BCC Budget Workshop Concludes

The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) today completed its initial review of a proposed FY 2011 budget that holds the line on property tax rates. The proposed budget continues a three year trend of lower county spending. If adopted by the Board later this year, the net county budget will have been reduced by $465 million since fiscal year 2008.

“I applaud the County Manager and his staff for putting together a budget that maintains basic services and programs in the face of very challenging local economic conditions, without increasing the property tax millage rate,” said BCC Chairman Fred Coyle. “The budget policy for FY 2011 emphasizes cuts in capital expenditures while preserving front line operations and direct public services while avoiding the closure of county facilities.”

The proposed FY 2011 General Fund budget of $313,601,900 represents a 6.2 percent reduction in spending from the current year adopted General Fund budget of $334,297,700. This follows a 9.6 percent reduction from the prior year (FY 2009). The proposed 2011 MSTD Unincorporated Area General Fund budget of $42,369,100, is down 16.7 percent from the current year adopted budget.

The proposed millage neutral budget was achieved by reducing funding for various transportation and storm water capital projects in FY 2010 and FY 2011, along with 5 percent reductions in operational costs. Full time positions in the County Manager’s Agency have been reduced by 4.2% from the prior year resulting in a reduction of 359 full time employees since FY 2009. The Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections and the Clerk of the Circuit Court also reduced their collective General Fund requests in total by $7,910,400.

Preliminary taxable value numbers provided by the Property Appraiser at the end of May revealed a countywide taxable value decrease of 12.11 percent. Since 2008, Collier County’s taxable value has decreased $21 billion resulting in an equivalent ad valorem revenue loss of $74.8 million when applying the current General Fund millage rate of $3.5645. The current general fund millage is only slightly higher than the 2000 millage of 3.5058.

The Board is scheduled to set the maximum millage rate for FY 2011 at its July 27 meeting. Two public hearings for the budget are planned for September along with a final BCC vote.

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