Fort Walton Beach Council agenda — 05-20-08 special agenda - budget policy issues — reading text

committed to a solutions based approach and to bring ideas to you that are thought out and that have substance. To that end we have several suggestions for your consideration. First, aggressively pursue economic development opportunities. According to the Department of Commerce, our area has the fourth smallest Metropolitan GDP in Florida at $ 7. 8 billion. We also have the highest government share of GDP at 33% and the second highest dependence on the real estate industry at 29 %. We suggest a " blue ribbon" commission of elected officials and citizens be established as soon as possible whose mission is to grow and diversify our overall GDP. Second, renew your commitment to providing core government services. Public safety and security is the highest priority and should not be compromised. Essential services such as fresh water, sewer, storm water management and street maintenance not only must be delivered, but in some cases need additional resources allocated in order to meet minimum service levels. With public safety and essential services requiring a greater proportion of a shrinking budget, quality of life areas such as parks, recreation, museums and libraries will need to manage with fewer resources or completely change their operating models to reduce costs. Consolidation, disintegration and elimination of some of these services are all possibilities that should be considered. P.O. Box 238 Fort Walton Beach Florida 32549 www.ocal787.org 850-240 -1948  OKALOOSA CITIZENS ALLIANCE INC. Kabe Woods - President Statement before the Ft. Walton Beach City Council May 20, 2008 Third, and more specific to this meeting, the Council and City leaders should put " laser focus" on delivering city services faster, with better quality and at lower cost to taxpayers. So some specific recommendations: 1. Decide today that ad valorem tax collections will be no more than the 2006 level of $5. 3MM. That is approximately a 10% reduction. We believe that service levels in 2006 were no different than today and this was just two years ago! 2. Cost per associate has risen from about $42K to $ 48K since 2006. Reduce this amount by 5 %. Areas to consider are changes to the benefit structure, increases in span of control for supervisors and combining management positions. This would save about $ 875K. 3. Continue the work to consolidate some services such as Fire, EMS and possibly vehicle maintenance. 4. Change from a defined benefit to a defined contribution retirement plan... 5. Require ALL Enterprise funds to have a balanced budget. 6. Take another hard look at the Management Advisory Group study and implement appropriate recommendations. Overall the recommendations made by the City manager look productive, meaningful and are moving in the right direction. Now you are faced with the tough decisions and I know you are up to the task. Thanks for this opportunity to speak to you. Kabe Woods Ir W rib fJ1-/ Jk P.O. Box 238 Fort Walton Beach Florida 32549 www.ocal787.org 850- 240 -1948