The Glades County Board of County Commissioners met on Friday, July 10, 2015 for a Workshop at 9:00 a.m. with the following Commissioners present:

Transcription

1 MINUTES OF THE GLADES COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BUDGET WORKSHOP HELD FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015 AT 9:00 A.M. IN THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING ROOM, GLADES COUNTY COURTHOUSE, MOORE HAVEN, FLORIDA The Glades County Board of County Commissioners met on Friday, July 10, 2015 for a Workshop at 9:00 a.m. with the following Commissioners present: Tim Stanley, Chairman Weston Pryor, Vice Chairman Donna Storter Long Paul Beck John Ahern Others present: Julie Mann Braddock, Administrative Secretary Sandra H. Brown, Clerk of Court Gail Jones, Glades County Tax Collector Inga Williams, Community Development Director Tiffany Patterson, Finance Director Tycee Prevatt, Glades County Extension Agent Shelly Ridgdill, Finance Director Sheriff s Department Avant Brown, County Road Superintendent/Deputy County Manager Lorie Ward, Glades County Property Appraiser Joe Pepe, Interim Administrator Glades County Health Department Mary Booher, Librarian 0 citizens Chairman Stanley called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. PRAYER Commissioner Storter Long gave the invocation. PLEDGE Commissioner Beck led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. OPENING REMARKS RECAP OF BUDGET CHANGES/DISCUSSIONS Chairman Stanley stated he did not believe there were a lot of changes made from the last workshop. He stated the Economic Development Council s budget and Court Administration s budgets had been revised. It was the consensus of the Board to review only the budgets that had been changed since the last workshop.

2 County Manager Carlisle stated the ad valorem had increased by a small amount. He stated the Board had taken $27, out of 911 and placed the funds in the Contingency Fund. He stated this was to cover a grant that 911 may not get. He stated the EDC s budget had been reduced by $5, He stated the funding for a security guard had been taken out of Court Administration s budget. He stated the rest of the changes throughout the budget were minor. He stated the biggest addition to the budget was $110, to provide a one-time payment to employees in the amount of $ each. He stated the insurance had also decreased from a 10% increase to a 3% increase. Commissioner Storter Long asked if budget had been reduced accordingly for the insurance. County Manager Carlisle stated this was correct. Chairman Stanley asked for comments. Commissioner Storter Long questioned the Court Administration budget. Tiffany Patterson, Finance Director, stated the biggest decrease to this budget was the reduction of the security guard s position, which amounted to $34, Shelly Ridgdill, Finance Director GCSO, asked if the $ per employee was a one-time payment. She stated these figures were not included in the Sheriff s budget because she had not been notified of the payment. Mrs. Patterson stated this would be a one-time payment to County side employees. She stated there were approximately 135 employees. Mrs. Ridgdill stated the payment would only be given to the Sheriff s Office employees and was not budgeted for the GCDC employees. Chairman Stanley asked if anyone in the audience had any questions or concerns with their budgets. Joe Pepe, Interim Administrator - Glades County Health Department, stated Commissioner Storter Long had asked at the last workshop when the VA would begin services at the Health Department. He stated he had a meeting with the VA yesterday and they had toured both Moore Haven and Clewiston. He stated the VA was beginning to move resources into the county and had scheduled a potential ribbon cutting ceremony for September 14 th. He stated he had been able to secure 2 packages of Points of Distribution with a total value of $3, $4, He stated the Health Department now had these stored at the EMS Building so the county would not have to buy these supplies. He stated he was also looking at another $4, $5, in protective equipment (haz mat gear). He stated these supplies should offset some of the EMS s expenses. The Board thanked Mr. Pepe for his efforts. 2

3 Avant Brown, Glades County Road Superintendent, stated there may be some small changes in his Cash Carried Forward as he finished up the paving projects this summer. He stated the Cemetery and Boat Ramp budgets had remained the same. Mary Booher, Librarian, asked if her two part-time employees would be included in the $ one-time payment. County Manager Carlisle stated the payment would only be paid to full time employees. Gail Jones, Glades County Tax Collector, stated the only increases to her budget were out of her control. Vice Chairman Pryor stated he appreciated Mrs. Jones and her hard work. Lorie Ward, Glades County Property Appraiser, suggested that the one-time lump sum payment be given as an increase to the employee s salaries. She stated the employee s would have to pay more in taxes on a one-time payment. Mrs. Ridgdill stated this was correct; however, a raise would be a reoccurring expense. Mrs. Ward stated our employees were our greatest assets and asked that the Board at least consider it when discussing the matter. Vice Chairman Pryor thanked Mrs. Ward for keeping her budget the same as last year. Commissioner Storter Long requested that the bonus only be paid to employees who were off of probation at the time of payment. She questioned again which employees would be included. Mrs. Patterson stated she had figured the payment for an estimated 135 county employees. Sandra H. Brown, Clerk of Court, stated the payment would include her Board side employees but not her Court side employees and would not include the GCDC employees. She stated she had 9 employees paid by the court and 5 that were paid by the Board. Mrs. Ridgdill stated there were approximately 63 GCDC employees that would not receive the payment. She stated there 39.5 employees budgeted on the Sheriff s Office side. Commissioner Storter Long suggested giving $ instead of $ and include the other employees. County Manager Carlisle stated he did not know if the Board could do this. 3

4 Chairman Stanley asked Ms. Brown if the employees that were paid by the State had received any kind of raise. Ms. Brown stated she had given them a raise last year when the Board gave the additional.38 cents. She stated this amount had been cut out of her budget this year. She stated the Clerks budgets were in trouble all over the state. She stated she may be looking at furloughs at this point. She explained that the state was cutting her budget by the amount of funds left in her 10% fund. She stated she had $90, left in this fund but the State was projecting that she would have the same funds next year and was cutting her proposed budget for next by this amount. She stated the State was telling her she had to use all of the 10% money to fund her budget plus they had cut her budget by $20, She stated the State had already cut 5% for the next three months out of all Clerks budgets. Commissioner Storter Long asked if the Board was allowed to fund the Clerk additional money in order to cover the one-time payment. Ms. Brown stated she was alright at this point because she had 2 full time positions on the court side that she had not filled in anticipation of this reduction to her budget. She stated there were some clerks in the State that were laying off employees and closing sub-offices because of the reductions. Commissioner Storter Long asked if the Board could help fund the lump sum so that the Clerk could give all of her employees the bonus. Ms. Brown stated the Board could do this. She stated she had told her employees not to expect any raise or lump sum. She stated her employees were just thankful to have a job. Chairman Stanley cautioned the Board about funding the Clerk without funding the additional funds needed for the GCDC employees. Mrs. Ridgdill stated the GCDC were Glades County Sheriff s Office employees. Commissioner Storter Long suggested that the Board help the Sheriff fund these additional employees as well. Mrs. Ridgdill stated she could work the numbers and give them to Mrs. Patterson. Chairman Stanley stated once the bonus was cut back to $ the employee would only receive about $ after taxes were taken out. Ms. Brown explained that when the County gives a one-time bonus a large amount would be taken in taxes and withholding. 4

5 Commissioner Storter Long stated the employee could get the tax money back when they filed their taxes. Mrs. Ridgdill stated the Sheriff s Office still had not received its insurance rates for the year and that the rates may increase. She stated she should have the figures any day now. Mrs. Patterson stated if the amount given was $ for 209 employees the total would be approximately $112, (this amount included FICA and taxes). County Manager Carlisle recommended paying the bonus in the first pay period in December. He stated he would check with Attorney Pringle regarding all of the legalities and let the Board know. Chairman Stanley stated he would not normally support a one-time payment; however, the County was walking on an egg shell budget this year and he would like to see how it looked next year before committing to an hourly raise. It was the consensus of the Board to include $112, in the budget for a one-time lump sum payment to each full time County employee. County Manager Carlisle clarified that the bonus would not be paid to those employees on probation. He suggested the bonus be paid in the first pay period in December. County Manager Carlisle stated the Board needed to discuss how the Training Center construction would affect the budget. He stated the spread sheet (Exhibit A) showed several different options. He stated Phase 2 included the offices and some additional paving. He stated Phase 2A incorporated some additional items that would be critical in running the facility. He stated the bottom line for Phase 2 totaled $406, He stated the Board could take out any of the items that they felt were not needed. He stated the $406, did not include the $125, needed to finish Phase 1. He stated the Board would need to designate where these funds would come from. He stated he had negotiated with Wright Construction Group to deduct some of their expenses from Phase 2A and gave an overview of each. He stated these expenses totaled approximately $10, He gave an overview of the items that were needed to run the facility. He stated a dumpster enclosure would be needed. He stated he had gone with chain link instead of block; however, if the Board wanted to use block instead they could. He stated the total would increase from $3, to $6, He stated that $15, was a really good price for the truck levelers but since the warehouse was not going to be used at this point the Board may wish to cut this expense. He stated the white boards in the four classrooms would cost $20, He stated these would be needed. He stated WIFI would also be needed for the classrooms and the offices. He stated $15, would pave the parking lot and a road to the dumpster enclosure. 5

6 Chairman Stanley asked if this would be funded with reserves for special projects. County Manager Carlisle stated there was $850, in reserves for special projects (Business Park). He stated these funds could be used. He stated the Board would make a final decision on all of these items at the next Board meeting. Commissioner Storter Long asked if Phase 2 would include the offices. County Manager Carlisle stated this would include making the office building operational. Vice Chairman Pryor asked what account the $850, was in. County Manager Carlisle explained that the funds were in the reserves and had been earmarked for special projects at the Business Park. He stated one cent funds had been used for paving therefore there was still $850, in reserves. Commissioner Ahern asked what paving would be covered in this proposal. County Manager Carlisle stated the entire front of the building and a road going to the back of the building would be paved under Phase 1. He stated since a contractor would be on site doing this work he would like to pave the parking lot to the east of the building. He stated the cost would be $10, Commissioner Storter Long stated some of the funding could come from the one cent money. County Manager Carlisle stated this was correct. He reminded the Board that they may have to do renovations at the old Health Department to accommodate the Sheriff s Office. He cautioned the Board about spending a bunch out of the one cent money. Commissioner Ahern stated Okeechobee County was probably going to sign an agreement with the Sheriff s Department and Hendry County was considering signing. He stated GDCD was losing approximately $135, $140, per month. He stated this was just bare expenses. He stated the investors were working with them and did not want to see the facility close. Ms. Brown asked how much the Board would be spending from the reserves (cash carried forward). County Manager Carlisle stated it would be approximately $536, Ms. Brown stated if $536, was taken out of cash carried forward that amount would have to be reduced somewhere below (out of expenditures). She asked if the Board wanted to take that amount from contingency. There was a discussion regarding where the funds would be taken from. 6

7 Commissioner Beck commented on the MHHS Scholarship Program which recently purchased a program that provides annual updates on available grant monies through private foundations. He stated there were billions of dollars per year available. He stated there were grants for everything you could imagine. He stated he would be discussing the Training Center at the next Scholarship Program meeting. He stated there may be grants available for the County to apply for that would help with funding the construction of the facility. Commissioner Storter Long stated she had been working with the Southwest Florida Community Foundation and their goal was to get a higher percentage of children to graduate high school. Commissioner Beck stated this program was nationwide. Commissioner Ahern stated the county may need to look at the ownership of the training center to make it eligible for certain grant funding. Commissioner Ahern questioned the chain link fencing around the garbage dumpster. He suggested paying a little more and having the block enclosure instead. County Manager Carlisle agreed. He expressed concern with others throwing trash in the dumpster. He stated the block enclosure would be better. Chairman Stanley questioned where the levelers would be located. He asked if there would be drainage. He stated nothing would be unloaded there for a year or more. Commissioner Ahern agreed that any improvements to the back part of the building could wait. He stated the structure would be finished for the most part. County Manager Carlisle stated there was drainage in the warehouse. He stated if the Board wished to finish the office they would need to add the wi-fi. Chairman Stanley stated if any part of the building was used in the next year it would be the office and the classrooms. He stated he believed the focus should be on this part of the building. County Manager Carlisle stated the dock equipment would be removed, wi-fi would be added, and block for the dumpster enclosure. Commissioner Storter Long stated she was grateful to Wright for the money that they were willing to reduce in the contract. She asked what would be needed next to open the doors at the facility. County Manager Carlisle stated furniture would be needed. He stated there was an allowance of $200, in the final budget for furniture for the office and the classroom. 7

8 Commissioner Beck asked how much had been spent on furniture for the new EOC building. Mrs. Patterson stated the furniture had cost approximately $148, She stated Pride Enterprises was the vendor. Chairman Stanley asked if there would be any landscaping done at the site. County Manager Carlisle stated there would only be sod placed around the facility at this point. Commissioner Storter Long asked if the Board was going to wait and name the facility at a later date. County Manager Carlisle stated he would recommend waiting. He stated if someone wanted to donate significant dollars that company or individual s name could be placed on the building. Commissioner Storter Long asked if there would be signage on Hwy 27 directing people to the facility. County Manager Carlisle stated he would inquire about this signage. Chairman Stanley commented on the County putting their own funds into the facility. He stated he believed this would look good when the County approached the legislators for funds/allocations for the facility next year. Vice Chairman Pryor stated the County had to make this facility work. He stated he felt the building should be run by someone else and not the County. County Manager Carlisle stated one of the Steering Committee s jobs would be to find additional funding. He stated Southwest Community Foundation would be a C so that they could handle any donations and grants. He reminded the Board that there was a possibility that the County would be entering back into an Interlocal Agreement with Okeechobee County for EMS services. Chairman Stanley commented on Positive Medical s track record. There was a brief discussion regarding Positive Medical s performance. County Manager Carlisle stated there was a termination clause in the contract with Positive Medical. He stated he and staff would negotiate with Positive Medical and they could not reach an agreement the County had the option of using mutual aid from Okeechobee County. 8

9 It was the consensus of the Board to use Option 2 and to remove the levelers, add wi-fi for the classroom, and use block for the dumpster enclosure. Ms. Brown stated the funds would come from the Restricted Funds. Chairman Stanley asked when the facility would be complete if funded now. County Manager Carlisle stated the facility should be done by the end of September. He stated an amendment would have to be done to the current agreement if the Board authorized this additional work. Commissioner Beck asked when they anticipated having the first class at the Training Center. County Manager Carlisle stated the first class would be held sometime after the first of the year. He stated there was some talk about starting classes in January 2016; however, the committee did not believe this was possible. He stated it may be May before a class was held. He stated there were several colleges interested in holding classes there. Commissioner Storter Long stated there would have to be one entity that managed the facility. County Manager Carlisle stated the steering committee would determine which entity would run the facility. He stated once all of the agreements were in place with the colleges and the schools the facility would expand into Okeechobee. He stated Palm Beach State had some funds to do a CPT Apprenticeship Program. He stated there was a trucking company ready to begin classes, as well. He stated this company would be using the Alvin Ward parking lot for on-site training. Commissioner Storter Long stated she had not seen Lykes nor Duda put any funds into this facility. Commissioner Beck stated he and County Manager Carlisle were trying to set up a meeting with Lykes and Duda to inquire about funding. Commissioner Storter Long stated she did not believe the facility should be named Americas Gateway. County Manager Carlisle stated Americas Gateway Training Center was the original name that had been used and given to legislators in Tallahassee. He stated Mrs. Whirls and Mr. Morton were still adamant that this should be the name; however, he had told them that if Lykes and Duda were not contributing towards the project he did not believe their name should go on the building. 9

10 Commissioner Storter Long stated she had always been told that a name should indicate what and where a building was. She stated if the facility was regional she felt that it should be the Glades County Regional Training Center. Vice Chairman Pryor stated he would ask that Glades County be put in the name. There was a brief discussion regarding having a workshop with Tracy Whirls and all of the Commissioners. Vice Chairman Pryor stressed the need for communication between all parties. Chairman Stanley began a discussion about a health care/prescription plan where an employee could call in and speak with a Doctor and get prescription medications without having to go to a Doctor s office. He stated the plan was approximately $9.00/employee. He stated this would save employees from having to drive to Okeechobee, LaBelle, or surrounding counties. County Manager Carlisle stated he believed this would work if the County had a selfinsured medical program. He stated he did not believe this would bring down the employees rates. Commissioner Storter Long stated putting in a clinic for the School Board, County, and City employees had been discussed; however, it would take a lot of set up and funds to start. There was a brief discussion regarding insurance rates and the possibility of using the Health Department as the main provider for County employees to keep insurance rates down. Commissioner Ahern stated he had gone out to the Health Department yesterday to drop off some donations and Tracy Thomas had taken him on a tour of the facility. He stated there was a Dental Office within the facility and the staff from the Veteran s Administration was on-site. Commissioner Beck stated he had been seen at the clinic by one of the Physicians and was very pleased. Vice Chairman Pryor stated he would like to see the Board, School Board, and City meet to discuss anything that was going on in the County. Commissioner Ahern stated these meetings were very informative. Commissioner Storter Long suggested having a joint meeting with Hendry County also. Vice Chairman Pryor suggested having tri-county meeting and including Okeechobee County, as well. 10

11 ADJOURN ON MOTION of Commissioner Beck seconded by Commissioner Storter Long the board moved to adjourn the workshop. There being no further discussion Chairman Stanley adjourned the workshop at 10:10 a.m. ATTEST: Tim Stanley, Chairman Sandra H. Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court Approved: September 8, 2015 THESE MINUTES ARE NOT A VERBATIM RECORD. TAPES ARE AVAILABLE FOR ANYONE INTERESTED IN LISTENING TO THE ENTIRE MEETING. 11