INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Faced with a mandate to not increase property taxes, fees and other assessments, county officials have come up with a plan to move the county forward that calls for a 2.4 percent cut to the budget and nine layoffs.
The plan was presented to a sold out room of Indian River County Chamber of Commerce members and community leaders during the State of the County Address.
“I didn’t know if I could do that,” County Administrator Joe Baird told the 120-strong audience of meeting the Board of County Commissioners’ mandate. “They’re all very conservative. If I had one liberal on there” it might have helped.
Commission Chair Gary Wheeler prefaced Baird’s annual address, providing a snapshot of where the county has been and where it is now.
The proposed budget for the Fiscal Year 2012-13 is $252 million, down from this year’s budget of $258 million – or a 2.4 percent decrease, Wheeler said.
To put the decrease in perspective, the county’s budget for 2006-07 was nearly 47 percent more.
The county has seen a drop of more than $103 million since 2006 and has eliminated approximately 260 jobs.
“Nobody’s proud or happy to let employees go,” Wheeler said, but explained the commission and its administrative staff run the county like a business, growing when there’s growth and cutting back when the growth stops.
“We’ve tried to keep up with the times,” Wheeler said.
Baird credited the Constitutional Officers – the Sheriff, Property Appraiser, Tax Collector, Clerk of the Circuit Court, and Supervisor of Elections – for making their own budget cuts to help the county hold the line on taxes.
“This couldn’t have been accomplished without the constitutionals,” Baird said.
He pointed out that, while attending a meeting of 12 other administrators from various counties, he was the only one who had complete support from the Constitutional Officers.
“It’s not because of my personality,” Baird joked.
Sheriff Deryl Loar laughed and said from his seat, “It’s definitely not that!”
Baird noted that the Sheriff’s Office budget was cut $1.4 million – or 3.6 percent. The sheriff had been tasked with cutting 3 percent.
Baird told the audience that some of the budget savings will be due to the county retiring a few bonds, including the land acquisition bond, which will save taxpayers $950,000. The bond isn’t set to retire until 2016 but the county is in a position to pay it off now.
Other savings has come from privatizing certain services, including probation, the solid waste transfer stations, golf course maintenance and concessions, and janitorial work, to name a few.
The county has also been working to limit government benefits such as sick and vacation leave and cutting vehicle allowances.
“We’re totally rethinking our business,” Baird said.
Looking forward, the county has about $40 million worth of road improvement projects planned, multipurpose fields for lacrosse at the South County park, an inter-generational facility, and expansion of the gun range.
“We’re seeing some turn-around,” Baird said of the economy in Indian River County. He pointed to a 5.2 percent increase in sales tax revenues as well as a 15.5 percent increase in tourist tax dollars.
New residential and commercial construction, however, remains depressed, limiting the fees the county can collect to help fund new roads, fire stations, and other necessary services.
And, in the near future, Baird said residents can expect to pay less for a round of golf once the county pays off a golf-related bond, which will happen in the next couple years. Also, the county plans to retire a utility bond, which will result in a 3 to 5 percent drop in utility rates in the coming years.
