A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BUDGET WORKSHOP

JULY 10, 1997

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in special session on Thursday, July 10, 1997, at 10:30 a.m., in the Board of County Commissioners Meeting Room, Lake County Administration Building, Tavares, Florida.  Commissioners present at the meeting were:  William "Bill" H. Good, Chairman; G. Richard Swartz, Vice Chairman; Catherine C. Hanson; Welton G. Cadwell; and Rhonda H. Gerber (arrived at 10:50 a.m.).  Others present were: Sue B. Whittle, County Manager; Carol Kessinger, Office Manager; Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance; Tracy L. Zeller, Senior Budget Analyst; Kevin M. McDonald, Senior Budget Analyst; Julia A. Wilson, Budget Analyst; and Marlene S. Foran, Deputy Clerk.

BUDGET WORKSHOP

Ms. Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance, noted that the Program Summary page for each department had been revised and replaced in the Budget Book and that an arrow, under Enhancement Requests, now indicates the County Manager’s recommendation and no arrow indicates that the request has not been recommended by the County Manager or that the request was not out of the General Fund.  She stated that a diamond indicates that funding was recommended out of infrastructure sales tax.

PUBLIC WORKS

Mr. Jim Stivender, Jr., Senior Director, Public Works, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for Public Works, in the amount of $26,225,602, for Fiscal Year 1997/98, which was comprised of County Transportation Trust, Road Operations, Engineering, Special Services, Special Assessment, Alternate Transportation - Rails/Trails, Road Impact Fees, Mosquito Management, Mosquito Control, Aquatic Plant Management, and Fleet Maintenance.  The following individuals were present from Public Works to provide statistical information and to answer questions during the Budget Workshop.  Ms. Kathy McDonald, Special Projects Coordinator; Mr. Don Griffey, Director of Engineering; Ms. Lora Bailey, Engineer III; and Mr. Mike Brooks, Road Operations Director.

Mr. Stivender briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

1.     Complete appraisals, title work and land purchases for the South Lake Rail/Trail.

2.     Heighten community education and public relation efforts with programs such as Stormwater Management and “Buy Gas in Lake County” campaigns.

3.     Pursue adoption of all or part of the Five Cent Local Option Gas Tax.

4.     GIS - County-wide aerial photography will be updated.

 

ENHANCEMENT REQUESTS:

Road Operations:

Signal System Tech & Op costs/Additional Temp Labor - $68,985

Safety Training Video Library - $500

Enclose Traffic Operations Building, Fence Road Operations Staging area, 3-2000 gallon diesel tanks, Brush Chipper, Storage Cabinets, Pressure Washer - $74,000

Guardrail Project - $100,000

 

Engineering:

Survey Technician Position, Furniture/Computer - $40,021

Digital Phone, Air time, Leasing GPS Equipment - $10,800

 

Special Services:

Division Director Upgrade and Associated costs - $9,242

Stormwater-Funding Plan, Basin Study, Contractual Services, Promotional Activities, Road Materials, And Projects - $242,325

Buy Gas in Lake County Promotion - $5,000

Lifestream Building Renovation Match - $6,000

Transfer to Landfill/Stormwater Assessment - $258,367

 

Mosquito/Aquatics:

Educational Brochures - $1,700

 

Fleet Maintenance:

Maintenance Facility (Tavares area), CD ROM Tower, Software, Class II Computer - $131,440

 

Mr. Stivender stated that the County Attorney has indicated that the Lifestream Building Renovation Match, in the amount of $6,000, was not an authorized use of gas tax, therefore, should be removed from the enhancement requests.  He stated that stormwater assessment was a County-wide special assessment to be shared by various departments; therefore, the Transfer to Landfill/Stormwater Assessment should be decreased from $258,367 to approximately $175,000.

At this time, Mr. Stivender discussed benchmarking for Road Operations, Engineering, Special Services, Fleet Maintenance, Mosquito Control, and Aquatic Plants.

Ms. Whittle stated that she was recommending all of the above noted enhancement requests for Public Works.

Mr. Stivender informed the Board that staff would be presenting a workshop on the five cent local option gas tax on August 19, 1997, talking with the cities during August and September, and the Board would be taking action on this issue by March 1998.

RECESS & REASSEMBLY

At 11:10 a.m., the Chairman announced that the Board would recess and reconvene at 11:25 a.m.

FACILITIES & CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

Mr. Mike Anderson, Senior Director, Facilities and Capital Improvements, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for Facilities and Capital Improvements, in the amount of $29,499,755, for Fiscal Year 1997/98, which was comprised of Expo Center/Fairgrounds, Energy Management Services, Building Maintenance, Jail Building Maintenance, Custodial Services, Parks Services, Lake Idamere Park, Boating Improvement Grant, Fish Conservation, Capital Improvements Administration, Renovation Crew, Capital Projects, General Government Buildings, Central Industrial Park, County Sales Tax Revenue, and Sales Tax Debt Service.  The following individuals were present from Facilities and Capital Improvements to provide statistical information and to answer questions during the Budget Workshop:  Ms. Pat Abel, Office Manager; Mr. Doug Conway, Capital Projects Manager; Mr. Chuck Pula, Parks and Recreation Coordinator; and Mr. Bob McCullough, Energy Management Director.

Mr. Anderson briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

1.     Award design & construction contract for jail pod modifications.

2.     Complete renovation of Public Works building.

3.     Complete a County Facility Parking Management Program.

4.     Develop master plan of existing Fairgrounds/Expo Hall

5.     Develop design for possible HVAC system.

6.     Implement the computerized Maximo Facility Maintenance Program.

7.     Complete the design & renovation of the County morgue.

8.     Complete the design & begin development of Lake Idamere Park

In response to a question presented by Commr. Swartz, Mr. Anderson stated that the jail pod modifications would move forward promptly and noted that July 18, 1997 was the deadline for the RFP for architectural services.

Extensive discussion occurred regarding the location of the retention pond for the renovation of the Public Works building; at which time, Mr. Anderson stated that a copy of the site plan for the Public Works building and the proposed landscaped retention pond would be provided to the Board for their review. 

Commr. Swartz stated that he would prefer that the retention for the Public Works building be redirected to the retention pond located at the northwest end of the Judicial Center in lieu of constructing a retention bond at the existing museum site.

ENHANCEMENT REQUESTS:

Jail Maintenance:       Major Component replacements - $26,891

Jail Maintenance:       Plasma Cutter - $2,243

Jail Maintenance:       Metal Cutter - $2,757

Parks:                          Secretary II - $23,127

Parks:                          Additional Operating Expenses - $3,770

Parks:                          Water Line Hookup - Marsh Park - $4,000

Parks:                          Storage Hookup - $3,500

Administration:          Security Guard - $50,000

 

At this time, Mr. Anderson discussed benchmarking for Maintenance, Fairgrounds, Parks, Energy Management, and Custodial Services.

Commr. Hanson brought up for discussion the Central Industrial Park Fund proposed revenue source, in the amount of $1,962,182, and expressed concern that it was misleading to indicate said revenues  without any recognition that some of the revenues would be going to the Tourist Development Council.

Ms. Leslie Little, Economic Development Coordinator, appeared before the Board and clarified that the above noted revenue source was for the sale of property in Phase I and not for the Tourist Development Council property.

Commr. Swartz requested that, under Energy Management, the cost savings from lease space be factored into benchmarking.

Extensive discussion occurred in regard to Jail Building Maintenance; at which time Commr. Hanson indicated that jail maintenance should be recognized as a cost of law enforcement.  Commr. Good concurred with Commr. Hanson and suggested that jail maintenance be reflected in the General Fund Summary under Sheriff- In-house Support as additional in-house support and jail maintenance.  Commr. Swartz requested that the total of the cost center for Jail Building Maintenance be reflected under Sheriff - In-House Support.

Mr. Anderson stated that he has been requested to review the costs associated with providing a modified control panel for Prelude in the day room for a modified indirect supervision facility.

Commr. Swartz requested that staff discuss this issue with the Sheriff and request that the Sheriff provide operational costs considerations for a direct versus indirect supervision facility.

Discussion occurred regarding benchmarking for Custodial Services; at which time Commr. Swartz requested that a comparison of custodial services versus industry standards be provided to the Board for review.

RECESS & REASSEMBLY

At 12:30 p.m., the Chairman announced that the Board would recess for lunch and reconvene at 1:30 p.m.

COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS

Mr. Bruce Thorburn, Information Services Director, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for the Office of Communications Systems, in the amount of $1,499,083, which was comprised of E-911, Telecommunications, and Cable Franchises.

Mr. Thorburn briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

1.     Addition of new features to our unique 9-1-1 system.

2.     Reduction in long distance costs.

3.     More efficient and cost effective utilization of cable access channels.

 

Mr. Thorburn stated that, as a result of growth, there were multiply impacts to the telecommunications that the existing data base management system could not handle; therefore, they were requesting upgrade of telecommunications hardware and software to handle data base management of the telephone systems.  He stated that E-911 hardware would have to be replaced this year, and that tentative cost figures have been budgeted over a five year period so that the existing revenue streams could cover the cost of that replacement.

COMPUTER SERVICES

Ms. Sue Whittle, County Manager, stated that the members of the Geographic Information Systems Team (GIST), comprised of Kitty Cooper, Analyst for Lake County Water Authority; Don Griffey, P.E., Director of Engineering, Public Works; Frank Royce, Chief Deputy Property Appraiser; Chris Greco, Computer Technician, Computer Services; and Allan Hewitt, Water Quality Specialist, Department of Growth Management, were present to make a short presentation on the Lake County Geographic Information Systems Team (GIST) Report; however, she was suggesting that said report be postponed until adequate time could be allowed for an in-depth presentation.  At this time, a copy of the Lake County Geographic Information Systems Team Report was distributed to the Board by Ms. Kitty Cooper.

Mr. Chris Greco, Computer Services, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for Computer Services, in the amount of $159,271, for Fiscal Year 1997/98, which was comprised of Computer Services and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).  He briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

1.     Dial in to countywide e-mail/internet access.

2.     Public access web page for County information.

3.     On-line help desk for employees.

4.     Increased computer training classes.

 

ENHANCEMENT REQUESTS:

GIS:

Personal Services - $168,671

Operating Expenses - $205,430

Capital Outlay - $177,600

 

Mr. Greco noted that the enhancement requests were for Geographic Information Systems which was being handled as an Enhanced Budget request.

Ms. Whittle stated that she was recommending the Enhanced Budget, in the amount of $710,972.  She noted that a portion of Personal Services would be a phased in process for GIS, and that two (2) positions would be required at startup and information on those positions would be provided to the Board in the near future.

Mr. Robert Taylor, Director, Lake County Water Authority, appeared before the Board and stated that the current agreement between Lake County and the Lake County Water Authority expires on September 30, 1997.  He requested that the County enter into a new agreement to continue the operation of the current system until such time that the new GIS System was in place and ready to function.

Ms. Whittle stated that the County would not have equipment in place by October 1, 1997; however, if approved by the Board, funding would be in place to carry forward from that point and accept full responsibility of operation of the GIS System on October 1, 1997.

Commr. Swartz suggested that the County simply recognize that the equipment and the personnel might temporarily be located at the Lake County Water Authority facility.

Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, appeared before the Board and stated that the Property Appraiser’s Office was prepared to move forward with the transfer of the GIS System from the Lake County Water Authority.  He acknowledged the Lake County Geographic Information Systems Team for the fine job of preparing the GIST Report, and stated that the County has a blueprint to move forward with a GIS System that would be a benefit to all agencies in Lake County.

Mr. Frank Royce, Chief Deputy, Property Appraiser, appeared before the Board and expressed, as a member of the GIST Team, appreciation to the Board and the County Manager for allowing the team to prepare the report.  He noted that the report was very detailed and invited the Board to question any of the team members on issues addressed in said report.

PURCHASING

Mr. Bruce Conway, Purchasing Director, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for the Office of Purchasing, in the amount of $468,608, which was comprised of Purchasing and Reprographics Center.  He briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

1.     Assist customers in assuming delegated purchasing authority through training.

2.     Pursue joint bidding opportunities with POOL (Purchasing Officials of Lake) member entities and other purchasing cooperatives.

3.     Review potential to facilitate and track small purchases by use of procurement cards.

 

Mr. Conway explained that, as a part of the purchasing procedures, Purchasing would be delegating and sharing authority, responsibility, and accountability with user departments and would provide appropriate training to the user departments.  He discussed the use of procurement cards, and POOL (Purchasing Officials of Lake); at which time the Chairman was directed to submit a letter to the Constitutional Officers, on behalf of the Board, inviting them to participate in POOL.

TOURISM

Mr. Dave Warren, Tourist Development Director, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for the Office of Tourism, in the amount of $1,216,094.  He briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

1.     Begin collection of the Resort Tax at the County level.

2.     Implement the Tourism five-year plan.

 

Ms. Whittle stated that funding would not be budgeted for Lake Apopka Clean Up for Fiscal Year 1997/98 because the Lake Apopka Committee has indicated that additional funding would not be needed with the present commitments; however, additional funding would be requested in Fiscal Year 1998/99.

Commr. Hanson discussed the in-kind promotion that the Tourist Development Council (TDC) would be absorbing for the Lights of Lake project and suggested that said funds be taken from the $40,000 budgeted for the Lake Apopka Clean Up for Fiscal Year 1997/98.  It was noted that the Lights of Lake Committee had originally requested $50,000 from the Tourist Development Council, which was decreased to $25,000.  Commr. Hanson stated that it was her recommendation to go back to the TDC and request up to $50,000 for in-kind promotion for the Lights of Lake project.

At this time, the Board expressed concern that the Fiscal Year 1997/98 budget being presented included the Tourist Development Council Five-Year Plan, which has not been officially adopted by the Board.

Commr. Swartz clarified that he had previously indicated that he was not willing to send the request for funding for Lights of Lake back to the Tourist Development Council; however, if the TDC felt that Lights of Lake was a good project that would enhance bed nights and tourist development in Lake County, he would support the decision of the TDC.

COUNTY MANAGER

Ms. Linda Green, Office Manager, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for the County Manager’s Office, in the amount of $316,454.  She stated that the County Manager’s office would continue to carry out the policies of the Board of County Commissioners, and the goals include effective, efficient and timeliness of County services.

BCC ADMINISTRATION

Ms. Carol Kessinger, Office Manager, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for BCC Administration, in the amount of $272,993, which was comprised of Administrative Support, and County Commission. Ms. Ava Kronz, Continuous Quality Improvement, was present to answer questions during the Budget Workshop.  Ms. Kessinger stated that the objectives of Administrative Support were to increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and timeliness of services provided to customers, and that they were going to endeavor to shorten time frames in providing information, increasing the accuracy of the report, ensuring courtesy and specific responsiveness to customer requests and thorough planning of special events to help keep customers informed of County activities.  She noted that Administrative Support would be benchmarking with Marion County in the implementation of a computer-based Citizen Service System which would enable more efficient tracking and completion of citizen requests and complaints within five (5) working days.

Ms. Kessinger noted that the projected reduction in volunteer committee work was based on the fact that the detailed work of the volunteer committees would be delegated to the various departments.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Ms. Leslie Little, Director of Economic Development, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for Economic Development, in the amount of $670,896.  She briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

1.     Assist with expansion of existing Lake County industries.

2.     Work to identify and prepare one or more business parks for the Lake County marketplace.

3.     Expand Lake County’s manufacturing and distribution exposing to international clients.

4.     Work to identify and prepare sites appropriate for high technology manufactures.

 

Ms. Little explained that Economic Development would be benchmarking the cost of program per capita and noted that, under Effectiveness, a number of different measures have been included in the budget, including tracking increased ad valorem income, impact fees generated, and building/planning fees generated.  Discussion occurred regarding clarification of Performance and Effectiveness Measures for Economic Development.

RECESS & REASSEMBLY

At 3:00 p.m., the Chairman announced that the Board would recess for five minutes, and reconvene at 3:05 p.m.

AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION SERVICES

Ms. Deborah Boulware, appeared before the Board to present a brief overview of the tentative budget for the Office of Agricultural Education Services, in the amount of $706,964, which was comprised of Cooperative Extension Service, Lake Soil and Water Conservation, and Horticultural Learning Center.  Mr. Mike Powers, Soil and Water Conservation; and Mr. Lloyd Singleton, Associate, Horticultural Learning Center, were present to provide statistical information and to answer questions during the Budget Workshop.  Mr. Singleton distributed to the Board a brochure titled Discovery Gardens. 

Ms. Boulware briefly discussed and addressed questions pertaining to the following:

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

1.     Cooperative Extension: Conduct educational programs in support of commercial production agriculture.

2.     Lake Soil & Water: Prepare agriculture conservation plans using computer technology and a geographic information system (GIS), as well as continue to improve water conservation and management.

3.     Horticultural Learning Center: The “Discovery Gardens” at the HLC will be substantially complete and open to visitors.  Plan trail results will be available from the “Evaluation Gardens” of the HLC.

 

ENHANCEMENT REQUESTS:

1.     Cooperative Extension: Increase Maintenance Worker hours to 22.5 - $5,676

 

Ms. Boulware discussed benchmarking for Cooperative Extension, Horticultural Learning Center, and Lake Soil & Water.

COMPUTER SERVICES (CONTINUED)

Mr. George Beatty, Appraiser Specialist/GIS Coordinator, Florida Department of Revenue, appeared before the Board to discuss the Geographic Information System (GIS) Report; at which time Mr. Beatty was informed that the presentation on the Geographic Information System Team Report had been postponed until a later date.  A brief discussion occurred regarding the proposed GIS System; at which time, Mr. Beatty stated that one of the goals of the GIS System was to identify all of the users within the agencies in Lake County and to tie in local surveyors, engineers, and all of the data that was available to have an accurate and complete map that would address all of the needs and uses that exist within the County.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Ms. Whittle noted that the Board had previously requested that staff look into the possibility of sending a budget information packet along with the Trim Notice this year and stated that staff has been informed that the deadline to get all information to the printer was July 17, 1997. 

Ms. Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance, briefly discussed the costs associated with including budgetary information with the Trim Notice.  It was the decision of the Board to further explore this process and determine what process was being used by the Tax Collector.

Ms. Whittle distributed a copy of a memorandum, dated July 10, 1997, from Sharon O. Farrell, Senior Director, Department of Growth Management, regarding “Local Sources First” outlining St. Johns River Water Management District’s definition of “Local Sources First.”

No discussion or action was taken on this issue.

NON-DEPARTMENTAL

Historical Society

Mr. Kevin McDonald, Senior Budget Analyst, presented a brief overview of the tentative budget for the Historical Society, in the amount of $25,808, and explained that the increase in the budget was to fund a request for a secretary to work at the Historical Society due to an increase in workload.

Ms. Whittle explained that the Board, through agreement, has committed to fund one secretarial position and associated insurance costs and that the museum operation would be funded through the Clerk of Courts’ budget.  She stated that she was not recommending the expansion of positions at this time.   Staff was directed to determine the needs of the Historical Society and consider using volunteers in lieu of hiring a secretary.  Commr. Gerber stated that she would speak with Mr. Bill Horan, Museum Coordinator, concerning the budget request.

Certificates of Indebtedness Fund 251

Mr. McDonald presented the brief overview of the tentative budget for Certificates of Indebtedness, in the amount of $459,184, and explained that the total debt, including principal and interest as of September 30, 1997 was $560,000.

General

Mr. McDonald presented a brief overview of the tentative budget for General, in the amount of $243,298, which was comprised of the Ad Valorem Taxes paid to the City of Eustis Redevelopment District, in the amount of $25,000; City of Mt. Dora Community District, in the amount of $138,000; City of Mt. Dora NE Community District, in the amount of $6,000; Fruitland Park Redevelopment District, in the amount of $2,688; City of Leesburg Redevelopment District, in the amount of $43,610; City of Clermont Redevelopment District, in the amount of $20,000; City of Umatilla Redevelopment District, in the amount of $4,000; and the City of Tavares Redevelopment District, in the amount of $2,000.  He explained that the Lake County Ambulance Fund, in the amount of $18,000, was also reflected under the General budget.

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting adjourned at 4:40 p.m.

 

 

___________________________________

WILLIAM "BILL" H. GOOD, CHAIRMAN

 

 

______________________________

JAMES C. WATKINS, CLERK

 

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