Alachua County staff unveil plain-language budget guide 'Sense and Sensibility'

Alachua County staff on Tuesday unveiled a 40-page, plain-language guide to the county's finances called "Sense and Sensibility," saying it will be released by press release and on social media later today.

The staff member leading the announcement said the guide was produced at the county manager's direction to respond to confusing information circulating statewide and to make financial information accessible to residents. "The tagline is: you shouldn't have to have a finance degree to understand the county's finances," the staff member said.

The publication is designed to open like a book and includes an interactive table of contents that links to chapters. The staff member said chapters explain how the general fund and property taxes work, how reserves function, why budgets grow over time and how residents can influence the budget. They singled out chapter 4 as "particularly important," saying it outlines how state unfunded mandates have affected county budgeting since the 1970s.

The staff member acknowledged Andrew Kaplan and Brett Bostock from the speaker's office, as well as Tommy Crosby and Maureen Ricciatelli, for significant work on the guide. "We're very proud of this, and we think it's gonna be a very useful tool for our residents," the staff member said.

The county said it will distribute the guide with a press release and on social media later in the day.