High Springs budget falls by $110k

Many property owners in the City of High Springs should catch a slight break on their property tax bill in the coming year.  Commissioners voted 4-1 Thursday evening to keep the ad valorem tax rate at 6.15 mills.

For the City to collect the same property taxes in the 2011/12 fiscal year as it did in the 2010/11 fiscal year, it would have to raise the rate to 6.6531 mills.  A weak economy and slow real estate market have pushed down the values on property, meaning cities and counties across the state would have to increase the tax rate to achieve the same ad valorem revenues year over year.

Interim City Manager Jenny Parham will have to go back to the drawing board on parts of her budget to find cuts.  That’s because the 6.15 mill rate will bring in about $110,000 less in the coming fiscal year than the current one.

Commissioner Eric May initially made a motion at a July 28 meeting to keep the millage at 6.15 mills, but without a second to back it up, the measure died.  Commissioner Sue Weller then proposed setting the rate at the roll back rate of 6.6531 mills to maintain the current tax revenues.  That motion also died for a lack of a second.

It was only after Commissioner Dean Davis said he would prefer to keep the tax rate at 6.15 that the commission was able to put together a motion for consideration.

Weller opposed dropping the rate, noting that the commission could set the tax rate at 6.6531 until it can find ways to cut during the budgeting process and then drop it down.

“I think we need to look at the roll back rate.  We have several departments requesting funds that aren’t even in this budget.

“We don’t know if we’re going to need an additional $10,000 or 20,000 to make this budget work,” Weller said, adding that she didn’t intend to have the final rate set that high, but was just allowing room to work with the budget.

Mayor Larry Travis concurred with Weller, but May saw it differently.

May said dropping the tax rate was part of a larger economic plan to attract more businesses to High Springs.

“I feel confident that there is at least $110,000 we can cut,” he said.  “If we put ourselves in a box now, it will really prompt us to do the cutting we need to do.”

Although Travis ultimately supported May’s proposal, he said the reduced ad valorem revenues would mean cuts.  “I think at some point in time, we’re going have to decide what we’re trying to do with our public safety,” he said.  “We want to have a full-time police department, a full-time fire department, but the only way we can do that is with ad valorem tax…We’ve got to find a way to cut.”

Vice-Mayor Byran Williams agreed with May saying, “I hope the citizens understand what we’re trying to do here.  It’s a tough decision, but it’s got to be made.”

With Weller casting the only dissenting vote, the commissioner sent Parham back to find the $110,000 in cuts from the $4.4 million general fund budget she proposed.

A public hearing reviewing the proposed millage rate and the budget is set for Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m.