In the last several weeks there have been many civil servants, public service advocates and constitutional officers expressing themselves on the horrific consequences coming if the property tax cuts being considered in Tallahassee are enacted. There is now even a website (www.taxtruth.net) that describes in detail the adverse effects to your personal well being due to the anticipated lack of deputies, firemen and social services. The discussions go so far as to anticipate Martin County’s loss of over a hundred deputies, closing of fire stations and libraries and turning down many thousands of Community Coach transportation requests.

Let’s look at the facts on these projected budgets: First, according to the planning assumptions being made there are no cuts to schools or education. In fact, most plans indicate an increase in these funds. The major anticipated shortfall in property tax revenue will therefore be borne by the County Administration and Constitutional Officers. This is estimated to be about $35 million, and is the Martin County figure being used for the planning exercises being criticized.

The current County budget for these organizations is approximately $412 million. Using these two figures this would mean that next year’s anticipated budget would amount to about $377 million. Yes, that is a significant decrease, but that $377 million is still some $21 million MORE than the same Martin County budget just two years ago –and still more than a million dollars per day! We concede that there has been a slight increase in basic inflation, the population being served has increased by a couple of thousand and this is a very simplistic analysis. However, this does put the scope of the problem in better perspective.

On the other side of the equation, these same individuals indicate that all of this misery saves only “a couple of hundred dollars a year”. We are not sure how this was calculated, but it appears to be very misleading. We assume the often quoted “less than $250 per year” figure is arrived at by simply dividing the estimated $35 million cut by Martin County’s 145,000 population. Since County planning figures estimate an average of 2.2 individuals per household, our math shows a more relevant savings per homeowner of about $550. Given the large variables brought on by homesteading caps, our figure is still misleading since property taxes are dramatically higher on businesses and rental property, in addition to the more politically acceptable “snowbirds”. Our $550, or even the advertised $250, is still a significant amount to many people, especially if those dollars are paid by our fixed income retirees or added to the rent on an “affordable home”.

Fortunately, the County Administrator and a number of senior staff/department heads are taking a more positive approach to solving the problem. They have established goals, instituted a hiring freeze and are soliciting suggestions from the public, as well as those most qualified and with the best visibility to make them, their staff.

One of these departments, Parks and Recreation, is looking at a large shortfall given the projected increase in maintenance needed to support the lands and facilities being acquired through the ½ cent sales tax increase passed last year. This Department is tackling the problem by trying to establish a charitable trust/endowment to help maintain specific properties. There are still legal and political issues to be settled, but this out-of-the-box solution appears to be viable and is certainly worth a thorough evaluation.

Another department attempting to be part of the solution is Information Technology. By their very nature this department is uniquely qualified to provide unified service and they are actively working toward achieving savings in this area. It makes little sense to continue the duplication of expertise and management necessary to maintain the same capabilities in more than one administrative area. We believe that centralization of required services such as IT is one of the major ways savings can be achieved without loss of commensurate capabilities.

It is very difficult to change the status quo and dismantle established bureaucracies but that is exactly what has to happen for this tax cutting exercise to be successful. We wish those silently working the problem lots of luck – they need it. We also believe that active efforts to cut spending should be the norm, not just reserved for emergencies. The County Administration, Constitutional Officers and School Board are all capable of delivering outstanding levels of service while reducing their spending.

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