On Tuesday evening at 5 pm, the Alachua County Commission will be setting our proposed property tax millage rates for the next fiscal year. We set the general fund millage, used for county-wide services, and we set three MSTU millages, used for services provided to the unincorporated area and some of the small cities. These Metropolitan Services Taxing Units have three different millage rates, one for general services (planning, parks, etc.); one for fire/rescue services; and the third is for the Sheriff to provide law enforcement patrol. Other Sheriffs services (bailiffs, jail, etc.) are paid for from the general fund. This year, due to a 5.1% increase in the tax roll, the County Manager has recommended no increases in the general fund millage and the unincorporated MSTU millage. The Manager is recommending an increase of 5% for the Fire/Rescue millage (0.0757 mills) mostly to pay for the Citys abrogation of the Joint Fire Services Agreement. But of most interest is the Law Enforcement millage, which is proposed to go up from 2.1531 mills to 2.2751 mills, an increase of 5.6%, which will raise an additional $762,686. This increase is largely due to a recalculation of how the Sheriffs total budget should be equitably divided between the General Fund and the MSTU fund, and it appears as if all the parties involved agree on the formula. Because of the level of this increase, it requires a super-majority (4 out of 5 votes) of the County Commission to approve. As I have clearly articulated during last years budget deliberations, and again at the beginning of this years budget cycle, I believe the Sheriffs spending priorities are skewed towards overly harsh enforcement of arcane marijuana possession laws. Ill only repeat a few of the facts from previous stories, such as the 237 arrests vs. only 4 notices to appear issued by deputies last year. And the 6 :1 ratio of blacks to whites that are arrested despite the rate of marijuana use being essentially the same. And statements by our judges and prosecutors that: they wish theyd never see another small time marijuana case, but the Sheriff is the only one who can turn off the tap. Or that many jurisdictions more conservative than ours have essentially de-criminalized simple possession of small amounts in recognition that strict enforcement does more harm than good to their citizens and the taxpayers. So, despite my respect for the Sheriff, who has the toughest job in Alachua County and who does it well (except in this one area), I will be recommending that the Sheriffs budget be reduced by the cost that her marijuana jihad is having on our taxpayers. The exact local costs are still being calculated, but if estimates of statewide costs are prorated to Alachua County, this reduction should be on the order of $935,000. Some of this is patrol expense, and therefore needs to come from the MSTU, and some is bailiff and jail expense and should come from the general fund. There are additional costs of sentence supervision, court costs, etc. I have broached this subject on a couple of occasions with my fellow commissioners, and they just sit back quietly, while the Sheriffs characterization is that I am a bothersome gnat. But despite hundreds of people whose lives are disrupted and whose health is threatened by the Sheriffs enforcement philosophy, I will continue using the tools made available to me to encourage a change in these Prohibition-era tactics, as so many communities have already done. If youre inclined to help, please speak to the County Commissioners via e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (352) 264-6900, or by attending a meeting in person. Thanks!
Posted on: Tue, 15 Jul 2014 13:25:39 +0000
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