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 prior year, including $187,000,790 of new construction. That increase lowers the formal rollback rate to about 6.6104 mills, Davis said.

• Millage scenarios: Staff presented alternative millage scenarios running from the statutory rollback through the current 6.8022 mills up to a 6.9‑mill scenario. Davis said the county could fulfill all constitutionals’ requests, including the sheriff’s, at the current 6.8022 rate but that keeping the same millage would still be reported as a tax increase by the Florida Department of Revenue because overall property values rose.

• Sheriff requests: The sheriff has requested five additional positions — two community service officers, two jail staff and one administrative position — plus body cameras and IT upgrades. Davis summarized the sheriff’s request and the capital/IT asks, saying, “he had a $190,000 increase in capital and 390,000 increase in IT upgrades.” The county’s presentation showed options to fund varying portions of the IT request depending on the millage chosen.

• County hire and COLA: The board asked to add one full‑time equivalent county position (a contract manager) to help manage projects. Staff included a 3% COLA in the base scenario for county employees and assumed a 3% COLA for sheriff personnel in the presented spreadsheets. Commissioners asked staff to prepare additional scenarios using a 5% COLA so the board could compare impacts.

• Grants and aids increases: Staff added increased funding in the grants and aids line for local organizations, including an increase to the Barron Library from roughly $38,000 historically to a proposed $70,000 in county support based on per‑capita calculations, and a placeholder increase of $30,000 to cover other annual grant requests. Davis said those agencies would be invited to present at the August workshop.

• Reserves: Staff proposed adding $250,000 to county reserves in the presented scenarios to rebuild a contingency fund after a prior temporary sales‑tax revenue source was phased out.

Commissioner and staff comments

Vice Chair Mitchell Wills urged finding savings outside of employee pay: “We can find cut somewhere besides employees,” he said, and added, “2%, don't even insult them with that,” referring to a lower COLA option. Commissioner Raymond Iglesias asked whether an FDLE grant already being considered would offset COLA costs; Davis said any offset from grants had been factored into the worksheets.

Board direction and next steps

Rather than a formal vote at the workshop, commissioners asked staff to prepare multiple, side‑by‑side scenarios for the next budget workshop before the second August meeting. Those scenarios should show the fiscal effect of: (a) keeping the current 6.8022 mills, (b) a flat 6.8 mills, (c) 6.9 mills, and (d) each of those with a 5% COLA assumption. Davis also proposed and the board agreed to schedule an additional workshop in early August for a more detailed review. No formal millage vote was taken at the July 22 workshop; staff were directed to return with calculations and the agencies affected would be invited to present during the August sessions.

Context and constraints

Davis reminded the board that, under Florida Department of Revenue procedures, any advertised rate above the rollback rate requires a notice labeled as a tax increase. The board discussed the political and constituent response to an advertised increase but also noted service and public‑safety needs that would require additional funding. Commissioner Wills and others emphasized the desire to avoid reducing employee pay and to try to find non‑personnel savings for capital and IT items.

What to expect next

Staff will return with detailed, line‑by‑line comparisons and impact‑fee and ARPA revenue summaries at the next workshop so the board can decide a formal not‑to‑exceed millage to advertise before the September public hearings. Agencies with increased grant requests — including the Barron Library and the Harlem Tenants Senior Recreation program — were invited to present their budget needs at the August workshop.

Sources and quotes in this story come from workshop remarks by County Administrator Jennifer Davis, OMB coordinator Ian Proverbs and Vice Chair Mitchell Wills during the July 22, 2025 Hendry County budget workshop in LaBelle.