Subject:
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Fiscal Year 2022 Board Budget Resolution to increase the Clerk of the Circuit Court board funded budget.
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Recommended Action:
Recommended Action
Approval of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Budget Resolution pursuant to Florida Statute section 129.06(2)(b) transferring $1,354,605.00 from the General Fund Reserves for Contingencies to the Clerk of the Circuit Court for unexpected and special project expenses related to operational and space improvements.
• These requests are a result of delayed implementation timelines due to longer than expected contract negotiations and construction industry disruptions.
• Items requested that require resolution are non-recurring items, except for $48,230.00 in recurring costs for Questica and CaseWare licenses. Beginning in FY23, these recurring costs will be absorbed into the Clerk’s base budget.
• There were no prior Board actions on this item.
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Strategic Plan:
Deliver First Class Services to the Public and Our Customers
5.2 Be responsible stewards of the public’s resources
5.3 Ensure effective and efficient delivery of County services and support
Summary:
Summary
In the General Fund, this budget amendment realigns $1,354,605 from the Reserves for Contingencies General Government cost center to the Clerk's Administration, Finance, and Clerk's Technology divisions in the Clerk of the Circuit Court. This additional appropriation will provide the resources required to pay for expenditures related to renovation of unimproved space at county-owned Swisher Building for Clerk’s Technology ($400,000), budget software license and implementation and a license for CaseWare to produce an annual budget book ($204,605), and expert EBS functional consultants to evaluate and provide recommendations, documentation, development, and training related to our EBS Business Suite upgrade ($750,000).
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Background Information:
Budget software licenses and implementation will improve the Clerk’s budgeting development, projections, and planning processes by providing custom reporting, more accurate fulltime employee (FTE) tracking, and scenarios. This will allow the Clerk to produce an annual budget book, improving internal and external communication of the Clerk’s budget. Better planning will result in a more efficient use of resources and allow the Clerk’s Office to better serve its customers.
The E-Business Suite (EBS) upgrade projects are crucial to the sustainability of Pinellas County’s EBS, which is the backbone of financial transactions and financial reporting for Pinellas County. The additional functional resources will better ensure successful implementation of the upgrades and provide an efficient approach to the project timeline to mitigate future projects to address unforeseen needs. This project requires a consultant familiar with the county Oracle footprint, the Clerk business processes, and involves near term actions and future technology plans. This contract will supplement/work in collaboration with the functional, change management, and training resources hired by BTS to work on the EBS upgrade. This assistance will allow the finance and technology division additional band width to continue working on other county IT implementation projects. It will also allow BTS the ability to use budgeted funds to provide other necessary resources for the project.
The Clerk of Court’s Technology Division supports the technology needs for the entirety of the Clerk’s office. This includes housing computers, printers, peripheral devices, imaging, set up, and distribution to Clerk departments. Clerk’s Technology has issues with space requirements to include equipment storage and additional office space for staff. Renovation of unimproved space at the county-owned Swisher Building will allow Clerk Technology to solve the space requirement issues and improve the usability of the Swisher building for the foreseeable future.
Fiscal Impact:
Total impact of the Budget Resolution is $1,354,605. Funds for the requested projects were not included in the FY22 Adopted Budget. This is a one-time realignment. Recurring expenses will be funded after FY22 from the Clerk’s base budget.
Funding will be transferred from the General Fund Reserves for Contingencies to the Clerk of the Circuit Court Board Fund.
Staff Member Responsible:
Abigail Lloyd, Financial Management Analyst, Office of Management and Budget
Partners:
Ken Burke, Clerk of the Circuit Court
Attachments:
Attachment 1 - FY22 Budget Resolution - Clerk of the Circuit Court
Attachment 2 - Supporting Materials - Clerk Budget Resolution
Attachment 3 - Supporting Materials - Budget Software Comptroller Agreement