Citrus County sets general-fund rollback millage, directs savings to road resurfacing

Citrus County commissioners voted July 2026 to set the general-fund tentative millage at the rollback rate and approved tentative millage rates for transportation, health, library and fire-rescue funds, while directing staff to continue identifying budget cuts and to channel savings toward road resurfacing.

County Administrator Steve Howard summarized the budget staff recommended, saying, "the total budget is 544,000,000, which is a slight reduction, point 39% below the FY 2526 budget." He and Interim Management and Budget Director Barbara Luckum told the board staff had identified roughly $11,300,000 in reductions and had built a CIP of about $65,700,000 that includes $15,000,000 for road resurfacing.

Why it matters: commissioners repeatedly emphasized that the county is behind on road maintenance and that incremental cuts should be pooled to increase resurfacing. Commissioner Rebecca Bays told the board staff: "we've been told we need $35,000,000 a year to stay even on road resurfacing," and urged multi‑year planning rather than one‑year adjustments.

During the hearing, staff reviewed revenue and reserve numbers: Luckum said projected tax revenues were about $152,000,452 at the current millage assumption and reported a general-fund reserve around $20,000,000 (full-county reserves reported at roughly $156,948,056 or 28.83% of the total budget). Howard noted an anticipated FEMA reimbursement near $1,500,000 that would slightly increase reserves.

Commissioner Janet Barrack pressed for earlier, more aggressive cuts and asked staff to return a page-and-line list of suggested reductions for the whole board to review before the tentative budget hearing. "We need to cut where we've got too much here," she said, listing potential reductions from travel and meals to program allocations. Several commissioners supported moving modest savings into the road program rather than leaving them unallocated.

Board action and votes: after debate and an initial omnibus motion that the chair ruled inconclusive, commissioners voted on tentative millage rates individually. The board approved transportation (0.98602), health department (0.05442), library (0.30342), fire rescue (0.57802) and a law-enforcement MSTU at 0.0000 (each 5-0). For the general fund, Commissioner Rebecca Bays moved to set the tentative millage at the rollback rate (6.7382); the motion carried 4-1. The board then unanimously authorized staff to execute TRIM compliance forms.

Public comment: resident Renee Bedford asked the board to table the budget and called for an independent investigation, alleging misuse of funds and undocumented contracts. The chair and staff responded that the county is subject to an outside annual audit and invited Bedford to submit her documents to the clerk for the record. John Labriel, another resident, asked the board to confirm whether the proposed rate exceeded the rollback and noted state-law supermajority rules when levying a rate above rollback.

What comes next: commissioners directed staff to continue refining reductions and to return revised budget options at the tentative hearing on Sept. 10, 2026, including the page-and-line detail requested by Commissioner Barrack. The board adjourned after authorizing TRIM compliance filings.