07/10/2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A modest increase has been included forth e Tax Collector's budget in the General Fund. It is important to note that this is simply a Staff estimate as the Tax Collector's budget is not due until August 11t The Property Appraiser has requested an increase of $371,493 or 7.6% for the County funded portion of the budget. General Fund dollars support the bulk of the Property Appraiser's budget, and the General Fund impact is an increase of $329,501 or 8.1%. The budget request includes funding for employee raises. The BCC departmental funding amount reflects an increase of $2,506,083 or 8.8%. There is an increase of 14 full- time positions in various departments including County Administration (2), County Attorney (1), Human Resources (2), Parks (4), Conservation Lands (1), and Building & Facilities Services (4). Two items I would like to highlight: o We are creating an Economic Development Specialist position. Currently, the County contracts with the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce to serve as the County's Economic Development Organization to assist in business attraction, recruitment, relocation, and expansion. The Chamber's Senior Economic Development Practitioner is retiring, and their former Business and Retention position was not funded last year (at the Chamber's request). County Administration has met with the Chamber's Leadership Team and the County will continue to partner with the Chamber to provide these services in a more collaborative manner. ■ The County performs many Economic Development activities currently and the opportunity exists to expand the role in concert with the Chamber. Moreover, the County is conducting an economic study to develop an Economic Development Plan, of which the County's Economic Development Specialist will be responsible to coordinate and implement the plan. o The County's commitment to service excellence applies to our external and internal customers. I am recommending the creation of a new department, the Building & Facilities Services Department. This department will reorganize Building & Permitting and Fire Prevention under one department to enhance integration and collaboration of the building review and inspection process. As part of this, I am proposing the addition of a Chief Plans Examiner, Chief Building Inspector, and Applications Specialist. Fire Prevention Staff will still retain the responsibility of conducting annual inspections for compliance with the Florida Fire Prevention Code. Additionally, there is a need to better manage our existing facilities and assets and dedicated Staff to manage the County's capital projects (from a facilities standpoint). This reorganization requires a Department Director, Capital Project Managers (1 new, 1 transferred from the Public Works Department), and Staff Assistant. Recommended State agency budgets total $5,592,949, which is an increase of $464,410 or 9.1%. This is principally due to a $227,031 or 17.2% increase in Medicaid and a $126,227 or 134.9% increase in State Attorney expenses. The Court Technology Fund and Court Innovation Fund were intended to cover Court Administration expenses; however, once again these expenses cannot be supported. Thus, a total of $610,584 for the Court Administrator's and the State Attorney's budget request is being funded from the General Fund. Municipal Service Taxing Unit (M.S.T.U.) Fund The M.S.T.U. recommended budget is $54,368,135, an increase of $2,338,366, or 4.5% (pages 24-25). Transfers out to the Transportation Fund are increasing by $1,146,902 and transfers for Law Enforcement are increasing by $1,868,296. As transfers out comprise 77.2% of the M.S.T.U. expense budget, any change causes a significant impact on the total fund budget. A summary of major factors impacting the M.S.T.U. Fund are shown below: • Ad valorem tax roll — 10.0% increase, generating $1,628,486 in additional revenue, assuming 95% collections at proposed millage rate.