Initial city millage rate stays flat

Residents of the city of Sarasota won’t see an increase in their property tax rate next year, as commissioners chose other options for eliminating a budget deficit.

At a special meeting July 24, the City Commission voted unanimously to keep the city’s millage rate flat. After a two-day session of budget workshops, the city’s preliminary operating millage rate is set at 3.1728.
Although two additional public hearings are scheduled for September before that figure can be finalized, the preliminary rate cannot increase at those meetings. One mill is equal to $1 in property tax for every $1,000 in assessed value on a property.

In keeping taxes level, the City Commission is taking a different route toward addressing a budget deficit than it did this time last year. To eliminate a general fund deficit of $3.6 million dollars, the commission instead plans to reallocate money slated for its Other Post-Employment Benefits fund.

Currently, the city contributes money to an OPEB trust fund, a policy decision that Finance Director John Lege said is not required by any law. That fund covers non-pension benefits to retirees such as health insurance. Lege said that many municipalities use a pay-as-you-go OPEB funding policy, and that the city could reexamine its OPEB system with insurance and actuary consultants over the next year to reform the program. As a result, the city plans to balance the budget by freeing up $3.9 million in general fund money originally dedicated for OPEB.

The city will hold two public hearings in September before finalizing the fiscal year 2014-15 budget and millage rate. The first meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 3 at 6 p.m., and the second is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 15 at 6 p.m.

Workin’ Overtime
The biggest expense in the city’s proposed general fund budget is the Sarasota Police Department, which represents 49% of the $60.45 million in expenditures. The department’s proposed budget is increasing $1.1 million — 4% over last year — despite a decrease in the number of sworn officers. The department is seeking $200,000 in matching funds for a federal grant to replace the entirety of those eight officers, but the leading cause of the increase is overtime expenses.

The police department requested $503,880 to cover overtime costs, attributing the expenses to a reduction in staffing, an increased need for training and an increased demand for police services. Over the past year, police department has conducted overtime details downtown in an attempt to address homelessness issues and discourage large gatherings of people in parks and on the street.

The department has not prioritized training due to funding issues in the past, but Police Chief Bernadette DiPino believes a renewed focus in that area is important to ensure the organization is limiting its liabilities and functioning as efficiently as possible.

“I can't highlight how important training is to maintaining a professional police department,” DiPino said.

Contact David Conway at [email protected]