SWFRPC BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING March 26, 2012

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1 SWFRPC BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING March 26, 2012 The SWFRPC s Budget & Finance Committee held a meeting/conference call on March 26, 2012 at the offices of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council. The following members and staff were in attendance: Committee Members Councilwoman Teresa Heitmann, City of Naples (Chair) Ms. Laura Holquist, Lee County Governor Appointee Councilman Forrest Banks, City of Fort Myers Commissioner Karson Turner, Hendry County BOCC Vice Mayor Mick Denham, City of Sanibel Mr. Bob Mulhere, Collier County Governor Appointee Others Ms. Margaret Wuerstle, Executive Director Ms. Nancy Doyle, SWFRPC Administrative Services Coordinator Ms. Janice Yell, SWFRPC Cost Accountant II Ms. Nichole Gwinnett, SWFRPC Administrative Specialist II Item #1 - Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m. Item #2 FY2012/13 Budget Ms. Wuerstle explained that staff had just started working on the FY2012/13 Budget and were reviewing a couple of different scenarios. She noted that she had met with the auditors on the indirect rate because the indirect rate can change at the end of the year. In the past, the Council had to pay back between $20-30,000 to the grants, but other times the Council had received additional funds. In a budget situation as tight as the current year s situation, her concern was not only how the indirect rate was being calculated, but the fact it was provisional and changed once the budget closed at the end of the year. Ms. Wuerstle explained that she spoke to the U.S. Department of Commerce and finally resolved the indirect rate issue such that the indirect rate is set at the beginning of the year and that is the rate for the entire year. Staff is going to move forward with that option for FY2012/13. Then there is yet another option to review regarding the indirect rates, which is more of a fixed rate based on percentage of use instead of basing it on an hourly rate. She stated that she doesn t feel that staff will be ready to make that switch for the FY2013 budget year, but that she has already made the switch to holding the indirect rate constant for this year and next year

2 Ms. Wuerstle explained that she had run one budget scenario, then asked both Ms. Doyle and Ms. Yell to adjust some figures because the first run was based on staff s current hours, salary and also taking into the account that we haven t received any funding from the State. The worst case scenario showed a $271,000 deficit. Some costs could be cut with the copiers, insurances, etc. She then said that under the first scenario if the Council receives funding from the State, there still would be an approximate $60,000 deficit. She is looking at new ways to bring in additional revenue to help balance the budget. Ms. Wuerstle noted that one of the areas that the Council is could provide assistance is to the Homeowners Associations (HOAs). Often times the HOAs take over the development after the developer has reached a certain percentage of sales the HOAs are not familiar with the conditions on that development or what they are responsible for going forward (i.e., removal of exotics and retention basins). In addition to HOAs, she felt that the Council could assist counties and cities with PUD monitoring, since one of the Council s strong points is in reviewing the DRIs. Mr. Mulhere noted that there was a significant issue which surfaced related to a number of condominiums in Collier County related to the surprises that occurred at the time of takeover, which generally the time of takeover is largely under the control of the developer. He then suggested contacting Collier County Government, because he believes that Collier County implemented some sort of strategy to assist condominiums in that process and they may not be interested in continuing to do and it would fall right into what Ms. Wuerstle is suggesting. Ms. Wuerstle stated that she is assuming that the issue exists throughout the region since she has heard some of complaints from HOAs. Since one of the Council s programs is suppose to be mediation, she feels that the HOAs falls into that category. Mr. Mulhere said that he agrees, but they need to know what the financial and ongoing implications are at the time of takeover so they can negotiate in a fully informed matter. Mr. Mulhere stated that he also agrees with the PUD monitoring. Collier County has one full-time staff member devoted to PUDs and there are issues with the developers not living up to their PUD commitments and things were falling through the cracks because nobody was looking at it. That would provide an opportunity to Collier County not to need a dedicated staff member and it would be cost savings to them. Ms. Wuerstle stated that she will discuss the issue with Collier County along with the other jurisdictions. Ms. Wuerstle noted that she and Councilwoman Heitmann spoke about the possibility of holding a fundraiser. Councilwoman Heitmann explained that Councilman Banks with the Florida League of Cities is doing a regional fundraiser, so a discussion was started about a gala/ball and inviting someone like Pam Bondi and/or the Secretary of the Department of Education. Each city and county would commit to a table of ten. She felt that it would build friendships, bring the region together, bring in money to the Council, and also do a little educating. Commissioner Turner said that while the potential and idea is very good he has two main concerns. The first concern is financially and secondly, he is fighting a number of people, some of which are his own county commissioners, at justifying our existence on the Council. The City of Clewiston hasn t been active, the City of LaBelle hasn t been active since Mayor Puletti has left the Council, and it has been difficult to sell the value of the Council because people don t immediately grasp the validity of being part of the Council. He would rather do the cup of coffee and this is what we can bring to the table for you lobbying effort this first year rather than jump into a full-scale gala/ball

3 Councilwoman Heitmann said that she understands and agrees, but she felt that it needed to be tied into the Regional Strategy Committee, because the Committee is going to do some personal outreach. Mr. Mulhere stated that there may be some opportunity down the road for that to become an annual event, particularly if we could identify a particular expenditure that could offset the costs. He then asked when it is expected to be announced about the funding from the State. Commissioner Turner stated that the Governor could sign or begin the veto process at any given moment. Ms. Holquist stated that she attended FGCU s Gala and it is a tremendous amount of work and involves huge staff commitment to get something like that accomplished. She then said that she like the idea about the fundraising and another thing that happened at the gala was that all of the people who attended pulled her aside and said how excited they were about the regional plan and what a great event the DEO Regional Stakeholders Forum was and that they were looking forward to having the plan put together and seeing the results. So maybe the trigger of the event could be presenting the plan and then every year doing an update and the scorecard on the plan on how we are doing in Southwest Florida. Commissioner Turner stated that a common theme with galas/balls is the time commitment associated with them and this may be where the Council needs to reach out to an entity such as FGCU, just as we did with the DEO Forum, and explain to them that we would like to make it a partnership and have it in the future, not within the next six to eight months. Ms. Holquist stated that she wasn t talking about having a gala, just an event. Councilwoman Heitmann stated that she would like to table the comments at this time since there was other business on the agenda. Item #3 Other Business Vice Mayor Denham stated that he would like to stay with the process and discuss the budget issues. He explained that his focus is always on the revenues first. He said what was presented was the amended budget of $3 million versus the adopted budget of $4.2 million and there is approximately $1 million missing from the federal, state and local funds, which is making up the large portion of that difference. He asked staff to help him understand where the $1 million went and what actions can be taken to make up that difference. Ms. Yell explained that within the Council s original budget, the Lee County MPO was $1,210,000 and since the MPO had pulled out of the Council that was where the $1 million has gone. The MPO had only spent approximately $280,000 within the five months that they resided in the Council s organization this year. Vice Mayor Denham asked if all of the $1 million is the MPO. Ms. Yell replied that it was the majority of it. Vice Mayor Denham asked where the amount for the Governor s proposed budget is. Ms. Yell replied that it was not part of the Council s budget. Vice Mayor Denham asked if the Governor doesn t veto the RPC s funding then it is a plus to the Council budget. Ms. Yell replied yes. Vice Mayor Denham asked about the amount. Ms. Yell replied approximately $220,

4 Ms. Holquist asked if Vice Mayor Denham was referring to the current budget or the proposed budget. Vice Mayor Denham replied that he is referring to the document that was distributed which lists the adopted budget and the amended budget. Ms. Holquist stated that the Governor s funding would not be in that document. Vice Mayor Denham stated that at the last Council meeting it was discussed that there was going to be some action taken by the FRCA lobbyist to try to get together with the Governor s staff to make him understand how important it is to reinstate funding to the RPCs and also that the Council had sent a letter to the Governor. He then asked is what had happened as a consequence of that letter and any actions that FRCA has made on our behalf. Ms. Wuerstle explained that FRCA had put together a document which dealt with return on investment and had sent it to the Governor s Office. Ms. Holquist requested that a copy of FRCA s Return on Investment document be sent to the Council. Vice Mayor Denham asked if FRCA s Return on Investment was hand delivered to the Governor s Office. Ms. Wuerstle replied that it was and she has been receiving s since Friday from FRCA encouraging the RPCs, and anybody that we know that would have any influence, to contact the Governor regarding the RPC funding. Vice Mayor Denham stated that the RPC needed to focus its attention on revenue and not so much on expenses. If that indeed are important tasks then let s all agree to do something about it to try to lobby with the Governor in order to protect that funding stream. Councilwoman Heitmann asked Ms. Wuerstle to share the status of the letter which the Council had sent. Ms. Wuerstle stated that she had received a phone call from Felipe Colón stating that the Council s letter did reach the Governor s desk and that the Governor did read it. Commissioner Turner stated that he feels that we have pulled this organization tight and if any more get cut, as far as the Council s finances, and then we have no capacity to produce a deliverable to anyone. Vice Mayor Denham stated that the role of the senior members of the Council is to reach out to those communities (i.e., Hendry County) to make sure that they fully understand the benefits of the Council. Mr. Mulhere stated that he felt that the single most important matter facing the Council is the Governor s budget. Discussion ensued. Mr. Mulhere stated that the Governor s #1 campaign commitment continues to be the creation of jobs. The RPCs played a critical role in the process of hosting the regional forums. If he had the opportunity to speak with the governor or the influence over anybody he would say that if the RPCs are going to continue to enhance economic development and diversity in the state, then the RPCs need to be funded. Ms. Holquist stated that she had a long conversation with Janet Watermeier, who was on the Governor s Transition Team. She asked her why the Governor vetoed the RPC funding last year and she - 4 -

5 said, which she knows from direct personal knowledge, that no one could tell him why there was a need for regional planning councils. But now with FRCA and our letter and making the proper contacts, the Governor is getting the information that he needs. Mr. Mulhere suggested sending the letter to the SWFL Legislative Chair, Representative Gary Aubuchon. Councilwoman Heitmann stated that she feels pretty strongly that the RPCs are going to be funded again. Councilman Banks stated that he agrees with Mr. Mulhere about the Governor s economic plan. So he is going to contact the city s lobbyist and ask who has the most influence with the Governor and he is also going to contact Commissioner Mann s office and ask that they do the same thing. Ms. Wuerstle explained that the Council needs the $200,000 from the State, but even with that funding the Council stands to face a deficit if additional revenues are not brought in. One of the reasons that we are down so much is that the DRI work is down. Originally, DRIs were budgeted at $250,000 and in the last budget amendment it was brought down to $170,000, but to date we have only brought in $30,000. There is a big gap that will push us over if we don t find something to fill that gap. Vice Mayor Denham suggested to Ms. Wuerstle putting together a Revenue Enhancement Plan/Action Plan which lists all of the various opportunities which the Council may have to generate more revenue and be sure that the Committee understands what those revenues are. Councilwoman Heitmann stated that she agrees and in her conversations with Ms. Wuerstle that is what she plans on doing. Vice Mayor Denham suggested sending the list to the Budget and Finance Committee so they could add further ideas to it. Ms. Wuerstle stated that she already had a draft list, but it needed some final edits and it should be ready within the next day. Ms. Wuerstle explained that when the MPO left the Council they owed approximately $83,000. Ms. Yell had submitted an invoice for the balance due to FDOT and FDOT in turn sent the check to the MPO instead of to the Council. The money which was owed to the Council is now with Don Scott and the MPO. Ms. Yell has sent various s to Mr. Scott explaining that she had followed up on the situation and asked that the check either be sent to the Council or for them to send us a check. We haven t received any response from Mr. Scott. There was approximately $78,000 held back from the MPO when they left. Ms. Yell explained that the $78,000 was the MPO s deferred revenue. Ms. Wuerstle suggested that she contact Mr. Scott and explain that the Council will just take the deferred revenue of $78,000 and then the MPO will owe $5,000. She said that she would rather have the MPO owe the Council $5,000 instead of $82,000. Vice Mayor Denham stated that he supports that suggestion. Mr. Mulhere stated that he also supports that suggestion

6 Councilman Banks asked Ms. Wuerstle to contact someone in Sarasota County to ask about contacting someone up in the Governor s Office. Councilwoman Heitmann stated that for clarification, staff is to send a letter to the Southwest Florida Legislative Delegation, similar to the letter that was sent to the Governor. Also, the members are going to follow-up personally. Ms. Holquist stated that the correspondence to the legislative delegation should ask them to please contact the governor on the Council s behalf. Mr. Mulhere stated that it should also state, to strongly support the funding for regional planning councils. Ms. Holquist suggested attaching the letter which was sent to the Governor. Ms. Wuerstle stated that when the Executive Committee was approving her contract, they discussed authorizing the Council to pay her AICP dues. She noted that she had recently received the invoice for her AICP dues in amount of $640. Commissioner Turner moved and Councilman Banks seconded to recommend approval of payment of Ms. Wuerstle s AICP Dues. Mr. Mulhere asked if the recommendation goes before the full Council. Ms. Holquist stated that it sounds like a contract issue, so she feels that the Executive Committee should handle it. Councilwoman Heitmann stated that she finds that appropriate. The motion carried unanimously. Ms. Yell explained that if the Governor does approve the funding for the RPCs then a portion of the funding will be in this year s budget. The State s fiscal year begins in July and the Council s begins in October. Councilwoman Heitmann asked Ms. Wuerstle the Council would have a deficit of $60,000 even with the State funding. Ms. Wuerstle replied yes, we haven t looked at other options at this time. We need to look at where we can make up some savings. Ms. Holquist asked if there was any shortfall in the current year. Ms. Wuerstle replied that she doesn t have a number at this time because it falls back on the DRIs. We are budgeted with the amendment for $170,000 and only $30,000 has come in. Also, we are not going to get the money from the Punta Gorda EAR project because they cancelled the contract. Then there is the issue with the North Port Gardens DRI project where they are asking the Council to reduce their invoice from $25,000 down to $5,000 due to the deliverable that was produced. She noted that she will have an update when the quarter is closed

7 Commissioner Turner asked who made the budget projections and why were they missed. Was it a direct correlation to the economy and the lack of development occurring on DRI reviews or were there some guarantees from certain entities that we were going to have a certain DRI move through a certain process. Ms. Wuerstle explained that Mr. Trescott would have predicted what he anticipated for DRIs that would come in. That amount was based on his conversations with various jurisdictions and developers on what they anticipated on submitting. But that was all it was, an estimate and unfortunately the estimate was high. She noted that even with his current predictions we might receive another $50,000, but we are not going to receive another $170,000 by October 1 st. Mr. Mulhere stated that he recalls seeing a list of outstanding invoices related to DRIs, one of which was the North Port Gardens DRI request for reduction. But there were at least 8 to 10 other outstanding invoices and we need to push those entities that have outstanding invoices more than 90 days. Ms. Wuerstle explained that they have been notified that if they choose not to pay, that the Council will have to take the next step which will be to go to collections. Ms. Holquist stated that it seems that the amended budget, which was approved, has some holes in it. Ms. Wuerstle said that it may, but she will have a better handle on it when the second quarter is closed out. Ms. Holquist suggested having another proposed amended amendment to the budget at the next Budget & Finance Committee meeting. Mr. Mulhere explained that a budget is a planning document and usually gets amended several times during the year to reflect either lower or higher revenues. Item #4 - Set Next Meeting Date and Time Councilwoman Heitmann announced that the next meeting will be scheduled for Monday, April 9, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. Item #5 - Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 11:06 a.m

SWFRPC BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING January 6, 2012

SWFRPC BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING January 6, 2012 The SWFRPC s Budget & Finance Committee held a meeting/conference call on January 6, 2012 at the offices of the Southwest Florida Regional Planning