Fabrizio Gowdy
Gadsden County News Service
On Sept. 30, the Gadsden County Commission approved the 9.0 millage rate tentatively adopted at its first budget hearing on Sept. 15. The 3-1 vote in favor of keeping the mill rate the same came in spite of significant public pressure to approve the rollback rate of 8.6383.
Commissioner Alonzetta Simpkins was the lone “no” vote. Commissioner Shawn Wood stepped out of the room for a few minutes and missed the vote; it is unclear why the board did not wait for Wood to return before conducting the vote. Simpkins and Wood voted against the 9.0 rate at the Sept. 15 budget hearing.
“I still stand where I stood a couple weeks ago, I still stand with the rollback,” said Simpkins, drawing applause from members of the public in attendance.
Like the first budget hearing, the meeting was once again well attended by rollback proponents.
“I really would like to see Gadsden County take a step in the right direction by cutting back instead of asking for more,” said Quincy resident David Wesolowski.
Several speakers argued that Gadsden’s mill rate is significantly higher than neighboring counties of similar sizes. According to the Florida Department of Revenue, it is true that most surrounding counties have lower mill rates.
Multiple speakers also warned that seniors would be among those hit hardest by not approving a rollback. That included Teresa Bajoczky, a process server for the 2nd Judicial Circuit, who became visibly emotional during her public comments.
“I’m the one who gets to go knock on doors, I’m the one who all these old people who get over-taxed and booted out of their houses [see] … the old people can’t do it,” said Bajoczky.
According to Bajoczky, since Covid, she has served significantly more property for foreclosure and tax sales. She also noted that her property taxes on her 1,100-foot lake house in Gadsden County hit $1,600 last year, which has led her to consider selling it and purchasing property in Wakulla County instead.
Havana resident and gold tech mechanic Dylan Turner rose to specifically challenge the county’s handling of the 10 Massey-Ferguson tractors it has deemed not repairable. Turner questioned whether the tractors really couldn’t be repaired, and even offered to volunteer his time to investigate. He also asked why the county is leasing equipment when it could save money over time by purchasing it.
“It makes me question who’s actually looking over the service department of these things … that spending seems outrageous,” said Turner.
In response to the pressure from speakers, Commissioners Eric Hinson, Brenda Holt, and Ronterious Green said they felt the public’s pain but crucial services including police, fire, and EMS had to be funded.
“I want to be clear again, we are not increasing the millage rate—it was 9.0 last year. I too look forward to being able to roll back, I’m not sure it’s possible to do it this budget,” said Green.
Hinson also pointed out that the county’s budget would be increasing the number of nighttime deputies on patrol from two to five. He said public safety should be a priority and was worth the investment.
According to Finance Director Rose Raynak, her department was asked as late as the day before to review all 96 county budgets, and that 76 of those budgets were slated to receive the same amount of funding as the previous year. She also stated that the mill rate has hovered around 9.0 for the last twenty years.