Pasco budget director outlines FY27 outlook, warns of structural pressures and legislative uncertainty

Amy Farrell, Pasco County’s budget director, presented the FY27 budget overview and timeline on Feb. 17, describing revenue predictors, scenario planning and major budget pressures.

Farrell showed taxable assessed value scenarios of 4, 6 and 8 percent and explained how new construction, revaluations and preliminary assessed values flow into general‑fund projections. She reviewed major revenue sources — the county’s half‑cent sales tax, communications service tax, local option fuel taxes and ambulance fee collections — and noted moderated growth trends that broadly resemble pre‑COVID levels.

Key budgetary pressures Farrell flagged included public‑safety staffing and the operational impacts of expanding detention and rescue facilities, inflationary cost increases for capital projects, and a structural imbalance between recurring revenues and recurring expenses. Staff also emphasized uncertainty arising from pending state property‑tax reform proposals and said the county is monitoring legislative activity and running scenario analyses.

Farrell outlined the budget calendar: department submissions and deep dives through spring, workshops with constitutional officers in April, a proposed budget and preliminary taxable assessed values in June, and the formal budget adoption process through July–September with public hearings in September.

Commissioners thanked staff for clearer presentation materials and asked for follow‑up briefings on MSTU/millage implications and collective‑bargaining impacts. Farrell and staff said they will provide one‑on‑one briefings and continue updating the board as legislative proposals evolve.