High Springs City Commission agrees to reduce millage from 6.99 to 6.74 at budget workshop

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

HIGH SPRINGS, Fla. – At an August 8 budget workshop, the High Springs City Commission and City Manager agreed to set the millage rate for the next fiscal year at 6.7400 mills. This represents a reduction of 3.58% from the current millage rate of 6.9900 (and the maximum rate they set at their July 26 meeting) and an increase of 5.64% over the rolled-back rate of 6.3802.

City Manager Jeremy Marshall said he’d had “numerous one-on-one conversations with every Commissioner… to listen to each Commissioner individually. And what you’ll see tonight is some options for you… The budget I presented to you during the budget workshops, I feel, is the best budget I can present, as your City Manager, with making the cuts that I feel comfortable making… The Commission… voiced some concerns about the millage rate… I’ve come up with really four tiers of options.”

Marshall continued, “I wanted to have tonight’s workshop because I need input on the direction you want to go. So here’s the cuts I’ve made so far, totaling $461,000 in cuts. We cut the Assistant City Manager, which came 50/50 from the fire and the general fund. We cut the Assistant Parks Director [because Parks Director Jennifer Applebee doesn’t need help].” Marshall showed the following slide listing the positions cut, at least some of which are currently unfilled:

Marshall said they had made other budget cuts totaling $109,000, including returning two leased vehicles and reducing IT costs by $60,000 annually. All of these costs are recurring, Marshall said, and the City is saving over $500,000 in future costs by stopping them.  

Some additional costs are necessary, especially for the police department, Marshall said, and he showed the following slide:

Marshall said they were still deciding whether they need a Human Resources (HR) Director at a cost of $85,000, but they will need one eventually as the City continues to grow. Marshall explained that since they were cutting $570,000 from the budget and adding $269,000 back, the total savings is about $300,000. But, Marshall said, there were other costs of $212,000 that were transferred to the general fund, reducing the savings to about $88,000 over last year’s budget.

Marshall showed the following slide with the four tiers of millage rate options:

Marshall said the first reduced tier above (6.8900 mills) would require earning $30,000 from the RedSpeed traffic cameras and cutting a combined $18,000 from the $20,000 Christmas tree fund and $10,000 Farmers Market subsidy. 

Commissioner Andrew Miller pointed out that the Farmers Market brings businesses and people into town. He suggested charging more to have a booth there since other local farmers’ markets charge more.

Commissioner Tristan Grunder said, “I understand the emotional side of keeping the Farmers Market, but we are not in a fiscal place in this City to have anything that drains us anymore. We owe it to the citizens of this city that we bring down this millage rate and we do it by any means necessary.”

Marshall said he would recommend leaving the Farmers Market alone and, instead, cut the money from the Christmas tree fund and have the Chamber of Commerce pay for the tree, as they have indicated some willingness to do.

Marshall listed the cuts that would be required for the second-tier (6.7400) millage rate option. These include cutting the custodian for City Hall, lobbyists, and a proposed emergency radio for the Public Information Officer. In addition, all of the first-tier cuts would need to be implemented.

Mayor Katherine Weitz asked about the usefulness of the $8,500 emergency radio. Public Information Officer Kevin Mangan said it can be important in locations where there is no cell service, and it has better coverage than the portable radios they currently use; he said the main reason for the purchase would be safety, including public safety. 

Marshall said the third-tier option (6.4900 mills) would require cutting the proposed new HR Director position, reducing the proposed raises for some employees, and cutting some parks funding, on top of the cuts from the first and second tiers.

Responding to Grunder, Marshall said they can get along without the new HR position for another year, and he recommended cutting that $85,000. Marshall added, “I really don’t want to cut the Farmers Market, to be honest. I think for $10,000 it’s a good service to the community. It brings people out.”

Mayor Weitz and the Commissioners discussed the Christmas tree, and they agreed it is better to pass on the costs to the Chamber of Commerce if possible.

Marshall said, “Cutting the $20,000 for the Christmas tree and cutting the full-time HR position… – if you do that, you can lower the millage rate a quarter percent.” Marshall added that $30,000 can be expected from the RedSpeed cameras, and he promised to be “personally accountable” for the money.

With everyone agreeing to cut the millage rate by a quarter percent to 6.7400 mills as outlined by Marshall, Marshall said he had enough information to present the final budget at the budget hearings on September 12 and September 23.