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Highlands Today

Commissioners Vote On County Budget Tonight

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By JIM KONKOLY

Highlands Today

Published: September 16, 2008

SEBRING - Highlands County government spending for the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, will be set tonight, and last-minute budget cuts - possibly up to $1.3 million and maybe more - are virtually certain.

At least three of the five county commissioners said Monday they favor making some cuts in the budget tonight and dropping the millage rate for property taxes.

After four and a half months of work on the budget for fiscal year 2008-09, the commissioners will adopt a budget tonight, after the third and final public hearing on the budget, which starts at 5:30 p.m.

Potential spending cuts, suggested by county Administrator Mike Wright, include:

•Reducing the planned across-the-board pay raise for county employees from 3 percent to 2 percent;

•Cutting $74,750, or 10 percent, of the recreation money the county distributes to the three municipalities; and

•Reducing funding for the health department by $43,000.

"I think Mike Wright came up with some good (budget) cuts," said Commissioner Barbara Stewart. "Some of them I have questions on."

"I also think there are some additional cuts, also, that we could make," Stewart added. "Some of the ones Mike Wright suggested, we may not want to go with. But I think there are some alternate cuts we could make."

Also taking a budget-cutting stance Monday were Commissioners Guy Maxcy and Don Bates.

"I'm anticipating that we are going to approve some cuts," Bates said. "And I would expect that we would go down close to the 7 mills."

Said Maxcy, "I would like to see us have a millage reduction. How much of a millage reduction, I don't know yet."

Commissioners Edgar Stokes and Andy Jackson could not be reached for comment before press time Monday. A week ago, though, at the second public hearing on the county budget, both said they would be willing to consider last-minute budget cuts to drop the millage rate.

Throughout the budget discussions that began in May, the county's millage rate was proposed to stay the same in the new fiscal year as it is now, at 7.33 mills.

A week ago, after citizens again complained of high taxes and tough economic times, at the second budget hearing, commissioners said they would consider making cuts to bring the millage down to 7 mills even.

As instructed by the commissioners, Wright last week submitted a list of 18 possible budget cuts that total $1.3 million and would take the millage rate for property taxes down to 6.99 mills.

If the millage rate is reduced by one-third of a mill, the savings to homeowners on property taxes would run between 1.7 to 2.3 percent on the property tax bill, depending on where a person lives in the county, Wright said.

For the homeowner who pays $1,500 in property taxes a year, one-third of a mill less in property taxes would create a savings of $30, according to Bernis Gainer, director of the county's Office of Management and Budget.

"To me at this point," Stewart said, "It's not the millage as much as I like the commissioners focusing on ways to cut back and still do a good job for the citizens. To me, it's more important for us to be fiscally prudent, and I think the emphasis has to be on that.

"We need to prepare ourselves for (tight budgets) for the next year and the following year and the following year."

Stewart said the downturn in the national economy may not stop soon, and the resulting decrease in tax revenues must be dealt with.

"All you had to do was listen to the (national) financial news this past week, and today (collapse of Lehman Brothers and the sale of Merrill Lynch), to realize that it's going to be incumbent upon the commissioners to pay a lot of attention to how we spend money."

Bates said he wants to see a millage reduction, but he hasn't decided yet on which of the 18 budget cuts suggested by Wright he would support and which, if any, he would oppose.

"There will be pros and cons on each (suggested cut)," Bates said. "I've already been contacted by people (affected by the proposed cuts) on the list to not make this cut or that cut."
Maxcy also said he's studying each of Wright's budget-cutting ideas to get ready to make a decision tonight.

For the 2005-06 fiscal year, Maxcy pointed out, the commissioners dropped the millage rate by a half mill because the county received "a pretty good windfall increase in revenue." That came from property taxes rising because property values were shooting up fast during the red hot, and often speculative, real estate market.

Commissioners dropped the millage rate another half mill for the 2006-07 fiscal year, Maxcy said.

"I don't think we cut enough millage the last two years," Maxcy said. As a result, he said, he backs a further millage reduction now.

The county commissioners, who employ about 300 full-time workers, account for just over half - 51.7 percent - of the county's total general funding spending of $75 million. The other half - or 48.3 percent - of general fund revenue runs the offices of the county's five constitutional officers: sheriff, clerk of courts, property appraiser, tax collector and supervisor of elections.

Wright has asked the five constitutional officers to cut their budgets by the same proportion as the commissioners are considering, so that the county's millage can be reduced from 7.33 to 7 mills.

Clerk of Courts L.E. "Luke" Brooker said he would comply with the request, and Sheriff Susan Benton did, too, and submitted proposed cuts of nearly $750,000 in her office's budgets.

Property Appraiser Raymond McIntyre said he cut his budget by 9.6 percent and he won't cut further, since his spending is already at "bare bones."

So far, Supervisor of Elections Joe Campbell and Tax Collector Charles Bryan have not said if they will cut their budgets.

Jim Konkoly can be reached at 863-386-5855 or e-mail jkonkoly@highlandstoday.com

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