High Springs budget woes continue

At a mid-year budget review workshop last week, the High Springs City Commission was reminded just how much more the city will have to tighten its belt in the coming fiscal year.

In reviewing city revenues and spending so far this fiscal year, commissioners found that both sewer and water revenues are looking like they’re going to come up short. This could mean raising rates for one or both of the utilities.

The city also acknowledged an issue with Police Department spending, particularly having to do with overtime expenses.

Commissioner Eric May said there’s only about 18 percent of the budgeted funds for overtime payment left to cover the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in September.

During the meeting, May and Mayor Larry Travis expressed a similar opinion that this is the result of a management problem within the department.

May explained that upon comparing budgets and spending from the past five years, he found that there was no correlation between salaries going up or down and overtime going up or down, which led him to the conclusion that it’s not a matter of needing a bigger budget, but rather better management of the money there.

“Troiano is just not managing his department very well in terms of his costs,” May said.

Travis said repeatedly during the meeting that the city will have to figure out a way to truly live within its means in the coming year.

In an interview after the meeting, May commented on the recent news that county property values are expected to continue to fall, saying this will mean a loss of about $70,000 in revenue for the city. He estimated that in the coming fiscal year, another $120,000 to $150,000 will have to be cut from High Springs’s budget.