Response

The implied assumption was that expenditures were held to that same calculation; however, this assumption does not reflect what actually happened. Some examples are below:

Partial cost comparison information from Fire Rescue:

• Step Increases for Public Safety Salaries negotiated as part of Collective Bargaining Agreements are in addition to Cost-of-Living-Adjustments (COLAs). In contrast, COLAs provided by Flagler County BOCC are, in fact, tied to CPI rates.

The County does not have absolute control over all cost increases. The State itself knows that is not realistic, as shown by the increase of the unfunded mandates it places on counties that far exceed CPI and Population Rates. Two examples of unfunded State mandates that Flagler County is obligated to pay include:

Response

The General Fund numbers used included Public Safety which was the largest growth function in the budget shown. Increases in Adopted Budget of the General Fund for Public Safety from FY 19-20 to FY 24-25:

Response

Constitutional Officers are included in The County's General Fund and are included in the reported totals. Their increases from FY 19-20 to FY 24-25 are below:

* Amount Budgeted as Commission.   ** Includes $3 Million from 1/2 Cent Sales Tax in FY 20.

Response

The County does not levy a tax or increase a tax to fill reserves. Reserves are built through conservative spending. Unspent funds remaining at the end of a fiscal year get placed into reserves (treated as expenditures in government fund accounting) the following year.

Cash Carried Forward/Fund Balance (treated as revenues in government fund accounting and in Flagler County is the offset for reserves) was included in the General Fund total in the FAFO presentation as new dollars, even though saving this money has a cumulative effect. Residents were not charged six times more in FY 24-25 than they were in FY 19-20 as is shown in the chart below. Similar to a person's savings account, a dollar saved today rolls over into tomorrow's balance and remains there until spent.

→ Each red arrow shows how one year’s Ending Fund Balance simply carries over to become the next year’s Beginning Fund Balance — the same dollars, not new revenue.

In FY 19-20 the County's low reserve balance had the following effects:

• Creditors were contacting Administration and Financial Services with concerns about the County's cash position and ability to meet its financial obligations.
• FY 19-20 was the first year that the County did not need to take a Tax Anticipation Note (TAN) to cover operational expenditures as was the practice for the 6 years prior. This was only possible through management's purposeful spending restrictions beginning in middle to late 2019 calendar year. This marked the beginning of the County's implementation of its new financial stability plan. This plan included shoring up the County's reserves and increasing fund balance, reducing millage, and reducing/restructuring/paying off existing debt.

Response

While Property Taxes do make up the majority of the General Fund revenue, there are 82 other revenue accounts in the General Fund that had a budget in the FY 24-25 Adopted Budget:

• This includes Grants and Other Intergovernmental Revenues, Licenses & Permits, Charges for Services, Fines & Forfeitures, Excess Fees, and Cash Carry Forward.
• Total Property Tax Revenues for the General Fund increased 73% from FY 19-20 to FY 24-25, which includes new construction.
• From 2020–2025 Inflation in the South Region has increased 24.4%.
• From 2020 to 2025 the population of Flagler County increased by 17.8%.

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Consumer Price Index, South region, all items) and the U.S. Census Bureau (QuickFacts — Flagler County, Florida).

Response

The County has reduced its overall Millage Rate by 0.3504 Mills from FY 19-20 to FY 24-25. This equates to a savings of:

Response

From FY 19-20 to FY 25-26, the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) count had a net increase of 80.270 FTEs. Over 80% of the increase in FTEs were public safety positions (which are supposed to be “held harmless”).

• FY 19-20 to FY 20-21 — 6.610 FTE Decrease
• FY 20-21 to FY 21-22 — 24.075 FTE Increase
  • 15 Firefighter/Paramedics through SAFER Grant
  • 1 Community Paramedic
  • 1 Battalion Chief
• FY 21-22 to FY 22-23 — 4.000 FTE Increase
• FY 22-23 to FY 23-24 — 4.150 FTE Increase
  • 2 Firefighter/Paramedics
  • 1 Property Control Agent for Fire/EMS
• FY 23-24 to FY 24-25 — 14.650 FTE Increase
  • 1 Emergency Management Planner
  • 2 Firefighter/Paramedics
  • 1 Fire Rescue Lieutenant
• FY 24-25 to FY 25-26 — 40.000 FTE Increase
  • 28 911 Dispatch Positions Absorbed from Sheriff's Office
  • 15 Firefighter/Paramedics

Response

Every year in February, a budget calendar is presented to the Board outlining the budget creating process including workshops that will occur throughout the year. These workshops and public hearings give both the public and elected officials the opportunity to review the budget in detail.

Once a budget is adopted, changes may be made. Amendments that change the overall budget of any fund must be approved by the Board and are publicly noticed as part of the Board's agenda process or via a local newspaper as needed.

The Budget Book is graded on the following:

• As a Policy Document
• As a Financial Plan
• As an Operations Guide
• As a Communications Device

Response

Every year the financials of the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners and the Constitutional Officers are audited by an independent outside auditing firm. The County has received an unmodified opinion (also known as unqualified or clean) audit. This is the best result that can be achieved.

The Budget is a plan, once the budget is created it's continually monitored and adjusted as needed, an end of year an independent financial audit reviews and compares the budget to what actually happened in the preceding fiscal year.