[00:00:05]
GOOD EVENING EVERYONE. REPORTER. THERE WE GO. WE LIKE TO CALL THIS SPECIAL MEETING TO ORDER.
TIME IS 501. YOU PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. COMMISSIONER MOORE. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER DOZIER. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER CARROLL. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER PIECE. YES, MA'AM. CHAIRMAN. HAM. YES, MA'AM, TONIGHT, THE INVOCATION WILL BE LED BY OUR OWN COMMISSIONER DOZIER. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE BY MR. JOHN DEACONS FROM VETERANS SERVICES. IF YOU WOULD PLEASE STAND. DEAR LORD, THANK YOU FOR THE DAY YOU'VE GIVEN US. FATHER AND JUST WE ASK YOU, LORD, AS WE CONDUCT THIS BUSINESS. BAY COUNTY, JUST ASK THAT YOU GIVE US WISDOM TO MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS AND GIVE US GUIDANCE. LORD, I PRAY ALL THIS IN JESUS NAME. AMEN. AMEN I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL. ALL RIGHT. NEXT. I GUESS WE'LL GO INTO OUR
[ FY 2025 Budget – First Public Hearing]
PUBLIC HEARING FOR 25 BUDGET. MISS MIRANDA. THANK YOU. GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS. I'M NOT LOOKING. HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. BUT OKAY, WE'LL GET STARTED WITH OUR MILLAGE RATES. FOR OUR FY 25 BUDGET. THE GENERAL FUND IS AT 5.4362 MILLS. MOSQUITO CONTROL IS AT 0.2000 MILLS. MSTU FIRE IS AT 1.300 MILLS, AND THE TOTAL FOR ALL THREE IS 7.0162 MILLS.THE AGGREGATE ROLL ROLLBACK RATE IS 5.9136. THE AGGREGATE MILLAGE RATE IS 6.0912, AND THIS IS A 3% INCREASE. AND THOSE ARE YOUR MILLAGE RATES, WE ASK THAT YOU HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING AND THEN HAVE ANY DISCUSSIONS NEEDED ON THESE MILLAGE RATES AND APPROVE THE MILLAGE RATE RESOLUTION. ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS. COMMENTS TO STAFF FOR THE FOR. GOOD. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING. IS THERE ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ABOUT THE BUDGET. YES, SIR. PLEASE COME ON DOWN. YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD, MARK LOGAN UP THERE AND FILED IN FLORIDA, 11,000 SCOTT ROAD. DISTRICT FOUR. MR. DOUGLAS MOORE. I UNDERSTAND YOU GUYS GOT TO INCREASE TAXES, MILLAGE RATES AND THINGS OF THAT SORT. FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS, MY TAXES HAVE GONE UP WITH YOUR.
PROPOSED 65%. OKAY IF YOU DON'T THROW A 2024 IN THERE, IT'S 50 SOME 53%. OKAY SO I'M HERE TO EXPRESS MY OPINION THAT I DON'T AGREE WITH THE ALTERNATIVE OR THE INCREASE OF THE MILLAGE RATE. I'M UP THERE. SCOTT ROAD OF A BRIDGE. THAT'S NOT BEEN BUILT FOR SIX, ALMOST SIX YEARS.
SO IT'S GETTING A LITTLE FRUSTRATING. MY TAXES ARE PROBABLY NOT AS HIGH AS SOME OF THE CURRENT PEOPLE BACK HERE THAT OWN BUSINESSES, THINGS OF THAT SORT. HOUSES. AND, BUT AT 65% OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS IS INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF MONEY, NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT, WHATEVER BUDGET. SO I OBJECT TO THIS INCREASE. I'M UNDER ASSUMPTION ALL YOU GUYS VOTE FOR IT. IS THAT HOW THIS WORKS? SIR, WE DON'T HAVE AN INCREASE THIS YEAR IN MILLAGE RATE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT, WELL, I'M SPEAKING TO YOU BECAUSE THE TAXES HAVE GONE UP JUST ROUGHLY ALMOST 50% WITHIN
[00:05:03]
2021 TO 20 22 TO 2023. IT'S AN INCREDIBLE AMOUNT, MY PROPERTY VALUE HAS ONLY GONE UP MAYBE 50%. SO MAYBE YOU GUYS CAN KIND OF EXPLAIN TO US, YOU KNOW, THE MEANING FOR ALL THESE INCREASES.WHEN I'M OUT THERE ON COUNTY LINE ROAD, I'M OUT THERE ON SCOTT ROAD, AND I'VE DISCUSSED WITH SOME BAY COUNTY PEOPLE, ABOUT THE BRIDGE OUT THERE. NOBODY WANTS TO LISTEN. YOU KNOW THE SIZE OF THE BRIDGE. BRIDGE? HOW WIDE THE BRIDGE IS. I'VE SENT INFORMATION INTO THE BAY COUNTY, AND THEY JUST DROP OUR OPINIONS LIKE IT'S NOTHING. SO I'M HERE TO EXPRESS MY OPINION FOR THE DISAGREEMENT IN THE IN THE INCREASE. OKAY IF YOU GUYS GOT ANYTHING TO SAY TO ME, I'M GAME. ALLISON, I'D LOVE TO GET WITH YOU AFTER THE MEETING AND LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE GOT. AND SEE. SEE IF I CAN HELP YOU FIND OUT WHERE THOSE INCREASES CAME FROM. BECAUSE IF YOU'RE HOMESTEADED, YOU'RE UNDER THE SAVE OUR HOMES ACT OF YOU CAN'T BE RAISED MORE THAN 3%. OKAY.
I'D LOVE TO GET WITH YOU AFTER THE MEETING AND LOOK AT THAT. THAT'S FINE. AND I AND I GET IT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S SCHOOL DISC AND THINGS OF THAT SORT, BUT IT'S LIKE WHEN DOES IT GET CAPPED OFF? YES, SIR. YOU KNOW. IF YOU'D LIKE TO HANG OUT, I'D LOVE TO. I'D LOVE TO TALK TO YOU GUYS. BE WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. THANKS. APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. YES, SIR.
SEE ANYBODY ELSE? NOPE. OKAY. SEEING NONE, WE'LL CLOSE THE BOARD. I'LL READ THE MILLAGE RATES ONE MORE TIME. JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KNOW. WHAT THE. THE MOTIONS FOR THE GENERAL FUND MILLAGE RATE IS 5.4362. MOSQUITO CONTROL IS 0.2000. MSTU FIRE IS 1.3800. THESE. TOTAL 7.0162 MILLS. AND THESE ARE THE SAME MILLAGE RATES THAT WE APPROVED LAST YEAR. OKAY. DOES ANYONE WANT TO MAKE A MOTION FOR THAT? I'D MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE AS IS. SECOND. SECOND.
SECOND. GOT A MOTION IN A SECOND. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? NO. NO. OKAY ALL RIGHT. PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. COMMISSIONER DOZIER. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER CARROLL. YES, MA'AM.
COMMISSIONER MOORE. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER PIECE. YES, MA'AM. CHAIRMAN. HAMM. YES MA'AM, NEXT.
WE HAVE NO PRESENTATION, SO WE'LL GO BACK INTO PUBLIC COMMENT. THIS WILL BE OPEN. THE FLOOR IS OPEN NOW TO. WE HAVE THE BUDGET PORTION. OH, OKAY. I'M SORRY. GO AHEAD. SORRY. I'M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF. THE FUN PRESENTATION. THE FUN SUMMARY FOR OUR FY 25 BUDGET IS ON YOUR SCREENS, OUR TOTAL BUDGET INCREASED ABOUT 10%. 9.5, IF YOU LOOK AT THE INTERFUND TRANSFERS, THAT INCREASE 31%. INCLUDED IN THAT 35 MILLION IS THE CRA, THE FRONT BEACH ROAD CRA. THAT IS THE LARGEST OF THOSE INTERFUND TRANSFERS. YOUR CAPITAL EQUIPMENT REQUEST, GENERAL FUND IS MAINLY PARKS. THEN TRANSPORTATION, AND TDC AND FIRE ARE IN THAT SPECIAL REVENUE.
TRANSPORTATION HAD ABOUT $2.4 MILLION OF CAPITAL REQUESTS. THEY MAKE UP THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF THAT. THEY HAVE AN AGING FLEET THAT NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. AND THE PROJECTS YOU'LL SEE THE SPECIAL REVENUE THERE IS 31.9. THE MAJORITY OF THAT IS SURTAX. THE SURTAX FUND. ALSO, WE HAVE SOME TDC ITEMS IN THERE. THEN YOUR POSITION COUNT FOR THE FY 25 IS INCREASING BY ABOUT 20 POSITIONS. THOSE ARE MAINLY IN EMS AND FIRE. I AM HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, AND THEN WE ASK THAT YOU HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING AND DISCUSS ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE
[00:10:04]
DISCUSSED, AND THEN AUTHORIZE THE ADVERTISING OF THE FINAL HEARING. AND A IN THE FINAL MILLAGE RATE FOR TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17TH. ANY QUESTIONS NOW OR AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING? JUST YEAH, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT DO WE DO? YEAH. YEAH. QUESTIONS. GO AHEAD. I HAVE A QUESTION ON THIS PARTICULAR BUDGET THAT WE'RE MOVING INTO, THERE'S A PORTION OF IT THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE PAYING TO THE FRONT BEACH ROAD CRA. DO YOU HAVE THOSE FIGURES? HOW MUCH WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY THAT CRA THIS YEAR? THIS YEAR, IN THIS BUDGET IS 26 MILLION. SO WE'RE PAYING THE FRONT BEACH ROAD 26 MILLION THIS YEAR. A LITTLE OVER 26 MILLION. AND WITH PROJECTED PROJECTED GROWTH, WILL THAT GROW IN THE FUTURE OR HOW WILL THAT WORK? THAT IS PROJECTED TO GROW, THE LAST MODEL THAT I RAN, THE GROWTH IS EXPECTED TO BE ABOUT 29 MILLION NEXT YEAR, AND THEN ABOUT 33 MILLION. THE NEXT. OKAY. SO EACH YEAR AS AS WE ENTER INTO OUR BUDGET, EVERY YEAR, WE HAVE TO TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION OF THE GROWTH AND HOW MUCH MONEY WE'RE HAVING TO PAY TO THAT CRA. YES. AND THAT PAYS OUT WHEN IS THE FINAL ON THAT THE FINAL YEAR IS 49 FOR THE LIFE OF THE CRA GOES TO 49. AND DO WE HAVE ANY KIND OF A FIGURE ON IF, IF THIS THING MATURES AND GOES WITH PROJECTED GROWTH, WHAT THAT NUMBER WOULD BE AT 49, IS IT GOING TO? IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, IT'S IN THE BILLIONS OF IT IS IN THE BILLIONS. IT'S OVER 2 BILLION, I BELIEVE. CLOSE TO 3 BILLION THAT WE WOULD BE PAYING INTO THE CRA IF THIS IF IT STAYS ON THE SAME TRACK. CORRECT. OKAY. THAT'S, RIGHT NOW WITH WHAT WE'RE DEALING WITH IS, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, IT'S A LOT TO US RIGHT NOW, BUT AS TIME GOES ON, IT GETS MORE AND MORE INCREASES TO IT. YES. IT DOES. OKAY. THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT. YOU'RE WELCOME. ANYBODY ELSE? NO TOUCH ON THAT FOR JUST A MINUTE. I WANT TO. THANK YOU. MIRANDA. SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HARD WORK YOU AND OUR STAFF HAVE PUT IN TO WORK WORKING ON THE CRA AND THE BEACH, STAFF AND FOLKS HAVE PUT IN A LOT OF TIME TO. AND WE APPRECIATE THEM WORKING WITH US. AND WE ARE LOOKING, YOU KNOW, AT A HUGE SAVINGS FOR THE CITIZENS. AND WE'RE VERY CLOSE. STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH THEIR STAFF AND HOPEFULLY WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO COME TO, A CONCLUSION OF THIS VERY SOON. IT YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST REAL CLOSE. A LOT A LOT OF LOT OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE CONQUERED THAT WE STARTED WITH, THAT WE HAVE IRONED OUT AND WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE, WE'RE ALL WANTING THE SAME THING. WE WANT THE SAVINGS FOR ALL THE CITIZENS OF BAY COUNTY BEACH, CALLAWAY, EVERYWHERE. AND SO WORKING TOGETHER WITH THEM HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK JUST MADE THIS WHOLE THING GROW INTO A BETTER DOCUMENT. AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING THAT FINISHED UP BECAUSE IT IS, BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN SAVINGS IN THE END THAT I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE ON. SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP, BILL. ANYBODY ELSE. NOPE. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE NEED TO OPEN THE FLOOR. ALL RIGHT. THIS IS A PUBLIC HEARING, SO WE'LL HAVE A YET ANOTHER CHANCE TO TALK. IF YOU'D LIKE. NO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. SEEING NONE, WE'LL CLOSE THE FLOOR.MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE BUDGET AS PRESENTED. A MOTION AND A SECOND. PLEASE CALL THE ROLL. COMMISSIONER DOZIER. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER CARROLL. YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER MOORE.
YES, MA'AM. COMMISSIONER PIECE. YES, MA'AM. CHAIRMAN HAN. YES, MA'AM. ALL RIGHT. I GUESS WE'LL GO INTO PUBLIC COMMENT ON THE AGENDA. SO AGAIN, I GUESS IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, THAT WILL BE THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT THIS OR SOMETHING ELSE. NOPE. OKAY GOING TO
[COMMISSIONER COMMENTS]
COMMISSIONER. COMMENTS. DOES ANYBODY HAVE ANYTHING? JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO STAFF AND ALL THE DEPARTMENTS, ESPECIALLY ALL THE CONSTITUTIONALS AS WELL. EVERYONE TRYING TO WORK WITHIN THEIR BUDGETS, EVERYONE. IT TAKES EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US AND JUST APPRECIATE ALL THE HARD WORK AND EVERYONE WORKING TOGETHER. WE HAVE A GREAT STAFF. I'D LIKE TO ECHO THAT. AND, I KNOW THE HOURS THAT YOU PUT IN ON THIS AND ALL THE HARD WORK THAT YOUR FULL STAFF DID AND JUST, JUST DID AN OUTSTANDING JOB. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, YEAH. THE SAME. AND THE NUMBER OF[00:15:02]
TIMES WE'VE MADE YOUR HEART PALPITATE IN THE LAST TWO WEEKS, WHEN WE'VE COME WITH OUR LAST LITTLE QUESTIONS AND ASKING ABOUT THOSE THINGS AND YOU SAYING, I AND BEING POLITE AT THAT SAME TIME. SO. BUT KNOW TO THE STAFF AND TO EACH OF THE DEPARTMENTS, ONE OF THE THINGS I LIKE OUT OF THIS IS WE ARE FUNDING ADDITIONAL POSITIONS IN FIRE AND EMS. THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN VERY IMPORTANT TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO WORK TO ADDRESS THAT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, AND SO, BE ABLE TO JUST CONTINUE TO WORK ON THOSE THINGS, AS WE CONTINUE TO GROW AS A COMMUNITY.SO THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL THAT, Y'ALL DONE. MR. CHAIRMAN, I HAVE ONE MORE COMMENT, SO YOU KNOW, AS WE APPROVE THIS THIS YEAR, WE'RE NOT RAISING THE MILLAGE RATE. THE MILLAGE RATE IS STAYING THE SAME AS IT WAS LAST YEAR. AND, YOU KNOW, AS I WAS LOOKING AT THIS, THE MILLAGE RATE AS WE HAVE IT RIGHT NOW IS LOWER THAN WHEN I CAME ON THE BOARD. SO WHEN I CAME ON THE BOARD, WE HAD A HIGHER MILLAGE RATE. AND THROUGH THE YEARS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GET IT DOWN TO WHERE IT IS TODAY THROUGH ALL THE HARD WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE. SO IT IS A IT IS A, IT'S A WE'RE IN A BETTER AS FAR AS THE MILLAGE RATE GOES. WE'RE BETTER NOW THAN WE WERE WHEN I FIRST CAME ON THE BOARD. AND SO AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, TO THE STAFF, TO ALL THE WORK THAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE AND I JUST WANT TO COMMEND YOU ALL Y'ALL FOR IT. THANK YOU. I WILL ADD TO THAT, WE DID LOOK AT THE NUMBERS STATEWIDE. AND OUT OF 67 COUNTIES, WE ARE THE 12TH LOWEST, 12TH, 12TH OUT OF 67 IS. NOT BAD. NO, NOT NOT BAD. DEALING WITH INFLATION. NO, SIR.
NO GOOD? NO. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. STAFF DID ANY OF YOU GUYS. ANYBODY ELSE? OKAY. ALL RIGHT.
WELL, I HAVE NOTHING AS WELL. SO WITH THA
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.