Michele Tucker had submitted a series of questions concerning the Feasibility Study and The Citizens to Incorporate Navarre. Following are the questions and answers from BJM Consulting and Laurie Gallup: What sources of funding would be used for the State Grant Program for Beach Management so beach nourishment projects can be funded every 8-10 years? These grants normally require some sort of matching funds. Where would these funds come from? Beach restoration is paid by multiple government funding sources including federal, state, county and city funding. The county would still participate even if Navarre is a city. The county will still have responsibility for Navarre Beach Marine Park as well as the public beach access areas. The overdue beach restoration plan is short $4 million this year. A city could set aside funds for beach restoration in its budget annually to lessen the impact to its citizens and budget. The current cycle of restoration will be overseen by the county. The City of Navarre will have 7 – 8 years to budget accordingly for the next cycle. The county increased the bed tax amount to the full 5 cents. The extra cent will be used as a dedicated funding source for beach restoration when applying for grants. The Causeway Bridge will need replacement soon. How will the new city fund such a project? The Navarre Beach Bridge will not be a city project. It will be the responsibility of the county. It should be funded by gas tax revenues and other county funds. The county should be budgeting for this needed project before it is time to be replace the bridge. This will lessen the impact on the citizens and the county budget. Roads and Road Maintenance. How will it be funded? Roads and road maintenance will be funded the same as they are today. The county will keep Navarre’s share of gas taxes and continue maintaining and paving roads. As the city’s reserves are built up funding will be available to contract for extra roads and maintenance services with the county or another contractor. Is the city expected to take on the departments below? Parks & Recreation? Emergency Management? Code Enforcement/Inspections? The city will take on responsibility for managing all the departments mentioned above by setting priorities and contracting out at existing levels of service to the present providers. As funds build up the city can contract for additional services and improvments. Many Navarre area residents have chickens for their own consumption. Will the city of Navarre ban or restrict this type of activity? All existing zoning laws will remain in place after incorporation. The laws can only be changed by a vote of the city council. Do you have any examples of Letter of Understanding between any of the cities in our area and the County? Letters of Understanding are mentioned in these minutes from the City of Milton. We are awaiting actual letters from different cities in the county as well as the Sheriff’s Office. Does the Sheriffs department currently have a Letter of Understanding with the city of Jay, Milton or Gulf Breeze? Unknown at this time. How may the utilities be exacerbated after incorporation? The existence of two Fire Departments and two Water/Sewer systems could create confusion amongst city residents. What local government/local services are you referencing in the last paragraph of Pg. 31? All local government services presently being provided by others. According to the timeline, the Feasibility Study along with the Draft Charter has been presented to the State of Florida. To whom has this study been presented too? Did you present a charter? If so...why isnt the public allowed to look at the charter? No Charter has been developed at this time. The timeline refers to the process that will need to be followed. The timeline will need to be updated after the vote in November to reflect the new timeline. Charter The charter is written after the straw poll but before incorporation. An attorney will be hired to write the charter and town halls will be held before the charter is finalized and sent on to the legislature. The charter will start with boiler plate charter language. We can look at other charters to get a feel for what they look like and cover. If we become a town under what mechanism can the charter be modified? (Will it have to go to a full city vote or can the people hired to run the city modify the charter?) The only way to amend a charter is by a referendum vote of the people in Navarre. Does the charter allow the creation of ad valorem taxes or the raising of millage rates? (Can taxes be added or raised by the city under charter rules or will taxes [adding/raising/lowering] have to be put to public vote) All taxes are approved by the City Council after a public hearing which is required by State law. Can a charter be written that the city has to maintain a balanced budget? (Floridas constitution requires a balanced budget, can the same be done at city level and is it enforceable?) A balanced budget is already a requirement for cities under existing Florida law. State Shared Revenue begins in March 2016. Are there any qualifications that have to be met in order to qualify for State Shared Revenue or do we automatically receive shared revenue just by becoming a city? Yes, there are steps that must be followed to receive State Shared Revenues. a. Pg .35 The timeline projects revenue sharing as of March 2016 pending approval of the necessary language in the city charter. What is the necessary language? This language will be spelled out in the Charter/Local Bill. What “ad valorem tax revenue will the city begin to receive in November 2016, as referenced on the timeline? The city will only receive this revenue if the city adopts a city millage. Please explain the strict statutory timeline a city must follow in order to receive the first revenue sharing and sales tax referenced for July 2017 of the timeline? This is laid out in the Statutes. Is the revenue share and taxes above different from the State Shared Revenue the city will start to receive in March 2016? No If they dont start receiving the shared revenue in March 2016, what do they have to do to be able to receive the revenue in July 2017? The requirements are laid out in the Statutes. Can you explain the Florida Statute 218.23(1)? Will you specifically address (C) of the requirements as referenced on Page 34? The language in the statutes speak for itself. The amount of money currently paid into the County, $6,738,854 or about 3.248 mils of the taxable value for 2014...is the county agreeing to give up these monies? No. Omitted Does Santa Rosa County currently collect a Utility Tax or Public Service Tax? No. Santa Rosa currently collect franchise fees and communication service tax fees and those fees are what funds the Countys District 4 Recreation Fund. Does the study project the collection of additional franchise fees, communication service tax fees? No How did you compute the estimate of $995,276 as franchise/communication tax revenue for the city? Based on FY 2014 County Budget and population for Navarre. What are the current user fees being collected by Santa Rosa County? Unknown. Will the County give up the collection of user fees? Not if the county continues to provide the services. Is the Revenue Act of 1972, (Florida Law, Chapter 72-360 different from the F.S. 218.23(1)? Unknown. If so, please explain the differences. Can you explain the sub section 8 on page 40? The statute speaks for itself. (From Laurie: Michele, are you needing clarification on the 3 mill equivalency? I am thinking this is what you are looking for with these questions. If so, let me know.) Funds forfeited by local governments that fail to comply are distributed through the General Revenue Fund. How much is typically forfeited by local governments? Unknown What is the average amount to be forfeited over the past three to five years? Unknown What is the type of revenues that Navarre as a city will qualify for? Those allowed by State law. Will Navarre qualify for the guaranteed entitlement funds or hold harmless money? (According to the study, municipalities incorporated after 1972 do not receive these funds.) Agreed What funds are referred to under Authorized Uses? Can you explain in further detail the third paragraph on page 42? The language in the paragraph speaks for itself. How did calculate the amount of $899,825 as the municipal revenue sharing money for the City of Navarre? The State Department of Revenue provided the number. Will the City of Navarre be eligible for Local Government Half-Cent Sales Tax? Yes What are the eligibility requirements for eligibility? They are laid out in the law. Does the license fee revenue referenced on page 44 include any new licensing fees required by the new city? Yes, city’s charge a local BTR to businesses located in their boundaries. Does the projected license fee revenues of $75,000 normally go to the County? Yes Is the County willing to give up those monies? They may not have to give up all the fees as businesses may choose to have both a city and county BTR if they provide services throughout the County. Where does projected investment income of $25,000 come from? The bank where the city opens its accounts. Does the City of Navarre plan on issuing any of the bonds discussed on page 49 and 50? Not projected to do so in the study. Will you explain the special tax bond? Bonds supported by specific revenues not ad valorem taxes Does the City of Navarre intend to use monies collected from tourism to repay the bond? Since the study does not contemplate bonding we cannot answer this question. 29. What information was used to prepare the example of expenditures on page 50 and 51? How did you arrive at the proposed costs for the Contract Services, the personnel? Based on other local government’s experience. What is the basis for the Operating Overhead? Percent of payroll What is the one time Capital of $175,000? Equipment and computers necessary to start a city. What is the contingency of $83,500? Percent of annual expenses. Where will the monies come from to initially start the city? The city will be cash flowed using State Shared Revenues until the other revenues begin to come in. Monies needed in the first few months are small as it will take time to bring your staff onboard Where will the City Hall be initially and does the studys projections reflect the funds need for a city offices? We don’t know where, but rent and operation dollars are in the budget. What is your professional opinion of funding for beach restoration? Beach Restoration on Navarre Beach should be planned for every 7 – 10 years. There are multiple government funding sources including Federal, State, County and City funding. These sources would be blended to cover the cost of restoration. Santa Rosa County would still participate in funding beach restoration even if Navarre is incorporated as a city. Navarre should budget for beach restoration on an annual basis to allow the city’s share of the expense to be spread out over a period of years rather than have a big hit to the budget every 7 – 10 years. How will the maintenance and repairs of the current bridge to the beach, and any funding requirements for a new bridge be addressed by the City? Same as they are today. The bridge will be the responsibility of the county. Would we be stuck with a bond fiasco and exorbitant fees like the Garcon Point Bridge? No, you should not be. The consultant stated that assets such as parks, the library and the bridge are all negotiable with the county. Can you share any current examples where such an agreement currently exists within our county and the other municipalities? Unknown The consultant stated that composing the charter would be a costly exercise upwards of $50K and must be written by an attorney. Based on the financial records that have been filed and are now public record, it is obvious that the group has had trouble raising funds to support the cause. Should the vote be in favor of continuing the effort, what is the plan to pay for an attorney? The community should come together with the funding for the Charter. It will not be a function of the PAC. Should someone make a contribution, does the contribution go to fund the PAC, or to repay some of the loans they have received? All monies go to the PAC unless the community wishes to establish a new source for contributions to fund the charter and other incorporation activities. When does the group have a repayment plan to one of their largest supporters who has made loans to the PAC? Unknown. Does the PAC have any comments or insight into the fact that barely any of Navarres business community have yet to step forward to help fund the campaign? Unknown. The PAC has stated often throughout their campaign that the city will be able to apply for the many grants. Why is no designated grant writer provided for in the salary analysis? This function would be provided by other staff. At what facility does the group anticipate the regular city meetings will take place and has allowance been made in the rental budget for that? Don’t have a specific place but rent is included in the budget. Regarding section 8 housing, the consultant said the city would need to provide for it, but that it does not need to be within the city limits. Has the PAC studied the anticipated need for Section 8 Housing? No What are the actual requirements for such housing? It will need to be addressed in the city’s comprehensive plan. What potential sites have been discussed? None. In the event of a natural disaster, the City of Navarre, will not be financially ready for years unless taxes really go up significantly from the start. As this is a very crucial part to be considered for the financial stability of the City, what kind of plans does the PAC foresee in preparation for a natural disaster? The plan to deal with a natural disaster will be done by the city not the PAC. However, the city could issue Tax Anticipatory Notes (TANs) to carry the city through until Federal and State funds arrive. The bonds would be paid for with future year taxes and the reimbursement revenues from the State and Federal governments. Navarre’s tax base can support a bond issue to meet the city’s needs if necessary. Earlier this year, the PAC had a presentation from Severn Trent, a company that provides for city services that prepared and shared a “draft budget” of what the city’s revenues and expenses might be. Do you still have the example available for review and how does it compare to the numbers provided in the feasibility study? Comparison is being compiled and will be shared once completed. Is a company such as Severn Trent still being considered to provide city services for Navarre? Contracting will be a decision of the city government. If yes, how with the City of Navarre pay for this? With the fees and taxes it will receive as a result of incorporating. “Local governments that currently provide services in Navarre have budgets for such services and projected expenditures are in line with other Florida communities. It is anticipated they will charge the City of Navarre at least as much as they currently spend to provide services to unincorporated Navarre. The following is a projection of the necessary expenditures for these local governments in FY 2015 as compared to another similar size Florida city: Bonita Springs. City of Navarre General Government cost per capita for FY 2015 $191.70 Bonita Springs General Government cost per capita for FY 2015 $273.30 Some of the additional cost for Bonita Springs is a decision to enhance recreation, cultural and police services over and above the core level of service which was available before incorporation.” (Pg 31 and 32) How does this estimate of cost per capita compare to what was projected by Severn Trent? Comparison is being compiled and will be shared once completed.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 00:03:15 +0000
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