Ups

1
Ups Downs

• Of
• County Governments
• Constitutional vs. Charter

2
County Good Ole Day Managers

• Counties were established by states to be
  administrators of subdivisions of the states
• The divisions tried to improve abilities to
  administer large agricultural/rural lands
• As creatures of the state, powers were controlled
  by state legislature agencies
• Legislature tried to make certain that laws
  were followed by the limited stakeholders
• In comparison, all the landowners/families
• could have been housed in 1 county today

3
County Good Ole Days Change

• Now, most counties are no longer rural
• Pensacola St. Agustine took the lead to form
  cities within counties with a measure of home
  rule vs. county rule the issues
• Florida cities begin w/ creating chartered
  rules
• Charters establish mechanisms for admin.
• Local citizens vote to approve the new charters
• A charter predates a city incorporation- in every
  case that I have read

4
Can Good Ole Boys Adjust

• Tradition- controls disregard locals desires
• Remember counties were created to master
  legislature to decentralize big government
• So, counties control from the top down
• But, cities are created from the bottom up
• Cities are controled by the will of the locals
• This may be where the rub comes with the
• Good Ole Boys not adjusting to growth/laws
• Check out your taxing authorities their take
• on the newer law, especially F.S. 163.364

5
Good Ole Non-Charter Mind Set

• The structure works as long as the county remains
  rural and agrarian
• Weakness shows when growth explodes outside the
  newer incorporated cities of today
• County growth requires Municipal type Services
  as mandated by the state
• However, state mandates are not accompanied by
  offsetting monetary support- for the growth
• Therefore, delays can appear relating to the
  returning of any Tax Increment Funding to city

6
Our Experience With Ole County Mind Sets

• 1995, Flagler Beach submitted - CRA Plans
• County Assessors Office claimed to differ
• City resubmitted the Plan as completed
• After no county notes- city maded inquiry
• County claimed it could not find packet
• Found it later but, they claimed it was not
  registered/logged-in before midnight deadline
• Note county was over whelmed by new growth
• and had not prepared for future dollar needs

7
Finally the City Took a Stance

• But, city had lost a benchmark TIF assessment
• County beach disciples kept silent about the
• first (1) CRA in the county to down played
  it
• In 2000, the city retrieved the original 95 Plan
  
• By this time, property values were up/5 times
• The city challenged the ole time mind set, again
• After updating the 95 Plan- it was resubmitted
• In 2002, it was approved - after some 6 years
• Please note, the city had lost x millions through
  the oversight maneuvering just do whats right

8
Good Ole Something to Learn

• Establish realistic time lines when dealing with
  Charter or Non-Charter Counties
• Utilize professionals to guide your studies
• Establish a voice stakeholders-tax payers
• Assign certified packets - delivery security
• Use multiple delivery systems for deadline
• Keep accurate paper trails a sharp eye
• Do not lose sight of TIF for redevelopment

9
In Closing

• Constitutional structure - 5 independent officers
  5 commissioners that controls both legislative
  and administrative powers can be too much
• It was created for what no longer exists (rural)
• It is inconsistent w/ several principles of
  modern day management structures
• Commissioners commits to acts but, the levels of
  services priorities are set by others such as
  law enforcement, assessors office, tax
  collectors, and possibly the county clerks office
• Get to know understand your taxing neighbors

10
(No Transcript)