Policing in Flagler has never been at risk of “defunding,” nor have relations between police and the community lacked for cohesion and respect. But Sheriff Staly’s request for 25 additional deputies from Palm Coast and the county overplay a hand, while both governments are teetering on going along with what would be overfunding police, at the expense of other needs.
local government budgets
Flagler Beach’s Plan to Buy $571,000 Fire Truck Draws Opposition Over Timing and Recent History
The Flagler Beach Fire Department’s proposal to buy a $571,000 fire truck is triggering the sort of opposition mobilized against the 2015 purchase of a $600,000 “quint” fire truck, an odyssey that took 18 months. That truck was eventually delivered.
Facts Dissolve in Antifreeze In Largely Misinformed Protest of Palm Coast’s Taxes and Budget
Palm Coast’s 2020 tax rate and the size of its budget drew some protesters at a hearing Wednesday, but many residents addressing the council were misinformed or mis-characterized the numbers.
Palm Coast Proposal Would Raise Property Taxes 9%; Sheriff’s Request for 6 New Deputies Not in the Budget
Though Palm Coast government is proposing to keep its property tax rate flat, a valuation increase of 9 percent will equate to a tax increase, though homesteaded property owners won’t feel it.
Flagler Property Values Rise Nearly 9%, Higher in Cities, Providing Windfall For Local Budgets
Property values are a driver of local government budgets. Generally, as values increase, local property tax revenue rises, assuming governments don’t proportionately reduce their tax rates.
Palm Coast’s Shocking Electric Tax Scheme
Out of nowhere the Palm Coast City Council is about to ram through a large tax increase on residents and businesses with hardly any discussion, no hearings, no public education. No wonder we have tea parties.
Fruehan Is No-Show as Mosquito Control District Raises Tax Rate 10% Above Rollback (Don’t Panic)
Florence Fruehan, the physician facing criminal charges and a member of the Flagler Mosquito Control District, was a no-show at today’s budget hearing of the district, as his mother was ailing.
Flagler County ‘Re-Hires’ Deputy Administrator Sally Sherman, Who Never Left: She Cost $99,000 in 7 Months as a ‘Consultant’
Sally Sherman “retired” and returned the next day with a $12,500 raise as a “consultant” so she could skirt the law requiring retirees to stay out of Flagler government work for half a year.
Pay Disparity: Many Flagler Government Employees Paid Less While Several “All Stars” Are Overpaid
A salary study found pay disparities between Flagler government and other governments, but also within Flagler government, where an “all stars” system is rewarding some employees far more than others.
Tax Notices Mailed to Property Owners Point to Mostly Modest Increases
Property owners started receiving their tax notices in the mail last week. the numbers are not as dire as feared or as they seem, particularly when a tax bill is looked at whole rather than in its various parts.
Amazon’s Deceptive Bargain With Local Government Purchasing–at Local Business’ Expense
Amazon’s bid to dominate local government purchasing has gone under the radar. IKt’s appealing on the surface, but could make it harder for agencies to buy from local vendors.
Palm Coast Would Raise Water and Sewer Rates 20.6% Over the Next 4 Years
The average monthly residential bill for water and sewer is $65.76. It would rise to $79.33 by 2022, when the average annual bill will be $163 higher than it is now.
Flagler Beach Sets Tentative Property Tax Rate 21% Higher. Don’t Panic: It Won’t Stick.
Flagler Beach commissioners were forced to agree to a proposed tax rate that will be mailed to property owners even though they had not held their first budget workshop yet.
Palm Coast Taxes Would Rise Modestly For Most in $37 Million General Fund Budget
The owner of a median-priced house in Palm Coast would see taxes rise from $28 to $33 next year, depending on which tax rate the council adopts.
No Money for a Big Recreation Center, But Palm Coast Will Spend $100,000 Imagining One
The $100,000 would pay for a conceptual plan for the recreation center and potential aquatic center off Belle Terre Parkway, around the Palm Coast Tennis Center.
County Commissioners Again Can’t Agree On How Much To Raise Next Year’s Taxes
For the third straight budget workshop, Flagler County Commissioners have been unable to agree on what property tax rate to set for next year and what to cut to get there.
Agonizing Over Tax Increase, Indecisive County Commission Defers To Administrator
County taxes are going up no matter what, but most county commissioners, some of them in election season, have been unable to give the county administrator more than vague direction on the budget.
Balking at Proposed Tax Increase, County Commissioners Offer Alternatives Outside of Public Meeting
Flagler County commissioners want to cut a proposed budget increase but didn’t do so at a workshop, and plan to offer their suggestions outside of budget workshops.
Ambulance Fees Going Up 48% as Flagler Fire Rescue Makes Pitch For Big Budget Increase
Flagler County’s fire department is asking for a substantial budget increase to raise pay and buy $1.5 million worth of equipment, and the county approved huge increases in emergency transportation fees.
Palm Coast Council Prepares Residents For Big Tax and Fee Changes Ahead
A combination of a potential huge revenue loss combined with rising infrastructure needs mean the current Palm Coast tax and fee structure is unsustainable.
To Keep Sally Sherman, a $136,000 Employee, Flagler County Is Paying Private Agency $190,000
The bottom-line cost to taxpayers to retain Sally Sherman as a worker in Flagler government–totaling $258,554–is much higher than county officials originally conveyed.
Deputy County Administrator Sally Sherman ‘Retires’ at $136,500, Returns Next Day at $149,000, Plus $330,000 Pay-Out
Flagler Deputy County Administrator Sally Sherman’s “retirement” is an extreme example of double-dipping and an end-run around a law that requires retirees not to work at their old agency for at least a year.
Flagler Sheriff’s Budget For 2018-19 Would Go Up $3.8 Million, Largest In Over a Decade
The surge is driven by another increase in sheriff’s deputies, and would bring the total number of new deputies to 22 in two years. The county commission is not objecting.
Flagler Property Values Rise 7.5%, Best Since Recession, But Government Revenue Faces Shock
Higher values ease pressure on government revenue but a potential increase in the homestead exemption would reduce revenue by millions, absent tax hikes.
7 New Sheriff’s Deputies, 143% Cost Increase as Outline of Flagler’s School Safety Takes Shape
Sheriff Staly and Superintendent Tager are negotiating an increase of the school deputies’ program to $1.8 million split 50-50, with the schools’ share paid by the state and the sheriff’s by the County Commission.
Historically Low School Tax Will Diminish Effects of Tax Increases in Palm Coast and County
Even though county government, Palm Coast, Flagler Beach and Bunnell are all increasing taxes, homeowners’ bills will not see a steep increase thanks to a lower school tax.
Divided Flagler Beach Commission Agrees To 15% Tax Increase, 2 New Cops, 1 Fire Captain
Residents in Flagler Beach will see their second big tax increase in a row, along with a 35 percent water and sewer rate hike, a 10 percent garbage hike and a 30 percent stormwater hike.
Senate Approves Constitutional Proposal That Would Increase Homestead Exemption to $75,000
The homestead exemption proposal would go before voters as a constitutional amendment in 2018, would save homeowners money but cost local governments millions in revenue.
Sheriff Will Ask Palm Coast to Pay for 5 More Cops, a 21% Increase of City’s Policing Budget
Sheriff Staly wants to double Palm Coast’s traffic unit, but five more cops would cost close to $600,000 on top of the city’s current $2.6 million budget. Mayor Milissa Holland signals some push-back.
Flagler Beach Commission Considers Biggest Tax Hike Since Recession, and New Fire Costs
The Flagler Beach City Commission is considering a budget that would significantly raise taxes while restoring such positions as the fire and police chief, positions eliminated three years ago.
Palm Coast Votes 3-2 Against $5,000 Hike For Jim Landon in Stinging Rebuke
Two council members said Palm Coast Manager Jim Landon had been overpaid, with his $169,000 salary now where it should be. The vote ends a long, in many ways improper and opaque process.
Taxable Values Improve Less Than in 2015, But Still More Strongly Than in Pre-Recession Years
Palm Coast’s and Bunnell’s values improved least among local governments, at 3.9 and 2.2 percent, while county, school and Flagler Beach values all exceeded 5 percent.
County Government’s Health Costs Take $1.5 Million Hit, Clouding Brighter Budget Outlook
Property values are expected to improve by 4.5 percent, adding $2.5 million to county revenue absent tax-rate changes, but the county’s health costs are increasing dramatically, leaving county commissioners with difficult choices again.
As Flagler’s Emergency Communications Briefly Falter, Palm Coast and Sheriff Assail County Over Long-Term Plans
The county’s critical emergency radio system briefly failed when a tower lost its back-up power Thursday even as county, city and sheriff’s officials were meeting in the first high-level meeting since 2013 to deal with their differences over modernizing the emergency communications system.
Sheriff’s Lost Computer Files Are Recovered, But County Faces a $1.1 Million IT Fix
Some $600,000 was budgeted ahead of the October crash. But $500,000 was not. The county commission will have to find that money. And that’s just for this year as the county and sheriff catch up on neglected information infrastructure.
Privatize the Flagler Beach Pier? Commission Says Yes to 6 Events Per Year, to Make Money
The Flagler Beach pier already generates well over $300,000 a year for the city, and rising, but commissioners want more: they’d close off the pier to private parties six times a year, for $155 an hour plus additional fees.
County and Bunnell Join Schools and Palm Coast’s Higher Taxes, Flagler Beach Holds Line
The tax increases are generating almost no opposition, in large part because they are tied to benefits taxpayers can see: raises for teachers and cops, additions of firefighters (three this year at the county, three more next year), restoring reserves decimated during the recession, and so on.
Palm Coast Proposes 6 Percent Tax Hike; Home Owners Will See Much Lower Increase
If the council sticks with the proposed 2016 rate, which is the same as this year’s, a homesteaded homeowner with a $150,000 house, in the median range in Palm Coast, would see a tax increase of between $5 and $10 dollars for the year.
Flagler School Taxes Going Up About 4%, Heralding Season of Steeper Government Levies
The typical Palm Coast house valued at $150,000 will pay roughly $50 more in school taxes for the year even as the tax rate goes down slightly.
School Board Hears Good and Bad of New Budget and Agrees to 3-Month Patch for Disabilities Program
The $2.5 percent state-funded budget increase falls short of restoring the money lost last year. The board agreed to a $120,000 band aid for the adults with disabilities program run by FTI, which lost its state funding this month.
Sheriff’s $2.5 Million Budget Request Increase Is Largest in 10 Years, With 5% Raise For Ranks
The increase reflects additional staffing at the new jail, money for 10 new patrol vehicles, a 5 percent across-the-board raise and state-required retirement contributions accounting for the bulk of the increase.
Taxable Values Rise Again–6% in Palm Coast, 7% in Flagler–But So Do Demands on Budgets
With more value comes more revenue for local governments, and more expectations from various agencies and the public–including a $2.4 million budget increase request from the sheriff’s office alone.
Flagler Commission Approves $18 Million Jail Expansion, Tripling Capacity to 404 Beds
The expansion of the jail will cost the sheriff and the county more to run. Those annual costs, drawn from property tax revenue, have not yet been provided.
Sheriff Manfre Will Ask For 5% Pay Raise For Ranks, First Substantial Increase in 6 Years
Flagler Sheriff’s deputies finally got a 1 percent raise promised them since October but embargoed for disputed reasons as Sheriff Jim Manfre on Thursday said he’d move forward with a request for the first substantial raises in six years come budget season.
Divided Flagler Commission Awards Administrator Coffey 5% Raise This Year, With More All But Promised
The Flagler County Commission didn’t go for the 10 percent raise Coffey (or, it is claimed, his staff) was asking for, but he still got a nearly $6,000 raise in a 3-2 vote by the commission Monday evening.
County Administrator Craig Coffey Seeking 10% Raise, to $161,000, Amid Other Personnel Costs
The county administrator’s salary would increase from $146,383 and would add an automatic 3 percent merit pay increase a year absent an affirmative decision by the county commission.
Projecting $1 Million Saving, Palm Coast Will Build $2.5 Million City Hall Addition Now Instead of 2019
The total Palm Coast City Hall cost rose to $9 million as the council agreed to build an 8,000 square foot addition as part of a broader construction plan that would net the city savings over five years.
Growing Concern at Supervisor of Elections Offices Across Florida: Aging Equipment
Secretary of State Ken Detzner said he will meet next month with local supervisors of election in Orlando to determine which counties are most in need of new equipment before the 2016 elections. Flagler is likely to be among those.
Thrasher’s FSU Contract: $430,000 a Year for Five Years. Special Election Cost: $1 Million.
The Flagler County Commission is not relishing a special election, as it means contending with a supplemental budget request from Supervisor of Elections Kimberle Weeks, whose relationship with the commission–among other local government agencies–is at an all-time low.
Flagler’s Constitutional Officers, With Combined Salaries of $1 Million, Get 0.4% Bump
When the $140,406 in salaries to city elected officials is added to the figure, the combined total, for elected officials in Flagler County, stands at $1.13 million for the coming year, not including benefits.