Commissioners to freeze new hires

Sheriff Jared Miller had planned to hire nine positions at the sheriff’s office, including four road deputies. Those plans are now frozen, as well as the county’s plan to hire nine new firefighters.


Sheriff Jared Miller

By: WILLIAM SNOWDEN
Editor

County commissioners held an emergency meeting on Monday because of the $2.4 million hole in their budget and decided to follow the recommendations of the county’s audit committee to freeze new hiring.
The county audit committee – made up of constitutional officers – met Friday morning to discuss the situation and come up with recommendations.
On Friday, Wakulla Sheriff Jared Miller, who has asked for nine new positions this year including four new road deputies, made the motion for the hiring freeze even as he stressed it was temporary. Sheriff Miller said it may become necessary for him to come back to the county and say he needs those new positions immediately.
“I’m gonna help as much as I can,” the sheriff told the group. “But I’m not gonna tell you we can do without the positions.”
The county was also intending to add nine new firefighter positions this year. The 18 new jobs were, as County Commission Chair Ralph Thomas said at the meeting, an intention by the commission to focus on public safety this year.
Thomas stressed that public safety remains a priority for the board.
The audit committee will also begin meeting monthly starting in January to focus on financial issues related to the $307 million overvaluation of a vacant lot on the county tax roll that led to shortfall in the county budget, and a $1.6 million hole in the school board budget.
The nine hires at the sheriff’s office were projected to cost some $766,000 this year. The nine fire-rescue hires would be paid for from both MSBU levies and 47% from the general fund – which would about $400,000 from the general fund. Those nine positions would cost a total of more than $1.1 million.
Additionally, at the Monday county commission meeting, County Administator David Edwards announced that there are eight new non-public safety positions that would not be filled, saving another $564,000.
The total savings of the hiring freeze would be $1.6 million, though that is still short of the $700,000 needed to fill the hole.
And it is a recurring hole – not a one-time deficit – as the expenses are pay and benefits.
Constitutional officers including the sheriff, Clerk of Courts Greg James, Property Appraiser Ed Brimner, Supervisor of Elections Joe Morgan and Tax Collector Lisa Craze attended the meeting along with numerous county staff members.
The group, including County Administrator David Edwards, tried to look at all options and sources of revenue to cover the budget shortfall.
Some of those options looked at included:
• County reserves
• The anticipated $1.7 million in fund balance (surplus) at the end of the year
• Possibility of using the county’s $30 million line of credit that it opened to pay for the numerous infrastructure projects that require the county to pay before they can be reimbursed by state grants.
• Using the reserves of each constitutional office, which collectively total some $4 million, although the county would have to pay it back.
• Another possibility is the unwinding of the lower millage that the county commission passed. Chairman Thomas said there is a method to do it, but added: “Politically, it’s the last thing I want to do.”
• Property Appraiser Brimner vowed to cut $100,000 from his budget, including by not filling a vacant position.
Tax Collector Craze noted that she had not sent out tax bills yet – she intended to do it Monday so that property owners had their tax bills on Nov. 1 and could take advantage of the 4% discount for early payment during the month.
If the tax bills were going to change, that would be an expense of several thousand dollars to reprint them, Craze said.
As the meeting concluded, Chairman Thomas stressed that “Wakulla County is not broke. We have enough money to meet our obligations.”
“Knowing what we know now,” Clerk of Court James added, “we would not have recommended hiring 18 positions and reducing the millage rate.”