The Laker/Lutz News

Heather Grimes

Negotiations underway for county administrator

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Pasco County Commissioners have selected Daniel F. Biles as their top choice for the next county administrator and his contract negotiations are underway.

Biles emerged as the clear favorite in the selection process, and commissioners voted unanimously to offer him the position, said Commission Chairman Mike Moore.

If Biles agrees to terms, he will replace County Administrator Michele Baker, who is retiring. She has been in the role since 2013, following a lengthy career with the county.

Commissioners had planned a two-day selection process. Initially they intended to conduct public interviews with all five candidates, followed by one-on-one individual interviews between each commissioner and each candidate.

After that, they were set to reconvene on the first day to narrow the field to three finalists, with those interviews expected on the following day, March 15.

But when they got back together, commissioners received a score sheet to rank the candidates on a scale of one to five, with five being the best score.

Heather Grimes, assistant county administrator, tallied the sheets and announced the outcome.

Biles scored a 25, meaning each commissioner identified him as the top choice, Moore said. Commissioners then decided to drop the second day of interviews.

Biles currently is the deputy county manager of Jefferson County, Alabama, located in Birmingham.

He has 10 years of experience in engineering, including work on stormwater issues. He also has a military background and has family living in Florida.

Besides the public interviews and one-on-one interviews, the candidates also went on a tour of the county and attended a private meet-and-greet session on March 13.

Other candidates that were considered were:

• Mark A. Cunningham, assistant county administrator in Sarasota County

• David M. Ross, the first county administrator of Rock Island County, Illinois, which formed its government in 2015

• Theodore L. Voorhees, the former city manager of Fayetteville, North Carolina

• Dale M. Walker, the county manager of the Macon-Bibb County government, which consolidated in 2014

The five candidates who were interviewed were selected from a list of 11 candidates recommended by the Chicago-based recruitment firm of GovHR USA.

Both Moore and Commissioner Mike Wells said the county had a top-notch pool of candidates.

But, both also said that Biles stood out.

Both commissioners said Biles’ military leadership experience, his private business experience and his government experience equip him to perform well in the job.

Moore characterized Biles as being relaxed and engaged.

“I watched how he interacted with folks, during the meet-and-greet period,” Moore said. “He just felt at home, to me, talking to people.

“Something else that stood out is that his spouse flew down with him, too. His spouse came to the meet-and-greet. She sat with him, while he was interacting with others. She also came and sat in the public interviews that we did, as a group, too,” Moore said.

“Obviously, you really take it serious if you make that decision to bring your spouse down,” Moore said.

That fact didn’t escape Wells’ notice, either, and if left a positive impression.

Wells said Biles obviously had done his homework and, he said, Biles clearly values the importance of customer service.

Moore also noted: “When I had my private interview with him, too, going one on one, he was very comfortable during that conversation. I never felt once that he was trying to oversell me.”

Besides being factual, “he (Biles) was bringing great ideas to the table,” Moore said.

After commissioners offered Biles the job, Moore said he was chatting with him, and Biles mentioned that today’s technology will enable him to be out and about in the county, while remaining accessible.

Moore thinks that’s important.

“When you’re a leader like that, your team needs to see you, and the community needs to see you,” Moore said.

The board is expected to vote on Biles’ contract at its next meeting, scheduled for March 28.

Published March 15, 2017

Inmate labor proves cost-effective, will expand

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A program that assigns inmate labor to county departments worked so well in the past year, it is being tripled in size.

Pasco County commissioners have agreed to increase the program from one crew, up to three crews, effective April 25.

Animal services, public works, parks and recreation, and facilities management are the beneficiaries.

The funds for the expansion weren’t initially in the fiscal year 2016 budget. But, county staff members say the program saves the county from contracting for services or hiring additional employees.

“Staff believes we get a lot of bang for the buck,” said Heather Grimes, Pasco’s assistant county administrator.

Commissioners approved about $161,000 to cover the remaining months for fiscal year 2016, and about $215,000 as an ongoing annual amount for the program.

Inmates serving time for nonviolent crimes, and who have been screened by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, can be considered for the program.

Previously, several departments shared a single crew of five inmates who might work at one location in the morning, eat lunch and then be driven to another work site to finish the day.

Now, a five-member crew will work Monday-Friday at animal services; another five-member crew, also Monday-Friday, will divide time between parks and recreation, and facilities management. And, a four-member crew will work a four-day week with the public works department.

Duties will include cleaning cages and dog runs at the animal shelter, as well as roadside ditch cleaning, weed control, landscaping and maintenance, graffiti removal, roadside litter collection, street sweeping, and painting at various locations.

Inmate labor has been a success at animal services, said Mike Shumate, the county’s animal services director.

Previously, the animal shelter could stay open until 6:30 p.m., on Thursday only. Now, he said the shelter extends its hours to 6:30 p.m., on Tuesday through Saturday, with the goal of increasing adoptions and making it easier for residents to pick up their impounded pets.

The program’s expansion is another opportunity to improve services and adoptions, Shumate said.

For instance, he said, an animal behaviorist will show inmates how to train the dogs, so the animals interact better with people looking to adopt.

“We can socialize them a little better,” said Shumate. “We’ll get them ready to adopt out.”

Published May 4, 2016

Higher property taxes appear likely in Pasco County

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Pasco County commissioners have agreed to advertise a tax hike that could fully pay for salary increases for Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco’s deputies.

The increased revenues might also pay for a few other items on a wish list suggested by commissioners, including new fire rescue vehicles, additional code enforcement officers, and more money for libraries.

But the increased tax rate will not become final until commissioners approve the approximately $1.3 billion budget in September, and they can always roll the proposed rate back.

However, commissioners, at the July 21 meeting in New Port Richey, had to approve a tentative millage rate that can be advertised in trim notices sent to property owners.

The vote came before a standing-room-only crowd.

The board has adopted rate of 9.4, which is about half a mill higher than the current rate of 8.9.

For a $150,000 house, with taxable value of $100,000, the increase would mean about $36 a year in additional property tax.

Between now and September there will be workshops and public hearings where commissioners might get an earful from unhappy taxpayers.

Or, they could be greeted with cheers from Nocco and others who say the pay increase is critical to public safety.

“It’s just hard for Republicans to raise taxes. We know we’re going to get hammered,” said Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey.  But she said, “I’m not here for a career. I’m here to do what’s best for the county. I’m willing. If we don’t invest in our county, how can we possibly expect anyone else to?”

The crowd packing the commission’s meeting room included deputies, first responders and their family members.

They made it clear, as they have at other commission meetings, that they will not be satisfied with anything less than a full funding of Sheriff Chris Nocco’s requested budget increase of $6.5 million.

Kathleen Stevenson, the wife of a Pasco County deputy, told commissioners she never knows each day if her husband will come home safely.

“I want to say what an impact you can make today by putting yourselves in our shoes,” she said. “How much value do they (deputies) have for you? If you think things are improving in this county, you have blinders on.”

The sheriff’s total budget would be about $104 million for 2016, if fully funded. The increase is largely for salary and benefits to jump-start a three-year plan to make Pasco competitive in hiring and retaining deputies. The increase also includes funds for the jail’s new camera security system and maintenance of the department’s helicopter unit.

The sheriff’s department lost 44 deputies last year, many of them choosing to take higher paying jobs in Tampa. Nocco said he expects to lose about 60 deputies by the end of the year.

Pasco ranks 55 out of all 67 counties in Florida in per capita funding for law enforcement, and dead last among Tampa Bay area counties including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Citrus and Hernando, according to data provided by the sheriff’s department. That data also shows the department’s current budget is the lowest among counties with similar or smaller populations.

For example, Pasco’s 2015 law enforcement budget of about $98 million is significantly lower than Pinellas’ budget of nearly $249 million, even though Pinellas has about 61,000 fewer residents.

“It pains me that political leaders in this county have not made public safety funding a priority that gets us out of last place,” said Gary Bradford, a retired Tampa police detective who is a member of the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association. “I’m ashamed of it. We have to start. We have to start now.”

Pasco County Commissioner Jack Mariano drew a round of applause when he suggested a higher millage rate than the one eventually adopted.

“We need to make a move,” he said. “We’ve got a chance for a giant leap in this area. I don’t think anyone here wants to be at the bottom of any pile.”

Mariano also championed an end to parking fees at county parks, saying it is time for the county to stop pushing off decisions from year to year.

County officials estimate the annual revenues from parking fees are about $341,000.

But Mariano said, “Our tax base is only going to grow. It’s going to get better.”

Commission chairman Ted Schrader took the opposite view.

“It’s not really going to get better,” Schrader said. “It’s going to get worse.”

Schrader asked Assistant County Administrator Heather Grimes to highlight the crisis that could confront county officials in the next years.

The problem, Grimes said, is that recurring revenues aren’t keeping pace with recurring expenses.

Ending parking fees would be a deal breaker for Schrader who said there was a fairness issue in ending those fees while also increasing the annual storm water fee by $10. He also said the county can’t afford, at least in 2016, to increase library funding to its 2008, pre-recession level.

One source of funding that could help offset or reduce a tax increase is a one-time payout of about $7.4 million from BP Oil. Pasco County commissioners recently agreed to accept the funds as settlement against the oil giant for damages related to the 2010 oil spill at the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, off the shores of Louisiana.

The funds probably will be received within three months.

Five Gulf States, including Florida, sued BP for its losses, including tourist-related dollars. The state received more than $3.2 billion from more than $18.7 billion in total from BP. Louisiana received the largest settlement of about $6.8 million but Florida received the highest payout for its total economic losses, pegged at about $2 billion.

Pasco County Commissioner Mike Moore suggested giving $2 million of the county’s share to fund the sheriff’s requested budget.

“That will get him one step closer to the volume of raises he needs to keep people here,” Moore said.

He also supported a budget that funds four additional code enforcement officers. “People are concerned about the image and appearance of the county,” he said. “What’s going to take care of that? Code enforcement.”

Commissioner Mike Wells restated his previous desire to give pay increases to every county employee, possibly with the BP settlement.

“It’s all about raises,” he said. “We have to take care of everybody.”

Published July 29, 2015

Pasco’s budget approaches $1.3 billion

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Pasco County’s budget for fiscal year 2016 will be about $1.3 billion. But that outsized number won’t stretch far enough to meet all the county’s needs, including a pay hike requested by Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

Pasco County commissioners were scheduled to set a tentative millage rate, on July 21 — after our deadline for going to press.

However, the budget is still open for discussion and won’t be approved until September.

Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco might not get the money he requested for pay hikes. (File Photo)
Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco might not get the money he requested for pay hikes. (File Photo)

As it stands now, Nocco will get about $2.7 million of the $6.5 million increase he requested. His overall request of $104 million was about 6.7 percent higher than the budget approved by Pasco County commissioners last year.

The additional funds were meant to cover pay raises and benefits, as well as ongoing expenses for body cameras and helicopter maintenance.

According to Nocco, County Administrator Michele Baker’s proposed budget only provides enough money to give his employees a 1 percent pay boost.

But Baker said the budget proposal provides a 3 percent pay raise for all county employees, without raising the millage rate.

Nocco’s supporters are clearly not satisfied with the county administrator’s proposed budget.

On July 14, employees from the sheriff’s office and fire rescue packed the Dade City Courthouse meeting room as the commissioners received their first public briefing on the budget.

“We’re out here fighting for the sheriff’s budget,” said Sgt. Justin Ross, the department’s union representative.

According to data collected by the sheriff’s department, the starting pay for a Pasco County deputy is just under $40,000. With five years’ experience, pay rises to more than $42,000.

However, the average starting pay in surrounding counties is nearly $43,000. At the Tampa Police Department, a deputy would start at about $47,000. With five years’ experience, pay increases by nearly $10,000.

“You have a bunch of deputies out there unhappy,” said Ross. “They are looking to go elsewhere. Really, we need to start now. It’s imperative.”

Nocco told the commission members he expects to lose up to 60 deputies by the end of the year. That’s an increase over the 44 deputies who left last year.

To meet all of Nocco’s needs, the millage rate would have to be increased about a quarter percent over its current rate of 8.9, according to Assistant County Administrator Heather Grimes.

That equates to a tax bill increase of about $28.50 a year for a homeowner with a $150,000 house.

The total $1.3 billion budget is about $90 million more than the current budget. But, the operating budget of about $450 million is a decrease of just under 1 percent.

The county has had modest growth of about 4.5 percent. Property valuations rose by about $1 billion, translating to an additional $7.7 million in county coffers. But much of that is from new construction.

Existing homes are protected by the state’s Save Our Homes provision that pegs increases to the Consumer Price Index, which is less than 1 percent. The index periodically measures the prices for goods and services paid by households.

“Revenue is not going to recover at the same rate as property valuations,” said Baker.

The county could run out of its general fund reserves – currently about $8.5 million – within three years based on increasing expenses year to year. And, operating reserves of about $24 million would only cover about six weeks of expenses during a natural disaster such as a hurricane.

Baker said the county’s budget is focused on more efficiencies and eliminating waste.

“Money may not be there for a lot of things that we want to do,” she said.

Among highlights in the budget are $1.4 million for a one-time purchase of security cameras at the jail, and maintenance for the helicopter unit. Funds also are allocated for two pilot programs for an inmate work program and a unit that goes after unlicensed contractors.

An annual storm water fee to upgrade failing drainage systems will increase from $47 to $57.

The county will cover the costs of eliminating a $10 recreation fee for each child who plays in noncompetitive sports leagues.

Unless a tax hike is approved, vehicles for three fire stations and construction of a station on Overpass Road in the Watergrass subdivision in Wesley Chapel will remain unfunded. Money is available for those one-time expenditures, Baker said, but there are no funds for recurring personnel costs.

That didn’t sit well with Pasco County Commissioner Kathryn Starkey. “I’m a little unhappy,” she said. “Who made the decision?”

Baker took responsibility. “We just couldn’t get it done without making cuts somewhere else,” she said. “It was too big a nut to be funded.”

Published July 22, 2015

Lowe’s wants to open with a big(ger) bang

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When Lowe’s opens its doors later this year, it wants to make sure drivers on State Road 54 just east of Land O’ Lakes Boulevard realize it’s there.

The hardware store, now under construction in 152,000 square feet of space across from Village Lakes Shopping Center, is asking Pasco County’s Development Review Committee to allow its wall sign on the building to be more than double the size the county currently allows.

Current code limits a wall sign — that is, one that is hung on the front or side of a business — to 150 square feet. However, Lowe’s wants to build a sign on the front of its store at a little more than 375 square feet. That would make the sign nearly 19 feet tall and 20 feet long, instead of the 15 feet long and 10 feet tall usually allowed under county ordinance.

In return, Lowe’s says it’s willing to build just one sign at the road, instead of the three the county allows. Overall, that would reduce the amount of signage Lowe’s has to 37 percent smaller than what the county allows, according to records submitted to the Development Review Committee.

County officials have recommended the Development Review Committee approve the change at its Sept. 25 meeting, set to begin at 1:30 p.m., at the West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Drive in New Port Richey. The county’s Development Review Committee is led by County Administrator Michele Baker, and includes assistant county administrators Heather Grimes, Cathy Pearson and Bruce Kennedy, as well as John Walsh from the Pasco Economic Development Council, and Chris Williams from Pasco County Schools.

Lowe’s is expected to bring 125 jobs for the project, that had been planned since the North Carolina company purchase the land between Winter Quarters Pasco RV Park and the Pasco County fire station in 2005 for $2.7 million. It had originally hoped to open the store by 2009, but Lowe’s abandoned those plans in 2011 before resurrecting them earlier this year.

New Wendy’s planned for Sunlake Boulevard

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Homes are popping up throughout the area surrounding the intersection of Sunlake Boulevard and State Road 54, and the business are coming with it.

The latest one planned is a new 3,500-square-foot Wendy’s fast food restaurant, complete with drive-thru service. It will be constructed on less than an acre of land currently owned by Sunlake Equity One LLC out of Miami, which has nearly 28 acres on the site.

Wendy’s International Inc. is in charge of the construction project, which will be considered by Pasco County’s Development Review Committee on Sept. 25. Wendy’s initially submitted plans to the county for the project last April, with final revisions received at the end of August, according to county records.

It would become the seventh Wendy’s location east of the Suncoast Parkway, the closest at 2328 Raden Drive in Land O’ Lakes, near the intersection of State Road 54 and Land O’ Lakes Boulevard. Other locations include 28031 State Road 54 in Wesley Chapel, 19430 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in New Tampa, 32715 Eiland Blvd., in Zephyrhills, 5658 Gall Blvd., in Zephyrhills, and 13135 U.S. 301 in Dade City.

The county’s Development Review Committee is led by County Administrator Michele Baker, and includes assistant county administrators Heather Grimes, Cathy Pearson and Bruce Kennedy, as well as John Walsh from the Pasco Economic Development Council, and Chris Williams from Pasco County Schools.

The meeting is set for Sept. 25 at 1:30 p.m., at the West Pasco Government Center, 8731 Citizens Drive in New Port Richey.

Gates might be a problem at new Seven Oaks subdivision

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A new townhouse community planned for Wesley Chapel’s Seven Oaks subdivision is struggling to keep the neighborhood gated.

Pasco County officials have recommended denying a request by The Ryland Group to allow for two gated access points to a planned 96-unit community near the intersection of Stockton Drive and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard. The problem, they say, is that there isn’t enough room to accommodate a line of cars.

County ordinance requires there be at least 75 feet of space from a sidewalk to a community’s gated entrance, enough to fit three cars. However, because of the unusual layout design of the property where Seven Oaks Ryland Townhomes is planned, it can only provide enough space to accommodate two cars. The rule, officials said, ensures there is enough room for a small line of cars, without blocking sidewalks and roads.

“Significant queues could develop behind visitors waiting to be ‘buzzed in,'” county development review manager Amanda Boone wrote in a memo to the Development Review Committee, which is scheduled to hear the request Aug. 21 in New Port Richey. “Furthermore, if visitors are unable to reach the resident they are visiting, they may be unable to move from the service position at the gate due to vehicle queuing behind them.”

The plan would have provided for two entrances into the community, one from Stockton Drive, the other from Eagleston Boulevard. Only the entrance at Stockton would provide visitor access, but even a resident-only entrance at Eagleston created concern from county officials. That’s because it would only have enough room to hold one vehicle, and any additional vehicles would block pedestrian pathways.

Developers will have a chance to plead their case in front of the Development Review Committee, which will meet in the county commission chambers at 8731 Citizens Drive in New Port Richey on Aug. 21, beginning at 1:30 p.m. The committee is led by county administrator Michele Baker, and includes assistant county administrators Heather Grimes, Cathy Pearson and Bruce Kennedy, as well as John Walsh from the Pasco Economic Development Council and Chris Williams from Pasco County Schools.

In Print: Late Don Porter’s ‘Rebirth of wonder’

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Friends and family, along with community leaders and business owners, paid their respects last weekend to the late Don Porter during a memorial ceremony at the Pasco-Hernando State College campus named for his family.

Don Porter
Don Porter

Porter, who died July 1 at the age of 73, lived in Wesley Chapel since it was virtually empty land far from civilization in the late 1940s. The Porters owned thousands of acres, and when it came time to turn that land into development, everyone in the family was focused more on what would make Pasco County better than anything else.

“In my business, you get to meet a lot of families that have very large landholdings,” state Rep. Will Weatherford said, as reported by B.C. Manion. “It’s not rare for a family to have thousands of acres — there’s a lot of them in Flroida. But I’ve never met a family, I’ve never met a man — until I met Don — that was so keenly more focused on the future of his community than on how much money he would make off of it.”

While the community might know Porter as someone who helped spearhead major growth in the region over the past several years, he was always first and foremost a family man. His daughter, Quinn Miller, remembers how her dad taught her to think for herself. When she wanted to commiserate over a problem or disappointment, Porter would frustrate her by not letting her do it. Instead, she said, he listened, and then asked her questions.

“He had a way of offering perspective by forcing introspection, not (offering) his opinion,” Miller said.

To read more about the life of Don Porter, and the community’s reaction to his passing, check out this week’s print edition of The Laker. Or read the online e-edition for free by clicking here.

It takes a community to build a community park. And the community leaders who have been looking to do just that for the Land O’ Lakes Community Center last week got good news from the Pasco County commissioners after deciding to move forward with a $2.4 million plan to upgrade the property along Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

“Our park has waited a long time for this facelift,” said Sandy Graves, who helped lead the efforts to get the park renovated, according to a story by reporter Michael Hinman. “Thanks for making that dream become a reality today.”

The county last year had put aside $1.8 million to renovate the park and building there, but bids came in $500,000 higher than what officials had hoped. With no more money available from existing park impact fees, assistant county administrator Heather Grimes suggested officials could borrow from a reserve account instead, paying that money back over two years.

To find out exactly what the county has planned for the community center, pick up your print copy of The Laker today, or read it online by clicking here.

Finally, never think that Walt Bockmiller is old. Sure, he’s 71, but for him, age is just a number.

That’s why he works so hard to organize sporting activity designed specifically for senior citizens. That gives them time for softball, golf, tennis, bowling, and even volleyball.

“It’s an opportunity for them to get out and start doing something rather than just being home shopping or watching TV,” Bockmiller told reporter Michael Murillo. “It gives them an opportunity to meet people in a different kind of environment.”

Bockmiller, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, started a group called Senior Sports in 2011, and it’s been going strong ever since. It now has more than 150 people taking part, with tennis quickly becoming the most popular sport.

“There are a lot of friends that come out of this stuff,” he said. “Some of my friends in tennis and golf, especially tennis, are friends for life.”

To read more about Senior Sports and fun things older residents can do, check out this week’s print edition of The Laker/Lutz News. Or you can read more about Bockmiller’s program in our free online e-edition, which you can see right now by clicking here.

All of these stories and more can be found in this week’s The Laker/Lutz News, available in newsstands throughout east and central Pasco County as well as northern Hillsborough County. Find out what has your community talking this week by getting your local news straight from the only source you need.

If The Laker/Lutz News is not coming to your door, call us to see where you can get your copy at (813) 909-2800, or read our free e-edition by clicking here.

Pasco tax rates expected to remain steady

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Despite pay raises across the board, adding 45 full-time equivalent positions and even providing nearly everything Sheriff Chris Nocco asked for, Pasco County commissioners are expected to receive a draft budget Tuesday morning at the same general millage rate charged to property owners last year.

The proposed $1.21 billion budget is a little more than 3 percent higher than last year, but thanks to new construction and some increase in property values generating another $6.7 million, county budget officials were able to keep ad valorem millage at 7.3441, and the Municipal Fire Service Unit millage at 1.7165.

One mill represents $1 of tax on every thousand dollars of taxable property value. So a $100,000 home with $50,000 in exemptions would pay $367.21 for the year.

But there are still a lot of decisions that need to be made before the final numbers are complete, assistant county administrator Heather Grimes told reporters in a press briefing Monday. The biggest decision is how to fund capital improvement projects for Pasco’s roads — either through a 5-cent gas tax increase, a millage increase of more than 5 percent, or a combination of the two.

There has been considerable debate among commissioners on exactly how to do just that, with no clear consensus yet on which way they will go. Last year, the commission failed to pass an additional gas tax, falling a vote short.

If the county were to raise all $8 million through property taxes, it would mean an additional $20 a year to the typical homeowner’s tax bill. Proponents of a gas tax say those additional costs may not even be passed on to the consumer, since fueling stations operate more by volume than revenue.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office would see its budget increase more than $5 million under the proposed budget, providing everything Nocco had asked for except for $1.7 million he said he needed to switch healthcare coverage from fully insured to self-insured. Doing that could cut health insurance costs by around 2 percent, Grimes said, but the request came too late for the current budget cycle, and would likely create an additional tax increase to implement it.

To read more about Nocco’s long-range plans for the sheriff’s office, see the July 9 print edition of The Laker.

Spending on county parks will jump $571,000 to $8.9 million, but it’s still $1.1 million short of where Pasco funded them in 2008. That means park fees would remain in effect and staffing levels are still well below what they were nearly seven years ago.

Libraries also won’t get all they had hoped for. Part of the plan was to allow the libraries to once again open on Mondays, or at the very least extend hours on existing days. Even a plan to open just two libraries — including the Land O’ Lakes branch — on Mondays didn’t make the cut with its $279,000 price tag.

Pasco County is seeing an uptick in property values, which has allowed the government to fund additional programs without raising millage. However, it’s lagging behind neighboring counties in the region, which have experienced value increases of between 5.3 percent and 7.5 percent, Grimes said. The only county that didn’t fare better in value increases was Hernando, but not by much.

Some initiatives from last year already are paying off, Grimes said. The county’s conversion to a self-insured health plan saved the county nearly $1 million, or about $300 per employee annually. The current budget has made some room to implement wellness centers for county employees, which officials say could create even more cost savings in the future because of its preventive medical care.

The first public hearing for the budget is expected to take place Sept. 9 in Dade City, followed by a second one Sept. 23 in New Port Richey. Commissioners will hear details of the proposed budget for the first time during its regular meeting July 8 beginning at 10 a.m. at the Historic Pasco County Courthouse in Dade City.