Fabrizio Gowdy
Gadsden County News Service
Facing potential budget shortfalls and cuts, the Gadsden County commission convened for a budget workshop Friday morning. Commissioners ultimately turned over the responsibility of going through the budget line by line to the county administrators.
The meeting began by addressing the potential for unfunded mandates, with Administrative Assistant Pheshe Bennet warning during her presentation that the county might have to cut back on public services including roads, EMS, fire, and library services.
Commissioners mulled over potential ramifications of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act and its funding cuts that impact local governments. “The jail and EMS are [Gadsden County’s] “two biggest risk areas,” Interim County Attorney Louis J. Baptiste said.
According to Baptiste, if the federal government pulls back its funding, the county will have to step up with its own jail funding or be liable for damages under any potential 8th Amendment claim. Similarly, federal cuts to Medicaid would affect the over 50 percent of Gadsden County EMS users who don’t have billable insurance and rely instead on Medicaid.
The drying up of federal funds from the American Rescue Plan and the uncertainty caused by a state level proposal to eliminate property taxes were also acknowledged as complicating the situation.
The reality is, we’re going to have to look at cuts. The money that we’re not going to get from other entities, it has to come from somewhere,” said Commissioner Shawn Wood, who suggested budget-wide cuts of up to 10 percent may be necessary.
One potential source of savings that was discussed was the insurance provider used for county employees. Commissioners agreed it was worth reevaluating if Gadsden County is using the best provider, with Commissioner Eric Hinson alleging the county “got bamboozled last time.”
As the meeting drew to a close, there was some disagreement as to whether the commissioners themselves should go line by line through the budget or whether that should be left to the county administrators. Commissioners Brenda Holt and Alonzetta Simpkins wanted the board to go through the list of budget items themselves, but Board Chair Hinson argued the administrative staff was more than capable of compiling recommendations for commissioners to vote on. Ultimately, it was Commissioner Hinson who got his way, and the meeting was adjourned with plans to convene again to continue working on the budget.
