Introduction

The St. Johns River Water Management District
mission statement is

The District’s core missions are

• Water supply
  To implement a regional strategy to provide sufficient water for users and the environment
•  
• Surface water resource protection
  To protect surface water resources of the District and improve those resources within Surface Water Improvement and Management (SWIM) basins
•  
• Flood protection
  To prevent increases in flooding and operate and maintain the District's regional flood control projects
•  
• Organizational effectiveness
  To provide for organizational structure and tools that result in and reward continuous improvement and enhanced service delivery

Overview

The St. Johns River Water Management District has developed and implemented a budgeting practice that limits the agency’s growth. Although more and more people are moving to our state and demanding services, the District is constraining its budget to serve the needs of our growing population.

On September 25, 2007, the District’s Governing Board set the millage rate at 0.4158 for the fiscal year (FY) beginning Oct. 1, 2007. Under a 0.4158 millage rate­—41.58 cents for every $1,000 of assessed property value—the owner of a $200,000 house who claims the standard $25,000 homestead exemption will pay $72.76 per year in property taxes to the District.

Taxpayers in the District’s 18-county service area in north and east-central Florida will see the tax rate drop from 0.462 levied in FY 2006–2007.

The District’s budget for FY 2007–2008 is $400 million. The new budget is about $22 million—or 5%—less than the amended budget for the previous fiscal year. The primary reason for the decrease is a reduction in state and local (ad valorem) funding support.

The FY 2007–2008 budget designates two uses for taxpayer dollars. The first use is to pay for the District’s administrative/operational expenses as well as fund the District’s continuing current projects. This is the baseline budget, which is limited to a millage rate of 0.4058. The second use of tax money collected by the District in FY 2007–2008 is to pay for new or expanded projects and initiatives. A combination of funds not needed for the baseline budget—0.01 mills—has been appropriated toward new projects and initiatives. Key new projects and initiatives proposed include

• Water protection and sustainability sinking fund for the District to match state funds for alternative water supply
• Water resource and water supply development initiatives
• Reuse and treatment initiatives in the Lower St. Johns River Basin
• Nutrient discharge reduction to the St. Johns River from the Middle St. Johns River Basin
• Remediation of Lake Apopka north shore restoration area—sinking fund
• Local stormwater initiative cost-share funds
• Technology, including telecommunications

Budget highlights

In addition to the above new initiatives, other budget highlights are as follows:

• The FY 2007–2008 Work Plan and Budget includes the same total full-time equivalent positions—715—as in the amended FY 2006–2007 budget.
• The budget for land acquisition is $47 million to acquire land or interests in land to protect and maintain water resources and the integrity of the ecological systems.
• Eleven water resource development projects will be funded at a total of $19 million.
• The Water Protection and Sustainability Program has a budget of $81 million to fund 43 projects.
• Funding in the amount of $131 million to support restoration activities in the Indian River Lagoon, Lower St. Johns River, Middle St. Johns River, Northern Coastal, Orange Creek, Upper Ocklawaha River (including Lake Apopka), and Upper St. Johns River basins.

Revenue

Revenue for the District’s budget comes from a variety of sources, as follows:

Funding Source	Fiscal Year 2007–2008 Revenue	%
State of Florida	$171,596,012	43%
Ad valorem taxes (District source)	144,677,781	36%
Additional District sources	69,241,148	17%
United States government	11,302,718	3%
Local cooperative funding	3,310,899	1%
Total	$400,128,558	100%

Expenditures

Expenditures at the District from all sources can be categorized as follows:

Expenditure Category	Fiscal Year 2007–2008 Expenditures	%
Baseline: Administrative/Operational*	$148,220,288	37%
Baseline: Continuation of Current Projects	$147,076,336	37%
New Projects and Initiatives	$104,831,934	26%
Total	$400,128,558	100%

* The Administrative/Operational category is the cost of doing business and includes core mission activities and other activities such as the acquisition and management of land for water resource protection.

Another method for categorizing expenditures at the District is as follows:

Expenditure Category	Fiscal Year 2007–2008 Expenditures	%
Cooperative Funding (primarily to local governments)	$174,566,632	44%
Capital Outlay	70,730,672	18%
Salaries and Benefits	61,041,741	15%
Contractual/Purchase Services	59,463,835	15%
Designations and Reserves	21,045,600	5%
Materials and Supplies	6,860,078	2%
Debt Services	6,420,000	1%
Total	$400,128,558	100%

Programs

Go to

Summary of expenditures for each District program by revenue source

Budget documents

   

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