The Apalachicola Board of City Commissioners held its second and final budget workshop last night Aug 25 at a scarcely attended public meeting.
At the commission last workshop held Aug 11, the board set its annual millage rate for the next fiscal year at the maximum 7.56 mills with instruction to staff to identify cost savings within the budget before the final workshop.
City Clerk Lee Mathes did exactly that by proposing a ¼-mill decrease in the budget to bring the millage rate to 7.31, which would generate $1,277,477.00 in tax proceeds for the city during the next fiscal year. Mathes also added to the equation a 3% bonus with a minimum of $1000 for each employee similar to what the commission granted during last year’s budget development.
However, Mayor Van Johnson explained to those in attendance that due to the economy people were being laid off, taking pay cuts, and being furloughed and that the city didn’t want to send any mixed signals to the community by giving out bonuses.
City administrator Betty Taylor-Webb informed the board that they (Webb and Mathes) were only speaking for the employees.
While Dieter Ambos speaking from the audience told commissioners, “I just attended the Progress Energy workshop and not a single person got up there and wanted any increase on Progress Energy and I think that it would send a really bad message to hand out bonuses based on that alone and the fact with the economy”.
Downtown business merchant Beverly Hewitt followed Ambos by recounting a news report from the day before, telling board members that there would be no social security cost of living increases for the next two years.
Finance commissioner Frank Cook explained that the $490,320.00, 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant awarded by the Florida Department of Education to fund the city’s Project Impact afterschool and summer programs made decreasing the budget by ¼-mill possible.
In the end, the board agreed to decrease the millage rate from 7.56 to 7.31 and declined giving out bonuses.
At the commission last workshop held Aug 11, the board set its annual millage rate for the next fiscal year at the maximum 7.56 mills with instruction to staff to identify cost savings within the budget before the final workshop.
City Clerk Lee Mathes did exactly that by proposing a ¼-mill decrease in the budget to bring the millage rate to 7.31, which would generate $1,277,477.00 in tax proceeds for the city during the next fiscal year. Mathes also added to the equation a 3% bonus with a minimum of $1000 for each employee similar to what the commission granted during last year’s budget development.
However, Mayor Van Johnson explained to those in attendance that due to the economy people were being laid off, taking pay cuts, and being furloughed and that the city didn’t want to send any mixed signals to the community by giving out bonuses.
City administrator Betty Taylor-Webb informed the board that they (Webb and Mathes) were only speaking for the employees.
While Dieter Ambos speaking from the audience told commissioners, “I just attended the Progress Energy workshop and not a single person got up there and wanted any increase on Progress Energy and I think that it would send a really bad message to hand out bonuses based on that alone and the fact with the economy”.
Downtown business merchant Beverly Hewitt followed Ambos by recounting a news report from the day before, telling board members that there would be no social security cost of living increases for the next two years.
Finance commissioner Frank Cook explained that the $490,320.00, 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant awarded by the Florida Department of Education to fund the city’s Project Impact afterschool and summer programs made decreasing the budget by ¼-mill possible.
In the end, the board agreed to decrease the millage rate from 7.56 to 7.31 and declined giving out bonuses.
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