Lee County commissioners were told updated property-tax valuation estimates on July 1 increased projected revenues enough to eliminate a previously forecast general-fund shortfall, and staff proposed using the new capacity to revive several items that had been unfunded, including a 14-position emergency medical services (EMS) growth plan.

Pete Winton, county staff, told commissioners the June 1 preliminary tax-base estimate for the general fund rose from a 4.84% projection to an 8.17% estimate on July 1 and that "the deficits that we were experiencing on June 17, of course, went away because of this." He presented a list of recommended additions totaling about $6.9 million that could be restored before year-end and left room to model a pay adjustment for county employees.

The proposed restorations included the county's EMS growth plan, which Winton said would add 14 positions and provide additional funding for the Tree Line EMS station; funding for the Kykuit Preserve berm portion the county is responsible for as part of a water-resources project; 10 Mile Canal South improvements intended to improve water flow; shade structures at 3 Oaks Park; a $2 million placeholder for the sheriff's capital needs (described as mostly an annual debt payment for Motorola handsets); and DOT road maintenance placeholders. Winton told the board that adding those items to general-fund expenses would leave roughly $5.5 million of additional capacity in the general fund and about $2 million in the unincorporated MSTU.

Commissioners pressed staff for specifics about pay adjustments and constitutional officers' raises. Commissioner Pendergrass asked, "For the pay adjustments, 5%, you're saying that's for all county employees. That'd be for all the constitutionals too?" County staff said the 5% scenario presented applies to general-fund county offices and certain related funds, but that constitutional officers typically set or mirror their own raises; staff reported the sheriff submitted a budget with a 5% increase already included, the property appraiser was mirroring a 2% state increase, and other constitutional offices' proposals varied.

Winton and other staff agreed to return with detailed figures. Commissioners scheduled follow-up briefings and directed staff to provide the requested information at a short meeting on July 19 and noted the formal budget hearings are set for Sept. 4 and Sept. 16. Winton also said the state loan option remains available and that no cuts made after the June 17 workshop had been restored.

The meeting included an extended discussion about the county's growth increment fund, a mechanism commissioners said was originally designed to act like tax-increment financing by capturing new tax revenue from development and resales and directing it to capital for growth. Commissioner Hammond traced the original intent, saying, "So when we first created growth increment funding, the idea was it was going to be similar to like a TIF you know, fund tax increment funding. Right?" Several commissioners said the increment fund had been treated more as a flat annual allocation in recent years rather than a formula-driven increment and asked staff to run the current-year calculation and provide a transparent chart showing what the increment actually produced each year, what capital projects it funded, and any residue or shortfall.

Staff said they run the calculation but that the budget could not absorb the larger formula-derived amount in recent years; Winton said the formula had produced numbers in the tens of millions (he referenced a figure in the $30 million range) but that the county had put forward lower funding levels and prioritized infrastructure and public safety. Commissioners asked staff to bring the year-by-year calculations and a reconciliation showing growth increment revenues and capital uses when they return on July 19.

The board heard additional operational details: the county increased the annual franchise-fee transfer from the general fund to eliminate an existing deficit in the Encore BMRST fund; staff said they expect to continue value-engineering the EMS station designs and may be able to restore more DOT maintenance funding in December if year-end close allows; and a staff example in the meeting noted a 7% pay adjustment would cost approximately $7,289,000 under the county's modeling.

Next steps: staff will provide detailed constitutional-office raise data, open-positions reports by department, growth-increment calculations and pay-adjustment costings at a July 19 briefing so the board can consider final numbers ahead of the September budget hearings.