As expected, the Fernandina Beach City Commission set property tax millage at the "modified rollback rate" to fund the 2024-2025 city budget.
By a 3-1 vote Tuesday with Commissioner Chip Ross casting a no vote, the city commission set the rate at 4.6849 mills per $1,000 of property evaluation. Commissioner James Antun was absent.
The "modified rollback rate" protects property owners with homestead exemptions and would raise another $580,000 in revenue over a "rollback rate" assessment. The modified rollback rate would be a 3% reduction in the millage rate over the previous year and would generate $19.4 million.
In voting against the millage rate, Ross argued that the city budget was grossly underfunded and that numerous projects and maintenance needs - such as repaving roads, building beach walkovers and upgrading historic downtown sidewalks, curbs and lighting - were going unmet.
"The world is not doom and gloom. In fact, this last budget we passed was the biggest budget in our city's history. This will again be an even bigger budget. It's even a million dollars more," said Mayor Bradley Bean.
Bean touted the 2023-2024 budget as "the biggest for public safety, for parks, for roads and things the people needed."
Public safety and specifically the need for more police officers and firefighters, was debated during the meeting which took under one hour.
The Fernandina Beach Police Department had sought three full time and three part time officers to be added, but the budget only funds the full time positions.
The Fernandina Beach Fire Department is seeking three full time firefighter/EMT positions. None were included in the budget because the city is seeking a federal grant to pay for the additional firefighters.
Ross asked Interim City Manager Jeremiah Glisson what the odds were that the city would be awarded grant money to pay for the firefighters.
"The last number I was given was 30-something percent," Glisson responded.
Ross replied, "The last number I was given was less than 5 (percent), so it's small."
During public comment, Shelia Cocchi told commissioners "You should never, ever be funding employee salaries with grants. That's not sustainable. Those (positions) need to be there (in the budget)."
Bean warned that discussing funding the firefighter positions was placing the federal grant application in peril.
He cited the city seeking a similar federal grant to fund police officers that was subsequently withdrawn because the commission, when talking about the grant, also discussed the possibility of budgeting for the positions.
"Having this discussion tonight, to be honest, is also not doing us any favors. If there's a reason why that grant turned from 30 down to 5 (percent) it's because we're discussing funding those positions before the grant is even issued. We shouldn't be minimizing our chances there," Bean said.
But Ross later ignored Bean's warning and maintained that the city's likelihood of receiving grant money for the firefighter positions was remote. He said the city should be funding those staffing needs in its budget.
"We shouldn't be going after grants, we should be funding salaries and figuring out how to do that," he said.
Commissioner Darron Ayscue maintained the Modified Rollback Rate was more than sufficient to meet the city's needs.
"We've brought up the police and funding those. We've brought up funding fire. We've brought up all those things. What this millage rate will allow us to do, is really move forward with that," Ayscue said. "Also downtown revitalization, we're going to put our own skin in the game that is going to help us in Tallahassee when it comes to saying listen we're willing to fund this and we need a little bit extra. All of those reasons are the reasons I believe we should be going with the Modified Rollback Rate."
Budget workshops are scheduled for next Tuesday prior to the city commission's regular August meeting and Thursday.