Newsdata · Florida Government

Commissioner calls Manatee County 'poor' during workshop sessions

During the presentation of Manatee County's recommended fiscal year 2027 budget of over $2.6 billion, Commissioner George Kruse referred to the county as “poor.” While Kruse was trying to be as “nice as humanly possible” with his word choice, he said the county was in a “questionable financial situation.” Kruse's comments were made in reference to the county’s current budget, excluding the possible loss of property tax revenue due to a 2026 ballot initiative. Save Our Homes from Excessive Property Taxes is a joint resolution, passed by the Florida Legislature, aimed at reducing property taxes for Florida residents by incrementally increasing the homestead exemption from $50,000 up to $250,000 by 2028. ____________ Fiscal year 2027 These numbers reflect Manatee County's recommended budget for fiscal year 2027. The final budget will be adopted Sept. 24. Net budget: $1,447,785,544 Gross budget: $2,674,519,164 FY27-31 Capital Improvement Plan: $2,218,197,529 Fiscal 2027 CIP investment: $564,151,987 ____________ The ballot measure will need to garner 60% of the votes to pass. If it does, Manatee County will be in an even worse financial situation than it's in currently because 56% of its general fund, which covers operating expenses, is funded by property taxes. The Manatee County Sheriff's Office accounts for nearly 42% of the general fund, but the sheriff's budget won't be affected. Public safety, schools, infrastructure, natural resources, debt service payments, and employee retirement plans fall under core services that are prioritized under the resolution. That leaves departments like Government Relations and Community and Veteran Services vulnerable to budget cuts. If the ballot measure passes, the $150,000 homestead exemption proposed for 2027 would reduce the county’s property tax revenue by over $81 million. The $250,000 homestead exemption proposed for 2028 would reduce the county’s property tax revenues by over $149 million. After Interim Chief Financial Officer Claudia Campos relayed those projections, Commissioner Jason Bearden summed up the mood among the entire board of commissioners in one word: "Gulp." Commissioners started the fiscal year 2027 budget process with a series of three back-to-back work sessions held June 8-10. Campos set the tone for the budget presentation in her opening remarks. “Under the guidance of the county administrator (Charlie Bishop), this year’s recommended budget was further refined to be lean, to be disciplined, and to be focused on operational efficiency,” she said. The budget was only “further refined” because former CFO Sheila McLean, who is now the CFO for SeaPort Manatee, prepared a biennial budget last year. Campos said most of the financial framework was already established for fiscal 2027, so only minimal adjustments needed to be made. Some departments, such as Development Services and the Convention and Visitors Bureau, came in under their respective budgets from last year, and other departments, such as Property Management and Natural Resources, requested budget increases. ‘Scary’ numbers The operation of Mixon Farms, which was purchased for $13.5 million in July 2025, is half the reason Natural Resources is requesting $1,332,639 more than was requested last year. The property needs maintenance. Director of Natural Resources Charlie Hunsicker requested $102,243 to hire a farm manager and $448,500 to purchase equipment and cover the cost of increased operating expenses. Hunsicker also requested an additional $113,842 to hire an ecological resources coordinator to help with the “heavy grant load” that revolves around land conservation. He noted that the salary would not be paid using the general fund, but instead the environment lands fund, which was established in 2020 after residents voted to tax themselves .15 mills. The county has used the environmental lands fund to purchase over 300 acres of conservation land that now needs to be maintained, which further adds to Natural Resources' need for a larger budget. In light of necessary budget restrictions, Commission Chair Tal Siddique told Hunsicker that it’s time to start leveraging a portion of those funds for operation and maintenance costs, so the county is “not overrun with future needs.” Natural Resources is requesting over $550,000 in fiscal year 2027 to hire a farm manager and buy equipment for Mixon Farms. Photo by Lesley Dwyer In the case of Property Management, what was missing from the request was of more concern to Siddique than the additional ask of $1,364,938. In particular, Siddique questioned why a nearly $1.5 million first floor upgrade would take precedence over an under $700,000 termite infestation renovation at Manatee County’s Historic Courthouse, where the clerk’s office operates. The building was constructed in 1912 and needs over $31.5 million worth of repairs and upgrades that are currently unfunded. “The list of things we’re not funding (at the courthouse) is pretty bad,” Siddique said. “The termite repair seems pressing.” Director of Property Management Cary Knight cited several reasons as to why ridding the building of termites didn’t land higher on the list of priorities — one area of a building can’t be tented when exterminating pests, the wood with bamboo finish will be expensive to replace, and the termites are limited to one courtroom. The Manatee County Historic Courthouse was built in 1912 and needs over $31.5 million worth of repairs and upgrades. Photo by Lesley Dwyer Mixon Farms and the termite infestation are examples of a far larger problem for Manatee County. After Kruse saw a PowerPoint slide that laid out the financial state of the county’s general reserve fund, he called the numbers “terrible” and “scary.” “If you told me this was $7 million, we could figure that out. How do you make up $70 million?” Kruse asked Campos. "This is basically saying in fiscal year 2028 — even if (the ballot measure in) November doesn’t pass — this is showing a linear progression of effectively zeroing out and starting the process toward bankrupting us and affecting our credit rating.” Campos agreed and said that was the reason Financial Management was highlighting the reserves for cash balance, which ensure expenses can be paid before revenues come in for a new fiscal year. The recommended contingency and salary reserves increased from 2026, but the cash balance reserves went from $109,312,499 in 2026 to a recommended $39,206,189 in 2027. Overall, in fiscal 2026, the reserves totaled $121,140,326. The fiscal 2027 recommended budget has the reserves set at $53,991,193. The county maintains other reserve funds, but those funds are limited to specific scopes, such as transportation or libraries. The general fund has more leeway given categories like Other Community Services and General Government. The general fund reserve balance is down to 7% of general fund expenses. Campos said the county’s internal reserve policy will need to be addressed because 20% is supposed to be set aside. Campos noted that the general fund is a "critical indicator of financial strength." “Maintaining a healthy fund balance is essential for bond ratings and emergency readiness,” she said. After looking at the general fund reserves, Commissioner George Kruse asks if the trajectory is sustainable. Courtesy image Kruse noted that if 2027 ends up being like 2024, when three hurricanes blew through Manatee County, the county could have bankrupted itself or garbage would've been piled in yards for an extended period of time. “When you start looking at municipalities and counties that fail, it’s because they start burning through the extent of their reserves to fund general operating expenses because general operating expenses are annual,” Kruse said. The only solution Campos offered to make up for the loss of reserves in the general fund was that county staff needs to be “extremely mindful and halt overspending.” She offered a much more definitive cause of the reserves' downward trajectory — millage cuts. The accumulative impact of millage cuts on the general fund since 2021 has been $116.7 million. Campos noted that the county can’t make up for the loss of millage. Additional factors that depleted the general fund were funding about $222 million worth of projects and increases of about $155 million to constitutional officers, which include, but are not limited to, the Sheriff’s Office, the clerk and the tax collector. The next budget work session will be held July 30 when commissioners will reconcile the budget and approve the tentative millage rate. The recommended budget keeps the millage steady at 6.0326 mills. ____________ Impact of declining millage Manatee County’s millage rate (the rate used to calculate property taxes) has been reduced four out of the past five years — by .2 mills in 2021, .3 mills in 2022, .15 mills in 2024 and .05 mills in 2025. Individual homeowners now save a combined $210 a year on a $300,000 home, and Manatee County lost $116.7 million in property tax revenues and had to adjust for that loss. Commissioner George Kruse offered bus routes as a current example of how residents are affected when the county has less money to spend. A hiring freeze was implemented in February. The freeze included bus drivers, so the routes were adjusted to make them “worse and slower.” “There are people who live on those routes and use those buses to get to work who are now in a worse position because of that hiring freeze,” Kruse said. “That’ll extrapolate across every service at one point.” ____________