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07/13/1995 Special 95/192 MINUTES OF THE MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMKISSIONERS Special Meeting Board of County Commissioners Thursday, July 13, 1995 Marathon A Special Meeting of the Monroe county Board of County Commissioners convened at 9 a.m., on the above date, at the Marathon Government Center. Present and answering to roll call were Commissioners Keith Douglass, Jack London, Mary Kay Reich and Mayor Shirley Freeman. Also present were Danny L. Kolhage, Clerk; Ruth Ann Jantzen, Deputy Clerk; James Hendrick, county Attorney; James Roberts, County Administrator; county Staff, members of the Press and Radio; and the general public. Commissioner Harvey was absent. All stood for the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance. ADDITIONS, CORRECTIONS, DELETIONS There were no Additions, Corrections and Deletions to the Agenda. COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR County Administrator James Roberts addressed the Board and presented an Executive Summary of the proposed fiscal year 1996 tentative budget. commissioner Harvey entered the meeting. Motion was made by Commissioner Harvey and seconded by Commissioner Reich not to collect taxes for the Upper Keys Trauma District in fiscal year 1996. Roll call vote was unanimous. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Reich to accept the recommendations of the County Administrator as outlined in his Executive Summary, for a savings of $1,442,000.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. Said report is attached hereto and made a part hereof. (Attachment 1.) Alice skinger addressed the Board regarding the proposed tentative budget and county taxes. County Administrator presented his report Budaet options to the Board. Said report is attached hereto and made a part hereof. (Attachment 2.) 95/193 PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION J. Kelly Bloomer, CEO/Director of Keys Microcable addressed the Board regarding the Translator System and offered to work with the County to convert the current tax supported translator system into a taxpaying enterprise, and at the same time provide improved service to the people; lease the County property, namely the towers; lease the translator licenses, and implement and improve the pictures; improve and upgrade the entire system; expand the translator system into a thirty plus channel wireless cable system. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Reich directing the County Administrator to investigate the feasibility of the proposed offer with consideration for the low income problem, and report back to the Board as soon as possible with a recommendation to proceed with Keys Microcable or a Request for Proposals. Roll call vote was unanimous. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Mayor Freeman to eliminate $250,000.00 from ad valorem taxes presently used for the translator system. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey No Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich No Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION James Timony, Deputy Director of Veteran's Affairs, addressed the Board. Board deferred decision to eliminate one transportation position. Board deferred decision to eliminate Channel 16 and three positions from Information systems. Board deferred decision to eliminate two positions in the Management and Budget Grants Department. Motion was made by Mayor Freeman and seconded by Commissioner London to eliminate one OMB position for a savings of $33,600.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Reich to eliminate the Public Information Office, including one position, for a savings of $67,500.00. Commissioner Harvey made a motion to postpone the motion to eliminate the Public Information Office. Motion died for lack of a second. 95/194 Roll call vote was taken on the original motion to eliminate the Public Information Office with the following results: commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey No Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. Motion was made by Mayor Freeman and seconded by Commissioner London not to fill the position of Employee Benefits Coordinator for a period of 1/2 year which covers both group insurance and workers compensation, for a savings of $26,000.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Reich to eliminate the Safety Department, including two positions, for a savings of $104,600.00. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: commissioner Douglass No Commissioner Harvey No Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. COMKUNITY SERVICES DIVISION Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate one Office Assistant in Welfare Administration for a savings of $27,700.00. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Commissioner Douglass and seconded by Mayor Freeman to eliminate one On Call Library Assistant at a savings of $11,200.00, and eliminate the position of Automated Systems Manager planned to do automation in FY 1997, at a savings of $44,100.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. Motion was made by Commissioner Douglass and seconded by Commissioner London to eliminate the capital outlay for automation for a savings of $100,000.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate one Bookmobile for a savings of $43,900.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. 95/195 Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate 25% of library material purchases at all branches except Big pine Key, for a savings of $33,900.00. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: Commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey No Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate three positions not contracted in Extension Services, for a savings of $77,000.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. Motion was made by Commissioner Reich and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate two Code Enforcement Inspectors, for a savings of $80,000.00. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey Yes Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman No Motion carried. Board discussed Bayshore Manor and instructed the County Administrator to investigate other possibilities to increase revenue for Bayshore Manor. No action was taken. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Reich to reduce the Health Care Responsibility Act fund in the amount of $100,000.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. GROWTH MANAGEMENT DIVISION Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate one Office Assistant position in the Building Department, for a savings of $30,000.00; and eliminate one Staff Assistant I position in the Planning Department, for a savings of $30,600.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. H. T. Pont in addressed the Board regarding eliminating the Marine Resources Department. Board deferred action to eliminate the Marine Resources Department including two positions. 95/196 Motion was made by Commissioner Douglass and seconded by Commissioner London to eliminate the Geographic Information Systems Program (GIS) including two positions, for a savings of $212,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Commissioner Harvey and seconded by Mayor Freeman to eliminate one position in the Building Department Office on stock Island and retain one position. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey Yes Commissioner London No Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. PUBLIC SAFETY DIVISION Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Harvey to eliminate the Emergency Medical Air Transport, for a savings of $50,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. Board deferred decision to reduce grant matches in the Public Safety Division in the amount of $80,000.00. Motion was made by Commissioner Douglass and seconded by Mayor Freeman to eliminate funding for the Key West Emergency Operations Center, for a savings of $17,000.00. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey No Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. PUBLIC WORKS DIVISION Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by commissioner Douglass to eliminate a second proposed position for the Big pine Animal Shelter, for a savings of $28,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate one half of the funding for the Historic Keys Preservation Board for a savings of $4,275.00. Motion carried unanimously. 95/197 Motion was made by Commissioner London to budget $12,500.00 for each of the four Youth Clubs, for a total amount of $50,000.00. Motion died for lack of a second. Funding for the Youth Clubs was then deferred. Motion was made by Commissioner Douglass and seconded by Commissioner Reich to eliminate some facilities capital purchases under the Public Works Division, for a savings of $9,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Commissioner Douglass and seconded by Commissioner London to eliminate the proposed unincorporated parks and beaches at Wilkinson Point and contingency, for a savings of $230,000.00. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey Yes Commissioner London Yes commissioner Reich No Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. Motion was made by Commissioner Douglass and seconded by Commissioner Reich to eliminate a truck purchase in Public Works Division, for a savings of $55,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Commissioner Reich and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate improvements to West Martello Museum, for a savings of $150,000.00. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey No Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. OTHER CATEGORIES Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to reduce the entire budget of non-mandated Human Services Grants by 20 per cent, and refer back to the Human Services Board to re-allocate the funds. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: 95/198 commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey No Commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman Yes Motion carried. commissioner Harvey announced that she would personally donate $100,000.00 to be used in support of the non-mandated Human Services grants (non-profit organizations) on the condition that the funds be matched by the same amount by the Board. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to eliminate Unincorporated School Recreation Program, for a savings of $55,000.00; and eliminate the Summer School Recreation Program, for a savings of $42,750.00. Roll call vote was unanimous. The Board requested the County Administrator send a letter to the School Board informing them of the Board's action and requesting they fund these programs. Motion was made by Commissioner Reich and seconded by Commissioner London to eliminate part of the grant local match for a savings of $200,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Reich to eliminate Board of County commissioners budget adjustments for a savings of $80,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. Motion was made by Mayor Freeman and seconded by Commissioner Reich directing the County Administrator to review the ad valorem portion of the budget and return to the Board with recommendations for an additional $2,000,000.00 in savings. Roll call vote was unanimous. county Attorney James Hendrick addressed the Board and discussed the County Attorney Department's proposed tentative budget for fiscal year 1995/96. Motion was made by Commissioner Reich and seconded by Commissioner London to reconsider the motion requesting the County Administrator make recommendations for an additional $2,000,000.00 in savings. After discussion, the motion and second were withdrawn. Danny Kolhage, Clerk of the Circuit Court, addressed the Board. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Reich to cancel the next morning's budget session (June 14, 1995) and to reconvene at 1:30 p.m. on June 14, 1995 to allow the County Administrator time to fulfill the Board's request. Motion carried unanimously. 95/199 ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT DIVISION Barry Boldissar, Director of Environmental Management, discussed the Environmental Management Department's proposed tentative budget for Fiscal Year 1995/96. No action was taken. Loraine Casella addressed the Board. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Douglass directing the County Administrator to draft a letter for the Mayor's signature to the Florida Department of Transportation district office informing them of the lack of maintenance of the facilities on Toms Harbor Bridge, with copies to state Representative Debbie Horan and state Senator Daryl Jones, and a copy to Mrs. Casella. Motion carried unanimously. TOURIST DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Lynda Stuart, Office Manager for the Tourist Development council, discussed the Tourist Development Council's proposed tentative budget for Fiscal Year 1995/96. No action was taken. MEDICAL EXAMINER Dr. Robert Nelms, Medical Examiner, discussed the Medical Examiner's proposed tentative budget for fiscal year 1995/96. Motion was made by Commissioner London and seconded by Commissioner Harvey to approve the Medical Examiner's budget in the amount of $305,686. Motion carried unanimously. HEALTH DEPARTMENT Stephanie Walters, Administrator of the Monroe County Health unit, discussed the Health Department's proposed tentative budget for fiscal year 1995/96. Motion was made by Commissioner Harvey and seconded by Commissioner Douglass to approve the Health Department's level funding budget in the amount of $281,000.00. Motion carried unanimously. FINE ARTS COUNCIL Motion was made by Commissioner Reich and seconded by Commissioner London that no funding be allocated for the Arts Council. Roll call vote was taken with the following results: Commissioner Douglass Yes Commissioner Harvey No commissioner London Yes Commissioner Reich Yes Mayor Freeman No Motion carried. 95/200 There being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. Clerk to the Board of County Commissioners of Monroe county ~~H<11l Deputy Cle PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 1996 TENTATIVE Bl!DGET PRESE~TEO to the MONROE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS and the CITIZENS OF MONROE COUNTY .July, 1995 EXECllTIVE SllMMARY I NTRODl1CTION The County Administrator and Staff are pleased to present to the Board of County Commissioners and the citizens of Monroe County the Proposed Tentative Budget for the comin~ fisral year. This budget indudes not only the results of the efforts of people throughout the County Administration, but also simil:u efforts by the Constitutional Officers. It is understood by all, including the Board of County Commissioners, that this is not intl'nded to be a final budget document. That will be arrived at after public hearings and further consideration by the Board. This is, in effect, a plateau in the development of that final budget. It is intended to be the major vehicle through which the service and facility needs of the citizens can be addressed. The Boal'd of County Commissioners and Staff will work, between the presenhltion of this tentative budget and final adoption in September, to find the balance between needs and resources. Preparation of this year's preliminal)' budget very clearly indicates that Monroe County is entering a period of NEW REA LlTY. It is no longer prudent to accept the traditional ways of hud~etin~. IT IS NOW NECESSARY FOR MONROE COUNTY TO BEGIN A LONG RANGE PROGRAM OF BUDGET PLANNING AND POLICY DEVELOPMENT WHICH CAN GUIDE THE FINANCES OF THE COUNTY INTO THE FUTURE. The lack of such a coordinated approach and the attempts over the years to deal with budget and fiscal issues 011 an issue by issue basis and the lIeed to respond precipitously to the exigencies of the moment have bl"Ought the Coullty to the point where it must now make some drastically difficult decisions. Prepanltion of the fiscal year 1995 budget clearly showed that decisions of the past are coming home to I"()()st and must now be dealt with while rerent poliry decisions of the County must also now be funded. Given the vuy limited tax base by which the County budget is supported and the dwindling amount of taxable property, the Board of County Commissioners, the Administrator and the Constitutional Officers must begin the fashioning of a forward looking process that will stabilize policy, budget, and fiscal relationships for many years into the futurr. As the Board of County Commissioners will clearly see, TI-IE NEGATIVE INFLUENCE OF DECLINING RI':VENUES AND FUND BALANCES FORWARD COMBINED WITH INCREASING COSTS FOR CURRENT SERVICES AND NEW COSTS FOR NEW AND EXPANDED SERVICES create a taxation pl"essure that will be exceedingly difficult with which to deal. It is the Administrator's RECOM M EN DA TION that with the conclusion of the fiscal 1996 hudget pnlcess in September of 1995, there be developed a long range budgeting and fiscal year process that takes into account the realities of financing of services, an analysis of which servkes in which the County should and should not be involved over the long term, and an analysis of those areas and the costs which the Board of County Commissioners feels should be rxpanded. This will require the cooperation and input of the elected and administrative leaders of Monroe County, but will help to mitigate against the need to do precipitous budget decisions. PR.~PARATION OF THE FISCAL YEAR 1995 AND FISCAL YEAR 1996 BUDGETS CLEARLY AND EMPHATICALLY DEMONSTRATES THE NEED TO MAKE MONROE COUNTY'S PROCESSES MORE MODERN AND POLICY ORIENTED. 2 Onn' again this year, the Board of County Commissioners will find itself in preliminarY' budget disrussions dealing less with the making of policy and providing the funding to implement that policy than with the need to cut costs. That need this year will necessitate extremely diflicuIt decisions in terms of personnel and services. The Board of County Commissioner's is advised that the IJrOCeSS will not be an easy one. The future, however, looks much brighter. With the reorganization of the Office of Managenu.'nt and Budget and the introduction of new technological systems and budget and fiscal modding abilities, it will be ('asier in the future to identify the long term impacts of decisions and to deal with those consequences earlier. The fiscal year 1995 and 1996 budgets havt.' brought to the Board of County Commissioners a new ability to deal less with detail and mor'e with policy and to lay the ground work for even greater advances in fiscal year 1997. With a y('aa' long policy and budget prognllll and an improved format for use by the Board of County CommissiolH'r's, thea'e should be long nlllg(' improv('nu.'nts not only to the process, but in the decision making in reference to tht.' County's budget. The Administration stands prepared to work with the Board of County Commissioners in impl'Oving the pa'ocess and the substance involved in the County budget. BUDGET FORMAT The proposed budget submitted to the Board of County Commissioners this year is In a format that is even a step ahead of last year's presentation. Last year the goal was to take as much detail as possible from in front of the Commissioners so that they could concentrate upon polkies and programs. There still was a f~tir amount of det:tilleft, but it was easier for the Board to deal with major issues. J For liscal year 1996, the budget is presented in two (2) binders. The first is a BU DG ET SUMMARY which includes this executive summary, a financial summary, organizational chart, revenues and appropriations by fund including vel)' specialized categories of enterprise funds, internal funds, etc. The Board can see at a glance what is occurring in the different funds, either by general category, by department, by Constitutional Officer, etc. For example, by looking under the general fund categol)', for any activity, the Board can see the TREND for a three year period. Thc sccond part of the budget is still called a DETAILED BINDER which includes the department hy department, cost center hy cost center identification of appropriations. It is prohahly this book that the Boal'd of County Commissioners will feel most comfortable dealing with this fiscal ycar because of their past experiences with budget documents. However, the Administnltion hopes that in the next fiscal year, it will be possible to present a budget that is mOt'e streamlined and concentrates even more closely on the summary format presented in the budget sumnulry binder. It will also be possible this year to calculate much more rapidly the impact of budget derisions by the Board of County Commissioners. Although the allocation of costs and taxes an-oss man~! taxing distrirts is romplirated and final answers may need to come after some additional work, the staff will be prepared to make the preliminary calculations during the budget disrussions so that the Board can have an ongoing feeling for the impact of its decisions. It is hoped t1Utt this new fonn~'t will prove more efficient and effective than in past years and will provide a basis for moving into the future with additional improvements and efficiencies, 4 BUDGET TI-I~MES In the preparation of the executive summaI"')' for the fiscal year 1995 budget, the Administrator identified that the years of belt-tightening and internal adjustments and "creative budgeting techniques" had resulted in "a remarkable challenge to maintain current service levels, to provide the increased services adopted by the BOCC in the last year, and to address those ongoing and long range issues which can not be ignored". As the Board looks at this year's hudget, it should keep that analysis in mind, for it is true this year is even more serious. The attempt to re-estahlish some consistency and predictability on a year to year basis created some advances, hut cannot be fully implemented due to additional problems that have been identified. However, the hudget does attempt to maintail~ some ongoing themes and to respond to the Board of County Commissioners and their policies. o The budget responds to outside pressures that have a major impact upon the County's finances. This includes the cost of property insurance changes as a result of Hurricane Andrew. rJ The budget attempts to overcome the negative impacts on a group insurance prognllll that were the result this year of decisions made previously. The need to regenerate the group insurance fund and to analyze the adequacy of the present IH"ogram have moved the Administrator and the Clerk to undertake an internal audit and an analysis of the options available for reform of the program or change to a new system. n The budget continues to respond to mandates upon the County government. One of the major ones is the detention facility on Stock Island and the need to maintain and to protect that huge investment. n The budget is geared to supporting the policy of the Board of County Commissioners to expand park and recreational facilities throughout the Keys. The I"ecent opening of Bernstein Park and the planning for Friendship Park and the Marl" IlI"operty clearly indicMe the need for increased maintenance services. Tlu.'se costs are updates of and predicated upon presentations made to the Board of County Commissioners previously. n The budget responds to the necessity to maintain and provide utilities for the new facilities throughout the County. Constnlction has proceeded on the Tax Collector and Sheriff's facilities in Marathon and the Sheriff's building on Stock Island. ImpnlVcments have Iwen made and will be made in Plantation Key. Additional improvements will begin at .Jackson Square and renovation of Truman School will ) shortly he underway. The long term budget impact of these changes in terms of maintenance and otlH'r costs are beginning to be seen in the County operating hudget. n The forthcoming adoption of the Comprehensive Plan and the need to undertake the preparation of land development regulations and rate of growth ordinance activities mean significant additional expense. Implementing the comprehensive plan alone will require major County effort no matter what the decision by the State on Policy One. n The budget reflects the advances in the Fleet Maintenance Program in the past year. At the budget meetings for the fiscal year 1995 budget, questions were raised concerning the efficiency and effectiveness of an internal Fleet Maintenance Program. Problems were partially the result of underfunding in previous years. The staff will repot't successes and improvements that still need to be made. n The budget t'eflects the significant and positive changes in cost reduction in terms of solid wastt' collection and haul-out. This year, the Board of County Commissiont'rs will bt'gin to see how that program has stabilized and how it will be subject to only moderate changes in the future. o Tht' budget is adaptable to reflect the Board of County Commissioners and the Administration's interest in privatization of services where possible without losing efficiency and effectiveness. Bids for various services will be prepared and the Boat'd will be asked to authorize those in the coming year. It should be noted that this is not a new effort on the County's part since so many of the County's services and programs are provided by private concerns. TIIERE ARE, OF COURSE, MANY THEMES RUNNING THROUGHOUT THIS IllIDGET. IIOWEVER, THERE IS ONE OVER-RIDING THEME THAT IMPACTS THE BUDGET. IT IS THE NECESSITY TO OBTAIN A STRONG HOLD ON FISCAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THE EFFECTS OF PREVIOllS DECISIONS THAT ARE DRIVING TilE PROBLEMS IN TillS COllNTY BlIDGET. PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES .- The proposed fiscal year 1996 budget includes a number of new problems and challenges which have their n)()ts going back many years, As the Board will recall in the preparation of the fiscal year 1995 budget, there was disfussion and action taken in reference to a short fall in the () grotlp insuntllcr program which was a result of prel'ipitous budget cutting actions 111 recrnt ~.{'ars. In this budget, it is obvious that the practice for many, many years of utilizing the fund balance forwal'd to maintain a reasonabl~ low ad valorem tax rate has finally resulted in a recognition that fund balance forward is significantly reduced and in danger of being of less value to the Board of County Commissioners in the future than it should be. FOR EXAMPLE, 1990 FUND BALANCE FORWARD WAS $17,400,000, IN 1993 IT WAS $18,300,000, AND FOR 1996, IT IS PROPOSED AT $7,400,000 (estimate). In addition, there is a major reduction ill l'rn'lIurs from non ad valorem tax sources which reduction means that there are less non ad valon'lII I'{'vrnues available to support tlH' budgrt. When combined with even measured requests for appropriation increases, these two (2) factors produce a preliminary projected ad valorem impact of over $10,000,000. At first blush, this equates to a 19CY., increase over the rolled back I'atr as indicated on the millage sheet. TI.IESE ARE TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE FIGURES AND WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, THE ADMINISTRATOR AND THE CONSTITFrlONAL OFFICERS, WITH THE INITIAL STEPS DESCRIBED BELOW. The following is a sumnulry of the overall impact of the three (3) factors mentioned above. The Board of County Commissioners should note that the projected appropriation increase for th{' Administr'ation directly responsible to the Board is only a little over 1/2 of the total ad nllorem impart. AS WILL BE SEEN BELOW, THAT FIGURE WILL BE REDUCED Sll BS.I'AN'I'I/\ LL Y. Redul'lion in non tax revenue $ 838,275 $3,219,500 Redurtion in fund balance forward Subtotal non appropriations increases $4,057,775 7 Proposed appropriations increases BOCC proposed increases Sheriff proposed increases other Constitutional Offin'rs Proposed Appropriation Increases $3,415,884 $2,318,459 $ 383,280 $ 6,117,623 TOTAL IMPACT $10,175,398 The challenge, therefore, is to find a way substantially to reduce the $10,000,000 impact enn with the initial $4,000,000 having little to do with the appropriations and policies side of the equation. The Administrator has pn.'pared two (2) basic responses to the problem and has discussed some of these with many of the Constitutional Officers. It should be noted that they are being quite cooperative in recognizing the situation and attempting to respond. The first response is included in the next section "Options for Action". This will show a substantial rcduction on the app."opriation side, if the Board of County Commissioners agrees with thc ."ccommendations. Some of thl'se are indeed difficult. Others may also be controversial; however, tlH'y ~lppear to be areas in which reductions can be made and which will result in savings of over $1,600,000. The Administrator will be prepared with staff to discuss these at the budgl't sessions. The srcond response will be a separately developed set of budget options which cut deeper into lhe f~lhric of County se.-vices and programs. The debate about these .options is clearly a dehate about which se.-vices County government should or should not be performing. In other wo.-ds, THE QUESTION IS WHAT SHOULD BE THE ROLE AND THE SCOPE OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT. As is happening at the federal and state level, financial 8 fCltIsidcratiolls arc pushing this qll('slion to tlH' forefront and it is now here for Monroe COllnty to consider. Although the Administrator recognizes that many of these issues are extremely controversial, if the Board of County Commissioners chose to accept all of the items, there would be an additional reduction of over $3,800,000. IF ALL OF THE EXECliTIVE SUMMARY AND BUDGET OPTION RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ACCEPTED, THE TOTAL WOULD BE OVER $5,500,000 IN REDUCTIONS WHICH WOULD BRING THE INCREASE OVER ROLL BACK TO 8.09cyo. THIS APPEARS TO BE MUCH MORE REASONABLE ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT YET AN ACCEPTABLE LEVEL. IF Tin: BOARD OF COliNTY COMMISSIONERS MAKES ALL OF THESE CHANGES THE BUDGET STATUS WILL BE: CATEGORY AMOUNT DECREASE TOTAL Non App,'olu"iation $4.057,775 $4,057,775 Increases A ppropriat iOIl Increases $6,117,623 $5,353,000 $ 764,623 BOCC $3.4 t 5,884 $5,133,000 -$ t ,7 t 7, I t 6 SIH',"ifT $2,318,459 $ 175,000 $2,143,459 Other Constitutional $ 383,280 $ 45,000 $ 338,280 TIIEI{EFORE, THE ADMINISTRATION HAS ALREADY IDENTIFIED MORE CUTS THAN ITS TOTAL APPROPRIATIONS INCREASE. TilE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SHOULD NOTE THAT THE REDUCTIONS PROPOSED MORE TIIAN EQUAL THE AMOUNT OF APPROPRIATIONS INCREASE PRESENTED BY THE ADMINISTRATION. THEREFORE, IT IS SlJGGESTED 9 TI'l.l.. AN' ADDITIONAL CllTS DESIRED BY THE BOARD COME FROM OTHER SOIIRCES. ATTACHMENT 1 OPTIONS FOR ACTION It is ohvious by this time that the County must consider some fairly serious options in rrfrrrnce to rrducing costs. To do this while maintaining the budget policies and priorities that al'r the result of decision making by the Board of County Commissioners is indeed a challenge. To do this in such a way that the County begins to build for the future is extremely difficult. It should he noted that the Administration is committed to internal efficiency changes which will have budgetary impact during the year. These cannot all be specified at this time and willnulde administratively as situations allow. Thus, there will be improvements as there were in the previous yrar hopefully creating additional cost savings and efficiencies. The following items are intended to provide relief on the existing budget situation and the Board of County Commissioners is requested to agree to these changes: I. L1lmer Keys Tnm ma District In the fiscal year 1995 budget, the Board recognized that it was not necessary to continue the rate of increase of funding fOl' the Upper Keys Trauma District. For that reason, the Board voted not to collect the taxes from th~lt district for fiscal year 1995. That saved the citizens over $650,000 in taxation in that area of the County. An analysis of the funds available to the Lipper Keys Trauma District fOl' fiscal year 1996 indicate that there is ~'pproximatrly $2,155,000 available which is near the amount that was available for fiscal year 1995. It is suggested that the County does not need to collect taxation to support this district again in fiscal year 1996. This taxation has not been included on the millage sheet in anticipation of the Board's ~Iction. If the Board determines to collect the taxation this year, that means that the millage sheet taxation figures will increase by over $(,O(),OOO. THE ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDS THE BOARD PASS A MOTION STATING THAT IT WILL NOT COLLECT THE TAXES FOR THE UPPER KEYS TRAUMA DISTRICT IN FISCAL YEAR 1996. 10 . 2. Propertv Insurance Because of a more competitive market. the farther away we are from Hurricane Andrew the Administration has been able to obtain new quotations on property insurance including wind storm. With full coverage, there can be a reduction of $78,000 from the original proposal and it is suggt'sted an additional $50,000 can be utilized from the reserve to help maintain lower taxes. 3. The Anticipated Adoption of the Comprehensive Plan means that the County will have to show a substantial commitment to its implementation. The original proposal fl'om Growth Management was to include $750,000 for that pm'pose. Because of budget constraints this year, it is suggested that that number br reduced to $500,000. 4. Rrcause of the acquisition of properties to implement the Rate of Growth Ordinance, it was originally proposed $50,000 for the maintenance of thosr properties, as agreed with the State of Florida. Because those propel'ty aC(l'lisitions will not have pro('eeded substantially during the coming yrar, it is suggestrd that maintenance costs can be reduced from the $50,000 figlll'e to $ t 0,000. 5, Mrdical Examiner At the budget hearings in the summer of 1994, the Board enconnlged the staff to seek out additional savings in reference to the medical examinel" function. The Administrator's office has researched the possihility of an alternative service provider and has had discussions with the pl'esent medical examiner. The Administrator is prepared to discuss with the Board whrther an alternative service provider might be of benefit to MOIII"oe County especially in the areas of budget savings. At this point based upon preliminary estimates from an alternate provider and revised budgets fnun the present medical examiner, it is anticipated there will be a minimum savings of $50,000 for the next budget year. 6. County Attomey As frequently happens, some of the specialized counsel are utilized more than originally anticipated. For that reason, outside counsel legal sel"Vices fl'equently are at or above total pl'ojected budgets. The new County Attomey has pledged to maintain greater control over the utilization of outside counsel. For that reason, it is felt that there can be rrduction in that line. II $ 128,000 $ 250,000 $ 40,000 $ 50,000 $ 35,000 7. Groull lusunll1ce-Deductibles Group insurance fund has proven to be a major problem over the past year. Under funding in the previous years created reserve problems. The Administrator has begun an analysis for the purpose of developing recommendations fOI" the Commissioners within six (6) months as to the future of this program. However, it is still necessary to make some adjustments to maintain financial liability. It is, therefore, suggested that the deductible amounts which have not been increased for many years be I'aised fmm $200 pel' person to $400 per- per-son. In addition, it is proposed that the family deductible be I"aised from $400 per family to $800 per family. This is projected to provide- a substantial savings to the fund and help protect its viability. R. Groull Insunlllce Dependent Contribution lu a similal" fashion, dependent contributions need to be increased to (.'OV('I' the I"ealities of family coverage. It has been noted that the dependent nlte C<HI be fOI' one individual or for ~I number of individuals. This will be one of the factol's considered in the analysis being undertaken. For this budget, it is suggested that the rate increase from $80.25 to $90 per pay period. This will also result in a ma,ior contribution to the fund. 9. Sheriff After preparing his budget, the Sheriff was notified that the State will he taking over laboratory services. The Sheriff has indicated a savings from his hudg('t. 10. Merit Pro2ram It is the Administrator's helief that employees should be compensated fOI' their efforts, esiJecially since they are the ones who will canoy out the policies developed by the Board of County Commissioners. This year's budget as last year's budget includes 31~) for costs of living ad,iustment and a 1 '% merit program. Only because of the extreme situation in which the County presently finds itself would this recommendation be made. It is suggested that the 1 % merit program not be implemented in this budget year. 12 $ 416,000 $ 116,000 $ 175,000 $ 187,000 11. Constitutional Officers Merit Pr02ram Recognizing the substantial problems in this year's budget, the Clerk of the Court, the Property Appraiser and Ow Supervisor of Elections have agl'eed with the recommendation above in reference to merit. Their proposals indude an additional 31~1 for costs of living adjustment. Then'fore, the elimination of this I % will assist the budget. The Sheriff has indiratcd that he will discuss with the Bo:....d of County Commissioners dlll"iug his hudget Pl'esentation adjustments to his compensation package. At pn."sent, he has 3'Y., in for costs of living adjustment, 2% for a merit program and 2'% for an equity adjustment for correction officers. $ 45,000 TOT A L: $1.442,000 The Administnltor feels that even tho.ugh some of these recommendations are less than desirahle, thry art" nccessal)' this year. Combined with other options to be presented separately at the budget hearing, these will go a long way to solving much of the budget problem. .James L. Roberts County Administrator July, 1995 13 ATTACHMENT 2 BlJDGET OPTIONS At last year's budget hearings, the Board of County Commissioners asked the Administration to prepare a list of budget options that could be utilized to bring taxation to a more reasonable level. The Administrator provided a list of options totaling more than $2,000,000. After review and consideration of public comments, the Board of County Commissioners determined that it would not utilize those options to adjust the ad valorem impact of the budget. This year, the Board has indicated its even stronger desire to maintain the tax impact of the County budget at a reasonable level. There have been discussions about what is the role of County govemment and what services should and should not be offered. With the present loss of revenues and fund balance forward and the County's expansion of services in other areas, it is necessary to review budget options again. The Administrator has prepared the fonowing options for the Board of County Commissioners. These include the elimination of various services and even departments. An of them have an impact upon service delivery or the operation of community based organizations. The total is over $3,800,000 and includes the elimination of 39 County positions. It is not anticipated that the Board of County Commissioners will necessarily accept any of these options. It is understood that many of these are controversial and that the elimination of some positions and services win result in negative effects in the future. However, the Board has indicated its desire to make the tough decisions this year to maintain ad valorem taxation at the lowest possible level. The Administrator and staff will be prepared to discuss the impact of anyone or more of these options during the budget hearings. The Board of County Commissioners is advised that the Administration feels that the elimination of any of these services will increase the difficulty in the operation of County government and probably decrease services to a level noticed by the citizens. It is unfortunately the nature of government finances during these times that necessitates such discussions and decisions. MANAGEMENT SERVICES DIVISION Veterans Affairs Eliminate transportation position (I) $ 23,500 Information Systems Eliminate Channel 16 (estimate) (3) $238,200 Management and Budget Eliminate Grants Section (2) $ 91,300 Eliminate one OMB position (1) $ 33,600 Eliminate Public Infonnation Office (1) $ 67,500 Human Resources Employee Benefits Coordinator - $ 26,000 do not fill position for I /2 year (covers both !:,TfOUP insurance and workers compensation) Eliminate Safety Department (1oss control) (2) $104,600 SUBTOTAL MANAGEMENT SERVICES (10) $584,700 j 2 COMMUNITY SERVICES DIVISION Eliminate one Office Assistant in Welfare Administration (1) $ 27,700 Eliminate one On Call Library Assistant (1) $ 11,200 Eliminate Automated Systems Manager $ 44,100 (do automation in FY 1997) (1 ) Eliminate Capital Outlay for automation $100,000 Eliminate 25% of Library material purchases at all branches $ 33,900 except Big Pine Eliminate Bookmobile (1) $ 43,900 Eliminate Extension Services (5) $173,100 (3 positions and funding for 2 contractual positions) El1minate 2 Code Enforcement Inspectors (2) $ 80,000 Eliminate Bayshore Manor ( 8) $180,000 Reduce Health Care Responsibility Act fund $100,000 SUBTOTAL COMMUNITY SERVICES (19) $793,900 GROWTH MANAGEMENT DIVISION Eliminate one Office Assistant-Building (1) $ 30,000 Eliminate one Staff Assistant I-Planning (1) $ 30,600 Eliminate Marine Resources Department (2) $11 9,900 Eliminate GIS Prot,Tfam (2) $2] 2,000 El1minate Building Department Office on Stock Island (2) $120,000 SUBTOTAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT (8) $512,500 NOTE: Cost of all County positions indicated includes salary plus benefits 3 PlJBLIC SAFETY DIVISION Eliminate Emergency Medical Air Transport $ 50,000 Eliminate Translator (ad valorem share) $250,000 Reduce bJfant match $ 80,000 Eliminate funding for Key West EOC $ I 7,000 SUBTOTAL PUBLIC SAFETY (0) PlJBLIC WORKS DIVISION Eliminate Big Pine Animal Shelter (est) (2) $ 78,000 Eliminate funding for Historic Keys Preservation Board $ 8,550 Eliminate funding for Youth Clubs: Florida Keys Upper Keys Heart of Keys Big Pine Athletic Association $ 30,000 $ 33,600 $ 18,000 $ 18.000 $ 99,600 Eliminate some facilities capital purchases $ 9,000 Eliminate proposed unincorporated parks and beaches at Wilkinson Point and contingency $230,000 Eliminate tmck purchase $ 55,000 Eliminate improvements to W est Martello Museum $150,000 SUBTOTAL PUBLIC WORKS (2) NOTE: Cost of all County positions indicated includes salary plus benefits 4 $397,000 $630,150 OTHER CATEGORIES Eliminate non mandated Human Services Grants: Help Line Domestic Abuse Shelter Hospice Big Brothers/Sisters Children's Shelter Wesley House Red Cross-Lower Keys Red Cross-Upper Keys Literacy of America Outreach Coalition $ 21,000 $ 23,000 $ 50,000 $ 21,010 $ 26,695 $ 25,000 $ 10,000 $ 15,000 $ 5,000 $ 8,000 $204,705 non mandated portion for three mental health organizations $355,000 $559,705 Eliminate Unincorporated School Recreation ProbJfam $ 55,000 Eliminate Summer School Recreation ProbJfam $ 42,750 Eliminate AARP Funding: Lower Keys Middle Keys Upper Keys Big Pine $ 1,500 $ 1,500 $ 1,500 $ 1,500 $ 6,000 Eliminate Older American Volunteer Program $ 4,000 Eliminate part of bJfant local match $200,000 Eliminate BOCC budget adjustments $ 80,000 SUBTOTAL OTHER CATEGORIES $ 947.455 TOTAL AD VALOREM BUDGET OPTIONS (Includes 39 County Positions) $3.865.705 5