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Agenda 10/24/2017 Item # 2C10/24/2017 COLLIER COUNTY Board of County Commissioners Item Number: 2.C Item Summary: September 28, 2017 BCC Final Budget Hearing Meeting Date: 10/24/2017 Prepared by: Title: Executive Secretary to County Manager – County Manager's Office Name: MaryJo Brock 10/13/2017 4:17 PM Submitted by: Title: County Manager – County Manager's Office Name: Leo E. Ochs 10/13/2017 4:17 PM Approved By: Review: County Manager's Office Nick Casalanguida County Manager Review Completed 10/15/2017 12:39 PM Board of County Commissioners MaryJo Brock Meeting Pending 10/24/2017 9:00 AM 2.C Packet Pg. 13 September 28, 2017 Page 1 September 28, 2017 TRANSCRIPT OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS Naples, Florida, September 28, 2017 FISCAL 2018 BUDGET LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Board of County Commissioners, in and for the County of Collier, and also acting as the Board of Zoning Appeals and as the governing board(s) of such special districts as have been created according to law and having conducted business herein, met on this date at 5:05 p.m., in BUDGET SESSION in Building "F" of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN:Penny Taylor Andrew Solis Donna Fiala William L. McDaniel, Jr. Burt L. Saunders ALSO PRESENT: Leo Ochs, County Manager Nick Casalanguida, Deputy County Manager Jeffrey A. Klatzkow, County Attorney Mark Isackson, Office of Management & Budget September 28, 2017 Page 2 September 28, 2017 MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, you have a live mike. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. Thank you very much for our meeting on September 28th, Thursday at 5:05 in the afternoon. This is the Budget Hearing for Collier County. I'd like us all to stand and have the Pledge of Allegiance. And, Commissioner Solis, would you lead us in that, please. (The Pledge of Allegiance was recited in unison.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Just a little housekeeping. If you wish to speak on the agenda, you must register prior to speaking. You would fill out a slip and hand it over here to Mr. Casalanguida. If you want to assign people your minutes and sign up anyway and then have one of your speakers -- I'm looking over here at your group -- instead of 20, we can do that also. We'll honor that time. It's entirely up to you. So thank you very much. It's a pleasure to see so many people here. And at this point I will turn it over to the County Manager. MR. OCHS: Thank you, Madam Chair. Good evening, Commissioners. Ladies and gentlemen, as the Chair mentioned, this is the second of two statutorily required public hearings to adopt your FY'17/'18 budget. I will note on the agenda that's on the visualizer and on the screen that there is one add-on agenda item. That's Item 3 on the agenda. The Board received the materials for that item, and we will be dealing with that as the final item on your agenda this evening, Commissioners. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. MR. OCHS: So with that, Madam Chair, if I may turn it to Mr. Isackson and begin the presentation. Item #1A September 28, 2017 Page 3 September 28, 2017 ADVERTISED PUBLIC HEARING – BCC – FISCAL YEAR 2017- 2018 BUDGET MR. ISACKSON: Thank you, County Manager. Good evening, Commissioners. Mark Isackson with the Office of Management and Budget. Similar to the September 7th hearing, I have some opening remarks that have to be put on the record. I have some other remarks that will be put on the record as we go along through the agenda. Under Item 1A, I will -- after my remarks are put on the agenda, I'll pause at every one of the agenda spots for board discussion and dialogue; so just as a matter of protocol. Madam Chair, Commissioners, this is the Final Public Hearing on the Collier County Government Fiscal Year 2018 Budget which begins on October 1st, 2017, and runs through September 30th, 2018. The Final Public Budget Hearing must follow a specific format pursuant to Truth in Millage Guidelines. Your agenda contains a specific sequence of agenda items to be covered. Pursuant to Florida Statutes, Chapter 200, an Executive Order 17-235, as amended, was issued by the Governor due to Hurricane Wilma. MR. OCHS: Irma. MR. ISACKSON: Excuse me; Irma. I was thinking 10 years ago. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Only. MR. ISACKSON: My fault. Required advertisement for this final hearing was published in the Naples Daily News on Monday, September 25th, 2017. Also, pursuant to the Executive Order, Proper Notice Alerting to the cancellation of the originally scheduled September 21, 2017, and scheduling of the final hearing on this date was followed. September 28, 2017 Page 4 September 28, 2017 Commissioners, the first substantive item to be discussed pursuant to TRIM is a rolled-back rate discussion, and that includes a percentage increase in millage over the rolled-back rate needed to fund the budget. And the reasons ad valorem tax revenues above the rolled-back rate is calculated on the State's DR420 forms are being increased. Rolled-back rate is defined as that tax rate necessary to generate prior year tax revenues, and this tax rate is calculated not including taxable value associated with new construction additions, deletions, and rehabilitative improvements. The board-adopted budget guidance for FY2018 included a millage-neutral operating levy position, same tax rate as last year and, for that matter, since 2010 for the General Fund. The added levy earmarked for Conservation Collier was eliminated when the maximum millage rate was set by the Board on July 11th. For the Unincorporated Area General Fund, the millage rate was, once again, set at the FY2007 rate of .8069 pursuant to Board guidance with the additional marginal ad valorem dollars above the millage-neutral operating levy, which is .7161, devoted to continuing the median landscape capital program. Levies for the General Fund and Unincorporated Area General Fund together represent over 96 percent of the total aggregate taxes levied across all Collier County taxing authorities for FY2018. At the hearing of September 7th, the Board discussed funding related to aspects of Domestic Animal Services capital facilities, Park and Recreation capital funding, and funding for social services. During this discussion, the Board was also briefed on the fluid nature of the county's budget and, further, that the budget as a planning tool is regularly amended during the course of any fiscal year based upon changing board policy priorities as well as operational and capital September 28, 2017 Page 5 September 28, 2017 adjustments necessitated by these changes, changing policy priorities, service level adjustments, or capital execution patterns. Both the General Fund and Unincorporated Area General Fund tax rates are higher than the rolled-back tax rate. Collier County taxable value has increased over the past six fiscal years, and the increase for 2018 is 8.41 percent and 9.02 percent within the General Fund and Unincorporated Area General Fund respectively. Within an increasing taxable value environment, under millage-neutral operating and capital policy guidance, the rolled-back rate will be lower than millage neutral. This event occurs in 2018. Between 2009 and 2013, during the economic recession, General Fund budget reductions year over year and midyear totaled 122.9 million. During this period, a millage-neutral budget policy existed, and taxable value dropped $24 billion. Cuts in operations as well as capital transfers occurred. Starting in Fiscal Year 2014, taxable value began to increase and has increased steadily to its current value of 83.6 billion. During this period of increasing taxable values, the county has maintained a millage-neutral tax rate policy, and through this policy additional ad valorem revenue collected has totaled $81.5 million. This additional general ad valorem tax revenue has allowed the county to restore and fund up many capital projects, programs, and operations cut during the recession. The General Fund budget model places a premium on preserving and protecting sufficient cash balances; maintaining adequate reserves for a coastal location; ensuring that the county's excellent investment quality credit rating is maintained; and allocating sufficient available resources to maintain our substantial public safety infrastructure and operational investment. Mindful of this model, the Board each year decides tax rate policy, and budget decisions are crafted around board-enacted policy. September 28, 2017 Page 6 September 28, 2017 Referring to Exhibit 1A, Page 1, the roster of tax rates adopted by the Board on July 11th, 2017, represents the maximum property tax that can be levied in FY2018. Pelican Bay MSTBU millage rate is .0857 per $1,000 of taxable value, and based upon this respected dependent district's DR-420 MMP, maximum millage form, if all dependent district rates are not approved unanimously, it is recommended that this rate be voted on separately under Agenda Item 1F, as this rate requires a two-thirds vote of the Board. The cumulative aggregate rolled-back rate for all Collier County taxing authorities, exclusive of debt service, totals 4.0016 per $1,000 of taxable value. Proposed aggregate tax rate for all Collier County taxing authorities, exclusive of debt service, totals 4.1790 per $1,000 of taxable value. This represents an increase of 4.43 percent over the aggregate rolled-back rate and required a notice of proposed tax rate increase ad for TRIM purposes and not simply a budget summary ad. Commissioners, I'll stop there. That represents my required entries into the record under Agenda Item 1A, and I'll let the Board now have discussion and debate on the items connected with increases over the rolled-back rate as discussed in my remarks. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Any questions? (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Hearing none, do we have some speakers on this item? MR. CASALANGUIDA: Yes, ma'am. You have six speakers. And your first speaker is Dr. Joseph Doyle, and I'm assuming Sandy Doyle will be ceding time to Dr. Doyle. DR. DOYLE: No. Actually, she's going to go before me. She's going to speak for herself tonight. MS. DOYLE: Surprise, surprise. I'm going to speak for myself. Good evening, Commissioners. I know you know who I am, but September 28, 2017 Page 7 September 28, 2017 just for the record, I'm Sandy Doyle. And I have been a taxpayer here, resident, for 26 years, and very happy to be still here. So just like the school board, the Collier County Government has a budget that is over $1 billion. Congratulations. A few weeks ago when I received my Truth in Millage notice, I was informed that my ad valorem property taxes would be rising 2.8 percent compared to last year. This is the full cap allowed by law on homesteaded property. We have been -- we have seen property values in Collier County increase approximately 8 percent in 2015, 9 percent in 2016, 7.5 in 2017, which has been giving you a larger tax base on top of the new construction added to the tax rolls. Florida law requires you to roll back the millage -- Florida law requires you to roll back the millage in order to remain revenue neutral since the higher property value would generate more tax. The rollback millage in the General Fund would be 3.4230; however, you are proposing a millage of 3.5938, which is a 4.99 percent millage increase. That's almost 5 percent millage increase over the rolled-back rate. There are several reasons we cannot accept another tax increase: Number one, the Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, which is based on the Consumer Price Index, has most recently been estimated to be 1.6 percent for 2018. The COLA was 0.3 in 2017 and was flat; in other words, zip, zero, in 2016. Interest rates on saving accounts remain under 1 percent. So unless you got your money in China, you're only getting under 1 percent on your savings. So the stock market performance has been volatile, and several economic experts are predicting a severe correction later this year. I know you don't want to hear it; a severe correction later this year. September 28, 2017 Page 8 September 28, 2017 We are recovering from a neutral -- natural disaster, catastrophe, Hurricane Irma. Several families are facing unplanned expenses and many high deductibles and inadequate insurances to pay for restoration. They're hurting. They're suffering. Yes, we need to operate the government, but what are the wants, which are nice to have. I know I wanted a Rolls Royce all my life, but what are my needs? Not a Rolls Royce. Which are the essentials? Many of our senior citizens are on fixed incomes, which are flat. In addition, many of our residents are seasonal; no children in the system. Many of these taxpayers do not get the homestead exemption or Save our Homes exemptions since these are second homes. The same is true for renters and businesses. So their landlord property valuation and their tax keeps us good. Have mercy. Thank you. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Thank you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. MR. CASALANGUIDA: Your next speaker is Dr. Joseph Doyle, followed by Patty Toulet. DR. DOYLE: So see why it's better to have her cede time to me? But, anyway, she gets emotional about these things, but you see the point. We have several -- this is Dr. Joseph Doyle, for the record. We have several taxpayers who are stressed by this recent natural catastrophe. And you received my email this morning. I had an article from the Orlando Sentinel which shows that the paycheck-to-paycheck people are very stressed. And you know what's going on. You've seen Everglades City; you've seen Immokalee. Those people are actually in a depression, okay. I know that most recessions -- the Great Recession has to do with Wall Street and the Federal Reserve and all that. But we here in Collier County have a recession as of September 10th, 2017. September 28, 2017 Page 9 September 28, 2017 Now, if you look at a person's income over the course of the year, 100 percent divided by 52 weeks is about 2 percent a week. Most people we know were out exactly at least one week because of no power and stuff. Many people were out two weeks. So one week is 2 percent; two weeks is 4 percent. I know some people are just getting back this week. So three weeks is 6 percent. We still have people who are not back. We know Marco Island, Everglades City, Immokalee, a lot of those businesses haven't started. A lot of businesses even over here haven't started. These people have a recession. So I'm asking the county to go onto an austerity budget. I know it doesn't sound fun, and you know, you're just kind of recovering from the Great Recession, but this is the way it is. If the taxpayers are in recession, then, for instance, when you go on austerity, you put a hiring freeze. Now, I know, Commissioner Taylor, that your assistant sent me the August newsletter. Well, that's ancient history now. September 10th changed everything. And so, you know, hiring freezes -- we know that there were 400-and-some positions that -- now, some of them were not actually filled, but they were eliminated because of the Great Recession. We have to have maybe pay freezes. You know, I just told you that a lot people are losing 6 percent of their annual income. Well, maybe we can't give the 4-and-a-half percent raise to the county employees this year; just saying. That's on the expense side. Now, on the revenue side, I'd like to see the rolled-back rate across the board. Last year you raised 319 million in ad valorem. This year you want to raise 349-. If you go to the rollback, it's 17 million less than that. I'm not asking you to give up the whole 30-, but I'm asking you to give up 17 million, just symbolically to show the taxpayers that the county understands their pain. That's all. That's all September 28, 2017 Page 10 September 28, 2017 I'm asking. You know, some of the capital outlays, I know you have some buildings that you were going to do maintenance on, maybe they were damaged. You can pay for that with some insurance proceeds. Maybe FEMA can pay for some of the rest. But I really ask you, tonight you can go with the rolled-back rate, give direction to the Budget Director to go with 17 million less and figure it out where those line items will be next week. Thank you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. MR. CASALANGUIDA: Your next speaker is Patty Toulet, followed by Marjorie Bloom. MS. TOULET: Hello, Commissioners. My name is Patty Toulet, and as I mentioned at the September 7 meeting, my husband and I have been volunteers of DAS for many years. I would like to thank the commissioners who called for more immediate action for air-conditioning in dog kennels and cat cages. It was encouraging to hear your comments, which we hope will expedite the process to help eliminate the unnecessary stress and medical illnesses. If you have pets and lost power during the hurricane, you must have noticed how uncomfortable and even lethargic your pets seemed during those days. The shelter dogs and cats live in higher temperatures day in and day out than you have in your home with no power over a few days. There were reported some cases of pets actually dying. In fact, my groomer told me her perfectly healthy dog was hospitalized for five days due to heat exhaustion. Thanks to the DAS staff, they are constantly monitoring all the animals for just that. You should know that the staff stayed with those animals before, during, and after the hurricane to ensure their September 28, 2017 Page 11 September 28, 2017 well-being. The American Veterinary Medical Association reported to the ASPCA the ambient temperature for cats and dogs should be below 80 degrees with relative humidity between 30 to 70 percent. As monitored previously by DAS, temperatures reached between 90 to 95 degrees in the buildings. I think it's important to repeat the description of the four buildings which, on average, are filled to capacity with dogs and cats. There is the adoption building, the holding building for strays, an isolation building for medical and quarantine cases. The fourth building is usually stacked with an estimated 200 cats and kittens in what we call mini ovens. Because of the low tolerance of cats and kittens, they can and do completely shut down or develop upper respiratory infections due to the heat and humidity. Please don't let the hot shelter at DAS go for another two to four years. It is evident in so many ways that the need is there and the changes are necessary to operate a safe and healthy environmental for all those homeless animals, the staff, and the volunteers. This upcoming video was taken when we first brought the issue to you over two years ago. Some areas have been fixed, but then there is a need for more fixes, or new problems have developed in these old buildings. Thank you for your time. MR. MILLER: I think this is really long. (A video was played.) MR. CASALANGUIDA: The next speaker is Marjorie Bloom followed by Michele Kelly. MS. BLOOM: I know some of you know me here. I'm Marjorie Bloom from -- actually, I'm a volunteer at Domestic Animal Services and proud to say that I'm also on the advisory board and really proud to be part of the yard gang. September 28, 2017 Page 12 September 28, 2017 I think we're going to get some good news tonight, and I really appreciate that. I got my hair cut the other day, and as I said, I got my money's worth, and I took this magazine. It's the Good Housekeeping magazine. And it says that Naples is number one for being pet friendly. That's really quite an accomplishment. I just would like Naples also to have the number one shelter in Florida, and I think we can get there. So I just want to thank you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. MR. CASALANGUIDA: Okay. Your next speaker is Michele Kelly, followed Keith Flaugh. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yeah, thank you, Mr. Miller. MS. KELLY: My name is Michele Kelly, and I'm afraid that I thought this was a different meeting. Good evening, and thank you very much. But I'm looking at the disbursement of the capital and the planning for the funds for various and sundry departments. And I'm not too sure about stormwater operations in the capital improvements projects. We had a LASIP project that was done last year, I think, year-and-a-half ago over on Whitaker, and I don't know -- this has been reduced substantially from 926,000 to 42,000. I don't know where that's going, but our project is still creating floods, if you will. And this year and last, after the project was done, the water in my backyard is now this deep and, of the seven years I've been there, that's the first time I've seen that since the LASIP project has started. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Where do you live? MS. KELLY: I live off of Whitaker and County Barn. I was asked to come here about the affordable housing, but I just don't see very much being offered to them, which that works for me. But the stormwater operations on my street are horrific. My backyard is totally flooded every time it rains, and the project across September 28, 2017 Page 13 September 28, 2017 the street, which is the Habitat for Humanity, is totally useless. It is constantly flooded. The project across the street from Habitat for Humanity is up for sale because he cannot build anything. Every time he digs, he just has another lake. So, basically, the stormwater operations, I guess, would be the only thing that is appropriate for me to address, and I just wanted to give you, perhaps, a heads-up, that you might want to take a look at some of the other areas and redistribute it. Thank you very much. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. MR. CASALANGUIDA: Your final speaker is Keith Flaugh. MR. FLAUGH: Good evening, Board. Keith Flaugh, Marco Island, Florida. I would submit that none of us truly understand the effects of Irma financially. Individuals, business owners, renters, just workers that are here in the area, as you've heard, are just beginning to understand what that means. I live in Marco Island, and thank God we did not get the storm surge they predicted. But even in Marco Island, many, many -- literally every person I've talked to is just now realizing that the damage they did have is not covered by their insurance. It's covered under their personal deductible. Many of the commercial businesses, the older businesses on the island -- and you know this, Commissioner, they've been pretty heavily impacted. Some of them still haven't started again. I personally saw the damage in -- down in -- over in Immokalee and down in Everglades City, and those poor people have been devastated. Now is not the time to set the tone of a tax increase. I urge you in the strongest terms to go to the rollback and set the tone for many of your voters that are going to be suffering over the September 28, 2017 Page 14 September 28, 2017 next year or more. Thank you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. Is that the end of the -- MR. CASALANGUIDA: No more speakers. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No more speakers. Okay. Thank you. Mr. Isackson? MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners, I would allow, you know, certainly follow-up discussion by this board before I go into Item 1B if that's appropriate or if there is any. (No response.) MR. ISACKSON: If not -- COMMISSIONER FIALA: What do you want us to do? COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Do you want motions on these things? CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No. He said if there's any discussion amongst us right now before he goes into -- COMMISSIONER FIALA: You mean like the air-conditioning over at DAS or anything? CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: If we want to discuss. MR. ISACKSON: Similar to the conversation that you had, Commissioners, at the September 7th hearing. You certainly can have that discussion now if you'd like. MR. OCHS: Madam Chair, if I might. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes, of course. MR. OCHS: I would like to call on Mr. Carnell just to outline briefly and make a report to the Board on the proposal that the staff has to address the concerns with regard to the air-conditioning at DAS facilities. The Board had asked us to take a look at some options there, and I'd like Steve to present those to the Board at this point. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Very timely. Thank you very much. MR. CARNELL: Sure. For the record, Steve Carnell, Public September 28, 2017 Page 15 September 28, 2017 Services Department Head. The current proposed budget that you're voting on tonight does include $500,000 to address the Naples shelter site. And we've gone back and looked at the budget since the initial public hearing on the budget and determined that we have sufficient funds to pay for a design for a new prototypical building that would meet the Association of Shelter Veterinarians standard, and we also have sufficient money to improve the electrical service for buildings that currently are not able to house temporary air-conditioning. And what we'll do is we'll pursue that in the new budget year in time to have that service in place by late spring so that we can rent additional air-conditioning. We're presently, for the last two years, been placing rental units in the dog adoption Building 3, and we'll extend that same level of service to Buildings 2, 4, and 5 in the coming summer. We have sufficient money to do that. We do not present have -- we have not presently identified sufficient money in the operating side of the budget to cover the costs of that rental equipment, and it's about $60,000 per year per building, and that's to rent the unit, that's to have an electrician install it and take it out when you're done, and then your increase to FP&L monthly billing. We will find that money between now and when we're ready to order the air conditioners, and we'll work with Mr. Isackson; if need be, we'll come back to the Board for additional funds at that time. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I have a question. What's your timing? MR. CARNELL: Well, the timing is to have the added units in place late April or May so that we have air-conditioning all places going into the summer. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Are we talking rental place -- rental again and then return them; is that it? September 28, 2017 Page 16 September 28, 2017 MR. CASALANGUIDA: That's exactly what we're talking about, yes, ma'am; yeah. COMMISSIONER FIALA: In all the buildings? MR. OCHS: Yes, ma'am. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's good. MR. CARNELL: And we'll be looking beyond this in terms of when we hire the designer for other solutions, long-term solutions. But this is the bird-in-the-hand solution that we're confident will work at least for the summer of 2018. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I think it works on the adoption building pretty well, right? In my experience, it's a pleasant place to be. All right. Thank you very much. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Commissioner Saunders' light's on. (Applause.) COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I just wanted to quickly thank staff for, you know, sharpening your pencil there and finding the money for this. I think it's very important. It's obviously very important to a lot of people, but I think it's important for the county to have that air-conditioning in there, so I just want to thank you for that. MR. OCHS: Thank you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good. MR. OCHS: Thanks, Steve. (Applause.) Item #1B DISCUSSION OF FURTHER AMENDMENTS TO THE TENTATIVE BUDGET - DISCUSSED September 28, 2017 Page 17 September 28, 2017 MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners, under Item 1B is a discussion of further amendments to the tentative budget. In the lone resolution changing the tentative budget adopted on September 7, 2017, pertains to the Property Appraiser's request for an additional 200,000 which is intended to restore their agency's employment level to that which existed prior to the recession. This will alleviate heavy employee workload in certain key functional areas like appraisers and data entry functions. Other than that, there are no proposed changes to the maximum millage rate set by the Board on July 11th, 2017. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Fiala? COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah. I don't know when to bring this up, so I'm going to just ask you about it now. We've had just a little bit of an adjustment to one of the parks. You all know that we do the pickleball games, right, and that's been a great asset to our community and to our tourism, and it's grown exponentially in no time at all. We need more room at the park, but there's no more room left. The school board won't -- right now -- well, let me just say that there's no room left. I'll stop it at that. So what we've decided to do, or we're thinking of doing, is taking over -- there's a soccer field out there that we can use to build 10 more pickleball courts except that that's the only soccer fields the kids have in that area. And so what we've -- what the proposal is is for us to turf that soccer field and half of the other one so that the kids can play year round and still give them a field when we turn the other part of it over to the pickleball group. But I need somebody to okay us to buy that turf. Does that explain it pretty well, Leo? MR. OCHS: Yes, ma'am. I think what you're trying to do is gain September 28, 2017 Page 18 September 28, 2017 more playing time on the remaining field by going to a turf surface. What the staff would be suggesting, Commissioners, is that we move forward with the design work. We'll find that within our current budget allocation, and then when we have a good specification and a set of cost estimates, we can then come back to the Board and identify that cost this coming fiscal year and make some recommendations -- or give you some options if you want to choose to move forward on that project. COMMISSIONER FIALA: The reason I was so concerned with this is the kids can play in the summer when they don't have school. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yes, they can. They do. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Except that they -- well, no, they don't, because they have to rest the fields. So they're resting the fields while the kids can play, and the kids come back and then they, you know -- well, anyway. So there was an option there. There was one option that we -- they could fix that in 2019. I said, you know, these are kids. I like to get them off the street. And they play -- their families are a part of it. They need to be with part of their family, and I didn't want to see that going on for a long time. I want them to play now. And so this is -- this was the option staff came up with. I think it was a great option to just turf it, and then they can play year round. And it's only one-and-a-half fields, but it's a good place to help those kids. This is an area that could really use that help. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Thank you. Commissioner Saunders? COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I had talked to staff -- COMMISSIONER FIALA: Did you? COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- as well, and I agree with you and support your position on that, as long as we get the artificial turf in there so that they could -- it may not be quite as much play, but it September 28, 2017 Page 19 September 28, 2017 should be fairly close. So I think it's a great solution. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Good. COMMISSIONER FIALA: And I want to tell you, the Mexi- Soccer guys that came in, they were just -- they were beautiful. They were so understanding. They hated to lose their things, but if there's something we could please do -- and I'm so glad to hear that, too. Thank you so much, Commissioner Saunders. I was going to say Commissioner Burt. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So on that, too -- and I'll remind you, Commissioner Fiala, that you thought you might know someone who would donate boats to Sugden Park, the sailboats, so I'm just going to bring that up again, which avoids me asking for more money at this point. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah; yes; yes. And she is not in town right now -- CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. COMMISSIONER FIALA: -- but she will be in town next week, so I will give her a call. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yeah. She already had offered. She said if you have a real need. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Wonderful. COMMISSIONER FIALA: And so I can get eight boats for the handicapped kids. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Wonderful. Good. Commissioner McDaniel? COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: At what stage are we going to actually adopt the millage rate as a final? Is there a motion made individually per fund per rate, or is it an aggregate? MR. ISACKSON: Well, sir, when I read the public reading of the millage rates and then you go down to Item 1F on the agenda, which is September 28, 2017 Page 20 September 28, 2017 to adopt the resolution setting the millage rates -- COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. MR. ISACKSON: -- if you want to have the discussion then or you can have the discussion now. It doesn't -- you know -- COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I just wanted to know from a formality standpoint so that we were in the right spot. You know, there are several items with regard to the budget that I want to talk about, upcoming expenditures, where we're at with our debris removal, where we're at with our housing issue, and there's a lot of really important things that are going on in our community, but we also have residents that are in dire need, and I want to make sure that we're prioritizing appropriately to take care of our folks that suffered horribly in this disaster. MR. ISACKSON: You can have that -- sir, you can have that discussion now. It doesn't -- you know, but when you get around to it, we're going to be setting final millage rates tonight. So whatever form or fashion they might be in. MR. OCHS: I think now would be the appropriate time, sir. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. Well, in my review of the budgets -- and this is just a question. You know, I oftentimes go to the balance sheets, which has aggregate amounts and what we have in our account balances, and I know we have a lot of different funds. I think I saw in this year's budget that we're proposing about eight million or so over in cash flow into reserves and another 32- in contingency funds for a total of about $40 million in reserve contributions this year. MR. ISACKSON: In the General Fund, yes. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And we're -- and what are we -- I don't want to -- I want to speak properly. What do we, in fact, have in account balances in those arenas? MR. ISACKSON: Well, let me give you a little discussion on September 28, 2017 Page 21 September 28, 2017 reserves. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. MR. ISACKSON: If you spent everything that you took in in any one particular year, your next year's cash balance would be what you have sitting in reserves. That's an easy, simplistic way to understand why our reserves are where they're at, number one. Now that never happens. We always take in, generally, more than we spend purposefully. The issue of cash flow is extremely important -- COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right. MR. ISACKSON: -- because right off the beginning of the FY, I'm sending out 25-, $30 million to various constitutional officers. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You haven't collected the ad valorem yet. MR. ISACKSON: That's correct. So you've got a two to two-and-a-half month window under which you need to have a pretty good healthy cash balance in order to sustain those types of expenditures going out the door. So that's why your reserves are so high, for a couple reasons: One, rating agencies look at it; cash flow reasons; and, from a credit standpoint, remember in 18 months you're going to be issuing some debt around here. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right. MR. ISACKSON: And you want to make sure of that, because we have rating calls on a regular basis. We've been able to sustain our excellent investment quality credit rating throughout the years, even during the recession. So that kind of gives you a little history and a little rationale for why we do what we do on a reserve level. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So in the contingency reserve, what is the balance? MR. ISACKSON: Well, the reserve is a budget number. When I look at beginning cash, I need to look at somewhere between 50- and September 28, 2017 Page 22 September 28, 2017 $55 million in beginning cash in any one -- the beginning of the fiscal year. What that budgeted reserve does, it protects that beginning cash balance. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. So the reserve funds don't roll over? MR. ISACKSON: No. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You don't accumulate funds in those -- MR. ISACKSON: Reserves do not roll, that's correct. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Okay. Because the discussion that I was looking to have to find out if there was any kind of thought process or consensus is we've got predominantly two issues: Round numbers, I've learned that there's close to 170 people -- homes that are rendered uninhabitable in Collier County; 1,200 have suffered what's been designated, I believe, as extensive or major damage, and I know -- I know it's important to take care and do what we do on a regular basis, but these are extraordinary times. And I would like to see if there's some kind of consensus here for us -- we're necessarily three weeks past the storm. There has been, other than FEMA putting some of the people up that were displaced from their homes in hotels, no interim short-term housing program put in place. I was in -- and of those, some 168, 170 homes that were destroyed, approximately 60 or so -- 68, I believe, are in Immokalee, and then around -- between 40 and 50 in the Everglades and the balance, you know, in District 2, District 4, and mostly in the manufactured housing parks. And I would like to -- and I had a discussion with Leo today, and Dan Summers, and I would like for us to take a proactive stance and offer up assistance in some form or fashion to help some of these folks that have been displaced from their homes and people not wait on September 28, 2017 Page 23 September 28, 2017 FEMA and the State and everybody to come together with this housing initiative. The difficulty and the thought process is nobody -- and it's probably one of the reasons why everybody's sitting around not doing anything because nobody really knows what the cost is going to be. But on the same token, I can't in good conscience let it go unattended. So I would like for an investigation with our staff, come back to us as soon as, in fact, is possible and for us to take some proactive steps to offer us some assistance. I've suggested some fairly out-of-the-box thought processes. One of the issues we have in Everglades City is FEMA will not put assets in a flood zone. So moved -- everything in Chokoloskee, Everglades City's in a flood zone. They won't put -- they won't put temporary trailers down there. So I had a discussion about the county buying some RV units and placing them there. They're portable. They're mobile. They're on wheels. And we certainly have enough sense that, in the event of a storm event or a flood, we can go snatch them and take them to higher ground. Just an opportunity -- just for us to be doing something. Again, we're three weeks past this storm event, and everybody's going like this, and nothing's getting done. So I've talked to the County Manager. We do have reserves for a reason. We don't have to necessarily make a decision on it tonight, but I certainly would like for that to become a focus of ours just to offer some assistance to those that necessarily lost everything. How do you feel about that? CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I don't -- I don't doubt that it's a quite a -- it's quite distressing to see what's going on in Everglades City and Chokoloskee, but I take exception when you say the county isn't doing anything. I know I am. And I'm working on the housing issue with leadership in this community. So I think that -- and private leadership. September 28, 2017 Page 24 September 28, 2017 So I think that, as hard as it is, we need to give it a little bit of time. We know the problems with FEMA. We know that a lot of the destruction down there is with folks who -- they don't live there year round. They're winter visitors. A lot of those trailers in Chokoloskee weren't occupied; a lot are. So I think there are some solutions, and it's hard to be patient when you've been without power and you're sleeping on your porch. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Agreed. And for the record, I didn't mean to be offensive when I said -- I didn't mean specifically there was nothing being done. There's been an inordinate -- CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, no. I mean the county. Not me; not me. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: There's been an inordinate amount. I didn't -- I misspoke when -- if you understood that, then that was not my intention whatsoever. I certainly, by no means, meant to be offensive. I mean, we've all been doing a lot since this travesty came upon us. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Well, no. The county is. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I mean, the county is the EOC, and it's extraordinary the outreach and what they've brought in, and now it's -- now we're into another level, even though we're still under a declaration of -- I don't remember. MR. OCHS: Emergency. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Emergency, yeah, which I just authorized last night. So, you know, apparently this weekend it's going to be incredible down there what's going to be pouring into your area, into Everglades City and Chokoloskee. COMMISSIONER FIALA: What do you mean pouring in; like the rain? September 28, 2017 Page 25 September 28, 2017 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No, ma'am. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, because there's supposed to be big storms this weekend. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right; there is. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: No. But the help. The help that's coming in there, it's supposed to be really -- there may not be room for everybody that's coming in. So I think it's very, very, very good to assess it on a regular basis, and I know, sir, you're down there doing that. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And I look forward to your comments. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Well, those are my comments for now. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Thank you. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: So -- and, again, there's no magic wand. I just would like to -- I wanted to -- I want it to be a discussion, so... CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Commissioner Saunders? COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I don't necessarily disagree with what you've said in terms of we need to see what we can do. Tonight we're -- we only have really one thing to do, and that is to set the millage rate. And so you're talking about how are we going to spend the money that we're going to be dealing with in terms of that rate, and I think we would need to have a meeting dedicated to that specific purpose, because if you start getting involved in the housing mission, which is really a FEMA mission, then we'd have to know what we're really getting into; how much we're talking about. But in terms of tonight, really all that we can do is set the millage, and then our budget, which we're adopting tonight, that budget is a living document, so we can come back next week and -- September 28, 2017 Page 26 September 28, 2017 COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Amend. COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: -- do any changes that we want. So I would suggest that we focus on the millage rate, and then in terms of the other things that we might want to do with the funds that the county has available in terms of a housing mission or getting trailers or whatever it is that we would ultimately decide to do, if anything, that would require, I think, a separate meeting. We can't do that tonight. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: That's very fair. Thank you. That's a very good way to manage it. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Thank you very much. Mr. Isackson? MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners -- Commissioners, under Item 1A, you had public comments and questions relative to our discussion of rolled-back rate and increases over the proposed millage rates. Item #1C PUBLIC COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS There's -- 1C is public comments and questions. If there are any other additional, it might be appropriate at this time to do that. And if there are none, I'll move to Item 1D on the agenda. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Mr. Casalanguida, no speakers; is that correct? MR. CASALANGUIDA: No, ma'am. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Are you registered, sir? MR. CASALANGUIDA: Byron Donalds; Representative Donalds, ma'am. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you. September 28, 2017 Page 27 September 28, 2017 REPRESENTATIVE DONALDS: Madam Chairwoman, Commissioners, good evening. First of all, I do want to publicly thank all of you for the work you've done in our community since Hurricane Irma left us. I did want to take my time to discuss specifically debris removal. All of us -- I think Commissioner Fiala you weren't able to attend, but all of us were in a meeting with the Governor a couple of weeks ago, and the Governor clearly stated that one of his primary issues is debris removal throughout the entire state, but specifically here in Collier County. I've had conversations with a couple of you about this issue, and I just want to express that it is very important that in spite of all the things that this commission does have to take up, that debris removal happen as quickly as possible. I understand that we have some issues with our current contractor who is tasked with doing this, and I'm aware of some of the fiscal issues that that contractor has to deal with with his subcontractors throughout other counties that they operate throughout the state of Florida. But for the residents of Collier County, for the citizens of Collier County, for the businesses of Collier County, it is imperative that we get this done quickly as possibly even if it means we have to dip into some of our -- I believe the number that was said in this meeting was $40 million roughly in reserves coming through in the fiscal budget that you're actually talking about with respect to your millage rate. The reason why this is critical -- I actually had a conversation today with a lady in a department store. She works here, and, you know, full time, obviously, and she works on commission. And so if people who come to our area in season think that there's 12-foot-high debris in the streets, they might re-think coming here during season, which will depress their earning ability, which will cause additional September 28, 2017 Page 28 September 28, 2017 financial harms to the citizens of Collier County. I do understand that there are contracts that have been negotiated. I completely respect that. But this is a state of emergency as the Chairwoman has stated. And so in a time of emergency, when there are reserve funds available to help expedite this debris removal, I would implore you to take that incredibly seriously and do all you can to expedite debris removal. In a lot of our gated communities, the larger ones, they've already started to take that upon themselves. In my own community, members of my personal community are talking about having a special assessment of the people of that community to do debris removal. Here is the concern with that: A lot of -- all of these residents have already paid taxes to Collier County. They've already paid taxes. So now they're going to have to go and expend money out of their own pockets to do their own personal debris removal. The larger communities will probably have the wherewithal to do that, but what about Immokalee or Golden Gate Estates or Golden Gate City or Everglades City and the like? Those citizens will not have the ability to compile those dollars, but this county can. The purpose of government is to do the things that we cannot do for ourselves as individual citizens. Debris removal is critical for this county to get back on its feet. Thank you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. (Applause.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Mr. Isackson? Item #1D RESOLUTION 2017-177: RESOLUTION AMENDING THE September 28, 2017 Page 29 September 28, 2017 TENTATIVE BUDGETS – ADOPTED MR. ISACKSON: Madam Chairman, that brings us to Item 1D on your agenda, which is a resolution to amend a tentative budget that you adopted on September 7th, 2017. This lone resolution was discussed under Item 1B, and it would be appropriate at this point to have a motion to approve that lone resolution amending the tentative budget. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do I hear a motion? COMMISSIONER FIALA: Motion to approve. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do I hear a second? COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll second that. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Any other discussion? (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor, say aye. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye. COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed, like sign. (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously. Thank you. MR. ISACKSON: Thank you, Madam Chairman. Item #1E PUBLIC READING OF THE TAXING AUTHORITY LEVYING MILLAGE, THE NAME OF THE TAXING AUTHORITY, THE TOLLED-BACK RATE, THE PERCENTAGE INCREASE, AND THE MILLAGE RATE TO BE LEIVIED – READ INTO THE September 28, 2017 Page 30 September 28, 2017 RECORD BY MARK ISACKSON, DIRECTOR OF COPRORATE FINANCE PLANNING MR. ISACKSON: That brings us to Item 1E on the agenda, which is my favorite part, which I get to sit here and read all the levies and the rolled-back percentages and the like. So without further adieu, I'll just begin. Commissioners, the General Fund millage rate is 3.5645; the rolled-back millage rate, 3.3951. That is a percent change from the rolled-back rate of 4.99 percent. Our Water Pollution Control, the proposed millage rate is .0293; the rolled-back millage rate, .0279. That's a percent change from the rolled-back rate of 5.02 percent. The Unincorporated Area General Fund, the proposed millage rate, .8069; the rolled-back millage rate, .7690. That's a percent change from the rolled-back rate of 4.93 percent. The Golden Gate Community Center, proposed millage rate, .1862; the rolled-back millage rate, 1.752. That's a percent change from the rolled-back rate of 6.28 percent. Victoria Park Drainage MSTU, a proposed millage rate of .0346; the rolled-back millage rate, .0346. That's no change from the rolled-back rate. Naples Park Drainage MSTU, proposed millage rate, .0061; the rolled-back rate, .0061. That's no change from the rolled-back rate. The Vanderbilt Beach MSTU, proposed millage rate, .5000; the rolled-back millage rate, .4686. That is a 6.7 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. Isle of Capri Fire, proposed millage rate is zero; rolled-back millage rate is zero. No change from the rolled-back rate. Fiddler's Creek MSTU, the proposed millage rate is zero; the rolled-back millage rate is zero. There's no change from the September 28, 2017 Page 31 September 28, 2017 rolled-back rate. Ochopee Fire MSTU, the proposed millage rate, 4.5000; the rolled-back millage rate, 4.6201. That is a negative 2.6 percent decrease from the rolled-back rate. Collier County Fire, proposed millage rate is zero; the rolled-back millage rate is zero. No change from the rolled-back rate. The Goodland/Horr's Island Fire MSTU, the proposed millage rate, 1.2760; the rolled-back millage rate, 1.2294. That is a 3.79 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Sabal Palm Road MSTU, there is no proposed millage rate, zero; the rolled-back millage rate, .0883. That's a 100 percent decrease from the rolled-back rate. The Golden Gate Parkway Beautification MSTU, proposed millage rate, .5000; the rolled-back millage rate, .3359. That is a 48.85 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Lely Golf Estates Beautification MSTU, proposed millage rate is 2.0000; the rolled-back millage rate, 1.8538. That is a 7.89 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Hawksridge Stormwater Pumping MSTU, the proposed millage rate, .0409; the rolled-back millage rate .0409. There is no change from the rolled-back rate. The Radio Road Beautification MSTU, the proposed millage rate, .1000; the rolled-back millage rate, .0936. That is a 6.84 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Forest Lakes Drainage -- Roadway and Drainage MSTU, the proposed millage rate, 1.3431; the rolled-back millage rate, 1.0083. That is a 33.2 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Immokalee Beautification MSTU, the proposed millage rate is 1.0000; the rolled-back millage rate, 1.0267. That is a 2.60 percent decrease from the rolled-back rate. The Bayshore Avalon Beautification MSTU, the proposed September 28, 2017 Page 32 September 28, 2017 millage rate, 2.3604; the rolled-back millage rate, 2.2302. That is a 5.84 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Haldeman Creek dredging MSTU, proposed millage rate, .7348; the rolled-back millage rate, .6885. That is a 6.72 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Rock Road MSTU, proposed millage rate, 3.0000; the rolled-back millage rate, 2.7775. That is an 8.01 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Forest Lakes Debt Service, proposed millage rate, 2.6569; the rolled-back millage rate, 2.5179. That is a 5.52 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. The Collier County Lighting, proposed millage rate, .1640; the rolled-back millage rate, .1650. That is a minus .61 percent increase under the rolled-back rate. And, finally, the Pelican Bay MSTBU, the proposed millage rate, .0857; the rolled-back millage rate, .0816. That is a 5.02 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. And, Commissioners, the aggregate millage rate, proposed millage rate, 4.1790; the rolled-back millage rate, 4.0016. That is a 4.43 percent increase over the rolled-back rate. Commissioners, that is a -- that is 1E, the public reading of the levies, or proposed. Item #1F RESOLUTION 2017-178: ADOPTING THE RESOLUTION SETTING MILLAGE RATES. (NOTE: A SEPARATE MOTION IS REQUIRED FOR THE DEPENDENT DISTRICT MILLAGE RATES; AND A SEPARATE MOTION IS REQUIRED FOR THE REMAINING MILLAGE RATES) – TWO MOTIONS TAKEN AS REQUESTED – ADOPTED September 28, 2017 Page 33 September 28, 2017 MR. ISACKSON: 1F is the adoption of the resolution which sets the millage rate. And we'll note that a separate motion is required for the dependent millage rates and a separate motion is required for the remaining millage rates. MR. CASALANGUIDA: Madam Chair, one of the -- Dr. Doyle requested to speak under 1F as well, too. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Is this the appropriate time, Mr.Isackson, or do you want to -- MR. ISACKSON: That's -- Madam Chairman, that's up to you. You're controlling the meeting. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All up to me. All right. Let's hear from Dr. Doyle. DR. DOYLE: Good evening, Commissioners. Dr. Joseph Doyle, Naples. A meeting wouldn't be complete unless I was here to talk about Pelican Bay. This is the one part of Pelican Bay that is ad valorem of the Pelican Bay Services Division. As you know, you already discussed on September 7th with the one hearing on the non-ad valorem. I'm not happy about the fact that we only had one hearing, but we're not getting into that. So this here is Fund 778. This is the Lighting and Safety Fund. You know we have all the streetlights up and down Pelican Bay Boulevard and Gulf Park and all around, even over to Artis Naples and all around Pelican Bay. This fund has -- as I mentioned at the workshop in June and again on July 11th, this fund has been accumulating huge reserves. We found out -- there was an increase in the funding of this back in 2012 based on the spreadsheet formula to the year 2050, and we found out in the meantime that the poles are in actually very good condition. September 28, 2017 Page 34 September 28, 2017 They're very hardened -- in fact, most of them survived the storm -- and that they're really good until about the year 2050. So we don't have to put in poles as we originally thought in 2012 when the millage rate first went up. So I've been asking, you know, to at least stay with the rollback on this because they really don't need the money. We've been retrofitting the lamps using the LED lights and that sort of thing. They may want to go through in around the year 2026 and put in new fixtures. But we really don't need to be accumulating. And just symbolically to be accumulating reserves that may not be used for 20 years or so or even more, into the year 2050, 2055 when they will probably need to put in new poles, I don't think it's fair to the taxpayers now who are in their 70s and 80s who will never see those poles. So just, symbolically, I'd like to say that this should go to the rollback rate. And we're talking a difference of $27,000, but it's symbolic. And I would, as a sidenote, just to let you know, that we talked also in July about the Marketplace. Those 140 live oaks survived the storm. It's amazing. It was a miracle. Of all the trees that are down, that survived. Now, the canopy along the rest of Pelican Bay is another matter. But that, I just wanted to let you know, was a miracle. But, anyway, just in what's going on, I'd like to see you, on the dependent district, have the Pelican Bay Services Division live with the rollback rate on this fund. Thank you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Thank you very much. Mr. Isackson? MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners, under Item 1F is your resolution which adopts the millage rates and, as I said before, a separate motion is required for the dependent millage rates and a separate motion is required for all the remaining millage rates. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So do I hear a motion for setting the September 28, 2017 Page 35 September 28, 2017 millage rates? COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll go ahead and make a motion on the -- there's a separate motion required for the dependent districts, so I'll make the motion on the dependent district millage rates as outlined by staff. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. We have to have -- okay. So you're -- COMMISSIONER FIALA: The one that you had just read, yeah. MR. ISACKSON: There will be two motions; one for the dependent millage rates -- CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: And one for the rest. MR. ISACKSON: -- and one for the rest of -- CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: So you're going to start with the dependent. So there's a motion on the floor for the millage rate for the dependent districts. Do I hear a second? COMMISSIONER FIALA: Second. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Any discussion? (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor, say aye. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye. COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed, like sign. (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously. MR. ISACKSON: And then the next motion, Commissioners, would be for all the remaining millage rates, which includes the General Fund 111, and most of the other. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I'd like to make a motion that for the September 28, 2017 Page 36 September 28, 2017 remaining -- for the remaining millage rates as outlined by Mr.Isackson. Do I hear a second? COMMISSIONER FIALA: Yes. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: I have a second. Any discussion? COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Yes. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I would like for us to give consideration to a rate rollback. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. COMMISSIONER FIALA: To what? COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: To a rate rollback to a revenue neutral. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Any discussion? Hearing none -- COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: I am -- I am -- here again, you've heard brief stories, you've seen brief things. We've talked a lot about Everglades. We've talked a lot about Immokalee. We haven't talked about Golden Gate Estates, one of the largest subdivisions in the eastern part of the country, and I think it's incumbent upon us, if we have the capacity, if our staff can get along, even though it's a relatively small amount, that that $17 million reduction in the -- in the fund would be a huge relief to our residents. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Commissioner Saunders? COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: One of the things that you were talking about is the potential for getting involved more with some relief activities in Everglades City and Immokalee. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Right. This is a little broader base. I mean, there is not a person in Collier County that wasn't impacted by this storm. And I don't mean to interrupt. I'm just -- COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: No, no, I understand. I'm just saying, on the one hand, we would be reducing the funds that we September 28, 2017 Page 37 September 28, 2017 would have available for that type of activity, and so I think that that's -- that would be a difficult sell to reduce the millage rate and then come back and ask for additional funds for a housing mission, for example. So I'm going to stick with the motion. I do want to have that conversation about the -- what we can do to help these folks that have been so negatively impacted from the storms. But I would suggest that it would be nice to have a 5-0 vote on this budget so we can go forward to consider that. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: And with regard to that, sir -- and I do -- I understand that it is somewhat counterintuitive to talk about a tax reduction and then talk about additional expenditures at the same time, but I'm also well aware of the history of our community and the taxation that has gone on within our community. The high of 2008 where our -- was our high of budgeted revenue received from ad valorem, and the low being 2012. In 2008 the budgeted revenue is equivalent similarly to what we're collecting this year, 950 million, to a low of 750 million in 2012, and back up again this year to just shy of -- as we've been shared with, just shy of a billion dollars. So there has been some increases in our revenue streams substantially, cumulatively since the low of 2012. It's been close to $700 million just strictly to appreciation and new building permits and the like, so -- and I understand your rationale about it being counterintuitive. I would suggest we do both, but -- and the budget will pass 4-1 just fine. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Any other discussions? COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, I was going to make a few comments because I think Commissioner Saunders hit the nail on the head. Right now we've got a series of things that we have to do for our community, and for the biggest business in our community, which is September 28, 2017 Page 38 September 28, 2017 tourism. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: That's right. COMMISSIONER FIALA: And if we don't get this place cleaned up and if we can't bring our infrastructure back up to working condition, we're going to lose money in the tourism industry which supports us, really. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Yep. COMMISSIONER FIALA: So I really agree with the motion. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: And I feel the same way. It is a double-edged sword. While, you know, it would be nice to provide some relief, we have a lot to do. And I think the discussion which we need to have -- COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: We will. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: -- about what we can do to help the community and those that have lost their dwellings is certainly a discussion we have to have sooner rather than later, so -- but I'm hesitant to start reducing it and -- in the situation that we find ourselves. So I'm going to support the motion as well. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Good. The only thing I was wondering, but then I'm sure it's been done, Dr. Doyle brought up, you know, the increase in something that he says is already up to snuff. It doesn't need to be replaced or anything, but I'm sure that he must have brought it up to the people in Pelican Bay, and I'm sure that they have discussed it. And if they didn't like it, I think a lot of them would be here. So I'm content to trust that that's -- that meets their approval. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Hearing no more discussion, there's a motion on the floor and a second. All those in favor, say aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye. September 28, 2017 Page 39 September 28, 2017 COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed? COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Oh, I'm not aye. Excuse me. I already voted yes. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: You can't vote twice. COMMISSIONER FIALA: I was mimicking you. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: 4-1. Thank you. Item #1G RESOLUTION 2017-179: RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE FINAL BUDGET BY FUND. (NOTE: A SEPARATE MOTION IS REQUIRED FOR THE DEPENDENT DISTRICT BUDGETS; AND A SEPARATE MOTION IS REQUIRED FOR THE REMANING BUDGETS) – TWO MOTIONS TAKEN AS REQUSTED – ADOPTED MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners, that brings us to Item 1G, which is a resolution to adopt the final budget by fund. Note that the -- there's a separate motion required for the dependent district budgets and a separate motion is required for the remaining budgets. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All right. Do I hear a motion to adopt the budget for the dependent districts? COMMISSIONER FIALA: I'll make a motion to adopt the budget for the dependent districts. COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Second. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Second. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Third. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Okay. Any discussion? September 28, 2017 Page 40 September 28, 2017 (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor, say aye? COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye. COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed, like sign. (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously. Thank you. And now a separate motion for the remaining budgets, the General Fund, et cetera, et cetera. Do I hear a motion? COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: I'll make that motion. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Do I hear a second? COMMISSIONER FIALA: I will. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh, that's good. All right. Thank you very much. Commissioner Fiala seconded it. Any discussion? (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: All those in favor, say aye. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye. COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed, like sign. (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously. Thank you. MR. ISACKSON: Commissioners, it would be appropriate for adjournment of the 2008 (sic) public hearing under Item 2. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Oh. MR. OCHS: We're not adjourning the meeting, but -- September 28, 2017 Page 41 September 28, 2017 CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Adjourn the budget aspect of the meeting, yes. We're not adjourning the meeting, so just stay with us. Okay. All right. I heard a motion and hear a second. All those in favor, say aye. COMMISSIONER McDANIEL: Aye. COMMISSIONER FIALA: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Aye. COMMISSIONER SOLIS: Aye. COMMISSIONER SAUNDERS: Aye. CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: Those opposed, like sign. (No response.) CHAIRMAN TAYLOR: It carries unanimously. The meeting of the budget for 2018 is now adjourned. ***** September 28, 2017 Page 42 September 28, 2017 There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was adjourned by order of the Chair at 6:23 p.m. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF SPECIAL DISTRICTS UNDER ITS CONTROL ___________________________________ PENNY TAYLOR, CHAIRMAN ATTEST DWIGHT E. BROCK, CLERK __________________________ These minutes approved by the Board on _______________________, as presented ______________ or as corrected _____________. TRANSCRIPT PREPARED ON BEHALF OF U.S. LEGAL SUPPORT, INC., BY TERRI LEWIS, COURT REPORTER AND NOTARY PUBLIC.