Okaloosa County works through 2023-24 budget: No millage rate increase expected

Collin Bestor, Northwest Florida Daily News
·2 min read

SHALIMAR — On Monday, the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners held a budget review workshop and special hearing as the county prepares its 2023-24 budget.

The proposed budget for all funds totals $622,974,411, which is an 11 percent increase over the current year. There is no proposed increase from the current millage rate of 3.8308.

Here's what we know:

Property taxes

The recommended General Fund budget for the upcoming fiscal year will be around $168,564,500, which is a 7.9 percent increase over the current year.

Property tax is the primary source of revenue that feeds the General Fund, which provides $93,900,087 or 56 percent of the total revenue. The income generated from property tax funds departments such as the county health department and items listed as capital projects.

With the proposed millage rate going unchanged since 2018, this will give the county $103 million in income.

Public safety

The Okaloosa County Jail requests $2.2 million in its budget to complete important projects around the facility. That includes $1.5 million to complete the jail master plan, which will look toward the future and the possibility of a new jail being built within the county.

Also, $350,000 will be used to update the audio/visual equipment for the three remaining courtrooms at the South Courthouse in Fort Walton Beach.

Emergency Medical Services looks to replace five ambulances during 2023-24. The EMS division requests $15 million, which is 2 percent more than last year.

Law enforcement

With the addition of the $1.4 million transfer from surtax to fund the new RMS/CAD system for the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, the agency is also requesting $56 million, which will be a $4.7 million increase from the current year. This is primarily due to cost of living salary adjustments and retirement increases.

The budget also provides $3.9 million to the sheriff for providing contract services in the county, such as airport security and tourist development.

Special revenue

In the post-COVID era, Okaloosa County is looking for more growth on one of the major pillars of the local economy. The Tourist Development Department is requesting $82 million for the upcoming year. The funding will help with projects such as:

  • Little Adventures Program

  • Phase II of Veterans Park

  • Artificial Reefs

  • Construction of public beaches at Tarpon and Crystal Beach.

With the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport continuing to grow, the proposed budget for the airport is $63 million. This will help fund programs such as completing the East Terminal and Baggage Claim expansion and West Terminal and Baggage Claim expansion.

What's next?

On Sept. 5, the first of two public hearings will be held to review the proposed budget. That hearing will be in Crestview. The final public hearing will be Sept. 19 in Shalimar.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: No millage rate hike proposed for 2023-24 Okaloosa County budget