NOTE from APTAWB: The following article is from the Apalachicola/Carrabelle Times newspaper.

September 20, 2006
By David Adlerstein

Franklin County commissioners on Monday wrapped up a long and contentious budgeting process by approving a new budget for 2006-07.

As expected, Commissioners Jimmy Mosconis and Russell Crofton both voted no on the $49.7 million budget, about one-third of which will be funded by levying a 3.84-mill property tax throughout Franklin County, about two-tenths of a mill less than last year.

Commissioners Cheryl Sanders, Bevin Putnal and Noah Lockley all voted yes on the new budget.

Only Crofton commented on his vote, since so much had been said in earlier hearings.

"I oppose this budget because I’m hoping to reduce everyone’s taxes," he said. "It’s not focused on one group or one individual. It’s my responsibility to reduce everybody’s taxes as much as I can."

The new millage is 15.5 percent higher than the rollback rate of 3.28 mills, which would keep the total amount collected at the same amount as this past year. The proposed tax levy is expected to bring in about $15.8 million, about $2.3 million more than was brought in last year.

After citing a newspaper article in a St. Petersburg daily, Sanders said the commissioners need to call on state legislators to revise the way in which property is appraised in Florida.

Putnal inquired as to when the county would see the effect of falling real estate prices, if indeed they occur.
Doris Pendleton, the county property appraiser, said that the countywide property appraisals lag a year behind the market and that beginning in 2007, her office will look at 2006 sales activity to see if there have been evidence of falling property values.

"We have had some sales in 2006, and if they show a decrease in value, yes, we will have appraisals go down," she said.

Lockley urged his fellow commissioners to send a delegation to Tallahassee during next spring’s session to give input on the issue of rising property appraisals. "We’re getting blamed for a whole lot of stuff we haven’t been doing," he said.

Employees will be in line for a $2,500 across-the board pay increase. Managers and assistant managers will receive the same pay increase, although Pendleton’s office may be an exception. As per state law, she set her budget prior to the beginning of the county’s budget process and allocated a $5,000 raise for her managers.

The largest single item in the new budget is the $5.6 million allocated to the sheriff’s department. This is a little more than $350,000 more than was spent last year, for a 6.7 percent increase.

Next largest is the road department, which was allocated $1.84 million, a 14.3 percent drop over last year.

Other departments, and their increase or decrease, include the clerk of courts, budgeted at $409,586, or 3.25 percent more than last year; the supervisor of elections, budgeted at $282,528, or 4.37 percent more than last year; the property appraiser, budgeted at $678,742, or 8.03 percent more than last year; and the tax collector, budgeted at $528,811, or 5.22 percent more than last year.
Solid waste, allocated $932,511, saw an increase of 27.35 percent in its budget, while animal control, set at $151,501, will get 13.74 percent less than last year. Parks and recreation, budgeted at $435,782, will get 27.57 percent more than last year.

Planning and zoning’s budget, which will be $132,627, will get 19.3 percent less money than last year. The newly funded department of administrative services, however, which includes the cost of the new county engineer, will get $180,884, or nearly 1560 percent more than last year.

Other departments include mosquito control, which rose 23.9 percent to $191,904; the county library system, which rose 17.2 percent to $298,000; and the veterans service officer, which rose 7.4 percent to $51,754.

Next week’s Times will include a complete budget comparison of all county departments and non-governmental expenditures.