Manatee County Capital Spending: Budget vs. Reality

A recent column appearing in one of the local newspapers reported that Manatee County was contemplating a five-year capital spending budget of $1.2 billion. WOW! According to the Popular Report prepared by the County Clerk, annual expenditure on capital projects averaged 56.0 million for the five years ending 9/30/2021. Capital expenditure for fiscal '22 is budgeted at $155.2 million versus actual year-to-date expenditure through May ( eight months into the fiscal year) of $44.6 million.

Based on the actual capital spending of the current year and previous five fiscal years, do these proposed capital spending figures appear wildly unrealistic? The County is faced with unprecedented material and manpower shortages, and yet is prepared to recommend a capital spending plan that is irrational based on current labor and material availability and past spending history.

Part of the problem lies in the annual $100 million+ surpluses that have accrued over the last several years. One way to soft-pedal the unrestricted cash of $690.6 million that sits on the County's balance sheet and represents 2.4x times the property tax collected in 2022 is to promulgate capital spending plans which appear to "soak up“ the accumulated surplus and thus solve the public perception problem of unspent reserves sitting in a money market fund earning 1/10 of 1%. The accumulated reserves are also non-compliant with Florida statute 129.01 c1and c2 which limit reserves to 30% of annual spending.

I would like to recommend that the County Administrator and Commissioners "get real“ as they discuss the 2023 budget. There is no way that the County is going to spend the $155.2 million budgeted for this year or the $240 million per annum proposed for the next 5 years. Instead, I go back to a couple of proposals previously recommended in this newspaper which if adopted this year have a 100% chance of successful implementation.

Proposal#1 is a .21 cut in the millage rate that will exactly offset the 3% Homestead property tax increase which will be automatically imposed this year due to sky-high inflation.

Proposal #2 is a variable property tax credit which can be set by the Commissioners at any desired level and can offer meaningful relief to homeowners as well as begin to bring County cash reserves back into compliance with Florida statute.

A regular Commission meeting is scheduled for July 26 (Tuesday) and a budget Commission meeting is scheduled for July 28 (Thursday) of this week. Please plan to attend and speak out for meaningful property tax relief for Manatee County taxpayers.

Mike Meehan, CFA, MBA

Manatee County