Okaloosa County BOCC — August 6, 2013 — August 6 Regular Meeting — reading text

amendment/renewal. Mr. Parisot asked if Okaloosa County can be included as an additional insured on the August 6, 2013 -11- Minute Book 69, Page 271 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners insurance policy. Mr. Harman replied that has been corrected and a new certificate has been provided. Mr. Boyles extended a welcome to Mr. Harman. He pointed out Mr. Parisot has noted issues with a number of insurance certificates today. Mr. Boyles stated those are things he expects to be cleared up before coming before the Board for consideration. He wanted all departments to know that is his expectation. Mr. Harris suggested that is also a responsibility of legal counsel. Mr. Harman stated he will have a more active role in the checks and balances of the department. He advised that he had his first meeting with the Airports staff yesterday. Mr. Harman shared with the Board his plan to employ a _ lease/contract Management system with scheduler and alarms. He stated he will monitor that personally. Mr. Amunds spoke about the importance of paying attention to details and becoming stricter on those details. Mr. Harman explained there are 176 agreements in the form of contracts and leases at the three airports and he plans to put those into a tracking system. He said he believes staff can program them in and he wants everyone in the Airports Department to know how to use the system. Mr. Harman reiterated that he will manage this directly. The vote was taken on the motion—5 yeas. AIRPORTS - DELTA AIRLINES LEASE AND OPERATING AGREEMENT AMENDMENT Mr. Harman stated the Board entered into this agreement with Delta Airlines in April 2011. The Airline Leases and Operating Agreements at VPS will expire on September 30, 2013. He said the airlines have agreed, by an amendment, to a three-year extension to September 30, 2016. Mr. Parisot made motion, seconded by Mr. Windes, to approve the lease and operation agreement with Delta Airlines. 5 yeas. COMMISSIONER HARRIS - AIRLINE SCHEDULING SYSTEM DOWN Mr. Harris said it is his understanding the system for scheduling of flights was down and asked the impact at VPS. Mr. Harman replied there were significant delays yesterday and today, noting it was a nationwide system failure. He said August 6, 2013 ~12- Minute Book 69, Page 272 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners weather was a contributing factory and some flights had to be canceled because it impacted crew rest periods. COMMISSIONER AMUNDS - UDPATE ON RISK ASSESSMENT Mr. Amunds asked Mr, Padgett to be prepared to provide an update on the risk assessment being done by the Riggs’ firm under Old Business. COMMISSIONER WINDES - COMMENTARY ON AIRPORTS DIRECTOR INTERVIEWS Mr. Windes noted that he sat on the review committee for the Airports Director position. He said he was impressed during the interview when Mr. Harman stated “the buck stops. here,” indicating he is answerable for compliance issues. PUBLIC WORKS - REQUEST FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO AMEND ORDINANCE NO. 84-19 Mr. John Hofstad, Public Works Director, requested authorization to advertise for public hearing to expand the MSTU Ordinance for Unincorporated parks. He pointed out the Board has previously discussed a revenue source for stormwater and explored the option of amending the Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) Ordinance for unincorporated areas (Ordinance No. 84-19). Mr. Parisot made motion, seconded by Mr. Boyles, to authorize advertising for public hearing to consider this proposal on August 20 at 6:30 p.m. in Fort Walton Beach. Mr. Boyles stated it is important to look at the big picture. Mr. Windes said he appreciates the concerns which have been voiced and stressed the importance of providing accurate information for the public. He underscored the importance of water quality. Mr. Parisot said he does not see this as a public trust issue but looking at the current times and current issues. He stated any funds currently in the Parks MSTU will be retained for parks use only. Mr. Amunds asked if this proposed amendment will be for a defined amount or percentage, to which Mr. Hofstad replied staff recommends a millage rate. 5 yeas. COUNTY ATTORNEY RESIGNATION Mr. Dowd stated in order to facilitate the transition to a legal department to better serve the needs of the county, he has decided to give his resignation with an effective day of July 1, 2014. He said he will be able to give guidance and assist in the transition and it will give him an opportunity to take some August 6, 2013 -~-13- Minute Book 69, Page 273 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners of his earned annual leave. Mr. Dowd requested favorable acceptance of his resignation and authorization for the Chairman to sign it. Mr. Harris made motion, seconded by Mr. Parisot, to accept Mr. Dowd’s resignation and to authorize the Chairman to sign the document. Mr. Boyles said he believes Mr. Dowd’s tenure spanning 40 years is unparalleled and he is to be commended. He stated his level of knowledge is impressive. Mr. Parisot commented that Mr. Dowd has provided him with counsel on a number of issues. Mr. Harris said Mr. Dowd is a true hero with his record of service and thanked him for the advice he has given him. Mr. Windes stated he appreciates Mr. Dowd’s good attitude and feels he has had the best interest of the county in mind. He wished Mr. Dowd good luck. 5 yeas. HUMAN RESOURCES - LEGAL SERVICES JOB DESCRIPTIONS Mrs. Kay Godwin, Human Resources (HR) Director, provided draft job descriptions for County Attorney and Paralegal positions. Mr. Boyles stated he has been approached by several attorneys about the possibility of a hybrid approach, adding that he is a bit cool to that idea. The proposal was to retain a County Attorney and pay a retainer to provide service from the full breadth of the entire law firm. Mr. Boyles said he would like to move forward with these legal descriptions today and the Board can at least consider the alternate approach. Mr. Amunds said in the past the Board wanted 100% loyalty to the Board and did not want to worry about conflicts. He advised that he received a letter from a local attorney and commented that he would listen to him. Mr. Amunds stated Mr. Dowd’s contract was 100% with the county and he had no outside litigation. Mr. Dowd recommended the Board hire in-house counsel and assistant (paralegal). He believed they should be full-time positions on county staff. Mr. Dowd added that for the first 25 years of his career he handled everything. Mr. Harris reported that he has vacillated on this issue and believes the commissioners should look at all options. He shared his views on what would be good in the long run for the county. Mr. Harris stated we need someone who will be available when a commissioner or department head needs to speak with him. August 6, 2013 ~14- Minute Book 69, Page 274 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Mr. Windes said the whole idea was to have an independent attorney with 100% focus on the Board with John Dowd able to help him/her along and for that person to be able to take over in one year. Mr. Parisot said with a July 1, 2014 retirement date, Mr. Dowd is giving us a transition period. He stated if the Board wants a county employee, it should begin the search. Continuing, Mr. Parisot also recommended the individual selected as County Attorney be allowed to select the Paralegal. Discussion ensued regarding the manner in which to proceed. Consensus was to put the advertisement on the streets for both positions and to allow the new County Attorney to select the Paralegal. Mrs. Godwin also noted that she does not believe any money was put into the coming year’s budget for these positions. Mr. Boyles made motion, seconded by Mr. Harris, to authorize staff to advertise the job descriptions pursuant to HR Policy. Further, to put together a RFQ for a hybrid approach for legal services. 5 yeas. RISK MANAGEMENT — RENEWAL OF EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PLAN Mrs. Godwin stated annually the county enters into agreements with various providers for employee benefits. These include health insurance, dental insurance, Tri-Care supplement (ASI), long-term disability insurance, life insurance, the flexible spending account, and optional vision insurance. She requested the Board approve the outlined benefit plans and to authorize the Chairman to execute the agreements/contracts on behalf of the Board. Mrs. Godwin pointed out costs reflect a 10% reduction in group medical rates negotiated with Florida Blue. The dental insurance is renewal for the second year of a 2-year rate guarantee with United Concordia. Life insurance and long-term disability insurance are renewals with Symetra Insurance. Staff also proposes the $40 per month employee portion of the basic group health plan be suspended and offset with the anticipated ProShare refund. The employee-paid benefits are: 1. Blue Medicare - renewal of contract with Florida Blue; Florida Blue is proposing a reduction in costs 2. Vision - renewal of the third year of a three-year rate guarantee with Standard Insurance August 6, 2013 -15- Minute Book 69, Page 275 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners 3. Tri-Care Supplement - renewal of contract with ASI which includes a premium increase Mrs. Godwin stated the administrative costs paid by the county include the administration of the Flexible Spending Plan by Lockard and Williams and continuation of the $100 monthly stipend for employees not participating in the county group health insurance plan. Mr. Harris expressed his concerns with the current dental insurance provider. He spoke not only of dissatisfaction by employees with this provider but of dentists’ difficulties in getting paid. Mr. Amunds referred to the savings for going with this company but he is not certain those savings are worth these problems. He said he has mixed feelings and would like to weigh the dollars saved versus how employees and dentists feel about the provider. Mrs. Godwin stated United Concordia does have a list of preferred dentists and the pay is different for those out of the network. She advised that staff can explore other options. Mr. Parisot said he thinks the savings were about $100,000 per year. Mr. Gary Real, Risk Manager, stated he doesn’t know those savings off the top of his head. He did point out the close deadline and said he and Mrs. Godwin had heard the complaints. Mr. Real stated he and Mrs. Godwin spoke with former County Administrator Jim Curry about these issues and he advised them to ride it out for one more year. He said with the health insurance, they encouraged employees to use the doctors in the network and tried to do the same with the dental plan. Mr. Harris remarked the dentist he uses is in the network and he does not like this provider. He also said he is not pleased with it either. Upon inquiry by Mr. Parisot, Mr. Real stated the agreement with ASI is for the convenience of the employees. Mr. Amunds said he does not want any lapse in coverage for dental. Mrs. Godwin said staff can explore the options and return with a recommendation. Upon inquiry by Mr. Boyles, Mrs. Godwin detailed how the ProShare Program with Florida Blue works. Mr. Boyles said the savings occur when employees are August 6, 2013 -16- Minute Book 69, Page 276 Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners healthy and use of the ProShare funds to cover the $40.00 employee contribution encourages the employees to be healthy. Mr. Parisot asked Glen Little (insurance broker) to comment on the certainty of receiving $2.8 Million in ProShare money. Mr. Little said that is a projection and the final numbers will not be available until the end of the plan year which is September 30. He also said an additional three months is needed for settlement of claims for the current plan year. Mr. Parisot commented that he is nervous about allocating the entire $2.8 Million. Mr. Harris made motion, seconded