County Commission gives the order to roll back
workers salaries (budget workshop
no. 1)
Columbia County, FL (posted July 29,
2009)
By Stew Lilker
Columbia County Manager, Dale Williams, played to an
empty house during the first budget meeting of this
year, as not one member from the public came to observe
the workshop. CM Williams refused to make the material
available on the county web site before the meeting and
Assistant CM Lisa Roberts printed no extra copies for
the public.
The July 22nd budget work shop began with County
Manager Dale Williams explaining that there is typically
only one budget workshop in Columbia County. This year
he thought there might be as many as three workshops.
The County Manager claimed that if this meeting was
not held he was prepared to present a balanced floor
budget at the July 30th workshop. He said he didn’t want
the board to be shocked and surprised, which is one of
the reasons he held this workshop.
CM Williams told the board, “The simple truth is that
the value of the tax role has gone down and therefore
the amount of ad valorem taxes that we will collect has
gone down.”
He pointed out that the revenue from the half cent
sales tax is down a half a million dollars.
CM Williams also pointed out that the voted gas tax
revenue is flat even though the population has
increased.
CM Williams is projecting about a four and a half
million dollar revenue reduction over the next two
years, with the first two and a quarter million
dollar reduction coming this year.
The CM called the revenue reduction a deficit.
CM Williams told the Board, “Every year we go through
the operating line items of every budget, every fund in
the county and through that process we were able to
reduce operating expenses $223,501.” There was no
material showing how he did this.
The CM said that he reduced funding to outside third
party agencies by $77,600. There was not list showing
how much the county funds to outside agencies and who
they are.
County Manager Williams told the Board, “Based on
average salaries and benefits we would have to reduce
the number of employees [by] thirty two. Of those thirty
two positions nine are budgeted but not filled. The
other positions actually have a warm body sitting in
them, so that becomes a pretty significant action.”
The CM is also suggesting rolling back the cost of
living adjustment given to the county employees last
year. This proposal was given the thumbs up by the
County Commission, while at the same time the
commissioners did not offer to give back any of their
salary which is eight hundred dollars a week plus
benefits.
In order to raise revenue in the building department
Columbia County’s working families are about to take it
on the chin again, as the County Manager is suggesting
another round of building department fee increases.
There was also a discussion about court fees – going
up; The Tourist Development Tax – going up; the roll
back rate – going up and reducing the Constitutional
Officers’ budgets by one percent.
CM Williams had no documentation explaining how he
came up with the one percent and where the proposed cut
in the Sheriff’s Department, $122,000, would come from.
The CM also mentioned that the Tallahassee law firm,
NGN, had come up with seven fire rate scenarios. The
firm was contracted to do this in order to come up
with a plan to end the unfair subsidy of some land
owners who have 160 acres attached to a 5 acre homestead
and are paying the same fire rate as someone with a five
acre homestead and one additional acre.
The CM said that the rates would go up for other
classes if a new rate was approved.
The meeting ended with County Manager Williams
telling the Board that they have supplied him with
enough material to prepare the budget.
