Sheriff John Rutherford is calling for the property tax “rolled-back” rate to help offset losses in revenue for public safety.
“I will be advocating for an increase in our property tax rate, to provide necessary revenue for public safety. Our property tax rate is purported to be (if not the lowest) among the lowest of any large city in the state,” Rutherford wrote in a letter to employees of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Mayor Alvin Brown proposed to keep a millage rate of 10.0353 mills for the general services district for fiscal year 2012-13, the same as this year, although Florida statutes would allow the rate to be 10.4919 to remain revenue neutral.
A mill is equal to $1 in tax revenue for every $1,000 in assessed value.
According to Daily Record news partner WOKV FM-106.5 and AM-690, Rutherford said in the letter sent Wednesday to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office employees, the City’s financial crisis has grown worse due to increased pension costs and decreased revenue. He said while budget talks with the mayor’s office and City Council have been “deliberative and comprehensive,” he’s still frustrated with the number of JSO expenditures that his office does not control.
As a result, Rutherford says he has had no choice but to cut what he does control, which are people and services. The letter says 319 total positions will be eliminated from JSO, 189 of which are vacant or will become vacant in fiscal 2012. The remaining 130 positions will be laid off.
“We will be permanently eliminating 319 positions in the agency,” Rutherford wrote.
“They are comprised of 74 police officer positions (vacant/will become vacant in FY 2012); 91 corrections positions (58 layoffs/33 vacancies) and 154 civilian positions (72 layoffs/82 vacancies). Yes, many of them are currently vacant, but completely removing them from our personnel cap means any hope we had of hiring more officers; replacing some individuals who retired or resigned; or making up for the loss of the 45 officers and 29 civilian personnel laid off last year will not be possible,” he wrote.
Rutherford also says he plans to shut down the Matrix House drug rehabilitation facility and end the Community Service Officer program, which will result in $9.2 million in direct savings for the sheriff’s office.
“I believe that we cannot continue to follow a ‘scorched earth’ approach to meeting revenue shortfalls, which are happening because of a) a worldwide economic downturn and b) our city’s long-term failure to deal with the growing pension obligation,” he wrote. “We, the city, need to cut expenses and increase revenue.”
Brown said in a statement that while he respects Rutherford and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s office, he will not raise taxes.
Daily Record news partner WJXT Channel 4 reported the letter and also a statement issued by Brown:
“I have personally met with Sheriff Rutherford numerous times in the development of the proposed city budget. While I respect the Sheriff and our dedicated public safety officers and employees, I strongly disagree with the Sheriff’s proposal to raise property taxes on hardworking taxpayers,” Brown said.
“In these very difficult economic times where nearly 38,000 Jacksonville citizens are unemployed, taxpayers cannot afford to bear additional burdens. Instead, every branch of government must do its part to streamline operations, eliminate duplication, and increase efficiency. Key services like fire and rescue, libraries, and children’s programs should not have to sustain more than their fair share in spending cuts.”