LARGO — The Pinellas County Construction Licensing Board's interim leader told the governing board Tuesday that the troubled agency is looking for ways to climb out of its financial hole.
The agency is being investigated by a grand jury and, amid that scrutiny, is facing a budget shortfall. It is relying on reserves to stay afloat. The licensing board is funded solely by license fees and contractor fines.
Interim executive director Gay Lancaster told the board members that the options being considered include creating an amnesty program to collect unpaid fines for illegal contracting and increasing licensing fees (even though contractors already pay more to work in Pinellas than other counties.)
Another option: suspending the driver's licenses of scofflaws to force them to pay their fines. That's because the agency is far behind collecting the fines it imposed on contractors.
Lancaster assured the governing board that the agency can recover from declining revenues.
"I feel more hopeful this month than I did last month, she told the board, though she did add: "All in all, it's not a pretty picture."
Tuesday was the first meeting of the agency's governing board with Lancaster at the helm. She took over in February, replacing former executive director Rodney Fischer, who announced his retirement Jan. 31.
The governing board, a mix of public building officials and private contractors, questioned why the agency's revenues have declined. Lancaster said two investigators have left the agency in the last month. The lone remaining investigator only works part-time.
The agency, she said, is training a temporary worker to start next week and begin looking for violators.
The licensing board has had to siphon nearly $400,000 out of its reserves in recent months. That's in comparison to last year's annual budget of $1.8 million. County officials have told the agency it must somehow raise revenue to stay in the black.
Lancaster said Pinellas County could offer a "bridge loan" but first wants to see a financial plan from the agency.
She cautioned that the option of suspending driver's licenses might not even be legal. A county attorney will examine all the options that the board will consider.
The budget shortfall is just the latest in a series of problems that have beset the agency.
A series of Tampa Bay Times stories raised questions about how Fischer treated residents, disciplined contractors, nominated board members and adhered to the law. He spent 43 years as a board member and the last 16 as executive director.
While the grand jury investigates whether the agency broke the law, the Pinellas County Office of the Inspector General is looking into the agency's finances and operations.
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Explore all your optionsThe Pinellas agency is the only construction licensing board in Florida that runs itself, without any county government oversight. It can only be reformed by the Florida Legislature, but that may not happen until next year.
Lancaster said the agency's staff has been working to supply information to investigators from the inspector general's office and the Pinellas-Pasco State's Attorney's Office.
"Their reviews have been very thorough," she told the board.
Contact Mark Puente at mpuente@tampabay.com or (727) 892-2996. Follow @MarkPuente