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Highlands Today

County Commissioners Have Been Responsive To Budget Concerns

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2008

Our county commissioners have done a good job of listening to voters' responses on the proposed budget for next year, and voters have done a good job of expressing their misgivings.

Concerned residents have made sure to make their opinions known at the two public hearings on the budget. At this late in the day, it is quite unusual for county commissioners to still be tweaking next fiscal year's budget, which has to be officially approved by Oct. 1, the first day of the new fiscal year. The fact that they are still doing it goes to show the power of persuasion in a democracy, which somehow gets amplified during election year.

How much influence some of this public opinion has had on the county commissioners will be better known Tuesday, when commissioners consider county Administrator Michael Wright's list of 18 proposed cutbacks. If approved in toto, we are looking at $1.3 being cut from the proposed $39 million budget that comprises the county commissioners' portion of the budget.

Some of these proposed cutbacks - like those related to furniture and equipment purchase -- seem doable, at least on paper. We would like to know more how the Highlands County Health Department would suffer should the county chop $43,000 from its funding.

Somehow, it's a no-brainer that when budget cuts roll around, recreation seems to suffer. Should the county cut 10 percent of its recreation disbursements to Sebring, Avon Park and Lake Placid, we are looking at a $75,000 cut.

While the economic downturn and gas prices have affected residents' ability to pay their tax bills, it has also made more people need government-offered health services and county recreation programs.

County Commissioners should weigh both the pros and the cons before they approve some of these cuts. We can't let our quality of life suffer because of a drop-in-the bucket cut here and there, although Wright has done a good job of proposing cuts that are across-the board and don't hammer one area.

But the key to dropping that millage rate appears to be in the hands of the five constitutional officers - sheriff, clerk of courts, tax collector, property appraiser and supervisor of elections. Unless they cut their budget by the same percentage rate, the millage rate can't drop to 7 mills.

We understand that some of these budgets presented for next year, like the property appraiser's budget, already have been pared down. Some like Sheriff Susan Benton have submitted proposed budget cuts of just under $750,000.

The Clerk of Courts has also promised to cut his budget. It's not known whether the supervisor of elections and the tax collector are planning to turn in proposed cuts. We are hoping that they at least try.

By Tuesday, we'll have a fair idea of how far the budget cutbacks can go. We're sure that some of our voters don't feel that the county is doing enough, but by the 2009-10 fiscal year, some of those deeper proposed cutbacks might actually happen as the county adjusts to a possible drop in property tax revenues and does not use its reserve fund. Until then, those unhappy with the county will just have to wait.

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