Newberry finalizes budget and property tax rate

BY DAVID LIGHTMAN

NEWBERRY, Fla. – At their September 25 regular meeting, the Newberry City Commission passed the annual city budget for 2024 and reduced the 2024 property tax millage rate from 5.9244 to 5.9000 (both on second readings). Later in the meeting, one Commissioner and the Mayor had messages for County Commissioner Chuck Chestnut.

Unresolved budget items

Mayor Jordan Marlowe began by addressing two unresolved items from the first budget reading. First, there was the question of whether seven employees who had already received raises of 7% for attending management training classes should be eligible for additional cost-of-living increases of up to 6%.  Marlowe asked Commissioner Mark Clark for his thoughts since he was absent at the prior meeting. Clark said, “I am against any raises for those that got the 7% and above. But to caveat that, we can start right now with what we do with the money and where everybody will get the money.” Commissioner Tony Mazon said those employees should receive the additional raises as a needed cost-of-living increase. Marlowe took an informal vote to allow the additional raises, and it failed 1-4, with only Mazon in support. 

Marlowe said the second item to discuss from the previous meeting was what to do with $150,000 that had come back into the General Fund, $75,000 from a wage study to be redirected into raises for employees and $75,000 from a cemetery fence. He said staff had come up with a plan to spend part of the money on raises for employees.

Assistant City Manager Dallas Lee said, “The Mayor and I met last week and discussed potential uses of the $75,000 plus the existing COLA and Merit that was in the budget, with the objective to provide the largest amount of increases to those employees who are at the bottom of the pay scale. So the proposal we worked out is the following… Employees who are currently earning under $18 an hour would be moved to at least $18 an hour or 5%, whichever is greater. This affects about nine of your employees. Employees who are currently earning under $20 an hour would be moved to $20 an hour or 5%, whichever is greater. This also affects nine employees. The reason for that 5% is if you’re currently making $19.99 you would only get a penny. So that’s where the 5% comes in… If you currently earn between $20 and $30 an hour, you get a 4% raise. If you’re between $30 and $40 an hour, you get a 3% raise. And if you’re earning over $40 an hour, you would get a 2% raise, which is essentially what the COLA was budgeted at. This proposal did include the seven (who already received 7% raises), although they would all be in the 2% category.” 

In response to a question from Commissioner Monty Farnsworth, Lee explained, “This is in lieu of everything else. So there would be no (other) COLA, it would just be this.” 

Clark commented, “My expectation was to get the people at the bottom up, and you’re doing that. And I appreciate that, and everybody that’s here. The staff works hard, you know, and I heard it where they were underappreciated. So I’m just gonna say it aboveboard. You’re not. You’re appreciated… I believe this right here makes money for this entire city.” Commissioner Tim Marden commented that he might have done it differently, but he planned to support the raises. 

After some discussion with Lee about what to do with the remaining $75,000 in the general fund, it was decided to spend $30,000 on a stormwater assessment plan and put $45,000 into a contingency fund for any unforeseen expenses that might arise during the coming year.

FY2024 budget presentation

City Manager Mike New began the presentation on the budget and property tax rate: “I am pleased to report that the state of Newberry’s government is strong. Our finances are in order, and our talented staff is up to the opportunities and challenges of the coming year… This year’s budget includes over $2.5 million dedicated to streets and roads projects. More than $6.5 million for water, waste, and electric utility upgrades, and $2.5 million for enhancing our parks and recreational services… The Commission embarked on a journey to introduce impact fees, equipping future commissions with the means strategically planned for our city’s growth and promising future. The City Commission and our dedicated staff have collaborated extensively to minimize the financial impact to our residents. I am pleased to report that this budget is set at a tentative rate of 5.9000 mills, marking a property tax reduction for our community. This is the second consecutive year that the Commission has achieved this reduction compared to our neighboring communities, some of which are raising their property taxes by up to one mill. Newberry stands on a solid fiscal foundation, reflecting our strong financial management. This is in addition to maintaining the lowest utility rates in the region.”

Lee showed the following slide and explained how the rate has been reduced and how it compares to surrounding cities and the County. The FY2024 millage rate is a 0.4% reduction from the previous rate but a 9.63% increase over the rolled-back rate, which is the tax rate that would raise the same amount of revenue based only on valuation increases in the same properties that were on the tax rolls last year

Lee said the employee raises and plans for the remaining $75,000 needed to be amended into the budget. Commissioner Rick Coleman made a motion to amend the budget, and Marden seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.

Property tax rate

Resolution 2023-10, the millage rate, was formally introduced. Clark made a motion to pass the resolution, and Mazon seconded the motion. No members of the public wished to speak. The millage rate passed unanimously.

Budget

Acting City Attorney Clay Martin said the budget ordinance has to pass twice in the same form (with no amendments), so they would need to have another hearing for the budget. He said, “The correct procedure would be to bring it back for a second [reading].” Marlowe disagreed. Martin said he would confer with City Attorney Scott Walker and provide an answer later.

Resolution 2023-11, the City budget, was introduced by Martin. Coleman made a motion to pass the budget resolution, and Clark seconded the motion. There were no public comments. The budget passed unanimously. 

Municipal Service Benefit Unit assessment

Two guests from the County waste department, Patrick Irby and Gus Olmos, were present for Ordinance 2023-25, a second reading of Newberry’s participation in the Alachua County Solid Waste Municipal Service Benefit Unit (MSBU) with an accompanying tax assessment. They discussed a cooperative venture between Newberry and the County: a planned, mid-sized, 10-acre recycling collection center with some hazardous waste capabilities. Newberry will effectively be donating the land by providing a 99-year lease to the County at a nominal cost.

Marlowe said, “I understand the meat packing (plant) got a little political and got everything sidetracked, but the other two projects, the recycling center and the fire-training one… Those I hope can get back on track because I think both of those can provide services to our community that would be used and would be important.”

Coleman said, “When you head back there to Gainesville, Florida, you can tell Commissioner [Chuck] Chestnut that we’re Newberry, he represents us, and to please quit calling us out… Whoever’s running against him, I’m gonna back him all the way. I know he said he’s not gonna come to any events here no more. That’s fine. I don’t want to see him anyway if he’s gonna talk bad about us. So I want you to make sure you let him know that.”

Marlowe added, “I’ve reached out to Commissioner Chestnut multiple times to see where this relationship went off-kilter because we certainly used to have a really good relationship, but he has not responded as of this moment to about eight requests… I’ll continue to text him… I would like to repair that relationship if he stands ready to tell us why he’s upset.” 

Mazon made a motion to pass Ordinance 2023-25, and Farnsworth seconded the motion. It passed 3-2, with Marden and Coleman in dissent.