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Updated: Jun 19th, 2005 - 20:05:13 |
CASSELBERRY -- Stung by last year's hurricanes and sluggish tax revenue, Casselberry is facing a financial crunch.
The city is $2 million short of meeting expenses in next year's budget, prompting officials to consider drastic measures, ranging from eliminating jobs to raising property taxes. The alternative: dipping further into already-depleted reserves.
Unless something changes, "We've either got to cut services or raise taxes or raise fees," Mayor Bob Goff said Monday.
Interim City Manager Tony Segreto recommended at a meeting late Monday:
Raising property taxes by up to 50 cents per $1,000 of taxable property. That would be an $87.50 increase for the owner of a $200,000 house with a $25,000 exemption.
Eliminating the animal-control department and rely on Seminole County for such services.
Not hiring nine new firefighters to staff a new firetruck.
Transferring money from a stormwater fund and possibly increasing a stormwater fee.
Reducing other expenses by about $300,000.
For the third consecutive year, Casselberry will need $2 million more to run the city than it expects to bring in, officials say. It could turn to reserves, as it has the past few years. But by the end of this fiscal year, or Sept. 30, Casselberry is expected to have $3.1 million left in its rainy-day fund, down from $7.7 million just two years ago.
Officials blame unexpected expenses caused by last year's hurricanes. The city spent about $3 million and has received less than half of that in reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
More federal reimbursement is due, but the city doesn't know exactly how much and officials say the money might not get here until after the 2005 budget year begins Oct. 1. The city has to finish next year's proposed budget by July 1.
Goff and other city officials think Seminole County's property appraiser could be worsening the situation by estimating Casselberry's tax base too low.
They question why, preliminary figures show, the taxable value of residential and commercial properties in Casselberry has risen an estimated 4.9 percent compared with double-digit increases in many other cities.
Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson said he's still tallying information for more accurate figures due July 1.
He expects the amount to be higher, he said, but Casselberry's taxable value may not have grown as much as other cities'. "It's not exactly a booming area," he said.
Seminole County Watch.com
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