County budget trimmed again

The latest $2.6M in cuts include $600,000 from the sheriff.

By BARBARA BEHRENDT, Times Staff Writer
Published September 26, 2007

BROOKSVILLE - With the final county budget hearing looming, Hernando finance officials have found another $2.6-million to cut.

Added to the cuts county commissioners have already agreed to, this new bite, if approved at Thursday's hearing, would mean a total 1.57-mill drop in the tax rate for property owners next year.

In another twist Tuesday, commissioners learned details of where the staff cut the overall budget to meet the board's directive at the Sept. 13 hearing to drop the tax rate by a quarter mill.

A big chunk, more than $600,000 worth, will come out of the sheriff's budget.

That came as a surprise to Sheriff Richard Nugent, who has not agreed to any more cuts in his budget. George Zoettlein, director of the county's Office of Management and Budget, said county officials have found places to cut the sheriff's budget that would not impact public safety.

The hit could be easily absorbed by the sheriff if he did what the county did and cut out all capital projects in addition to cutting reserves, Zoettlein said.

Nugent's office has proposed rolling $440,000 that had not been spent on capital projects this year into next year's budget. Zoettlein said that money was supposed to go for renovations to the sheriff's old office and dispatch areas, a new pole barn for vehicles and a storage facility.

The sheriff also keeps $110,000 in reserve, Zoettlein said, money that Nugent doesn't really need because, in case of an emergency, the county's own reserves would come into play.

That leaves the sheriff to find $50,000 in additional cuts in a $31-million budget, Zoettlein said.

Nugent declined to comment Tuesday, saying through spokeswoman Donna Black that he would have something to say at Thursday's budget hearing.

"The sheriff does have some concerns about what George is putting out," Black said.

After the marathon public hearing Sept. 13, the commission had agreed to trim a quarter mill from the proposed tax rate, sending Zoettlein and his staff back to their calculators to find places to hack.

On Tuesday, Zoettlein explained how that challenge was met.

The county will collect more money because of changes in the jail contract. Other savings will come through adjustments in insurance premiums and cuts in parks, libraries and facilities maintenance. The Clerk of the Court's office is also dropping pay raises to the 3 percent approved for other county workers.

Zoettlein also said he trimmed $378,000 from the county's reserves.

All told, that will mean a $1.6-million cut to the general fund with additional dollars cut from other areas funded by property tax monies. The additional $2.6-million cuts proposed Tuesday would come solely from the county's general fund.

After examining the county's funds to close out the budget year in recent days, Zoettlein said that the efforts the county has made over the year to increase efficiency have paid off to the tune of $2-million.

That, along with another $666,000 cut from reserves, would allow the county to trim an additional quarter of a mill from the tax rate if the commissioners decide to order it, Zoettlein said.

A mill is $1 in tax for every $1,000 in appraised taxable property value. If approved, a total trim of 1.57 mills would mean that the owner of a $125,000 home with the $25,000 homestead exemption would realize a tax bill savings of $157 over last year's bill.

The final budget and tax rate will be decided at the end of Thursday's budget hearing. The hearing is slated for 5 p.m. at Grace World Outreach Church at 20366 Cortez Boulevard, Brooksville.

Barbara Behrendt can be reached at behrendt@sptimes.com or 352 848-1434.

[Last modified September 25, 2007, 21:14:17]