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THE SUNCOAST NEWS

Published: July 23, 2008

If only the federal government could pull off this trick.

The proposed fiscal 2009 budget Pasco County Administrator John Gallagher unveiled last week is 19 percent below the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. That would put the county budget for next year below the $1 billion threshold, at roughly $980 million.

If approved as proposed, the 2009 Pasco budget would have the same general fund property tax rate the county levied for the current budget year, $5.43 for each $1,000 of assessed, taxable property value.

The county will take in less property tax revenue next fiscal year because in January Florida voters approved Amendment No. 1, which doubled the homestead exemption - from $25,000 to $50,000 - for primary residences valued in excess of $75,000.

So far, no one has been protesting the planned spending cuts.

County officials, however, face one challenge: Paying for added personnel to oversee the 768-bed addition to the county jail after fiscal 2009.

Overcrowded, understaffed jails quickly draw sanctions from the state and federal governments.

That task would be slightly less difficult if the Florida economy manages to rebound over the next year or so.

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