Joe Saviak had barely invited Palm Coast City Council members to list their objectives for the coming year, beginning with “Objective 1,” when Ed Danko pre-empted his colleagues with four words succinctly spoken, pausing between each for emphasis: “Full. Millage. Rate. Rollback.”
That started it.
Saviak is the management consultant the city hired to shepherd the council through what it call its “Strategic Action Plan”–what is more ordinarily known as the annual goal-setting session. He’d spent 35 minutes summarizing the numerous steps and reams of data and analysis he’d gathered in the process in the past few months, after interviewing council members and directors, holding a previous workshop with them, and surveying them.
One of the results was a list of 14 priorities the council members had listed as their own individual priorities or wishes. It was now time to draft the list that had the whole council’s consensus–what would, in effect, become the driving priorities and policies of the coming year.
Rollback in millage is when the property tax rate of the coming year is “rolled back” to the point where the government will not take in more money next year than it did this year. It is not a tax cut. Nor is it a tax increase. It should not be confused with keeping the tax rate the same. Most years, Palm Coast has kept its tax rate flat, but that has equated to a tax increase because as property values rise, so does tax revenue, if the tax rate is the same (or if it increases). The city has used the extra revenue to manage growth. By rolling back the tax rate, that extra revenue is eliminated. (See: “What is the Roll-Back Rate in Property Taxes?“)
More because of a political miscalculation than a concerted plan–though all council members took credit for it–the council last year ended up going to rollback for the first time in its history. (Following the housing crash and the Great Recession of 2008, the city did go up to rollback, as property values were plummeting, but only to ensure that its revenue did not fall too drastically.) Danko exulted: he’s made his name as an advocate of low taxes. But the city suffered a loss of nearly $3 million it had banked on in its original budget. Various plans, including road resurfacing, had to be shelved.
Danko, who is running for a County Commission seat, now wants to do it all over again. So he pushed for rollback.
Mayor David Alfin tried to delay that discussion, and for a few minutes the council members offered up other wished-for priorities without seeking consensus but Council member Theresa Pontieri decided to take up Danko’s proposal more immediately.
“I’m going to go a little more out on the ledge on this one and say we can’t afford a rollback, not a full rollback,” she said. “Not if we’re looking at the infrastructure needs of our city. When I listen to residents come before us and stand at that podium and for three minutes tell me about what they needed and want in their city, it’s not $30 in savings on their property tax bill. It is: I want you to fix roads. I want my swale not be flooded. When I put a case in Palm Coast Connect, I want to not wait two or three weeks for someone to come out.”
Pontieri said she was glad for last year’s rollback because it was “absolutely necessary” at the time, with rising prices. But the list of current priorities, both from council members and administrative directors, points to a different reality. “The main theme that seems to be pretty recurring and strong is, we don’t have enough money to fund the swale maintenance that we need to fund. We don’t have enough money to fund potable water wastewater. We don’t have enough money to fund road pavement. So I’m not opposed to figuring out how we get to full rollback. What I am opposed to it saying well, I want a full rollback and not coming up with a solution as to how we get there, without also addressing these other infrastructure needs.” (Swale maintenance is funded out of the city’s stormwater fund, separately from the general fund. The stormwater fund is fed by a monthly fee on residents’ utility bill. It is not affected by property taxes.)
She invited Danko to devise alternative funding methods for those priorities, then come back to council and propose them.
“I would totally disagree with that because the same reason you voted for a rollback last year, those situations still exist,” Danko said. “All you have to do is go put some gasoline in your car, go shopping at Publix or Walmart, everything has still gone through the roof.” Never wasting an opportunity to campaign, Danko then in the same breath bashed “Bideneconomics” and described knocking on doors as he campaigns, listening to people complain of high prices, “and why can’t we tighten our belts and do another full millage rate rollback because that small amount of money does add up, at least in their pocket books, especially for our senior citizens.”
In fact, a rolled back rate does not affect homesteaded property owners as much as it does non-homesteaded property owners, who are not protected by Florida’s Save Our Homes cap on property tax increases. Most homesteaded residents have not seen their city tax bill go up, and in inflation-adjusted dollars, they’ve seen it fall since the Great Crash. But it’s a different story for the non-homesteaded and for renters, who pay property taxes through their rent.
Danko said the city could, for example, contract out its swale maintenance. “I think first we set the budget goal, and then we find where we can make the cuts,” he said.
The sheriff’s office needs nine new deputies, Pontieri told him–money that would come out of the city’s general fund. “How do we get that money elsewhere?” she asked him.
Danko told her how not to get the money (he opposes a sales tax increase, for example) but did not say how to get it. Not yet, anyway. He said the city should look at the money it has, then budget accordingly. “If we’re motivated to find those cuts by setting that limit with a full millage rate rollback, I think we’ll be a little more successful,” he said.
Mayor David Alfin was uncomfortable with setting down either proposition as final. “You have to approach it from both sides,” he said. “If you start just on one side and you arbitrarily choose a budget finish line, you may not properly prioritize the issues that the public has brought forward.”
Danko conceded: he wasn’t asking for the rollback rate to be adopted today. He was asking for that to be a goal, even if it’s not necessarily achieved in he end. “The point is to set the goals and if we can accomplish them, we do accomplish them,” he said. That approach was amenable to his colleagues–up to a point. Council member Cathy Heighter called it a “challenge,” and Nick Klufas said it’ll inevitably become increasingly difficult to find ways to cut the city budget, with demands being what they are, after last year’s cuts.
So the proposal was logged in as a priority on what became a list of 12 such priorities for the year: the council will seek to identify alternative revenue sources and identify savings.
With a caution from Pontieri: “We can’t just cut again and call it a day. There’s got to be a way to get there.”
DP says
It’s sad to read that we have citizens as Pontieri claims wanting more of this and that. I Highly think its the opposite way. She claims they want the swales maintained. I ask where is the current money going from the swale fee’s collected? 9 new deputies Staley wants, so what he wants and says the council just bends over??? As a citizen I want lower taxes, or a raise in my retirement, and SS income. It’s High time that the commission listen to thier bosses, the ones that put them in office. We have to live within our means, so should the city. Stop the political grandstanding, or get voted out. Enough is enough!!!!
Ray W. says
I have long maintained that commenters like DP are important to this discussion.
I have repeatedly written about Tax Freedom Day, published by an independently funded organization for many decades. For almost all of my adult life, Tax Freedom Day has remained remarkably consistent.
Tax Freedom Day is determined by adding all municipal, county, state and federal taxes against the nation’s GDP. It is a simple formula. Since GDP constantly rises and falls, depending on whether we are in or out of a recession, since inflation is almost always occurring (2% inflation is considered ideal), since taxes rise and fall depending on the whim and caprice of various legislative bodies, the best evaluative standard may be just when we reach Tax Freedom Day.
During the last years of the Clinton presidency, the date was May 1, due to the extraordinarily strong economy. During the Great Recession at the tail end of the W. Bush’s presidency, the date was much earlier in April. When people are making money, the date is later. When people are not, the date is earlier.
Over the last 50 years, the date has almost always been around April 20th, give or take a few days. What that means is that the overall national average tax rate really hasn’t changed at all in the last 50 years or so. The reason? I argue that people like DP are necessary to keep pressure on those who seek to raise taxes. The problem comes with the hyperbolic language that is used in opposition. Opponents often resort to claims of taxes being “out of control” when in reality overall average tax rates remain relatively unchanged over the decades. Oy, vey!
Callmeishmael says
One’s perspective of the point at which taxes become “out of control” largely depends on where they stand on the economic ladder and their psychosocial circumstances. What one considers a hyperbolic protestation another might regard a passionate objection.
Greg says
The city should be rolling in money from all the build everywhere that’s going on.
TR says
Just one small correction, the sheriff wants 36 new deputies over the next three years. I don’t think that it’s a matter of just giving him what he wants. Who do you think will protect and serve the abundance of new residence moving here with the large number of new home being built because of all the new development the council has approved. Just think about the one development at the corner of Town Center Blvd, and Royal Palm Dr. There is suppose to be 333 homes going in there, lets say the worse senerio is that each house will have 2 people living in it. That’s 666 more people moving here. You think the amount of deputies we have now can help the added (lets say 15%) more calls that come into the sheriff’s office? I think not. However I also would like to know what is happening to the money already being collected for the swales? IMO, This city has no clue on how to manage the money they already are collecting to take care of the infrastructure that is a complete disaster. I wish they would do a forensic audit.
Villein says
For any budget, you must identify what you want to do and the associated costs. Then you can pare the list down to the must-haves and as many nice-to-haves as you can afford. It’s called making an informed decision. Obviously, a functioning stormwater system and driveable roads are must-haves. If we cannot afford the upkeep of the City on a shoestring budget then the tax rate must be higher than rollback rate.
Communicating around the Florida vernacular of what a tax rate increase is is almost impossible, it does not mean what you think it should, and if you haven’t read the explainer linked in this article you need to. The rollback rate keeps any additional funds from being added to the budget. Everyone’s budget increases. Without at least keeping the tax rate flat (which is defined as a tax increase), you cannot afford to continue to maintain the City. By the way, a flat tax rate means your tax bill stays the same even though everything else gets more expensive.
I’m going to try to make one more point – when you take the rollback rate, the money you forego increases every time you do it. If you forgo $100,000 one year by taking the rollback rate you are out that money. Take the rollback rate again and forgo another $100,000, now you have $200,000 less to spend on running government than if you had kept the tax rate flat. My property tax bill may go down negligibly, but the damage to services and infrastructure is insurmountable over time.
Ray W.. says
As an aside, Forbes reports this week that the U.S. dollar recently hit a 34-year high against the Yen. This means that international currency traders, who make their money by predicting the strength of various currencies against other currencies, are betting that the U.S. economy is uncommonly strong when compared to the Yen.
One of our two strongest presidential candidates immediately denounced the news on social media, calling it a “disaster.” He added that if elected he will take international trade measures to weaken the U.S. economy. He claims that if the economy remains too strong, manufacturing jobs might be lost to other countries. He intends to implement trade policies that will devalue the dollar against foreign currencies. Oy, vey!
whiplash says
No one likes taxes but any rollback would not be in the best interest of the Palm Coast taxpayers. Our roads are crumbling and need repair. Our population is exploding, and the sheriff needs more deputies to keep us safe.
Danko is simply trying to buy votes for his run for Flagler County Commissioner! The best that could happen for Palm Coast and the county is for Danko to lose!
K says
Nailed it. He has 2 songs written about him and he needs something drastic to help keep him in office. Lol
Randy says
Fire Pontieri! They spend our money on foolish projects!
JimboXYZ says
Beware of Alfin, last year was only a temporary reprieve to get re-elected. He’s going to raise your taxes for all the money that’s been wasted on pickleball & Splash Pad. When is that Splash Pad operational again ?
And if any work has been done on my swale City of Palm, Coast surely hasn’t done it. Where is that money going ? They collect that every month. Maintenance is really neglect until something has to be done about it. Most of the home owners that have the pipes that run underneath their driveways don’t keep those clear & flowing freely. The new residential that is built higher than existing homes, not only flood yards, but the swales as well. In effect, most of the issues, the local Government has created for existing homeowners. Most of the properties are rental units anyway. Property owners in another state renting duplexes ?
Biden’s Build Back Better took a back burner for Ukraine & Middle East wars. The recent refunding of the Biden war chest excludes border crisis funding & anything inflationary as domestic issues. Had Biden never been elected the border crisis would’ve been handled properly. Hope he was worth it for those that voted Biden-Haris anywhere in the USA. Needs are more deputies for the crime increases, when is the growth going to pay for that. The pipe dream of saving planet Earth with EV’s was a Delaware lie. You can’t knock down 1,000’s of acres for trees & foliage that absorb rain water, block wind to protect dwellings from storm damages. As they level Flagler County we’ve already had more tornado activity.
These folks that play politics for re-election need to be voted out, clean house at City Hall too. They’ll be coming around for more money every time. McDonald’s is unaffordable. Time to start fresh & reign in the inflation. Charging the rest of us for this growth was a lie that the growth would pay for this.
Deborah Coffey says
Jimbo, you keep harping on the “border crisis.” You don’t seem to know that the Senate (in a bipartisan vote) passed a border bill that was almost everything Republicans had demanded. Then, Donald Trump called the House Speaker and others in the House and told them NOT to even bring the bill to the floor for a vote because he needs that “crisis” to run on. The House never brought it to the floor. So, please stop writing disinformation on here. You can certainly have your opinion of Joe Biden, but it is a FACT that Republicans stopped all help for the “border crisis.”
Jim says
I just can’t follow you down your rabbit hole.
Most homeowners don’t keep the pipe under their driveway clear? Really?? I see one or two like that but I’d say most all pipes look clear to me but I don’t live in the same kind of world you do.
Most of the properties being built are owned by out of state people? Where did that statistic blow in from?
And, speaking of “that came out of nowhere “, what does Ukraine funding and “build back better” fit in with the subject of this article? And then you go on to complain about the border and EV’s and blame Biden for that.
And I’m sorry you can’t afford McDonalds but I suspect you have complained about their prices since Carter was president (another commie democrat). I don’t think the orange monster helped that either but you can overlook that, right?
I wish you would make an argument that stuck to the subject just once.
The dude says
Jimbo sees President Biden everywhere he looks, and is totally incapable of admitting that 95% of what he whines about are problems solely caused by years and years of MAGA governing in this city, county, and state.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
“…excludes border crisis funding…”so you say Jimbo. Would that be the same border crisis have been helped by that border bill that was addressed and passed by both sides of the aisle in the Senate? Only to be held up by the GOP led House of Representatives, yes the same GOP and it’s Messiah that said they didn’t want to pass the bill that Republican Senators called a good bill.
Tammany Hall says
Danko,
The most unrealistic political character out there.
He has no plan. He just blames Biden but who needs him for that. He campaigns on Trumps run for office.
Danko you lied, you voted for a raise, that’s taxpayers money.
Danko you made a mess of Palm Coast by being elected to City council now you want to do the same to the County.
You lied to all of us, you lie to everyone you knock on doors asking for their vote.
People of Palm Coast and Flagler County don’t vote for this guy, he’s here for his ego, he is shallow with absolutely no plan!
Callmeishmael says
And he takes campaign money from Joe Mullins!
Jim says
For once I can agree with Danko on something. A rollback should be a goal but not the start point.
I had the unfortunate experience of working with the government for most of my career as a contractor. One thing about spending and budgets that was always consistent was that you could be assured that the full amount budgeted would always be spent year after year. Why? Because that’s how you justified your budget every year and your need for more money every year! No manager had any incentive to underspend the budget significantly and I wonder what incentives anyone in the city admin has now.
The Goal of the city should be to find ways to meet the city’s needs and underspend the budget while doing that. It’s called efficiency improvement and my performance and bonus was tied tightly to that every year. You can’t tell me this city can’t be more efficient. Every department head should be challenged to find savings. Set a target of 10-15% or something reasonable. And if they can’t find savings they should be evaluated based on data that either supports or refutes their explanations. Failure to manage should not be rewarded with job security and a raise.
And deviating slightly, citizens have the right to ask for things from the city but the council has the responsibility to sometimes say “no” based on priorities and funds. And the council has to use logic and common sense (data is also helpful…) to make those decisions and explain them to the public (something woefully missing in the termination of the city manager). How well that is done should be considered in elections.
Unfortunately most elected politicians want to look like they are doing what the people want by pushing tax cuts with no plan to support it or wanting a new park or other item that would be nice but not necessary again with no plan to pay for it.
And those politicians are not doing what is best for the citizens and we need to help them exit their office in the next election!
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Start by looking at the city workforce, I’ve seen multiple vehicles at a site with a couple city workers doing work and the others standing around. Two recently: watched as 6 city employees filled a pothole about 2 feet long and a foot wide and when swale work was going on (it does happen) excavator loading up a truck while a dozen employees stood around most of the day. If the City wants money for wish lists start looking internally where to cut costs, start with planting native vegetation in the parkways that doesn’t need constant upkeep or replacement every year.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
“Never wasting an opportunity to campaign, Danko then in the same breath bashed “Bideneconomics” and described knocking on doors as he campaigns, listening to people complain of high prices,…”
Danko bashing President Biden for something no President has control of, including his idol the Orange Menace when he took up space in the White House. He needs to look at the record profits Corporations are making right now and cast his stones elsewhere, yet that wouldn’t be what a 30% orange base wants to hear. By the way the stock market is robust and my IRA is doing great.
SJ says
Stock market is up 30%, your IRA (if invested in mutual funds tied to the S&P or DJIA) are also likely to be up around 30%.
Corporate profits are also up around 30% (depending on the commodity, but on average… 30%).
Inflation over the past three years is also up 30%.
This translates as the stock market (and likely your IRA) and corporate profits, are not worth any more than they were 3 years ago thanks to “Bidenomics” the inflation that has come with it.
As for Danko… the sooner he is out of office the better, and that means for his hopes of serving on the county level as well.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Inflation goes up month, we are now paying double at the grocery store, then we did 4 years ago! Gas went up from $2.00 to $3.69. An oil change, in you car was about $50 dollars, yesterday I payed over a hundred bucks…. Same oil! My SS, didnt go up to keep up with inflation, nor did my pension. A tax increase would be devistating to seniors. Palm Coast needs to stop the wreckless spending, sure everything in town is falling apart, its because you all ignored it for years! Fiscal responsability is what its called! No new nothing…. fix what we have now, before we have nothing.
Joe D says
It has been difficult. EVERYTHING costs more….groceries went up 18% ( not quite double). Salaries had to go up (hence the $50 oil change now closer to $100). My SS benefits went up 9% in 2023 ( tied to inflation), and 3.2% for 2024 (again attached to reduced inflation). Unfortunately gas is a roller coaster, thanks first to Putin’s War, then OPEC+ (which includes Russia) decided to cut oil (gas) production to jack up prices. Now the Israel/Hamas/ IRAN/Red Sea conflicts, are worrying the stock market (oil prices up)!
I DO however agree with fixing what we HAVE before we add any more PET projects.
Deborah Coffey says
We’re not going to get anywhere with this mayor because he has a personal agenda that we do not share. Vast swaths of land are being cleared all over Palm Coast for new homes and apartments with almost no new infrastructure and no new jobs to match this kind of enormous, rapid growth. We live in Toscana off Old Kings Rd. South. Land is being cleared in every direction around us and there is no priority for the widening of Old Kings Rd. Instead, we got a walking bridge to nowhere over Rte. 100 and a wait for 3 red lights at Old Kings and Town Center Blvd…all while tens of millions of dollars are approved for brand new roads west of U.S. 1 for, guess what, 12,000 acres of new development! If Palm Coasters want to actually benefit from their own tax dollars, they’d better think much harder about who they vote for!
The dude says
Wait til you see what they have planned for west of 1 over there where they’re building that loop.
I spoke an engineer recently. A nice foreign gentleman here for his company working on all this. The plan is for the area west of rt. 1 to build out with more homes than currently exist in the city.
Which is quite amazing and ambitious for a county that only gained a total 134 jobs last month. That should tell us all that the people they hope to put in those houses won’t need jobs. Which means the city’s long term plans are to continue moving retirees here, and funding itself off of shrinking (and disappearing) pensions, SS and retirement funds (like 401ks that can vanish overnight in an economic crisis).
Michael Morris says
Roads and swales used to be scheduled for resurfacing or regrading of a certain distance per year if I remember correctly. It’s easier to budget and better and cheaper than waiting too late.
Water and Wastewater infrastructure is barely meeting our current needs let alone the already approved new development. It will take two to three years, optimistically, for design, awarding a contract and completion of construction to increase capacity and it needs to be designed large enough to handle growth for many years after completion.
I think that a good amount of the funding for this should have been budgeted, we’ll see. Election promises and pressure to reduce taxes/budgets lead to decisions that we pay for later. And later is rarely cheaper.
Joe D says
No one, including ME, wants tax or fee increases.
However, you can’t run a City (any City) without enough money to maintain basic services/repairs/ infrastructure maintenance/staffing.
The problem taxpayers have (even when they see public budget proposals), is they don’t do the math! Flagler Beach last year had a (grueling) 1 day 10 (?)hr Commission budget presentation by each City department.
It reviewed each departmental budget, where the money goes, what project “wishlist” their department had for the next year, and projected cost increases to do those “wishlists.” It might have been better to divide up the presentations into 2 sessions. However, I HOPE THEY DO IT AGAIN! I’ve never seen such detailed numbers, with explanations on how the numbers were developed. I REALLY felt I knew what my taxes were paying for. Some of the “wishlist” projects were approved, some were not, some projects were scaled back, and some projects were tabled for more information.
Does Palm Coast even HAVE such a process? Is there a PUBLIC presentation (I’m not talking about a general DEPARTMENTAL bulk budget, but ALMOST a line-by-line budget list)?
The other thing taxpayers should have requested is PRIORITY of projects:
Road repairs? Micro surfacing (where possible) and resurfacing where necessary (with costs associated with each option).
Water treatment? Expanding to meet future demands? Repairs of existing infrastructure? (Again with costs associated)
Storm water management? Cost of repairs, building improvements to meet future needs? (Costs of each).
School expenses? (salaries/repairs/improvements)? Again with line item costs.
Recreation? Maintaining current facilities? New Or facility improvements? Alternative costs? Priorities?
Then asking people what they are willing to CUT to keep taxes flat? What are they willing to pay EXTRA for to improve safety and quality of life?
SANE people know the bottom line has to be balanced! You can’t have improved services without either CUTS in certain other areas, or INCREASES in taxes or fees.
People need to set Priorities, and the elected leaders have to make the final DIFFICULT decisions ( without POLITICAL GRANDSTANDING).
Of course, this process would be a DREAM….and UNLIKELY to happen anywhere in FLAGLER County….sadly.
Johnny Valiant says
So, I read all of these comments and you can see a clear line between the haves and have nots although the responses from the have nots are too few. I am a working aged family man who has been in Palm Coast for 15 years and in Florida my whole life, most of you are implants from some liberal state (New York, New Jersey, etc.). You discuss problems with your swale and road maintenance without knowing anything about what’s involved in the upkeep and revitalization of those entities. These problems are a pittance when compared to larger problems facing our city. We have a homeless problem, a wastewater crisis and corruption in every division of our city’s infrastructure. Danko is trying to wrestle votes for a better paying job, Alfin is lining his pockets from his crony developer contacts, and most of the decision makers have some kind of back door deal to give contracts to those who offer the best kickbacks. I am in the home service industry and talk to more residents in a day then the whole council talks to in a year. And my conversations are not limited to the residents who can show up at $100 a plate fund raisers. Maybe, instead of looking at your little inconveniences,( my swales are full, my roads got a pothole) you should look into the root causes of ALL of the problems in this city. Look into the allocation of funds for things like median foliage, vehicle acquisition, and park maintenance. One of you called for a forensic audit, great idea if it’s done by someone else. If it’s done by city personnel it will be just as corrupt as the people who are being audited. Palm Coast is on the road to bankruptcy and your few extra tax dollars aren’t going to turn the tide. Next time you see a city worker, stop, ask them some questions, find out their perspective on what’s happening in the city. They’re the ones in the trenches and aren’t getting rich ignoring the problems. I have, and the most consistent comments I hear are about wasteful and negligent spending. No research into products purchased or their usefulness/durability. I hear about having to do jobs twice as often because corners were cut. I hear about failings in infrastructure because there is no money budgeted for improvements but doesn’t that empty park look nice. I could continue this rant for a few pages but, unlike most of the commentors here, I have to go to work.