The Budget Challenge

The nation is facing an unprecedented economic crisis. Our citizens are being affected in many ways. On a local level, the county’s revenue has decreased dramatically across the board, due to the combined effects of the recession and the real estate market downturn.

The budget forecast predicts that Pinellas County will experience an $85 million total reduction in general fund revenues (view presentation). This will necessitate a 20% reduction in expenditures to close this projected shortfall. Economic forecasts indicate that the current economic trends will continue in the near future. Even once the economy rebounds, increases to property tax exemptions and tax caps will inhibit rapid growth of the county’s budget. To meet the budget challenge, the county must re-size government to deliver a sustainable basket of quality services in a consistent, predictable and reliable manner.

Pinellas County residents have enjoyed a broad array of high-quality programs and services for many years. This is the third consecutive year of reductions, so the impact of reductions to our citizens will be more evident as programs and services are eliminated or significantly reduced.

	Meeting video, presentations, and documents used to develop the FY10 Budget
	Factors affecting county revenues
	Reductions being considered for FY10
	Process for developing the annual budget