Nonprofit leaders outline services as Wakulla commissioners keep prior-year funding in preliminary budget

WAKULLA COUNTY — Leaders of local nonprofit providers described volunteer cleanups, senior meals and transportation, medical assistance and wildlife rehabilitation at a Wakulla County budget workshop as the board considered several new or increased funding requests.

Commissioners left nonprofit funding in the preliminary FY 2025–26 budget at prior-year levels but instructed staff to return with updated figures and to include any board direction when staff presents a revised preliminary budget.

What nonprofits told the board - Keep Wakulla County Beautiful: Tammy Nathan, executive director, said volunteers contributed 4,440 hours and that the group removed about 10.9 tons of trash in the first three fiscal quarters; a tire-amnesty event collected roughly 12.68 tons of tires. Nathan told the board she estimated a $3.59 return on investment for every county dollar invested in the program (first three fiscal quarters). - Wakulla Senior Center: Laura Edwards, executive director, said the center served more than 11,000 hot meals in 2024 and provided about 17,000 rides for appointments and errands. Edwards said demand is rising — she reported a roughly 30% increase in seniors using center programs and a 70% increase in transportation rides since 2021 — and that the center operates nine vehicles with 10 paid drivers. - We Care Network (Capital Medical Society Foundation): Diana Bixler, program coordinator, said the program provides specialty medical and dental care via volunteer providers. She reported roughly 165 unduplicated Wakulla County patients per year (about 9% of the program’s patients) and described a $12,000 local grant that yielded approximately $212,000 in donated care value last year. - North Florida Medical Centers: CEO Lane Lawn thanked the county for prior support and requested an increase (from $10,000 to $15,000) to prepare for potential increases in uninsured patients tied to federal changes. He told commissioners the program leverages local dollars into higher federal distributions through an intergovernmental transfer mechanism. - Florida Wild Mammal Association: Jess Beatty, executive director, described the county’s only wildlife rehabilitation clinic and said the organization now handles 1,000–1,500 animals a year across several counties. Beatty said the center operates without regular state, county or federal funding and runs a roughly $250,000 annual budget, with over half the budget going to animal-care staffing.

How the board handled requests County staff said the preliminary budget includes nonprofit funding at FY 2024–25 levels. Commissioners discussed several possible increases — several commissioners signaled informal support for adding the increases to the preliminary budget so staff could model impacts, while at least one commissioner said he did not support using taxpayer funds for some of the new asks. The board’s procedural direction was to leave the preliminary budget as presented (prior-year funding) for now and to allow staff to model the requested increases and return to the board with updated numbers.

Why this matters County funding supports services that substitute for or reduce county costs (for example, trash abatement and senior transportation) and that serve vulnerable residents who rely on nonprofit transportation and medical-assistance programs. Commissioners said they want to balance taxpayer affordability with service preservation and asked staff to model trade-offs when returning with a revised preliminary budget.

Next steps Staff will include the nonprofit requests as options in the updated preliminary budget and return to the board with a tracked-change version for the next workshop.