For the first time in my twenty plus year tenure with the Board of County Commissioners, Emergency Management activities have occupied a large amount of time. The major issues undertaken this year in Emergency Management include: updating the local mitigation strategy; organizing a regional domestic security task force exercise and surviving three hurricanes, all of which were arduous tasks.

Jail and courthouse construction and renovation continued through the entire fiscal year and remain ongoing. The new construction phase is coming to a close, but several floors of renovation in the old courthouse wing have yet to be finished. This ten plus million dollar project has been time consuming, but the new facilities are infrastructure assets the county can be proud of.

Several key positions have been filled by new officers, including the Veteran Service Office and the Public Information Office. Both are making great strides assuming their new responsibilities. I have been the acting Facilities Management Director since May 2004, but administration expects to fill the position by the beginning of 2005.

The cost of enduring three hurricanes and the consequent F.E.M.A. reimbursement have had a significant impact on this year’s budget and will be monitored closely as we close out requests for each storm. As of this writing, the fiscal year 2004-2005 budget was set with no millage increases and all other administrative matters were handled as necessary.