Budget documents on-line - Due to the State Legislatures focus on property tax reform there has been an overwhelming amount of interest in the County budget process this year.  All documents relating to the County budget are available on-line.  We have included financial reports, PowerPoint presentations and minutes of budget workshops.  We have also provided links to other government sites that contain additional information on tax reform.

Three more budget meetings scheduled for this fiscal year: September 4, 2:00 p.m. - Commission continues budget review with staff; September 13, 5:01 p.m., Murdock Complex - First Public Hearing and September 27, 5:01 p.m., Murdock Complex,  - Final Public Hearing.

Award Winning County Departments - Three departments were recognized this month for special achievements.

Charlotte County Utilities received an Award of Distinction in the 13th Annual Communicator Awards for their CCU University program that educates employees on utility operations.  CCU also won honors as  Business-Education partner of the Year from the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce for their children's outreach program, "S.I.P. Kids:  Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Water".

The Communications & Marketing Department won two awards from the National Association of County Information Officers (NACIO).  The Conservation Charlotte public education campaign won a first place award.  The campaign included videos, flyers and newspaper inserts on the environmental lands referendum.  Another first place award was received for the design of the 2007 Annual Report.

The County's Economic Development Office won the 2007 Florida Economic Development Council's Promotional and Marketing Innovation Direct Mail Stellar Award for a series of postcards that are mailed to site selectors in the Atlanta, New York and Chicago areas.  Site selectors work with businesses who are considering relocating their existing business to another area.

Two New Fire Stations Open - In August Commissioners celebrated the opening of two new fire stations that will aid in cutting response times.  Fire Station #16 is located in Peace River Shores at 29400 Palm Shores Boulevard and Fire Station #15 opened at 13190 Eisenhower Road. All new Charlotte County Fire/EMS Stations are designed to withstand wind speeds and gusts in  excess of 168 mph and are self-powered with full system functionality for 48 hours.

Official Groundbreaking for Charlotte Sports Park - On August 20 County officials, community members and representatives of the Devil Rays organization gathered to celebrate the official start of construction.  The existing Sports Park will be completely renovated, including the replacement of existing seating, two new berm areas along the left-field and right-field lines, improved access for disabled patrons, new landscaped entry plazas, a new "Kids Zone" along the right field line, renovated suites and press areas, a new 40,000 square-foot clubhouse and administrative office building, rehabilitated practice fields and training facilities and a new 20,000 square-foot outfield boardwalk that will provide 360 degree circulation around the ballpark.  The Tampa Bay Devil Rays will hold their first spring training game in Charlotte County in 2009.  To place your name on the 2009 Charlotte County Priority Ticket List, visit the Devil Rays website.  Email charlottecounty@devilrays.com or call 727-825-3154 for more information

Carmalita Concession Building Open for Business - One of the casualties of Hurricane Charley was the concession stand that served the Carmalita Park and Pop Warner Football teams. This month the brand new Concession Building was finally completed and opened for business.  The new building incorporated not only a concession stand with kitchen facilities, but also meeting space and restrooms.  The football fields have also been renovated as part of the hurricane recovery.  The County has provided the Pop Warner Football leagues with new facilities at Franz Ross Park, Oyster Creek Regional Park, as well as at Carmalita Park.

Mosquito Season - Our normal summer rains have returned, along with mosquitoes. To learn everything you ever wanted to know about repelling mosquitoes and keeping your home free from mosquito breeding areas check in out on the County website. Scroll down the navigation bar on the left side of the page to find out more information about spraying schedules and to sign up for our mosquito alerts.

COMMUNITY EVENTS

MEETINGS

Charlotte County Board of County Commissioners holds its regular meeting at 9:00 a.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.  Land use issues are addressed on the third Tuesday and Commissioner's Roundtable is held on the first Tuesday of each month. These meetings are held at the Murdock Administrative Complex, 18500 Murdock Circle, Port Charlotte, Room #119.

To view the agenda for the Board meetings click here: Commission Agenda.  The meetings can also be viewed live on CCTV20, (Comcast Channel 20) or can be viewed via live stream on our website - Streaming Video 

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A variety of government meetings are archived for on-demand viewing. Check out our inventory here: On Demand Video

Charlotte County has dozens of official meetings and activities each month.  For an itemized listing click here: Meeting Calendars

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