PDE-26-0965 · 1 appearance

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1Aug 25, 2026
Board of County CommissionersR42Regular businessApproved
Approved minutes
Approved Staff’s recommendation by roll call vote with Commissioner Yeager absent from the vote.
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20m
Jack MarianoChair
Very good. Okay. Now we've got R forty two. Billy.
David Engel
David Engel, the Planning and Economic Development Director. Bill's still here.
No, no, he's back for a second resolution.
I I have to tell you that Bill has been a pleasure to work with. We've had a long journey developing and crafting a multi-year funding agreement. So what I'd like to do today is provide a consent. Can I stop
Jack MarianoChair
you for just for
David Engel
a second? Yes,
Jack MarianoChair
sir. I just want to say that Pasco County has probably got the two best economic development people that are probably in the plan. And you guys working together the way you do creates tremendous opportunities for us, and I greatly appreciate you guys working so well together and helping all these things happen. Well
David Engel
makes
Jack MarianoChair
a big difference.
David Engel
Designated by the board to represent us at governmental levels and also do certain functions that we are not able to do internally here with the with our existing team. So uh Bill Bill's proposal was uh uh submitted to us about a uh two years ago. We we went through an extensive vetting session. But before I get to that, I just want to highlight exactly what the EDC function is because maybe the public isn't aware of their important
function here in the county. The Pasco Economic Development County. Uh recruit businesses and attract businesses to come to the county. That's good for our tax base and also good for job creation. They work with existing businesses on retaining their presence here and helping them expand. And that organic development is key and critical to our sustainability as a as a viable economic. County. Bill's is our basically our centric entrepreneurship and business development
person for helping new businesses come up and be incubated here in the county and be able to hire and expand. Marketing and lead generation, which is part and parcel to the bullet. That's one, two, and three, and workforce development. So the proposal today is to establish a five-year funding plan commencing on October first, two thousand twenty-six will be fiscal year twenty-seven for us, and then um expiring on September thirty, ninth uh two
thousand thirty-one. So the question would be why a multi-year plan? So we we've been And we we realize that the EDC has to have an understanding of what their financial future looks like so they can make commitments and plans. And having to go through a annual review process on the numbers is problematic for the EDC. For example, they came in with a original proposal. Last year we had to do interim funding, and a lot of their initiatives were frozen because of it. This provides a clear
path forward and Bill knows and understands what he has to do and the resources he has. Uh we've also uh utilized the Ernst ⁇ Young study. If the board may recall, back in 2023, Ernst Young was commissioned to come in here and look at our economic development program. They opine that the E D C and having a not for profit is a key important function and we should not lose that. And they also made some recommendations on uh updating the key performance indicators and
Bill has been very cooperative and we have enhanced KPIs. And if you notice Bill's last quarterly report was much different than the original reports that he was doing. So that's all part of this collaborative process. Uh last year we gave Bill a uh a pass with some uh temporary funding for fiscal twenty-six which was at one point six million dollars. Uh we did allow him to uh um offer a COLA increase to his employees of three and a half percent, which
was consistent with the board uh position on wage increases last year. And um he had agreed that he would work in that funding agreement to enhance and improve the KPIs. So The proposed funding is as follows. Um I would just have to say that Bill has not received a raise for his penny for PASCO programming. A lot of those program funding amounts were articulated and established back in 2018. So based on that, uh we offered Bill a ten percent
bump on his base funding. And uh that will take care of the inflationary forces and factors that back up to 2019. And um Also, that is his base year. Five years forward, he's required to maintain a flat budget. Um there is a cost of l I' and I'll go through the features of it, but it's basically a flat budget. Um we do we do allow some adjustments to inflation using the stated uh CPI. You
can't exceed that level. And um very important, because uh a large part of his staff um uh expenses are paid through the county, he's agreed to uh offer wage adjustments annually consistent with the board policy. And if the board were to entertain a a uh A salary study that we do periodically do. Bill could join in and do his own salary study, and that could be reviewed by the board as well. Uh we've enhanced and updated
the KPIs, as I had mentioned before. And I have to tell you, this is the most transparent uh EDC deal that we've done. Every the budget has the macro budget, and then we have each of the business lines in the EDC's um portfolio with KPIs after them. So you have concise budgeting, program the program, with the KPIs broken. out so it's easy to read and understand and the public can it digest it very quickly. And uh just to go through, I
mentioned there's a CPI adjustment, the board establishes if there's a cost of living increase, and then there's the pay study. And uh basically without reviewing it uh in detail, I would just say that originally we we offered Bill the payment up front October first in the fiscal year, but Bill has agreed to receive the money in two funding tranches. 50 percent at the beginning of the fiscal year, and then around January 15th, there and about, there'll
be a s another 50 percent payment. But if Bill has um accumulated excessive reserve funds, he will use that to reduce the amount of county funds. So uh we want to make sure that Bill has money and that he's utilizing it efficiently, and if he has additional funds. funds that have accumulated, he's agreed to uh not hold that for future projects, but use that and apply it against the county um payment.
And uh that's it. So quarterly reports are still online. He will be providing a board annual report, and we have those new KPIs that Bill featured in this last presentation. So it's our recommendation to approve this multi-year, five-year funding agreement, and uh we're here to answer any questions that you may have. And Bill's here for operational questions. Thank you.
Ron Oakley
Okay. Move approval.
Seth WeightmanVice Chair
before I second it.
Uh I just want to say thank you for for going through this exercise. It makes sometimes a uh a tense and con contentious budget cycle uh one less thing to have to worry about so to have these longer term agreements with parties partners that we we have confidence in and trust uh makes our budget cycle I think uh a little less complicated when it comes to negotiating and uh it also gives you the confidence that you can plan, you know, at twenty four forty
eight three seventy two months at a time, right? And uh that's and that's important for success. That way you're not worried about what what we're doing up here as a board when it comes to budget time. So good work between you both. You you look like you're uh still kind of like each other a little bit. Yeah, Bill is one of my Bill is my most passionate collaborate. You guys are are cool uh right now five years from now, maybe not, we'll see. But uh thank you both for working together on this and uh uh you know making making a longer
term strategy here. So I'll second.
Jack MarianoChair
Okay. To the board. I mean Roll Call vote.
Madam Clerk
District one, Commissioner Oakley. District two, Commissioner Weightman. District three, Commissioner Starkey.
District Four, Commissioner Yeager. Who's there?
Ron Oakley
That was Starkey.
Madam Clerk
Yes. District 4, Commissioner Yeager. District 5, Chairman Mariano.
Jack MarianoChair
Hi. Well, great work, gentlemen. Thank you. And Bill, what a great family you got. Well it's great to see you today. Thank you. Thank you very
Jim McBride
much. Looking forward to the next five years with you guys.
Jack MarianoChair
Mutual success. Thanks. Do you guys mind if we take a five-minute break? No. No? We don't mind. Okay. Getting
Ron Oakley
a handy crank. We'll be back in five minutes. Oh make it sure. Are we starting our deal or are we having a break? I guess round the break. Stretch hamster. I'm ready to leak.
Oh yeah, nothing to add.
Mike Carballa
She needs to
Chuck Lane
Exactly. Take a five minute break for a reading. Yeah, there you go. Uh
Clark Hobby
No, I think
Joshua Wood
that's a one that's actually.
Chris Campbell
Yes. Thank you.
Jack MarianoChair
He's still
Chris Campbell
he still has a rookie movie
Seth WeightmanVice Chair
county attorney
around the