By RYAN McCARTHY
rmmccarthy@keynoter.com
The commissioners approved a property tax rate of $4.22 per $1,000 of property value. That’s 3.9 percent less than the rate that would generate the same revenue as this year.
The tax rate could go even lower. Gastesi said on Thursday that the $78.7 million budget will be cut at least $600,000 more, with re-allocation of some grant funds. That would make the tax rate $4.19.
Most of the discussion among commissioners at Wednesday’s public budget hearing centered on employee raises. Commissioners could not agree on across-the-board 5-percent raises.
Gastesi said on Thursday he’ll bring cost breakdowns to the board’s next budget meeting based on differing raises: county firefighters would get no raises; the employees in the retirement options program getting 2-percent raises; employees who received raises in the last three years getting a 3-percent raise; and those who did not get raises in that time getting 5-percent raises.
Commissioner Sylvia Murphy lobbied hard for a 5-percent raise, saying it would amount to a pay increase of only 2 percent because employees must contribute 3 percent to the state retirement fund for the first time.
“It’s time we start thinking about all the people who make this a damn good place to live,” Murphy said.
Commissioners Kim Wigington and George Neugent have opposed pay increases in a struggling economy. Commissioner David Rice said Wednesday that he’s “philosophically opposed to across-the-board raises.”
“It assumes every employee is of equal value...we all know that’s not true. We recognize the value of our employees,” he said. “What we don’t know is what tomorrow brings.”
The next county budget hearing is 5 p.m. Monday at the Marathon Government Center. The final hearing will be Thursday at the Harvey Government Center in Key West.
