‘It is time for a tax cut conversation.’ But will Manatee County leaders act on it?

Figuring out how to handle an excess in reserves while also providing for a rapidly growing population has the Board of County Commissioners in somewhat of a bind.

At a Tuesday budget hearing, board members discussed ways they might be able to give local taxpayers a break by cutting the millage rate, but fellow commissioners and staff pointed to Manatee County’s duty to provide services for its residents.

Commissioner Vanessa Baugh broached the subject after an overview from Financial Management Director Jan Brewer pointed out that the county is maintaining a 20 percent budget reserve, as well as separate budget stabilization funds — money that, Baugh says, could be used to improve quality of life and relieve some taxpayer burden.

“I’m sitting back wondering why it is that we’re not considering giving out residents a little bit of a break because they went through a hard time with us when we were in the recession. We’re not in a recession anymore and we’re blossoming,” Baugh said.

A strong budget reserve was a philosophy championed by former County Administrator Ed Hunzeker, who retired this year. He often pushed for more savings than required by law to deal with population growth and unforeseen expenses.

Cheri Coryea, who replaced Hunzeker, explained that she has a similar mindset.

“Not only are we growing so rapidly — we’re building, we’ve got a Capital Improvement Plan with $1.5 billion, but we’ve got to operate those,” Coryea said. “We have to maintain those. I’ve talked to you before about aligning all of our revenues and expenditures, and that’s what we’re working on.”

“We have to make sure that when we open a new pool, or a new park, or a library, that you can actually afford to have staff and it can be open for the public,” she added. “Those are the things we worry about. That’s what keeps me up at night.”

Thanks to the failure of a homestead exemption increase on the 2018 ballot, the county saved about $7 million that it had set aside in case the measure had passed. Hunzeker urged residents to vote against the proposal.

According to this year’s budget book, the county has $577 million in total reserves and cash balances. A significant chunk of that money is cash set aside for capital improvement projects. Reserves at an amount of 20 percent are required by board resolution.

Fellow commissioners agreed, however, that it could be time to tap into those reserves to make a tangible difference in the county today.

“I know that we have a lot of needs up here. We have to take a more proactive stance on planning for the future,” said Commissioner Misty Servia, who suggested using some of that money to fund local water quality improvements and affordable housing initiatives.

“We do not want to have a savings account that is hindering the county from moving forward,” Commissioner Betsy Benac said.

Before the county moves to cutting the tax rate while spending more money, Commissioner Reggie Bellamy suggested focusing on top-priority issues before making changes, citing concerns with the amount allocated into the county’s newly formed $6.5 million disaster recovery fund.

“It is time for a tax cut conversation. We do need to take a look at it and give some cuts to our citizens,” Bellamy said. “I think our hurricane season this year is going to be brutal and I’m very, very concerned about it.”

“Before we start cutting, we need to look at the disaster fund a little bit differently,” he continued.

Brewer explained that the disaster fund amount is based on past experiences with disasters and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s new policy, which is to audit each of the county’s disaster-related expenses up front and reimburse later.

Other considerations include expensive budget items such as combating climate change in a coastal community and implementing policies to fight algae blooms.

“We don’t know where we’re going to be with things like sea level rise and water quality. We know that’s a huge, huge need we’re going to have to be ready for,” Benac said. “We need to have money to be able to have cash to play and be a part of some of the solutions we have to come up with, and that’s why I’m not ready yet to say let’s make a cut.”

Baugh said she was happy to hear another commissioner mention sea level rise and urged her fellow commissioners to think about ways the county can prepare for upcoming challenges.

“That is something this board has got to tackle, and the sooner the better,” Baugh said.

Commissioners voted unanimously to tentatively approve an unchanged millage rate of 6.4326. The county also saw a 7.8 percent increase in the taxable values.

Coryea and Brewer agreed to come back to the board with a transparent summary of the county’s reserve funds, as well as budget stabilization numbers. Their report could give the county leeway to fund additional projects, if commissioners see fit.

“This is opportunity time,” Commissioner Stephen Jonsson said. “We’ve got good things going on, so I think we need to all work together closely and get on the same page to move forward to the benefit of the taxpayers here in Manatee County.”