Cents & Sensibility: Alachua County’s Budget in Eight Chapters – Chapter 2
October 17, 2025
Press release from Alachua County
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – With all the discussion happening across Florida about local government budgets, Alachua County is joining the conversation through this series: Cents & Sensibility: Alachua County’s Budget in Eight Chapters.
Chapter 2: What is the General Fund
Every year, Alachua County builds a budget that helps keep our community running smoothly. At the heart of this effort is the general fund, the County’s primary operating fund, which pays for essential/core government services that residents rely on every day.
Read Chapter 2: What is the General Fund in full.
Read Chapter 1: How You Shape the County Budget.
Two things about the chapter I question:
Florida county’s Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) millage for law enforcement does not go into the county’s general fund. An MSTU is a special taxing district created to fund specific services like law enforcement, and the money collected is kept separate from the county’s general revenue.
The chapter implies that fire and emergency services are funded by the general fund. Since these are no ad-valorem assessments they shouldn’t be going into the general fund either.
I initially thought Florida CFO Blaise Ingoglia’s comments on Alachua County’s accounting practices were exaggerated, but now I’m not so sure after reading chapter 2.
You can view the whole budget on the County’s website, under Budget & Fiscal Services. Also, you can view all of the County’s independent audit reports on the Clerk of the Court’s website: https://www.alachuacounty.us/Depts/Clerk/Pages/FinancialReports.aspx
Is this being mailed out for free? Not all taxpayers have a computer.