Budget cuts, retirement cripple county coffers

The Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners held a pre-budget workshop June 9 in which preliminary budget numbers and revenue expectations were presented by Hunter Walker, county administrator.

Representatives of each office created by the constitution gave a brief presentation on the status of their office.

One of the largest topics of discussion was the changes to the Florida retirement system that now requires employees to contribute three percent of their salary to their retirement plan, reducing the amount of money the county has to contribute.

Walker said changes had been made such as extending the retirement age that will decrease the contribution the county makes. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011, that decrease amounts to more than $571,000 and will reduce the county contribution by about $750,600 for fiscal year 2012.

Several officials were concerned about how this will affect the amount of money their employees will be making. 

For more on this story, see the June 16 issue of Navarre Press or subscribe online.