- March 6, 2025
For the first time in five years, Flagler County’s anticipated budget is not shrinking in the next fiscal year — but there are still obstacles for the Board of County Commissioners as it moves into budgeting season.
County staff anticipates a $3.3 million gap between general fund revenues and expenses for the 2013 fiscal year, and the County Commission at a workshop Wednesday began to discuss ways to address it.
Although the budget is anticipated to be flat, the county must make up for cuts made during leaner times. County Administrator Craig Coffey likened the budget of the last five years to a person holding a barbell: At first, the strain is difficult, but not impossible. But the longer the weight is held, the more likely that person is to drop it.
“There’s a cost to provide services properly, and in some areas, we’re kind of falling down,” Coffey said.
Even though next year’s tax budget is aligned with last year's, it still isn’t as high as it needs to be for a sustainable budget. Ideally, Coffey said, the county would be operating on a budget akin to the one it had in 2007, when property tax revenue for the county was at $48 million. In 2013, the county will generate $41.3 million from property taxes.
In the 2012 fiscal year, tax revenues generated about $38.8 million for the county, bringing the general fund operating revenue to $50.5 million. Using a mixture of reserve funds, new taxes and one-time funding sources like grants, the County Commission supplemented its budget to $55.86 million.
Next year, the general fund operating revenue is anticipated at $51.7 million, leaving a gap of $3.3 million to reach the $55 million needed. Using reserve funds as supplemental money is no longer an option, Coffey said.
During his presentation to commissioners, Coffey stressed the impact budgetary streamlining has had on county employees.
An employee who made $48,000 in 2008 is now making the equivalent of $38,886.66, after taking into account insurance plan changes, changes to the consumer price index and other variables. That amount is expected to decrease more during the year, Coffey said, noting that 81% of county employees earn a salary of $50,000 or less.
Coffey said personnel costs are $4.7 million less now than they were in 2007. Staff has been reduced from 350 to 300, but he said the county needs to add 12 positions back, at a cost of $425,000, to operate.
Coffey also said that many infrastructure and maintenance needs that have been deferred for years are catching up to the county, and some of them must be addressed this year. He listed $455,000 in increased Medicaid matching dollars and $250,000 in needed elections equipment.
Generating additional revenues through taxes, cutting expenses and developing special districts were among options Coffey gave for bridging the gap. He asked commissioners to begin thinking about what the budget should look like.
Commissioner Charlie Ericksen suggested that consolidating fire services throughout the county might be more cost-effective than having a countywide system as well as city-run services.
Commissioner Frank Meeker asked Coffey for a list of services the county provides that are not required, as well as how much they cost, but Coffey said creating such a list would use a lot of staff time since there are a lot of services — like libraries — that are not required by law but desired by citizens.
“At the end of the day,” Coffey said, “it’s a simple equation: If you have a gap, you either have to cut expenses or add revenues.”
