Fiscal Year 2013 Recommended Budget Book - Lake County

Public Worksresponsible for the landfill for an extended period of time, usually no less than 30 years. This responsibility includes, butis not limited to, routine maintenance of the vegetation, preventing landfill gas migration, monitoring for anygroundwater contamination, and accounting fees for an annual audit. The Division also manages the contract withCovanta Lake, Inc. which is a waste-to-energy facility that incinerates virtually all of the solid waste that can be burnedthrough which steam is produced, converted into electricity and then sold to Progress Energy.• The Environmental Services Division includes the Stormwater program, the Mosquito and Aquatic programs,Laboratory and Hydrogeology program and Division financial oversight. The Stormwater program oversees waterquality, drainage and floodplain management and works with consultants to complete basinstudies and construct improvements to the County's drainage infrastructure. The Laboratoryhandles surface water sampling, laboratory services, stormwater testing and drinking watertesting. This Section also is responsible for the Adopt-A-Lake program, which helps protect,preserve and restore our County’s lakes through community education and volunteerparticipation. The goal of the program is to involve the community in efforts to protect one of our natural resourcesthrough water quality monitoring, education and pollution prevention. Any individual, group or business may participateby adopting a lake. The Mosquito and Aquatic Plant Management Section manages invasive aquatic plants for all usersof public water bodies in order to minimize potential flooding situations, restore reasonable navigational opportunities,and maintain the natural integrity of these water bodies with respect to aquatic vegetation. This Section also providesabatement activities for mosquito and other biting arthropods of public health importance in order to reduce the risk ofarboviral disease transmission for all residents and visitors of Lake County. This Division also provides oversight of thefinancial functions for the Department. This ensures the development and monitoring of all departmental budgets and theaccurate and timely processing of financial transactions related to department operations. Revenue monitoring, capitalproject tracking and compliance with grants and multiple revenue sources is maintained. The variety of funding sourcesinclude: ad valorem taxes, a Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) for roads and stormwater, fuel taxes, infrastructuresales tax, transportation impact fees and a variety of grants, fees and customer invoicing.Department Goals and Objectives:Lake County is a High Performance Organization:• The Solid Waste Division through the coordination of Household Hazardous Waste Operations, the Sheriff’s Departmentand Covanta intend to provide 26 Prescription (Rx) Drug Take-back events throughout various locations in the Countyfor the collection of unwanted hazardous waste materials and prescription drugs. For Fiscal Year 2013 the Division willimplement a comprehensive Landfill Operation safety program, and through employee and employer coordinationestablish the first step in the process, that of establishing monthly safety meetings for employees to buy-in to the safetyprogram.• The Mosquito and Aquatic Plant Management Section of the Environmental Services Division intends to respond topublic service requests for mosquito and aquatic plant management activities in the most efficient and professionalmanner in order to promote confidence and trust from our external customers. This can be obtainedthrough an efficient process of assigning the Entomologist and Aquatic Biologist as the lead employeesto perform service request investigations. The professional employees will evaluate the situation anddetermine the best management approach. These same employees will provide feedback to theindividuals requesting service and answer questions they may have. An estimated 1,616 service requests are projected forFiscal Year 2013 mosquito and aquatic plant management services.Lake County is a Leader in Multi-jurisdictional Cooperation:• The Engineering Division coordinates with State Agencies such as the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)and the Lake-Sumter Metropolitan Planning Organization (LSMPO), and local communities to plan, design, and fundfuture projects. The Division effectively manages projects by balancing the hiring of consultants with internal staffingabilities and workload in order to provide continued community support for projects and programs of the Public WorksDepartment.F - 140