County proposes no tax increases

MANATEE COUNTY — Despite a continued decline in property values, Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker has delivered a proposed fiscal year 2013 budget that includes no tax increases, no layoffs and increased pay for some employees.

On Thursday, May 30, Hunzeker presented the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners with his proposed $458 million budget, excluding Port Manatee, which relies on reserves to minimize cutbacks to county programs and personnel.

“We still have a projection that our reserves will carry us until, we believe, the (real estate) market picks up,” Hunzeker said. “We are trying to hold the line on adding anything new to the budget, pending the outcome of some issues involving the state (such as Medicaid, Florida retirement) and other various items that will be on the ballot in November (regarding local taxation).”

Hunzeker said his proposal to increase employee pay requires no additional money in the budget, because raises will be funded through marginal reductions to employee benefits. Manatee County employees, he said, have not been awarded wage increases in nearly five years and that increases are needed to retain workers.

Four net county positions are being eliminated through attrition.

The proposed $458,131,802 budget is $6,801,491 more than the fiscal year 2012 budget, because of an increase in the capital projects budget. The operating portion of the budget, however, is declining by $4.3 million, Hunzeker said.

Even with the increase, the county budget has cumulatively declined by $132.6 million, or 22.4% over the last six years. Property taxes have been reduced by $82.7 million, or 35.5%, he said.

For operating purposes, the county’s proposed tax rates would remain unchanged at 6.2993 mills. The Unincorporated Municipal Services Taxing Unit would stay the same at .6019 mills, as well.

Hunzeker said the budget is set at an estimated 3% below the “rollback” rate, which is the tax level needed to collect the same amount in taxes in Fiscal Year 2013 as in the previous year. Setting property taxes at the rollback rate would allow the county to set rates at up to 3% higher without being considered a tax increase under Florida law, he said. Doing so, he said, would generate an additional $3.9 million for the county.

Hunzeker also is recommending a 6% decrease in permitting fees, which must be used to fund building review-related costs and cannot be applied to other portions of the county’s budget. The proposed decrease is a result of the rebound in the construction industry and increased efficiencies in the Building and Development Services Department, he said.

A series of public budget meetings is scheduled for the coming weeks, including a Capital Improvement Program workshop at 9 a.m. Friday, June 8, and a public meeting from 6 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14.

For more information on the budget, or for a complete meeting schedule, visit mymanatee.org/budget.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].

SHERIFF TALKS WAGES
At the Thursday, May 31 budget presentation, Manatee County Sheriff Brad Steube, again, begged commissioners for help in paying his deputies higher wages, because he has lost 40 certified officers through resignations and 25 through retirement in the last two years.

“I need help, and that’s what I’m asking for,” Steube said. “I need help maintaining my people.”

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office now pays starting deputies the lowest salary offered out of 15 area law-enforcement agencies, before a new 3% pension contribution, he said.

Commissioners were slated to meet with Steube Tuesday, June 5, after the East County Observer went to press, to discuss the wage issue and how it could be addressed.

Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker said if commissioners opted to fund higher pay for the Sheriff’s Office employees through a public referendum, they would have to act quickly. Referendum ballot language is due next week.