Putnam County adopts $288.8 million FY2025‑26 budget, rolls back countywide millage to 8.7418 mills

Putnam County Commissioners on Tuesday, Sept. 9, adopted the tentative fiscal year 2025‑26 budget and set the countywide operating millage at 8.7418 mills — the rollback rate — while keeping the fire municipal service taxing unit (MSTU) at 1.1 mills.

County budget staff told the board the tentative budget is balanced and includes a 4% cost‑of‑living adjustment for Board of County Commissioners employees, 15 additional full‑time positions (including eight in fire rescue), inclusion of the capital improvement plan, and increased appropriations for constitutional officers. The board approved an all‑funds budget of $288,792,098.

The rollback decision "means that we would lose some opportunity of revenues that could have been captured," county staff said, adding the rollback reflects effort to lower the county's tax rate for residents. "The county is proposing a countywide millage reduction and rate of 8.7418, which is equal to the rollback rate for the general fund," a county staff member said during the hearing.

Nut graf: The action reduces the county's millage after several years of attempts to reach a rollback and comes as commissioners approved additional staffing and spending priorities. Commissioners said they considered the tradeoffs and emphasized that property reassessments and other taxing authorities can still raise individual tax bills even when the county lowers its rate.

Commissioner Harvey (first recognized by the chair during the hearing) praised staff work that made the rollback possible and said the reduction "is gonna be beneficial to our citizens." Commissioner Alexander said: "We did not raise our millage. We rolled it back, and we added 15 additional full‑time employees to better support our community." Commissioner Neubold and Commissioner Pellicer also commended staff and urged public outreach to explain how millage, assessed value and TRIM notices interact.

Public comment illustrated that interaction. Resident Thomas Mann of Cedar Creek Road asked why his TRIM notice showed a higher tax bill despite the rollback: "If we're having a millage rollback, why with the new budget is my TRIM statement showing a higher tax rate for if the budget's approved? That don't make sense to me," he said. County staff answered that TRIM notices are generated from the July maximum millage certification and that the final reduced millage is subject to the board's hearings and final adoption. Staff also explained that other taxing authorities and increases in assessed property value can cause an individual's taxes to rise even if the county's rate falls.

Commissioners and staff highlighted one ongoing budget pressure: the county's transportation fund. "The transportation fund is utilizing over $2,300,000 transfer from the general fund for recurring expenditures. This occurs every year," a county staff member said. Staff said the transportation fund has run a deficit for several years because gas tax revenues do not cover operational expenses; the transfer is a recurring mitigation, and the largest noted transfer in the current plan is structured as a loan intended to be repaid through future impact fee captures as capacity expands.

On the fire MSTU, staff said the fire service's recurring expenses have grown and assessed values in the MSTU did not grow enough to allow a reduction this year, so the board left the fire MSTU at 1.1 mills. The staff explanation: "The expenses in the fire MSTU are still growing at a rate that wouldn't support a reduction and the value did not grow in the MSTU at a rate that would allow us to capture those." Commissioners noted that eight of the newly approved 15 positions are for fire rescue.

Formal actions and votes at the Sept. 9 hearing: • Countywide operating millage — motion to set fiscal year 2025‑26 countywide operating millage at 8.7418 mills (the rollback rate). Vote: adopted (roll call in which Commissioners Alexander, Newell and Harvey were recorded as voting aye; tally recorded by the clerk as unanimous). • Fire MSTU — motion to set Putnam County fire MSTU rate at 1.1 mills (same as prior year). Staff noted this rate is 0.01% higher than the MSTU rollback of 1.0897 mills; the board adopted the 1.1 mills rate. • Aggregate millage — motion to set the aggregate millage at 9.8137 mills; adopted. • Budget adoption — motion to adopt the fiscal year 2025‑26 all‑funds budget of $288,792,098; adopted (roll call vote recorded as affirmative).

Board members emphasized outreach to help residents understand why a lowered county millage does not always mean a lower tax bill. Commissioner Pellicer reminded the public that assessed value is set by the property appraiser and outside the board's authority; a county staff member reiterated the distinction between the tax rate and assessed value.

Ending: County staff said the Sept. 9 hearing was tentative and that minor adjustments could be made before the final hearing scheduled for Sept. 23, including updates to fiscal year 2025 final projections that will carry forward into FY2026. The board adjourned following the votes.