07/13/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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GENERAL OVERVIEW JOSEPH A. BAIRD, COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR County Administrator Baird presented his budget message. He emphasized the impact of Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne on the County’s reserves and noted the budgets across the board are skewed for that reason. He specified that it was not necessary to borrow any money for hurricane recovery and he planned to continue fiscal responsibility in the future by setting aside reserves to prepare for unexpected future severe weather events. Continued population growth has also impacted the County’s budget. He highlighted the need for new personnel and enumerated the positions being added to various departments, particularly to the Sheriff’s budget due to additional staffing for the expansion of the Jail. He believed the budget to be very conservative. County Administrator Baird then responded to Commissioners’ questions and gave examples of taxes an average homeowner with Homestead Exemption will pay. Dwayne Weise , a member of the Taxpayers Association, presented a handout to the Commissioners which he said was an analysis of the past 10 years taxes from a taxpayer’s point of view. Among other remarks, he suggested formation of a citizens oversight committee. County Administrator Baird addressed Mr. Weise’s comments in detail. Frank Coffey gave the Commissioners several handouts (charts) and commented that population growth requires additional employees and the increase in the number of employees concerned him. County Administrator Baird specified that most of the new employees are needed for the expansion of the Jail and “in-the-field” inspectors for the Building Division. GENERAL FUND County Administrator Baird announced the proposed budget for each of the ad valorem tax funds under the Board of County Commissioners, Constitutional Officers, and State Agencies (see page 21). The General Fund millage is proposed at 3.5241, a 2.7% reduction July 13, 2005 2