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News & Notes
TBRC moves TABOR Forward
JobLine
Citrus County
County Administrator
Palm Beach County
Director of Tax Services
Palm Beach County
Internal Auditor
CALENDAR
March 25, 2008
Inaugural Connect Florida and Kids Voting Gala
Leon County
March 26, 2008
FAC Legislative Day
Leon County
March 26, 2008
Affordable Housing Day
Leon County
March 27, 2008
CCC Workshop: Understanding Charter Government
Leon County
March 27-28, 2008
Local Government Finance & Tax Seminar
Orange County
April 18, 2008
Establishing Stormwater Utilities in Florida
Orange County
June 15-18, 2008
GFOA 102nd Annual Conference
Broward County
June 22-25, 2008
GMIS Conference
Atlantic City, NJ
June 24-27, 2008
FAC Annual Conference
Miami-Dade County
The TBRC Planning and Budgetary Processes Committee met on Thursday, March 6. The committee discussed and passed several proposals including the TABOR proposal (CP45) which would limit the growth of government spending. After much public testimony from all sides the TABOR bill passed by a vote of six to four. The proposal now moves to the vote of the full commission where it will need 17 affirmative votes to reach the November ballot.
House and Senate Budget Cut Proposals
The House and Senate will be conferencing this weekend on their proposals to reduce current year spending. It appears that they are close in their proposals and should reach agreement fairly easily. House budget cut totals $528 million versus Senate proposal of $523 million. Primary difference is in trust fund cuts. Neither proposal has significant direct impacts to county resources.
FAC President meets with Lt. Governor and Senate President
President Teresa Jacobs (Orange County) was in Tallahassee on Tuesday and Wednesday and met with Lt. Governor Jeff Kottkamp and Senate President Ken Pruitt on FAC priorities and expectations for 2008. President Jacobs (Orange) me with Lt. Governor Kottkamp and several key budget staffers to talk about the Governor’s priorities in economic stimulus, health care and energy.
TBRC Committee unanimously passes Unfunded Mandates proposal
The TBRC Governmental Procedures and Structure Committee met on Thursday, March 8, 2008, in Tallahassee. The committee discussed and passed several proposals including FAC’s unfunded mandates proposal (CP46), sponsored by Commissioner Mike Hogan. The proposal was passed unanimously by the committee. The proposal will next be heard by the Planning and Budgetary Processes Committee at a date to be determined.
FAC would like to thank all of the county lobbyists and staff that made an effort to attend the meeting and thank Commissioner Hogan for his support of this amendment.
Elimination of Form will result in $40.5 million loss to Counties over three years
Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) Form D-219 is now required as part of the closing process for the sale of a home. Currently, DOR pays one percent of the deed portion of the document stamp to counties to process the form. Speaker Rubio held a press conference this week supporting the elimination of the form. If the DR 219 form is eliminated counties will lose roughly $11.5 million in the first year and an estimated $40.5 cumulative by the third year.
FAC fights to help public defenders dodge a bullet
Last week, public defenders across the state faced major budget cuts that would have caused a temporary shut down of some offices. FAC worked hard to protect these offices from cuts and as of Thursday, those efforts proved successful. To read the Miami Herald article summarizing the debate, click here.
Energy Legislation Unveiled
Both the House and the Senate unveiled first drafts of their major energy package this week. SB 1544 by Senator Saunders was work shopped in Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation on Thursday afternoon. The Senate version is the Governor’s package. PCB-ENRC-08-01 (ENRC1) was work shopped in House Energy on Wednesday morning. Both bills have been described as first drafts, with many more changes to come. The House plans to unveil a second round of additional Energy language next week.
DCA Secretary proposes growth management legislation
Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Secretary Tom Pelham presented his agency’s growth management legislative package to the Senate Community Affairs Committee this week. Among the issues proposed by Pelham is a recommendation that the state consider alternative transportation concurrency methods that would utilize a mobility fee based on vehicle and people miles travel.
Juvenile Justice Bill passes out of House committee
The Blueprint Commission work shopped their recommendations in the House Juvenile Justice Committee and Senate Criminal Justice Committee. HB 273 by Rep. Adams (Orange – R), which extends the period of time juveniles who have allegedly committed an offense can be held in detention awaiting trial, passed out of House Safety and Security Council by a vote of 12 Yeas and 3 Nays
Inmate benefits to be debated next week in House committee
If you are in Tallahassee, please come support HB 525 by Rep. Roberson on Tuesday morning in Health Innovation Council at 8 am in room 212 of the Knott Building. HB 525 is a FAC priority that will have long-term cost savings for the state and county government by allowing benefits for inmates that are incarcerated for less than a year to be suspended versus terminated. For more information on this legislation, please contact Amanda Ghaffari.
Detention Cost Sharing Training Session Held
On Friday, February 22nd the Department of Juvenile Justice held a training session on Detention Cost Sharing. There were representatives from nine counties including Brevard, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Orange, Osceola, Pasco and Polk. There were five documents distributed at the training that are now posted on our website and can be accessed by clicking here.
The Director of FEMAs’s Long-term Recovery Office in Florida Announces Resignation
The Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Long-term Recovery Office in Florida, Scott Morris, announced that he would be resigning from the agency on March 15, 2008. The Long-term Recovery Office was established in Florida after the 2004 hurricane season in partial response to FAC’s lobbying efforts in Washington.
Status of other TBRC proposals
The TBRC Governmental Procedures and Structure Committee met on Thursday, March 8, 2008, in Tallahassee. In addition, to passing unfunded mandates the committee also passed CP22 (Daryl Rouson), pertaining to the affordable housing trust fund, CP21 (Carlos LaCasa), pertaining to property tax reform, CP33 (Carlos LaCasa), tax exemption for municipal property, CP42 (Barney Barnett), property assessment challenges and presumption of correctness and CP51 (Nancy Riley), concerning special districts.
FAC 2008 Legislative Day
The FAC 2008 Legislative Day will be held Wednesday, March 26, in Leon County. Click here to visit the FAC Website for all of the details including a preliminary schedule of events, hotel information and online registration. Speakers at this year’s event include Taxation and Budget Reform Commissioner Mike Hogan, Dr. Susan McManus with Leadership Florida, and House Representative Dean Cannon.
FAC 2008 Annual Conference & Exposition
The FAC Annual Conference and Exposition will be held June 24-27 at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami-Dade County. Our room block is officially open for reservations. Click here for hotel information, a preliminary schedule of events, and golf tournament registration. The Annual Conference brochure and registration form will be available the first week of April.
Governor Crist Appoints Pickron to the Calhoun County Board of County Commissioners
Governor Charlie Crist has appointment Elizabeth “Beth” Pickron, of Blountstown, to serve on the Calhoun County Board of Commissioners. Pickron, 78, will fill the vacancy created by the death of her husband, James Pickron, who passed away on January 10, 2008. Pickron’s term will end on November 17, 2008. Please take a moment to welcome Commissioner Pickron to the FAC family.
CCC: Understanding Charter Government
There’s less than 2 weeks left to register for the CCC workshop, Understanding Charter Government. The deadline is Wednesday, March 19. Held after Legislative Day, this workshop will focus on charter government structure, the charter process, and home rule challenges that charter governments face in Florida. Commissioners in attendance will receive 3 Elective credit hours towards CCC certification. For a registration form please click here.
SCTAS SPECIAL PROJECT REMINDER
This is a reminder to all participating small counties that all projects must be completed and the necessary paperwork submitted to SCTAS by June 2. Many special projects are underway toward completion, but please be advised that we are unable to grant extensions. If your documentation is not received by June 2, your SCTAS assistance may be in jeopardy.
Martin County Honored with Parks and Conservation Lands Award
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) have awarded Martin County on a winning program during the fourth annual County Leadership in Conservation Awards ceremony, which recognizes leadership, innovation, and excellence on local land conservation and park creation initiatives by county leaders across America.
2008 Public Records Management Seminars
Mark your calendar and register now for a seminar in your area!
This one-day seminar is designed to provide attendees with fundamental information on public records access issues and records management requirements and procedures. After completion of this seminar, attendees will be able to apply records management principles and best practices to ensure that their respective records management programs are in compliance with Florida’s Public Records Law.
Nationwide Retirement Solutions/NACo 2008 College Scholarship
Nationwide Retirement Solutions (NRS) will give two Nationwide®/NACo college scholarships, each worth $2,500, to two high school seniors whose parent or grandparent participates in NACo's 457 Deferred Compensation Plan. FAC is proud to partner with NACo and Nationwide in this long standing commitment to aid in helping your county’s employees to save for their future.