Later this morning we will have a committee of the whole meeting. A large part of the conversation will center on how we pay for the increasing budgetary requirments for our Fire Service in Escambia County.
Costs have escalated and they continue to do so. The current MSBU structure is coming up about $2 million short every year--necessitating a general fund transfer yearly to cover this shortfall.
Add in the increasing costs of personnel, raises that we recently gave to keep us competitive with nearby districts, and we are in a position going forward where we will need about an additional $5 million yearly over the next few years to keep up.
So the idea that is being brought forward is an addition of about $40 yearly to the MSBU that residents pay. This would bring the total (currently $125 per house) to $165 per house.
As I have stated on a number of occassions, I do not support raising year over year rates on existing Escambia County taxpaying property owners.
While I know Fire needs the money, and I want to be supportive of the MSBU along with my counterparts--I want to do it in such a way that the taxpayers are held harmless.
So later this morning I'll put forward the idea of supporting a $40 dollar increase to the MSBU conditioned on the simultaneous implementation of a commensurate reduction in the ad valorem millage rate of 6.615 mills---down to 6.390 Mills. This can be accomplished by adding the $40 increase to the MSBU and lowering the millage rate to 6.390 mills which will leave the taxpayers flat as the two will essentially offset each other.
Now, the good news is that the overall tax roll has had a massive increase this year, approaching a 15% increase.
FY21 $20,902,196,260.00
FY22 (est.) $23,890,256,161.00
So if we can lower the ad valorem to 6.390 and increase the MSBU we will:
1.) Set up ECFR with a dedicated funding source going forward for the years to come that meets their budgetary requirements
2.) Increase our ad valorem revenue $13-14 Million over last year's collection
3.) Not increase year over year tax rates on Escambia County Taxpaying property owners.
I hope I can get support for this, but we will see what happens at the meeting.
Otherwise, if we simply levy the static 6.615 Mills to the growing tax roll we will realize nearly a $20 million dollar increase year over year AND if we also add $40 the MSBU--that would be an additional $5 Million the taxpaying property owners would have to shoulder. That's $25 Million in additional, new revenue from the property owners year over year. I think that is too much.
But I'm just one vote. We will see how things go later this morning....
4 comments:
Everything you do is a bandaid. Where is the long range strategic plan with growth and revenue/expense projections. The BOCC has zero leadership.
Anonymous--that is your opinion only. I obviously disagree and I belive the record is clear that the board has settled with our bargaining units, raised employee pay, creatively outsourced difficult to hire functions, and we are working on multiple important initiatives to address our massive cost increases caused by reckless moneyprinting in Washingtod DC. Of course it is easiest to blame us rather than zooming out and looking at the big picture. So I get why you just hurl blame. It's easy. Fixing things is difficult.
And yet we continue to be one of the poorest counties in FL. You have outsourced economic development to the inept And unaccountable FL West.
Typical lack of leadership at BOCC. Thank god general fund saved you from making a decision. No long range plan. Again. 5 inadequate managers
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