Impending departmental cuts concerning community

Sarasota residents urged county commissioners in November not to do what they now have to: make department-level budget cuts that will affect the services provided throughout the county.

“I know that you commissioners understand how vital libraries are,” said Charlie Huisking, vice president of the county’s Library Foundation, at a Nov. 28 meeting, referencing the commission’s recent investments in the Venice Library, which is under construction, and the now-open Shannon Staub Library in North Port.

“But what sense does it make to open new libraries and then fail to adequately fund their operations?”

Huisking’s query comes at the end of one era of budget struggles for the county, and the start of another one. 

In deciding the budget for the current fiscal year, the County Commission chose to balance the budget with $5.4 million from the economic uncertainty fund instead of raising taxes. By the end of November, the commission had a plan in place to rebuild that reserve, solving the most immediate problem.

But 2018 is beginning with a new challenge for the commission: finding enough money to cut from departmental budgets to make up for an anticipated deficit in the next fiscal year. In choosing not to levy a tax on public utilities this year or raise property tax rates, commissioners left themselves with a more than $11 million recurring balance to make up each year in the future.

The Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources, Support Services, SCAT, General Services, Libraries and Historical Resources, Health and Human Services, Planning and Development Services, Public Works, Lifeguards and Emergency Management, Capital Improvement, UF/IFAS Extension and Economic Development departments will all need to make an 11.6% cut to their budgets to make up for the impending deficit.

In total, the departmental budgets make up about $121 million. The cuts will equal about $14 million. For the Libraries and Historical Resources department, an 11.6% cut equals more than $1.5 million.

 “But what sense does it make to open new libraries and then fail to adequately fund their operations?”

It’s a round of cuts the likes of which this county hasn’t seen since the 2008-era recession. At that time, cuts were made that led to layoffs, closed county facilities and dropped the level of service that residents had grown accustomed to.

This time around, commissioners expect this to be a detailed, line-item discussion — not sweeping cuts.

At their Nov. 28 meeting, commissioners heard from several members of the community who were nervous about what $14 million in cuts would mean for the parts of the government they interact with on a daily basis. A number of citizens implored the commission to spare the libraries as they consider where to cut.

Dan Bailey, a land use attorney, emphasized the importance of providing access to technology to the community via libraries.

“You need access to the library to obtain other governmental services,” he said. “I would encourage you to look carefully at other areas than departmental cuts, and in particular be careful about library cuts.”

Sarasota resident Peter Pearson urged the commission to avoid service cuts if possible to help residents who aren’t able to go to a Barnes and Noble to buy books, or use services.

“I think often about school children who live in homes where there’s no access to the internet, and what a disadvantage it is for them to do homework,” he said. “It’s not a nice to have, it’s essential to have.”

The County Commission will hear of many presentations from county staff on January 31 about what each department would be willing to cut to meet the 11.6%.