- October 10, 2024
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The city of Ormond Beach, Volusia County and the Volusia County School Board each held its first budget hearing for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Here's a roundup of what elected officials voted on.
On Wednesday, Sept. 6, the Ormond Beach City Council voted 4-1 to adopt on first reading a 4.16% tax rate increase. The total millage rate of 4.0060 mills — or $4.0060 per $1,000 in taxable property value — is 13.71% above the rollback rate, or the rate that generates the same amount of tax revenue as the previous year. Mayor Bill Partington voted against, having previously voiced he believed the tax rate increase to be too high for residents.
“Everybody has tons of additional things that they want to do,” Partington said at a July 18 commission meeting. “And that’s our hard job — is to prioritize and balance that against available resources, keeping in mind the senior citizen that is single and living by herself on a fixed income and has to pay for her medicines.”
So why is Ormond Beach moving forward with a tax rate increase?
To raise additional dollars for Leisure Services and the city's Facilities Renewal and Replacement fund. The millage rate is expected to generate $500,000 for Leisure Services and $300,000 for the R&R fund. These dollars, as discussed in previous budget workshops, would help fund needed field improvements and maintenance projects at Nova Community Center and the Ormond Beach Sports Complex, such as the reconstruction of fields two through five at Nova Rec and a softball quad lighting project at the sports complex.
No one from the public spoke for or against the proposed tax rate increase at the Sept. 6 meeting.
The commission also approved a $120,121,116 budget on first reading with a 4-1 vote. Partington again voted no. Projects to be funded by next fiscal year's budget include a $60,000 study to determine how to best use the parking lot at 56 N. Beach St.; $225,000 to upgrade the City Commission chambers including the city's livestreaming of the meetings; and a $100,000 study for the replacement and/or relocation of the city's police station and emergency operations center.
The final budget hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 20.
Volusia County opted not to raise its tax rate, instead proposing the County Council adopt the same tax rate as last year's — 4.8499 mills, or $4.8499 per $1,000 in taxable value.
This millage includes 1.4541 mills for the county's new Public Safety Fund. Prior to this fiscal year, funding for county-wide law enforcement services was part of the general fund millage. Because of its separation, the general fund millage went 23.16% below rollback.
The council approved the millage rate unanimously, but expressed a desire to trim the budget further.
Of the additional eight county taxing funds, four have a tax increase. The proposed millage for the Volusia Forever and ECHO funds — each at 0.2 mills — is 10.01% above the rollback rate. The Mosquito Control millage of 0.1781 mills is 9.8% above rollback, and the Fire Rescue District's millage of 3.8412 mills is 10.86% above rollback.
Councilman Troy Kent asked if everyone on the dais was OK with those increases. County Council Chair Jeff Brower said he wasn't.
"I think we need to look at it a little harder," he said. "We don't have much time. We have less than two weeks till the next budget meeting."
Brower said they all knew that this budget would be difficult due to the rising costs of building materials and insurance.
"Everything that the county staff touches has gone up and e have to deal with that," he said. "We can't just ignore it, but there comes a point where we have to make some hard cuts because ... the residents of Volusia County are also dealing with all those things, and they're hurting so there's got to be some shared pain there."
The county is expecting its millage rate to bring in $256.6 million in ad valorem tax revenue, which is slated to fund the $11.2 million in increases in the Volusia County Sheriff's Office fund; $6.5 million in salary and benefit increases for unions and non-bargaining staff; $2.7 million in inmate medical expenses and a $1.2 million increase to the Supervisor of Elections budget.
The council also unanimously approved a total budget of approximately $1.4 billion.
The final budget hearing will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19.
Correction: A previous version of this story reported four county taxing funds had a tax rate increase. The tax rates are unchanged compared to last year, but are considered increases due to being above rollback.
The Volusia County School Board unanimously adopted a total millage of 5.409 mills — or $5.409 per $1,000 in taxable value — at its final budget hearing on Thursday, Sept. 7.
Unlike the city and the county, the millage rate for school funding is set by Florida Legislature.
This year's millage is a reduction from the 2022-2023 property tax rate of 5.482, but because of an increase in the required local effort millage, it is 9.26% above the rollback rate.
The school district reports it will receive $36.2 million more in property tax revenue as compared to the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
However, student enrollment is "not hitting the target this year," Chief Financial Officer Todd Seis said. The school district is down about 758 students compared to last year, creating a negative financial impact of $6.4 million.
The Base Student Allocation also increased to $5,139.73 per student from $4,587.40. But, as several Florida Education Finance Program were rolled into the BSA funding umbrella, such as salary increases for teachers, the increase of funding per student was 2.4%, or about $110 per student.
The School Board also unanimously approved a $1.4 billion budget.
