BY TRACY LEE TATE
Special to the Times
LAKE BUTLER—The Union County Board of Commissioners approved both the millage rate and the budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year.
Clerk of Court and Comptroller Kellie Hendricks Rhoades said the county is entering the new fiscal year in good, solid financial shape and she is confident the budget will serve to guide the county through the financial aspects of the coming year.
The millage rate for the year will be 10.0, and the rollback rate is 9.4257, reflecting a 6.09% difference.
Ad valorem taxes based on this rate will total $3,418,329.
The property tax revenues, the county’s portion of community redevelopment funds shared with the City of Lake Butler, the income from two sales surtaxes and the communications services tax total $4,546,067.
The county also earns revenues in the general fund through permits, comprehensive plan amendments, an electric franchise fee and license fees, adding another $236,500 to county coffers.
More funds come from the state, known as intergovernmental funds, and come from such things as alcoholic beverage licenses, state revenue sharing, several classes of sales tax and payments in lieu of taxes, adding another $4,067,369 to the fund.
Additional funding comes from fees and services within the county, court revenues and miscellaneous revenues like amounts returned to the general fund from constitutional officers from prior years: $60,000 from 2022-23.
After it is all added up, including fund balances rolled forward from the previous year, the county has a $11,849,756 budget for the general fund for the new fiscal year.
The general fund is the backbone of the county’s financing, paying for courthouse operations, maintenance and repair of county-owned buildings and everything else involved in the running of the county government, from commissioners’ salaries to office supplies to law enforcement and dispatch services, plus much more.
There are other funds connected with individual departments or projects, and these monies are kept in separate accounts. Grant money and state appropriations are also kept in special accounts or special reserves as they cannot be used for other than the designated purpose.
Upcoming grant and appropriation projects include the new fire station in Providence with a state appropriation of $815,000, a Brownfields federal grant of $372,966, $25,000 from the state for a tire amnesty program, $485,794 for an agricultural education building addition, $485,794 for courthouse renovation, restoration and resiliency, $9,895,811 for a public safety facility, as well as the funding from FDOT for numerous road improvement projects through the Small County Road Assistance Program and the Small County Outreach Program.
