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Shrunken surplus surprises county
By BRIDGET HALL GRUMET
© St. Petersburg Times, INVERNESS -- The County Commissioners were more stunned than anything else. Almost a half-million dollars -- roughly the amount in the county's entire contingency fund -- had just slipped out of next year's budget. "It doesn't make it easier to do the big projects we're doing," Commissioner Jim Fowler said, referring to the $8.1-million courthouse expansion, $5.7-million sheriff's radio upgrades and $2.5-million building on the Stovall property, "when we wake up and a half-million dollars is gone." Gone from the commission's budget, that is. Most of the money in question is staying right where it originated: at the tax collector's office. The controversy that erupted at a Citrus County budget hearing Thursday is over the tax collector's budget surplus, which traditionally has come back to the county's coffers at the end of each year. While state law allows the tax collector to keep 2 percent of the tax revenues she collects to run her office, former Tax Collector Norine Gilstrap returned at least $500,000 in unused funds to the county for each of the last 10 years. The county expected to receive at least a $500,000 windfall next year from new Tax Collector Janice Warren, a conservative estimate, considering that Gilstrap handed a $723,905 check to commissioners last October before retiring from office. But Warren's first budget set aside only $25,441 in surplus to return to commissioners next year. After budgeting for four new employees, additional employee training, a program to convert paper documents to microfilm and a computer system to handle tax payments, Warren said she had few dollars left over. "They did not call me and I did not know what their expectations were for the 2002 budget," Warren told the Times Friday. "They have a longstanding history with another tax collector, and I guess they just assumed things would proceed that way." After discovering two weeks ago that the county budget counted on a greater surplus from her office, Warren trimmed her $10-million budget to provide a $215,000 return to the county. Funding for overtime and temporary help was reduced, and her four new employees would be phased in over the coming year. "There was no fat there to cut, so where I had to get it was a little bit here and there," she said. The trim was the first step toward restoring some of the $500,000 that commissioners expected. But it didn't go far enough for Fowler, who asked County Administrator Richard Wesch to return to the negotiating table with Warren and squeeze more dollars from her budget. Through some other budget juggling, the county has managed to keep $579,734 in its contingency fund for next year, despite losing some of the money it expected from Warren. But Fowler said the county needs a greater cash reserve to deal with more pressing needs, such as unforeseen storm damage or fallout from last week's terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. "As far as the tax collector goes, storage of documents does not impress me," Fowler said. "We don't have that much money," he said. "We don't have enough in reserve, given the atmosphere of our nation." Commissioner Josh Wooten echoed Fowler's demand for Warren to explain exactly where the rest of her surplus will go. Warren had provided the county with some numbers but not a detailed copy of her budget, county management and budget director Cathy Taylor said. The budgets for all tax collectors are reviewed and approved by the state Department of Revenue, without any input from county commissioners. "I don't understand the tax collector's reluctance to explain it to the taxpayers of Citrus County," Wooten said. "That's what baffles me." But Warren said she has provided the county with the same budget information as her predecessor, and she is willing to give more details to commissioners and the public. Warren plans to address commissioners at their final budget hearing Sept. 25 to explain her expenses and answer questions. "I'm very comfortable with my budget," Warren said. "Every item had to pass my own litmus test: What's in it for the citizens of Citrus County?" Some of the money will buy about 20 computers and a software system to record tax payments, replacing the current system of paper files. The computerized system will make it easier to find documents, and it will allow people to use credit cards to pay their tax bills, Warren said. Other dollars are going to clearing out boxes of paper records dating back to 1973. The paperwork for fishing, hunting and occupational licenses older than five years is being disposed of, as allowed by state law, Warren said. Old property tax records are being transferred to microfilm. "We are reducing shelves of boxes into a little film cartridge," Warren said. "By this time next year, we should have our records maintenance current." Although they also expressed concern about the diminished surplus, the other commissioners at Thursday's budget hearing were not as quick to criticize Warren. Faced with changing state regulations and increased technological demands, the tax collector's additional expenses may be valid, Commissioner Gary Bartell said. "I just feel very uncomfortable as to making a snap judgment" comparing Warren's budget to her predecessor's, Commissioner Vicki Phillips added. Both sides agree that the surplus shortfall should not have been a surprise. But it was. And now Warren and the commissioners blame each other for the communication breakdown. Fowler said Warren should have shared her budget projections with the county sooner. "We are the people who levy taxes on the people of this county," Fowler said. "We deserve better than that." "It works both ways," Warren said. "If they're anticipating a half-million dollars in revenue from me, it would have been nice to have been included in the process."
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