This year’s elections could result in turn-over of three of the five Flagler county commission seats. Coffey is looking to extend his contract to 2016, though his contract isn’t set to expire until December 2013. He makes $141,000 a year before allowances.
local government budgets
Facing $5.65 Million Deficit, Flagler County Wrestles With What to Cut and What to Tax
The deficit was reduced to $3.65 million once commissioners agreed to use reserves and include a $1 million cut in the sheriff’s budget, but their debates got more heated on what services to eliminate or reduce, and what taxes to raise–or what new taxes could be imposed.
County Budget, Upended By Deficit of $3 to $4 Million, Sets Off Crisis Mode–and Pitfalls
The much larger-than-expected deficit, which forced the abrupt cancellation of a budget workshop, raises questions of accountability just months before four of the county commissioners face elections either to hold on to their seats or seek a higher office.
Largest Employer in Most Florida Counties, Flagler Included: Government
A government entity is the largest employer in 51 of the state’s 67 counties, including in Flagler, where the school board 1,700 employees, and in every county in Florida government at least one of the top five largest employers.
Another Blow for the County: Palm Coast Rejects Flagler’s Sales Tax “Compromise”
Citing the county’s “Taj Mahal” of an administration building and the city’s future growth needs (and revenue), the Palm Coast council on Tuesday stuck to its refusal to change the way sales tax revenue is split, a blow for county government.
To Little Opposition, Palm Coast Approves New Levy for Stormwater Fixes, Delays Another
To little opposition, the council voted unanimously to add a 6 percent tax on electric utility bills, adding, on average, $6.27 a month to monthly residential utility bills. The council defeated a proposal to add a second tax that would have raised an equal amount.
Going Nose to Nose, Palm Coast and The County Remain Split on Half-Cent Sales Tax
Palm Coast wants to keep the split of the half-cent sales tax revenue what it is today. Flagler County wants to change the formula, which would decrease Palm Coast’s share by $500,000. The disagreement is jeopardizing a unified approach on a sales tax referendum both sides say is critical to their revenue needs.
Matanzas Woods Battleground: Flagler and Palm Coast Clash Over I-95 Interchange Dollars
Palm Coast and Flagler County are battling over $4.2 million the city says it’s owed, and that the county has already mostly spent toward a new I-95 interchange at Matanzas Woods. It’s the latest in a series of city-county conflicts.
Flagler School District, in a Surprise, Votes to Place ½-Cent Sales Tax Redo on Aug. 14 Ballot
The Flagler County School Board didn’t want its initiative lost in the clutter of the November ballot, or see it compete against the county’s and cities’ similar initiative, but primary turnout will be heavily Republican–an unhappy prospect for any tax initiative.
Tea Party’s Tom Lawrence, Back to His Roots, Endorses ½-Cent Sales Tax Before 135 Partiers
Tom Lawrence, the ardent anti-tax tea party chairman, was the champion of the sales tax Palm Coast lobbied for 10 years ago. He urged the Flagler tea party membership to support the tax again at the polls this year, boosting county government’s arguments for the tax, which Palm Coast so far has not embraced enthusiastically.