PALM COAST
Observer
FTI GRADS PAGE 9
YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 8, NO. 41
THURSDAY, JUNE 11, 2020
$1.2 million drop in sales tax revenue Also, a predicted 5% property value increase. JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
COVID-19’s impact on sales tax collections is expected to leave Flagler County $1.2 million short of what it had budgeted for the 2020 fiscal year, Flagler County Financial Services Director John Brower told county commissioners June 1. The reduced sales tax revenue is also expected to offset a predicted 5% property value increase in fiscal year 2021, Brower said, but the county is preparing a tentative fiscal year 2021 budget with no property tax increase. State sales tax revenues in Florida were down 50% in April and are expected to have been down about 50% in May and June, according to state officials, Brower said. The revenues are calculated and passed along to counties about two months after they’re received. County Commissioner Donald O’Brien said that the Florida Association of Counties has suggested that counties may be able to use CARES Act money to offset revenue declines, not just to tackle increased expenses.
COUNTY TO HIRE 15 FIREFIGHTERS Flagler County Fire Rescue hopes to add 15 additional firefighter paramedics, and the county is applying for a grant that could help fund those positions for the first few years. “The Fire Department is considerably understaffed, to the point that we’re having trouble complying with the requirements in state legislation and in the fire code on the number of people that we respond with,” County Administrator Jerry Cameron told commissioners June 1. “In addition, the lack of staffing is beginning to really impact our overtime budget.” The County Commission voted unanimously to ratify the grant application.
INDEX
Briefs................ PAGE 8, 11 Letters................... PAGE 6 Real Estate...........PAGE 12
PEACEFUL PROTESTS Flagler County residents march for change and solidarity PAGES 3, 4 David Vigo
Photo by Anastasia Pagello
School Board’s McDonald on activism, controversial tweets Janet McDonald also said she is opposed to ‘current vaccines.’ BRIAN MCMILLAN EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Retweets by School Board Chairwoman Janet McDonald, including one that says public schools are “brainwashing” children, have prompted criticism on social media; a parent also wrote a letter on June 5 to make the School Board aware of the retweets. In an interview with the Palm Coast Observer, McDonald said
the “brainwashing” retweet was unintentional and the result of her unfamiliarity with Twitter. She said people also have misinterpreted some of her retweets, and her only goal is to promote critical thinking. The words “They’re brainwashing your children in public schools” were posted by Texas Todd as a reply to a tweet by Jack Posobiec, and McDonald had been trying to retweet Posobiec, not the reply. “I did not have the Twitter class,” she said, adding that she feels she is being bullied for the SEE MCDONALD PAGE 5
School Board Chairwoman Janet McDonald.
File photo