Updated 8/18/2013, 3:34 p.m.

CRESTVIEW — City department heads have submitted their respective 2013-14 preliminary budgets but city leaders say they still must trim upward of $1.1 million.

City Clerk Betsy Roy said she and Finance Director Patti Beebe have been working with the department heads to submit a balanced budget, but "unfortunately, we're not there yet."

Though the city council agreed to set a higher tentative millage rate for creating the next fiscal year's budget, members at Wednesday's workshop expressed keeping the rate as is.

Under the tentative millage of 5.8466, and with the budgets as submitted, the general fund deficit would be $906,000. Under the current millage of 5.5966, the deficit would be an estimated $1.1 million.

Council members made budget-reduction suggestions including:

•Closing the library and parks an extra day each week

•Reducing city employees workweeks to 32 hours

•Using Community Redevelopment Agency funds, not general fund money, for Twin Hills Park operations and police patrol services in the CRA district

•Hiring a city purchasing agent and grant writer

•Establishing better control of city assets.

Among the suggestions was reducing Fire Station 3's staff or possibly closing that fire station.

With talk of increased county, school and gas taxes, the last thing Crestview residents need is an increase in their property taxes coupled with a loss of services, Council President Robyn Helt said.

"I am not for an increase in the citizens' millage rate, period," she said. "I don't care what we have to do. The citizens are not going to continue to pay for the government to do its job inefficiently."

Helt said it is up to department heads to trim their own budgets.

Department heads expressed willingness to collaborate to produce a balanced budget, but acknowledged that after years of trimming, there's little left to cut.

"Things are going to have to be spoken about frankly and deliberately," Fire Chief Joe Traylor said. "Now we know where we need to go and we'll get there."

…

Draft budgets

Preliminary budgets were submitted Wednesday for the 2013-14 fiscal year starting Oct. 1. These budgets will be revised and adjusted during upcoming budget workshops.

Department                              2012            2013

GENERAL FUND

Mayor's Office                        $91,979       $94,446

City Clerk                                $236,763     $170,306

Finance Department                (new)           $306,110

General Administrative           $1,078,556  $938,208

Administrative Services          $649,199     (eliminated)

Planning & Zoning                  (new)           $334,362

Permitting                                (new)           $276,652

Public Works                          $403,105     $394,320

Fleet Maintenance                   $156,259     $156,869

Police Department                   $4,279,308  $4,358,527

Fire Department                      $3,846,306  $3,892,750

Parks & Recreation                 $486,730     $399,969

Streets                                     $1,418,391  $1,424,842

Library                                    $660,979     $656,640

Code Enforcement                   (new)           $74,957

Community Center                  $34,425       $30,137

Building Facilities                   $764,611     $895,309

UTILITY FUND

General Administrative           $3,845,893  $2,211,279

Public Services                        $405,960     $395,117

Customer Service                    $601,493     $359,491

Water Department                   $923,334     $1,321,957

Sewer Department                   $212,163     $258,330

Wastewater Treatment             $922,936     $970,395

Maintenance                            $895,218     $943,934

Storm water                             $302,190     $331,477        

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article said Councilmen Thomas Gordon and Mickey Rytman offered a list of budget-reduction suggestions. Although Gordon and Rytman made suggestions, it's important to clarify who said what. Rytman did not suggest reducing city workers' hours to 32 per week. This version of the article simply offers the suggestions, which are not formal proposals.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City leaders to department heads: trim up to $1.1 million from budget

CRESTVIEW — Relief may be near for Okaloosa Lane residents tired of slipping and sliding in wet weather, and bouncing over ruts and motoring through dust clouds when it's dry.

A small, critical stretch of the road, which links U.S. Highway 90 with Redstone Avenue at Riverside Elementary School, is still unpaved.

Soon after the school opened, the section from Redstone behind Riverside Elementary was paved. However, the segment from Serenity Lane at the boundary of school property to Aplin Road, is still dirt. Efforts to pave it have been in the works for three years, County Commissioner Wayne Harris said.

The county is acquiring right-of-way from property owners on either side of the road now that 60 percent of the engineering planning is complete.

The road is heavily traveled by school buses and parents carrying students to and from the two schools, and serves residential neighborhoods that line the lane’s east side.

The segment includes a dramatic dip that frequently gets washouts.

A top priority

Paving the last quarter-mile of dirt lane is one of his top priorities, Harris said. There's hope the project might be completed within a year to a year and a half, he said.

"We are trying to elicit the property owners' support in acquiring right-of-way," Harris said. "I think most, if not all, but one or two are in favor of fixing this major problem."

Because of hazardous conditions caused by washouts, and the lack of a sidewalk for children walking to and from school, paving the road is a safety issue, Harris said.

Moreover, he said, it will enhance property values for neighborhoods the road serves.

The paving and accompanying drainage engineering work is budgeted at $2 million, county Public Works Director John Hofstad said. Part of the cost is for acquiring property needed for drainage and a sidewalk.

Engineering plans had to be revised when the original design didn't meet with the Northwest Florida Water Management District's approval, Harris said.

"We have the money to do it, and if we prevail in acquiring all of the R.O.W., we can, as they say, 'git 'er done,'" Harris said.

However, affected property owners must agree to donate or sell needed right-of-way to the county before the project can move forward, Harris said.

"One person can hold up that road," Harris said. "If one person says 'no,' then we can't do that road at all."

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa Lane paving could be next as engineering studies end

CRESTVIEW — Mayor David Cadle recognized three of Fire Station 3’s original 12 firefighters during Monday’s city council meeting. The presentation coincided with the five-year anniversary of the opening of Crestview's newest firehouse on Brookmeade Drive.

FEMA’s five-year Staffing for Adequate Fire & Emergency Response Grant funded employment for Matthew Baker, Matthew Cunningham and Paul Wojtowicz, who were sworn in July 2, 2008 and attended the meeting. The grant made it possible to staff the facility, which serves the town’s east central area.

Eighteen firefighters are assigned to Station 3. Of the original 12 firefighters, Michael Smith, Nicholas Stowell, Joshua Vargason and Corey Winkler, who still serve the city, couldn’t attend the presentation.

The city, which has finished its matching portion of the FEMA grant, is obligated to keep the firefighters on the payroll for at least one more year. However, their jobs are safe beyond that, Fire Chief Joe Traylor said.

"The loss of those 12 employees would have a direct negative impact on the amount of homeowners insurance and commercial insurance for citizens who are served by the firefighters that work out  of that station," he said.

The city is midway paying off a $900,000 loan to construct Station 3, using impact fees of $200 per single-family home and $200 per 1,000 square feet of commercial space.

Half of the fees collected is designated to support police; the other half is designated for the fire department, Traylor said, adding, "but because it is a public safety building, all funds go to that building."

Traylor described the inner operations room as a "building within a building," explaining it serves as an emergency operations center for Crestview's fire and police departments.

The reinforced concrete walls and metal roof should withstand a "Katrina-like event," Traylor said.

Want to visit?

Contact the Crestview Fire Department administration, 682-6121, to arrange tours of Public Safety Building 3 or any of Crestview's other fire stations.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview's Brookmeade public safety building celebrates 5 years

CRESTVIEW — Revising the city's permitting fee schedule would help bridge disparity between fees collected and the Building Permitting and Inspections Department’s actual expenses, city building official Jonathan Bilby said.

For several months, Bilby has been conducting a comprehensive overhaul of his department's fee schedule.

His proposal, presented to the City Council during a workshop Monday, includes increases that would bring Crestview's permitting and inspections fees more in line with other Okaloosa County communities.

Bilby's research began after it became apparent that fees currently charged to developers were insufficient to cover the expense of reviewing plans and inspecting construction.

"We had a significant shortfall and we realized we were relying on tax revenue," Bilby said.

Taxpayer funds — an average of $65,000 per year over the last four years — made up the difference.

Bilby said he analyzed regional permitting fees and found the fee for a 1,200-square-foot building ranged from more than $300 in Crestview to $1,200 elsewhere in the county.

The proposed new fee schedule is "a more fair, across-the-board fee structure," he said, and represents the median of regional fees.

Councilman Thomas Gordon questioned the wisdom of raising fees.

"If we're trying so hard to encourage businesses to come in, do we want to raise permit fees?" he said.

Council President Robyn Helt said she wondered whether the city is needlessly requiring permits for small projects "that don't amount to a hill of beans."

She cited an $81 permit she purchased to put a prefabricated shed in her backyard to house her lawnmower.

"Are there other things like that that we're charging for that could be eliminated and save city inspectors a burden and the resident the burden?" Helt said.

Bilby agreed to review the small home improvement permits, but cautioned that eliminating them might cause problems, such as an improperly secured shed blowing into a neighbor's home during a hurricane.

He asked the council to review his proposed fee schedule and consider approving it in time for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Building official: permitting fee overhaul would fix shortfall

CRESTVIEW — City officials have not raised the city's water impact fees, despite water consultants Tetra Tech and CH2MHill’s recommendations.

Following Okaloosa County's example, Public Works Director Wayne Steele has another idea: call the fee by another name.

The county has begun referring to its impact fees as "capacity replacement fees." City leaders have said they like the idea.

"I like that terminology," Councilman Shannon Hayes said during Monday’s city council meeting. "Sometimes just changing the wording changes somebody's mindset."

Under the council's direction, Steele will consult with city attorney Jerry Miller about changing the city's fee vocabulary to adopt the county's phraseology.

"'Impact fee' has a bad taste in some people’s mouth, but as utility providers, we have to find a way to sustain our long-term infrastructure,” Steele said. “It is the best option for new development to pay for itself."

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

Impact

BRIAN HUGHES | News Bulletin

Crestview Public Works Director Wayne Steele, left, assists resident Mack Brooks with a concern about drainage problems on his property. In future, "capacity replacement fees" might fund some city infrastructure improvements.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview City Council to consider renaming impact fees

LAUREL HILL — The city clerk’s office has retained three contractors’ estimates to repair the “Welcome to Laurel Hill Florida” sign, which collapsed June 28 following strong winds.

Other licensed and insured contractors can call city clerk Nita Miller, 652-4441, to offer a bid.

A hit and run in January first affected the brick and mortar sign near city hall, Miller said.   

"We're thinking the sign was backed into by a duel-wheeled vehicle," she said, adding she noticed tire tracks leading to the sign and damaged shrubs nearby.

The sign still stood after that incident, which was reported to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, but strong winds June 28 led to its collapse, Miller said.

Florida Municipal Insurance Trust Company, affiliated with the Florida League of Cities, insures the sign, city officials said.

"The deductible is $2,500; the company told us we could get up to $10,000 for it,” Miller said.  

No timeline has been given for the sign’s replacement.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill accepting estimates to replace welcome sign

CRESTVIEW — With differences resolved between the city and the state Department of Transportation, site work has begun on a south Ferdon Boulevard fast-food restaurant.

At a May 15 Crestview City Council meeting, Krystal representative Bob Ziegenfuss hinted that unless the city provided $30,000 in tax relief, the 2385 S. Ferdon Blvd. project would be "in jeopardy."

Council members took no action on the request.

However, Public Works Director Wayne Steele said Krystal and the DOT, which had mandated unexpected improvements to the State Road 85 median, met last week "and they're moving forward."

Demolition of a former gas station on the site opposite Dunkin' Donuts is underway.

"In this project, they are going to demolish that old building and all the concrete pavement," city engineer Fred Cook said. "It's a complete redo of the whole site."

The former gas station's gasoline tanks were excavated and removed several years ago, Cook said.

Based on conversations in last week's meeting, Crestview residents could be picking up a Krystal Sackful as soon as October, Steele said.

"They said they'd be finished in 90 days and opening," Steele said.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City's refusal of $30K in tax relief has no impact on Krystal project

CRESTVIEW — The City Council has unanimously approved Public Works’ request to repair a leaking 18-inch storm-water runoff pipe that caused a sinkhole to form on Denise Drive.

Public Works Director Wayne Steele said a resident alerted him July 17 that the sinkhole had appeared between his house and a neighbor's home in the Antioch Estates subdivision.

An underground video inspection revealed three holes have appeared in the pipe, most likely aggravated by the excessive recent rainfall, Steele said.

The pipe — which runs from a drain on Denise Drive at the base of a hill opposite the homes — empties into a retention pond below a sharp slope behind the residences.

"The small sinkhole over the weekend turned into a large sinkhole," Steele said.

Because the pipe is buried 15 feet below the ground, it is impossible to dig it up for replacement, particularly given the close proximity of the two houses.

The solution, Steele said, is to install a Fiberglas liner the pipe’s length from the street to the retention pond.

"They close it up and fill it with steam and it cures in place," Steele said. "It's like a brand new PVC pipe."

Following city purchasing procedure, Steele solicited bids from three companies and received two responses. The least expensive, at $79.99 per foot, represents a total of $12,400 for the project, he said.

"It is expensive, but in this case we don't have a choice," Steele said. "We run the risk of jeopardizing the foundations of these homes if this keeps getting bigger."

The third company could not submit a bid because it could not move its equipment to Crestview fast enough, Steele said.

Because it is an emergency, the council could immediately authorize Steele to accept the lowest bid, city attorney Jerry Miller said.

Miller also recommended the council consider increasing Steele's approval authority beyond the current $7,500 limit for emergency repair work.

Steele said the bidder could "mobilize and start this week."

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Sinkhole could threaten south Crestview homes

CRESTVIEW — The Community Redevelopment Agency has accepted some nominees for an advisory committee that will recommend improvements to downtown and Twin Hills Park.

Comprising residents and business owners, and representatives from the Main Street Crestview Association and the Historic Preservation Board, the committee will consider suggestions for Twin Hills Park skate and dog parks.

The committee also will consider a pedestrian and bicycle corridor between the historic downtown district and Twin Hills Park.

The CRA board on Monday unanimously agreed to form the seven-person committee.

Approved nominees are Linda Parker, Doug Capps, David Wheeler and Bill Kilpatrick. The Main Street Crestview Association appointed Cal Zethmayr as its representative.

Parker and Kilpatrick are former city council members. Kilpatrick had also served as the Main Street Crestview Association’s director.

The Historic Preservation Board has not yet appointed a representative.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Advisory committee suggests updates for downtown Crestview

LAUREL HILL —   The City Council has unanimously voted in favor of reinstating its pay.

"For me, I would like my pay to come back in," Councilman Johnny James said. 

James —   who was elected to the council in March — said he had no say in January when council members voted to donate their compensation toward paying off the city’s debt. 

Laurel Hill’s mayor monthly earns $200; each council member earns $100.

Initially, Councilman Larry Hendren and council members Clifton Hall and Betty Williamson had declined pay; Willie Mae Toles and then-council member Robby Adams voted against the proposal.

Hendren has since changed his stance.

“Some of the council members may need the money more than others, and that (convinced) me to reconsider my vote,” he said on Monday.

"If any of us wanted to donate the money, it should be on a one-on-one basis," he said. He suggested that those wanting to donate their pay should instruct City Clerk Anita Miller to do so.

Each month, the city pays $2,249.88 toward the estimated $104,000 debt, Miller said.

Editor Thomas Boni contributed to this report.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill council votes to reinstate city leaders’ pay