Desloge says the county has reserves to work through the pandemic, but if revenue continues to decline long-term, he explains it will be tougher to provide the day to day services people need.
"It could get to the point where we have to dial-up and have to increase our tax base because our revenues are dropping. It would be a terrible time to be raising taxes in the midst of all this, but we're required to provide these services," Desloge says.
Services such as road clearing, park maintenance, and utility work continue.
"We estimate along the line of about $15 million right now in lost revenue for Leon County. The city probably twice that at this point," Desloge says.
Desloge wants Congress to grant local governments more flexibility in using COVID-19 relief funds to plug local budget holes. He's not expecting the governor to remove the stay-at-home order this week. Desloge says the governor's decisions will impact how Leon County moves forward.
