Gadsden County outlines three-year plan to cover $423,000 balloon payment, taps contingency for first installment

County staff told the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners that a large balloon payment will be reflected in this year’s debt-service budget but paid in three consecutive installments, with one payment already made and two remaining.

“We're approved to use 3 payments to pay off setting up the budget so that there will be the 423,000,” a staff member explained. Commissioners and staff agreed the approach will show the full $1,000,002 total as the payment obligation while not moving the entire amount out of the fund at once.

A later line-item review noted the budget will use $87,000 from department 8001’s reserve for contingency to cover part of this year’s $427,000 obligation. A commissioner observed that transportation did not have the necessary funds in its budget and sought confirmation that contingency would be used for the first payment; staff confirmed that transfer.

The board also cleared several smaller budget adjustments and grant-related items during the same agenda sequence. Staff presented Amendment 1 to the county’s agreement with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for the solid-waste program and said the change requires adding $21,006.37 to the budget; staff described the amendment as a grant source and said the funds come to counties as part of routine program support.

A separate travel request to send six deputies to the Florida Law Enforcement Tactical Operations Conference and Expo was listed at $4,320 and described as funded from the department’s existing budget lines.

What happens next: these agenda items were presented for board approval during the meeting. No formal roll-call vote or recorded vote tally appears in the transcript; board members signaled no objections on these items as they were read into the record.