A regular MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

September 26, 2017

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in regular session on Tuesday, September 26, 2017 at 4:00 p.m., in the Board of County Commissioners’ Meeting Room, Lake County Administration Building, Tavares, Florida. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Timothy I. Sullivan, Chairman; Leslie Campione, Vice Chairman; Sean Parks; Wendy Breeden; and Josh Blake. Others present were: Jeff Cole, County Manager; Melanie Marsh, County Attorney; Wendy Taylor, Executive Office Manager, County Manager’s Office; Kristy Mullane, Chief Deputy Clerk, County Finance; and Angela Harrold, Deputy Clerk.

INVOCATION and pledge

Reverend Bill Birdsall of Graceway Presbyterian Church in Leesburg gave the Invocation and Commissioner Sullivan led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Agenda update

Mr. Jeff Cole, County Manager, commented that he had no changes to the agenda.

citizen question and comment period

Mr. Randall Raney, a resident of Ocala, asked the Board to send a letter to Senator Dennis Baxley to request an Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability (OPPAGA) study on the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA) and St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD.)

Mr. Skip Goerner, Vice Chairman of the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council, requested that the Board send a letter to Senator Dennis Baxley, similar to one that had been previously prepared by the Harris Chain of Lakes Restoration Council, which requested an OPPAGA study on the LCWA and SJRWMD. He explained that an OPPAGA study was a government accountability study that initiated a review of many ongoing restoration projects within the Harris Chain of Lakes and would determine what improvements had occurred in water quality and natural systems. He reviewed that the letter sent by the Council to Senator Baxley addressed items and restoration efforts that had not yet yielded a lot of improvements and remarked that the information in the letter was verifiable. He asked for the Board’s support and noted that he would be glad to return and explain the process in more detail. He alleged that the SJRWMD failed to adhere to water level controls outlined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ water control manual for Lake County. He explained that the manual gave direction for a regulation schedule, which included water level heights and the release of water during different times of the year. This regulation schedule was especially designed for weather events, such as hurricane season, when water levels in the lakes should be kept at a lower level in case of hurricanes. He alleged that SJRWMD failed to meet the threat of Hurricane Irma and that lead to flooding and soil softening, which resulted in approximately 30 trees falling into a canal near his home. He opined that if the regulations had been followed the damage would have been minimized or avoided.

Mr. Jim Pirino, President of Emerald Lakes Mobile Home Park, presented statistical graphs representing the water management policy of the past hurricane season as measured at Lake Minnehaha, which is on the Harris Chain of Lakes. He pointed out that in the month of June 2017, the beginning of hurricane season, the average water surface elevation was 95 feet and over the course of the hurricane season the gates on the Cherry Lake damn remained closed and the water level rose up to the 97 foot range. He explained that if the water levels had been lowered, some of the flooding and damage caused by Hurricane Irma could have been mitigated. He felt that an OPPAGA review needed to be completed and he urged the Board to support one.

Mr. Mike Perry, Executive Director of the Lake County Water Authority, presented a graph of water levels in Lake Minnehaha from 1945 through 2015. He stated that the issues in south Lake County had always been due to low water levels caused when the water subsided after Hurricane Donna came through the area. He reported that the residents of south Lake County requested that the LCWA keep the water levels of the lakes up. He noted that the LCWA created a series of structures to keep the water in the system and historically there had been an infrequent number of times when the water level had been above the regulatory range. He recalled that with previous Hurricanes Hermine and Matthew, the water level reached the regulatory range but never exceeded it; however, Hurricane Irma was a 100 year, 24 hour storm, which engineers described as a weather event with an infrequent, high amount of rain fall. He stated that the current water level was approximately 97.65 feet, which was less than two inches above regulatory range. He went on to state that the St. Johns River had gone one to two feet above flooding range in Astor and he opined that the LCWA did well in making sure Lake Minnehaha did not go that high above the regulatory range. He remarked that Emerald Lakes was built on a flood prone area and was the only community that had residents complaining of flooding issues, which were mostly related to flooded roadways. He stated that the LCWA was serving Lake County residents as a whole and not one individual neighborhood.

Commr. Sullivan assured those in attendance that the Board would revisit this issue by adding it as a public hearing agenda item for a future meeting to allow for further discussion and public comment. He took a moment to recognize the passing of Ms. Vicky Watkins, the wife of Former Lake County Clerk of the Court, Mr. James C. Watkins, and he expressed his condolences to Mr. Watkins and his family. He reported that the service for Ms. Watkins would be held on Saturday, September 30, 2017, at 9:30 a.m., at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, located at 1875 Mount Vernon Road in Leesburg.

COUNTY MANAGER’S CONSENT AGENDA

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the Consent Agenda, Tabs 1 through Tab 4, as follows:

Community Services

Request for approval of the Agreement between the Lake County Sheriff, Armor Correctional Health Services, Inc., and the Lake County Board of County Commissioners for the management and administration of inmate medical care, and authorization for the Board Chairman to sign the Agreement and any subsequent related documentation. The fiscal impact is $1,866,478.00 (expense).

Economic Growth

Request for approval to apply for and accept the Florida Job Growth Grant Fund Public Infrastructure Grant for the engineering and design of the Wellness Way Road; and authorize the Chairman to execute any necessary grant documents. The fiscal impact will be determined by the amount awarded. Commission District 2.

Fiscal and Administrative Services

Request for approval of the Sheriff's request to transfer $100,000.00 from BCC-Contingency - Sheriff to Transfer/Jail Operations-DEP/AST. The fiscal impact is $100,000.00.

Request for approval of Resolution 2017-128 adopting the fee schedules for Fiscal Year 2018.

departmental business

county manager

laser agreement amendment

Mr. Michael Tart, Chairman of Lake and Sumter Emergency Recovery (LASER), gave an update on the agency’s Hurricane Irma cleanup efforts. He noted that there had been 286 cases sent to LASER through the Lake County Citizen’s Information Line and approximately half had been responded to by volunteers who helped clean up debris. He added that they would be working to send out more volunteers to complete the rest of the cases. He stated that there were 275 volunteers from multiple states, who had contributed 4436 volunteer hours to date. He noted that LASER had recently hired a Volunteer Coordinator and Case Worker. He had hoped that the Board would facilitate the funding request being made to ensure that cleanup efforts could be continued. He reported that he had spoken to representatives from Florida Disaster Recovery and they had requested an update on the Board’s decision for further funding.

Commr. Campione asked if LASER helped individuals receive assistance through state recovery initiatives or through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA.) She wanted it to be understood that the request was about addressing specific, individual’s needs in the county.

Mr. Tart replied that the process was made up of response efforts and then recovery efforts. He explained that in most cases elderly residents are unable to remove debris on their own so LASER partners with faith based organizations, who are dispersed out into the community to assess damage, and determine what the organizations can and cannot do. They collaborate with LASER and let them know where their help would be most beneficial and within 24 hours the faith based organization deploys a team to those specific areas. He further explained that once that part of the process was completed, staffing from LASER would identify the remaining needs of the County, which would mostly be in areas that were not able to receive help from the organizations, and LASER staff would send out applications for recovery assistance to help those residents. He stated that the current funding request was to employ the staffing who would be responsible for obtaining those recovery assistance funds. He noted that his specific responsibility was to obtain private donations and funding to facilitate the gap between the homeowner and the insurance companies, adding that a lot of homeowners do not have insurance. He remarked that reporting was kept for all cases and funding and that it could be provided to the Board for reference.

Mr. Cole reported that LASER expressed an urgent need for funding on September 13, 2017, and he was able to immediately authorize $10,000 to LASER through his signature. He explained that the following week, LASER requested additional funding of approximately $100,000, which led to a presentation that was given to the Board on September 19, 2017. Following the presentation the Board requested further review before approving the amount and based on that review, the new recommended requested amount was $75,000, which would be applied to the FY 2017/2018 budget. He pointed out that there were some potential, outside opportunities that could add to the funding, such as cost sharing with the municipalities and the possible eligibility for State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) funding for some residents, which would be facilitated through the Lake County Community Services Department. He opined that moving forward there was a good opportunity for partnership between the County and LASER.

Commr. Parks stated that he supported the efforts of LASER and suggested that LASER should receive the full $100,000 as originally requested. He explained that he answered telephone calls that had come in to the Citizen’s Information Line and understood the issues that were being experienced throughout the County.

Mr. Tart stated that he felt the County Manager saw the needs for the County and that the updated amount of $75,000 would be sufficient for them to get started. He noted that if additional funding was needed then LASER would put in another request.

Commr. Campione stated that she also agreed with approving the original $100,000 amount requested by LASER because the Board had received many calls from residents and it was clear there was a current need that could not be serviced fully by the County. She noted that funding a non-profit organization that could handle resident needs, which could not otherwise be fulfilled by the County, was something that they were able to facilitate as an elected body. She added that she appreciated the hard work that LASER does on a regular basis and had done to that point.

Commr. Breeden stated that LASER had accomplished a lot of positive things in the community. She clarified that due to the current budget situation, and a difference in projected funding amounts that she had previously received, she felt it was prudent for the County Manager to review the original amount that had been requested at the previous meeting.

Mr. Tart commented that LASER was a good conduit in getting private donations that the residents needed and the work that LASER does was not found in other areas of the state. He stated that he appreciated the Board and their support.

Commr. Breeden noted that she had received some calls about private canals being blocked by downed trees and wondered if LASER had the resources to help those residents.

Mr. Tart responded that LASER did not have the specialized water equipment necessary for those situations but would be happy to try and help find a solution for those residents.

Mr. Perry commented that the Lake County Water Authority (LCWA) Board had only given authorization to work within the channels that connect the major chain of lakes and therefore they did not have authorization to work within a private, residential canal. He stated that could change due to the hurricane but ultimately it would be a private property owner’s responsibility. He pointed out that there were contractors working in the Dora Canal and the Apopka Beauclair Canal to clear the waterways to ensure there was nothing blocking the flow of the water.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the original request from LASER for $99,000, less the $10,000 already funded, for a total of $89,000 and reflected with updated reporting dates per the County Attorney.

debris removal: private and non-county maintained roads

Mr. Cole stated that at the Board meeting that took place on September 19, 2017, the Board approved Resolution 2017-113 to seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the removal of vegetative debris on non-county maintained and private roads. The resolution and letter had been provided to FEMA and a copy was also provided to the County’s Federal Lobbyists, Alcade & Fay, LTD., in Washington for their assistance. He explained that the guidance from FEMA was that local governments could proceed with removing the debris following the notification of interest in the reimbursement. He stated that since the County had provided FEMA with the request for reimbursement, he was requesting authorization to start removing the storm debris from non-county maintained and private roads.

Commr. Campione asked if there were FEMA monitors riding with staff in the county trucks during debris pickup.

Mr. Kristian Swenson, Facilities Management and Fleet Director, stated that reimbursements could be submitted by cubic yard or a force account method, which used County staff. He explained that the FEMA monitors were at some of the debris staging areas to give them a closer look at the debris hauls for cubic yard reimbursements; however, if residents brought the debris in then staff documented it for force accounting reimbursement.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Manager to authorize removal of vegetative debris related to Hurricane Irma from private and non-county maintained roads, and to authorize the County Manager to expend up to $500,000 on the removal.

county manager agreements: ongoing debris removal

Mr. Cole provided an update on the debris removal happening throughout the county. He noted that the County had an Emergency Removal Services Agreement in place at all times and when a storm, such as Hurricane Irma, came through the county, the agreement must be activated. He stated that the contract with Crowder Gulf had been activated and the process to bring in a contractor was tightly controlled by FEMA. He added there were requirements that had to be met in order to be eligible for up to 75 percent reimbursement from FEMA. He pointed out that costs had to be paid up front. He stated that immediately following Hurricane Irma, staff also activated a contract with a monitoring company, Tetra Tech. The requirements for the monitoring company were to follow and monitor all debris removal efforts and monitor where the debris was deposited. He commented that the monitor was also ensuring that the debris collected was eligible under FEMA guidelines. He remarked that it was a complex process that could slow down removal efforts. He outlined the debris removal process, stating that the monitors decided the debris pick up schedule and where the pickup started, which was typically the areas most affected by the storm. In the case of Hurricane Irma, the most affected area was the City of Umatilla due to the tornado. He commented that having adequate resources and labor to support rapid debris removal was a challenge faced by Crowder Gulf due to the large spread damage throughout the state. He noted that staff expected to have up to 27 debris hauler trucks out on the roads collecting debris by the end of that week. In addition, there had been a large amount of staff in the field from Public Works and other departments helping to collect debris as well as inmate crews loaned from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO.) He reported that there was 350,000 cubic yards of debris throughout the county, which would fill a football field approximately 175 feet high. It was also important to note that the County had agreements in place with four municipalities, in which the County was responsible for removing the debris in those areas and paying the cost up front as well. He stated that there were several staging areas throughout the county for the debris and he presented several photos depicting what had been collected and the equipment being used. He reported that staff was communicating updated pick up information to the public and he added that staff would begin sending each Commissioner a regular update on the removal efforts. He explained that it was difficult to pinpoint which area of the county the haulers would be from day to day because cleanup could take a longer or shorter amount of time depending on the type of debris. He stated that there would be numerous passes through the county to pick up the debris. He reported that at that time only 10 percent of the debris had been cleared, but after more of the county had been cleared of the debris, a toll free phone number would be given out to residents to help locate other areas in need. He asked for patience from the community because the cleanup would take some time. He explained that an invitation to bid had been put out into the marketplace for additional contractors and, while engaging additional contractors may not be needed, he wanted the ability to do so if there was a need. He requested approval from the Board to give authority to the County Manager to engage additional contractors if necessary to supplement the effort.

Commr. Breeden asked if a state contract was a possibility.

Mr. Swenson replied that the state roads had not been cleared of debris either but he was not able to answer definitively on state contracts. He noted that in the past FEMA had engaged the Army Corps of Engineers, who went through the affected areas and hired contractors; however, he was not aware of that currently happening in Florida.

Commr. Campione stated that she was glad to receive a daily status email so that she could relay that information to residents.

Commr. Parks asked if there could be a graphic depicting where the haulers had been in the county.

Mr. Cole replied that there was a map that showed the information and it would be uploaded to the website for visual reference. He added that he did not want residents to think they missed their opportunity for pickup if their area was highlighted on the map because there would be a second pass.

Commr. Blake asked if an estimated time frame for the cleanup could be given once the 27 trucks were out clearing debris.

Mr. Cole replied that he was hesitant to provide a time frame because of potential issues that could come up, such as fluctuating resources, and without clear knowledge as to the extent of time some of the cleanup could take.

Mr. Tommy Carpenter, Emergency Management Division Manager, reported that the Army Corps of Engineers was not available to the County as a resource.

Commr. Parks noted that he had received phone calls from residents looking for temporary work helping to clean up debris and wondered who they could contact.

Mr. Cole replied that those residents should be put in contact with the contractor because that was the quickest way to get them working.

Mr. Swenson confirmed that residents could also contact the Lake County Procurement Office because staff had reached out to vendors to obtain the correct contact information.

Commr. Breeden encouraged everyone to go online and read the press release done by the Communications Department because it contained a lot of good information.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Manager the ability to execute agreement(s) to supplement and expedite ongoing Hurricane Irma debris removal efforts.

reports – commissioner parks – district 2

HURRICANE MARIA IMPACTS

Commr. Parks commented that there could be the possibility of residents coming to Central Florida, who were dislocated from Puerto Rico and other islands affected by the recent hurricanes, and to think of ways the Board could support efforts to provide immediate relief.

reports – commissioner breeden – district 3

shirley shores

Commr. Breeden stated that she may be bringing a request before the Board during the meeting on October 10, 2017, to submit a letter to the City of Tavares regarding annexation of property for the Hidden River Lakes Subdivision in the Shirley Shores area.

Commr. Campione stated that it was a contiguous annexation and she felt that there were some issues the Board should be involved in. She suggested coordinating with the City to ensure that all services would be covered in an efficient way so that the development itself would be compatible with the Shirley Shores area.

reports - commissioner campione – district 4

lake sumter mpo executive meeting

Commr. Campione reported that the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) had their Executive Committee Meeting, and there would be a brief discussion at the next MPO meeting about how they would plan and coordinate for intersections and signalization in the future after a storm of the magnitude of Hurricane Irma.

reports - commissioner sullivan – chairman and district 1

emergency agenda item approval- Lake County Sheriff’s office

Commr. Sullivan stated that the Lake County Sheriff’s Office submitted a letter requesting emergency funding in the amount of $500,000 to fund Hurricane Irma related expenses and requested that the letter be added to the agenda as an emergency item due to Hurricane Irma related issues.

On a motion by Commr. Campione, seconded by Commr. Breeden and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the addition of the emergency agenda item from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

emergency item: lcso funding for hurricane irma expenses

Commr. Sullivan requested approval from the Board to fund a $500,000 request made by the Sheriff’s Office, from the FY 2016/2017 budget, for Hurricane Irma related expenses. He also requested authorization for the Chairman to submit a letter requesting that the Sheriff identify $500,000 in efficiencies and corresponding reductions, within the Sheriff’s FY 2017/2018 budget, and stating that the Board would be reducing the FY 2017/2018 by that same amount.

On a motion by Commr. Blake, seconded by Commr. Breeden and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the funding request made by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office for $500,000 and authorization for the Chairman to submit a letter regarding the impact of the funding on the Sheriff’s FY 2017/2018 budget.

emergency agenda item approval- mosquito control

Commr. Sullivan explained that there was a second item submitted as an emergency agenda item by the Environmental Services Department for mosquito control. He noted that all of the flooding from Hurricane Irma had led to conditions conducive to mosquitos.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Parks and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the addition of the emergency agenda item regarding mosquito control.

emergency item: mosquito control

Commr. Sullivan suggested exploring funding options for additional mosquito control; however, he thought that there needed to be immediate action to authorize the County Manager the ability to supplement the mosquito control budget up to $50,000 for additional mosquito control. He also requested approval for the Chairman to be able to authorize an additional amount, up to $50,000, if the first amount was not sufficient. He felt that this was a crucial time due to the flooding caused by Hurricane Irma.

Commr. Campione noted that the mosquitos had become a safety issue that needed to be addressed.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Blake and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the County Manager the ability to supplement up to $50,000 for mosquito control and for the Chairman to authorize an additional funding amount of up to $50,000 if necessary.

detention center improvements funding

Commr. Sullivan explained that prior to the storm he received a letter from the Sheriff requesting $196,140 to make improvements to the Lake County Detention Center. He explained that the Board was in the process of approving a sales tax project in the amount of $1.2 million, which would be allocated to the Sheriff as capital expenditures. He suggested that a letter be sent to the Sheriff recommending that the $196,140 dollars be funded from the $1.2 million in sales tax funding and he received a consensus from the Board to send the letter.

5:05 budget public hearing

presentation of Millage Rates

Mr. Cole reviewed that the Board had set a maximum millage rate in July 2017 and directed the County Manager to find efficiencies and opportunities to reduce expenses so the Board could consider a reduced millage rate. He explained that reductions to the proposed FY 2017/2018 budget were identified in the amount of $1,123,483, which led to a possible millage reduction being approved at the meeting scheduled for September 12, 2017; however, that meeting was postponed to September 19, 2017, due to Hurricane Irma. He reported that because of the costs related to the storm, which were still undetermined at that time, he requested that the millage stay at the status quo rate of 5.1180, which would provide $1.6 million in surplus reserves to help with some of the upfront costs from the storm. He added that staff would be working on reimbursements from FEMA but the budget would be presented with the status quo millage rate in place.

Ms. Jennifer Barker, Budget Manager, noted that it was the second of two public hearings for the Fiscal Year 2018 budget and she stated the purpose of the meeting was to adopt the final millage rates and the final budget for FY 2018. She explained that Chapters 129 and 200 of the Florida Statutes, which outlined the procedures for the annual adoption of tax rates and budgets, required that the tentative millage rates for the FY 2018, as well as any adjustments the Board may consider be presented before adoption of the final millage rates and final budget could take place. She added that the public hearing was advertised in the Daily Commercial on September 23, 2017, and the final rates and budget would be reflected within the corresponding resolutions. She reported that the proposed FY 2018 millage rates were 5.1180 for the Lake County General Fund Countywide Millage, which was 4.90 percent over the proposed 4.8789 Rollback Rate, 0.4629 for the Lake County Ambulance Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU,) which was 4.89 percent over the proposed 0.4413 Rollback Rate, 0.4957 for the Lake County Stormwater, Roads, and Parks MSTU, which was 4.47 percent over the proposed 0.4745 Rollback Rate; 0.4704 for the Lake County Fire Rescue Emergency Medical Services (EMS) MSTU, which was 4.46 percent over the proposed 0.4503 Rollback Rate, and 0.1524 for the Lake County Public Lands-Voted Debt, which was approved by a referendum.

Ms. Barker stated that there had been 19 budget workshops to date and the department budgets were kept at status quo to maintain the current levels of service, except in the areas outlined in the workshops. She noted that some of the mandated costs had increased and also commented that all of the operating millages would be kept at FY 2017 rates, including the Public Lands Voted Debt millage. She pointed out that the General Fund Reserves would remain at 7 to 12 percent of the operating budget to meet the Board’s policy. She stated that the final budget as presented addressed all of the Constitutional Officers’ requests and included the approved project list for the Infrastructure Sales Tax, the enhanced cybersecurity initiatives, increased funding for the new transit contract and employee performance based raises. The budget also included funding for the Hickory Point Beach Fieldhouse and Victory Pointe capital projects, the funding for the conversion of two Basic Life Support (BLS) fire stations to Advanced Life Support (ALS), the inclusion of vacant land as a land use in the fire assessment allocation and it incorporated savings from the efficiency analysis and the reorganization. She reviewed the staffing changes that would be taking place and noted that the proposed budget included a net increase of two new positions within the County.

The Chairman opened the public hearing.

Mr. Raymond Brown, a resident of Leesburg, expressed his concern over why the Board would be budgeting for an 8.86 percent increase when the current inflation rate was 1.9 percent. He pointed out that the newspaper advertisement for the public hearing noted that the property tax level was increasing from $104 million to $113 million, which equated to the 8.86 percent increase. He stated that the newspaper ad noted it was a proposed tax increase and that was what caused his concern.

Commr. Campione replied that the roll back rate would be the millage put in place to bring in the same amount of revenue as the previous year but the tax roll was what was increasing due to new construction happening throughout the county as well as properties being assessed at a higher property value. She noted that while the millages had been set to be rolled back, due to the storm damage, the Board thought it was best to keep the rates status quo to absorb some of the upfront cost through the surplus revenue. She pointed out there was also a reduction in revenue from other sources and the requirement to fund the Constitutional Officers’ budgets, which came in higher than the previous year, and those also affected the decision on the budget as well. She clarified that the difference that he was seeing was the tax value of the homes and properties.

Mr. Cole explained that there are very specific laws regarding how the Board had to advertise for public hearings and when there were millages being discussed that were considered a higher millage rate, in comparison to the roll back rate, it would be described as a “tax increase.” He added that the ad valorem made up a portion of the County’s budget and, based on the current millage rate, it would increase by nine percent, while the other revenue sources would be decreased by 2.6 percent, which equaled a four percent increase in overall revenue. There was also a corresponding increase in expenditures that were outside of the Board’s control, which included, for example, debt service payments, Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) payments, and the Constitutional Officers’ Budget. He stated for further clarity that if a resident’s property value stayed the same then his or her millage would stay the same.

Commr. Campione clarified that because the property values went up it had to be advertised as an increase.

There being no one else who wished to address the Board regarding this matter, the Chairman closed the public hearing.

Commr. Campione stated that she wanted to reiterate that had Hurricane Irma not caused so much damage there would have been a reduction to the rate, but she supported keeping the millage status quo to cover some of the contingencies and costs of cleanup. She commented that the Board could review any reimbursements received from the Federal Government for storm cleanup and apply them to a roll back rate for the following year.

Commr. Parks stated that he was in agreement because he felt that if the storm had not passed through Lake County, the Board would have been on track to reduce the rates. He opined that the Board was being as fiscally conservative as possible through the performance based pay raises and the efficiencies identified by the County Manager and staff. He added that he did not want the Board to be in a position of not being able to take care of residents’ needs due to Hurricane Irma if the funds were not available.

Mr. Cole remarked that the Board should not expect reimbursements from FEMA quickly because it took time for the reimbursements to materialize.

On a motion by Commr. Breeden, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board approved the Lake County Countywide Final Millage Rate Resolution 2017-123 of 5.1180 mills, the Lake County Municipal Services Taxing Unit for Ambulance and Emergency Medical Services Final Millage Rate Resolution 2017-124 of 0.4629 mills, the Lake County Municipal Services Taxing Unit for Stormwater Management, Parks and Roads Final Millage Rate Resolution 2017-125 of 0.4957 mills, Lake County Municipal Services Taxing Unit for Fire Rescue/Emergency Medical Services Final Millage Rate Resolution 2017-126 of 0.4704 mills, and the Lake County Voter Approved Debt Service Final Millage Rate Resolution 2017-127 of 0.1524 mills.

Commr. Blake voted no.

changes to the tentative fy 2018 budget

Ms. Barker reviewed the summary of changes to the FY 2018 budget that were approved in the first Budget Hearing and noted they included the updated purchase order (PO) carryforward balances, the reorganization savings, the additional funding for Lake and Sumter Emergency Response (LASER), and other minor administrative changes. She stated the requested action was approval to adopt these reductions into the FY 2018 tentative budget totaling $330,905.

On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Breeden and carried unanimously by a vote of 5-0, the Board approved the reductions to the FY 2018 tentative budget totaling $330,905.

fiscal year 2018 final budget

Ms. Barker requested the approval to adopt Final Budget Resolution 2017-128 for FY 2018 totaling $381,633,504.

Commr. Parks thanked staff for all of their hard work and thanked the County Manager for the efficiencies he was able to identify.

Commr. Breeden and Mr. Cole thanked Ms. Barker for all of her hard work as well since she had to step into the budget process in the middle.

On a motion by Commr. Parks, seconded by Commr. Campione and carried by a vote of 4-1, the Board approved the Final Budget Resolution 2017-128 for FY 2018 totaling $381,633,504.

Commr. Blake voted no.

ADJOURNMENT

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 5:49 p.m.

__________________________________

timothy i. sullivan, chairman

ATTEST:

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NEIL KELLY, CLERK