Okaloosa County BOCC — November 4, 2012 — reading text

improvement planning, which would drive what the city submitted. "It's a shotgun approach," he said. "Those who will be successful will be flexible ... and will be able to mold their project to fit the criteria." -38- Packet Pg. 307  6.1.a.b Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order Savannah Morning News (GA) February 24, 2009 CITY, COUNTY DISPUTE JAIL BILL SAVANNAH, CHATHAM WORK TO RESOLVE $600,000 IN CHARGES Author: ERIC CURL, 912-652-0312, eric.curl@savannahnow.com Attachment: Colin Baenziger (1222 : Search Firm for Position of County Administrator) The time it takes Savannah to reimburse Chatham County for costs associated with housing jail inmates has some county officials concerned. City officials say extra time is needed to scrutinize the county's error-filled monthly bills. According to an intergovernmental agreement, Savannah is supposed to pay the county $35 per day for each inmate arrested in the city. Bills are to be sent and paid monthly, but a back and forth between the two governments regarding certain charges has delayed the process. The delays have been a recurring challenge and county officials are trying to speed up payments, said County Manager Russ Abolt. "It's money we feel we're due," Abolt said. Some county commissioners voiced concerns after no reimbursements were received after the first quarter and only a small portion of the amount budgeted had been received after the second quarter, which ended Dec. 31. Abolt attributed the delay to the time the city takes checking the bills. On average, it takes two to three months from the time the Sheriff's Department sends an initial list of jail fees until the final bill is sent, said Linda Cramer, county finance director. A final bill for August, September and October did not get sent until January, Cramer said. Once the bill is sent, Savannah typically pays in two to three weeks, Cramer said. Savannah paid the county about $1.3 million last year for inmate housing, she said. About $404,000 has been received this year. "When we have an accurate bill, we pay it," said Assistant City Manager Chris Morrill. But accuracy is not typically the case, Morrill said. Between 2003 - when the agreement became effective - and 2007, more than $640,000 worth of errors were discovered, Recorders Court Director Prince Johnson said in a memo regarding the issue. An average of 10 percent, or almost $10,700, worth of errors is found each month, Johnson said. Sheriff Al St Lawrence and Jail Administrator Col. McArthur Holmes said there are disagreements regarding certain charges. The city may refuse to pay for a city inmate once another jurisdiction places a hold on that inmate, Holmes said. The city should still pay the bill, he said. The day an inmate is "bound" to the courts is also commonly a matter of dispute. City officials say inmates are often classified as city prisoners when the arrest actually took place in the unincorporated county. The county has no similar complaints from the other municipalities, St Lawrence said. Other municipalities may return their rosters more quickly, but their bills consist of only a small fraction of the bookings reviewed by Savannah, Johnson said. Savannah typically reviews an average of 930 inmates and more than $100,000 in charges, while Garden City was invoiced an average of about $5,600 in charges for the first 10 months of 2008. The county proposed having the city pay an average advance each month to speed up the process. Depending on the actual expense, the city would later be credited or charged. City officials declined. The county should work on fixing the errors before the city should have to pay an incorrect bill, Morrill said. -39- Packet Pg. 308  6.1.a.b Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order Entrepreneur August 2008 GFOA's new president-elect and executive board.(Government Finance Officers Association) (Paul A. Macklem, Catherine R. O'Connor,) The Government Finance Officers Association is governed by an 18-member executive board, which consists of 15 members-at-large serving staggered three-year terms, the current president, the previous year's president, and the president-elect. At the association's annual meeting in June, Attachment: Colin Baenziger (1222 : Search Firm for Position of County Administrator) GFOA members voted for a slate of nominees for president-elect and five new members-at-large, each of whom is profiled below. [Note: We have included only the information for Christopher Morrill who was appointed as an at-large board member.] CHRISTOPHER P. MORRILL Assistant City Manager--Management and Financial Services City of Savannah, Georgia Chris Morrill has been a GFOA member for 17 years. He is a member of the GFOA Committee on Economic Development and Capital Planning and also served on the GFOA Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy from 1994 to 1999. Morrill has been an instructor for various GFOA training seminars including Budgeting for Budget Analysts, Capital Budgeting, and Best Practices in Budgeting. He also reviews budgets for the GFOA's Award for Distinguished Budget Presentation Program. He has spoken on issues including economic development at GFOA annual conferences as well as at Florida and Georgia GFOA conferences. He has also written articles for the Government Finance Review. Morrill shares his expertise internationally He was a municipal finance advisor to the South African National Treasury and a Peace Corps volunteer in public finance in Ukraine. He is a Fellow of the Kellogg National Leadership Program. In Savannah, he instituted annual five-year financial planning and five-year capital planning, reducing the tax millage rate by 27 percent in 10 years. -40- Packet Pg. 309  6.1.a.b Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order Savannah Morning News (GA) July 19, 2008 CITY MULLS HIKE ON TAX REVENUE, RISING FUEL COSTS GAS PRICES, LOWER REVENUE BEHIND SAVANNAH'S CONSIDERATION AGAINST ROLLING BACK PROPERTY TAX FOR FIRST TIME IN A DECADE Attachment: Colin Baenziger (1222 : Search Firm for Position of County Administrator) Author: ERIC CURL, 912-652-0312, eric.curl@savannahnow.com High city fuel costs and less consumer spending mean some Savannah property owners will pay more in property taxes this year. City Manager Michael Brown recommended during a City Council workshop Thursday that the board not roll back the property-tax rate as it has done for the past 10 years. "We could reduce it, but there are several reasons not to," Brown said. "We're recommending you stick with what you got at the moment." Maintaining the tax rate at its current level of 12.5 mills - or $12.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value - means the owner of a $125,289 home will pay $19 more than in 2007 due to increased property value, said Assistant City Manager Chris Morrill. Those same property owners would only pay $9 in additional property taxes if the tax rate was rolled back to the recommended level. Savannah officials contend the extra money is needed because the city is facing a projected $1.1 million shortfall in sales-tax revenue and about $800,000 in unexpected fuel costs. Much of the revenue decline comes from a drop in food, automobile, home and lumber sales, Morrill said. A larger-than-expected increase in property- tax revenue is enough to cover the difference but only if the tax rate is kept flat. Commercial and residential properties that are not primary residences could see more of an increase because they're not protected by the Stephens-Day Homestead exemption, which essentially freezes a home's taxable value but factors in consumer price index fluxuations. There have been some positive developments during the year, Morrill said. Property-tax revenue is expected to increase 3 percent more than the city originally anticipated, which would bring in an extra $1.9 million. More than 60 percent of the growth in property value, about $228 million, comes from new development as opposed to reassessed values of existing property. "This is the type of growth we want," Morrill said. The implementation of energy savings programs in city buildings last year, such as new heating and air-conditioning controls and weatherized buildings, has resulted in a reduced power bill, Morrill said. "It's the first time I can remember we are actually spending less on electricity," he said. Hotel and motel tax revenue appears likely to come in even or slightly above the budgeted amount. "Savannah has been amazing the last five years," Brown said. "A lot of these (hotels) are running around with 70, 80 percent occupancy." Still, the tax rate needs to stay where it is to cope with the ongoing "recession," Morrill said. Mayor Otis Johnson said he was concerned Georgia lawmakers could limit the amount of property-tax revenue the city takes in after making unsuccessful tax reform measures this past legislative season. "So I think we have to take a very conservative approach to what we do," Johnson said. "The question is will we ... get caught up in the trend of the day and want to get on the rampart and say we cut taxes. If we cut taxes, what are we going to cut in services?" -41- Packet Pg. 310  6.1.a.b Internet Research Morrill, Christopher Note: This research will be presented in reverse chronological order Savannah Morning News (GA) May 1, 2008 LNG NEVER PAID FIRE FEES SAVANNAH OFFICIALS WANT TO COLLECT MORE THAN $500,000 IN UNPAID BILLS Attachment: Colin Baenziger (1222 : Search Firm for Position of County Administrator) Author: SCOTT M. LARSON, 912-652-0397, scott.larson@savannahnow.com The El Paso Corp. made more than $1 billion last year, in part from the liquefied natural gas plant it owns on Elba Island. But the company refuses to pay nearly $500,000 the city of Savannah claims the company owes in fire protection fees from the last three years, plus $178,000 due in October. "I can't imagine $178,000 to protect the community that they are