Alachua County Special Meeting

Minutes

Tuesday, May 07, 2024 at 10:00 A.m. - 11:00 A.m.

County Administration Building - Grace Knight Conference Room

12 SE 1 Street, 2nd Floor, Gainesville, FL 32601

Present:

• Chair Mary Alford, 
• Vice Chair Charles S. Chestnut, IV, 
• Commissioner Ken Cornell, 
• Commissioner Anna Prizzia, 
• and Commissioner Marihelen Wheeler 

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A.

Approval of Agenda

Commissioner Wheeler moved adoption of the agenda as printed. The motion carried 4-0 with Chair Alford out of the room.

2nd Commissioner Prizzia

B.

Items for Discussion

1.

FY25 Budget Development Clerk of Courts Budget Request - 24-00405

Assistant County Manager Crosby thanked the Constitutional Officers for submitting their budget proposals by the expedited time frame the County requested.  

Clerk of Court J.K. "Jess" Irby presented the above item.

Clerk Irby stated that the Clerk's Office is not requesting any operational enhancements. The Clerk's Office is requesting the funding to provide the same Cost of Living raise to the Clerk's staff as the County will provide for County staff and to be funded equally for the insurance benefits. The Clerk's Office is requesting to be allowed to retain the fees for recording documents to assist with insurance for the Court staff. The recording fees amount to around $200,000 typically. 

Commissioner Cornell presented comments regarding the employee/employer split for the insurance cost. The Self Insurance Review Committee is proposing changing the split to reduce the employee share to remain competitive in the employment market.  

2.

FY25 Budget Development Judicial Offices Budget Request - 24-00406

Public Defender

Public Defender Stacie Scott presented the above item.

Public Defender Scott stated that her office is requesting a continuation budget with the only increases being the Cost of Living raise and insurance cost. There is a small increase of $5,000 for IT to deal with the cost of inflation.

State Attorney

Assistant County Manager Crosby advised that the State Attorney's Office is requesting a continuation budget this year. 

Court Administration

Court Administrator Michael Reeves and Chief Judge the Honorable Mosely presented the above item.

They advised the Court System is requesting the position of a Gerneral Magistrate to handle mental health cases. The position is currently existing and assisting with cases, but the position is funded by pandemic funding which is not available for the next fiscal year. 

Commissioner Prizzia, Commissioner Cornell, and Commissioner Wheeler presented comments. 

Gaurdian Ad Litem

8th Circuit Director Angela Jacob presented the above item.

Ms. Jacob thanked the Board for their support as well as the facilities department and Assistant County Manager Crosby for working with them to move them to a new office in the Children's Trust Building. Her office is requesting a continuation budget this year. 

3.

FY25 Budget Development Property Appraiser Budget Request - 24-00407

Property Appraiser Ayesha Solomon presented the above item.

Property Appraiser Solomon stated that their budget request is a continuation budget with the exception of a $100,000 contingency for ongoing lawsuit legal cost. 

Commissioner Cornell and Assistant County Manager Crosby presented comments. 

4.

FY25 Budget Development Tax Collector Budget Request - 24-00408

Chief Deputy John Constable presented the above item. 

Chief Deputy Constable stated that the Tax Collectors Office is requesting a continuation budget with the exception of Cost of Living increases and insurance. The office will be opening two kiosk locations at Publix locations on 13th Street and 39th Ave. The Office will also start licensing for security agencies. The intent is to continue to pay extra funds towards the bond for the new facility. The bond is scheduled to be paid off in 2030 but the extra payments should have the facility paid for in Fiscal Year 2026. 

Chair Alford entered at 10:23 a.m.

Commissioner Cornell, Commissioner Prizzia, Commissioner Wheeler, and Chair Alford presented comments. 

5.

FY25 Budget Development Supervisor of Elections Budget Request - 24-00409

Supervisor of Elections Kim Barton and Chief Deputy Carl Delesdernier presented the above item.

Supervisor of Elections Barton stated that Included in this budget is the cost of the Sunday voting at all eight early voting sites pending approval. There is a request for 1 additional full time elections IT manager. There are increases in vendor cost and postage for the election. There is no funding for a recount in this budget. Should one be necessary a request for additional funding would be necessary. 

Mrs. Barton stated that her office is currently seeking a way to have parking for poll worker training near the building or transportation from parking to the facility. She stated that Assistant County Manager Peebles has been searching for parking for the poll workers. 

Commissioner Cornell, Commissioner Prizzia, Chair Alford, Commissioner Wheeler, and Commissioner Chestnut presented comments. 

Sheriff Emory Gainey stated that the Sheriff's Office does have a 30 to 40 passenger bus. If the Supervisor of Elections will coordinate with his staff in advance of the training his office may be able to assist with transporting poll workers. 

6.

FY25 Budget Development Sheriff’s Budget Request - 24-00410

Sheriff Emery Gainey and Chief Financial Officer Pati Justice presented the above item. 

SWORN Officer/ Detention Officer Staffing

Sheriff Gainey stated that the proposed budget does include a 10% increase to the base pay for Sworn Officers and Detention Officers. This would bump up the base pay to $55,000 in order to be competitive with surrounding agencies that have pouched employees with higher pay. 

Mental Health Co-Responding Teams

Sheriff Gainey feels the teams are very valuable, but the mental health component has been funded by grants. Those grants are going away so additional funds will be needed to keep the program operating. 

Request for additional staff

• One General Counsel
• One Risk Coordinator
• One Civil Technician
• One Evidence Specialist

Florida Sheriff's Risk Management Fund

Sheriff Gainey stated that they are anticipating an increase in premiums. Auto insurance is expected to be from 14% to 25% higher. 

Mobile Command Center

The Mobile Command Center is a 1997 vehicle that has served the Sheriff's Office well, but it is in need of replacement. The projected cost for replacement is $1,200,000. This item is in the proposed budget for this year. 

Bomb Truck

The Sheriff's Bomb Truck is a 2009 truck that was retrofitted to serve this purpose. It was never designed for this intended purpose and will also need replacement. The estimated cost is $600,000. This item is in the proposed budget for this year.

Helicopter

The Sheriff's Office Helichopters are not in this year's proposed budget, but he wanted it to be on the radar for the future. The helicopters are 1969 and 1973 models. The model is no longer being made and getting parts for maintenance is becoming very difficult. The price for a replacement is estimated at $5,000,000. There are financing options available to consider. 

Substations

The Sheriff's Office would like to open full-service substations to provide the services in areas of need. However, this is not in this year's budget. 

Commissioner Cornell, Commissioner Prizzia, Commissioner Wheeler, Chair Alford, and Commissioner Chestnut presented comments. 

7.

Fire Assessment Update Study Presentation – Preliminary Results - 24-00425

Fire Chief Harold Theus and Stantec Consultant Peter Napoli presented the above item. 

Chief Theus advised that the department needs to replace the self-contained breathing apparatus which is a $2,500,000 expense. 

Current Rates                                                      Preliminary 2025 Rates

Tier 1 $90.69 per parcel                                       Tier 1 $144.99 per parcel

Tier 2 $8.31per Structure Val EBU                       Tier 2 $7.96 per Structure Val EBU

Chair Alford, County Manager Lieberman, Commissioner Cornell, Commissioner Prizzia, and Budget Manager Maureen Rischitelli presented comments. 

C.

Closing Comments

1.

Public Comment

There was no one present who wished to address the Board. 

2.

Commission Comment

Commissioner Cornell discussed the afternoon meeting and the time frame for the meeting. 

Chair Alford thanked Vice Chair Chestnut for running the meeting today. She is not feeling 100% and appreciated his assistance. 

D.

Adjourn

There being no further business before the Board, the meeting was adjourned at 12:24 p.m.