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Rick Leary, County Administrator | Major Initiatives | Organizational Chart | FAQ's | Committee's |
Administrator The County Administrator is responsible for administrative and management responsibilities, directing and coordinating all phases of County government functions and activities under the jurisdiction of the Board of County Commissioners in accordance with Chapter 125 of the Florida Statutes and the County Ordinance. The Administrator serves as the liaison between the Board of County Commissioners and the citizens of the County. The County Administrator is also responsible for the County’s annual budget.
Welcome to the Putnam County Commissioners web site! Please browse and explore this information regarding County services and personnel. Putnam County elects five Commissioners who serve four year terms. Our organization administration consists of an appointed County Administrator who supervises twelve Departments. The County Commissioners approve a budget in excess of $50,000,000 annually and employ a work force of 253 full time and roughly 50 part time employees. As you explore these pages you will find our organizational chart, specific Departmental information, and the names and phone #'s of important contacts. You will also find our list of goals and objectives which serve to focus our effort and attention. Citizens input and participation in our local government is a priority. Our County has established fifty different committees to assist our elected officials and staff in the conduct of County operations. A listing of these committees may be found among these pages. We are proud of our County and encourage input into our web site. It is our hope and intention that this technology helps us do our jobs - serving our citizens and residents.
MAJOR
INITIATIVES The Board appointed a seventeen member Fire Services Task Force to assess the delivery of fire protection in the County. The ask Force is focusing on the areas of training, equipment, facilities, manpower, and funding and has been meeting since October, 2001. A report is expected to be finalized by December of the upcoming fiscal year. The report will likely contain recommendations for improvements that will enhance fire protection countywide. The fatal Amtrak accident in south Putnam County in April, 2002 brought attention to the deficiencies in countywide coverage of the emergency communications system. An analysis of improvements to eliminate these deficiencies was undertaken and the County has constructed two 400’ towers which will be used to enhance communication coverage. Additional shorter receiver towers will be strategically located in other areas to ensure that coverage is extended to the southern, western and northern areas of the county. Continued improvements to the tower sites and equipment upgrades will occur in the coming year. The consultant engaged to conduct a needs assessment of the court function and judicial offices completed his study. An increasing number of court cases requiring the assignment of additional court personnel have created overcrowded conditions in the courthouse and in offices that support the judicial process. The assessment resulted in a recommendation to add on to the existing facility or to consider replacing it with a larger, updated structure while pursuing the historical preservation of the original section of the existing facility. A task force recommended that the County proceed with a space needs assessment to identify the space requirements of occupants of the courthouse up to the year 2020. This information will enable the County to determine a direction for the future. The assessment is expected to be finalized during the first quarter of 2004. A needs assessment for the existing jail facility has also been completed. Currently a 231-bed facility, the recommendation is that an expansion of 200 beds be considered to enable the County to house an increasing inmate population and that the existing aging cell areas be renovated. The County is continuing to evaluate the recommendations regarding the jail. On September 10, 2002, the voters approved the implementation of the additional one cent surtax for a fifteen-year period commencing January 1, 2003. The proceeds from the surtax must be used to fund infrastructure improvements. At the outset, the yield is expected to be $3.8 million annually. One of the initial purchases using surtax proceeds was the acquisition of heavy equipment for the County’s Public Works Department to use in addressing drainage problems. The county has not had an active drainage program and the equipment acquisition, along with some reassignment of manpower, has enabled the Department to develop an active drainage program. In the coming fiscal year proposals for developing a Master Storm water Plan will be solicited from consulting engineers. The County utilized surtax proceeds to embark upon a road resurfacing program. During the first year approximately 15 miles of roads were identified for resurfacing and some had to be reconstructed due to their deteriorated condition. Approximately $1.1 million was approved for this purpose and additional miles will be resurfaced during each of the future years. A road resurfacing program prior to the approval of the surtax was virtually non-existent except for projects the County was able to undertake using grant dollars from the State of Florida. Only one road per year was being resurfaced under this program. In the coming year a Master Transportation Plan will be finalized to enable the county to identify roads which will be converted from dirt to pavement. The County hopes to pave approximately fifty miles of road every five years during the fifteen-year period that the surtax is authorized. Work on the East Putnam Regional Water System continued throughout the year as the county deliberated on an appropriate source of water to supply the system. Consulting engineers have been examining alternatives and refining cost estimates to enable the county to finalize a decision shortly after the beginning of the calendar year on a source of water. An application for a consumptive use permit and system design will proceed immediately thereafter with a goal of soliciting bids in late summer for the construction of the water system. Construction will take approximately eighteen months. Water service should be initiated during the first half of 2006. A property transaction between the School Board and the county was completed in the spring, and this site on Westover Drive will be the location for the 4,000 square foot Senior Citizens Center which is currently in the design phase. Bids are expected during early 2004 with a six month construction period to follow the bid award. The property abuts an aquatics facility which is under long term lease to the county from The Arc. Efforts to encourage economic development in the Business Park on St. Johns Avenue continue as plans for completing the roadways in the Park are being designed by the Public Works staff. The County completed negotiations with Tamkin Development Corporation, a Los Angeles based company to construct and market a 50,000 square foot industrial shell building in the Park. Industrial prospects have a keen interest in facilities which can be readily completed to expedite start-up in new locations. In April, 2003, renovation of a building to house the Property Appraiser was completed. The relocation of this office to that facility enabled the County to upgrade other areas and to grant other departments additional space. The Information Technology Department benefited by having all personnel relocated to one facility, the Supervisor of Elections was moved to more spacious quarters and the Planning and Development Services department was consolidated under one roof to more efficiently deliver services to the public. These relocations were completed in August, 2003. The Recreation Department will begin to formulate a Master Plan to determine the facilities which need to be in existence to meet the growing demand from increasing numbers of participants in organized athletic activities. Youth soccer is especially popular and the demand exceeds the number of fields which are available. Phase I of the amphitheater at Mary Wisham Park is in design, and in July, 2003, acquisition of the Tanglewylde Center property occurred. This property was acquired with grant funds from the State of Florida and will ultimately be developed as an environmental education center.
Putnam
County Administration
FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions)
County Administration FAQ's What is the process for closing a road or vacating a plat?
How do I obtain commercial hauling permits for solid waste?
How can I obtain a cable television franchise?
Can I obtain a Non-Emergency Medical Transport License?
How can I obtain certificates of public convenience and necessity, required in order for companies to provide emergency medical services?
MSBU Information * MSBU stands for Municipal Service Benefit Unit. Florida Statute 197.3632 gives authority to County Commissions to establish msbu projects which allows the placement of a non-ad valorem assessment on benefited properties to pay for services the county is unable to fund otherwise; ie: road paving, road maintenance, water/sewer, parks, fire service, etc. * A Non Ad Valorem Assessment means the assessment is not subject to the homestead exemption law. Under Florida’s homestead exemption law enacted by a vote of the state’s citizens, property owners whose primary home and property are valued at less than $25,000, do not pay any ad valorem taxes; primary home sites valued over $25,000 pay ad valorem taxes on the value amount over $25,000. Under an msbu everyone pays a portion of the cost of providing the service regardless of homestead exemption. * Citizens must file a petition signed by a majority of property owners stating they are interested in looking at the feasibility of implementing a paving or maintenance msbu for whatever roads, no later than October 15 * Deadline for determining feasibility and getting projects approved for the Public Hearing process for msbu’s is 12:00 P.M., the Wednesday prior to the 2nd Board Meeting in February (4th Tuesday of the month) of each year. * Once cost estimates/feasibility are established and property owners decide to go to the public hearing stage, the public hearings are scheduled to be held usually between June and July of each year, sometimes if necessary in August. Letters are sent out usually thirty days in advance, but by law at least twenty days in advance of the public hearing date. * If a project is approved, the assessment will appear on the tax bill beginning in November of the year that the project was approved. For paving projects, the work usually begins twelve to eighteen months later (late summer, early fall of the next year), for maintenance projects the work usually begins sometime between the following February and May. * Assessments are done on a per lot basis for paving projects, giving account to lots containing more than one dwelling unit (ie, one lot containing two homes would receive two assessments); and per parcel basis for maintenance projects, also giving account to parcels containing more than one dwelling unit; additionally parcel combinations are allowed in maintenance projects and usually results in a reduction of the number of assessments said owner receives thus affecting the total amount of the budget for the maintenance project. Such combinations are not allowed in paving msbu’s. For metes and bounds property, the number of assessments a parcel receives is determined by the County’s Land Use Regulations and/or Subdivision Development Regulations. * All properties that receive a benefit from the improvements, whether it is direct or indirect, will receive the assessment. The purpose of a paving or maintenance msbu is to improve the general access to all properties within the benefit unit boundaries. * Any and all funds collected for a project go into a fund for that particular project; they cannot be used to fund any other service or project. * For approved paving projects, the Board has approved ten or fifteen year annual pay plans which are billed via the tax bill or property owners have the option of payment in full of the principal amount by August 1st to avoid all interest and other fees. Additionally, during the life of the assessment, remaining balances can be paid off between November 1st and August 1st of any year as long as the taxes have been paid up to date including the current year. Said payoffs will include interest and fees accumulated up to the time of any payoff. * Maintenance projects are an annual assessment, and again, all monies collected for a project are kept in that project’s budget; they cannot be transferred and utilized elsewhere. Whatever the amount of funds collected from the tax bills, minus the Tax Collector and administration fees, is the budget amount a project has at its disposal to perform maintenance work, i.e.: grading, mowing, ditch cleaning, culvert replacement (excluding driveway culverts), tree removal etc. on an annual basis. A citizen’s advisory board is appointed for maintenance msbu’s and they oversee the work done by the contractor and must request any work necessary other than normal grading, ie. tree removal, fill material, culverts, etc. Therefore, maintenance msbu’s have some flexibility as to the work done from month to month. * The costs relayed to you are estimates only. The costs cannot exceed the amount put in the letters without going through the whole public hearing process again. However, the assessment can be reduced. If a bid comes in way over the estimated amount the County has the option of dropping the project or contributing the necessary funds, if available. In paving projects, for the first year the assessment amount will be the amount stated in the letter, however, if a paving project turns out to be over estimated, and the bid comes in lower than the estimated amount, the County will either prorate the reduction for the remaining years or reduce the number of payments. If the bid comes in close to the estimated amount, your assessment will remain the same as in the letter for the entire payback period. If the bid comes in over the estimated amount and the County contributes the difference, your assessment will remain the same as stated in the letter for the entire payback period. * There are provisions for errors and omissions made in our assessment of properties. If you are billed and believe an error exists, between November 1st and December 31st of each year, you can file a request to correct your bill with Shannon Burge (1-800-826-1437, Ext.2756/386-326-2756). Additionally, if staff becomes aware of an error they can also file a request to correct a bill. These instances may result in a change of the number of assessments for any such parcel (+/-) assessed incorrectly or omitted from an assessment in error. All requests will go before the MSBU Adjustment Committee and the Board of County Commissioners for approval. * The County also established a hardship-deferment option. For those property owners who face a hardship in paying the non-ad valorem assessment, there is a hardship deferment application they can obtain from Shannon Burge (1-800-826-1437, Ext. 2756/386-329-2756). Applications must be filed between November 1st and December 31st each year the assessment is in place. Applications will go before the MSBU Adjustment Committee and Board of County Commissioners for approval. * This is a non-ad valorem assessment that, if
approved, will appear on your tax bill. By law, the letters that we send out
state: If imposed, failure to pay will result in loss of title. Unless prior
arrangements have been made with the Tax Collector’s Office to make
quarterly payments, they will not accept what they would consider a partial
payment. Therefore, unless the whole tax bill, which includes the assessment,
is paid, it will go through the same process as if you did not pay your
property taxes. | TOP | FAQ's | County Administration FAQ's | Basic MSBU Information | S.H.I.P. FAQ's |
S.H.I.P. FAQ's What is S.H.I.P. ?
For more information please contact the board of county commissioners office:
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PUTNAM
COUNTY CITIZEN COMMITTEE'S
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Author: (Putnam County
IT (Information Technology) |
