Hendry County commissioners weigh higher millage to fund sheriff staffing, COLAs and reserves

LaBelle, Fla. — The Henry County Board of County Commissioners on July 22 met in a budget workshop in LaBelle to set a “not to exceed” millage for the coming fiscal year and to review staff requests for additional personnel, cost‑of‑living adjustments and one‑time reserves.

County Administrator Jennifer Davis said the board must adopt a not‑to‑exceed rate at the August budget hearing and requested the commission focus on the general fund at the workshop. OMB coordinator Ian Proverbs told commissioners the proposed general fund is $51,900,000 and that, at the current ad valorem rate of 6.8022 mills, the county would collect about $31,500,000 in property tax revenue. “This slide just shows what the proposed budget is for this year. It's a $51,900,000 general fund budget,” Proverbs said.

Why it matters: The board is deciding whether to hold the millage at the current rate or advertise a higher “not to exceed” rate that would allow room to fund the sheriff’s staffing and equipment requests, a county hire, cost‑of‑living adjustments (COLAs) and to increase the county’s reserves. Any advertised rate above the statutory rollback rate triggers a “notice of tax increase” under Florida Department of Revenue rules, Davis said.

Key facts and proposals

• Property values and rollback: The Hendry County property appraiser’s final value used for the budget showed taxable value of $4,736,962,000, a 7.47% increase from the…