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BCC Minutes 02/05/1992 S Naples, Florida, February 5, 1992 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 5:30 P.M. in SPECIAL SESSION in Building "F" of the Government Complex, East Nap]es, Florida, with the following members present: CHAIRMAN: Michael J. Volpe (ABSENT) VICE-CHAIRMAN: Richard S. Shanahan Burr L. Saunders Max A. Hasse, Jr. Patricia A. Goodnight ALSO PRESENT: Debby Farris and Annette Guevln, Deputy Clerks; Neil Dorrlll, County Manager; Jennifer Pike, Assistant to the County Manager; Ken Cuyler, County Attorney: William Lorenz, Environmental Services Administrator; Mike McNees, Budget Director; Leo Ochs, Jr., Administrative Services Administrator; Tom Whitecotton, Human Resources Director; Tom Olltff, Public Services Administrator; George Archibald, Transportation Services Administrator; Ken Baginski, Planning Services Manager; Tim Clemons, Wastewater Director; Michael Arnold, UtllttJes Administrator; Ladd Ryziw, Engineering Pro3ect Manager; Eric Young, Planner; Sue Filson, Administrative Assistant to the Board; and Deputy Byron Tomlinson, Sheriff's Office. Page February 5, 1992 ;t?,i PIt~ENTATIO~ OF RECO~4]LFDATIONS PURSUANT TO THE COUNTY MANAGKR'S ~. ~AG~ ~ OR~I~TION~ ~I~ - P~ ACCE~D ~ ~ ~IO~ OF CO~T ~INIS~TION, DK~LO~ S~ICKS ~ PKLIC~ ~Y ~SITIONS ~IL ~R ~YSIS Legal notice having been published in the Naples Daily News on February 2, 1992, as evidenced by Affidavit of Publication filed with the Clerk, public hearing was opened to consider the County Manager's proposed Management Reorganization Plan. Due to the absence of Commissioner Shanahan, John Keschl requested a one week continuance of this meeting to permit the hearing before a full Board. Commissioner Volpe stated there is a quorum, there is a majority and the Board of County Commissioners is prepared to proceed with the meeting this evening. County Manager Dorrtll gave an overview of the County Manager's Agency from a lateral perspective. Utilizing an overhead projector, he explained that historically within the County Manager's Office there have been three assistants, one being the position of Assistant County Manager (said position being vacant at the present time), with two Administrative type positions providing personal assistance and support to the County Manager's position, along with seven line divi- sions dealing with commonly grouped departments, and he proceeded to identify same. He verified there are two departments that are not aligned in divisions, same being the Office of Capital Project Management and Office of Management and Budget. He related that, while some 1,O0! positions have been approved in the budget, the number of positions in the County Manager's Agency is down to around slightly over 900 positions as the result of the hiring freeze and vacancies that are not being filled. He reflected that over the years there has never been more than 5% of the entire organization in a management classification. He announced that over the past five years the number of county employees per capita has ranged from 5-1/2 to 6 employees. He explained that usually there is less than 1/3 of one Page 2 February 5, 1992 ~.'~. management position for every 1,000 residents in Collier County. Commissioner Saunders pointed out that had the Board of County Commissioners not adopted a hiring freeze but instead simply filled all the positions as requested, the percentage would probably increase to 6.2 or 6.3. Mike McNees, Budget Director, interjected that the 5.9 reflects budgeted positions and, therefore, if taking the hiring freeze into affect and looking at how many positions were filled, the number would be considerably below 5.9. County Manager Dorrtll revealed that approximately 80 positions have been included in the hiring freeze and, therefore, at any point in time almost 9% of the entire work force ls lncluded in the freeze. He implied it has been the focus to ascertain which positions can be consolidated or phased out over the long term. In response to Commissioner Volpe, County Manager Dorrill verified he did, tn fact, meet with the Court Administrator's Office regarding the Court Counselling position; with the Development Services Steering Commlttee regarding some of the recommendations within that report concerning the Community Development Division; and, finally, with the Pelican Bay Municipal Taxing District regarding the position of District Manager. He requested the original recommen- dations stand as they have been proposed. Recognizing that the Court Counselling function is believed to serve a valid purpose as a Court Aide to the Judicial System, he suggested eliminating the present position but combining some of the departmental responsibilities to keep the program aspects and, if at all possible, the current encum- bent in that position. Within the Developmen~ Services side, he related there is support of the recommendations which have been made ms well as interest in ascertaining whether or not the Housing and <" Urban Development Department is more of a Social Service function as ~:~ opposed to a Community Development function. Regarding the Pelican "' Bay Municipal Benefit Service Unit, he recommended elimination of the " position of District Manager while exploring some form of contracted 04 ,: Page 3 February 5, 1992 consulting management of the district. Regarding the Court Counselling Program and the Pelican Bay Municipal Service Taxing Unit District Manager positions, Commissioner Saunders questioned whether the Board of County Commissioners should keep these positions intact tonight and direct County Manager Dorrtll to meet with appropriate entities to work out how there might be a County Manager Dorrlll stated he is more /nc]/ned to say these positions have been targeted for elimination, but work should be done to resolve some of the implementation problems between now and October. Commissioner Saunders countered that he prefers to keep the posi- tions open at this time and reconsider them for elimination at a time when a new position has been found. He reasoned that, if recognizing the person and the function should be maintained somewhere in the county structure, there is no reason to create any type of uncertainty for the program or the person tonight when there is no economic impact until October 1, 1992. County Manager Dorrill answered that if his recommendations are heeded and the program is implemented immediately there will, in fact, be some dollar savings as soon as the employees are moved. In response to Commissioner Volpe, County Manager Dorrill con- firmed there is a proposal to consolidate three of the planning departments into one planning department with only one department director as opposed to three. Don Barber, Chairman of Development Services Advisory Committee, stated the industry is still concerned about services, and wants to be made a part of the reorganization planning. Accordingly, he submitted a written list of five proposals regarding the proposed Development Services reorganization. In response to Commissioner Volpe, Mr. Barber confirmed that County Manager Dorrtll has heard a verbalization of the five proposals but has not been afforded the benefit of reviewing the written version Page 4 February 5, 1992 currently presented, which he proceeded to read. He announced that his committee generally concurs with the recommendations proposed by County Manager Dorrtll. The following persons spoke in opposition to the elimination and/or drastic streamlining of the Court Counseling Division citing reasons which include: The wisdom and economic effectiveness of this program dispels any doubt about the worth of same; there is no logic to consolidating this program with the Witness Management Program as there is no relationship between the need to coordinate the presence of witnesses with those in need of counselling due to alcohol and substance abuse, mental or emotional illness, etc.; it is doubtful that consolidation of this program with some other department will affect any savings unless employees are dismissed from within the department it is merged with; the Judges in the 20th Circuit have the highest caseload of any Circuit in the state and our time as Judges is greatly enhanced by what the Court Counselling Coordinator does; and it is a position that is absolutely essential, saves money and, if anything, we should be discussing expanding that area: Judge William L. Blackwell Judge Ted Brousseau Frank Baker, on behalf of the Collier County Bar Association eeo Recessed: 7:00 P.M. - Reconvened: 7:05 P.M. at which time Deputy Clerk Guevin replaced Deputy Clerk Farris The following people spoke concerning this item, stating: the Pelican Bay Services positions should be maintained in order to con- tinue the quality of service in Pelican Bay; residents in Pelican Bay feel strongly that there is the need for a District Manager, however, would not be opposed to contracting for that service; Pelican Bay residents are willing to pay add~tional taxes for add~tional services; strong support for Diane Flagg, whose position of Quality Assurance Manager in EMS is proposed to be cut; if that position is eliminated, the Board needs to look at the substructure of EMS and ask why this critical, pivotal person is not a major player in that organization; the posit/on of Court Counselor should be retained because of the Page 5 February 5, 1992 funds being saved through the progress made in reducing the recidivism rate, and causing individuals to become taxpayers rather than tax bur- dens; concern with loss of services in the field through position cuts that are paid by user fees; the performance of employees should be one of the criteria used in the reduction efforts; those directly affected by the changes as well as the public should have more input into the position cuts, which should also be done in a more compassionate way; the County Manager should be allowed to do the 3ob asked of him by the Board of County Commissioners; elimination of the building inspector and engineering inspector positions means a total of 24 employees will be supervised by the one remaining compliance supervisor, resulting in a degradation of services and elevation of problems to upper level management at an ever increasing rate: Bernie Young, Chairman, Pelican Bay M.S.T.B.U. Advisory Committee Tape #3 Robert Tober, M.D. Ken Rote John Keschl Mark Lamoureux William Jones Heyward Boyce Frank Reske Thomas Gaffney George Keller Karen Bishop Frances Barsh Mark Morton In response to allegations of violation of Collier County Ordinances made by Victor Valdes, Commissioner Volpe asked that he present his information at the next regular Board of County Commissioners meeting during the time set aside for public comment. In answer to Commissioner Saunders, County Manager Dorrlll explained the functions associated with Diane Flagg's position have little to do with EMS. He said her function is to provide training to non-County departments, including the Sheriff's Office and the inde- pendent Fire Districts. He indicated there ts no need to retain that function, however, he will attempt to place the employee within the County. Responding to Commissioner Volpe, Paul Brigham, Court Administrator, stated he and County Manager Dorrtll have met a number of times on the issue of the Court Counselor position. He said Mr. Dorrtll has been presented an alternative proposal, however, this eve- 87 Page 6 February 5, 1992 ning's hearing lacks the benefit of time to work out that proposal. He asked that the position be left on the table, and he be given the opportunity to meet again with the County Manager to look at certain other positions. Commissioner Saunders communicated his understanding that an in- depth analysis of functions was to be performed in order to eliminate positions without eliminating the services. County Manager Dorrill stated the Committee did not do an in-depth analysis of the performance of individuals whose positions are pro- posed to be eliminated. He said the first and foremost goal was to determine whether the position is absolutely essential, not whether an employee is outstanding, average or popular. He reminded the Board that evaluation of employees is not a function of the Board of County Commissioners. County Manager Dorrill commented with regard to the building inspector and engineering inspector positions proposed to be elimi- nated, that those positions were volunteered by management of that Division. He said a goal was set to limit the layers of supervision to three, and in this instance there are four layers before getting to those who do the work. He indicated he took it upon himself to make the difficult decision of putting these two positions on the list. Based on the controversy of this itea, the following ia a verbatim of the ~ot~on by Comissioner GoodnJght and diacusston that fo/lowed: I have a couple of suggestions. I think that during the course of the discussion that we have heard discussions on the position in the Courts Administration. We've heard discussions on Development Services, in Pelican Bay and I think that we should accede the Manager's first Attachment of his plan with the understanding that he's going to come back with the recommendations, I would assume during the budget process, as to how he's going to centralize these and to bring them in. And then we should accept the pay changes and the title simplifica- tions that's in Attachment 2. Is that a motion, Commissioner Goodntght? Yes, sir. I'll second that. Commissioner Goodnight: Commissioner Volpe: Commissioner Goodntght: Commissioner Hasse: Page 7 ". Commissioner Volpe: '~.~. ~ Commissioner Saunders: February 5, 1992 A motion and a second. On the question, Commissioner Saunders? I guess a couple of concerns. First of all, this sort of reminds me of the debate that federal officials are having concerning the federal economy and trying to encourage people to buy more American products. As soon as somebody says that, the other side of the issue says well that's Japan bashing and therefore we shouldn't talk about how to improve purchasing of American goods because that raises the specter of Japan bashing. The same thing has happened here tonight. We've raised questions concerning the Manager's proposal. The Manager has characterized this as a popularity con- test and I take strong exception to that. We are talking about in my notes, five positions and quite frankly, I don't know personally any of the people in those five positions. I know the Court Counselor only by reputation, by what I've heard. I'm sure I've met him but I couldn't pick him out if he was standing here with two other people I couldn't pick out which one was the Court Counselor. Jim Ward at Pelican Bay, I know him by reputation and he's been to a couple of meetings. I don't know him personally. Diane Flagg, I'm not sure if I've ever met her or not, perhaps I have but I don't recall. The Engineering Inspector Supervisor, the Building Inspector Supervisor, I don't know who those people are. So, I want to state at the outset that this is not a popularity contest. I don't know these people. My concern for those five positions that I Just mentioned is that I think we can adopt the Manager's plan almost in total, but I don't think we have to adopt the entire plan and then be characterized as, and if we don't adopt the entire plan we are characterized as making political decisions. For some reason, that's improper to make a political decision. Or we are characterized as doing something that is not objective. I am very objective ia my evaluation of the Manager's plan. I have problems with the five positions that was the focus of this meeting tonight. I'd like to ask Commissioner Goodnight if she would con- sider the following. That is to approve the Manager's plan with the following exception. That the Court Counseling Program or Counselor be left in place. That Mr. Ward with the Pelican Bay Improvement District be left in place. Diane Flagg, the Quality Assurance Protection person, be left in place. The Engineering Inspector Supervisor be left in place. And the Building Inspector Supervisor be left in place. For the time being. And the reason is, that Commissioner Goodnight: ~euruar¥ D, 19~2 there is no economic impact on making that decision tonight to eliminate those positions. We've heard significant information from the public which I think we have an obligation to consider. The Manager by his own admission has said that he did not conduct an /n-depth ana- lysis of the functions. I would like to have an in-depth analysis of those func- tions of those particular positions before we simply eliminate them. Furthermore, in reference to the Court Counseling Program, there's been a state- ment that the person should be preserved and the function should be preserved. So there is no reason to eliminate the posi- t/on tonight. In reference to Pelican Bay, the manager there, Mr. Ward, there's no benefit to the taxpayers to eliminate that position tonight. The Manager has suggested that we have a contractual arrangement with him. Let's work out the contractual arrangement and then let's take a look at the position. We've heard testimony concerning the Quality Assurance Protection Program from Dr. Tober. I'm quite concerned about the elimination of that program without there being an in-depth analysis of the func- tion of that particular position as well as that person. The two Inspector Supervisors, Engineering and Building Inspection Supervisors, the Community Development Division. Those two par- ticular positions are totally funded by user fees. Totally funded by the building industry that came forward today and asked that these positions be main- tained. We al/ get calls from builders, developers, single family home builders. They are constantly calling us up and saying we need help in terms of getting something through the building Community Development Department, we need some help in getting a building inspector to come out and take a look at our project. If we eliminate those two supervisory posi- tions, I believe we create a problem of service to that industry. But more importantly, that industry is paying for those two positi~ns. I would, Commissioner Goodn]ght, respectfully request that I'll support your motion if you'll make that amendment. Well, I think that what my motion said was that the Court~ AdmJnJstrat~on pos~- tion, the position that was in Pelican Bay and the positions that was in the Development Services, that these posi- tlons would be addressed by Mr. Dorrill and the advisory boards that were there and that whether there was a contract and I will go further to tell you that whether there was a contractual agreement or whatever happened with Pelican Bay or with any of the rest of them, that this ~ g~]~Or:~ 10 Page 9 Commissioner Saunders: Commissioner Hasse: Commissioner Saunders: Commissioner Goodntght: Commissioner Volpe: February 5, 1992 would be an item that would be brought back to us during the budget hearings so that the final decision could be made by this Board whether or not to terminate that position or if there was an alter- native selection such as the contractual agreement. However, I will completely disagree about the posit/on with EMS. I do not feel like it is our Job to train the fire fighters in this County without us being paid for it and it has nothing to do with Miss Flagg because I am very well familiar with her. I know her, I have talked to her. She has helped me on a couple of accidents that I have been on the scene and she is an excellent employee. But I feel like that this Board has got to be responsible to the citizens and if we're going to train fire fighters to be EMS, then the independent districts should pay the County for that. And so I have no problem whatsoever of eliminating that one position. OK, Just so I understand your motion then, because I didn't quite understand it the way you've rephrased it. I will support the motion ..... Well I have seconded the motion as it was. Just a second, Commissioner Hasse. OK, I understand, but we're trying to clarify the motion right now and Commissioner Goodnight made the motion. The clarifi- cation, I believe, was a little bit dif- ferent than the motion and I want to make sure I understand what the motion is. The motion at this point is to approve the Manager's plan with four exceptions at this point, the Court Counselor, the Pelican Bay person and the two Inspector Supervisors, the Engineering Inspector Supervisor and the Building Inspector Supervisor, until there's further analy- sis done during the budget process. It's not Just the two building super- visors. It's all of the people that are in Compliance Services, because from Don Barber's paper, that Committee is wanting to go back and look at the reorganiza- tion. They are tn support of the reorga- nization but they're wanting to have some more ~n-depth studies on the thing. So, I'm not Just looking at those two inspec- tors, I'm looking at Community Development all together and at the time we're going through the budget process, where we're going to approve or disapprove, then the Manager's going to come back with his alternatives. Commissioner Goodnight, I think I understood the motion as it's been clarified. And so that I, Just for my February 5, 1992 Commissioner Goodnlght: Commissioner Volpe: County Manager Dorrill: Commissioner Hasse: Commissioner Saunders: own, and maybe for the record as well, your motion is accepting the recommen- dation with respect to Attachment I which has to do with the proposed position reductions? I think that was part of what you recommended ....... With Attachment I with the exceptions of the three which had to deal with Courts Administration, which Mr. Dorrill has indicated that he will work with Mr. Brigham on coming up with Just exactly how that's going to be structured. He also indicated that he's wanting, that he will work with the Steering Committee for Development Services, so that the people that are in there, there will not be a lack of services, but we will still be able to get the Job done. And then the Pelican Bay committee has also said that there are some alternatives for that and directing Mr. Dorrill to look at that. And then accepting the rest of the attachments. Thank you. Obvl~usly these are very dif- ficult decisions that we are required to make. I'm supportive of the plan for reorganization, and I'm not insensitive to the people who occupy certain of these positions. I think that this is a Good first step of what it is we're trying to do and I think that, Mr. Dorrill, you've got your work cut out for you with Phase 2 of this program as well. So, I think that what you've done and what we're attempting to do is responsive to what we feel is a balance in terms of the ser- vices to be provided. And obviously, we are in the business of providing these services and whether it's Development Services or any of the other services. We have not heard from some of the other people whose positions are being elimi- nated and that doesn't mean they are any less important than those who have had people who have come and who have spoken on their behalf. So, there are at least 21 other positions out there that are being eliminated for whom we've not heard a speaker and we've gotten some correspondence. That's not to suggest that those positions aren't equally as important as those s~x that we've heard very eloquent speeches about the impor- tance of those positions and the func- tions. Thank you. Mr. Chairman, before you ask for a vote, I might say this. You said Just what was supposed to be said ~n regard to, we're talking about positions. We're not talking about individuals. Mr. Chairman ,7. Commiss'.oner Volpe: · ~. Commissioner Saunders: Co~issioner Goodnight: February 5, 1992 Mr. Chairman We have a motion and a second. Before you actually call the vote, then support the motion as outlined by Commissioner Goodnight in her last com- ment as to what the motion intended to do. And Mr. Chairman, if you want to hear more about Parks & Rec., Commissioner Hasse and I will be more than happy to give you however long you want to sit here about how important we feel like Parks & Recreation is in Collier County. Commissioner Hasse: No, please not tonight. Commissioner Volpe: We have a motion and a second. Any further discusst.>n? Hearing none, I'll call for the vote. All in favor signify by saying Aye. The motion passes unani- mously. ':i There being no further business for the Good of the County, the i""~ meeting was adjourned by Order of the Chair - Time: 8:45 P.M. ,.;, , ..,,'.~,.'.~ ,,.'.. -> 4'~:" :' ..' it' -" ;~ ,'" ? ..... . .>. . : ~ F...t-,-., . '[7:; ,~ 7 :'.~-",'~;~/a~ ,.~ ~ '.~ ,':~; . .' '.~ ,,~ ~.~,' %t~~ ,>:. Th* ,e[~%~es approved by the Board on as presented or as corrected BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS/EX OFFICIO GOVERNING BOARD(S) OF SPECIAL DISTRICTS UNDER ITS CONTROL Page 12