Polk County supervisors propose roughly $365 million budget, cut levy by $0.10 and warn of multi-year pressures from House File 718

Polk County administrators on Tuesday presented the Board of Supervisors with a recommended budget of approximately $365,000,000 that they say balances service levels and employee pay while cutting the countywide property tax levy by $0.10.

The recommended plan — presented by Frank Marasco to Chairman McCoy and the board — preserves current service levels, avoids layoffs and includes pay and insurance increases for county employees, who Marasco called “our number one asset.” The budget includes roughly $41,000,000 in debt service, about $23,500,000 in capital spending (half of which Marasco said is a conservation bond), and roughly $9,000,000 in expenses for the airport and the Metro Waste Authority that the county expects to be reimbursed for.

Marasco told the board that operating expenses are driven by staffing: “the bulk of that is our personal services expense,” he said, and added the county received more than $6,000,000 in decision‑package requests above base targets but is recommending only about $1,000,000 in ongoing new spending due to fiscal constraints.

Why it mat…