Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council — January 8, 2013 — Minutes — reading text

that he will draft the ordinance. Mr. Harris clarified his motion, stating the County Attorney will draft the ordinance to adopt the Equity Study Committee’s recommendation of one category and one fee for business tax receipts in compliance with State Statutes. 4 yeas, 1 nay. (Mr. Parisot voted no.) SHERIFF’S OFFICE – FUNDING FOR SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS Sheriff Larry Ashley stated he is present to ask for help from the Board, the School Board, the State, and the Federal Government on the issue of providing a safe and secure environment in the schools. He said it is unfortunate that we live in a time where resources must be allocated to protect our elementary school children from crimes of society. Sheriff Ashley stated this has become necessary after the tragedy in Connecticut where 20 children and six administrators were killed in an elementary school, after the shootings in Colorado and Pearl, Mississippi, at colleges and others. When schools resumed after the holiday break, Sheriff Ashley stated he placed School Resource Officers (SROs) in all elementary schools. These officers were taken from other divisions, such as traffic, street crimes, and court security. He pointed out this is a stop-gap measure until the end of the school year. Sheriff Ashley stated that he will make this same presentation to the School Board within the next few days. As Sheriff Ashley began his PowerPoint presentation, he stated that he had a good meeting this morning with Commissioner January 8, 2013 -6- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Windes, Superintendent of Schools Mary Beth Jackson, School Board Member Rodney Walker, the School Board’s chief financial officer and attorneys. He said we are looking for a solution on how to sustain the SROs in all schools in the county. The purpose of the 2013 School Resource Officer Program was detailed as follow: Provide specially trained and equipped School Resource Officers (SROs) on all public school campuses in Okaloosa County. In partnership with the Okaloosa County School District, parents, Department of Juvenile Justice, De- partment of Children and Family Services and other stakeholders to provide and maintain: o Armed law enforcement presence o Physical campus security (doors, locks, monitoring; this will include tracking and video monitoring of school buses) o Intelligence efforts geared toward identifying and countering internal and external threats before they occur o Mentoring students through special programs and curriculum to create a culture that minimizes bullying and anti-social behavior Sheriff Ashley reported that he continues to receiving telephone calls with positive input on the placing of SROs in elementary schools. He said the big question is “How do we pay for this?” The SRO program for the current fiscal year costs $1,328,402 for 14 officers. The additional number of SROs needed for this year is 26, for a total SRO program of 40 officers. The cost to keep these officers in the schools until June 30 is $1,130,397. Mr. Amunds interjected the PowerPoint was emailed to the commissioners late in the day and it will be made available on the county website. Sheriff Ashley responded that he did not want to release the presentation until after his meeting with the Superintendent of Schools this morning, in the event some of the information changed. Continuing, Sheriff Ashley stated SRO funding for this fiscal year receives appropriations of $752,277 from the School Board and $576,125 from the County Commission. To add the 26 additional officers for the remainder of the school year will cost $1,130,397. He recommended that cost be split between the School Board and the BCC. Sheriff Ashley stated that he has January 8, 2013 -7- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners $300,000 from the Federal Equitable Sharing Fund (forfeiture funds) that he will commit to the costs. He pointed out those funds can be used to hire new employees for one time only. This would leave $265,198 as the county’s share. Sheriff Ashley asked the Board to pledge $265,198 from its Reserves to cover these costs. The Sheriff said he will need 26 additional officers. The estimated program cost for 40 SROs for FY 2013-14 is $3,485,122. He stated Mr. Windes made a good suggestion in the meeting this morning. It was Mr. Windes’ suggestion to evaluate the positions on a quarterly basis, backfill the positions, and prepare a budget amendment for the new hires. Sheriff Ashley said one of the first steps is to petition the Governor for increased funding for the Safe Schools Program and to seek assistance from the Legislature which goes into session in March. He was hopeful the Federal Government would also assist along these lines. Possible future funding options were listed by the Sheriff. They included: o Ad Valorem Taxes. The Board-funded portion of the program could be funded by an increase of one-tenth (1/10th) of one millage point. o Local Option Sales Tax. A one-eighth (1/8th) cent sales tax would generate approximately $3,375,000 per year. This would require a legislative change to the Florida Statutes to allow use of the sale tax for the SRO program. A sales tax would also spread the funding burden from just property owners to everyone who purchases goods and services in the county. o Utility Franchise Fee. A $2.50 per month franchise fee would generate an estimated $2 Million annually from residential customers. o Local Option Gas Tax. This tax is designated for transportation needs and would require a change in the Statutes. o Local Option Utility Tax. This tax is available to municipalities and charter counties only and would also require a change in the Statutes. o Local Option Communications Tax. The county already uses this revenue source. o Tourist Development Tax. A statutory change would allow for use of of this revenue source for beach and marine January 8, 2013 -8- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners  units supporting tourist areas and would allow corresponding ad valorem revenue to be used for the SRO program. o State Legislature statutory authority for a special taxing unit for School Safety & Resource Programs. This would be a defined revenue source for school safety programs. Mr. Amunds asked if the School Board will look at additional millages for funding their portion. Sheriff Ashley replied he doesn’t know but the School Board did commit to finding a way to do this. He explained that the State is considering a special taxing unit for SROs but they believe only one officer is needed for every two schools. Sheriff Ashley disagreed with this concept. Lastly, Sheriff Ashley described the impacts of not funding the expanded program. He said the Traffic Enforcement Unit will be cut to a minimum, the Street Crimes Unit will be dissolved, the Beach and Marine Unit will be dissolved, Court Security will be cut, the Detention/Booking Section will be cut and the Civil Process Section will be cut. Sheriff Ashley made it clear that he is committed to the School Resource Officer Program. He pointed out that Superintendent Jackson just arrived from another engagement and she too is committed to this program. Mr. Harris asked if the decision has to be made tonight, saying he would like to table it until the January 22 meeting to give the Board an opportunity to look at the various funding options and to provide the School Board with an opportunity to hear the Sheriff’s presentation. Mr. Harris was concerned this might be an overreaction but said the public demands it and he understands that. Mr. Harris made motion, seconded by Mr. Parisot to table a decision on additional funding for SROs for this school year until the January 22 meeting. Mr. Parisot was of the opinion this was primarily a School Board issue. He said nothing has changed in Okaloosa County since the tragedy in Connecticut. Sheriff Ashley said his research shows there were no Resource Officers at any of the schools where the shooting tragedies happened. He added that the world is different than the one we grew up in. Sheriff Ashley pointed out Florida ranks last in the country in funding care for mental illness. He also asked for no one to think these measures were an overreaction. Mr. Parisot asked the Sheriff if he is willing to put health care and other funding issues for his office on the table during these discussions. The Sheriff replied that he January 8, 2013 -9- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners pays no more for his officers than military members receive. He stated “You and I disagree. Our employees do things county employees don’t.” Sheriff Ashley answered Mr. Parisot and stated that he is not willing to put expenditures for his employees on the table for this discussion. Mr. Boyles said he believes it is important to maintain some level of perspective. He stated that although he and the Sheriff may disagree on other issues, this is one issue that he does not disagree with the Sheriff. Mr. Boyles stressed that we must make a decision as leaders of the community. He said he was of the opinion that with the changing times, this is something which must be done. Mr. Boyles stated arguments about specific expenditures in the Sheriff’s budget can be argued at a future time. He shared his concern about working together to provide a safe educational environment for our students. Mr. Windes commented that he could not agree with Mr. Boyles more. He said this is a public safety issue involving our most precious resource, our children. Mr. Windes did not think placing SROs in all schools was overreacting. He said we must move on this and that he is prepared to make a motion at the next meeting. Mr. Windes stated his wife works in the real estate business and the first two questions potential home buyers ask are about the school system and if it is safe to live here. Mr. Windes said his idea is to use the $300,000 committed by the Sheriff from forfeiture funds and divide the $265,000 county obligation by six and consider the allocation on a month-to- month basis. Mr. Parisot made suggestions on how the School Board could come up with its share of the funding. Mr. Windes responded that he is confident the School Board can handle those decisions. The vote was taken on the motion to table consideration—5 yeas. Superintendent of Schools Mary Beth Jackson stated every night when she lays her head on her pillow she must ask herself if she has done everything she can do. This applies not only to education for the students of Okaloosa County but for their safety. She agreed the cost to fund the SROs is a lot of money but the School Board’s portion will come from their contingency fund. Mrs. Jackson challenged the commissioners to look into the eyes of the children and the parents. She said it is only January 8, 2013 -10- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners overreacting until something happens. Mrs. Jackson stated this should not be made an issue of employees and how they are paid, “It is about children.” She vowed to do everything in her power to make it a safer environment for the children. As an educational leader in the community, she asked the Board to make this just an issue about children. Mrs. Jackson told them if they need encouragement, they should just walk through any elementary school. She added that she does not apologize for doing