No reservation about reserves?

As Manatee County commissioners prepare to adopt the county’s proposed budget later this month, county staff has launched a campaign, of sorts, to educate the public about the status of its reserves, called into question by some members of the public.

Manatee County’s budget shows it has about $550.2 million in reserves. However, Financial Director Jan Brewer said that figure is misleading

because of how governmental accounting is done. The majority of those reserves — all but $19.8 million — are designated for particular purposes, such as saving for closing the landfill and future capital improvement projects that must be funded in future years.

The $19.8 million is what the county calls its stabilization fund, which is revenue from property taxes that can be used for any purpose. Manatee County has created a stabilization fund, as allowed by Florida statute, to help mitigate unexpected changes in the budget. It used this fund to offset revenue shortfalls during the recession after the 2005 housing boom, for example.

Brewer said Manatee County, according to Florida statute, could add another $9.4 million to its stabilization fund and be within state guidelines.

Commission Chairwoman Betsy Benac said she is comfortable with the levels of stabilization funds the county has and does not believe it can reduce them without reason.

District 5 Commissioner Vanessa Baugh said she still hopes the board will review and evaluate the reserves that are designated for particular purposes, such as for longer term projects.

“There’s nothing wrong in looking at them; I’m not saying we’d change anything,” Baugh said. “We have an awful lot of money in reserves — put there for jobs the county is going to perform. The question is, is it still a project [we want to do]? Things change. I do believe in the future that’s something we need to look at. We can look at it anytime during the year.”