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Budget wouldn't increase tax rate
By JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
© St. Petersburg Times, BROOKSVILLE -- Hernando County commissioners got a 2001-02 budget proposal Friday that aims to meet increasing service demands without raising the property tax rate. County Administrator Paul McIntosh is recommending a general fund budget of $67.2-million, up 10.4 percent from the current year's. The new money would come primarily from growth in property values and new development. In other words, if your tax bill rises, it's because of higher values, not rates. The overall budget would be $195.9-million, up 1.27 percent from this year's. It includes a new municipal services taxing unit with a rate of 50 cents per every $1,000 of taxable value for county emergency medical services. The general fund subsidized that new program with $450,000 this year and was projected to put another $574,000 toward it next year without a permanent revenue source for EMS, McIntosh said. Residents of the Spring Hill and Brooksville fire-rescue districts would not have to pay the new tax. "This budget recommends some bold steps by Hernando County to cope with the growth experienced over the past few years, continued growth and the increased demand for services based upon that growth, changes in state law and changes directed by the Board of County Commissioners," McIntosh wrote in his introductory letter. The initiatives also include the addition of 15 deputies in the Sheriff's Office and the opening of a new fire-rescue station in northeastern Hernando County. The plan also includes creation of a customer response center, 5 percent raises for employees, expansion of the Code Enforcement and Animal Services departments and added funding for the maintenance of a growing parks system. The budget proposal provides as well for the launch of a pilot curbside recycling program in part of Spring Hill, the planning of a new library in Ridge Manor and the design of a new emergency operations center. In all, the county would add 58.25 new jobs to its staff. These changes come on the heels of three years of maintenance budgets, in which commissioners decreased the tax rate and, in some cases, did not match the rate of inflation with their spending increases. "The proposed budget seeks to address those needs that have accumulated over the past few years and place Hernando County on a solid base from which to grow in the future," McIntosh wrote. McIntosh said the tax-rate decreases, while sound in the context of each budget year, had a cumulative effect that could prove dramatically negative in the years to come. The state is projected to lose $779-million because of new federal estate tax reductions, he wrote, and that could translate into reduced state money to local governments, along with more unfunded mandates. "Over the next five to six years, Hernando County might be experiencing a declining fund balance and actually have to rely upon the use of reserves to fund the budget in the 2004 fiscal year, unless adjustments are made in the revenue or expenditure patterns prevalent over the past five years," he wrote. He said that from this year forward, he will make budget recommendations based on a five-year analysis of the impact of each proposal. Commissioners who received the inches-thick budget book late Friday said they had not reviewed it and could not comment. Three commissioners were out of town and did not have access to the book. Commissioners will have their first budget workshop at 1 p.m. July 23 at the Hernando County Government Center in Brooksville. The new budget year begins Oct. 1. - Staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek covers Hernando County government and can be reached at 754-6115. By the numbersHighlights of County Administrator Paul McIntosh's 2001-02 budget proposal: Total budget: $195,924,125 Countywide property tax rate: 8.3204 mills. For a $100,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, the tax bill would be $624.03. General fund budget: $67,182,764 Taxable value: $4,717,257,374 New taxing unit: Emergency medical services, 0.5 mills, generating $910,472. For a $100,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, the bill would be $37.50. New positions: 58.25, including 15 at the Sheriff's Office, nine in Waste Management and six in Parks and Facilities Maintenance New capital projects: Design of east county library ($100,000), design of emergency operations center ($500,000), government telephone system ($250,000), support of high school play fields ($500,000) New department: Customer Relations ($150,000 for software) -- Source: Hernando County Office of Management and Budget
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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