At its August 16 meeting, the Southwest Florida Water Management District’s Withlacoochee River Basin Board adopted a fiscal year 2005 (FY2005) millage rate of 0.265 mill, which is the same as the current fiscal year.
The budget forFY2005 is $11,312,338, which is an increase of $6,769,805 over the approvedFY2004 budget. The main reason for this major budget increase is because the District will receive a $4.3 million state appropriation and anticipates receiving $1 million from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Project.FY2005 will run from Oct. 1, 2004, through Sept. 30, 2005.
For the owner of a $100,000 home with a $25,000 homestead exemption, theFY2005Basin Board tax would be $19.88, or about $1.66 per month.
The Withlacoochee River Basin Board’sFY2005 budget includes Cooperative Funding projects. These projects are proposed by local governments, and usually equally funded by the Basin Board and the local cooperator. One of the Withlacoochee River Basin Board’s Cooperative Funding projects includes the Eastern Hernando Watershed Management Program in Hernando County. A watershed management program includes the following five elements: topographic information, watershed evaluation, watershed management plan, implementation and system maintenance.
The project focuses on flood control and water quality improvements. The multi-year funded project will provide the information needed to identify existing problem areas, future potential flooding problems and best management practices to implement and solve the problems. The project will also provide the floodplain boundaries for the Flood Insurance Rate Maps.
The estimated cost of the first three elements of the Eastern Hernando Watershed Management project is $1,187,997, with the Withlacoochee River Basin Board budgeting $762,772, of which $377,000 will be funded by Hernando County, inFY2005. The Basin Board may contribute additional funding in future fiscal years.
The Basin Board’s budget also includes $7,216,632 for basin initiatives, including the Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Council Implementation Project.
The Lake Panasoffkee Restoration Project is a five-step project to remove sediment and emergent vegetation to restore fish habitat and shoreline. The District is preparing to begin steps 2 and 3 of the 4-step dredging project.
The cost of this multi-year, five-step project is $21,692,697 with the Withlacoochee River Basin Board budgeting $5,320,989FY2005. The project will be funded primarily from a $4,320,000 state grant and a $1 million Florida Fish and Wildlife grant inFY2005. 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 Withlacoochee River Basin Board area covers portions of Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Sumter, Marion, and Levy counties.
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 who serves as the Board’s chair ex officio.
Two statutorily required publicTRIM hearings on the District’s total budget will be held in September. The first will be Sept. 14 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 finalTRIM hearing will be Sept. 28 at 5:01 p.m. at the District’s Brooksville headquarters. At the conclusion of the 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.