At its August 3 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2006 (FY2006) millage rate of 0.400 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.
The budget for FY2006 is $38,655,311, which is an increase of $6,614,869 from the approved FY2005 budget. The increase in the budget is primarily due to ad valorem tax revenue from increased property values and revenue from the state’s newly created Water Protection and Sustainability Program for alternative water supply projects ($4.3 million) and surface water restoration projects ($352,850). FY2006 will run from Oct. 1, 2005, through Sept. 30, 2006.
For the owner of a $125,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, the FY2006 Basin Board tax would be $40, or about $3.33 per month.
The Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board’s FY2006 budget includes Cooperative Funding projects. These projects are proposed by local governments, and are usually funded equally by the Basin Board and the local cooperator. One of the Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board’s Cooperative Funding projects is the Morningside Area Reclaimed Water Transmission and Distribution project.
This multi-year project involves the design and construction of approximately 8,000 linear feet of 16-inch and 4,000 linear feet of 8-inch transmission mains and approximately 32,000 linear feet of 4-inch and 6-inch distribution lines in the Morningside area of Clearwater. The project will supply approximately 548,000 gallons-per-day (gpd) of reclaimed water to approximately 760 residential and eight commercial customers, which will offset approximately 317,000 gpd of potable quality water.
Reclaimed water supply is the actual amount of reclaimed water delivered to a customer. Offset is the amount of traditional water sources saved by using the reclaimed water. The amount of water savings offset for most projects is generally less than the amount of reclaimed water supplied because most users tend to increase irrigation after they switch to reclaimed water.
The total cost of this project is $4.5 million. The Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board is contributing $1,202,438 in FY2006 to Clearwater for the project, which includes $400,000 from the new state Water Protection and Sustainability Program for alternative water supply development. The Basin Board may contribute additional funding in future fiscal years.
The Basin Board’s budget also includes $7,560,334 for Water Supply and Resource Development. Water Supply and Resource Development projects provide funding to projects to develop additional new sustainable water supplies.
One of the Water Supply and Resource Development projects in the Basin’s budget is the Pasco County Central East Regional Reclaimed Water Interconnect project.
The interconnect involves the design and construction of reclaimed water transmission line, which will connect the county’s western reclaimed water storage and pumping station to the county’s eastern reuse system. The project will provide reclaimed water to the growing central and eastern portion of the county.
The total cost of this project is $3.8 million. The Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board is contributing $484,293 to the project in FY2006, which includes $150,325 from the state Water Protection and Sustainability Program. The Basin Board may contribute additional funding in future fiscal years.
The District has eight regional Basin Boards that provide guidance for local programs that are specific to the watershed basins they protect. The District’s ninth basin, the Green Swamp, is administered by the Governing Board. Basin Boards work with local governments and other entities on water resource projects that have an impact in local communities. Basin Boards often provide partial funding for these projects in partnership with a local government or local cooperator. The Pinellas-Anclote River Basin Board area includes Pinellas County and the southern portion of Pasco County.
Basin Board members are unpaid citizen volunteers appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. They serve three-year staggered terms. Each of the Basin Boards includes a minimum of one person from each county within the basin, and there must be at least three members on each board. Each Basin Board has at least one of the 11 members of the District’s Governing Board that serves as the Board’s chair ex officio.
The District’s Governing Board will adopt the millage rates for the District’s General Fund and the eight Basin Boards in September after two statutorily required public Truth in Millage (TRIM) hearings on the District’s total budget will be held in September. The first will be Sept. 13 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Tampa Service Office.
The Governor’s office will review and approve the budgets of all five water management districts before the second and final public hearing.
The District’s second and final TRIM hearing will be Sept. 27 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Brooksville headquarters. At this hearing, the Governing Board will formally adopt the final millage rates and budgets. The public is welcome to attend any Governing Board or Basin Board meetings to provide comment on the proposed budgets.