A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BUDGET WORKSHOP

JULY 14, 1995

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in special session on Friday, July 14, 1995, at 9:00 a.m., in the Board Meeting Room, Administration Building, Tavares, Florida. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Rhonda H. Gerber, Chairman; William "Bill" H. Good, Vice Chairman; Welton G. Cadwell; Catherine C. Hanson; and G. Richard Swartz, Jr. Staff members present were: Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, Finance, Audit & Budget Department; Sarah LaMarche, Director of Budget; Tracy Zeller, Senior Budget Analyst; Kevin McDonald, Senior Budget Analyst; Julia Wilson, Budget Assistant; Sue Whittle, Interim County Manager; Ava Kronz, BCC Office Manager; and Toni M. Riggs, Deputy Clerk.

COURTS

Court Reporter

Ms. Sue Whittle discussed the Courts budget with the Board. She stated that $160,000 had been budgeted for the Court Reporter next year.

After some discussion by the Board, the $160,000 was decreased to $145,000, with the additional $15,000 being placed back into the General Fund.

Circuit Judges

Ms. Sue Whittle discussed the enhanced budget for the Circuit Judges and stated that $15,000 had been budgeted for the purchase of six computer work stations. She noted that eight stations had just been purchased, and Lake County would be getting another Circuit Judge.

After some discussion by the Board, it was noted that no changes were to be made to the proposed budget.

Guardian Ad Litem

Mr. Kevin McDonald discussed the proposed budget for Guardian Ad Litem and explained that the majority of the $14,150 was rent.

After some discussion by the Board, Commr. Swartz requested that the terms of the lease be reviewed, and that a breakdown of the line items be brought back to the Board.

Conflict Attorneys

Mr. Kevin McDonald discussed the proposed budget for the Conflict Attorneys, which reflected an amount of $166,000.

After some discussion by the Board, Commr. Swartz requested that the budget be set aside for further consideration and suggested that $155,000 be the established amount for the proposed budget at this time.

Court Costs

Mr. Kevin McDonald discussed the proposed budget for Court Costs and presented the Board with year to date figures for consideration.

After some discussion by the Board, it was noted that the figure for the proposed budget would remain at $360,000.

PUBLIC DEFENDER

Mr. Skip Babb, Public Defender, introduced the following members of his staff: Mike Lupton, Office Manager; Barbara Noeker, Administrative Director; Lynn Williams, Paralegal; and Joy Morgan, Paralegal. Ms. Noeker presented the Board with copies of the following documents: "Did you know that the Lake County Court System is assessing additional costs to criminal defendants and making them pay for Public Defender services????"; and Budget Request, Public Defender's Office, Fifth Judicial Circuit, July 1995.

Mr. Babb noted that the enhanced budget for 1996 included $27,778 for Personal Services for a paralegal to alleviate some of the attorney work load. This position was partially funded in 1995, but it was not included in the recommended budget for 1996.

Discussion occurred regarding the services paid by criminal defendants, and Commr. Swartz questioned whether the County had any opportunity to add any fees on top of fees that the Public Defender was currently allowed to collect. He suggested that staff, as well as the County Attorney, look into this issue.

Mr. Babb reviewed his proposed budget, as well as documentation reflecting the statistics on caseload standards; 1995/96 Legislative Budget Request; Public Defender Appropriations Analysis FY 94-95/FY 84-85; Escambia County vs. Jack Behr, Creation of 27.54(2)(B); Public Defender/Fifth Circuit Effort to get the State of Florida to Fund our Agency Appropriately; and the Cost/Cost Savings. Mr. Babb noted that Lake County should have received 77 additional positions for the Fifth Circuit Public Defender's Office, pursuant to caseload statistics, but instead had only received two and one-half additional positions.

Discussion occurred regarding the Article V costs, and the lack of support being received from the Legislation regarding this issue.

Commr. Swartz made a motion, which was seconded by Commr. Hanson, to include in the County Manager's recommended budget the additional costs to provide for the paralegal in the Public Defender's Office, and to instruct the County Attorney's Office to review a possible recourse and best course of action in trying to recover these costs, not only here, but other costs perhaps in conflict cases from the State of Florida, and to include asking the Public Defender, from his side, as well as the County Attorney, to look at whether the County could statutorily increase some fees on top of what the Public Defender was collecting, to help offset some of these.

Under discussion, Commr. Cadwell explained that, if the fees got too high where the criminals could not pay them, the County would end up housing them, and it would start costing the County money, so the Board, as well as the Public Defender, needed to keep a realistic view of those fees.

The Chairman called for a vote on the motion, which was carried unanimously.

STATE ATTORNEY

Mr. Brad King, State Attorney, was present to discuss the proposed budget of the State Attorney's Office.

Commr. Swartz stated that, if there were line items which the State Attorney had not been spending, that could be identified, he suggested that Mr. King review them and advise the Board, in order for the Board to make adjustments to the General Fund.

Mr. King stated that he would have his Budget Director look historically at the accounts and come back to the Board, if further adjustments could be made. Mr. King explained that the State Attorney basically negotiated the Public Defender lien, and therefore, would review this item as well. Mr. King stated that the Article V costs have been reviewed by the judges, state attorneys, public defenders, and representatives and recommendations were going to be made to the Legislature.

Commr. Swartz directed Ms. Whittle to find out the location of the legislative hearings, and to inform the Board of the dates and times.

LAW LIBRARY

Ms. Faye Osebold, Law Librarian, was present to discuss the proposed budget for the Law Library.

It was noted that there were no changes to be made to the proposed budget.

NON-DEPARTMENTAL

It was noted that there were no changes to be made to the proposed budget.

PROPERTY APPRAISER

Ms. Sue Whittle addressed the proposed budget for the Property Appraiser and explained that Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, had budgeted $50,000 this year for the Scripps Howard cases, which have never been budgeted in his budget before. It had always been paid by the Board of County Commissioners. The major increase in the proposed budget was reflected in the salaries, in an approximate amount of $90,000.

Commr. Swartz requested that a historical data of court costs, where the Board had been paying the legal fees for the Property Appraiser, be presented to the Board for review.

RECESS & REASSEMBLY

At 10:33 a.m., the Chairman announced that the Board would recess until 1 p.m.

PROPERTY APPRAISER (Continued)

Discussion continued regarding the proposed budget received from the Property Appraiser's Office.

Commr. Swartz stated that, if $60,000 was eliminated from the 1995-96 request, it would reflect a 7.49% increase. He stated that the difference between the salaries, without the fringe benefits, in the 1994 budget and the 1995 budget was 9.6% at a time when the Board gave raises of approximately 3.5%, and the difference between the current year's budget and what was being requested in the salary line item in the 1996 budget was a 14.35% increase. If the total Personal Services were figured, the difference last year was 7.5% when the Board was at 3.5%, and the difference this year would be 10.3%.

Ms. Whittle discussed the number being reflected in the Board's budget, which was in the 8% range, as reported in the study done by David M. Griffith & Associates.

Discussion occurred regarding the history of raises since 1989-90, the salary studies that have been reported over the years, and action taken by the Board for pay increases since that time.

Commr. Swartz stated that the salary increases needed to be within the attempt the Board was trying to make to have no tax increase, but it would not happen if the Board had to budget $50,000 and the additional increases, as reflected in the Property Appraiser's proposed budget.

It was noted that the Board had requested the Clerk to go back and review his proposed budget again, and that the Board would make the same respectful request of the Property Appraiser.

SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

It was noted that the following staff members were present from the Sheriff's Department: Claude Gnann; Gary Borders; Kevin Drinan; Jimmy Horner; Larry Chester; Fred Johnson; Chris Daniels; John Burrow; Steve Corbett; David Hall; and Linda Carter.

Sheriff George E. Knupp, Jr. addressed the Board and explained that the Sheriff's budget was approximately $10 million. Sheriff Knupp stated that the jail budget was not 100% the Sheriff's budget. He stated that the jail, by Florida Statute, belonged to the Board of County Commissioners, and he was running the jail for the Board. Sheriff Knupp stated that, in the past six years, he had not raised Capital Outlay. Last year, he budgeted for 18 new automobiles at $13,500 each, but ended up paying $17,100 for each of them, and because he saved and cut back in the past, this year he needed to add to the fleet by taking some of the cars with 200,000 miles on them off of the street.

Discussion occurred regarding the South Lake Development order, which allocated $129,701 to the Sheriff over a four year period, which was very minimum compared to the amount allocated to the Board, and to the fire department.

Sheriff Knupp addressed Item 2, Page 3, Analysis of Sheriff's Expenditures, General Fund, Fiscal Years 1988-1996, and explained that the information was reflecting the Sheriff's budget at $10,415,420 for 1994/95 when it was actually $9,787,579; and $11,329,149 for 1995/96 when it was actually $10,651,692, which included the new positions he was requesting this year. He noted that the money that was returned to the Board had not been subtracted from those funds. Sheriff Knupp stated that he gave back approximately $1.5 million last year.

After some discussion with staff, it was noted that the main difference between the two numbers were the costs that the County paid directly for leases, etc., which were reflected on Item 2, Pages 5,6.

Sheriff Knupp explained that the leases, etc. should not be a part of the Sheriff's budget. By Florida Statute, the Board had to provide physical plant and utilities, which should be a part of the Board's budget and not the Sheriff's budget. He further noted that $27,477 for matching grants should not be in his budget; $14,000 for DUI equipment should come from the Courts Services, not his budget; and the Law Enforcement Trust Fund should not be in his budget even though it was money seized by the Sheriff's Department.

After further discussion, staff was directed to look at this year's budget for the Sheriff, pull those items out of the budget that were the types of things addressed by the Sheriff, go back to last year's budget, and several other years, and do the same thing, so that a comparison could be made. It was also noted that the Personal Services under Corrections needed to be adjusted to reflect the correct figures established by the Sheriff's Department, with the decreased amount being placed in Contingency Reserve for the Department.

Discussion occurred regarding the revenue received by the Sheriff's Office for traffic fines, with it being noted that this information would be formulated by staff.

The Board received a document entitled the "Lake County Sheriff's Office Staff Study Manpower Projection 2005", which was a five and ten year plan prepared by the Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Knupp stated that the study took into consideration population, ratios, and work load, and it was determined that the Sheriff's Office needed ten people based on the work load in the County. He noted that the Sheriff's Department answered telephones and dispatched for five police stations in the County other than for the Sheriff's Department, and it assisted Astatula and Montverde.

Sheriff Knupp and staff informed the Board that the funds for the DARE program were depleted, and they explained why the Sheriff's Office was being disqualified from the grant. Sheriff Knupp stated that he had funded two officers for three years out of Law Enforcement Trust Fund, and two would be funded this year from the same fund. He stated that the County would have to fund two officers, if the DARE program was to continue in the schools. It was noted that the Sheriff's Department paid $101,440 for the two officers from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, and the County would pay $88,631 from the General Fund.

Sheriff Knupp stated that the study he presented was done by in-house staff and reflected that 21 deputies would be sufficient to bring the services up to where they needed to be, but looking at reality and the economic situation of Lake County and the nation, the Sheriff's Office could only make a request for ten deputies. He explained that seven would be assigned to road patrol; one to the agricultural unit; one to the marine unit; and one to be a pilot and mechanic. The Sheriff discussed the salaries being paid to the Board employees as compared to what his officers were being paid. Sheriff Knupp stated that discussion had occurred regarding a graduated program and that he had agreed to take five officers on October 1, 1995, and five officers in April, 1996. The Sheriff then discussed the number of vehicles being requested, as compared to what the Department had spent to refurbish vehicles. He explained that the radio system was paid off and $41,513 was moved to the automotive area of the budget.

Discussion occurred regarding the jail, with Sheriff Knupp explaining that it could house an additional 64 Federal inmates, with the Federal government willing to pay approximately $1.5 million.

Commr. Cadwell discussed the idea of using the additional revenue from the Federal inmates to graduate the deputies and vehicles into the Sheriff's Department.

Commr. Hanson discussed the number of calls for service in Lake County as compared to other counties.

Commr. Swartz explained that this Board, earlier in the year, had set its goal of not having a tax increase. In order to not have the increase, the Board instructed the Interim County Manager to insure that all of the Board departments, under which the Board had direct control, bring in a base line budget that would not be an increase that would demand more tax dollars than were available without a tax increase. Then there was an enhanced budget developed, because there had been requests from some of the Board departments and other agencies, so that the Board could see what an enhanced budget would reflect. The Board essentially had asked for the same thing from the Constitutional Officers, in an attempt, to once again try to avoid having a tax increase. Commr. Swartz stated that there would be no way to avoid, not only a tax increase, but one that would be an increase in the millage, if it was to fund the budgets before the Board from all of the Constitutional Officers. He requested that the Sheriff, as well as all of the other Constitutional Officers, look at his budget again, in order to help the Board avoid a tax increase, because he would not be voting for one. At this time, Commr. Swartz reviewed action taken by the Board over the last several years regarding the Sheriff's budget.

Sheriff Knupp reviewed his budget line items with the Board and presented an explanation of each.

Commr. Swartz requested staff to make a note to review the funding for the X-ray scanner for the front lobby of the jail, and to remove it from the Sheriff's budget at this time.

Sheriff Knupp explained that the Prelude had been closed, because it was manpower intense, and the officers were placed in the jail. Now he was requesting eight Correctional Officers, where it would normally take 15, to open the facility (a Pod).

Commr. Swartz requested that the Sheriff provide the Board with a schematic design of the jail, as well as the number of inmates, their classification, the number of Correctional Officers needed, etc., so that an overall review could be made of the jail.

COMMISSIONERS

At 3 p.m., Commr. Gerber had to leave the meeting, and the Chairmanship was turned over to Commr. Good.

SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT (Continued)

Mr. Gary Borders addressed the Board and stated that, when the Board approved the Sheriff's budget in 1992/93 with the total authorization for 226 positions, it was to oversee 576 beds. Since then a weekend work program has been started, which takes up two officers; a road crew program has been started during the week which takes up one officer; the Clermont sub-station has been opened and takes up eight officers; and in the last two weeks, an additional 64 bed female Pod has been opened and staffed, and now there were 638 beds. All of this has been accomplished with the existing staff approved in 1992/93. He noted that the U.S. Marshall wanted to lease one-half of the Pod, which would be 64 beds, at a $52 per diem rate, which would be approximately $1.2 million a year, if it was kept full.

After further discussion, it was noted that Mr. Borders would provide the Board with monthly inmate statistics.

Discussion occurred regarding the possible conversion that could be made to the Pods, in terms of security and costs.

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

RHONDA H. GERBER, CHAIRMAN

ATTEST:





JAMES C. WATKINS, CLERK

TMR\BOARDMIN\7-14-95\8-3-95

A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

BUDGET WORKSHOP

JULY 14, 1995

The Lake County Board of County Commissioners met in special session on Friday, July 14, 1995, at 9:00 a.m., in the Board Meeting Room, Administration Building, Tavares, Florida. Commissioners present at the meeting were: Rhonda H. Gerber, Chairman; William "Bill" H. Good, Vice Chairman; Welton G. Cadwell; Catherine C. Hanson; and G. Richard Swartz, Jr. Staff members present were: Barbara Lehman, Chief Deputy Clerk, Finance, Audit & Budget Department; Sarah LaMarche, Director of Budget; Tracy Zeller, Senior Budget Analyst; Kevin McDonald, Senior Budget Analyst; Julia Wilson, Budget Assistant; Sue Whittle, Interim County Manager; Ava Kronz, BCC Office Manager; and Toni M. Riggs, Deputy Clerk.

COURTS

Court Reporter

Ms. Sue Whittle discussed the Courts budget with the Board. She stated that $160,000 had been budgeted for the Court Reporter next year.

After some discussion by the Board, the $160,000 was decreased to $145,000, with the additional $15,000 being placed back into the General Fund.

Circuit Judges

Ms. Sue Whittle discussed the enhanced budget for the Circuit Judges and stated that $15,000 had been budgeted for the purchase of six computer work stations. She noted that eight stations had just been purchased, and Lake County would be getting another Circuit Judge.

After some discussion by the Board, it was noted that no changes were to be made to the proposed budget.

Guardian Ad Litem

Mr. Kevin McDonald discussed the proposed budget for Guardian Ad Litem and explained that the majority of the $14,150 was rent.

After some discussion by the Board, Commr. Swartz requested that the terms of the lease be reviewed, and that a breakdown of the line items be brought back to the Board.

Conflict Attorneys

Mr. Kevin McDonald discussed the proposed budget for the Conflict Attorneys, which reflected an amount of $166,000.

After some discussion by the Board, Commr. Swartz requested that the budget be set aside for further consideration and suggested that $155,000 be the established amount for the proposed budget at this time.

Court Costs

Mr. Kevin McDonald discussed the proposed budget for Court Costs and presented the Board with year to date figures for consideration.

After some discussion by the Board, it was noted that the figure for the proposed budget would remain at $360,000.

PUBLIC DEFENDER

Mr. Skip Babb, Public Defender, introduced the following members of his staff: Mike Lupton, Office Manager; Barbara Noeker, Administrative Director; Lynn Williams, Paralegal; and Joy Morgan, Paralegal. Ms. Noeker presented the Board with copies of the following documents: "Did you know that the Lake County Court System is assessing additional costs to criminal defendants and making them pay for Public Defender services????"; and Budget Request, Public Defender's Office, Fifth Judicial Circuit, July 1995.

Mr. Babb noted that the enhanced budget for 1996 included $27,778 for Personal Services for a paralegal to alleviate some of the attorney work load. This position was partially funded in 1995, but it was not included in the recommended budget for 1996.

Discussion occurred regarding the services paid by criminal defendants, and Commr. Swartz questioned whether the County had any opportunity to add any fees on top of fees that the Public Defender was currently allowed to collect. He suggested that staff, as well as the County Attorney, look into this issue.

Mr. Babb reviewed his proposed budget, as well as documentation reflecting the statistics on caseload standards; 1995/96 Legislative Budget Request; Public Defender Appropriations Analysis FY 94-95/FY 84-85; Escambia County vs. Jack Behr, Creation of 27.54(2)(B); Public Defender/Fifth Circuit Effort to get the State of Florida to Fund our Agency Appropriately; and the Cost/Cost Savings. Mr. Babb noted that Lake County should have received 77 additional positions for the Fifth Circuit Public Defender's Office, pursuant to caseload statistics, but instead had only received two and one-half additional positions.

Discussion occurred regarding the Article V costs, and the lack of support being received from the Legislation regarding this issue.

Commr. Swartz made a motion, which was seconded by Commr. Hanson, to include in the County Manager's recommended budget the additional costs to provide for the paralegal in the Public Defender's Office, and to instruct the County Attorney's Office to review a possible recourse and best course of action in trying to recover these costs, not only here, but other costs perhaps in conflict cases from the State of Florida, and to include asking the Public Defender, from his side, as well as the County Attorney, to look at whether the County could statutorily increase some fees on top of what the Public Defender was collecting, to help offset some of these.

Under discussion, Commr. Cadwell explained that, if the fees got too high where the criminals could not pay them, the County would end up housing them, and it would start costing the County money, so the Board, as well as the Public Defender, needed to keep a realistic view of those fees.

The Chairman called for a vote on the motion, which was carried unanimously.

STATE ATTORNEY

Mr. Brad King, State Attorney, was present to discuss the proposed budget of the State Attorney's Office.

Commr. Swartz stated that, if there were line items which the State Attorney had not been spending, that could be identified, he suggested that Mr. King review them and advise the Board, in order for the Board to make adjustments to the General Fund.

Mr. King stated that he would have his Budget Director look historically at the accounts and come back to the Board, if further adjustments could be made. Mr. King explained that the State Attorney basically negotiated the Public Defender lien, and therefore, would review this item as well. Mr. King stated that the Article V costs have been reviewed by the judges, state attorneys, public defenders, and representatives and recommendations were going to be made to the Legislature.

Commr. Swartz directed Ms. Whittle to find out the location of the legislative hearings, and to inform the Board of the dates and times.

LAW LIBRARY

Ms. Faye Osebold, Law Librarian, was present to discuss the proposed budget for the Law Library.

It was noted that there were no changes to be made to the proposed budget.

NON-DEPARTMENTAL

It was noted that there were no changes to be made to the proposed budget.

PROPERTY APPRAISER

Ms. Sue Whittle addressed the proposed budget for the Property Appraiser and explained that Mr. Ed Havill, Property Appraiser, had budgeted $50,000 this year for the Scripps Howard cases, which have never been budgeted in his budget before. It had always been paid by the Board of County Commissioners. The major increase in the proposed budget was reflected in the salaries, in an approximate amount of $90,000.

Commr. Swartz requested that a historical data of court costs, where the Board had been paying the legal fees for the Property Appraiser, be presented to the Board for review.

RECESS & REASSEMBLY

At 10:33 a.m., the Chairman announced that the Board would recess until 1 p.m.

PROPERTY APPRAISER (Continued)

Discussion continued regarding the proposed budget received from the Property Appraiser's Office.

Commr. Swartz stated that, if $60,000 was eliminated from the 1995-96 request, it would reflect a 7.49% increase. He stated that the difference between the salaries, without the fringe benefits, in the 1994 budget and the 1995 budget was 9.6% at a time when the Board gave raises of approximately 3.5%, and the difference between the current year's budget and what was being requested in the salary line item in the 1996 budget was a 14.35% increase. If the total Personal Services were figured, the difference last year was 7.5% when the Board was at 3.5%, and the difference this year would be 10.3%.

Ms. Whittle discussed the number being reflected in the Board's budget, which was in the 8% range, as reported in the study done by David M. Griffith & Associates.

Discussion occurred regarding the history of raises since 1989-90, the salary studies that have been reported over the years, and action taken by the Board for pay increases since that time.

Commr. Swartz stated that the salary increases needed to be within the attempt the Board was trying to make to have no tax increase, but it would not happen if the Board had to budget $50,000 and the additional increases, as reflected in the Property Appraiser's proposed budget.

It was noted that the Board had requested the Clerk to go back and review his proposed budget again, and that the Board would make the same respectful request of the Property Appraiser.

SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT

It was noted that the following staff members were present from the Sheriff's Department: Claude Gnann; Gary Borders; Kevin Drinan; Jimmy Horner; Larry Chester; Fred Johnson; Chris Daniels; John Burrow; Steve Corbett; David Hall; and Linda Carter.

Sheriff George E. Knupp, Jr. addressed the Board and explained that the Sheriff's budget was approximately $10 million. Sheriff Knupp stated that the jail budget was not 100% the Sheriff's budget. He stated that the jail, by Florida Statute, belonged to the Board of County Commissioners, and he was running the jail for the Board. Sheriff Knupp stated that, in the past six years, he had not raised Capital Outlay. Last year, he budgeted for 18 new automobiles at $13,500 each, but ended up paying $17,100 for each of them, and because he saved and cut back in the past, this year he needed to add to the fleet by taking some of the cars with 200,000 miles on them off of the street.

Discussion occurred regarding the South Lake Development order, which allocated $129,701 to the Sheriff over a four year period, which was very minimum compared to the amount allocated to the Board, and to the fire department.

Sheriff Knupp addressed Item 2, Page 3, Analysis of Sheriff's Expenditures, General Fund, Fiscal Years 1988-1996, and explained that the information was reflecting the Sheriff's budget at $10,415,420 for 1994/95 when it was actually $9,787,579; and $11,329,149 for 1995/96 when it was actually $10,651,692, which included the new positions he was requesting this year. He noted that the money that was returned to the Board had not been subtracted from those funds. Sheriff Knupp stated that he gave back approximately $1.5 million last year.

After some discussion with staff, it was noted that the main difference between the two numbers were the costs that the County paid directly for leases, etc., which were reflected on Item 2, Pages 5,6.

Sheriff Knupp explained that the leases, etc. should not be a part of the Sheriff's budget. By Florida Statute, the Board had to provide physical plant and utilities, which should be a part of the Board's budget and not the Sheriff's budget. He further noted that $27,477 for matching grants should not be in his budget; $14,000 for DUI equipment should come from the Courts Services, not his budget; and the Law Enforcement Trust Fund should not be in his budget even though it was money seized by the Sheriff's Department.

After further discussion, staff was directed to look at this year's budget for the Sheriff, pull those items out of the budget that were the types of things addressed by the Sheriff, go back to last year's budget, and several other years, and do the same thing, so that a comparison could be made. It was also noted that the Personal Services under Corrections needed to be adjusted to reflect the correct figures established by the Sheriff's Department, with the decreased amount being placed in Contingency Reserve for the Department.

Discussion occurred regarding the revenue received by the Sheriff's Office for traffic fines, with it being noted that this information would be formulated by staff.

The Board received a document entitled the "Lake County Sheriff's Office Staff Study Manpower Projection 2005", which was a five and ten year plan prepared by the Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Knupp stated that the study took into consideration population, ratios, and work load, and it was determined that the Sheriff's Office needed ten people based on the work load in the County. He noted that the Sheriff's Department answered telephones and dispatched for five police stations in the County other than for the Sheriff's Department, and it assisted Astatula and Montverde.

Sheriff Knupp and staff informed the Board that the funds for the DARE program were depleted, and they explained why the Sheriff's Office was being disqualified from the grant. Sheriff Knupp stated that he had funded two officers for three years out of Law Enforcement Trust Fund, and two would be funded this year from the same fund. He stated that the County would have to fund two officers, if the DARE program was to continue in the schools. It was noted that the Sheriff's Department paid $101,440 for the two officers from the Law Enforcement Trust Fund, and the County would pay $88,631 from the General Fund.

Sheriff Knupp stated that the study he presented was done by in-house staff and reflected that 21 deputies would be sufficient to bring the services up to where they needed to be, but looking at reality and the economic situation of Lake County and the nation, the Sheriff's Office could only make a request for ten deputies. He explained that seven would be assigned to road patrol; one to the agricultural unit; one to the marine unit; and one to be a pilot and mechanic. The Sheriff discussed the salaries being paid to the Board employees as compared to what his officers were being paid. Sheriff Knupp stated that discussion had occurred regarding a graduated program and that he had agreed to take five officers on October 1, 1995, and five officers in April, 1996. The Sheriff then discussed the number of vehicles being requested, as compared to what the Department had spent to refurbish vehicles. He explained that the radio system was paid off and $41,513 was moved to the automotive area of the budget.

Discussion occurred regarding the jail, with Sheriff Knupp explaining that it could house an additional 64 Federal inmates, with the Federal government willing to pay approximately $1.5 million.

Commr. Cadwell discussed the idea of using the additional revenue from the Federal inmates to graduate the deputies and vehicles into the Sheriff's Department.

Commr. Hanson discussed the number of calls for service in Lake County as compared to other counties.

Commr. Swartz explained that this Board, earlier in the year, had set its goal of not having a tax increase. In order to not have the increase, the Board instructed the Interim County Manager to insure that all of the Board departments, under which the Board had direct control, bring in a base line budget that would not be an increase that would demand more tax dollars than were available without a tax increase. Then there was an enhanced budget developed, because there had been requests from some of the Board departments and other agencies, so that the Board could see what an enhanced budget would reflect. The Board essentially had asked for the same thing from the Constitutional Officers, in an attempt, to once again try to avoid having a tax increase. Commr. Swartz stated that there would be no way to avoid, not only a tax increase, but one that would be an increase in the millage, if it was to fund the budgets before the Board from all of the Constitutional Officers. He requested that the Sheriff, as well as all of the other Constitutional Officers, look at his budget again, in order to help the Board avoid a tax increase, because he would not be voting for one. At this time, Commr. Swartz reviewed action taken by the Board over the last several years regarding the Sheriff's budget.

Sheriff Knupp reviewed his budget line items with the Board and presented an explanation of each.

Commr. Swartz requested staff to make a note to review the funding for the X-ray scanner for the front lobby of the jail, and to remove it from the Sheriff's budget at this time.

Sheriff Knupp explained that the Prelude had been closed, because it was manpower intense, and the officers were placed in the jail. Now he was requesting eight Correctional Officers, where it would normally take 15, to open the facility (a Pod).

Commr. Swartz requested that the Sheriff provide the Board with a schematic design of the jail, as well as the number of inmates, their classification, the number of Correctional Officers needed, etc., so that an overall review could be made of the jail.

COMMISSIONERS

At 3 p.m., Commr. Gerber had to leave the meeting, and the Chairmanship was turned over to Commr. Good.

SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT (Continued)

Mr. Gary Borders addressed the Board and stated that, when the Board approved the Sheriff's budget in 1992/93 with the total authorization for 226 positions, it was to oversee 576 beds. Since then a weekend work program has been started, which takes up two officers; a road crew program has been started during the week which takes up one officer; the Clermont sub-station has been opened and takes up eight officers; and in the last two weeks, an additional 64 bed female Pod has been opened and staffed, and now there were 638 beds. All of this has been accomplished with the existing staff approved in 1992/93. He noted that the U.S. Marshall wanted to lease one-half of the Pod, which would be 64 beds, at a $52 per diem rate, which would be approximately $1.2 million a year, if it was kept full.

After further discussion, it was noted that Mr. Borders would provide the Board with monthly inmate statistics.

Discussion occurred regarding the possible conversion that could be made to the Pods, in terms of security and costs.

There being no further business to be brought to the attention of the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 3:25 p.m.

RHONDA H. GERBER, CHAIRMAN

ATTEST:





JAMES C. WATKINS, CLERK

TMR\BOARDMIN\7-14-95\8-3-95