BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA

SEPTEMBER 9, 2015

 

     The following is a non-verbatim transcript of the BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING OF SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA, held at 7:00 p.m., on Wednesday, September 9, 2015, in Room 1028 of the SEMINOLE COUNTY SERVICES BUILDING at SANFORD, FLORIDA, the usual place of meeting of said Board.

     Present:

     Chairman Brenda Carey (District 5)

     Vice Chairman John Horan (District 2)

Commissioner Robert Dallari (District 1)

     Commissioner Lee Constantine (District 3)

     County Manager Nicole Guillet

     County Attorney Bryant Applegate

     Deputy Clerk Jane Spencer

 

     Absent:

Commissioner Carlton Henley (District 4)

 

 

 

     Commissioner Horan gave the Invocation and Commissioner Dallari led the Pledge of Allegiance.

PUBLIC HEARING

TENTATIVE FY 2015/2016 BUDGET

     Chairman Carey announced that this is the first of two public hearings regarding the budget.  She advised that the Board of County Commissioners does not have any control over the tax levies or budgets of the School Board, the Water Management District, or any of the seven cities in Seminole County.  Questions regarding property assessed valuations should be addressed to the Property Appraiser, David Johnson, who is here tonight.  The Board of County Commissioners has limited authority over the budgets of the Constitutional Officers of the County which include the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the Property Appraiser, the Sheriff, the Supervisor of Elections and the Tax Collector.  Chairman Carey described how the budgets for the Constitutional Officers are reviewed and approved.  She pointed out that by Florida law, two public hearings must be held before adopting the final millage rates and annual budget for Seminole County.  The purpose of this first public hearing is to hear public comments regarding the proposed millage rates and budget, amend the budget as desired by the Board, and to tentatively adopt the millage rates and budget of the County for FY 2015/16. 

     Edward Bass, Resource Management Director, addressed the Board to display a PowerPoint presentation (received and filed) for the FY 2015/16 Tentative Budget.  He displayed the first slide and reviewed Budget Development for the upcoming fiscal year.  He explained that the County Manager submitted her proposed budget to the Board in July and two budget work sessions were held with the Board in August.  Mr. Bass pointed out that proposed adjustments of $15,073,859 are being made to the County Manager's originally proposed budget.  He explained that this is detailed on pages 17 through 24 of the first Public Hearing book (copy received and filed). 

Mr. Bass displayed the Millage Rate Summary and advised the proposed FY 2015/16 Budget presented for tentative adoption is based on the millage rates shown on the slide.  He reviewed millage rates for the Adopted 2014/15 Budget; Proposed 2015/16 Budget; Rolled-Back Property Tax Rates; and the Percentage Change in the Proposed Millage Rates over the Rolled-Back Millage Rates for Countywide, the Roads District, and the Fire Services District.  He continued by reviewing slides relating to the 2015 Change in Taxable Property Values; Property Tax Revenue; the Proposed Budget Summary (totaling $702,217,281); and a pie chart depicting the total proposed Expenditures Budget of $455.9 million by Service Area.  Mr. Bass concluded his presentation by displaying and reviewing the 2014 Sales Tax Exhibit C Project Revision slide and advised this information is available on pages 56 through 58 in the First Public Hearing book. 

     With regard to public participation, no one in the audience spoke in support or in opposition and public input was closed.

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     Motion by Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt the FY 2015/16 countywide tentative millage rate of 4.8751 mills.

     Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.

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Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to adopt the FY 2015/16 Fire MSTU tentative millage rate of 2.3299 mills.

Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.

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Motion by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to adopt the FY 2015/16 Unincorporated Road MSTU tentative millage rate of 0.1107 mills.

District 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.

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     At the request of Chairman Carey, Mr. Bass read the established millage rates into the public record as follows:  The tentative countywide General Fund property tax rate of 4.8751 mills represents a 4.43% increase over the rolled-back millage rate of 4.6683 mills.  The tentative County Municipal Fire Services District property tax of 2.3299 mills represents a 4.61% increase over the rolled-back millage rate of 2.2272 mills.  The tentative Unincorporated Road District ad valorem tax rate of 0.1107 mills represents an increase of 4.53% increase over the rolled-back rate of 0.1059 mills.  The proposed “aggregate” millage rate for all BCC taxing districts is 6.6171 mills, which represents a 5.26% increase over the current year “aggregate” rolled-back millage rate of 6.2862 mills.

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     Motion by Commissioner Horan, seconded by Commissioner Dallari, to approve and authorize revisions to Exhibit C, Project List of the 2014 Interlocal Agreement among Seminole County, the School Board of Seminole County, and the Signatory Municipalities Pertaining to the Shared Distribution and Use of the One-Cent Local Government Infrastructure Sales Tax.

     Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.

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     Motion by Commissioner Dallari, seconded by Commissioner Constantine, to adopt the proposed budget for all funds for FY 2015/16 as presented to the Board of County Commissioners by the County Manager in official capacity as Budget Officer and subsequently adjusted as the tentative budget of the Board of County Commissioners.

     Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.   

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     Chairman Carey announced that the final public hearing to adopt the FY 2015/16 millage rates and budget is scheduled for September 22, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.

     Motion by Commissioner Constantine, seconded by Commissioner Horan, to approve the second public hearing to take final action on the millage rates and budget for FY 2015/16 to be advertised for September 22, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. in the Board of County Commissioners’ Chambers, and authorize staff to advertise the tentative budget and public hearing pursuant to Florida Statutes, Chapter 129 and 200. 

     Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 voted AYE.

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     Chairman Carey thanked Ms. Guillet and her staff and believes they did a good job maintaining the expenses this year.  She noted it is certainly great to have new staff people here who hit the ground running to make sure that the County didn't miss a beat.  Chairman Carey thanked David Johnson, Property Appraiser.  She noted the County staff worked very closely with him and his predictions have worked very well and served the County very well for their long‑range planning. 

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     There being no further business to come before the Board, the Chairman declared the meeting adjourned at 7:20 p.m., this same date. 

 

ATTEST:_______________________Clerk_____________________Chairman

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