The Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) to separate the Sheriff’s Office budget from the general fund has been a contentious subject for some time now, being first addressed by Sheriff Rich Nugent back in 2001. The discussion of enacting an MSTU for the Sheriff’s Office appeared on the BOCC agenda in October 2015, causing much debate.
At the time, Commissioner Jim Adkins voiced his concern about lack of transparency and lack of professionalism when addressing the manner of the discussions, and how the Sheriff’s Office was notified about the MSTU from a Tampa Bay Times reporter, since the Times received the public notice to advertise the meeting. Sheriff Al Nienhuis addressed the board during the October 13, 2015 meeting defending his position opposing the MSTU and social media interactions over the preceding weeks.
Currently the Sheriff’s Budget is funded through the General Fund which is sourced from different types of revenue. At the close of each fiscal year, the Sheriff presents his budget to the County Commission and they determine the level at which they are willing to fund it. It is not readily apparent on the tax bill, what residents pay for the Sheriff’s Office budget since it comes out of the general fund. Enacting the MSTU would appear on homeowners Truth in Millage (TRIM) Notices, showing the tax paid specifically to the Sheriff’s Office. There would potentially be additional costs as the Sheriff’s Office duplicates functions currently handled by the County.
Introducing an MSTU in general increases the potential maximum tax rate for the county. An MSTU will add another possible 10 mils that can be taxed (10 mills is $1000 per year in taxes if you have $100,000 in taxable value after exemptions). All MSTUs combined cannot exceed 10 mills in taxation. Likewise all MSBUs combined cannot exceed 10 mills. For residents within a municipality, the city and county millage rates combined cannot exceed 10 mills.
The proposed MSTU ordinance does attempt to limit the potential for an increase in taxation by requiring that the general fund millage rate is reduced in the amount of the Sheriff’s Office MSTU millage rate.
The proposed ordinance states, “AN ORDINANCE CREATING A HERNANDO COUNTY MUNICIPAL SERVICE TAXING UNIT FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE UNINCORPORATED AREAS OF HERNANDO COUNTY; PROVIDING FOR A MANDATORY, EQUIVALENT REDUCTION IN THE GENERAL FUND MILLAGE RATE AS A CONDITION PRECEDENT…”
Changing this provision would require passing a new ordinance, which is the same process that is required to create the MSTU.
Should the Administration Commission find in favor of the Sheriff’s Office FY 2017 budget appeal, the ordinance includes a provision that would allow the county to “include the cost of such an additional appropriation when calculating the Unit’s millage rate for Fiscal Year 2018. This provision shall automatically sunset on 19 November 1, 2019.”
A public hearing will be held on Tuesday, March 28th, 2017 at the BOCC regular meeting. If passed, the new ordinance will go into effect for the fiscal year 2018.
Julie Maglio and Rocco Maglio contributed to this report