“More entrepreneurial than bureaucratic” was the mantra County Manager Mike Herr stressed while discussing the county’s $1.6 billion budget with the Polk County Tiger Bay Club on Monday.
While the county hs been affected by growth and the economic recession, it also managed to keep the millage rate the same, at 7.4993 mills. The overall budget is $111 million less than the budget for last fiscal year, Herr said.
One of the ways the county has managed to cut costs was by eliminating 80 positions. “I hate to do that,” Herr said, “because that means less jobs for people who need them, but there was no other way.” More...
| In Palm Beach County, some governments hold the line on pay raises Sun-Sentinel.com Meanwhile, workers for Palm Beach County governments are paying attention to what's happening in some cities in Broward County. While budget strains have ... Nearly a quarter of Florida residents have no health insurance Tampabay.com Every surveyed city and county in the Tampa Bay area had a lower rate of insured residents than the national average, with the worst rates occurring in ... |
Leon County schools get $50000 each for improvements
Tallahassee DemocratThroughout Leon County, teachers and students are seeing the impact of the 4 percent cuts each school had to make to their budgets. Teachers like Long wonder when they will be able to buy more books. Other schools need technology upgrades or added hours for teachers to be able to better serve students.
The Legislature passed the added property tax to help districts in Florida offset budget cuts; and that is exactly what Superintendent Jackie Pons intends ...Vegetable specialist covers a lot of turf
Naples Daily News
By then they hope the state budget will improve, making more money available to the University of Florida. “With the budget crisis, every position that ...
Ernst: Salary reviews should be routine
A police captain in Venice makes $103,750 a year. The deputy finance director makes $96,096. A parks foreman makes $60,623.
Last week, as the Venice City Council prepared for a final vote on next year's budget, a list of 56 nonunion salaries made the rounds among the citizenry. People always love to know what others earn, but Mike Rafferty had another reason for circulating the salary chart obtained by the Venice Taxpayers League.
He did not want the council to raise his property tax rate. He pointed to the salaries as an example of spending that is out of whack with what the public can afford. And he suggested that the council cut salaries before it raises taxes. More...
The Great Recession and housing downturn took a considerable bite out of gross domestic product in Southwest Florida, reversing a course of large growth starting in 2006.
The data released Thursday from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics might be the broadest measure to date of the pain. GDP is the total market values of goods and services produced by workers and capital within a area's borders within a year.
From 2005 to 2006, the Bradenton-Sarasota-Venice area's GDP rose 7.4 percent, or about $1.7 billion, to $24.66 billion.
But things started sliding in 2007 and by 2008, GDP had slipped $836 million, or about 3.4 percent, to $23.83 billion from its peak.
| County passes $400.8M budget Tampa Tribune To save more money, commissioners had already approved reductions in the mosquito control budgetand voted to cancel membership in the Florida Association ... |
| Brantley hires Florida man to be new manager Florida Times-Union Barwick, 45, will face a daunting list of problems that plague the rural county, from a $3 million budget deficit to washboard dirt roads to overflowing ...
MiamiHerald.com According to the county property appraiser's office, taxable values in the city have dropped 9.3 percent. A budget of about $19.2 million -- $433000 less ... No tax break for some despite declining property values Crestview News Bulletin (blog) At issue is the “recapture rule,” a little-known regulation adopted by the Florida Department of Revenue in 1995 that only applies to homesteaded properties ... |
Counties take different roads on employees, budget cutsWhile high-ranking government employees in Miami-Dade have scored major pay raises despite the county’s financial woes, Broward and Palm Beach counties are taking a much different tack.
No one earning more than $100,000 a year in Broward government will receive a raise this year and must take a five-day unpaid furlough along with all other county workers. No raises are planned for top administrators in Palm Beach County either, and that county isn’t doing furloughs.
Ultimately, final budget refutes Alvarez
MiamiHerald.com
When Carlos Alvarez unveiled ``his'' proposed budget in July it was an end-of-civilization-as-we-know-it document. About 1700 county jobs would be cut, ... County leaders receiving raises amid budget cuts
WZVN-TV
FORT MYERS: At a time of budget cuts and salary freezes, some of our top leaders in Lee County are actually getting raises. From the sheriff to county ...Elections boss can't find any more budget cuts
Tampa Tribune
Commissioner Jeff Stabins said efforts are under way by upper county management to reduce Williams'budget and they will find places to cut by Thursday's ...Collier County sheriff shoulders tough load shoulders load
The News-Press
by chris umpierre • cumpierre@news-press.com • September 23, 2009 With each press conference, the bags under Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk's eyes ...Firefighters plead, but county OKs budget cuts
Gainesville Sun
Alachua County firefighters and supporters hold signs in protest of budget cuts for firefighters outside the County Administration building at the ...
County budget has $12.5 million in cuts, layoffs Clay Today Even more disturbing is the economic crisis Behring says the county will face for fiscal year 2010-2011. He said Florida's housing industry has been among ...
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| County Should Help Fill Clinic's Shortfall, Panel Recommends The Ledger By Robin Williams Adams BARTOW | Central Florida Health Care should get $225000 from countyindigent-care funds to partially offset a shortfall at its ... Ford, Foster outline their plans for spending tax dollars more wisely Tampabay.com Citrus County moved to a form of zero-based budgeting in 2008. A third of the county's budget is closely scrutinized every year. "It helps you prioritize," ... Water wars The News Herald That population growth demanded broader county operations; the county's budget has grown from $89 million in 1989 to $294 million for 2010. ... |
School board nixes millage increase
Daily Commercial
Still, the community was divided over whether to compromise the county's learning environment or its residents' ability to survive in one of Florida's ...
Fort Lauderdale's proposed budget
Sun-Sentinel.com
By Brittany Wallman South Florida Sun-Sentinel Operating budget: $327.5 million, for city services such as police, fire and parks. ...
Schools Aided by Stimulus Money Still Facing Cuts
New York TimesFlorida's second-largest system, Broward County Schools, laid off 400 teachers, but aided by stimulus money, rehired more than 100. ...Property Tax Increase Could Be On The Way
NorthEscambia.com
A week from today, the Escambia County School Board is looking at a millage rate increase that would be the second highest in Florida. ...Despite pleas, county oks higher tax rate
The DeLand-Deltona Beacon
The second and final public hearing on the county's budget and tax rates is set for 6 pm Thursday, Sept. 17, in the Thomas C. Kelly County Administration ...
Budget woes may shut 4-H
MiamiHerald.com
Miami-Dade would be only the second county to cut ties with 4-H in Florida, according to Marilyn Norman, 4-H state leader in Gainesville. ...
| Miami-Dade commissioners keep taxes flat Bizjournals.com During their first budget hearing, Miami-Dade County commissioners voted early Friday morning to cap property taxes at last year's rate, creating a $444 ... Most programs, not all, get their county funding Gainesville Sun Among the agencies that did not qualify was Easter Seals of Florida for the Altrusa House, a day-care center for frail seniors and adults with disabilities ... Tax battle leaves residents, officials weary Daytona Beach News-Journal Volusia is the only Florida county with three separate hospital taxing authorities, and the rates in East Volusia rival what many Central Florida residents ... Florida Lacks Clout in Congress The Ledger Lawton Chiles chaired the Senate Budget Committee. Today, several members of Florida's delegation, including Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, ... In the House of Representatives, where constant turnover has depleted the state's seniority, not one of the 25-member Florida delegation is in a major leadership position or chairs a single committee from which legislation such as health care reform is being constructed.
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In Miami Dade:
More than 4,100 people have visited the county property appraiser’s office to discuss their notices. An additional 10,600 calls have been logged with the county regarding preliminary tax notices. Property owners in Miami-Dade have until Sept. 18 to file appeals.
Thousands appeal property taxes as budget hearings near
Bizjournals.com
In Broward County, which is facing a $23 million budget deficit, 5291 petitions for appeal have been filed with the value adjustment board. ...
Cut, cut, cut
MiamiHerald.com
24: Florida's jobless rate hit 8.1 percent in December, the highest since September 1992. Today, as the County Commission takes up Mr. Alvarez's budget
Top 20 execs at Jackson to volunteer for pay cuts
MiamiHerald.com
Jackson leaders seek a solution to budget woes as county commissioners question why the hospital system needs more than 100 highly paid executives. ...
| States across the nation pinch their pennies to save athletics USA Today Nearby Loudoun County, with 10 high schools, instituted a $100 fee to play sports. Money is for general budget shortfall not specific to athletic budget. ... Behind Florida's Exodus: Rising Taxes, Political Ineptitude TIME One thing, for instance, would be to give a dozen top aides hefty raises while urging a rise in property taxes, as the Mayor of Miami-Dade County recently ... Schools look to teacher furloughs to trim budgets The Associated Press But furloughs are happening in individual districts in states such as New Mexico,Florida and California, said Ed Muir, deputy director of research and ... License and registration, PLEASE! Ocala Higher tag fees, raised by the Florida Legislature to address a budget deficit, take effect today. The Associated Press TALLAHASSEE - Driver license, ... |
The proposed tax notices arriving in Miami-Dade and Broward mailboxes in recent days have stirred a wave of protest, with dozens of homeowners taking to the streets Thursday and thousands of others dialing their property appraiser's office.
Many homeowners, already feeling pressures from high unemployment, a tumbling stock market and dwindling property values, were angry to open their TRIM -- Truth In Millage -- notices and see a property tax increase awaiting them, too.
``They are going berserk,'' said Charlotte Greenbarg, a Hollywood resident and president of the Broward Coalition, which represents homeowners. ``People are absolutely flipping out.''
Palm Beach County arts groups chase dwindling public funds
Sun-Sentinel.com
Other governments may have to cut arts funding entirely due to budget shortfalls. While some small cities don't contribute to the arts, county governments ...
| Driving in Florida getting costlier Tallahassee Democrat By Jim Ash • Florida Capital Bureau Chief • August 27, 2009 The reality of a $7 billion state budgetshortfall is about to come crashing down on Florida's ... Although fees vary, the cost of registering a medium-sized sedan will skyrocket 54 percent, rising from $46.80 to $71.85. |
| Miami Dade Budget Cuts Leave Needy Families to Fend for Themselves PR Newswire (press release) (press release) The proposed would mean the total elimination of over $31 million in grants to community-based organizations in Miami-Dade County. A significant portion of ... |
More than a dozen concerned -- some downright angry -- taxpayers met last week to discuss the different budgets proposed by Miami-Dade County, the school board and the cities of Miami and Coral Gables.
And they are taking matters into their own hands.
The residents -- young and old, Democrats and Republicans -- said they want to pore over the upcoming budgets of the city of Coral Gables, the city of Miami, the school board and the county to target wasteful spending amid declining income. South Florida municipalities are cutting services and raising taxes to contend with decreased property tax revenues from the economic downturn.
Will cutbacks make Orlando 'The City Shabby'?
Orlando Sentinel
The year before he took office, the annual maintenance budget was nearly $1.9 million. This year, it's about $970000. As of Oct. 1, it will drop to $732000, ...
Miami-Dade District 12 budget meeting draws county-wide interest
MiamiHerald.com
A District 12 meeting about Miami-Dade County's proposed budget drew interest from activists and residents who live elsewhere. ...
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