BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — The public said a resounding “no” to electric franchise fees or any new form of tax to bail Bradford County out of its budgetary shortfall.
The special meeting began with a letter from Chairman Chris Dougherty, who was not present because of a prior work commitment — something a few people took exception to.
In his letter, he explained the history of county franchise fees as well as the rationale for reinstating them, including the fact that they are already being paid in the county’s municipalities.
Dougherty wrote, “The recent hike in the millage rate was not something I wanted to do, nor do I believe any board member wanted to do. It simply became a necessity due to the increased expenditures and the lack of revenue coming into Bradford County. Inflation not only impacts the private sector, but also the public sector. Increases in costs for fuel vehicles and equipment, maintenance, insurance, wages, materials, etc., continue to go up while our sources of revenue remain close to or at the same as they have been for the past decade. Other than collecting ad valorem taxes, gas tax, sales tax, and the solid waste assessment, the county has no other revenue sources to be able to continue to provide the level of service the citizens of Bradford County expect.”
According to Dougherty, the county has and will continue to make cuts. He said public safety and roads should be the county’s priority, and all other services seen as nonessential. Cuts would be aimed there.
“Some examples could be the closing or limiting hours of other operations such as mowing and ditch cleanout, trash collection sites, library programs, senior citizens activities, recreation, and other services that are not considered essential. Calling 911 with the expectation of the police, rescue or fire protection showing up should be considered essential,” he wrote.
According to Dougherty, the public shouldn’t see franchise fees as a revenue stream for essential services but an opportunity to fund other programs and services they feel are important. In the meantime, the county and city will partner on economic development, including extending utility lines out to the bypass to serve new businesses.
“Florida continues to grow, and we cannot be an island trying to isolate ourselves from progress. If we do this, this board and future boards will continue to ask the taxpaying people at Bradford County for more taxes and additional fees just so we can operate and provide the necessary services. So, whether you’re for or against the proposed franchise fee paid by all, consider this an investment in the future of Bradford County,” he wrote.
Charles McKinney began public comments by questioning how many electric polls were even standing on county property versus private property or state right of way.
“You ought to have learned from your parents as you were growing up how to manage a budget. You don’t spend more than you make. Keep it under wraps where you can afford to buy groceries and get back and forth to church,” he said, adding he has put up with all he can stand. “If the taxes continue to go up, I’ll find me another county to live in. That’s all there is to it. I just can’t understand why people can’t figure out that you can’t spend money you ain’t got.”
Michelle and Edward Siegmund had multiple questions, including why propose this now at such a difficult time?
“I haven’t’ got a pay raise in three years, and I work for the railroad, a billion-dollar company,” he said. Despite that, they are still managing to pay their bills, while the county is looking to raise more tax revenue to pay its bills.
“That tells me that something needs to be budgeted better if we can pay our bills and continue, like everybody else, with all the grocery prices going up and everything else,” he said.
“Who am I going to turn to for somebody to help me?” Larry Thornton asked. “I mean, you all want money to buy this, buy that, the fire department. I don’t have anybody. I have to live within my budget. … Have you noticed everything’s gone up? I can’t understand why we want to put something else on to burden. … I’ve been living here a long time. These things you want, we’ve never had. Why all of a sudden do we got to have it now?”
Eric Nogel said the public didn’t choose to start a professional fire department.
“It started off small and all of a sudden, we got all these employees overnight, fully furnished firehouses. Now we’ve got to pay them 3% a year extra, every year. OK, where’s that 3% coming from? And guess what? When $15 an hour hits, now guess what happens? Those salaries aren’t going to be $3 million; they’re going to be about $5 million,” he said.
Comments proceeded for the better part of an hour. While occasionally spicy, they were civil enough. What they all had in common was opposition to any new fees or taxes.
Just as things were wrapping up and commissioners were offering their final comments, things took a turn. The commission took exception to a suggestion from the vice chair, the clerk of courts strongly countered the assertion that he was responsible for creating the commission’s budget, and the public hadn’t had their say either.
Commissioner Diane Andrews repeated a move from a prior meeting to have Clerk Denny Thompson and the finance department present the board with a balanced budget, saying only that office has the information and knowledge to do so.
Clerk Thompson said constitutionally the board is mandated to prepare its own budget just as he and the other constitutional officers are mandated to prepare their budgets.
Andrews asked how she could do that without the information, and the clerk denied that.
“Yes, you do. You know your $2.5 million deficit every year,” he said.
Commissioner Kenny Thompson intervened.
“Number one, it’s our responsibility to stay within our means. Have we failed? Yes, we have, and it’s time to get it right,” he said to audience applause.
Commissioner Thompson thanked everyone for expressing their feelings. Instead of continuing to tax citizens for more revenue, he said the county needs to listen to what was said and downsize.
Commissioner Carolyn Spooner said last year was the first time they had requested detailed budgets from the constitutional officers as well as the board’s department. It was a beginning to look at things in greater detail and start slimming them down. Without those details, they are operating in the dark, she said.
Sheriff Gordon Smith rose to say only one commissioner has ever come to his office to inquire about his budget. Reading a quote like the day’s scripture, he said, “Any action taken to resolve a short-term crisis will inevitably worsen the long-term problem.”
The sheriff compared law enforcement to fire rescue, saying his department’s per capita spending was much lower. It comes down to management, he said.
“I took on the fire department when there wasn’t a fire department, and I managed it. But see, it’s like everything else you’ve taken back from the sheriff’s office, it’s always cost you more,” he said.
He went on to say constitutional officer employees weren’t receiving raises when other county employees were, and he blamed the fire rescue workers union for strongarming county commissioners.
“We don’t need a union in Bradford County!” he said to applause.
Citizens continued their questions and comments from their seated or standing positions around the room, interacting with both commissioners and each other until Andrews closed the meeting.
Listen to the meeting in full at BCTelegraph.com.
