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Item B5 County Administrator's Budget Message to the general fund. The costs for those facilities not in the regional park system are included in the unincorporated parks & beaches taxing district. 6. The budget includes the adjustment for the rate increase for the internal premium for the group benefits premium with a need to fund approximately $1.3 million in increased claims, $388,000 in required reserves, and $1 million to replace a decrease in fund balance. It is proposed that the rate be increased from $470 to $640. Later in the process, the Board of County Commissioners will be asked to vote on that issue. 7. The reorganization of the Public Safety Division is not yet complete. As of the writing of this report, the final salary level for the incoming Monroe County Fire Chief has not been established. Therefore, it is not included in the budget at this time, but will be included in the final budget in September. Those adjustments will be made as well as any others determined by the Board of County Commissioners in the interim period. 8. The Board has discussed many times the turnover rate in the County and the need to improve the predictability for the County employees in reference to compensation, benefits, and incentives. The Board has, for the past two years, adopted the merit program and it is proposed that this occur this year as discussed above. The Administration is proposing a series of incentives to assist with recruitment and retention of employees in the County. These are identified below: 1. The Administration is always looking for ways to include employees in various policy and procedural issues in the County. The Employee Relations Committee and the Policies and Procedures Committee are continually involved. However, it has been suggested that there should be an internal organization dedicated specifically to issues of incentives and morale, with recommendations to be made to the County Administrator. The Administration will look to establish that process and bring fOlWard any appropriate ideas that need approval of the Board of County Commissioners. 2. The Administration has been testing the utilization of flextime in various offices. So far, the results are positive. In an effort to allow employees more control of their lives, managers will be allowed the opportunity to provide flextime. Conditions are that functions be covered during all normal business hours and that there always be someone to respond to the public about the responsibilities of the department. xii 6 County Administrator's Budget Message 3. In the past, the County has experimented with a suggestion program. In combination with #4 below, the Administration is willing to try that approach again so that the employees will have an opportunity to make suggestions about improvement in County operations, saving of money, incentives, and issues which would foster a more positive work environment. Creative suggestions could yield to rewards. 4. Any reward program would have to be authorized by the Board of County Commissioners. The Administrator had experience in the past with reward programs that acknowledge major recommendations to advance County operations or to save money. If the Board of County Commissioners approves the concept of the reward program, the Administrator will prepare a formal proposal with cost estimates. 5. It is clearly recognized that there are not as many opportunities in the Keys for additional education and training as there are in other parts of Florida and the country. The County does not now have a way of acknowledging and rewarding employees who obtain additional degrees, training, or certifications related to their job responsibilities. It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners adopt a program which acknowledges such additional education, training, and certifications beyond those that are initially the obligation of the employee to provide as part of their basic job requirements. The turnout for the Certified Public Manager Program is a prime example of the County encouraging employees to increase their skills and abilities. In the area of the Building Department, having individuals who voluntarily obtain additional certifications provides for greater efficiency in inspections and cost savings. These are just some of the possible advantages. 6. Recruitment of qualified individuals from out of the County is most difficult. Even though the County has an ordinance establishing moving expenses, reimbursement, especially in senior management, professional, and technical areas, moving to such a high cost area as the Keys and adjusting to the new economy are quite difficult. It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners consider a program to assist in attracting qualified individuals at those levels. The program could also consist of hiring bonuses and could be tied to additional training, conferences, etc. This approach combined with the stipends identified above for additional education and xiii County Administrator's Budget Message training should identify to present and prospective County employees that the County is interested in having them further - their careers in the County. 7. The County should develop a more formalized employee recognition program. This can grow out of the reward program identified above and will recognize employees who, on an ongoing basis, do a consistently exceptional job or who have provided some specific insight or completed some special project. There will be little expense involved in this program and it could be a positive expansion of the Employee of the Month and Employee of the Year recognitions. 8. A few years ago, the County, in conjunction with the Keys Physician Hospital Alliance, initiated a series of annual health fairs. Initially the health fairs have been popular and well attended. Over the last couple of years, indicators from the health fairs have shown a rising level of risk factors for a number of potentially serious illnesses. This is borne out by the increasing costs of medical services and the increasing number and extent of major cases. It is proposed that the County develop a wellness program which will provide incentives and rewards for people who make significant changes in their health status indicators and reduce risk factors. The program would have base line indicators and would be monitored. Rewards can include such incentives as extra vacation days. 9. The County sick leave and vacation policies allow for the substantial accumulation of days which ultimately can be compensated when an employee leaves the County service. Since these days are compensated at the rate the employee is earning at the time of separation, the payout is in excess of the value of the days when they were earned. It is recommended that the Board of County Commissioners consider a program whereby sick leave and vacation leave above a certain level are partially compensated at the time that they have accumulated. This would be done on an annual basis. For example, the Family Medical Leave Act allows 12 weeks of leave per year. Once an employee has accrued the hours necessary to be paid for that time should he or she have a medical problem, the County, at the end of each year, might reimburse the employee for one half of the sick leave accrued but not used during that year. Once again, this would be paid at a rate lower than when the employee would ultimately terminate employment. A xiv County Administrator's Budget Message similar approach could be taken with annual leave. Should the Board choose to proceed alone these lines, a detailed proposal < with cost estimates will be presented. Hopefully, the Board of County Commissioners will see these as creative recommendations to work more closely with the employees. The preliminary estimates of cost are not substantial in comparison with the total work force under the Board's purview and costs of turnover. It is anticipated that these programs can be initiated in the coming year with minimal impact on the budget. TAX IMPLICATIONS The millage sheet (pages 80-81) shows the millages and the amounts to be collected from ad valorem taxation for fiscal years 2000, 2001, and 2002. THE BOARD IS REMINDED THAT DURING JULY IT IS OBLIGATED TO ADOPT PREMILINARY MILLAGE RATES SO THAT THE PUBLIC CAN BE INFORMED OF THE PROPOSED MILLAGES FOR THE COMING YEAR. THESE MILLAGES WILL THEN BE CERTIFIED TO THE PROPERTY APPRAISER WHO WILL INCLUDE THEM IN HIS NOTICES TO THE PUBLIC PRIOR TO THE PUBLIC HEARINGS ON THE COUNTY BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER. IT HAS BEEN THE CUSTOM TO LEAVE THE MILLAGES A LITTLE HIGHER THAN WILL ACTUALLY BE ADOPTED AT THE FINAL BUDGET HEARING IN SEPTEMBER SO THAT THERE WILL BE ROOM FOR ANY LAST MINUTE CHANGES. UNDER STATE STATUTE, ONCE THE PREMILINARY MILLAGE IN ANY DISTRICT IS ADOPTED, THE BOARD MAY NOT RAISE IT IN SEPTEMBER AND HAS ONLY THE OBLIGATION TO LEAVE IT AT ITS LEVEL OR TO REDUCE IT. THE HISTORY HAS BEEN THAT MILLAGES ARE REDUCED SOME AMOUNT IN SEPTEMBER. One of the over-riding concerns in reference to analyzing the taxing level is the change in property values. In round numbers, in fiscal year 2001, the Property Appraiser certified a County-wide property value of about $9.9 billion. The current year taxable value is about $11 billion, or an increase of over 10%. $233 million of that is new construction and rehabilitation, etc. The individual districts show similar increases. The result is that the rolled-back millage rate is lowered and becomes a starting point for consideration of tax increases. The rolled-back rate is that millage that would have been utilized to collect the same amount of tax dollars as last year if the new property values had been in place. If one looks at the millage sheet for fiscal year 2002, the numbers show a rolled back rate for the library portion of the general fund of 0.1552, which is 12% under the previous year's millage rate which was 0.1735. The general fund is divided into a number of categories. The tax collection for the library portion of the fund is approximately where it was in the proceeding year. The line "Other" however, which includes a wide variety of general fund activities, shows a rolled-back rate of xv