BOARD OF
SEPTEMBER 12,
2007
The
following is a non-verbatim transcript of the BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING OF SEMINOLE COUNTY,
Present:
Chairman
Vice Chairman Brenda Carey (District 5)
Commissioner Bob Dallari (District 1)
Commissioner Mike McLean (District 2)
Commissioner Dick Van Der Weide (District
3)
County Manager Cindy Coto
Deputy Clerk Carylon Cohen
Commissioner
Van Der Weide gave the Invocation.
Commissioner
Carey led the Pledge of Allegiance.
PROOF
OF PUBLICATION
Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide,
seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to authorize filing the proof of publication
for this meeting’s scheduled public hearing.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
PUBLIC
HEARING
TENTATIVE
FY 2007/2008 SEMINOLE
The
First Public Hearing booklet for the proposed Budget for Fiscal Years 2007/08
and 2008/09 was received and filed.
Chairman
Henley gave opening remarks, stating the public hearing is to allow the public
to express their opinion regarding the millage and the budget. During the hearing, they
will discuss the proposed operating millage
levy and roll-back rate. The Board will
hear comments and attempt to answer questions from the public. He advised this is the first of two public
hearings and the final approval will be at the second public hearing. He asked the
Cindy
Coto,
Lisa
Spriggs, Fiscal Services Director, addressed the Board and introduced Lin Polk,
Budget Manager. Ms. Spriggs advised
pages 10 through 12 of the First Public Hearing booklet is a detailed fund
summary budget for FY 08 totaling $734,782,361.
This includes the General Fund proposed budget totaling $252,578,692. She said pages 20 through 21 of the booklet
shows the detailed fund summary of the proposed budget plan for FY
2008/09. Page 7 is the summary table of
millage rates, which she reviewed. She
advised that House Bill 1B, placed into law during the 2007 legislative
session, statutorily rolls back millage rates levied by local governments. Effective for FY 2008, counties must roll
back property tax revenue to equal what was generated in FY 2007 and then
further reduce the tax revenue by a reduction factor ranging from 3% to 9%,
which is determined by comparing the County’s growth and per capita property
taxes to the State’s average for the period from FY 2002 to FY 2007. She explained that
Chief
Judge Clayton Simmons, 18th Judicial Circuit Court, addressed the Board to
state he is speaking as a resident and as Chief Judge. He introduced others present: Judge Galluzo, Judge McIntosh, Judge Eaton,
Judge Nelson, Judge Heard, Judge Perry and Judge Dickey. He had staff persons in attendance to stand
who were present in support of his comments and which included some affected
employees. Judge Simmons stated the
proposed budget cuts eight, County-funded staff positions. Those positions represent eight unique
functions or services that the County has provided over the years to the
citizens of
Commissioner
McLean asked where the County would fit compared to other peer counties without
the Foreclosure Case Manager. Judge
Simmons said if these cases go back into the regular stream of Circuit Court
cases, these are handled as they come up among four judges and it typically
takes about six months for a case to go through the system. He said several large foreclosure attorneys
around the State have said it’s a pleasure to do business in
Commissioner
Carey stated if the financial institutions can’t turn around the foreclosures,
that affects a lot of things including the bank ratings. She said foreclosures are obviously going to
go up and the faster they can process them, the better. She said her main concern is children’s
services. She thinks it is really
important to have special people keep track of the foster children. She thinks the direction yesterday was for
Ms. Coto to continue to work through the Judges to talk about some of those
positions and what the critical path of those are, unless the County Manger
wants the Board to make the decision.
Ms.
Coto said members of the Commission did express their concern over children’s
services. What she has done is provide
the Board with information that the Judiciary has provided to her and indicated
she will need a decision no later than the September 25 public hearing for the
final budget.
Commissioner
Dallari said the Board wanted to be sure how the Guardian Ad Litem program was
going to still be functioning and working.
Commissioner
Carey said she was expecting staff to come back about the $2 technology charge
and how that is assigned and implemented.
Nadine
Miller, Executive Director of Guardian Ad Litem, speaking on behalf of the 700
abused, neglected and abandoned children in
Frank
Aquilon,
Chairman
Henley advised Mr. Aquilon that the millage levied by the
Commissioner
Carey further explained that the TRIM notice was based on the 4.5872, but the
budget the Board is looking at to approve has the 5% roll-back in it. She said her office has referred most calls
about the property taxes to the Property Appraiser, and she referred to Chief
Raw regarding Mr. Aquilon’s ISO rating and the fire issue.
Chairman
Henley explained to the public, concerning the positions Chief Judge Simmons
discussed, that the
Commissioner
Dallari explained, for clarification, that the budget they are looking at is
exactly what the State statutes required the Board to do.
Linda
Nash,
Ms.
Nash said that if each department doesn’t act responsibly, they will have an
overwhelming budget. It seems to her
that the Board needs to be more responsive to the residents without cutting vital
programs like the foster care program.
She suggested the Board go back and look at some of the other
departments and see if there are some things they might be able to cut. She said the people need some relief and the
Board needs to understand that they do.
Chairman
Henley said the public needs to understand the Board and staff agonized for
months over the budget. He said the
Board deals only with the ad valorem portion of the budget because the rest of
the budget cannot be spent for these types of things being talked about
tonight, as they are in the enterprise fund.
He explained the ad valorem portion of the budget is not the largest
portion. The Board does not have the latitude
to take money out of one account (Enterprise Fund) and put it elsewhere.
Commissioner
Carey explained how “Save Our Homes” works for the taxable value of homes to
only increase 3%. She said if this
structure is lost in the referendum, the people may lose all control. She said the “Save Our Homes” cap has helped
the citizens.
Chairman
Henley further said the homestead exemption has done exactly what it was
designed to do--to protect homestead property from huge increases. The biggest opponents of “Save Our Homes” are
commercial people. He reiterated that
the Board has cut $27.5 million out of the budget. He said the Board is required by law to
balance the budget and that’s what they have done.
Chairman
Henley called for Arthur Jackson and Dorthie and Robert Roges to speak, but
they had left the meeting room to speak with the Property Appraiser’s
representative in the lobby.
James
Matthews,
Chairman
Commissioner
Carey stated the Property Appraiser’s office can help explain “Save Our Homes”
and David Medley, Community Services Office, can help Mr. Matthews with preventative
services for the foreclosure issue.
Chairman
Henley called for Alexander Kallimaines and James Bradwell, Jr. to speak, but
they had left the meeting room to speak with the Property Appraiser’s representative. He acknowledged the Written Comment Form from
Carl Kravit opposing the action on this item.
Win
Adams,
Mr.
Adams said he was hoping to see the comparison of the percentage increase of
the budget to the consumer price index percentage increase. Commissioner Carey advised that information
is available in Ms. Spriggs’ office.
Mr.
Adams said he would also like to see over a five or seven-year period how many
voters there are in the County and, based upon the voters, as compared to the
budget, to know a cost per voter basis.
Commissioner
Carey said only about 25% of the citizens are voters, so she thinks they would
have to look at that on a population count.
Commissioner Van Der Weide added that many of citizens aren’t old enough
to vote.
Mr.
Adams said he thinks this information would be an indicator. As it is now, the public doesn’t know how
well they are doing with the budgets.
Chairman Henley said Ms. Spriggs can provide him with that information.
Ms.
Spriggs stated all the documents and historical budget comparisons are
available on the web site and copies can be provided from her office.
Chairman
Henley stated to the public that everything they experience, County government
experiences also with the budget. They
have to take all that into consideration in order to try to prioritize where to
use the money. He said when they cut
$27.5 million out of the income and then try to maintain the same services, it
doesn’t work that way.
No
one else spoke in support or in opposition.
Speaker
Request and Comment Forms were received and filed.
Chairman
Henley announced that the final public hearing for the millage and budget will
be held on September 25, 2007, at the same time (7:00 p.m. or as soon
thereafter as possible).
Ms.
Spriggs referred again to page 7 of the Public Hearing booklet and said the
Board will vote on the millage rates given in the third column, Statutory
Maximum, as follows: General County
Millage, 4.3578, a 5% decrease from the rolled-back rate and 13% decrease from
FY 06/07; County Debt Service for Natural Lands/Trails, .1451 for a total
Countywide millage of 4.5029; Fire/Rescue MSTU, 2.3299, 3% decrease from the rolled-back
rate and 12% decrease from FY 06/07 rate; Unincorporated Road MSTU, .1068, 5%
decrease from the rolled-back rate and 13% decrease from the current rate, for
a total County levied millage of 6.9396.
Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide,
seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt the tentative millage rates as read
for FY 2007/08.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Motion by Commissioner Van Der Weide,
seconded by Commissioner Carey, to adopt the tentative budget for all funds for
FY 2007/08 as originally presented to the Board of County Commissioners by the
County Manager in her official capacity as Budget Officer (per Florida Statute
129.025) and subsequently amended as the proposed budget of the Board of County
Commissioners.
Districts
1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 voted AYE.
Chairman
Henley announced again that the second public hearing and final action on the
millage rate and the budget will be held on September 25, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
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There
being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the
meeting adjourned at 8:14 p.m., this same date.
ATTEST:_______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman
cc