Lazaro Aleman
ECB Publishing, Inc.
County officials have not yet definitively decided to keep the millage rate at the current level, which would represent a tax increase, but they are strongly disposed in that direction.
The officials, in fact, have until Sept. 14 to make their final decision, at which time it becomes irreversible. For the time being, however, they are showing an inclination to go with something other than the rollback rate, which by state law they must adopt or advertise a tax increase.
The commissioners’ reasoning for sticking to the current millage rate of 7.95 mills, as opposed to the rollback rate of 7.304 mills, is that once advertised in the TRIM notices that are mailed to property owners, the rate can always be adjusted downward until the final hearing, but never upwards. And they don’t want to commit themselves until they are sure that the county has the necessary funding to operate in the coming fiscal year.
The officials, in other words, want to ensure that the budget process is completed, and all expected revenues and expenditures are accounted for before setting the final millage rate.
It’s the millage rate, in combination with the assessed value of properties, that determines the amount of ad-valorem taxes that property owners pay annually. And while property values can decrease in some years, they generally tend to increase.
The rollback rate is designed to generate about the same revenues in ad-valorem taxes as was generated in the previous year, given increases or decreases in property valuations. The rollback rate of 7.304 mills, for example, is expected to raise $789,948 more in property taxes than the current year’s rate generated, due to rising property values. If officials stick to the current rate, however, it will generate $1,427,599 more in the coming fiscal year, due to increased valuations.
By state law, taxing entities that choose to go with something other than the rollback rate must advertise it as a tax increase, which is supposed to act as a disincentive to raise taxes.
The figures that Budget Officer Gus Rojas presented to the Jefferson County Commission on Thursday evening, July 20, were based on the rollback rate, which he said was projected to generate nearly $790,000 more in ad-valorem tax revenue in the coming fiscal year, compared with the $1,427,599 more that the current rate would generate.
At the rollback rate, Rojas said, the proposed budget would allow for a contingency fund of $500,000, a minimum wage of $13 hourly and a two-percent cost of living increase (COLA) and two-percent special increase for workers far below the midpoint in their salary pay range, plus allow for salary adjustments or compression for those “way out.”
This discussion, however, preceded the reported results of a long-term study that found the salaries of county employees to be significantly below the marketplace and also in comparison to seven other government groups in the region. The study recommended that to correct the cited problem and bring the county employees up to par would require about $220,000. It was partly this report that gave officials pause to go with the rollback rate.
Commission Chairman Chris Tuten also noted that the contingency amount needed to be reexamined, given that $400,000 of the present fund had already been expended, and the current fiscal year still had two months to go.
Rojas explained that the maximum contingency allowed by state law was 10 percent of the budget. Looking around at other counties in the region, he said, they were somewhere between five and 10 percent. Jefferson County’s, however, was presently at 1.29 percent.
The commissioners asked what had caused the depletion of the fund.
County Manager Shannon Metty explained that a large portion of it had gone to initiate the Big Bend Transit’s transit shuttle to and from Tallahassee, which expenditure she said the Florida Department of Transportation will eventually reimburse. Another large hit, she said, had come from the purchase of air conditioning units for various offices. There had also been a boiler that had gone out at the jail and what she called “some radiator thing” also at the jail. Bottom line, the expenses had added up, she said.
The point, Tuten reiterated, was that $400,000 of the contingency had been spent to date. Moreover, he added, much of what the county owned was 20 years or older.
“We’re way behind on a lot of things,” he said. “That’s what put us here. We’ve got a leaky courthouse, a leaky jail, and more air conditioning units to replace, even though we’ve already replaced 11. Then there’s the ADA (American with Disabilities Act) bathroom that has to be built at the extension office.”
Clerk of Court Kirk Reams reminded the board that until the final budget hearing in September, the millage rate could always be adjusted downward, but never upward one set on the TRIM notices.
“You don’t need to handcuff yourself to the millage rate tonight,” he said
Metty agreed, saying that it might be advisable to wait on setting rate until the state’s projected revenue figures were in and the county had a better idea of how much money it would be receiving in the coming fiscal year.
“If we set the millage rate at the rollback rate now, you can’t go up,” she said. “But you can always go down later.”
The commission agreed, setting the millage at 7.95 mills for the time being, thus allowing the option of possibly reducing it on Sept. 14.