Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
But for a few minor adjustments still to be made, city officials report being on target to have a balanced budget for the coming fiscal year, one that both potentially includes a pay increase for employees and no tax increase for property owners.
At least, the draft budget that the Monticello City Council Budget Committee reviewed on Tuesday morning, June 27, contained a proposed rollback rate for ad-valorem taxes and a three percent pay increase for most employees.
Relative to the taxes, however, City Clerk Emily Anderson added the caveat that the actual effect of the change in the ad-valorem rate to each property owner could vary widely, depending on the ‘Save Our Home’ laws, additional exemptions added or lost, and the increase or decrease in property valuations.
Also, in terms of the three-percent pay increase, it will not apply to the city manager or city clerk, and the deputy city clerk and utilities clerk will each get an additional two-percent increase, if the budget is approved as drafted.
Two noted cost increases identified in the budget were health insurance premiums, which are expected to go up about six percent in January, and employer contributions to the Florida Retirement System (FRS) for non-police personnel, expected to go up from 11.91 percent to 13.5 percent.
Currently, the city’s ad-valorem tax rate of 6.8000 mills was supposed to have raised $825,433. If the council goes with the committee’s proposed rollback rate of 6.3750, it will bring in about $860,604, or $35,171 more because of higher proper valuations. It’s the aim of the rollback rate to generate about the same amount of money as the previous year, in keeping with increases or decreases in property valuations.
Were the council to choose a rate other than the rollback rate, it would have to advertise it as a tax increase, a state mandate that serves as an incentive to taxing authorities not to go above the rollback rate if possible.
Per the draft budget, the total budget for fiscal year 2023-24 is $3,314,362 in the general fund and $1,977,785 in the water and sewer fund, which is a separate account and considered an enterprise fund, as both operations generate their own monies via fees. The budgeted amount in the current fiscal year was $3,183,614 in the general fund and $1,527,084 in the water and sewer fund, making for increases of $130,748 and $450,701, respectively.
The city expects to bring in $2,064,000 in grant monies into the general fund in the coming fiscal year, compared with $1,888,000 in the current fiscal year. In the water and sewer fund, it expects to bring in $4,888,000 in grant funding in the coming fiscal year, compared with $10,315,000 in the current fiscal year.
In terms of the general fund in the next fiscal year, $905,223 is dedicated to general administrative, up from $796,547 in the current fiscal year; $1,060,373 is dedicated to law enforcement, up from $992,234 in the current fiscal year; $38,448 is dedicated to fire control, up from $37,098 in the current fiscal year; garbage is zeroed out, as the city now contracts with Pop’s Sanitation for the service; and $1,310,317 is dedicated to streets, parks, cemeteries and animal control in the coming fiscal year, compared with $995,461 in the current fiscal year.
In the combined water and sewer fund, $1,977,785 is dedicated for the provision of water and sewer services in the coming fiscal year, compared with $1,528,806 in the current fiscal year. The breakdown is $643,917 for water operating expenses, up from $492,066 in the current fiscal year, and $1,333,868 for sewer operating expenses, up from $1,035,018 in the current fiscal year.
Among some of the meeting’s highlights, the police department is projected to have a $72, 550 increase in its budget, mostly related to personnel salaries. The chief indicated that his overall budget amount would remain about the same in the coming days, but he would be moving some funds internally. He also requested an additional $12,000 or so for the purchase of video cameras to install in problematic areas of the city in response to recent fatal shootings.
The money from the camera is expected to come from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which pumped about $1.9 trillion into cities and counties across the country in economic stimulus money during the pandemic.
City Manager Seth Lawless pointed out that the amount budgeted for tipping fees to pay for disposal of garbage at the landfill remained uncertain, as there was talk of the county imposing a gate fee at the landfill. When the question was asked if the fee wouldn’t be paid by Pop’s now that it collected the city garbage, Lawless’ reply was that “Pop’s is us.”
Meaning that whatever Pop’s is charged at the landfill for garbage disposal, it passes the charge to the city. His point was that he wanted the committee to be aware that the particular line item in the budget could change, depending on what the county decided to do.
He also noted that there would be no increase in water and sewer rates, as increased funding generated by growth was covering any higher operating costs. This despite the high-rate increases recommended earlier this year by the Florida Rural Water Association after conducting a study of the city’s two operations.
Anderson, however, pointed out that a three-percent rate hike for water and sewer was already factored into the budget, as it had been approved earlier by the council. Also helping offset rate increases, officials said, was a $400,000 grant recently awarded to the city for the water system by the Florida Legislature.
In terms of the $400,000’s use, Lawless said he would like to use part of the money to replace the city’s 1,000 or so water meters with a radio read system that would allow for remote reading of the meters.
“It will reduce reading time and provide more accurate readings,” Lawless said, noting that the city currently is losing money because of non-functioning and inaccurate meters.
Anderson offered that she would once again be recommending to the council that it do away with the business tax, something that she has recommended previously. The business tax, she said, was obsolete and unnecessary and required more work administering it than it was worth, bringing in a mere $1,300 or so annually.
Everyone agreed that the city was in good shape financially, largely due to growth.
“We’re in a pretty good situation,” Lawless said. “The city and county are growing, with a six percent increase in property valuation.”
“We’re in a decent situation,” he repeated.