County approves Amendment 10 transition plan with Property Appraiser Bartlett
Posted On: March 3, 2020
Six weeks ago, the Volusia County Council inked an agreement with Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis to restructure the Department of Elections. Today, it was Property Appraiser Larry Bartlett’s turn, as the county continues to reorganize the sections of its government led by elected department heads in preparation for next year’s scheduled implementation of Amendment 10.
An agreement with Sheriff Mike Chitwood also will be brought to the County Council.
What’s prompting all of the structural changes to Volusia’s county government is a statewide ballot initiative approved by Florida voters in 2018. The initiative gives Volusia’s elected department heads considerably more autonomy by making them county constitutional officers rather than county charter officers. The change takes effect on Jan. 5, 2021. Because Volusia County operates under a home-rule charter approved by Volusia County voters, the county is pursuing a legal challenge asking the courts to clarify whether the ballot initiative applies here. In the meantime, County Manager George Recktenwald has been negotiating agreements with the elected department heads that spell out how the transition will work if the courts rule that the amendment applies to Volusia County. The agreements require County Council approval.
“We have worked to identify solutions and issues along the way and look at best practices from other peer counties,” Interim County Attorney Mike Dyer told the County Council shortly before the council unanimously approved a five-page memorandum of agreement with Bartlett.
Under the agreement, effective Jan. 5, 2021, the property appraiser staff will no longer be county employees. Instead, they’ll become employees of the Property Appraiser’s Office and be subject to personnel rules established by the department. The affected employees will be allowed to take any accrued leave time with them. Although the property appraiser will have the authority under Amendment 10 to operate with a great deal of independence, Bartlett ultimately decided it would be more efficient for his office to continue using many county services – such as fleet and facilities management, custodial services, payroll, accounting, budget, risk management, information technology, internal auditor and most legal services. The money to pay for the services will come out of the property’s appraiser’s budget.
“The property appraiser has agreed to continue to use the county for almost all support services, which helps maintain economies of scale and efficiencies,” states a memorandum explaining the agreement that was included in the council’s agenda packet.
Other provisions of the agreement include the following:
- The county will provide and pay for necessary office space for the principal office and location of permanent records, which will remain on the 1st floor of the county’s Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center in DeLand.
- With the concurrence of the County Council, the property appraiser will be allowed to operate branch offices outside of DeLand. However, the costs would come out of the property’s appraiser’s budget. The property appraiser currently operates branch offices in Holly Hill, New Smyrna Beach and Orange City.
- The property appraiser will be responsible for the cost of equipping and maintaining the primary office as well as any branch offices.
According to County Chair Ed Kelley, the agreement is a good deal for all involved.
“You did come to a very good agreement, and there again, we all win on this one,” Kelley told Bartlett. Kelley also commented that both the Property Appraiser’s Office and the taxpayers will benefit from the agreement.
“I totally agree,” responded Bartlett.
In addition to changing the structure of the elections department, property appraiser’s office and sheriff’s office, Amendment 10 also will result in the reinstatement of the elected office of tax collector in Volusia County. If the courts rule that Amendment 10 applies here, Volusia County voters will go to the polls this fall to elect a tax collector. The elected office was abolished by the county’s home-rule charter that Volusia County voters adopted in 1970.
