BOCC cuts personnel at recycling center, puts aside possible tax hike

CHIPLEY – Washington County Board of County Commissioners recently cut the budget for the recycling center by $199,000 for the coming fiscal year due to state budget cuts, and as part of that will reduce the number of personnel. Action was taken during the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting on June 16.

The center’s budget had been reduced from $277,000 to $78,000, which made it necessary to go from four members of personnel to two.

The Board agreed to relocate one of those two employees, James Finch, to work at the sod farm, though it is still undecided as to whether he will be relocated now or at the beginning of the next fiscal year in October. The Board will also decide whether to transfer or lay off the clerk assigned to the center.

The positions are being cut due to cuts in the state solid waste program. County Administrator Pete Herbert said that in recent years small counties did not have solid waste funds cut like larger counties, but this year small counties were also cut.

The ELMS-Nickle five cent tax proposal was put aside with a vote of four to one, with Chairman Bill Howell voting to keep the measure under consideration. This is a local option gas tax under Florida law that county commissions could levy for transportation projects that are already on the county capital improvement list.

Herbert said the tax would have been used to provide matches for transportation-related grants instead of providing in-kind matches whereby county crews would do work to match a transportation grant. This issue has been discussed at recent Board meetings as there is concern that having to do in-kind work with county road crews is interfering with regular road maintenance.

The Board approved raising the traffic violation fee from $3 to $5 and split it between the Driver’s Education courses in Vernon and Chipley schools.

The Board approved of Public Safety Fund Expenditure to repair the extrication vehicle, because if not repaired EMS would have to make other arrangements for transporting the jaws of life and other equipment.