- November 23, 2024
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The Palm Coast Council has adopted a slightly reduced millage rate as its maximum for the upcoming budget, but rejected Vice Mayor Ed Danko's push to adopt the rolled-back rate as the budget's maximum.
Adopting the rolled-back rate would require a $2.3 million cut from the city’s tentative $61.5 million budget, Financial Services Director Helena Alves said. The vote on July 16 was not the council’s last chance to adopt the rolled back millage rate; instead, it only sets the maximum millage rate the city can adopt in September when the 2025 fiscal year budget is finalized.
With the millage rate ceiling adopted as 4.2154, the council can not increase that rate now, but could lower it further.
The 4.2154 millage rate — a slight reduction from the originally proposed 4.2570 rate — was adopted in a 4-1 vote at the council’s July 16 meeting, with Vice Mayor Ed Danko dissenting. Danko said voting for any rate that was not the full rolled-back rate of 3.9961 — event just as the cap rate — was the equivalent to raising taxes.
Council member Theresa Carli Pontieri said it was “irresponsible” for Danko to make that comparison.
“It may be politically expedient right now to say that — even with a slight rollback — we are raising taxes, when that is not the case,” she said. “...It is false to say that we are raising taxes.”
Danko made the motion to cap the 2025 fiscal year budget’s millage rate at the 3.9961 rolled-back rate, which Pontieri seconded for discussion. When it came time to vote on that motion, Pontieri rescinded her second, and Danko’s motion died without a vote.
Mayor David Alfin said he was reluctant voting to cap the millage rate at the rolled-back rate this early in the budget process.
“It's kind of like reading the budget book, except we haven't read all the chapters yet and we’re already making a decision on what the book tells us,” he said.
Pontieri said much of the city’s budget was for public safety this year, and, if cuts were needed, she didn’t see how those departments wouldn’t receive any cuts.
The Palm Coast Fire Department’s portion of the proposed budget is $14.3 million. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office contract — which includes nine additional new deputies — is $8.9 million. Together, those two equal to over one third of the proposed budget.
Pontieri did ask city staff to reduce the Sheriff’s Office contract by $87,000, the amount of funding that can instead be pulled from public safety impact fees for new equipment. Using the impact fees instead, the contract would still be fully funded, but save the city some money in its general fund.
Danko — and the rest of the council — were adamant about not cutting funding for the public safety departments. But, Danko said, it was up to the council to “set the policy” and for staff to make it work.
“We have to give our residents a break again. They've suffered enough,” he said.
The 4.2154 rate includes funding three additional positions — an additional code officer, an IT programmer and an equipment operator. Pontieri said each position was in direct response to either residents’ requests or City Council priority items.
“We can't just say we're going to set policies and we're going to ask that you help us further these policies, but we're not going to give you the moneys or approve the money to allow you to do that,” Pontieri said.
Both Council members Nick Klufas and Cathy Heighter also disagreed with capping the millage rate so low. Heighter instead asked that staff return with presentations showing where cuts would need to be made if the city adopted the rolled back rate later on.
“I think that there are things that we need here in the city, and they need to be funded,” Heighter said.
