- November 23, 2024
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The Flagler County Commission and the Palm Coast City Council were divided on whether or not to implement a half-cent sales tax to pay for the additional deputies the Flagler County Sheriff's Office needs to keep up with with increasing call volume.
"If we fall behind, you'll never get caught up," Sheriff Rick Staly said. "And that just doesn't affect law enforcement."
On March 20, the commission and council heard a joint presentation from Sheriff Rick Staly, FCSO Chief of Staff Mark Strobridge and Palm Coast Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston presented an in-depth analysis of FCSO deputy staffing needs over the coming years. The analysis showed that, for the FCSO to keep up with a proactive patrol rate, the county would need 37 more deputies for the current population. If — and when — the county's population continues to grow, more deputies will be needed to service the gap.
Johnston presented a tentative funding split to pay for the deputies over the next five years: In fiscal years 2025, 2026 and 2027, Palm Coast funds nine new deputies while the county funds three. In fiscal years 2028 and 2029, they each fund five.
The problem is how it is paid for. Several members of both boards — Commissioners Greg Hansen, David Sullivan and Leann Pennington and Council members Theresa Carli Pontieri and Nick Klufas — were in favor of exploring a half-cent sales tax to go towards all public safety needs, including fire departments and fire rescues as well.
A half-cent sales tax would only be voted on by the County Commission. The funds from the tax would come from everyone who spends money in the county, including tourists, and the revenue would be divided up between the municipalities. Pontieri pointed out the county could earmark the funds for public safety to ensure transparency.
The other option is to use ad valorem revenue from property taxes, either by cutting funding elsewhere or increasing the millage rate.
But Commissioners Donald O'Brien and Andy Dance and Mayor David Alfin were not convinced a half-cent sales tax would be the best option. Council member Cathy Heighter said her objective would be to do whatever is in the best interest of the county's first responders.
Alfin suggested the boards should discuss the options amongst themselves first when all members were present before decisions were made. Vice Mayor Ed Danko was the only elected official absent from the meeting from either board, and he was also absent from the March 20 presentation. Danko was present in the May 28 City Council meeting that morning.
Neither Pennington nor Pontieri — whose presence at the joint meeting was her first in-person appearance to an official City Council meeting since giving birth in late April — felt decisions should be held up for someone who declined to be present.
Alfin did also say the he did not feel the details of the service level going to the city and county had been discussed in detail. He said he did not want to agree to funding a specific number of deputies over the next few years if the city could not afford to do so.
Staly said the number of deputies either government would fund would be reviewed each year during the budget season. The formula presented would allow the FCSO's budget requests and asks to be more consistent, he said, but of course it would depend on what can be afforded each year.
O'Brien called the half-cent sales tax "political heat," especially without going out to the public with the idea first. The reason the school board's half-cent tax passed, he said, is because it had a lengthy strategy and education campaign ahead of the vote.
Pennington said that while it is political heat, she believed the public ultimately doesn't want to see its public safety go down hill. She said she also doesn't see using ad valorem taxes as working out.
"All the broken things that we have to deal with and can't fund are because somebody wasn't brave enough for the political heat of it," she said. "...People love the public safety here. I don't think they're [the public] going to have an issue with a half-cent sales tax."
