Wakulla County creates disaster-preparedness department, adjusts grants accounting and adds park fund

WAKULLA COUNTY — County finance staff told commissioners they added several new organizational and fund-line items to the preliminary FY 2025–26 budget to improve transparency and respond to expected changes in federal and state grant administration.

The changes explained at the workshop include: - Disaster and emergency preparedness department: Staff moved some disaster-response costs out of the sheriff’s emergency-management budget and created a general‑fund department for disaster and emergency-preparedness costs so the county can better track local expenses tied to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other disaster funding rules. - Landscaping and groundskeeping: The county created a separate landscaping and groundskeeping line within facilities to isolate exterior landscape costs from building maintenance. No new personnel were added; staff said employees are being reallocated between subdepartments. - Panacea Mineral Springs park department: After the county’s acquisition of the Panacea Mineral Springs property, staff added a new park department and budgeted modest maintenance and enhancement funds (benches, picnic tables, basic site work) for this fiscal year. - Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Fund (Fund 195): On auditor advice, the county is budgeting an IDA fund that previously operated as an unbudgeted fiduciary/pass-through. Staff said activity in the fund is limited but transparency requires it to appear on the budget. - Grants accounting changes: The county is changing how it books certain grants to avoid “double counting.” Staff said some EMS and law-enforcement grant distributions previously flowed through separate grant funds and were then transferred to operating funds; going forward the county will either receive and spend funds directly in the grant fund or book transfers consistently so year‑over‑year comparisons are not distorted.

Staff also reiterated that the county maintains a $30,000,000 loan fund used to cash-flow grant projects; staff said that loan fund is the county’s responsibility and that grants often require expenses to be incurred before reimbursement is received.

Why the changes matter Staff said the reorganization improves transparency for grant activity and for disaster-response expenses that may become more the county’s responsibility as federal and state rules tighten. The accounting changes will also alter the appearance of some departmental budgets from year to year without indicating actual reductions in services, staff said.

Next steps Staff will incorporate the departmental and fund changes into the revised preliminary budget and track those changes for the board’s review at the next workshop.