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BCC Minutes 11/08/2006 S (2007 Legislative Priorities) November 8,2006 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AND COLLIER COUNTY LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION PRE-2007 LEGISLATIVE SESSION WORKSHOP Naples, Florida, November 8, 2006 LET IT BE REMEMBERED, that the Collier County Board of County Commissioners and Collier County Legislative Delegation in and for the County of Collier, having conducted business herein, met on this date at 9:00 AM in a WORKSHOP in Building "F" of the Government Complex, East Naples, Florida with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Commissioner Frank Halas Commissioner Jim Coletta Commissioner Donna Fiala Commissioner Tom Henning ALSO PRESENT: Mike Davis, Florida State Representative Garrett Richter, Florida State Representative Burt Saunders, Florida State Senator Trudi Williams, Florida State Representative James Mudd, County Manager Norman Feder, Transportation Director Jeffrey Klatzkow, Assistant County Attorney Board of County Commissioners Collier County Legislative Delegation Pre-2007 Legislative Session Workshop Wednesday, November 8,2006 9 - 11 a.m. AJ!enda I. Introduction of Newly Elected Collier County Legislative Delegation Member II. Discussion about Collier County's Proposed 2007 State Legislative Priorities . Growth Management Glitch Bill (SB 360) . Water Bill . Insurance · Affordable Housing . Attorney/Court Fees · Portability of Homestead Property Assessments (Collier County opposed) · Partial-Year Assessments · Transportation Funding Tied to Seat Belt Use . 311 funding . Cameras at Intersections to Catch Red-Light Runners Page 1 November 8, 2006 . Oppose Any Attempt to Change Impact Fees · Requesting Change in Florida Statutes to Elect Rather Than Appoint Florida Water Management District Governing Board Members . Amend House Bill 7079 to Give All Counties the Latitude to Exempt Only Portions of Their County With Unpaved Roads From All-Terrain Vehicle (A TV) Use · Address Issues of Concern in Consultant Competitive Negotiation Act III. Property Tax Issues Open Discussion VII. Communications VIII. Public Comment IX. Adjournment Page 2 November 8, 2006 November 8, 2006 The Workshop was called to order at 9:04 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance by Chairman Frank Halas. County Manager Jim Mudd led the review of the Agenda, noting that the 2007 State Legislative Priorities list, as adjusted following today's workshop, will go before the Board of County Commissioners for approval on November 14,2006. Chairman Halas will present the priorities list at Representative Mike Davis' County Legislative Delegation meeting at Naples City Hall on December 19, 2006. The priorities list will also be used in meetings to identify common priorities for the six counties that are members of the Southwest Florida Consortium starting on November 16, 2006. I. DISCUSSION ABOUT COLLIER COUNTY'S PROPOSED 2007 STATE LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES. . GROWTH MANAGEMENT GLITCH BILL (SENATE BILL 360) County Manager Mudd provided background, noting that SB 360, which passed in the State Legislature about two years, changed some State of Florida growth management plan elements that had been in place since 1986. Of particular interest to the BCC is a part of the Bill that addresses Proportionate Fair Share. This enables a developer to pay money up-front to improve roads that will be adversely impacted by the development to the point where the road capacity will exceed the volume of traffic planned for the development - if the road improvement work is in the five-year road program of the county. Collier County legislation does not allow development to begin unless necessary road improvements are in its two-year road program, having changed from a five year to a two-year basis at the request of its voters and taxpayers in 2002. Commissioner Halas added that a developer can pay for road improvements at today's rates, even if a road isn't to be built for five years. Construction costs have been increasing rapidly, and the County can't get any additional funds from a developer for increases in the cost of road construction, leaving taxpayers to pay for the remaining road construction costs. County Manager Mudd stated that the BCC wants to make sure that SB360 does not take away any of the powers put together by the BCC in its Ordinances, its Land Development Code and its Growth Management Plan, and that it's concurrency base system remains two years, not the three or five year concurrency base system included in SB 360. Last year Representative Goodlette helped Collier County get a letter from the DCA that stated that it can keep its concurrency base system, but nothing was obtained in legislative language that would ensure that. Several glitch bills for SB 360 failed last year. Representative Davis commented that the legislative delegation is aware that road concurrency is important to the voters. Flexibility was put in the bill so that the County Commissioners can craft their own Proportionate Fair Share ordinance and their five-year capital improvement element in such a way that they can protect the road segments that they want to develop. He does not expect much to 2 November 8, 2006 happen with SB360 this year, as there are no glaring glitches statewide that need to be corrected. In addition, the DCA letter is valuable. Senator Saunders also noted he doesn't expect much activity this session dealing with growth management. He expressed less optimism with the DCA letter, noting that there is a state law that is inconsistent with what Collier County is doing. It's difficult to fashion state law favorable to Collier County and get support throughout the entire state. However, possibly a Special Act that would apply only to Collier County could be fashioned to provide the comfort that is needed, and he would support that. A Special Act takes precedence over the general law . Commissioner Halas expressed hope that the legislative body in Tallahassee will not change controls on impact fees. They are beneficial to a lot of the counties, even the rural counties, which are going to start experiencing a lot of growth. They need a vehicle to help build their infrastructure, and impact fees have been very beneficial to Collier County. There also need to be other avenues for counties to gamer the necessary funds to build the infrastructure that is going to be needed for future growth in the state of Florida. County Manager Mudd noted that "Oppose any attempt to change impact fees" is an item on Collier County's 2007 State Legislative Priorities list. He asked if all the Commissioners agreed with that, and all indicated that they do. . WATERBILL County Manager Mudd noted that Senate Bill 444 was passed about two years ago and provided some alternative money for waters. The BCC is concerned that some of that alternative money will go to the water management districts, and be siphoned off into the comprehensive Everglades restoration program, because federal funds have not been forthcoming for that program as promised. He added that Representative Davis and members ofthe legislative delegation helped make sure these dollars went for their intended purpose, and he asked the delegation to keep their eyes open and make sure that no abnormal actions transpire that will make it difficult for Collier County to provide water to its citizens. Representative Davis stated that Representative Williams is a water expert; the delegation relies on her expertise, so they have some good eyes watching this Issue. Representative Williams noted that the legislative delegation has encouraged the South Florida Water Management District to increase their alternative water funding. Multiple $500,000 grants are available for reclaimed water facilities and irrigation systems. Commissioner Halas expressed concern that new wells always have to go to greater depths, and their water has a lot of salinity. The BCC hopes to get some permits for sweet water. Representative Williams said that, as County Manager Mudd put it, you are never going to run out of water, but you will run out of cheap water. 3 November 8, 2006 Commissioner Coletta expressed concern that Collier County is restricted from using water from the restored Everglades, but Miami and Ft. Lauderdale on the east coast can tap into that water source. Representative Williams responded that she doesn't believe that to be the case as Miami Dade is required to improve its water reclamation efforts before the Water Management District will give them any additional waters. . INSURANCE Representative Davis indicated that Lt. Governor Toni Jennings' task force report on insurance is due back to the Governor on November 15. The legislature will probably be in special session in early December, and Representative Davis is optimistic that there will a lot of positive things in the task force report that can be implemented in statute. This past quiet storm season should help a lot with this Issue. Commissioner Halas commented that for many years no big storms hit Florida. Insurance companies did well here and now, following two bad years of storms, they are pulling out of the state or are increasing rates dramatically. The legislature was somewhat shortsighted to let these companies leave the state. Insurance companies are in business to take risks, and their astronomical increases are wrong. Collier County is basically an all brand new county with high building code standards, and thus less vulnerable to storm damage than many other areas. Representative Davis agreed, but noted that statewide eighty percent of housing does not meet current building code. Commissioner Fiala noted that the homeowner's insurance company that she had for 32 years with no claims has left the state. Only Citizens Insurance would agree to cover her, and her premium increased by almost 400%. Representative Davis indicated that the legislature has control over Citizens Insurance, and how they operate will be looked at as part ofthe whole insurance reVIew. Commissioner Halas added that when homeowners take action to improve the wind loads that their buildings will withstand, insurance companies give them an insignificant discount on their insurance premiums. This should also be looked at. Representative Davis indicated that he expects an outcome of the special session to be to give direction to the insurance companies to give homeowners specific incentives to make structural improvements to their properties. It's good business for the insurance companies when properties that they cover are better able to withstand storms. County Manager Mudd noted that Commissioner Coyle, who was unable to attend today's workshop, provided an email in today's package with his concerns on this issue. Are hazard risks really spread nationwide or are they regionalized? Also, most damage suffered in Collier County during Hurricane Wilma was paid by homeowners because of increases in their deductibles. Representative Davis noted that while there was no interest is talking about a national catastrophic fund two years ago, today it is being talked about a lot and he expects it to happen. 4 November 8, 2006 Representative Richter added that from his experience with bankers associations over many years, he knows that bankers are very concerned about insurance because they hold the title to most of the assets being insured. Competition within the insurance industry needs to be increased - a government-backed facility will not work ideally for everybody. This issue has to be addressed at a statewide level, not by individual counties. . AFFORDABLE HOUSING County Manager Mudd speaking for the County thanked Representative Davis for his affordable housing bill last year that made dollars for this purpose available within the state of Florida. He commented that removing the cap on the Sardowski funds will help. Representative Davis commented that $512 million was left in the Sardowski trust fund last year. He is an advocate of removal of the cap this year that goes on at $243 million, although not necessarily using all of those funds for existing programs. There are good affordable housing programs that he does support including sale - loan programs, programs that get people into rental housing, and the down payment assistance program that Collier County uses. He chairs an interim task force in the Florida House that will report to the Speaker in mid- January, and he expects more fixes to be coming, including a tax incremental financing mechanism that will be put in statute. The new Governor supports removing the cap on the Sardowski trust fund, but favors keeping a couple of hundred million dollars in it in reserves to help quickly put people back in housing following a major storm. Commissioner Fiala noted that locally more and more housing is available, but high insurance rates tend to make housing less affordable. Representative Davis noted that the increased value of real estate has caused real estate taxes to increase as well, adding to the problem. County Manager Mudd asked that the delegation continue to support any efforts for affordable housing in the state legislature as this is still a major problem. Commissioner Halas added that this is not just unique to southwest Florida; it is an issue throughout the whole state of Florida Senator Saunders said that this is also an important issue for the health care industry, as many people who work in hospitals can't afford to live near them. . ATTORNEY/COURT FEES County Manager Mudd stated that this subject became a problem with the hot real estate market. The County is being charged exorbitant attorney's fees in eminent domain cases. He gave an example of a case in which an appraisal on an eminent domain property was $333,000. A year passed with the County unable to get an agreement with the property owner and a year later, when the case went to court, the property was appraised at $1.4 million - representing some increase in property value and $500,000 in attorney's fees. He has spoken with other County Managers who have had the same experience. 5 November 8, 2006 Commissioner Henning added that this affects the State in their road expansion projects throughout the whole state of Florida. Senator Saunders asked if a quick take was done and the property was acquired immediately, how that would change attorney fees. County Manager Mudd replied that money would be placed in the court's coffers, and when the process was settled, the value at time of settlement would be used, presenting the same problem. Jeffrey Klatzkow, Assistant County Attorney stated that the Legislature has set attorney fees at 25% for property valued over $250,000. That probably was reasonable at one point in time for the labor that was expended, but in current market conditions 10% is probably fairer. Norman Feder, Transportation Director added that the date at which value is set is the date when the first written offer is made. There is a cooling off period of at least thirty days, even on a quick take. By the time a case goes to court and an order of taking is obtained, more time passes. Representative Davis stated that there is a lot of discussion this year about substantial legislation that relates to FDOT and eminent domain situations, and he expects some action. He understands that the Florida Association of Counties will get behind this as well, and that strong voice for 67 counties will help. Commissioner Halas noted that there is a lot of effort to contain the cost of building roads, and these situations have a large effect on that cost. . PORTABILITY OF HOMESTEAD PROPERTY ASSESSMENTS (COLLIER COUNTY OPPOSED) County Manager Mudd noted that proposed homestead exemption legislation would enable a domiciled Florida resident to transfer the benefits of his homestead exemption to a new domiciled residence in the State of Florida. A study by the Florida Association of Realtors indicates that a statewide portability bill might reduce property taxes in Collier County by $55 million, or about one mill. To compensate for that loss, the property tax rate would have to be increased for all property owners. Senator Saunders indicated that there is going to be portability, and he recommended taking a position in support of some limited portability rather than opposing it. It will be on the ballot during the 2008 legislative session, so there is some time to help fashion it. He urged the Florida Association of Counties to come up with some language that makes sense in respect to portability. Commissioner Coletta stated that he chairs the Policy Committee for the Florida Association of Counties, and they are looking at portability within a county. Senator Saunders said that the Legislature will not limit portability to within a county. He said that he would be happy to attend a Florida Association of Counties meeting to talk about this topic, and he recommended that someone from Collier County attend one of the Senate's monthly committee meetings on this subject. He added that there are individuals on the committee who think the amount of money that local governments spend each year needs to be capped. Capping spending is a more effective way to slow increases in property taxes. 6 November 8, 2006 Limiting increases in spending will help property tax payers more in some peoples' minds than trying to deal with the issue of how you tax. Commissioner Henning noted that last night constitutional amendments to lower taxes for veterans and seniors were approved by super majorities. Portability is coming, and it is necessary to take a positive position on what is best for the citizens. Portability across county lines will hurt interior counties which are at their millage cap. Commissioner Henning added that the BCC wanted to welcome Garrett Richter, who became a Florida State Representative last night with his election victory (this first Agenda item was inadvertently skipped). Representative Davis indicated that the BCC's policy guidelines regarding homestead portability were not viable, and recommended that Commissioner Coletta, working with Senator Saunders, craft a new position for the BCC. Commissioner Henning agreed with Representative Davis' suggestion to have Commissioner Coletta work with Senator Saunders to craft a new position paper and bring it back to the BCC. All of the Commissioners agreed. . ADDING $25,000 TO THE CURRENT $25,000 HOMESTEAD EXEMPTION County Manager Mudd noted that Governor elect Crist supports this expansion ofthe Homestead Exemption. This action will cause a loss of$7.3 million to Collier County's general fund each year, and a $25 million loss in revenue in total to all government entities in the County. . PARTIAL-YEAR ASSESSMENTS County Manager Mudd stated that currently real estate in Collier County is assessed annually on January 1. If someone purchases property after January I and makes improvements during that year, those improvements are not recognized by the Property Appraiser until the following year. A more effective way to generate the revenues necessary to pay for the services provided would be to appraise property as additions or newly-constructed homes are completed. Revenues generated from a partial-year assessment plan if implemented are estimated between $2 and $3 million. Senator Sanders stated that he will add this issue to the agenda of the Property Tax Reform Committee for next week. . TRANSPORTATION FUNDING TIED TO SEAT BELT USE County Manager Mudd stated that because the State of Florida does not have a mandatory seat belt law (except for persons under the ago of 18) the state misses out on $30 million in federal funds that could be used for transportation every year. Representative Davis suggested that the Florida Association of Counties get behind this issue. 7 November 8, 2006 Representative Williams noted that she served on the Transportation Committee the last two years and this came up in both sessions. Two issues that come up are that the poor farmer who puts his kids in the back of his pick up truck to drive to church couldn't, and mandatory seat belt use would make hayrides illegal. There is a lot of opposition to this. Mandatory seat belt use passed out of every committee of reference both years, but the Governor vetoed it. Perhaps the new Governor will view it differently. . 311 FUNDING County Manager Mudd explained that, as telephone number 911 is used for emergency services, telephone number 311 could be used for contacting the government for non-emergency issues such as "I have a water bill question, my garbage wasn't picked up, or I need to talk to Social Services, etc." This passed both houses and was vetoed by the Governor. Representative Davis noted that their support is obvious, as this was passed by both the House and Senate last year. He expects that this will be addressed again this year. . CAMERAS AT INTERSECTIONS TO CATCH RED-LIGHT RUNNERS County Manager Mudd stated that the issue of cars running red lights is a big problem in Collier County, Lee County and throughout the State of Florida. Representative Davis said that he has co-sponsored this Bill a number oftimes. Some argue that use of the cameras is an invasion of personal rights. It has been abused in other states by companies that install the cameras and then provide the ticketing mechanism. Commissioner Halas added that he will look for support from the Florida Association of Counties on this issue. . REQUESTING CHANGE IN FLORIDA STATUTES TO ELECT RATHER THAN APPOINT FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS County Manager Mudd noted that House Bill 559, which was introduced last session to eliminate provisions for appointment of members to water management district governing boards and to require board members to be elected, did not pass. Representative Williams who formerly served on the South Florida Water Management District said electing members is a bad idea. The budget of the South Florida Water Management District has increased from $458 million in 1999 to $1.4 billion today. The issue with electing all board members is that those with the deepest pockets (i.e. sugar) could theoretically have nine members on the board. People are appointed to the board to get some diversity on it - competing interests from sugar, the environment, business and finance, engineers and scientists. Today the Governor appoints board members and approves their 8 November 8, 2006 budget - no one else has any input, and it would make sense to have the Appropriations Committee in both the House and Senate review and approve the budget and the millage rate so there would at least be a stopgap before the budget goes to the Governor. This would give the Legislature some input into the budget and the millage rate. Representative Richter said that he formerly served on the Big Cypress Basin Board, and he was appointed for his knowledge of finance more than water. He agreed that the current system provides for a lot of diversity on that Board. Commissioner Coletta disagreed, stating that he trusts the voters to put the right people in place. He asserted there is a disconnect between Water Management and the BCC, and between Water Management and the public. Water Management doesn't respond in a meaningful way when they should, so the public directs problems to individual Collier County Commissioners that Water Management should be addressing. Representative Williams stated that options should be considered, like possibly electing 50% of the members and appointing 50% of them. Senator Saunders said that after listening to today's discussion, perhaps it does make sense to have Board Members elected, and asked Commissioner Coletta for his position paper on the issue. Representative Davis agreed that something needs to change. He thinks this will be looked at in the Florida House this year because there are a number of people like Representative Williams who are concerned about how they operate and their very large budgets. . AMEND HOUSE BILL 7079 TO GIVE ALL COUNTIES THE LATITUDE TO EXEMPT ONLY PORTIONS OF THEIR COUNTY WITH UNPAVED ROADS FROM ALL-TERRAIN VEHICLE (ATV) USE County Manager Mudd stated that HB 7079 permits ATVs to operate on unpaved roadways during the daylight. A county is exempt from this section if the governing body of the county, by majority vote, following a noticed public hearing, votes to exempt the county from it. The Bill is all or nothing - ATVs may be operated on either all of the unpaved roadways or on none of them. This is a problem in the Estates, an area of Collier County the size of Washington DC, which is full of residential properties and has many unpaved roads. There are also some unpaved roads off of Bayshore Drive. Accordingly, before the October 1 deadline the BCC decided to exempt the roads in Collier County from HB 7079. However, if they had the option they would like to have the country dirt roads that aren't residential open to A TV use. The BCC recommends an amendment to this bill to allow all counties in the State of Florida to designate what roads are available for A TV use. Representative Davis expressed support of the BCC's view on this issue. He plans to talk to Greg Evers from the Panhandle who sponsored this Bill and get his feedback. 9 November 8, 2006 Commissioner Halas said that this should be left up to the counties as their representative are closer to their particular situations that the people in Tallahassee. . ADDRESS ISSUES OF CONCERN IN CONSULTANT COMPETITIVE NEGOTIATION ACT County Manager Mudd stated that the CCNA law governs how local and state agencies procure the services of professional engineers, architects, landscape architects, surveyors and mappers. The Competitive Selection step directs that firms are to compete on the basis of qualifications, and the agency is to rank firms in order of their qualifications, based on pre-established evaluation criteria. Agencies are prohibited from considering compensation proposals prior to completing the selection process (i.e., until a shortlist of not less than three firms has been established). However, when the county has a list of pre-qualified firms for particular work, present law makes it very difficult to talk to those firms to determine what their price is going to be for a particular job. Collier County would like to be able to ask more than one pre-qualified firm what it would charge for a particular item, and then select the most qualified firm with the best price. Present law makes it very cumbersome to determine what firms are in a position to take on work, and the price that they would charge. Representative Williams said that the architects, engineers, etc. will oppose change to the CCNA law. As the law was written, five firms might be pre- qualified, and the agency must start with one and negotiate price with them. If an agreement is not reached, the process is repeated with the next pre-qualified firm. There will be a lot of opposition from the Florida Engineering Society to changing this because the law was put in place to avoid bidding between professional entities. The opposition to changing this bill would be phenomenal. II. PROPERTY TAX ISSUES OPEN DISCUSSION County Manager Mudd noted that Senator Saunders already discussed the property tax issue when he recommended that a Collier County representative attend his committee meeting. III. COMMUNICATIONS Commissioner Halas spoke on behalf of the BCC, stating that the Commissioners look forward to working with Representative Richter. He added that they have a great team, and he thinks they will accomplish a lot together. Representative Richter thanked Commissioner Halas for his welcome. Representative Davis speaking on behalf of the delegation, noted that Collier County is one of the very few counties that have the kind of meeting that they held today, and the delegation has a good relationship with the BCC. 10 November 8, 2006 IV. PUBLIC COMMENT None There being no further business for the good of the County, the meeting was concluded by order of the Chair at 11 :04 AM. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - PRODUCTIVITY COMMITTEE WORKSHOP ~~~/' Chairman Commissioner Frank Halas CLERK LL . ciuCk 7. .At.testt, to Chafnl4n s SiQll~nllr. . w ~ } These minutes roved by the Board on t\ 2 i, '?ft!f as presented l,; or as corrected . 11