Commission Focused on Investment in Community Priorities
Final Proposed Budget to be Presented on June 5
May 15, 2019
In preparation for finalizing the proposed Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20) budget, the City Commission continued its discussions today on the budget's development to ensure that residents and businesses continue to enjoy high quality services in the most cost-efficient manner. Overall, the FY20 budget seeks to continue investing in our community while holding the tax rate.
This eye toward maintaining a balanced budget has helped keep the cost of municipal services affordable in Tallahassee. The annual Municipal Cost Comparison shows that City residents pay the lowest on average for municipal services compared to 11 peer cities in Florida, despite having the second-largest service area and a larger proportion of nontaxable property than all but one of the peer cities.
The proposed budget is being developed using direction previously provided by the City Commission regarding several key FY20 budget assumptions, including leaving the millage rate at 4.1000 mills.
"We are on a positive path toward a fiscally sound budget that allows the City of Tallahassee to continue providing world-class services," Mayor John Dailey said. "We will continue to invest in community priorities, such as public safety, infrastructure and quality of life."
The City has been advancing technology used to support public safety operations. The upgraded Records Management System, investment in body worn cameras and updated data sharing software represent recent investments. Moving into FY20, the City aims to continue strengthening its support of the Tallahassee Police Department and public safety.
Also contributing to public safety efforts are prevention and intervention programs, like TEMPO. This program connects disconnected youth with educational and workforce opportunities. Since its start less than two years ago, it has engaged 500 participants, as of this month. To meet the program's goals, staff is working to identify needs such as staffing, office space and recurring funding that will impact the FY20 budget. To that end, the City successfully secured $150,000 in one-time funding for FY20 from the Florida Legislature for the program.
Tallahassee continues to be a city in progress, and the FY20 Capital Improvement Plan includes recommended funding for 10 new sidewalks each year for the next five years. This will add to the more than 500 miles of sidewalks currently maintained by the City. The CIP provides a five-year planning outlook that touches projects from all 14 operating funds.
The City parks system is set to expand as it incorporates the John G. Riley House and Museum into its programming. This historic landmark provides a window into history as it documents, preserves and illuminates African American history and culture.
To maintain a balanced budget, recreation rates for adult sports and rental feeds for facilities and equipment may increase.
Quality of life and the impact of poverty is a community priority, and the City anticipates continuing to partner with a variety of local nonprofits in these efforts. The City Commission directed staff to evaluate the process for outside agency funding, based on new and increasing requests, to ensure a balanced general fund budget for FY20 and beyond.
The budget also includes a 3 percent raise for general employees and looks to pay a living wage of $12 an hour.
The final proposed budget is scheduled to be presented at the June 5 City Commission workshop. The development process for the FY20 budget continues to include opportunities for public engagement, including:
- June 5 workshop at 1 p.m.
- July 10 workshop at 1 p.m.
- September 11 meeting at 4 p.m. (public hearings begin at 6 p.m.)
- September 25 meeting at 4 p.m. (public hearings begin at 6 p.m.)
Property value assessments will not be completed until June 1, which could impact the final budget.
The workshop agenda can be viewed at http://go.boarddocs.com/fla/talgov/Board.nsf/Public. The full video of the workshop will be available at YouTube.com/COTNews within 48 hours.
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