Wakulla County has released a detailed contingency plan outlining potential cuts and reductions if property tax reform is approved by voters in November.WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW: Wakulla County releases contingency plan for poten tial property tax reform cutsCounty Administrator David Edwards said the plan was built on direction from the legislature."Said that we the counties need to go back to more mandated services, put their funds towards mandated services, and not necessarily to the authorized services. Mandated services are public works, public safety, administration, etc. Over here on the other side of that equation is your library, recreation, veterans, animal adoption centers, 4-H Extension Center; those types of services fall on the authorized to do, but you don't have to have them," Edwards said.Among the options outlined in the plan are park closures, animal control reductions, added fees like EMS, cuts to Extension and 4-H funding, and the complete elimination of some services.Edwards said the financial impact extends beyond the initial cuts."All those will see a reduction because the problem is not just necessarily the initial cut; it's the loss of revenue going out past that. Because we basically go from about a $2 million a year, year over year increase that you can pay your employees and you can cover cost of electrical costs as it goes up and gas and all that stuff, that goes down to about $900,000," Edwards said.Some neighbors support the property tax reform, saying it will force the county to tighten its budget. Neighbor Lonnie Walton said he is on a fixed income and welcomes the change."My payment's up around $800 a month now, where it used to be around down below 600. Insurance has gone up, but so have taxes. I can control the taxes. I can't control the insurance. We elect those people down there. It's supposed to be looking for us," Walton said.Walton and others in the community have suggested the county add impact fees to offset potential revenue loss, pointing to the amount of development in recent years. However, Edwards said impact fees would not address the shortfall, as roughly 85% of county costs are personnel-related."If people would read Florida chapter 163 of the Florida statutes, it's very clear impact fees are just for capital infrastructure improvements. They cannot be used for operations, which means paying people salaries. All those things," Edwards said.Edwards said the county currently only has impact fees for sewer, which it calls a sewer access fee. He said he plans to ask the board for a recreation impact fee for improvements and adding fields, regardless of whether Amendment 3 passes.If Amendment 3 passes, Edwards said the county would begin laying the groundwork for what is needed so that when the legislature finishes the final bill in May, the county can move into full implementation before the next fiscal year begins on Oct. 1, 2027.The county describes the plan as a business plan to help work with reduced revenue and encourages anyone with questions or concerns to reach out to the county office.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website. Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.Like us on FacebookFollow us on Instagram and X. ...read more read less