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Hernando County elects new chair; outgoing chair touts low debt, tax rollback and budget reforms
Summary
Commissioners elected a new chair and vice chairs at their Nov. 18 meeting. The outgoing chair said Hernando County’s debt is under 3% and highlighted a policy change that removed a blanket 20% contingency on capital projects, which he said will free up funds for infrastructure and public safety.
The Hernando County Board of County Commissioners elected a new chair and two vice chairs during its Nov. 18 regular meeting and heard a year‑end report from the outgoing chair on the county’s finances. Commissioners voted unanimously to install Commissioner Campbell as chair and named Ryan Amsler vice chair.
The outgoing chair, speaking to the board and the public, described the county as being on "a strong financial footing," noting that county debt stands at "less than 3%" and saying the board voted to set the maximum millage rate to "roll back plus 3%," which he characterized as a meaningful property‑tax reduction. He also identified a procedural change to capital budgeting: removing a blanket 20% contingency on capital projects and replacing it with a project‑specific approach.
"This is one of the most important fiscal reforms Hernando County has made in years," the outgoing chair said, crediting the change with saving "tens of millions of dollars" and allowing the county to target investments in infrastructure, public safety and parks without saddling future taxpayers.
At the meeting administrators and commissioners discussed how returned fiscal year 2025 "excess fees" from constitutional officers will be posted into the county’s general‑fund reserves and considered two requests from constitutional offices to earmark portions of those returns for space improvements and a supervisor‑of‑elections consolidation. Budget Director Erin Doran explained that state statute requires an accounting of fees that constitutional offices remit to the county after their annual audits and that those amounts are typically small but in aggregate can be sizable for the general fund.
Commissioners stressed that the board can later reallocate returned funds when projects are ready and that placing the money into reserves preserves options during the next budgeting cycle. No final reallocations were approved at the meeting; the board’s actions were limited to acknowledgement and direction to bring project proposals back when ready.
The meeting also included ceremonial remarks honoring veterans and a plaque presentation recognizing the outgoing chair’s year of service.
