Historic City News reporters will be watching as St. Johns County faces the public — and the music — over the staff budget proposal requiring taxpayers to pony-up an additional .75 mills, which translates into $75 for every $100,000 of assessed property value; beginning on Tuesday when they return from their Labor Day vacations.
Since Property Appraiser Sharon Outland mailed the TRIM notices on August 24th, the discussion has become more heated.
In a televised interview, District 1 County Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson said, “Without some millage rate adjustment, quality of life services as well as public safety will suffer; and, that’s the challenge that’s facing the Board.”
One example is Pop Warner football, according to Head Coach Chuck Forcier. He says athletic programs rely on funding from St. Johns County Parks and Recreation to cover expenses such as weeding, painting, and lighting the fields — funding he expects may be cut if the millage increase is not approved by the Board. League organizers say the kids need the county fields to practice and to play. “Once Daylight Savings comes in October 1st, you need to turn on the lights — or you can’t practice,” Forcier said in his interview.
Commissioner Stevenson said she recognizes there is a problem. “At some point something has to give. We’ve had a lot of sacrifices.” Stevenson was referring, in part, to last year’s budget cuts which forced more than 100 layoffs of county employees. She points out that those hundred employees, for the most part, are St. Johns County residents and taxpayers who may still be unemployed. “The full .75 mills increase will be a tough sell.”
Forcier’s reply is that funding for county parks and recreation has already been cut 25% in the past five years and that “they’re done doing more with less”. Forcier indicated that any further cuts in spending for recreation would affect the league programs.
Everyone will have a better indicator of where we are headed on Tuesday after the 5:30 p.m. first public hearing.
| ST. JOHNS COUNTY TENTATIVE BUDGET CALENDAR – FISCAL YEAR 2012 | ||
| DATE | DEPARTMENT | ACTION |
| September 6 | County Commissioners / County Admin / OMB | Any changes of Non-Ad Valorem Assessment(s), such as Solid Waste Assessments, to BCC for Approval. |
| September 6 | County Commissioners / County Admin / OMB | First Public Hearing to adopt proposed millage and FY 2012 budget (F.S. 200.065 [2][c]). |
| September 16 | OMB | Newspaper advertisement of Second Public Hearing & Budget Summary Statement (F.S. 129.03 [3][b] and 200.065 [2][d] and [3][1]). |
| September 20 | OMB /All Departments | Updated FY 2012 fee schedule to BCC for approval. |
| September 20 | County Commissioners County Admin / OMB | Second and Final Public Hearing to adopt final millage and FY 2012 budget (F.S. 200.065 [2][d]). |
| September 23 | OMB | Submit approved final millage and budget resolutions to Property Appraiser and Tax Collector (F.S. 200.065[4]). |
| October 20 | County Admin / OMB | Submit TRIM Compliance Package to D.O.R. (Form DR-487) (F.S. 200.065 and 200.069). |
| December 19 | County Admin / OMB | Submit application and four copies of budget for GFOA Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. |
If you plan to attend the first public hearing to adopt the proposed millage rate and Fiscal Year 2012 budget, the meeting will be held Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 5:30 p.m. in the St. Johns County Auditorium; located at 500 San Sebastian View in St. Augustine. It will be broadcast live on Comcast Government TV (Cable Channel 3) and is streamed over the Internet.
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