ORANGE PARK – The Town of Orange Park began the final steps of its budget process at Tuesday night’s council meeting.

With a 5.8781 millage rate and an estimated 96% collection rate, the town expects to earn $4,055,769 in revenues from property taxes.

Town Council Member Susana Thompson said she had concerns with overrunning costs. She asked why the town couldn't charge out-of-town event-goers. Due to high salary costs, she queried about having part-time firefighters.

Campbell said the town hadn’t explored volunteer firefighters working alongside paid firefighters and the certifications would be rigorous, roughly a year’s worth of training, according to Fire Chief John Contestabile.

“It is very difficult to find somebody to do that for free,” Campbell said.

Thompson said the town must deal with increases in several budget items.

“We need to look at that more carefully,” Thompson said.

Budget and Finance Committee member Frank Ricketts criticized town staff salaries. Ricketts said the town kicked the can down the road on infrastructure and necessities.

“How are we going to continue doing this?” he said.

The town scrapped two events, a movie night and The Longest Table, to save about $10,000. In the committees, the officials voted to devote $20,000 toward an adult-oriented event. Former Mayor Eugene Nix said during the public comment portion the town needs to decide what it wants.

“Then you figure it out, then you start spending … the first thing is figure out what you want to do,” Nix said.

The budget passed the millage rate and the first reading of the budget unanimously.

Town officials met three times from Aug. 15-24 to view numbers and highlights from each department. Town officials have the option to pass the final budget at the Sept. 20 council meeting. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

In other business, the removal of trees at Bradley Park has been a hot-button issue bringing out polarizing public comment and leading to conflicting opinions from the town and its residents. Town officials said 27 diseased or invasive species-related trees were removed, though at previous meetings some residents claimed more than 50 trees were destroyed.

“It’s home to a lot of wildlife … It’s their home. There’s a lot of faces here and they have no voice,” Lindholm said.

Earlier in Tuesday’s meeting, some residents were concerned with the removal of trees at the property. Chuck Lindholm provided pictures and video of what the park used to look like during public comment.

He disputed the tree-cutting and how the trees were counted and the uniqueness of the park. Lindholm listed animals like ospreys, turtles and otters as the area’s inhabitants.

“It’s home to a lot of wildlife … It’s their home. There’s a lot of faces here and they have no voice,” Lindholm said.