Okaloosa County BOCC — May 17, 2013 — March 19 Regular — reading text

March 19, 2013 Regular Tuesday Meeting The regular Tuesday meeting of the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners was called to order at 8:30 a.m. at the Water & Sewer Administration Building in Fort Walton Beach. Members present were Don Amunds, Chairman; Dave Parisot (left at 5:42 p.m.), Vice Chairman; Wayne Harris; Nathan Boyles; and Kelly Windes. Also present were Gary Stanford, Finance Director, Clerk’s Office; John Dowd, County Attorney; Jim Curry, County Administrator; and members of the press. PRESENTATIONS – EMPLOYEE SERVICE AWARDS Mr. Curry presented service awards to the following employees, expressing appreciation for their continued service to Okaloosa County: Mark Wise-------------Five Years Steven Cardinez-------Five Years John Brenenstuhl------Twenty Years Shane Oglesby---------Twenty Years PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE ANNOUNCEMENT Mrs. Kathy Newby, Public Information Officer, announced applications for vacancies on the Tourist Development Council will be taken through Friday, March 22. The selection committee, consisting of Tourist Development Director Daniel O’Byrne; Public Works Director John Hofstad; and TDD Liaison Commissioner Kelly Windes, will begin processing applications on Monday, March 25. COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR’S UPDATE Mr. Curry stated he has no comments. COMMISSIONER’S MINUTE None of the commissioners offered any commentary. VISITOR – TAX COLLECTOR BEN ANDERSON, COLLECTION OF TOURIST DEVELOPMENT TAXES Mr. Ben Anderson, Okaloosa County Tax Collector, stated Josh Allen from his office will be joining him at the podium. Mr. Allen distributed to the Board copies of Mr. Anderson’s “Tourist March 19, 2013 -1- Minute Book 69, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Development Tax Proposal.” The six components of the paper were: • Executive Summary • Tax Collector’s Proposal • Rationale for Tax Collector Participation in Tourist Development Tax • Implementation and Strategies • Statewide TDT Collector Comparison • Summary Recommendations by Tax Collector Mr. Anderson pointed out he made this proposal eight months ago. He said the Tourist Development Tax is a tax and should be collected by his office. Mr. Anderson spoke at length on the TDC scandal and said transferring the responsibilities for the TD tax collection from the Clerk of Courts’ office to his office would provide greater checks and balances. He questioned the current setup whereby the Clerk’s office is responsible for collections and also cuts the checks for tourist development expenditures. It was Mr. Anderson’s contention that 18 of the 25 Auditor General’s findings directly related to the Clerk’s Office. Mr. Parisot asked if the AGO report commented on collection of bed taxes. Mr. Anderson replied the report did not do that but should have. He reiterated his position is that financial oversight and oversight of spending should be separated. Mr. Anderson continued to speak on the TDC scandal involving former TDC Director Mark Bellnger. He then said he will talk about the “elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.” Mr. Anderson stated this is not his study or research but that of the Auditor General’s Office. He suggested the AGO should do a financial audit of the Clerk’s Office. Mr. Anderson remarked this was business and nothing personal. Mr. Windes referred to Mr. Anderson’s proposal and asked if the proposal’s effective date of April 1, 2013 is correct. Mr. Anderson replied that is an error and should be October 1, 2013. Mr. Parisot said Mr. Anderson raised a question about unpaid sales taxes on web vacation reservations in his presentation. Mr. Parisot then referred to Equity Study Commission meeting discussions on business taxes and an issue of itinerant vendors not paying sales taxes to the State. Mr. Parisot stated Mr. Anderson commented during those discussions that was DOR’s March 19, 2013 -2- Minute Book 69, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners problem. He asked Mr. Anderson what is the difference between uncollected sales tax from itinerate vendors and internet vacation rentals. Mr. Anderson replied that is a good question, noting there are many taxes out there. He explained Okaloosa County is a self-administered county with regard to tourist development tax and the Department of Revenue (DOR) does not have those records. Mr. Anderson reiterated it is his responsibility to collect taxes and it is time to team up with DOR. When Mr. Parisot repeated a comment from a Tax Collector staff member that verifying itinerate vendor sales permits was a DOR job, Mr. Anderson told him he was confused. Mr. Parisot insisted he was not confused. Clerk of Courts Don Howard said he would like to make a few general comments about the tourist development tax collection and thought that was the reason for this issue but it appears it was for a public flogging by Mr. Anderson, adding that he has been to Tallahassee three times and he is used to it. Mr. Howard stated everyone in this room knows not a single invoice was sent to the Finance Department that said anything about buying a house or a car. The invoices were vetted according to current policy and the language of the invoice was crafted in such a manner no one could tell. Mr. Howard said events occurred after the department paid a qualified vendor which had a contract with the Board of County Commissioners. He stated the picture being painted of buying a house and boat is a gross misinterpretation. Mr. Howard stated that goes a long way and gives the rest of what Mr. Anderson says no credibility. Mr. Howard stated Mr. Anderson did eventually address tax collection and went further to address staffing levels. He said it is true he has only one person but he has voluntarily complied with the Board’s budget planning requests for the past six years to not give any raises. With regard to Mr. Anderson’s comments that he had people ready to go to put “boots on the ground,” he asked what those people are doing now. It was Mr. Howard’s belief the Board will get less excess fees returned to it at the end of the year. Mr. Anderson made remarks earlier about more transparency and more independence. Mr. Howard pointed out the Clerk of Courts is a Constitutional Officer just like the Tax Collector and he had no idea one constitutional officer is more independent than any other. In response to the comment about the same office doing the collection and the spending, Mr. Howard said the Clerk’s Office does not determine spending because that is done March 19, 2013 -3- Minute Book 69, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners by the Tourist Development Council and the Board of County Commissioners. He added that to insinuate the Clerk’s Office determines spending is totally false. Mr. Howard said his office has been performing the tourist development tax collections for more than twenty years at the request of this Board. He said he has been in the Clerk’s Office for more than 38 years and this is the first time one Constitutional Officer has tried to take duties away from another Constitutional Officer. Mr. Howard stated he believes the reason is for the revenue. A 3% commission for collection of the tourist development taxes goes to the collecting agent. He said that an attempt to connect collection of tourist development taxes with the tourist development spending scandal is disingenuous. Mr. Howard said he would like to speak on the Constitutional structure. He pointed out the Tax Collector does not collect sales taxes. Mr. Howard stated the Tourist Development Department is a department of this Board. The only way to establish a TDC is by action of the Board of County Commissioners which requires adoption of an ordinance and identification of the tourist development zone. The Board determines who pays the tax and who collects the tax. He said the Florida Constitution says the Clerk of Courts is the accountant and auditor of the Board and asked why collection would be given to someone other than the Clerk. Mr. Howard stated if the Constitution does not mean anything to you, then you can do what you want to. Continuing, Mr. Howard said there are currently 1,000 payors responsible for 12,000 accounts. He stated in the past month there were only 14 delinquencies in those 1,000 payors. He noted there is a longstanding relationship with DOR, the Clerk’s Office, and the property owners. Mr. Howard stated DOR has told them they are not aware of any other county with such a high collection rate. He stated there has been so much controversy around the former Tourist Development Director for the past eight months and asked when we are going to move forward. He stated that to justify a decision of moving tourist development tax collections from the Clerk to the Tax Collector based on fraudulent allegations and criminal activities of the former director is the wrong reason. Mr. Howard told the Board if they believe the Tax Collector can do the job more efficiently and effectively, then do it. He ended his commentary by saying he has taken an oath three times to uphold the Constitution. Mr. March 19, 2013 -4- Minute Book 69, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Howard stated he has responsibilities and he will continue to perform them. He added that he will continue to be a team player. Mr. Harris stated he has labored over this issue and he considers both men to be friends. He said he heard the statement that “it’s not personal” but he takes it personally. Mr. Harris stated he has spoken with many constituents over the last eight months and the overwhelming comment made to him is that it is a tax and the Tax Collector should collect it. He explained there are many things to be done to heal this county and this is part of that healing process. Mr. Boyles said he was involved in campaigning for county commissioner when the TDC scandal broke. He stated initially he felt the Board should issue an RFP and let the Clerk and Tax Collector submit proposals for the Board to view side by side. However, during the last four months more information has become available to the commission. Mr. Boyles commented that it is not because anything was done wrong in the process but he thinks it is appropriate to give the collections to the Tax Collector and for the Clerk of Courts to focus on the audit functions. He reiterated it is not a negative look at collections of the past but he supports a segregation of duties with more focus on auditing. With regard to the 3% commission, he stated he is comfortable with authorizing it now but if there is a way of getting it down in the future, he expects to do that. Mr. Parisot remarked that he welcomes the AGO’s upcoming review, saying it is not a bad thing and we will find that policies in other departments are working well. He said he does not think he got an answer from Mr. Anderson about the AGO report and if anything in that report casts a negative light on collections. Mr. Parisot asked Mr. Anderson if he was specifically aware of any businesses not paying tourist development taxes. Mr. Anderson replied in the negative. A lengthy exchange ensued between Mr. Parisot and Mr. Anderson. Upon inquiry by Mr. Amunds, Mr. Dowd confirmed any change will require an advertised public hearing to amendment the ordinance. Mr. Parisot said he would like to get with Mr. Dowd about advertising other changes to the tourist development ordinance in addition to changing collection from the Clerk to Tax Collector. Mr. Amunds asked if the Board can make a decision on which