Okaloosa County BOCC — February 11, 2013 — reading text

James Judkins and he has been dealing with this. Senator Abruzzo stated they will not get any answers on the Zimmerman issue today. Senator Bradley said there are gaps to be filled and he wants to know about the dollars spent on the Porsche and he wants to talk to Zimmerman. Senator Ring asked Mr. Shulte what he knows about the level of investigation and Mr. Shulte replied he doesn’t know. When asked by Senator Ring if Zimmerman is privately owned, Mr. Sholte answered that he is not sure if they are owned by the Fort Lauderdale company. He repeated that his partner represents Zimmerman and he will get the information the committee needs. Senator Abruzzo asked Mr. Shulte to be seated. He told him to relay the message that the committee wants the partner and Zimmerman present to answer questions. February 11, 2013 -13- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Packet Pg. 126  7.4.a Representative Gaetz stated he would like to ask Mr. Amunds questions about Finding #19 (BP Grant Funds – grant compliance and controls over Debit Card Program). The Board approved the use of $1 Million from the BP Grant to conduct the Emerald Coast Money Debit Card Program. Representative Gaetz said according to the AGO audit, $270,000 in debit cards were given to Mark Bellinger. He asked Mr. Amunds who made that decision. Mr. Amunds replied that he does not know what individual made that decision. Representative Gaetz asserted that someone did and asked Mr. Amunds to find out and report back. Mr. Amunds stated Attachment: February 11 Special Meeting Tallahassee (1604 : Approval of Minutes) there are many questions he does not have answers to but perhaps Mr. Curry can and asked for that not to be held against him. Representative Gaetz remarked that we are eight months deep into this and the chairman cannot answer questions. Senator Hays asked Mr. Amunds to look into this. He also said he would like information on which airline got some of these cards. Mr. Amunds replied Vision Airlines got a majority of the credit cards and that is being investigated. Representative Gaetz again asked who gave Mark Bellinger $270,000 in debit cards. Mr. Curry said he does not want to say definitely but the cards were delivered to the Clerk’s Office. Representative Gaetz said 46 individuals used the debit cards to purchase food, alcohol and entertainment and asked Mr. Curry if he knows who those individuals were. Mr. Curry replied in the affirmative but corrected the statement saying it was four individuals who used 46 cards. Those four individuals were Mark Bellinger and three Zimmerman Agency employees. Representative Gaetz asked if any of the debit cards were given to elected officials. Mr. Curry answered he has no knowledge of that. The Representative asked if any cards were given to charities run by an elected official. Mr. Curry said one was given to a charity event but he does not know if there was any oversight of that event by an elected officer. Representative Gaetz asked if any cards were given to the Special Olympics. Mr. Curry said he doesn’t know the answer. Mr. Amunds confirmed the Special Olympics did receive cards for the Island Hop Promotion. He stated that he volunteers and works with them on a part-time basis. Mr. Amunds said Kim Christopher who works for him got prizes from different vendors and she did get two debit cards from TDC. He added the Sheriff’s Office interviewed him on this subject and that is how he found out about the cards. Representative Gaetz asked Mr. Amunds if he gets paid by Special Olympics and Mr. Amunds said he gets a stipend. February 11, 2013 -14- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Packet Pg. 127  7.4.a Representative Gaetz referred to Finding #4: Conflict of Interest. He said the Crestview Chamber of Commerce received $27,000; $17,500 was paid to two companies to promote and advertise local volleyball tournaments; and $2,200 went to provide aerial advertising. Representative Gaetz asked if these were proper or inappropriate and if there were any conflicts of interest. Mr. Amunds suggested he speak with the County Attorney. Representative Gaetz countered that Mr. Amunds is the commissioner. Mr. Amunds responded he does not go to the Attachment: February 11 Special Meeting Tallahassee (1604 : Approval of Minutes) individual commissioners to ask about possible conflicts of interest and he feels it is improper for him to address this issue. Representative Gaetz questioned a $42,000 expenditure for an employee Christmas party and asked Mr. Amunds if he attended that party. Mr. Amunds replied that he did attend. Upon further inquiry by the Representative, Mr. Amunds stated he did question where the money came from for the event and was told by Mr. Bellinger it was in-kind donations. Representative Gaetz asked how many were in attendance and if Mr. Amunds filed a form for receiving a value of more than $100. Representative Gaetz asked Mr. Amunds what responsibility he shares in this lack of oversight. Mr. Amunds said his job has many functions. He stated the corrective action plan should be followed to prevent this type thing from happening again. Senator Abruzzo announced it is clear to him the Committee will need more time for the Okaloosa County issue. He said the Senate President has authorized the Committee to have more meetings. Senator Abruzzo stated what has happened is a travesty and the corruption is unbelievable. He said the world was watching the oil spill tragedy and “you had responsibility to have proper oversight.” Senator Abruzzo passed the gavel to Representative Ray and made motion to direct the Auditor General to conduct an operational audit of the Board of County Commissioners and Clerk of Circuit Court. The Auditor General will determine the scope and timing depending on availability of staff and deadline for statutory mandated assignments. The scope will be based on risk assessment with specific attention to operational impact, budgetary controls, grant management, procurement, contracts and vendor payment controls. There was no discussion. Motion passes. February 11, 2013 -15- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Packet Pg. 128  7.4.a Senator Hays requested subpoenas be issued for the former TDC members who recently resigned. Senator Abruzzo advised a list of individuals to appear will be prepared by Wednesday and immediately following the meeting will look into the subpoena process. Senator Ring stated Senator Bradley is an attorney and asked him if there is a loophole that an individual does not have to appear if he is no longer on a committee. Senator Bradley stated the Committee does have subpoena power and it does not apply only to individuals in public office. Attachment: February 11 Special Meeting Tallahassee (1604 : Approval of Minutes) Mr. Amunds asked if the PowerPoint presentation he brought could be kept until the next meeting. Senator Abruzzo thanked those present for attending today’s meeting. ADJOURNMENT This portion of the Senate Committee regarding Okaloosa County was completed at 4:00 p.m. CST. _____________________________ _______________________________ DON W. HOWARD DON R. AMUNDS, CHAIRMAN CLERK OF CIRCUIT COURT BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS (These minutes were transcribed by Teresa Ward.) February 11, 2013 -16- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Packet Pg. 129  7.4.b February 12, 2013 Strategic Plan Workshop A Strategic Plan Workshop was called to order at 1:00 p.m. in the Crestview Courthouse. Members present were Don Amunds, Chairman; Dave Parisot, Vice Chairman; Wayne Harris; Nathan Boyles; and Kelly Windes. Also present were Gary Stanford, Finance Officer, Clerk’s Office; and Jim Curry, County Administrator. Mr. Curry stated the Board began the process of adopting a Attachment: February 12 Strategic Plan Workshop (1604 : Approval of Minutes) Strategic Plan several years ago. The first item on the agenda is Synopsis Report of Board Department Reduction Impacts (FY 2008-2012). The report outlines the budget and staffing reductions, by department, over the past five years. He pointed out this report focuses on county departments and does not include information on the Constitutional Officers. Mr. Curry reiterated the report details the significant changes in staffing, services, and equipment. He noted that all department heads are here today. Upon inquiry by Mr. Parisot, Mr. Curry stated cuts in the 4-H Program are because of county reductions not the University of Florida. Mr. Parisot asked Chief Corrections Officer Paul Lawson what type of money is needed to take care of essential needs for the Corrections Department. Chief Lawson replied the grand total is $872,000. He explained the jail population continues to climb and it may be necessary to come to the Board before the end of the fiscal year to ask for five more people. Chief Lawson said he is really looking at eight positions for an estimated total of $440,000. He advised that it may be necessary to re-open the upstairs area of the facility and to beef-up security. Continuing, he stated the current transport van has more than 96,000 miles on it and a new van would cost $25,000. The cost to replace four convection ovens is $12,000; replacement of sliding doors is $14,000; and cost to replace the control panel and electrical control equipment would be $395,000. Upon inquiry by Mr. Parisot, Human Resources Director Kay Godwin stated the Classification and Compensation Study is a two- pronged analysis. She said the classification aspect for the county positions is in pretty good shape. The compensation portion deals with the market value of similar positions in a geographic region. Mrs. Godwin stated that as the economy picks February 12, 2013 -1- Minute Book 68, Page Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners Packet Pg. 130  7.4.b up, the county could lose employees and it is important to keep on top of that information. She reported the last time the full study was conducted was 2005 and the cost for it was $64,350. Mrs. Godwin noted that the compensation portion of the study was updated in 2007 at a cost of $7,000. She stated staff did some internal analyses but was unable to continue because of recent downsizing. Mr. Parisot said he hopes the county does not start losing employees. Mr. Curry stated that he sees the exit interviews for all employees and in the last few years the reasons given