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Productivity Committee CDES Subcommittee Minutes 05/18/2009 ODES sub committee productivity meeting, Monday, May 18, 1 pm Attending: Cohen, Randy Malee, Gary Downs, Gina Patterson, Amy Fee, Doug Schmitt, Joe Flagg, Diane Vasey, Janet Harrison, Steve Wells, Laura The department is down 115 people now, with 2010 proposed budget, could go down 167+/-. Steve Harrison asked: But, aren't you expecting even less business next year? Joe responded: ODES is still very busy. Says this year compares to 2001 activity level. He expects the number of permits to be around 20K. In 2005, it was 40K/year. Says fees do not cover the costs of service. Next day inspections may no longer be a possibility. Steve pointed out that the state standard is within three days. Joe will also consider a private provider if necessary. Tindale Oliver is reviewing the fee structure for CDES. Fees haven't increased since 1997. Zoning charges haven't increased since 2003. Joe provided a chart that compares the dollar amount for Collier fees compared to other county fees All costs for operating the ODES building are paid from fees from building permit revenue. Building plan review is not as time consuming as zoning reviews. Janet proposed charging a base fee and then additional per hour fees for projects that exceed the `norm'. ODES currently has the right to use that method for resubmittals. Joe says fire review charge for a building permit is 5x higher than CDES charges for the same plan review and inspection. Department has deferred vehicle and computer replacement. Will need some capital funding soon. May need additional licensing inspectors soon to keep out unlicensed workers. A study to review the fee structure should be completed by the first of the year.. Diane Flagg: will lose either 6 positions or 13 positions. Code enforcement can not charge for the time an officer spends on a case. Appeals/special magistrates frequently waive or lower infraction fees. Compliance has increased, but fee collections have decreased. There are four people in the foreclosure program. Their workload has increased and their focus has shifted from minor violations to health and safety issues. Blight prevention (voluntary program working with banks which have addressed about foreclosed 500 homes) is aimed at keeping property values from falling. Foreclosures are not decreasing. About 250, or 50% of the 500 homes in the blight prevention effort have been corrected by the banks. Rather than hit the owner/bank with a violation, focus is on correcting the conditions. Should waived fees be accounted for as a loss to CDES? Operational costs can not be charged according to courts. Should be 111 funds. Steve questioned the cost of repeated impact fee studies. Amy Patterson replied that the studies cost about 60-70K each. We are currently paying about 350-400K for 6 studies. The county has adopted a two year study and has delayed full studies. Janet pointed out the flaw in not keeping current on the studies. Mainly, that, in the current situation, decreases won't be passed along to taxpayers quickly enough. Lack of response to questions posed to EDC was discussed. Both productivity committee requests for accountability and similar inquiries from Gary remain unanswered. Question include: How was the EDC Coordination money spent in FY08 and for the first half of FY09? What functions were performed with the money? How many people were paid and what was produced or delivered? How much was the funding match from EDC members in FY08 and FY09? f they receive matching funds and if so, what amount? Gary stated that he has asked similar questions many times over the years and does not receive answers. Gina asked for a history of his inquiries. Steve Harrison requested an organization chart to see where employees are being eliminated, moved, or retained. Joe feels that Coastal Zone division should be part of CDES. 20 to 40% is often passed off to public to pay for zoning costs. Collier has fee based zoning. Some discussion ensued about making than a Fund 111 function. How much of Fund 111 should public pay? Collier county public now pays about 5%. Talked about various expenses facing CDES: Three Bert Harris claims that the department must prepare data for. Advertising of public hearings costs about $250K/year. Comprehensive Planning on seven year cycle requires staff time RLSA expenses come out of CDES Three comp plans are in the works now. Census and re-districting is coming up soon, which will require additional staff time. Horizon Study, East of 951, EAC, all committees take staff meeting and preparation time.