A.G. Gancarski
The first week of Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa‘s budget reviews of city departments for the Lenny Curry transition team is in the books. However, there are limited schedules Tuesday through Thursday. The day starts off with the State Attorney and the Public Defender offices.
Fun Fact: Mike Weinstein is a filed candidate for the Public Defender office for 2016.
12:32: Angela Corey is in the house along with others from her office, including Patty Dodson.
12:33: Not a lot of movement in this budget. Discussion of the State Attorney Office move into the old federal courthouse. They are willing to extend space to the Sheriff’s Office also, for task forces and such. There is a suite of offices available. The building “exceeds” Corey’s expectations.
12:37: Discussion extends to the General Fund and IT. SAO does not know how much they can allocate to IT. There are known unknowns, such as the IT operating budget, that impact the SAO budget. The IT budget meeting is on Thursday, which will be when more clarity is provided. There seems to be a $218K line item for IT costs in this budget.
12:42: The mailroom charge on the SAO budget is being disputed, as the city doesn’t use the city’s mailroom. Looks like that will be stricken from the budget. The SAO is effectively a paperless office, cutting out snail mail.
12:44: A zero allocation for guard services is being disputed. It looks like it will be on the Enhancement List. This year, the city provides First Coast Security.
12:47: Security is, not surprisingly, vital for the SAO. As is software for checking people in and scanning IDs for depositions and so on. Corey is not sure where the zero number came from, given that she had “numerous meetings” about it.
12:50: Mousa: “we need to do our research on that.” Corey is really good at these budget meetings; one of the best advocates for her office that I’ve heard yet. Other department heads should be in here taking notes.
12:56: Equipment replacement is now the topic, and where budgeting comes from for it.
12:57: A meeting happened regarding the SAO budget with IT. There was no SAO representation in that meeting. Dodson is listening very intently.
1:00: Dodson: “we would have liked to have been invited to these meetings” regarding the “nuts and bolts of what we need to function.” Weinstein cautions that this is just a working budget, “the very beginning of a process,” and “we’re all literally scrambling.”
1:01: Mousa wants a meeting scheduled to loop the SAO in with Dodson, IT, and “whoever the Council auditor was” in the first meeting.
1:03: Public Defender Matt Shirk has entered the room, alone, for his meeting. No aides are with him.
1:04: Looks like the SAO is going to phase out “offsite file storage,” which will be a $70K a year savings.
1:06: Two aides have entered to join Shirk.
1:08: Corey makes the closing case for the new $70K software. “I’m cheap with the taxpayers’ money; I always try to talk [vendors] down.”
On to the Public Defender.
1:21: A review of numbers. A discussion of building cost allocations. Insurance is now bundled into the costs of building ownership of the old Haverty’s Building, the purpose of which has moved from furniture to public defense.
1:23: Mousa: “The building costs us a million six twenty nine a year.”
1:24: Shirk talks about the discussion they had in the John Peyton administration of their move into that building. “We commuted back and forth, in order to save the city a tremendous amount of money.”
1:25: The real study here is Weinstein, who is looking over these budget numbers intently, impassively, quiet… so far.
1:28: A discussion of parking costs, which will be built into the Public Defender budget.
1:30: Shirk discusses “numerous threats against our employees” over the last few years. They need a metal detector and enhanced security, he adds, as “reasonable and necessary to secure the building.” The current security guard has a wand; he wands everybody. Shirk wants the detector though. He wants a “reasonably priced” metal detector, but he wants a metal detector.
1:32: “I lose sleep over somebody coming through the building,” says Shirk. Mousa responds that there is a security guard with wand, so “you’re not totally naked.”
1:33: Funny that there would be a shower in the office, but not a metal detector.
1:34: Discussion of the X-Ray machine in City Hall. Shirk is still making his case for technology. Mousa counters that one guard can’t do the job. He also thinks City Hall is “overloaded with people.”
1:35: “To fully secure the building, this would help us sleep better,” Shirk adds.
1:37: Discussion of professional services budgeting. Angela Moyer says that money is “parked” in subfunds and “just stays there.”
1:40: Mousa doesn’t know who is making requests on certain line items on the Public Defender budget. He refers to one as “generic.”
1:43: Dodson has entered the room.
1:44: Weinstein and Shuman are discussing the internal services allocation. Weinstein: “having been there for twenty years, I know they can reach into their budget and do some things.”
1:48: Weinstein is schooling Shirk on fund distribution.
1:49: END
