Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Tax cuts to bring Pinellas County layoffs

Affected employees will be able to work until October.

By Will Van Sant, Times Staff Writer
Published March 8, 2008

It's clear some Pinellas County employees will lose their jobs this October due to property tax cuts.

Interim County Administrator Fred Marquis, halfway through a county government review, said Friday roughly 190 positions may be eliminated. About half those positions are vacant, he said.

That doesn't mean 95 people are out of a job, Marquis stressed. It's likely some will be shifted into vacant spots. And he's unsure what the numbers will look like in departments he's yet to review.

Marquis oversees about 2,700 county employees.

"It's way, way premature," to put a figure on the number of county employees who will have to seek paychecks elsewhere, Marquis said.

The review is part of a broader effort to trim about $55-million from next year's budget. That's the amount of tax revenue expected to vanish due to Amendment 1, which Florida voters approved in January.

The amount of property tax dollars in this year's budget is about $550-million.

Marquis said he may also recommend getting rid of900 fleet vehicles because they simply don't get used enough to justify the expense.

Marquis expects to make final recommendations to the County Commission by late April. The budget will then be discussed in workshops with public hearings in September, when the commission will approve a spending plan.

The fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Most employees who lose their jobs will have the option of working until that date.

Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or 727 445-4166.

[Last modified March 8, 2008, 00:43:05]