A failing housing market and reduced tax revenue may force the county to eliminate or scale back some projects planned for the coming years.
"I really don't think we have a choice," said Commissioner Lee Pinkoson at a special meeting Tuesday of the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners.
The board voted unanimously to draft a resolution cutting back on projects that would have been funded with bonds and paid off later with money from property and sales taxes.
If passed, the county would scale back improvements for the Animal Services building and Jonesville Park and postpone plans for a new government building.
County Manager Randy Reid explained the county's situation in a seven-page memorandum issued last week.
After a sales tax to pay for improvement projects was shot down at the polls in 2004, the board authorized a plan to finance up to $80 million in projects through bonds. Steadily rising revenue from property taxes would be able to pay them off.
But tax revenue in the 2008 fiscal year was nearly $10 million less than estimated, and it's only expected to worsen. In addition to a general economic slump, Reid said he blamed much of the problem on state legislation, such as House Bill 1B and Amendment 1, which affected the property taxes that fund local governments.
Now, it could take 20 years to pay off bonds that were expected to be paid off in six, he said.
"We do not believe any of the projects can be implemented now," Reid said.
If passed, the resolution would stop work for at least two years on a court support building that would have housed the Public Defender's and Supervisor of Elections offices.
It would also cut funding for facilities at Jonesville Park from $9.9 million to $3.4 million, eliminating plans for a $5.5 million joint recreation center and library.
Plans to renovate the Animal Services building would be cut from $1.5 million to $1 million, limiting improvements to a more efficient air conditioning system to prevent the spread of airborne diseases among animals.
The county will continue with plans to make $7.7 million energy efficiency improvements at the jail, which it will fund with a loan from Compass Bank.
Commissioners at the meeting disagreed on what else should remain a priority.
Pinkoson spoke on behalf of Supervisor of Elections Pam Carpenter, who could not attend the meeting, saying that her small office would need to be renovated to be more efficient before the 2012 election. If plans for the court support building continue, Carpenter's office would be moved there.
Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut disagreed, saying it would be more cost-effective to expand early voting sites.
Commissioners also disagreed on what should be funded through $4.6 million of non-refundable bond money designated for road improvements if the resolution passes.
Staff recommended a project that would remove sharp turns from County Road 337, but Commissioner Mike Byerly was an adamant supporter of a project that would extend Southwest Eighth Avenue to Southwest 24th Avenue, which he said would help clear traffic in Southwest Gainesville.
"I've never really been a big supporter of that project, County Road 337," Byerly said. "It seems like it's almost entirely in the city of Newberry and should be a priority for them."
The commissioners unanimously passed a second motion to have staff issue a report about the possibility of funding construction on Southwest Eighth Avenue instead of County Road 337.
Reid said he did not expect to see any improvements in the economy until 2010. When things do improve, problems could still be present with a glut of construction projects likely raising costs. Although construction costs are lower now, high interest rates on the bonds make it unfeasible for the county to continue with all its projects.
Reid advocated passing a one-cent sales tax as a more reliable means to fund improvement projects in the future.
But with a sales tax and increased millage rate just passed in the Nov. 4 election to fund other causes, Reid said it's unlikely that such a tax could be passed until 2010.
"Hopefully things will get better," Reid said. "It always does."
