tax accounts; total revenue reduction for the operating property tax is approximately $14.3 million, or 6.5 percent reduction from the current fiscal year budget.  He stated moving on to the debt service tax districts, the Revenue reduction is approximately $1.3 million, or 5.42 percent; the total reduction operating in debt service is $15.6 million, or 6.35 percent; and those are reductions or losses of tax revenue.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired about the Merritt Island MSTU for recreation and if it is just shifting from the operating side to the debt retirement side, and that is why it shows as an increase.    Mr.  Whitten  responded  yes, with  most  of  the  debt  service  millages  the  loss  in revenues was able to be accommodated to pay the debt by reserves that have accrued over time; that was not able to be done with the Merritt Island MSTU; and that is just a shifting of some millage flexibility from the operating voted millages to the debt service voted millages.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if that is why the next slide also shows an increase in the debt service because it is a swap-out; with Mr. Whitten responding yes.

 

Mr. Whitten stated in looking at the General Fund, or the general government revenues, for the General Countywide the property tax is being reduced by 6.7 percent; the half-cent sales tax is $2.6 million, and $6.7 million for the property taxes; FPL Franchise fees are slightly up, and it also going to be negated by an increase in what the County will pay for electrical services and associated services; and although they are slightly up, the County also has to pay the increased amount of services; the State share is down approximately $600,000; communication services tax is down approximately $366,000; interest income is also down $230,000; and again this is a comparison of the tentative or the proposed budget to the current budget.

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired what are the chances of State sources being adjusted further.  Mr. Whitten replied they have met two times since the County has been developing the budget; he is not sure whether there will be adjustments prior to November; maybe they will go back into session and those will be adjusted; but he is not sure that will happen before the County adopts the budget.  He stated the Board can compare the tentative budget and the major revenue sources against the current budget and that is a loss of approximately $10.1 million. 

 

Chairman Scarborough asked Mr. Whitten to explain current budget and adopted budget.  Mr. Whitten stated the adopted budget is the budget that was adopted by the Board to be effective October 1, 2007; and it is that budget that the Board begins the year with.  He noted the current year is the budget as amended during the quarterly supplemental budget process; the Board has amended the budget that was adopted on October 1, 2007 twice; and periodically, the Board amends that through budget amendments.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board anticipated earning to the adopted budget of $2.3 million; as the Board got into the fiscal year, it found out it was only earning $1.4 million; and what the Board ended up doing was having something substantially less.  Mr. Whitten advised the decrease from the current budget to what is being proposed to today is $10.1 million; but within the span of six months, staff has actually reduced the budget by approximately an additional $3 million; within a span of six or seven months, staff is going to reduce the budget and major budget revenue sources by an additional $3 million on top of the $10 million; and that is what the chart is trying to illustrate.  He stated staff has made adjustments to the adopted budget and current budget, and made adjustments on all of the revenue sources with the exception of property taxes.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the two budget changes during the year showed increases in revenue; with Mr. Whitten responding most of the sources were decreased, and he believes the only one that was increased could have been the communication services tax.  Commissioner Voltz stated she wanted to be sure the Board is not saying it took in all this money extra and now the Board is decreasing it; and so now the Board is still going to be ahead of what the budget was last year.  Mr. Whitten noted the adjustment was actually a decrease in the mid-year budget; and staff reduced the projection of those major revenues sources, such as half-cent, FPL, State shared and also interest earning.

 

Commissioner Colon inquired what is the impact being shown in regards to the referendum that passed in the beginning of the year; and in regards to the effect of the appraisals of the homes, and the homes going down, it is a combination of a little bit of everything.  Mr. Whitten responded   he   cannot   give   the   raw  number, when  looking  at the County’s property roll, if Amendment 1 had not happened there would have been an increase in the taxable value; so if the effect of Amendment 1 is stripped out there was actually an increase; and that is largely due to the phenomena to Save Our Homes.  He stated Brevard County still has a great number of properties that have some distance between their market value and assessed value; and so the loss with regards to the tax roll is primarily due to the affects of Amendment 1.  Commissioner Colon stated 30 percent of the citizens are still carrying the burden; and they have not been affected, whatsoever, by that kind of referendum; the folks with Save Our Homes were able to get a cushion; and inquired how that equates.  Mr. Whitten responded the inequity of Save Our Homes and Florida’s tax system is still there; stated a person who has Save Our Homes can get an additional $25,000 exemption for School Board properties; and none of the inequities that were there before went away with the passage of Amendment 1. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated last year there was a question as to the numbers changing; and inquired if Mr. Whitten feels comfortable since the numbers were reconciled with the folks from Finance.  Mr. Whitten responded yes, the tax numbers are certified; stated Commissioner Nelson asked a question about the State projections; and what staff did was a composite of Budget Office projections with County Finance projections for the major revenue sources; staff has been working with County Finance on fund balance projections; the numbers may change, but they will change within the budget document; and he cannot say there has ever been confidence on the State’s projection of their revenue sources. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board probably needs to take into consideration that it had a trend in less interest earned in the half-cent sales tax and gas tax; people assume the Board gets a %age, but no, the Board gets pennies on it; and as people buy less gas, there is less money coming in to transportation from those sources.  He stated as the Board does the budget for next year, it may want to make additional adjustments downward. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if Amendment 1 did not allow for a 10 percent cap on property taxes for commercial.  Mr. Whitten responded he believes that was in there; and stated the double exemption there was a cap on commercial of 10 percent.  Commissioner Voltz stated they probably will not see that until this year; Mr. Whitten responding he believes it was effective for everything that was on January 1 of this year, for the 2008-2009 budget year.

 

Mr. Whitten referred to the chart that shows the general makeup of the major revenue sources; stated he thinks that as those State-shared and other revenue sources have shrunk, the property tax percentage is actually increased this year; and he believes that 70 percent is higher than what was represented in the pie chart from last year.  He advised the graph shows the interaction of the millage rates, and this is a general Countywide millage rate, and how it intersects with taxable value; the red are the taxable values, which shows they have climbed over time; the blue is the adopted fund millage rate with the last one being the proposed; and the green is actually the rollback millage rate. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Board has had to roll the millage forward to get the same amount  of  money,  and  then  decreasing  it  from  there; and inquired if those millage rates are higher than what they were last year, or are they actually lower, the actual rate itself.  Mr. Whitten responded of the 21 operating tax rates the only one that increases is the General Fund, as the Sheriff’s has actually gone down also; and stated the aggregate is also the same as it is in the current fiscal year. 

 

Commissioner Bolin requested Mr. Whitten explain for the general public what aggregate means.  

 

Mr. Whitten stated the simplest way to explain aggregate is if all of those tax revenues are tallied up that are received from the 21 millages, and divide that by the general Countywide property rate, it is the percentage per thousand of taxable value that those revenues are of the rate; and it is really just a percentage that is being taxed of the total Countywide property values.  He stated the chart shows how the voted millage rate plays against that; the voted rates will go up and down; the blue portion represents the voted and the bar will get thinner from time to time as those millages are shifted between operating and the debt to make sure debt services are available.  He stated the State requires a number of mandates that staff calls unfunded mandates; for example, the State does not provide a dedicated revenue source for those programs or services but requires the counties to provide those services; and a sampling of Brevard County mandates total $14.4 million, beginning with the Medicaid payments. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated there also is a sub-set of things the State stopped doing; it did not mandate that the counties do them, but the Board picked them up, such as Guardian Ad Litem; there is a whole series of things the State just stopped doing; they are still the States responsibility, but the Board has picked them up.  He stated it would be helpful as the staff goes through some of these to identify those because the Board does not get credit for them; and the Board has taken on some things that were started by the State that it bailed on the County again.

 

Mr. Whitten stated in terms of how the budget has been put together, in Board agencies there are approximately $4.3 million in staff reductions; totaling the positions reductions is 104.6 full-time equivalents; this is a mix of both full-time positions and components of part-time; in total there were there were 104.6 positions eliminated; and 82.6, were vacant and 22 are actually filled positions.   He stated all the positions are further detailed in the departmental pages; and most specifically in the program change justification.  He stated in Board agencies there is a reduction of $22 million; Charter Offices are reduced by $135,000; outside agencies are reduced $21,500; but when looking at the capital expenditure reductions, Board Agencies are $135 million, Charter Offices are $4 million, and then outside agencies $622,000.  He stated to summarize, the budget presented has been reduced $222 million from the current fiscal year, which again represents approximately a 17 percent decrease; in terms of the aggregated operating tax rate, it is current aggregate operating tax rate of 5.4472, which represents a 10.94 percent reduction; it is below the roll forward rate of 6.1161; and that represents an average savings of $134 for the unincorporated homeowner.  He stated he would like to make it clear that that is the Board’s ad valorem taxes for those homeowners who live in the unincorporated areas.  Chairman Scarborough noted it can be offset by cities, the School Board, and special independent districts. 

 

The Board recessed at 10:33 a.m. and reconvened at 10:45 a.m.

 

Sheriff Parker stated he has a PowerPoint presentation show where the Sheriff’s Office is and where it is going; stated he realizes there has been a lot of discussion about some of the ways the County has spent money in the last couple years; and he could not be more proud of the way the Board has invested in the Sheriff’s Office, and he believes every dollar was well spent. He stated in the past four years BCSO has maximized the use of dollars; immediately after he took office his staff underwent a review of past spending practices with the agency; and non-essential positions and spending was identified and terminated.  He stated the types of expenditures that were eliminated included wasteful spending, such as reducing the size of Command and Management staff by about 20 positions; stated he eliminated unnecessary administrative positions; and he cut administrative spending by $1 million and used the savings to fund 15 new Deputy Sheriff positions because the office was under the amount of deputies needed as required by the Comp Plan, and it still is.   He stated he wanted to do everything he could to put more deputies on the road and not have to come to the Board and continue to ask for money.  He advised when he took office the Dispatch Center was failing; it was doing the best it could, but it was not staffed appropriately; dispatchers were trying to do too many things at once; and when people call 911 the call should be answered 90 percent of the time within 10 seconds; but in 2004 calls were only being answered within 10 seconds 60 percent of the time.  He stated the office used a chunk of the $1 million and put in eight new dispatching positions; he is proud to say the Dispatch Center is now operating with excellence; and the Dispatch Center is up to a 94 percent rating.  He noted he also reassigned 15 additional deputy positions to primary law enforcement and road patrol duties; the deputies were doing good work, but it was administrative work; and they really needed to be serving the citizens directly; and that was 15 more deputies he did not have to ask the Board money for.  He stated when he became Sheriff in January there was a nice Yukon ready for him drive; he did not feel that was the right image; he thought the command staff should drive exactly what the deputies were driving; and as a result, the office got rid of those big vehicles, and gave a couple of four-wheel drives to agricultural marine so they can be used for what they were intended.  He added that he reduced the number of take-home cars for administrative and support personnel; and he reduced the number of cell phones, and specialized expensive pagers.  He stated the big issue that everyone in the room deserves a tremendous amount of credit for is fixing the previous jail crisis; in 2004 the jail was severely overcrowded resulting in a high suicide rate, dangerous conditions for inmates and officers, and the early release of criminals back into the communities because there was just no place to put them.  He advised a consultant study detailed a corrective action plan; the first phase, which would have cost a minimum of $43 million, but more realistically would have been $60 million when looking at the construction prices; and it would have provided 500 beds.  He stated the second phase would have cost an additional $100 million or more.  He noted the Sheriff’s Office proposed a plan, which the Board approved, that included the use of tents and the use of inmates to help build their own jail space; and that allowed the BCSO to build more than 700 new beds for a fraction of the price for 500 beds.  He advised the project included two primary objectives; one was the building of 400 beds in tents; there are four large tents that would hold 100 inmates each; the building of a new 346-bed mental health/medical cell block with an infirmary; and it is a very strong, maximum security type of facility.   He stated his office gets asked everyday when the tents are going to be built; and would like to get the word out that the tents are built and inmates are in them.  He stated one of the reasons costs are down is because the inmates actually built their own tents  with trained  construction personnel  directing them as to what to do; the BCSO is getting State notoriety; and a lot of people are visiting to look at the tents.

 

Sheriff Parker stated he would like to applaud the Board for having confidence in his office when making the recommendation for the tents; and the tents are very well built and capable of withstanding hurricanes as well as any site-built structure.  He advised after the tents, the Sheriff's Office had to build the 346-bed mental health unit; and he wanted to try and get all this done as fast as possible because of the crises the office was in; the BCSO employed a lot of techniques to get the cost down; and the space needed to build the mental health unit probably ended up being $20 to $25 million just by itself.  He advised the BCSO got together with the architects and the people that were building it and the corrections officers to think outside-the-box how the facility could be built cheaper; and Jack Rude suggested building everything under a single roof and a single component can really get the cost down; and he was correct.  He stated infirmary was put in the mental health unit, which had a great effect because all the people that serve the high-risk inmate population are there; and they are safely separated from the housing but they are all under the same roof of the 50,000 square-foot structure. 

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if the Sheriff’s Office is fully up to speed on the mental health issue; with Sheriff Parker responding yes; and stated he is being asked by many Sheriff’s Departments and County Commissions from around the State about what was done in Brevard County. Chairman Scarborough noted that some people are perfect in society, but if they fail to take a certain medicine all of the sudden they become dangerous to themselves and others; and they are going to end up in the mental health unit, rather than committing suicide.

 

Commissioner Voltz noted that sometimes it takes a long time for people to realize that they need their medication again; but she has heard that in the jail they do not really get the medication that they are supposed to get, as they get the generic and sometimes those do not work as well; stated they are more expensive, but Circles of Care gets $1 million worth of medications every year and they give it out to people who cannot afford it; and she wonders if there is something there the Sheriff's Office could partner with, with the drug companies to be sure they do get those correct medications instead of some generic that may or may not be as effective.  Sheriff Parker responded that they have a good mental health staff that includes Corporal Clayton; the BCSO has the same concern on certain issues; if there is a proven need for specific type of medications, generic or not, that is going to help the person with behavioral issues this group will make sure they get the medications they need; there is a lot of money to be made in these non-generic medications; and sometimes, in the past, because it is tax money it is not scrutinized then the office has people basically writing these prescriptions that are very expensive.  He noted there is a system in place now under Mr. Jenkins where prescriptions are scrutinized; and if there is a real justification to get a specific name medication, because the generic does not cover what this person is dealing with, the office will do this if it is within the best interest of the individual; but 90 percent of the time if the generic covers it then the BCSO would rather save, because the difference between the generic prices of some prescriptions, is $14 to $16, and the shelf price could be four, six or eight hundred dollars depending on the medication. 

 

Sheriff Parker stated he believes the Sheriff’s Office has made a lot of movement in the area of treating  people  who  have  mental  illness with a  lot more  compassion; people who are mental health  experts  sometimes  believe  that if  people  with  mental  health issues who do not  have strong support and do not have the ability to get their medications correctly, and do not take their medications correctly, they use a term called “self medicate”; and they will self medicate with other forms of substances, some legal like alcohol, some illegal, in order to restore some sense of normalcy in their life; but then there is the other side of the fence that people who basically do not have mental health issues just take it recreationally.  He added there are different things happening for different reasons, so it is hard to paint it with one brush; today there is more awareness, more knowledge, more compassion, and more people who are out there trying to make a difference in there lives for people who have true mental illness so that they do not go back down the road.  Chairman Scarborough stated there are people who become addicted to substances and therefore they have a problem; they are not mentally ill, but they have an addiction; and inquired if the Sheriff’s Office can utilize the steps that have been taken in mental illness.  He stated substance addition is a much bigger problem that leads to criminal behavior, which makes for more inmates in the tents.  Sheriff Parker stated most of the people that stay in jail are in jail because they victimized somebody; but there are people in jail for marijuana possession and cocaine possession and they are in and out. Chairman Scarborough stated they rob somebody to feed a drug habit.  Sheriff Parker stated to rob somebody to feed a habit is debatable; stated they rob somebody because that is what they do; they do not want to get up and go to work to make $8 an hour; and it is easier to go and beat up a guy and take his $140.  Chairman Scarborough stated it is more complex.  Sheriff Parker agreed yes, and stated there are people who are on meth or cocaine who basically use the drugs to get to such a low point in their lives that they go and rob a convenience store; but the majority of the kind of crime that is seen out there is basically just bad guys victimizing people because they are too lazy to work.

 

Tom Jenkins, Chief Financial Officer, Sheriff’s Office, stated he would like to add two things; the medical staff does a very deliberate detoxification program, so they are monitored on a regular basis while they are coming off of whatever they are using; the second thing is that a wide range of programs have been implemented within the jail, including everything from GED to faith- based programs; there must be 10 to 15 programs that the Office operates, including giving people job skills to try to deter them from returning back to crime; and the Sheriff's  Office is not going to get them all, but the program has an extensive number of inmate improvement programs trying to help these inmates find a different path. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated tremendous strides have been made with mental illness; but there are statistics that substance addiction is a major cause of criminal behavior.  Sheriff Parker noted most of the people who would hurt people are not the desperate addict; but it is the person who basically, even if they were not using cocaine, they have got to pay that bill, have to pay the rent; and that is what the Sheriff's Office is trying to change with so many programs. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated that those people with drug and alcohol problems, from what she has seen, are mentally ill; a lot of them are bi-polar; and they almost always have dual diagnosis.  Chairman Scarborough stated Wuesthoff is losing Medicaid beds, which are the dual beds for Medicaid and for Health Issues; stated Commissioner Voltz is going to examine what roll the Board will be taking; it may be with Circles of Care rather than Wuesthoff; and the Board is trying to understand the problems.  Commissioner Voltz stated because she has worked in the  Baker Act Unit,  she  has seen  people coming in over and over  again that  have  the  same behavior, same habits; they have been diagnosed with bi-polar; and they have become addicted because they are mentally ill. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired when there is someone coming into the facility and it cannot be determined when they are picked up whether they are mentally ill or just having a drug overdose, do they go into the mental ward or into the criminal ward.  Sheriff Parker responded that it starts on the street before they even get to jail; in the past, there was very little information; they were judged based on the situation at hand and they would go to jail; now, because the Sheriff's Office has a FACT team and a lot more information, such as crisis intervention training, there is a data system that tells if the person has prior mental issues or actions due to mental illness; but in the past they were arrested and put in jail; and now, the Sheriff’s Office looks at the whole situation because if they can be kept from going to jail it is a good thing as long as the office is guaranteed that person is not going to hurt themselves or someone else.  He noted the Sheriff's Office does its best not to perform an arrest unless there has been a moderate to severe crime committed, and there is a victim; the deputies may not have a choice at that point in time; a lot of times people were arrested on relatively minor offensives, such as loitering or breaking a window; and then when talking to the business owner the full situation is understood and from going to jail, and maybe they can go to Circles of Care or to a caring family member who is going to look after them and get them back on their medication. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired if Sheriff Parker could explain the FACT team.  Sheriff Parker stated Brevard County has one FACT team; Melanie Goff is the President of the FACT team; she is allowed to have as many as 100 people who need care to a fairly large extent; and if they do not get that care and supervision they could easily not take their medications and develop behavioral problems and become someone that the Sheriff's Office has to deal with.  He advised the State and others put together FACT teams and Brevard County has one of them; and it is full.  He stated the FACT team is a bunch of professionals that keep an eye on these individuals and make sure they are doing the things are supposed to be doing so they do not get themselves into a bad situation; if they need services or help they can turn to this group; and if the Sheriff's Office has a situation with a barricaded suspect, or a situation where the deputies are coming out with the SWAT team and they are inside with a gun, the FACT team will join the Sheriff's Office and give information about that individual, which can diffuse a situation so that is does not escalate to the point where someone is injured. 

 

Commissioner Voltz noted that most of the people have jobs somewhere and are on their own, but they just need somebody to corral them.  Sheriff Parker responded that is correct; and they are all doing very well, but that is what they need. 

 

Sheriff Parker stated another issue his Office talked about is that females were mixed in the main jail; and the jail was not really designed for female population, yet there were 250 female out of a 1,700 to 1,800 person jail; it was very unnerving for the correction officers inside to have females in one block and males in another; and it was difficult to keep them separated.  He stated the Sheriff’s Office knew it wanted to get the females their own facility; a problem was that beds were needed; and how can the other problems be fixed as the new beds are being built.  He advised as the tents were built they were able to move the inmates out of the minimum security facility that was built many years ago; and instead of building a female facility, which would  be about $15 to $20 million,  maybe that facility can be used.   He  stated  after looking at the building it really did not fit the bill because it was a minimum security facility; and so the Office brought some people in to do it and the County looked at the building and quoted a price of $3 million, which was less than expected; and by using inmates the result was that the price was able to go down to $1.4 million.  He stated the Sheriff’s Office used end of the year money saved from the existing budget to just finish it; it is fully operational now; and all the females are in that facility, which has about a 300-person capacity.  He noted the facility has three large quadrants; one of the quadrants is designed for the mental health unit; and it is working out very well.  Chairman Scarborough inquired what percentage of the population is female; with Sheriff Parker responding 10 to 12 percent and that is on the average. 

 

Sheriff Parker stated other operational savings are staffed jail tents 2 and 3 from existing positions which avoided adding 20 additional Corrections Officers and saved approximately $1.3 million in taxes every year; and a Sexual Offender/Predator Unit was started by using existing deputies.  He stated the Board funded a couple of positions to help with that, and also used four additional deputy positions to make it happen; and this was at a time where this was on everybody’s mind, with the Jessica Lundsford Act.  He stated the Sheriff’s Office started a tactical team earlier this year and a Game Over Task Force; there is a rising crime rate in the State of Florida; and one of the things that is a big concern is violent crime and trying to take the limited resources and focus on the people who would do harm to citizens.  He stated the Sheriff’s Office worked with the local police departments and was able to swear in police officers from Palm Bay, Melbourne, Cocoa, and Titusville so that they can have Countywide deputy powers; and that helps increase the size of the effectiveness of this team.  He stated the team basically goes out and focuses on the individuals that they are pretty sure are engaged in violent crime activity, and makes those arrests. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she wanted to thank the Sheriff’s Office for some work down in the South Melbourne area that has had a lot of issues; and the Sheriff's Office has come and everyone is very pleased.  Sheriff Parker stated his Office appreciated the opportunity; Chief Carey called the office and the two departments were able to work together; it is not like it used to be; and today everyone has to work together and have partnerships. 

 

Sheriff Parker noted BCSO has created a Meth Intervention Unit that has gotten a lot of attention; the Sheriff's Office lead the State in meth lab busts in each of the last three years; it is not because Brevard has an exceptionally meth problem; but it is the fact that it is being addressed; and a dent is being made in the problem.  He noted people who manufacture meth for money know Brevard County is really not the place to do it; and as soon as they can get out of jail and get off probation they are moving out of the County.  Commissioner Voltz inquired is it just the Sheriff's Office, or is there cooperation between other cities and do they fund part of that for the Sheriff’s Office; with Sheriff Parker responding there is cooperation; and stated the other cities will have a meth lab bust, but the Sheriff’s Office has a team that is trained in working with meth; and there is a tremendous partnership with Brevard County Fire Rescue; and they are literally half of the team.  He stated the Sheriff’s Office gets in there and does the enforcement, and Fire Rescue gets in there and helps with the cleanup; Fire Rescue makes sure what the officers are doing is safe; and because Brevard has taken such a lead, any cities that have such a situation going on will call and the Sheriff’s Office will take care of it.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if there was any funding at all from other counties; with Sheriff Parker responding no, the funding is coming from the feds; for every dollar spent on operations, there is $50 to $60 being spent on cleanup; and stated that is  where  the real  concern is.   Chairman  Scarborough inquired if that is federal dollars rather than County dollars; with Sheriff Parker responding yes, that is where it needs to be watched so the relationship stays that way.  He noted inmates are charged for their food and medical care; in Polk County they reduced their food budget, and stopped serving chocolate milk and coffee; Brevard County’s facility does not serve chocolate milk or coffee; and Polk County is contemplating charging inmates for meals.  He advised inmates are currently charged $2 per day, but it is going up to $3 per day; and that has brought in approximately $100,000 in revenue so far this year.  Commissioner Voltz stated the families pay for that.  Sheriff Parker advised the inmates pay for it; if inmates have money when they come in that has not been used in criminal activity, then the money that was in their pocket will go into an account in the jail; and then subtract cost for food and medical; and if they cannot pay it the jail still feeds them.  He stated the Board has allowed and supported the Sheriff’s Office to use inmate phone revenues to purchase the new Criminal Investigations Building, which houses the lab and all of the investigators.  Commissioner Bolin inquired how that building is doing; with Sheriff Parker responding fantastic, as it is a completely different environment with nothing but accolades from the agents and the people that work in there about how easy it is to get their job done; and everything is extremely professional. 

 

Sheriff Parker noted by putting inmates to work in 2007 the County saved an estimated $10 million; and it is fair to say that some of that work would not be paid for by the County, such as roadside cleanup and things like that; but there is still a value to it and it is good that it is being done; to put these inmates to work and get $10 million out of them in services throughout the year is good; they did a lot of facilities construction this year, cleaned up graffiti, cleaned up the rivers; and they cook their own food, do roadside trash cleanup, make their own uniforms. Commissioner Voltz inquired if some of the inmates have some of the skills already, or are they being trained to do the sewing, cooking, and construction.  Sheriff Parker responded yes on both; they may come in and have some masonry construction experience, or other experience; obviously, if they have skills and can be put into that kind of status where they can work outside a jail confinement, his Office will take advantage of those skills; some inmates have cooked food before; but and many of them have no skills whatsoever, so they are taught how to cook.  He advised in the past, inmates would leave with nothing, but now they leave with food handler certificates and can actually get jobs.  He stated by making their own uniforms in the Paws and Stripes Program, it gives the inmates self esteem; they are doing something good for the first time in their lives; there is a Paws and Strips graduation right now with eight dogs; to see these inmates tearing up because they have done something good and meaningful because they have saved a dog’s life and the dog is getting adopted; and there are three former inmates who work for a veterinarian.  He stated hopefully the Paws and Stripes Program will grow and the inmates in that Program will not commit any more crimes because they have a purpose in life now; and that is what the different programs are designed to do. 

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired whether the Board would expand the Paws and Strips Program and could the Sheriff’s Office actually take over some of the animals in the shelters; she stated she does not know if the Sheriff’s Office is equipped for any of that, or how it would work, but that was just a suggestion that was made.  Sheriff Parker stated the Paws and Strips program is really in its infancy; he would like to get to a point where they are creating therapy dogs and can expand the Program; the office was training six dogs at a time, now it is training eight; and he would like to see it go to twelve.  He stated training service dogs is tougher because they take a tremendous amount of training by a single trainer; and inmates are not in jail long enough to complete a service animal’s training.   He  stated  the Sheriff’s Office broke ground yesterday on the Humane Society’s expansion on Cox Road with Teresa Clifton; stated BCSO was happy to play a part; the construction budget is modest; and BCSO is going to use inmate labor to help build the facility.  He noted as far as staffing the facility, he has been in touch with Animal Services and Enforcement Director Craig Engelson, and he and several citizens believe it is a good idea to staff the facility with inmates; and he is very optimistic in doing whatever possible to partnership with the County.  He noted there is an email going around that the Sheriff in Maricopa County took over all the shelters, saving $17 to $20 million per year; that is not accurate; it is not known who sent the email; Maricopa County is doing some things, but not what is being portrayed; but the email has people talking; and that is a good thing.  He added the BCSO will be good partners with the County; but he does not like the concept of having inmates run the facilities by themselves because there are children that go to the shelters to look at animals; and inmates have to be under supervision.  Commissioner Voltz stated she was thinking more about the training aspect.  Sheriff Parker stated anything is possible as long as the children coming in are protected. 

 

Sheriff Parker stated the Brevard County Jail is very economical in cost; even after everything the Board has done in the last two years, the jail is still one of the lowest priced jails around per day, per inmate; stated Brevard County pays $58 per day per inmate; Maricopa County pays $61 per day; and Maricopa County saves money by supplying pink underwear and socks to deter theft, but Brevard County goes a step further by providing no underwear or socks.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if the jail has washing machines; with Sheriff Parker responding yes, there are commercial size machines so the inmates can wash their uniforms and whatever personal effects they come in with. 

 

Sheriff Parker stated the BCSO uses the year-end budget savings to do things so it does not have to come back to the Board to ask for money; the bullet system has been rewritten, which is not only used by the BCSO, but also by every law enforcement agency in the Clerks Office; everyone counts on that system; but the BCSO made an investment in making it state-of-the-art; and it is going online next month.  He added the BCSO does a lot of office renovation; these are projects that would cost the County $140,000 to $180,000; he tries to use inmates to do the work; and the inmates do fantastic work and keep the money down so the only thing being paid for is the cost of materials.  He stated the Sheriff’s Office has done well in the last couple of years, but not where it needs to be; per capita, the BCSO spends $113 per person, which is the lowest cost of any of the surrounding six offices; and stated he is relatively certain the lowest cost in the State, but very difficult to get the information back in a timely manner.  He stated the BCSO is half of the cost of other surrounding counties; it does a lot for a small amount of money when looking at the big picture; stated he already mentioned the cost per day for an inmate is $58; but another comparison is how much is actually being spent per capita; and Brevard County is $75 per capita, which is the second lowest of any of the surrounding counties.  He noted he did not like the fact that Seminole County was lower than Brevard County, but he realizes Seminole County gets federal prisoners, and they pay a high per diem, which he is guessing is used to supplement the budget. 

 

Sheriff Parker stated he has tried to give the Board a realistic budget; 20 positions have been cut; he knew he had to do his part in this tough budget year; but he wanted to be cautious because of everything the BCSO does; stated Public Safety and Law Enforcement has to be first and foremost; and the Sheriff’s Office cannot loose sight of that and go the wrong way; but he believes keeping the community safe is the number one priority. 

 

Commissioner Colon inquired if the positions cut are those of deputies out on road, or are they more in-house positions; with Sheriff Parker responding he was in a tough position because when coming into Office he massacred the budget, as promised to the citizens; but the bad part is that when in a real budget turmoil, cuts have to be made that are painful.  He stated he took a Lieutenant out of Special Operations, which is the Crime Prevention Unit and one of the only units not required by Statute, but a good thing to do; but there was Lieutenant retiring from the unit; and so that was one position that was cut.  Commissioner Colon inquired if there is still the same amount of men and women out there protecting citizens.  Sheriff Parker responded yes, protecting citizens is the main priority.   He stated the Law Enforcement budget includes three new positions as a result of taking over dispatching services for West Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, and Melbourne Village; and the positions are completely funded by service fees received from the municipalities.  He noted there were a lot of built-in cost increases that were offset by eliminating positions; four tents were built, three are completely operational and have inmates in them; the fourth tent will be built in the future.  He stated when looking at the Law Enforcement budget and the increases to inmate medical costs and health insurance for employees and retirement premiums he could ask for a $700,000 increase to the correctional budget to cover those essential functions; but he thought it would be better to think outside the box.  He advised Commander Jeter is not comfortable with opening up the fourth tent because there are not enough inmates for it; and that was one fear of being pushed too fast, as if pushed too fast to put low risk inmates when the jail does not have them, then the jail ends up putting a medium risk inmate in there and then jail ends up losing them; and so it was decided to hold off on the fourth tent for one more year, then in five or six months as the budget is compiled re-ask for those ten positions. 

 

Sheriff Parker stated it was determined in February that there would probably need to be a $9 million increase to maintain the status quo; and the BCSO has gone from a $9 million increase to $15 million in the other direction and still maintain quality services; and he is proud of his staff for working day and night on that.  He stated he would like to try and get a COLA increase to the STEP plans into the law enforcement personnel and the Sheriff’s Office; stated he knows the Board would like to do the same for all Brevard County employees; the BCSO worked hard to have an attractive law enforcement agency; stated Indian River County froze its salaries, but they start at $41,000 per year; and the BCSO starts at $36,500 per year; stated he did not want to ask the Board for a five or six percent increase during this time; but he thought a three percent increase would be reasonable to try to keep things moving; and he would like to ask the Board to give every consideration into doing that, as his guys deserve it; but it is the citizens that are the reason to maintain an absolutely perfect law enforcement agency.  He stated he will do the best he can at keeping a high level of service; but even if the level of service drops in effectiveness because of morale, or by not being able to get the right people in, or losing people, the citizens do not deserve that; and so it is a two-fold argument.  Commissioner Voltz stated that is not included in Sheriff Parker’s budget; with Sheriff Parker responding no, because it is unfunded.  Commissioner Voltz inquired how much money is Sheriff Parker talking about; with Greg Pelham responding it is $1.4 million on the General Fund side, and $328,000 on the MSTU side.

 

Commissioner Voltz inquired how the Sheriff’s Office gets its gasoline; the price of gasoline is out of control; they are on the road all the time; she has seen officers getting gas at 7- Elevens paying regular street price; and she knows they can get their own gas cheaper.  Chief Financial Officer Tom Jenkins  replied  the deputies pay what is comparable to what the County is paying; the  BCSO uses a “right guard system” and  the gas is charged;  and all the taxes are  deducted from what the Sheriff’s Office pays; but the actual per-gallon fuel cost is either the same or less than what the County is buying in bulk.  Commissioner Voltz inquired what is the price per gallon; with Mr. Pelham responding that they are buying retail minus all the taxes; in the month of May it was averaging $3.50 a gallon. 

 

Commissioner Bolin stated there is still an increase of 4.3% on operating expenses; the majority of that looks like it is for the jail; and inquired if that is strictly attributed to the inmate medical services.  Sheriff Parker responded a big chunk of that is a result of uncontrollable expenses that just have to be paid; BCSO does its best to negotiate and make sure it is less that what everyone else it paying; but there have been some interesting things that have happened; the jail has gone up in population, which is a good thing because it is more people off the street that would be hurting the citizens; but is has gotten expensive; and he knew that if they got a bigger jail the judges would fill it.  He stated there should be 2,200 people in jail; and the fact that it went from 1,400 to 1,900 makes him feel better because there are a lot more people off the streets that would be hurting people; but with that comes an increase in those expenses that was not unforeseen, but it is part of the bargain as it is getting the jail where is should be.  Commission Bolin stated because the Sheriff's Office is doing such a terrific job and able to put these people in jail, it is costing more money; and so to keep the budget down, it looks like the Capital Expenses is where the cuts had to keep them in the jail; with Sheriff Parker responding yes, probably the withholding of the fourth tent is what is keeping that at bay. 

 

Commissioner Colon stated the Sheriff’s Office has done a tremendous job; in regards to the increase of jails and tents, and because of the suicides the Board was forced to take a look at this and it did not have much of a choice; and it is important for folks know this because they need to know where the Board’s priorities are.  She stated it was also a safety factor with the number of inmates that were coming in and the safety of the officers; and she would like to thank everyone in the Sheriff's Office for overcoming the challenges.  She stated Sheriff Parker mentioned a lot of different programs his office is working with, such as non-profits; but those dollars are also being decreased from the State; and there was a time when one could go to the private sector and they would be generous, but that is not happening either.  She inquired if Sheriff Parker has had an opportunity to see if the numbers are going to start going up, such as domestic violence and other crimes.  Sheriff Parker responded he agrees with the numbers going up; the number are going up Statewide; when the economy goes down, his business goes up; and there are a lot more property crimes, a lot more copper thefts, and  a lot more purse snatchings.  He stated the deputies get compliments from citizens for being so caring and knowledgeable about the resources that are available; there may not be a criminal situation, or it may be borderline, and rather than the officer arresting someone, they may realize it is an opportunity to talk to the person about the situation, and possibly get the person some help. 

 

Commissioner Votlz inquired who trains the deputies on mental health; with Sheriff Parker responding it is a group of wonderful instructors and people who have a lot of qualifications that teach the deputies how to insert themselves in a situation and de-escalate the situation; and the Sheriff’s Office has a lot more discretion nowadays to determine if an act meets probable cause for arrest. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated that he and his staff have had the opportunity to work with several of Sheriff Parker’s staff and would like to give them some recognition; Commander Drinkwater, Commander Chaukwa, and  Commander Ambros; it has  always been a really good  experience because they tell you what the circumstances are; and he believes the citizens appreciate that.  He stated the Officers do not promise more than they can deliver, and they are very candid about what the circumstances are, and what they can and cannot do. 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if Sheriff Parker is talking about STEP increases, or about the COLA; with Sheriff Parker responding a 2 percent increase was funded in the budget for the STEP increase; if the Board approves it, it is a COLA to the STEP plan; it would be is a 3 percent increase to the STEP plan itself; it would raise the starting salary from $36,500 to $37,500; and everyone would get an average $1,000 increase in addition to their STEP plan.  He noted the STEP plan increase is a very minimal increase funded by the BCSO; implementing STEP plans is very expensive, in the millions and millions of dollars; once it is implemented and maintained, it does not satisfy, because it is a small amount that is on an anniversary date; so when looking at the financial impact it is cut in half; but keeps everything spread out; and it keeps an equitable pay plan, so that a person who is brand new makes the same a two-year guy makes.  He noted if the STEP plan goes away and then is renegotiated in a few years, it will be much more expensive to implement; and it will be hard to get it back.  Commissioner Nelson stated he appreciates the leadership that has been given; and it has come a long way in couple of years.

 

Commissioner Bolin stated she agrees that Sheriff Parker has done a tremendous job; she wants to acknowledge that he is doing his due diligence for his organization to come forward requesting the COLA; but Sheriff Parker is very knowledgeable and understands the situation the Board is in; and it is duly noted that he is out there fighting for them but the Board is going to be looking at everything very carefully.   

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she wanted to commend Deputy Steve Salvo; and he is the South Precinct Deputy and he is a great person.  She stated deputies making $36,500 or $37,500 is appalling; the County cannot pay these guys enough to do what they do; she believes when the Board looks at a budget it needs to prioritize; and public safety always has to be first, so whatever the Board can do to insure that the money comes through then the Board needs to do it.

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired if there was an executive session today; with Peggy Busacca responding yes, it is related to fire. 

 

The Board recessed at 12:07 p m. and reconvened at 1:12 p.m.  

 

 

Frank Abbate, Human Resources Director, stated today’s presentation is a follow-up to the Board discussion in May about group health insurance; and in May, the Board provided various direction about things that would be done with the health insurance program.  He advised in the area of the interlocal agreements where relationships were going to be formalized with the 11 different agencies, staff has taken time during the last two  months  to develop a comprehensive Interlocal Agreement; it has been reviewed by the County Attorney’s Office; it has been submitted to all the participating agencies; and he is pleased to report that the signed and executed Interlocal Agreements have already been received from the Sheriff's Office, Tax Collector, Courts Administration, and Supervisor of Elections, Sebastian Inlet District, TICO, Melbourne-Tillman, and the Property Appraiser.  He noted he expects that the Canaveral Port Authority and the Economic Development Commission will be handing in their signed copies early next week.

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired which agency is missing; with Mr. Abbate responding the Clerk of Courts, who is in the process of evaluating whether or not he is going to stay with the program.  Commissioner Voltz inquired when the Clerk will have that information; with Mr. Abbate responding his office has asked for it July 15^th; ; the Clerk’s Office let him know it was not in the position to do that yet; but he anticipates Human Resources will have the thumbs up or down before the open enrollment period on October 1^st.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if that has any bearing on today’s presentation; with Mr. Abbate responding no, it will not. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the Board has a number of other departments on the Agenda; he would like to let the Board choose which one they would like to discuss; if the Board would like to go the bottom of the Agenda and talk with John Denninghoff about Transportation Engineering, that is perfectly okay; and the ones that the Board does not hear today will be heard next week.  He noted there is probably more interest in some departments than in others, so the Board does not have to necessarily go in alphabetical order but in an order in which the Board has interest.

 

Frank Abbate stated the Board had wanted to leave open the issue of what it would do with premium increases, the Board’s contribution, employee contribution, dependent contribution, and retiree contribution, and whether there would be any plan design changes; staff went back to readdress those issues in order to have a dialog with the Board today; and he would like to begin by talking about the historical five years, and what has been done up to now.  He advised from 2004, the Board increased the employer contribution 5.75 percent; in 2005, it was 7.82 percent; it was 12 percent in 2006; in 2007 it was 11.5 percent; and 8.25 percent in 2008.  He noted over the last five years there has been an average of a 9 percent increase compared to a National medical trend, which has been approximately 12 percent; and that gives the Board a historical perspective of where the funding increases from an employer side has been over the last five years.  He stated today, with that funding strategy, the employer portion is 97 percent for the active employee; employees are paying about 3% of their own personal cost in terms of the premium dollars; for dependents it is 90/10 distribution; with retirees, the Board from an employer perspective, is paying approximately 62 percent of the cost, compared to the retiree in the premium area paying 38 percent; and  overall, when looking at a total program from a premium perspective it is 89/11 percent.  He stated that gives a broad overview before discussing where the Board goes from here.  He introduced Gene Herman who from Robinson Bush, who does the actuarial work for the County; and he is here to answer any questions that the Board may with that issue; but Mr. Herman for the Board based on the actual experience, such as where is the medical trend, where is the Board currently; and what should the Board anticipate for the future; and it was at 11 percent.  He stated when looking at that and the current plan, which is approximately $45 million of claims and expenses, meaning full medical and prescription are actual annual costs for a 12 month period of $45 million; staff told the Board that  based  on  the  current  funding  level, what is collected in premiums, if there was an increase of funding on a premium basis 11 percent across the board, it would generate $5.1 million.  He stated after the Board discussion at the last Workshop staff looked  at  what  options  it  could  give  to  the  Board  for  consideration;  instead of raising  the premiums 11 percent, which had been done historically for a number of years, it basically targeted the medical trend to see if the premiums could be raised by that same amount; that was done over the last several years; and one of the primary reasons is the County was underfunded in reserves.  He stated when the County continued to increase the full premium by the medical trend was, if more revenue was generating than expenses, then it would add to the reserve level to get closer what the State requirement; and over the last multiple years the County has always successfully generated more revenue than expense to the point where it is in the area of $130,500 to $15 million in reserve, which adequately provides for what the State requires for the health insurance program.  He stated if the County generated the $1.5 million it would be the new money based on medical trend, it would still be generating an additional surplus, and adding that to the reserve; and it is advantageous because if the reserve is built further it is a good thing; but when in economically challenging times and have budget reductions, the question is what is the minimal amount of funding; and rather than give a recommended funding, staff has given the Board a minimal plan funding, which says to eliminate the dollars that would be generated if medical trend itself was just added to claims experience. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the budget has no pay increases, but each department has calculated in a percentage increase for health insurance; and inquired what percentage staff calculated in; with County Manager Peggy Busacca responding six.  Chairman Scarborough stated the Board can make adjustments to that but, it would have ramifications through out the budget.  Ms. Busacca stated that is correct.

 

Mr. Abbate stated based on that six percent, which has been programmed into the tentative budget through cost reductions on a departmental basis; the employer increase, the money that would be added to the program from employer contributions from all 11 agencies would be $2.72 million; the equivalent of that in the General Fund ad valorem would be $1.63 million; and if the Board chooses to go at the recommended plan funding level at $5.1 million, it would need to identify $2.38 million; and that would generate $1.6 million in surplus being added to the reserves.  He noted the County is not in a position to do that, so the Board says to go to the recommended minimum funding level, how much money would be needed to generate in those premiums or plan design changes; and the answer is $780,000.  He stated the options the Board may want to consider is prescription drug changes, adding a 10 percent co-insurance with a cap of about $90 on any prescription; right now it is at $10, $20 and $35; if the prescription for brand drugs on was more than that, the employee would pay 10 percent of the difference up to a maximum of $90 per prescription; and that option would generate $882,000 which gets the Board $780,000.  He stated a challenge with that is that high-end utilizers are going to be greatly impacted; there are a number of people who are on six to eight different medications; and going from $35 to $90 a month is substantial.  Chairman Scarborough stated it is $90 per prescription; and that could get expensive. Mr. Abbate responded yes, it is something that when the Board considers where it is going, it would generate $882,000, and it is going to impact some people heavily.  Commissioner Voltz inquired if the Board could find out ahead of time what people want and categorize them before open enrollment; with Mr. Abbate responding there would be answers all over the place because everybody has different needs.  Commissioner Voltz stated the Board could just give a couple of choices, and not 25.  Mr. Abbate stated the Board would not be able to develop a plan based on asking 10,000  members what their preference would be in each of their individual areas; open enrollment starts in October; and for staff to come back and do those designs is challenging. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he met with a group of retirees and got some feedback on the design options, which was interesting because he did not know that he would necessarily see it that way.  Mr. Abbate stated with the medical plan design changes the Board can see that what is being done is increasing primary care visits from $15 to $20, specialists are currently $25 and will go to $30, emergency room co-pay from $75 to $100; and outpatient surgery increases to $100; and that would generate $415,000.  He stated for those charges that is what the equivalent would be across the whole plan based on utilizing those services.  He advised one of the challenges is when having a $75 emergency co-pay, people are using the emergency room as a primary care service rather than going to physicians; the County has a program in place to try to get people to urgent care centers in order to keep it affordable; but $100 emergency co-pay is within the norm. 

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Board does not have to make a decision today because the retiree issue still has to be resolved; and he would like the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Abbate, because clearly, the Board is going in two certain directions.

 

Mr. Abbate stated retiree funding, dependent funding and employee funding are separate; it was mentioned during the last meeting that it was substantial, especially when not looking at salary increases; and rather than keep it together as a group, staff broke it out for retirees, dependents and employee funding, and then provided the breakdown as a one percent increase what that would be.  He advised for every one percent of employees that the premium is raised, it would generate $5,000; every one percent for dependents generates $27,000; and every one percent for retirees generates $24,000.  He stated if the Board wants to impact that up or down, then 11 percent is the target; if the Board increases the retiree, employer dependant at 11 percent it would be keeping the subsidy exactly where it is; if the Board does a little more than that, then it would be reducing the subsidy; and if less than 11 percent the Board would actually be increasing the subsidy somewhat, so that would be the target when looking at that for any of the three groups.

 

Chairman Scarborough asked Mr. Abbate to share some of the comments he heard about the seniors.  Mr. Abbate advised staff met with a group of retirees earlier in the week; staff looked at how the Board has provided for retirees historically with health insurance and everything else; and the realization in the future is there is a strong likelihood that there is going to have to be changes on how the program is currently funded for retirees.  He stated staff wanted to get input from them as to where they would rather see those changes as a group; it can be on the premium side or on the plan design side; initially, it was thought to be better on the plan design side; and there is never going to be uniform support for any one particular approach, but there was dialogue that they would rather see incremental increasing on the premium side.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated if the retirees had the option they would pick up an increased participation in the payment of the premium; so for the first time the Board will be talking about doing something different with additional participation with the retiree group, separate from the employee group; and the plan design would remain the same for both, but there would be a different concept.  Mr. Abbate stated the County would not be in a position to raise medical plan designs  or  prescription drug changes and make  it for  the  retires  and  not  the  employees;  a decision would have to be made and applied to both groups; and the other question becomes where the County is in terms of the premium increases that would be appropriate, and should they be drawing any premium increases and for which of those three groups.  He stated the Board needs to add up the math once decided whether to be at $800,000, or try to get closer to the $2.3 million, assuming that is a six percent employer increase; and that is the dialogue that is open for discussion.  Commissioner Bolin stated with retiree funding it sounds like they understand it is an area where the Board is going to go; and the Board would take the $404,993 and put it in the addition column to reach the total amount the Board needs to reach whatever is needed.  Mr. Abbate stated that by doing that the Board would be looking for another $400,000, and then it would be fully funded at the minimum funding level.  Commissioner Nelson inquired are they not getting the worst of both; and stated what has been said is that they would prefer one over the other but the Board is going to give them both, which will have made both of them unhappy.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated that the Board is at a balanced program with the options, or within the $700,000 range.  Mr. Abbate stated if the Board gets to the $800,000 that would be at the balance.  Commissioner Nelson stated to do that the Board would have to make all these changes.  Mr. Abbate stated the Board can make any of the changes.  Commissioner Nelson stated if the changes are not made it changes the number.  Mr. Abbate stated either the employer contribution goes up, or the Board is anticipating that it is going to be pulling out of reserves to pay the full claim expenses if that medical trend of 11 percent is accurate.  Commissioner Nelson inquired what is the impact if the Board does not change the prescription drug plan; with Mr. Abbate responding it will have to find another $800,000 one way or the other.  Chairman Scarborough stated if the Board takes what Mr. Abbate suggested, $415,000, it can be tweaked to get more or less; and then the next question is where to find the other $400,000; it was the Board’s feeling that the retirees may have a preference for an increase; stated he had looked at the number with Mr. Abbate, and it is approximately $25 per month; the Board would prefer to go there then take the risk of having a major hit. 

 

Ms. Busacca inquired if it is anticipated that the retirees, under the State system, will actually get an increase to their monthly benefit; and is there not a built-in increase in the State retirement system.  Mr. Abbate responded yes, there is a three percent increase; the average retiree is at $800, so 10 percent of $800 on a monthly increase would be $24 a month.  Ms. Busacca stated in some ways the retirees are getting an increase that staff is not getting; and by increasing the retiree amount that they have to pay, it does make the retirees and the staff be treated more equally.  Chairman Scarborough stated that there is one thing that scares him about retirees; and that is the County has employees in excess of 20 years and everything the Board does is hurting them very badly, and every dime is very important to them.  Commissioner Voltz inquired where else Mr. Abbate has held workshops with retirees besides Titusville and Palm Bay; with Mr. Abbate responding those are the two areas; stated staff sent out 660 surveys and letters; the survey results have been provided based on the input; there were over 330 responses from people about why the County is in the current plan, and what is important to them; and people are comfortable where they are and do not want to change their current physicians.   Commissioner Voltz inquired if staff gets similar results from Palm Bay, is a letter sent out to retirees explaining the options and that they have to choose one.  Mr. Abbate responded staff is hoping to get Board direction on where to go now; the retiree dialog is a long-term issue, it is not going away; and the purpose was not to get a definitive answer, but how to strategize  for  the  future.   Chairman  Scarborough  stated  the  prescription  drug  change  was something that some of the retirees were afraid of; he did not know that; and he did not know that they did not have a problem with employees obtaining a greater subsidy.  He noted after attending the meeting he had a better understanding of a group perspective; he believes the meetings are good because when getting a group of people together and they begin to share thoughts with each other it becomes  their  meeting;  and  there  was  basically  a  discussion  amongst  themselves  with  a consensus being drawn by the group.  Commissioner Bolin stated she would rather know she would pay more in a premium, which could be budgeted for over a year, then to worry about the drugs, when next month she gets diagnosed for a disease she did not know she had and the drug prescription for that might be $100 a month, which is totally unbudgeted for; and stated she would rather go with the retiree funding at the 16.5 percent.

 

Commissioner Voltz stated sooner or later the Board is going to have to address the issue of not funding the 97 percent and three percent; and stated she did not see the information that was given to her that where Brevard County pays 60 percent more than anybody else; and like the Board did last year with new hires and the retirement system, that the Board should start looking at that long-term, because it is going to be continuously worse.  Chairman Scarborough stated when talking about the 60 percent they are talking about the retirees; and this would move that back off the 60 percent.  Mr. Abbate responded that 16.5 percent would actually start reducing the subsidy.  Commissioner Voltz stating that people know coming in that if they stay here long enough to retire the County is not going to be paying all that money for them.  Commissioner Nelson stated there will be a cut off that says after a certain date they are not subject to that benefit.  Chairman Scarborough stated the retirees understand the 16 percent contribution more so than he thought they would; stated he believes the Board can deal with current employees; it gets to a point where it just becomes totally unconscionable for absorbing their retirement for health care; and that is for a future Commission.  Mr. Abbate stated the Board did take the action that wherever the staff ends up with where the subsidy would be, this Board took action for employees who were hired, effective January 2006 and forward, that whatever subsidy is available they will only get five percent of that for every year of service; and everyone that comes on board are provided notice of that; wherever the Board is going to be in terms of subsidy based on years of service, they will be getting a certain amount; but not that they will get the full amount; and right now the subsidy is at 62 percent.  Commissioner Voltz stated that is what she was saying; when looking at new hires of January 1^st of next year something should be in place so that the new hires will say the Board is not going to be paying 62 percent, they will be paying 40 percent.  Chairman Scarborough stated that as time goes on, the Board is going to be reducing the subsidies.  Commissioner Voltz stated the Board needs to leave it up to the next Commission.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated Health First has the Medicare Advantage Program; the government picks up a big chunk, like $700.  Mr. Abbate stated if a retiree decides to go with the Health First Medicare program they pay $12, and the Board picks up $178; but the Federal Government is paying Health First another $600.  Chairman Scarborough stated retirees have a saving of $130; and inquired how much the County saves.  Mr. Abbate responded there is a very significant cost savings.  Chairman Scarborough inquired how much the County saves when someone moves to the Health First plan; with Mr. Abbate responding $350. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated one thing the Board found was a fear of the Program; some retirees said they would move to Health First during open enrollment, but if it does not work, they  can  opt out;  several  retirees  said  they  would  buy  into that; the Board may find a lot of people get in there, saves themselves $130, save the County $350; and all of the sudden the Board is picking up other saving as well.  He stated by telling the retirees that they have the option, it created more excitement than anything else because they would love to try it to see if they can save $130. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired if there needs to be a Board decision to make that option available during open enrollment; with Mr. Abbate responding yes, staff can notify all the retirees during the open enrollment period and explain if they would like to choose Health First, then at any point during the next calendar year they decide it is not working for them they have a one-time option to go back into the other program. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to approve giving retirees the option to choose Health First with the understanding that retirees have a one-time option to return to the other program during the calendar year before the next open enrollment.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated with the emergency room he was advised it is not only money, it is making sense of how people get medical service; and he asked Mr. Abbate to elaborate on the subject.  Mr. Abbate stated the most expensive forms of medical care is when someone goes to the emergency room; any visit that can be avoided to the emergency room that can be handled a primary care or urgent care center is advantageous; when there is a low co-pay for an emergency room visit, it is not maximizing the opportunity to make sure people avoid using the emergency room when there are other viable options; and the thought is to substantially raise the co-pay for the emergency room.  He advised in the initial proposal staff moved the co-pay from $75 to $100 and the thought was is could be bumped up a little more; and that way more revenue is being generated because employees are paying directly; but if they do not go to the emergency room that same care in an urgent care center is going to substantially lower, so staff would be lowering the overall plan cost as well.  Commissioner Bolin inquired if the Board bumped it up to $125 someone could think twice about running to the emergency room verses another facility; with Mr. Abbate responding yes, and it would be a lower cost; and it would generate $55,000 in cost shift in terms of the co-pay.  Commissioner Nelson inquired if urgent care facilities are available throughout the County; stated his concern is there is a point where people will avoid getting needed medical treatment because of cost; and the flip side is that some abuse it, and some will not use it because they do not have $125 for the co-pay.  Commissioner Voltz commented there has to be places to go; when she hurt her foot last month she wanted to go into an urgent care facility, but they did not take her insurance, so maybe it is something the Board needs to address.  Mr. Abbate stated that he did not have all of the facilities names with him now, but there are more urgent care facilities opening up in Brevard County today then there has ever been; and he would be happy to send out a listing to the Board; they are increasing because everyone is looking to see what they can do in getting more urgent care utilization, which is a beneficial way to steer people where they do not need the treatment; and everyone would be surprised at the number of people with colds and everything else that wait for a certain point then end up going there because it is the weekend and their primary care physician is not open, or they call their doctor and he says he is not in the office go to the emergency room.  Commissioner Voltz stated that if a list was provided and everyone knows where they are, then it is an incentive to not go to the emergency room if they have higher emergency room co-pay. 

 

Gene Herman, Robinson Bush Consulting Firm, stated in terms of getting appropriate care, one concern is that people might not go; but the co-pay is waived if they are admitted to the hospital; and in the case of a true emergency and someone goes to the emergency room they are not hit with the co-pay.    He stated in terms of price differential, when a person walks in and is treated it is approximately $125; and the average emergency room visit is approximately $900 to $1000, which includes the facility charge and the emergency room physician charge.  Commissioner Nelson stated he would like to see what the history is with a $100 co-pay.  Commissioner Voltz stated she does not have a problem with $125; Chairman Scarborough stated he does not have a problem with $125; Commissioner Bolin stated she does not have a problem with $125.     

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve an increase of Emergency Room Copay to $125.00.  Motion carried and ordered; Commissioners Colon and Nelson voted nay. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin to approve remaining Medical Plan Design Changes as reflected, with PCP copay at $20, Specialist copay at $30, and Outpatient Surgery at $100; approved.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve the Prescription Drug Changes to remain at current copayment structure.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the Employer Funding at six percent.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated as far as employee and dependent contribution, he is opposed to touching the take home pay of employees; and he does not want the morale to collapse.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve no increase to Employee and Dependent contribution.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Mr. Abbate stated as a result of the private sector input and the efficiency review that was conducted, staff asked the Board for approval of a surcharge for spousal participation for spouses that have access to health coverage through other employers, but elect to participate in the County’s plan; and the Board approved that.  He stated there are 1,900 spouses that are on the Board’s program as a dependent of an employee; and he does not know how many spouses work for other employers, but it is anticipated that it is a significant number.  He stated the purpose behind it is to avoid cost shifting and one employer bearing more than their fair share when other employers are avoiding paying for their employees; and it is very common in the last several years with private sector employers.  He stated there have been valid problems such as employees that have had their spouses on the plan for many years and they may not have the same type of coverage; and it becomes a question of the fairest way to approach it.  He stated one  of the  options available to  the Board is to take  what the working spouse  premium is for a comparable plan; the School Board has a comparable plan; and if a spouse of a School Board employee is on the health care plan, the cost is $358 per month for that coverage.  He stated another option is to take all known expenses for the last 12 months for all 1,900 spouses and divide  it out by the whole pool of participants figure  out the average monthly cost for a  spouse; and that cost is $522 per month.  He stated if a spouse does not have insurance available through his or her employer, then the employee does not pay a surcharge. 

 

Mr. Abbate advised the School Board does not subsidize dependent coverage; when the School Board charges $358, that is for the spouses; and that is what is School Board employees are being charged for spouses to have coverage.  Chairman Scarborough stated essentially the School Board is paying employees to not get insurance; and inquired if there are County employees who opt out of the health insurance.  Mr. Abbate replied there are 370 employees that opt out of the County’s insurance; but most of the opt-out employees are not because they are dependents on another plan, but they either have military coverage or something else.  Commissioner Voltz inquired about dependent children.  Mr. Abbate advised the School Board’s rate for children is $120 for the coverage; the County does not distinguish between spouse and child; for HMO and EPO employees, they pay $74 per month; and for three or more dependents it is $127 per month.  He noted the County has very affordable rates; the Board has always been very sensitive to that in terms of the dependent rate structure; and that is why it is a 90/10 payment structure right now.  Commissioner Voltz inquired about a secondary coverage.  Mr. Abbate replied one option for the Board is if the spouse takes their employer’s coverage as primary, that they remain in the County’s plan as secondary with no surcharge.  Commissioner Voltz stated that makes a big difference.  Mr. Abbate stated employees who have a spouse as a dependent will be given a form to complete letting Human Resources know which category the spouse fits into in terms of if he or she is working or not and if they have coverage or not. 

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Bolin, seconded by Commissioner Voltz, to accept the suggestion that if there is no insurance available to a spouse, or if that spouse elects their employer’s coverage as primary and Brevard County as secondary, then no surcharge premium would apply.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Mr. Abbate stated staff will come back to the Board regarding retirees and the spousal surcharge issue, as there is time for that as long as it is done by early September.  Commissioner Voltz inquired when will the retiree meeting will be held; with Mr. Abbate responding July 22, 2008 at 2:00 p.m., at the Palm Bay Senior Center.  Chairman Scarborough stated he would encourage other Commissioners to attend the meeting.

 

 

                        Fire Assessment

Mike Burton, Burton and Associates, stated he is here to give the Board an update on the Fire Assessment study in the form of a brief PowerPoint presentation.  He advised there is no change to the structure of the commercial and apartment assessments based on the direction by the Board in May; and stated it seemed the issues were in the residential side.  He stated if the Board adopts one of the assumptions to reduce the revenue requirement for the assessment  by 10  percent, all  the  commercial and apartment assessments would be reduced by 10 percent across-the-board; the residential assessments, however, are being re-apportioned based on two alternative methods; the first method is by square-foot ranges where the smaller of a dwelling unit, the lower the assessment, and the larger the unit, the larger the assessment; and the second method is that in addition to the square-footage range to adjust by the base rate benefit factor for different types of construction, which reflects the difference in terms of value of being protected from economic loss by fire protection for a manufactured home, versus a single-family home because the value of its construction is generally less.  He stated a five percent reduction in FY 2009 with zero percent adjustment in 2010, there would not need to be any adjustments throughout the 10-year planning period; but when the reserves are gone, there is approximately a 10 percent or 12 percent increase in the tenth year; the 10 percent reduction in FY 2009 with no adjustment in 2010, and then 1.8 percent in inflationary adjustments thereafter; and the final plan is a 15 percent reduction in 2009 with no adjustment in 2010, and 3.4 percent annual adjustments thereafter.  He stated it is a combination of using down the fund balance and having rate increases so that if the Board uses down the fund balance too quickly there will be a spike rate increase to get back because the Board would be covering a revenue requirement with a non-recurring source of funds; and with the last plan, the 3.4 percent annual increase is constant with the increase in cost, and that may be able to continue for quite some time.  He stated on the 10 percent reduction plan there is only 1.85 percent annual revenue adjustments; the fund balances are used down over a longer period of time; and near the end of the period, the 1.85 percent is probably not enough to keep in sync with the increasing costs without the fund balances coming into the equation.  He noted either one of those would work financially, and 10 years is a long time and a lot of things can change in 10 years; but either one of the plans would work.  He advised if the Board chooses the third plan there is a lower rate, but a higher increase when it starts, which would be 3.4 percent instead of 1.85 percent; the rate would stay lower under the third plan than under the second plan for the first five years; the plans are equal in the fifth year; and then in the tenth year it is approximately $12 or $13 higher under the bottom plan, which is more in line with the costs because the second plan is still using fund balance in those years to pay some of the expenses.  He stated for balance, the third plan syncs up more closely to what is expected with the progression of cost over time; and it actually achieves a little bit more quicker. 

 

Commissioner Bolin inquired on the third plan there would be an immediate 15 percent reduction for the citizens; with Mr. Burton responding it would be a reduction in the revenue requirement that is going to be recovered from the assessment.  Mr. Burton noted for commercial and apartment properties, it would be a 15 percent reduction to all of them across-the-board; on the residential properties it depends on which of the alternatives the Board adopts; but smaller sized properties would have a bigger reduction, and larger properties would have a smaller reduction.

 

Chairman Scarborough stated he prefers the third plan because it shows that the Board is trying to do something right for the people; and if the Board loses the faith and trust of the people then it has lost its greatest asset.  Mr. Burton stated the only reason his firm looked beyond five years was in case there was an anomaly occurring; and the third plan gives a lower assessment than the second plan does for five years. 

 

Chairman Scarborough stated the next thing Mr. Burton needs to talk about are the two methodologies of the square-footage; and right now it seems the Board is comfortable with the 15 percent reduction.  Mr. Burton explained the lower the  square  footage in the bins, the  lower the assessment; some assessments would go from $212.00 to $37.00; but there are only 2,800 properties that are in that range, but 13,300 properties would go from $212.00 to $96.00.  He stated the  Board can see that methodology combined with a further adjustment based upon the base rate of the property; when looking at all the properties in the County there are over 200 different base rates; and what he did was map all of those base rates into the three predominate types of properties out there and used the average base rate.  He noted if there is a single-family home of 1,600 square feet, under this it would be $183.13; if it was a doublewide mobile home it would be $110; and if it was a single-wide mobile home it would be $78.  He stated the pros of the first method are that it is easy and has no moving parts; the second method is more complicated, although it is fair, where as the first method does not get to the object as well as the second method; and the disadvantage to the second method is that it is more complicated for people to go to the property records and check the base rate codes.  

 

Chairman Scarborough inquired about condominium units, which vary in size and price.  Mr. Burton replied his firm may need to look at the condominiums again before he comes back to the Board to see if there is a way to segment out condos; condos are difficult in the Property Appraiser system in terms of the types of coding; and assumptions have to be made about them.  Commissioner Voltz stated Snug Harbor is considered condominiums; they look like single-family homes; but there was a financing issue, and that is why they are called condominiums; and they were charged a much higher rate in the last assessment.  Mr. Burton stated there is a big difference when something is built from ground up as a condo development and then an apartment complex that gets converted to condos and is now condos.   Chairman Scarborough stated there can be two condos next to each other on the ocean and one of them is deluxe and the other one is more moderately priced; and stated there needs to be more anomalies with condos than with anything else.  Mr. Burton advised there are anomalies in each of the categories; but he needs to see if there is an identifier on a certain type of condo where it could be put into the single-family home category; and what can say is that a condo will not be charged any more than a single-family home.  He stated if the Board wants to go with the second method, then he will re-look at the condos, but he does not think any change to the condos will materially change the rates; and it may change by a few dollars here and there.   Mr. Burton stated one alternative may be to put those condos in the single-family category because the Property Appraiser’s Office told him the assignment of the base rate to the condo units was problematic because of all the thing being talked about; and since a condo unit is basically for a single family to live in, there may be some reason or justification to put it in another category.  He stated that is a good point and he will revisit the issue. 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve Method 2, 15 percent reduction in the Fire Assessment for FY 2009; and directed Burton & Associates to research changing the non-manufactured condominiums to single family and report back to the Board.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Bolin, to approve the next Fire Assessment Hearing date on September 9, 2008 at 5:30 p.m.; authorized the use of an open Purchase Order with Axis, the vendor providing the service for the water bills and utilities; authorized the County Attorney and Fire Rescue to draft the letter and legal advertisement; and encouraged the County Manager to pursue the discussion on using Burton & Associates’ program for general government purposes. 

 

 

Commissioner Nelson inquired if Assistant County Manager Stockton Whitten could explain how the Board got to where it is today with the Fire Assessment, as there may be some people who do not know.

 

Mr. Whitten stated he has three examples for the Board, which are properties paying the taxes current or that paid the taxes previously and that have a Tax I.D.; stated in FY 2005-2006 the square footage ranging from 1,700 to 4,400, all fire services were paid for out of the MSTU, which at that time was 2.2035; and the Board can see the ad valorem taxes being paid for fire services during that time period.  He stated with the current fiscal year, the Board can see the assessment amounts, and they are continuing to pay a much smaller MSTU tax rate; and currently it is .6316; and put those two numbers together and you can compare current fiscal year to what they were paying; and then in 2008-2009 the Board can ignore the five and 10 revenue reduction scenarios because it has taken an action on the 15 percent.  Again, this is a combination when you look at fire services of the MSTU, and in your proposed budget it goes from .6316 to .6187 and also the rates correspond to the square footage; and the 15 percent reduction scenario was what Mr. Burton just presented to the Board.  And so, total those two up and you can compare the 15 percent scenario to the current payments that they’re making for fire services to what they were making when fire was completely ad valorem based.

 

Commissioner Nelson stated the Board is not impacting capital programs; and inquired if that is correct; with Fire Rescue Chief Bill Farmer responding in the proposed budget Fire Rescue is reducing both its operating and capital.  Commissioner Nelson stated there is a CIP in the budget; and inquired what is being taken out of the CIP.  Chief Farmer replied the roof renovation program has been reduced; there were two roof renovations in the CIP and both were $50,000; and also the fleet expansion of $200,000 has been taken out of the CIP.  He noted there is a $1.9 CIP for Station 80 construction; right now, that is sitting in reserves, but it has been pulled from out of unfunded and put it back in, even with the reduction; and basically it is approximately $300,000 worth of CIP, which is the two roof renovations and the fleet expansion.  Commissioner Nelson stated that is the extent of it; the Board is not doing wholesale non-replacement of equipment.  Chief Farmer advised the Department has stopped the staff vehicle replacement plan; the computer replacement program has been stopped; and extrication equipment replacement plan has been stopped.  He noted the Department has also stopped the multi-year thermal energy camera program, beginning in this proposed budget year; and that is how the Department got to the nearly seven percent reduction. 

 

Mr. Whitten stated in the future the question would be if those items can be placed back in for a subsequent fiscal year.  Commissioner Nelson stated the decision the Board made today allowed for the revenue to be able to do that; stated he wants to see the Board do is set itself up so that it has to increase the rate to replace capital; and inquired if that is what the Board has done.  Mr. Whitten stated he does not think the Board has done that; stated Chief Farmer continues to have approximately a $2 million capital outlay budget; and that the programmed for 2008-2009. 

 

Cathy Prothman, County Finance, stated County Finance Director Steve Burdett wanted her to make a couple of comments.  She advised County Finance has been looking with Fire Rescue at their balance forward projections; stated she thinks they are getting closer to where they were; and they two Departments are going to meet with Facilities next week to look at the CIP projections.   She stated the concern is the level of  balance  forward that has been increasing in the Fire Rescue funds over the last few years; with Finance’s numbers being slightly different, there is still approximately $19 to $20 million balance forward; and after listening to what has been discussed, it sounds like the Board is taking that into consideration. 

 

Mr. Whitten advised Fire Rescue is approximately $19 million as a projected fund balance in this budget; that is for the entire Fire Department, so their fund balances outside of the Fire Assessment that is included in $19 million; staff will continue to work with County Finance; if there is a difference in numbers between staff and County Finance, and the benefit of that will be put in reserves and it also goes against the revenue requirement for the assessment if those are assessment fund balances. 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she wants to make sure when people hear that they do not think another $19 million was found in the Fire Department budget.  Mr. Whitten advised the $19 million is what the Board will see as a fund balance that is contained in the budget.  Ms. Prothman stated there are significant reserves.  Mr. Whitten stated Mr. Burdett needs to sit through this presentation because those reserves will be used over time to buy down the assessment.  Ms. Prothman stated County Finance would be interested in seeing the full details.

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised for the next meeting the Board has the Utilities discussion.  Chairman Scarborough stated rather than have an alphabetical listing, could Ms. Busacca have listing for all the Commissioners where they can go through which ones he or she would like most; and then the Board could go to the Departments and issues that have the greatest interest.

 

 

 

Commissioner Voltz stated she has had requests for the Board’s Agendas that are on the Document Management to be available to the general public, which means all the back-up material for each item; and the general public needs to be able to get that information.  County Manager Peggy Busacca stated staff can look into that.

 

 

 

County Manager Peggy Busacca advised a date has been verified for the second RV Ordinance hearing for September 16, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.; and that has been cleared with all the Commissioners’ calendars, and if it can be approved today staff can move forward with the advertisement.

 

Motion by Commissioner Voltz, seconded by Commissioner Nelson, to approve scheduling a meeting for RV Parking for September 16, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.  Motion carried and ordered unanimously.

 

 

Upon motion and vote, the meeting adjourned at 3:20 p.m.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATTEST:                                                                     ___________________________________

                                                                                    TRUMAN SCARBOROUGH, CHAIRMAN

                                                                                    BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

                                                                                    BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA

_____________________

SCOTT ELLIS, CLERK

      

          (S E A L)