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Citizens Oversight Assures Money Spent Responsibly
By Susan Hann, PE, AICP, director of Planning and Project Management
The sales surtax program has been underway for just over two years. When the program was approved by Brevard’s voters in 2014 the ballot language and the authorizing resolution included the formation of an Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC).
The ICOC meets every other month and reviews the current status of the sales surtax program. A typical agenda includes a revenue report, a detailed expenditure report, project status reports in each group (educational technology, security, and facility renewal) and an update on out-of- sequence, unplanned failures and contingency projects.
Expenditure reports detail how funds are spent in each group, each category (17 in facility renewal, two in security and three in educational technology) and at each school. The agenda packages are all posted to the District’s web site under the sales surtax tab.
The original 10 members of the
ICOC were appointed in February
2015. Recently two members resigned and three new members were considered for appointment at the March
14 School Board meeting. ICOC members are citizens with geographic and professional diversity. Their diversity has provided a strong foundation for oversight of the sales surtax program.
After two years’ experience, the ICOC requested a workshop with the School Board to discuss some of the strategic policy issues relating to the program. The workshop was February 28 and several issues were noted for discussion:
• Like-for-Like vs. System Improvement
• Sales Surtax Resources Insu cient to Deliver Scope of Work
• Unplanned Failures
• Security is underfunded.
• Investment in Covered Walkways to Portables
• Audit Frequency
• Aging Facilities
• Capital Revenue and Investment Planning
While the sales surtax program is working well, these issues were identi ed by the ICOC as worthy of noting to the School Board. As the program continues, sta and the ICOC are learning about various challenges experienced in program execution. The ICOC has played an important role in working through the protocol for addressing these challenges.
One noteworthy example is that the ICOC has been very supportive of accelerating the security program. This was approved by the School Board and the security program is now scheduled for completion following spring break 2018. The workshop brie ng paper is posted under the sales surtax tab on the website.
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