The Walton County Board of Commissioners voted to adopt the county2025 mill rate as presented after a divisive public discussion about the county's budget shortfall and use of fund balance.
County finance staff told commissioners the approved budget has a current-year shortfall of about $9,360,000 and noted that adopting the rate as presented would require using fund-balance commitments to cover already-approved spending.
The finance official said, "We are $9,360,000 short on a budget that's already approved." That presentation prompted questions from several commissioners and residents about how much individual taxpayers would pay. One resident asked about the change in county M&O taxes and was given examples of how the school rollback and frozen county valuation interact with the millage calculation.
The board discussed alternatives but ultimately voted in favor of the proposed mill rate. A roll-call vote recorded four "yes" votes and three "no" votes; the meeting transcript records affirmative votes from Pete Myers, Tim Shalon, Bo Warren and David Thompson. The board also accepted the Walton County Board of Education's mill rate adoption as a separate, unanimous formal acknowledgement after the school board had already approved its rate.
County staff told the board that adopting the mill rate as proposed would conserve some revenue streams in the short term but would leave the county reliant on fund balance to pay for items already committed in the current budget, including previously approved personnel and one-time items. Finance staff cautioned that using fund balance for ongoing expenses would worsen the long-term fiscal position unless future revenue growth materializes.
Commissioners and staff referenced specific commitments against the county's uncommitted balance, including payroll and position increases already approved earlier in the year. Finance staff said an additional $2,211,721.83 was being proposed to cover 25 new positions in the sheriff's office; that amount is not included in the mill rate the board adopted but was discussed separately as a budget amendment funded from fund balance.
Why it matters: the mill rate determines property tax bills and directly affects how the county funds recurring services. Commissioners emphasized their role as trustees of county finances and debated the tradeoffs between program spending, staffing and preserving reserves.
The board's action establishes the mill rate for the 2025 tax year and lets county staff proceed with implementing the adopted budget and billing cycle. Several commissioners asked staff for clearer, itemized projections of how fund-balance withdrawals this year would affect future budgets.