- May 5, 2024
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After years of cutting costs and programs, Flagler County has hit its threshold for shaving money from its budget, County Administrator Craig Coffey said Wednesday.
“We need to get to a new level of sustainability in our budget,” Coffey told the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners at a budget workshop. “The last few years, we’ve talked about holding our breath, but we can only hold it for so long. We held it one year, we held it two years — at some point, we need to breathe.”
To Commissioner Barbara Revels, that statement amounted to one thing: “No matter how you roll (the budget) out, unless we do a major cut to a budget or a program, we’re looking at a tax increase,” she said.
The county’s budget is flat for the first time after years of declining revenues, but costs that were cut and projects that were delayed are catching up to them, commissioners said. Wednesday was spent reviewing its general fund as it stands now in preparation for more conversations about where to make cuts.
From morning until early afternoon, department heads presented reports saying their budgets were constrained and that their staff had taken on additional responsibilities over the years to make up for cuts and have reached their capacity.
In the draft of next year’s general fund budget, most expenditures increased, largely because of mandated increases to retirement and health care costs, Coffey said.
Fleet management
The budget for fleet management showed the greatest increase over the year: from $375,327 last fiscal year to an anticipated $760,749 next year. However, Coffey said this is because the county and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office have consolidated their services, a move Coffey anticipates will ultimately save money overall by creating economies of scale.
Rather than each agency paying administrators and separate employees, the combined service will save costs, Coffey said. However, while money was saved in the Sheriff’s Office budget (which is funded by the county as well), it transferred costs to the county’s fleet management department.
The Sheriff’s Office budget has not yet been submitted. Coffey said he anticipates a decrease in that budget that will make up for the increase to fleet management, but said that he cannot guarantee where the cost shifting will occur in the sheriff’s budget.
General administration
Second to fleet management, the budget for general administration showed the next-greatest increase, at 35.96% over the last year. Coffey said the board could add a senior chief of trades position by reclassifying an assistant director position and upgrading a director to senior management, which would add just under $100,000 to the budget. However, Flagler County is operating below its recommended number of senior administrators, Coffey said. He was echoed by many department heads who said their staff was stretched to the maximum.
Cleaning up the building
The one area that showed a cut next year — the Government Services Building — drew the attention of the board, saying it was not well maintained. Flagler County staffs one full-time janitor to clean the building. The Flagler County School Board staffs a part-time janitor. In the draft budget, the building’s operating budget would be decreased by just over $30,000.
“It’s dirty,” Revels said. “The elevator is always nasty on the floor, and on the stairs going up, the carpets are stained. For a very expensive building that people call the Taj Majal, it is just not kept very clean.”
The commission seemed in agreement that the mechanics of the county’s government needed maintenance. As the meeting concluded Wednesday, commissioners began to discuss ideas of how to save money without detriment. Commissioner Frank Meeker suggested that the board try to find a way to save on the money it pays out to community redevelopment areas.
“The responsibility (former boards) had was to trim, trim, trim the budget,” Commissioner Nate McLaughlin said. “At this point, we need to look at maintaining our assets.”
General fund items with projected increases of 10% or greater
| Budget Item | Budgeted FY 12-13 | Proposed FY 13-14 | Changes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board of County Commissioners | 408,719 | 462,677 | 13.20% |
| County Attorney | 520,378 | 574,748 | 10.45% |
| Land Management | 137,448 | 184,995 | 34.59% |
| Administration: General Services | 278,937 | 379,229 | 35.96% |
| Fleet Management | 375,327 | 760,749 | 102.69% |
| Recreation Facilities | 531,312 | 566,563 | 35.25% |
| Engingeering | 484,269 | 574,173 | 18.50% |
Budgetary needs
The following are needs that Coffey outlined to the commission during an April budget workshop. The costs are a combination of projects that were delayed during the height of the recession, unavoidable changes like increased costs to Medicaid funding and the need to rebuild reserve funds that were depleted in years prior.
| Budget need | Cost |
|---|---|
| Elections equipment (over two years) | $250,000 |
| Medicaid match increase | $455,000 |
| Rebuilding reserve funds | $1,000,000 |
| Deferred capital projects and equipment | $750,000 |
| Florida Retirement System increase | $870,000 |
| Health insurance increase | $250,000 |
| Additional positions | $425,000 |
| Salary/cost of living adjustment | $750,000 |
| Miscellaneous issues | $250,000 |
| Total | $5,000,000 |
