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Hernando commissioners must cut a half-million to balance their 2014-15 budget

 
Published Sept. 9, 2014

BROOKSVILLE — Hernando County commissioners have a half-million-dollar question to answer during today's first public hearing on the county's 2014-15 budget and property tax rate.

George Zoettlein, the assistant county administrator for the budget, will ask where commissioners want to trim $548,524 to balance the general fund budget. He says he will not recommend digging deeper into reserves, something the county did for several years while property values were falling.

There are no excess reserves now, just the 18.5 percent required by county policy, Zoettlein said, noting that spending one-time money on ongoing expenses is not wise.

The overall proposed budget on the revenue side for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1 is $416.3 million. The proposed general fund budget is $97.8 million. Zoettlein said the shortfall is only in the general fund.

Compared with last year's general fund, the net change is an increase of $1.96 million. Broken down by the various departments, the largest proposed increase is from the Sheriff's Office, which has requested an additional $1.34 million. Among the additions for the department are one animal services officer, one network support technician, two school resource officers, two telecommunicators and two detention deputies.

County officials were told that Sheriff Al Nienhuis would return $1.15 million from his current year's budget. But in a news release last week, the sheriff announced he would actually return slightly more than that — $1.35 million.

The next-highest increase in proposed general fund spending — $498,471 — comes from departments controlled by the commission. Cutting in that area would mean curtailing services and possibly laying off county employees, Zoettlein said.

The supervisor of elections raised her budget request for general fund dollars by $89,207, and the clerk of the circuit court his by $76,813. Both the property appraiser and the tax collector lowered their requests by $42,495 and $5,000, respectively.

With the proposed budget, the county also has been able to fully fund libraries, keep the Little Rock Cannery open five days a week and set aside $1.1 million for salary increases for some employees. The salary increases were recommended by a survey done by an outside consultant and would be paid for by suspending for a year a paid-time-off buy-back program employees use to cash out unused time off. Negotiations for across-the-board pay raises continue with the Teamsters Union.

The proposed budget is partially financed through a slight increase in the property tax rate. Earlier this year, the County Commission tentatively agreed to combine the dedicated mosquito control tax with the tax for the general fund, raising the combined levy from 6.9669 mills to 6.9912 mills. A mill is $1 in tax for every $1,000 in appraised taxable property value. For the owner of a home with a $100,000 taxable value, the county tax to support the general fund would be $699.12 versus last year's $696.69.