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BUDGET WORKSHOP
LEVY COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
JULY 12, 2012
The Budget Workshop of the Board of Levy County Commissioners was held on July 12, 2012 at 9:00 AM in the Levy County Board ofCountyCommissionersmeeting room, with the following Commissioners present:
Chairman Danny Stevens
Comm. Marsha Drew
Comm. Ryan Bell
Comm.ChadJohnson
Comm. Mike Joyner
Also present were:
Clerk of Court – Danny Shipp
CountyAttorney– Anne Bast Brown
CountyCoordinator– Fred Moody
Comm. Stevens called the workshop to order at 9:00 A.M.
DANNY J. SHIPP, CLERK TO THE BOARD
Presentation of Budget Overview FY 2012-13
Mrs. Rees presented opening statements concerning the General Fund on behalf of the Clerk of Court. The current millage rate of 7.8114 was used to balance the General Fund. The current rolled-back rate is 8.5759 and would generate $1.2 million more than what is calculated in the budget at this time. There is a $2.3 million deficit between current expenditures and revenues. Currently, there is $1.1 million in reserve, but this does not include transfers which will need to be done to balance theEMSand Fire budgets.
AGRICULTURE EXTENSION OFFICE – COUNTY AGENT
Albert Fuller, Director
Mr. Fuller stated his budget request is the same as last year with two exceptions:
1. Requesting to replace an existing 1996 Chevy Astro mini-van for the Family Consumer Science Program.
2. Replace carpeting in auditorium with tile
MOSQUITO CONTROL/PARKS & RECREATION
Matt Weldon, Director
Mr. Weldon stated his budget request is the same as last year. Heavy rains after the long drought have increased the need and expense of mosquito spraying.
LEVY COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT
Sheriff Johnny Smith
Sheriff Smith stated the Sheriff’s Department budget request is the same as last year.
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
Connie Asbell, Supervisor of Elections
Comm. Stevens spoke on behalf of Mrs. Asbell who was unable to attend the Budget Workshop stating her budget request was the same as last year.
TAX COLLECTOR
Linda Fugate, Tax Collector
Comm. Stevens stated Mrs. Fugate’s budget is approved by the Department of Revenue inTallahasseeand is fee based. Her budget request will come in August.
CLERK OF COURT
Danny Shipp, Clerk of Court
Mr. Shipp stated his budget shows an increase due to the second IT person hired, but this salary comes from different funds as the person provides IT assistance to numerous BOCC departments. The Clerk’s office is also a fee office and the Recording numbers have been down resulting in a need for additional funding from the Board.
HEALTH DEPARTMENT
Mrs. Locke stated the budget request for the Health Department is the same as last year, $150,000.
ANIMAL SERVICES
David Weatherford, Director
Mr. Weatherford stated his budget was increased for this year as there is a need for a new truck. He stated $25,000 has been budgeted for this item.
CONSTRUCTION / MAINTENANCE / WATER
Jimmy Jones, Director
Mr. Jones stated his budget request is increased from last year for the Construction/Maintenance Department.
Mr. Jones stated there are some increases in the Water Department budget.
LIBRARY
Lisa Brasher, Director
Ms. Brasher stated her budget request is increased by $8,347 to cover the salary of a part-time employee going to full-time and for IT usage.
VETERANS’ SERVICE
Robert Lowyns, Director
Mr. Lowyns stated his budget request is the same as last year.
ROAD DEPARTMENT
Bruce Greenlee, Administrative Superintendent
Mr. Greenlee stated the budget request for the Road Department is about $650,000 less than last year. The Road Department is in need of hiring a couple of new employees for the construction side.
Mr. Moody requested dates for future budget meeting dates.
The date of Tuesday, July 31st at 9:00 A.M. was decided for the next Budget Meeting.
A tentative Budget Hearing was scheduled for Thursday, September 6th at 6:00 P.M.
Tuesday, September 11th at 6:30 P.M. will be the date for Public Hearing for final adoption of the Assessments. The date of September 17th at 6:00 P.M. will be the Final Budget Hearing.
LEGAL
Anne Bast Brown,CountyAttorney
Mrs. Brown stated the budget request for Legal was $1,000 less than last year.
PUBLIC SAFETY
David Knowles, Director
Mr. Knowles informed the Board of the closing with Fowlers Bluff Fire Department this morning.
Mr. Knowles stated there were some line item increases for the upcoming budget year forEMSfor fuel expense and repair/maintenance.
Updated information on the Fire Department portion of his budget was given to the Board.
Mrs. Rees stated the Board theEMSbudget as presented is short by $505,602 based on the actual buy-down on the Special Assessments which have to be funded. Presently, the Fire budget is short by $1,424,297. Options to balance these budgets would be to transfer from the General fund, which does not have this much in it, raise Assessments or cut the budget.
Mrs. Rees then asked for direction from the Board on balancing the General Fund and if they wanted to discuss each department further as she will need to present them a proposed budget on July 31.
After discussion, the Board agreed to examine each Department in the General Fund budget in greater detail.
The meeting recessed at 12:08 P.M.
The meeting reconvened at 1:36 P.M.
The Commissioners discussed each line item expense for every Department, making reductions in each budget, reducing the total budget by $2,019,791.
THERE BEING NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE COMMISSION, THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 5:18 P.M.
ATTEST: BOARD OFCOUNTYCOMMISSIONERS
LEVY COUNTY,FL
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Clerk of Court, Danny J. Shipp Chairman, Danny Stevens
