On the agenda

1. 1Call to Order – Roll Call▶ 0:00
2. 2

   Pledge of Allegiance

   The Pledge of Allegiance was recited, followed by a moment of silence in honor of servicemen and women at home and abroad.

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   [00:00:17] stand and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance and remain standing for a moment of silence [00:00:21] in honor of our servicemen and women at home and abroad. I pledge allegiance to the flag [00:00:36] of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation,

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3. 3

   Moment of Silence

   Brief procedural moment following the Pledge of Allegiance; the Mayor jokingly asked Ms. Manz to have the Chief investigate a missing flag.

   👤Ms. Manz

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   [00:00:42] under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. Ms. [00:00:50] Manz, if you could charge the Chief with investigating who made off with our flag.

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4. 4.a

   ↳You arrived here from a search for “Ms. Dunn” — transcript expanded below

   First Public Hearing - FY22-23 Operating Budget & Capital Improvement Program

   approved

   Council held the first public hearing on the FY2022-23 Operating Budget ($82,902,330 total) and Capital Improvement Program ($24,395,900). Finance staff presented a summary including a proposed millage rate reduction from 8.500 to 8.4500 mils. Council adopted Resolution 2022-13 setting the tentative millage and Resolution 2022-14 adopting the tentative budget and CIP, both unanimously.

   • motion:Adopt Resolution 2022-13 setting the tentative millage rate at 8.4500 mils for FY2022-2023. (passed)
   • motion:Adopt Resolution 2022-14 adopting the tentative FY2022-2023 budget and Capital Improvement Program. (passed)

   📍Grand Boulevard📍Pine Hill Road👤Debbie Manz👤McPherson👤Mike👤Mr. Altman👤Mr. Driscoll👤Mr. Murphy👤Mrs. Dunn👤Mrs. Feast#Capital Improvement Program#Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)#FY2022-23 Operating Budget#Grand Bridge replacement#Resolution 2022-13#Resolution 2022-14#Save Our Homes#TRIM millage rate 8.500#paving management program#pedestrian overpass

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   [00:00:55] We only have one thing on here. It's the first public hearing for the 2022-23 Operating Budget [00:01:09] and Capital Improvement Plan. Ms. Manz. Yes, sir, Mr. Mayor. After discussing the budget [00:01:18] for nearly just over five months now, it's my pleasure to present to you the fiscal year [00:01:24] 2022-23 budget. Although many strides have been made towards a full recovery from the COVID-19 [00:01:34] pandemic, the economic outlook for the future certainly made the effort of putting together [00:01:41] this year's budget much more challenging than most years as we continue to experience conditions [00:01:50] of record inflation, stagnant state revenue, labor shortages, supply chain disruptions, [00:02:01] and the very conceivable risk of yet another recession. These challenges require sound and [00:02:09] thoughtful fiscal decisions, the best position the city or the unknowns that may lie ahead. I'm [00:02:20] very fortunate to have a team of Mrs. Feast and Mrs. Dunn to work along with me in putting together [00:02:30] the budget, very prudent department heads, so that we could produce a budget to present to you [00:02:41] this evening that not only supports the long-range vision of the city, but also the strategic goals [00:02:50] and objectives that are in our strategic plan, but also provides for the organizational needs [00:02:59] to address the personnel compensation issues that have been outlined to you as part of our [00:03:07] discussions in the budget this year to achieve our capital improvement goals, [00:03:13] to maintain our service levels and programs, and of course to comply with your objective, [00:03:22] and that is to provide a reduction in our millage rate. With all that being said, we have [00:03:30] Mrs. Feast online this evening, and she has prepared a PowerPoint this evening which will [00:03:38] serve as a summary of the budget, and we'd like her to present that to you this evening for our [00:03:45] first public hearing. Good evening. Mike, I'll ask for your assistance on clicking through the [00:03:54] PowerPoint presentation. All right, thank you. Good evening, everyone. As City Manager Manz [00:04:03] mentioned, tonight before you are two resolutions to adopt the tentative millage rate and the [00:04:09] tentative operating budget for fiscal year 22-3. Tonight, I thank you for the opportunity to [00:04:17] present to you a budget summary of what tentatively will be adopted this evening. Next slide. [00:04:29] The total budget being presented for approval tonight totals $82,902,330. [00:04:37] The slide before you provides a breakdown by fund. You'll see the [00:04:44] general fund comes in at the highest at $28,730,720. [00:04:51] Second is our water and sewer fund at $25,181,240. [00:04:58] The capital improvement fund totals $9,081,420. [00:05:05] And then coming in right after that is our Community Redevelopment Agency, or CRA, [00:05:12] which has a total budget of $8,569,980. [00:05:19] And then we have the other smaller funds which compile and make up the total budget being [00:05:25] presented tonight. Next slide, please. [00:05:33] This slide provides the same information but a different visual. You'll see again that our [00:05:39] largest funds for the City are our general fund and water and sewer fund. Next slide, please. [00:05:48] The list of divisions and departments on this slide are all included in the City's general fund. [00:05:55] And you'll see that the police and fire, excuse me, the police make up the City's largest department. [00:06:07] And it has a total proposed budget of right on... [00:06:10] And it has a total proposed budget of right on... [00:06:40] Next slide, please. [00:06:52] Hello? [00:06:53] Hi, there you go. [00:06:54] All right. [00:06:57] Public Works is the City's next largest fund and it has a proposed budget of right over $3.1 million. [00:07:05] And what's presented before you are the other City funds that make up the general fund. [00:07:13] As part of the budget process, each department did present a proposed budget to City Council [00:07:21] in one of several work sessions that were part of the summer-long budget process. So, [00:07:27] those were all presented individually to City Council. Next slide, please. [00:07:34] Next slide, please. [00:07:36] In August, for TRIM purposes, the City Council approved a tentative millage rate of 8.500 [00:07:48] mils for TRIM purposes. But the budget being presented to you tonight includes a proposed [00:07:55] millage rate of 8.45 mils. And that is what's included in the resolution presented to you [00:08:00] for approval. The slide here provides you with millage rate over the years, over the last 10 [00:08:06] years. And you'll see where we've come. The highest millage presented here was in 2013 at 9.5799 [00:08:16] mils. And you'll see that over the years, the City Council has gradually reduced that millage [00:08:23] rate to what's being proposed tonight at 8.4500 mils. Next slide, please. [00:08:31] Next slide, please. [00:08:33] Some of the key highlights that are included in the proposed budget include property taxable [00:08:40] values of $843,852,476. This value was used to come up with or calculate the ad valorem [00:08:54] and obviously millage rate that's being presented tonight. That property taxable value is an [00:09:01] increase of 16.4% compared to last year's taxable values. Tonight's budget also includes an [00:09:09] estimated 4% increase in health insurance costs and an expected increase in fuel costs next fiscal [00:09:16] year. We also had to work with stagnant state revenues. We did the estimates that came in from [00:09:24] the Department of Revenue. We saw very little growth, in some cases a reduction in our state [00:09:31] revenue for next year. So we had to budget accordingly for that estimate. Our general [00:09:40] liability, property and flood insurance, we're expecting an increase of 10%. So we had to [00:09:45] account for that as well in the proposed budget. Next slide, please. [00:09:53] Another increase that we had to account for was an expected 3% increase in our retirement [00:09:59] contribution rates, and that's across the board for our general employees, senior and senior [00:10:05] management. The proposed budget tonight includes a few proposed positions, and they're listed here [00:10:13] in front of you. Three full-time positions, development clerk, recreation supervisor three [00:10:19] position, and an information specialist two position, and then a part-time aquatics coordinator. [00:10:26] Most of these positions being proposed are offset with or will replace a part-time position. So the [00:10:36] net effect of that transaction will replacing, excuse me, replacing part-time positions with [00:10:48] these full-time positions in some cases had a minimal effect on the increase that's going to [00:10:54] be included in next year's budget to support these positions. Next slide, please. [00:11:01] The capital improvement program, which is also presented to you tonight and included in [00:11:06] the resolution being proposed, totals $24,395,900. And you can see the breakup of categories [00:11:17] included in the CIP. General fund, $635,000. Stormwater includes $710,000. Parks and Rec, [00:11:27] $1,180,000. Public safety and public facility projects total $4,355,000. Transportation [00:11:38] projects total right over $1.7 million. Our water and sewer capital projects total $6,745,000. [00:11:48] Redevelopment projects total $3,380,000. And our street improvement projects, which includes our [00:11:58] paving management program, totals $5,625,900. And my last slide to present to you is just the [00:12:10] general fund overview. You can see the total expected revenues for next year is, again, [00:12:19] $28,608,300. And our projected expenditures broken out in three categories. Our department budgets [00:12:30] total $24,730,520. We have reserves, which includes reserves carved out for or set aside for [00:12:41] salary adjustments, a proposed 3% COLA and a 2% merit if approved tonight. That is included in [00:12:53] that reserve amount. And so the total for that is $614,860,000. And then transfers out, which [00:13:02] includes transfers to the CRA, primarily, and then the Street Improvement Fund of $200,000. [00:13:13] That transfers out of the general fund total $3,385,340. So expenditures do exceed [00:13:22] the expected revenues for next year. So we balance that with a roll use of prior reserves, [00:13:29] our carryover of $122,420. And primarily, that amount is used to cover the carryover of [00:13:41] capital purchases that were not, that were delayed, the purchase was delayed for a number [00:13:47] of reasons. And so we're carrying that over to next year to purchase. So that carryover [00:13:51] really is to support those purchases that were already budgeted in plan for this fiscal year. [00:13:58] And that is the end of my presentation. I'll take any questions that you have. [00:14:04] If, and after that, I would ask the mayor to open it up to public comment. [00:14:10] Seeing no questions, we'll open it up for public comment. Anyone wish to address [00:14:14] council on this? Seeing no one come forward, I'll bring it back to council. [00:14:20] Mr. Mayor, I can read the resolution if you'd like. All right, this is resolution number 2022-13, [00:14:26] a resolution of the City of New Port Richey, Pasco County, Florida, adopting the tentative [00:14:30] levying of ad valorem taxes for all non-exempt real and personal property in New Port Richey, [00:14:35] Pasco County, Florida, for fiscal year 2022-2023, providing for an effective date. [00:14:43] So we have to do that on the... And there'll be another resolution for the budget. This is the [00:14:48] millage which needs to be adopted by law first, then you adopt the budget. So I'll read that one [00:14:52] after you vote on this one. Any public comment on the millage rate? Seeing none, we'll bring it back to council. [00:15:00] Move approval. [00:15:01] Second. [00:15:02] To the maker. [00:15:03] Yes, I mean, it's been well explained. [00:15:06] I know there's a sense of uncertainty. [00:15:09] This was two years ago when the millage rate did not drop when we had uncertainty due to COVID. [00:15:14] Now we have uncertainty due to the results of COVID and the war and all the other items that have been mentioned. [00:15:22] In 1988 and through the 90s, our millage rate was 6.5 mils. [00:15:29] I'm hopeful that we can get back on the saddle again once we figure out where we're at and continue to move. [00:15:35] We're saying we're moving down. [00:15:38] It's at .05 mils. [00:15:40] It's not much, but it's something, and it means it's not going up. [00:15:43] So based on the advice of the city manager and the discussion, I think, at least on first reading, that we ought to continue this course. [00:15:53] Very good. [00:15:54] Mr. Murphy, you had the second. [00:15:55] Yeah, no, I appreciate that we're bringing the millage down again and continue to do that trend. [00:16:01] It's the right thing to do, and I'm all for it. [00:16:06] Deputy Mayor, you had the second. [00:16:07] The second, yes. [00:16:09] Same thing. [00:16:10] I'm happy to see we're bringing the millage rate down. [00:16:12] I know that if you keep tabs on local other municipalities and counties throughout the Tampa Bay area, [00:16:20] many of them held steady and were not able to make a decrease. [00:16:25] So I'm happy that we managed to find a way to do that. [00:16:30] The comment I want to make sure that we understand, and perhaps someone from the finance department can tell us this, [00:16:37] but I just want people to understand that even though property tax values increased by 16.4 percent, [00:16:43] by no means did our ad villum taxes increase by that amount. [00:16:47] So sometimes people think that property values increase that much. [00:16:53] That's not a direct proportionate due to Save Our Homes and some other features. [00:16:57] So I just want to point that out, that that just doesn't always correlate. [00:17:04] Thank you. [00:17:05] Councilwoman? [00:17:06] I'm happy to see a reduction, and at least a little bit is better than none. [00:17:10] And like Mr. Altman pointed out, a lot of other municipalities are holding steady or even increasing, and we're not, so that's good. [00:17:18] And likewise, I'm very pleased staff was able to do that. [00:17:23] That was a good point about the property values going up doesn't necessarily translate into taxes going up. [00:17:30] We've got Save Our Homes too, and we've been in our house for long enough. [00:17:34] There's a significant discrepancy between what we pay [00:17:38] and what somebody would pay if they moved into our house today. [00:17:42] And faced with the inflationary pressures that we're looking at, and we've already felt with some salary increases [00:17:55] throughout some of the departments and that we look forward to, and not to mention the insurance costs keep going up, [00:18:03] I know there's a lot of work involved to whittle it down to this, and I appreciate it. [00:18:08] If there's no further discussion, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. [00:18:12] Aye. [00:18:13] Opposed, like sign. [00:18:14] Motion passes. [00:18:15] Mr. Driscoll. [00:18:16] Resolution number 2022-14, a resolution of the City of New Port Richey of Pasco County, Florida, [00:18:22] adopting the tentative budget for fiscal year 2022-2023, [00:18:26] and the capital improvement program for fiscal year 2022-2023, providing an effective date. [00:18:33] Question. [00:18:34] Ms. Mance, do we also have a presentation on the capital improvement program tonight? [00:18:38] Not tonight. [00:18:39] We do not. [00:18:40] No, we do not. [00:18:41] Okay. [00:18:42] Open it up for public comment. [00:18:43] Seeing no one come forward, bring it back to Council. [00:18:50] I move we approve. [00:18:52] I'll second. [00:18:55] Yeah, we voted on the other one. [00:18:57] Yeah. [00:19:00] To the maker. [00:19:02] Yeah, I don't really have any comments. [00:19:04] I think we've looked at it, and I'm good to go with it. [00:19:10] Second. [00:19:11] Same. [00:19:12] I think they did a great job putting it together and presenting it to us over the last few weeks. [00:19:15] Mr. Murphy. [00:19:17] Likewise, we spent a lot of time going over it, and it was good. [00:19:22] Mr. Altman. [00:19:23] Yeah, just two things. [00:19:24] First of all, in the revenue side of the budget, just to once again put on the record that [00:19:33] because of the expansive borders of our CRA, much of the capital, much of the tax increase [00:19:40] is transferred by law into that trust fund there, which has kept the CRA healthy. [00:19:47] So it is the CRA is the thing that is allowing us to focus on economic growth and development, [00:19:54] which is important in sometimes opportune times during downturns if they occur, [00:20:00] as we've been waiting and struggling with costs of construction [00:20:04] and all of the other increases of inflation that have come about. [00:20:08] So we're well positioned in the course of that to sustain ourselves in two ways. [00:20:16] One, as has been mentioned by the Save Our Homes, much of these tax increases that are not showing up on the tax bill [00:20:23] because people have the Save Our Homes to protect them, [00:20:26] there is embedded in those tax values of many of our houses the ability to sustain those values. [00:20:33] As we learned during the last turndown in 2008 and 2009, Mr. Mayor, [00:20:37] which you and former Mayor McPherson and others had to cope with, [00:20:43] was it's the CRA that loses that cream on the top. [00:20:46] So the good tax increases are helping the CRA with its revenue. [00:20:51] The ability for us to keep that trend going is critical, [00:20:56] which is a double reason that we really have to continue our investment to make sure that new structures, [00:21:01] new buildings, and our economy is healthy to sustain while others may not. [00:21:06] So when I first got into the city in 1988, we were in the old building, which is now the library. [00:21:14] It had mold. It was never maintained properly. [00:21:20] It was wet where the storage was downstairs, and the library was also out of condition, [00:21:28] as was the police station on Grand Boulevard. [00:21:31] And over these years, the remodeling, the upgrading, and the updating of all our facilities [00:21:38] has brought us to a point where we have folks that are proud of our city [00:21:42] and tell us who visit what great facilities we have. [00:21:46] So we have great facilities. We don't have huge capital improvement needs. [00:21:50] Some of those are addressed, and some of the final, I think, rebuilding is listed in the budget, [00:22:00] particularly in the fleet and the warehousing out on Pine Hill Road and that improvement. [00:22:07] I will be asking and just trying to poke around to see if some of that warehousing fleet construction cost is [00:22:18] and can be attributable to our Water and Sewer Department division [00:22:23] and the effort that it has, particularly in the plant. [00:22:29] So while we talk about the county having now 50 percent of our sewer plant, [00:22:36] it doesn't own our distribution lines. [00:22:39] And much, Robert, as I've learned from you and other people over the years, [00:22:44] much of that water and sewer as it's divided into multiple components is not shared with the county [00:22:51] because those are our sewer lines and our distribution systems, but the plant itself is. [00:22:56] So whether it's possible or not from the finance department to evaluate our capital costs of that, [00:23:05] as it supports the plant, I'd be curious to see if there's any potential chargebacks, [00:23:10] because we do charge back the cost of our plant. [00:23:15] I do believe that we do some depreciation because this is sort of a proprietary account. [00:23:20] So I would be anxious to see if we could allocate some of that depreciation of this new $2 million building [00:23:27] towards that shared asset, giving someone else to help us pay for it. [00:23:33] So just a thought. [00:23:34] It's an accounting question and one I'd wanted to pose early in the process. [00:23:38] But the fleet maintenance division charges back all of the other departments for its costs. [00:23:47] If one of those costs is the depreciation, I'm not sure whether that gets charged back to that particular fund or not [00:23:54] or what equipment or what needs are served by the facility for that. [00:23:58] But just trying to look and dig for any chances we can get to make sure that we get the support of the county, [00:24:06] the library meeting we had. [00:24:09] A couple of you, unfortunately, at 5 o'clock it didn't work for you, [00:24:13] but there was a great strategic plan for the library, which included data about the number of books, [00:24:21] how much our city library exceeds the state averages in terms of attendance, in terms of programs, [00:24:29] in terms of material checked out. [00:24:33] We have a great story to tell based on that evidence. [00:24:36] And similarly with the recreation department, we have one of the best facilities around and a great story to tell. [00:24:43] So I'm very hopeful that this next year is the year in which we can finally break through to the county [00:24:50] and get some relief for the services that we're providing in whatever areas they are. [00:24:57] I've made this argument, councilman and mayor, for a number of years. [00:25:02] We've had this discussion. [00:25:03] We've talked about, you know, appealing to the county. [00:25:07] And I've had in my discussions with the city manager some preliminary positive feedback [00:25:12] that there is some interest and willingness to work together. [00:25:15] So I hope that this next six months is the time we can try to work together [00:25:20] and find ways to get in a partnership relationship where we can get some of our own library [00:25:27] and recreation fees that we're paying to the county back as well as some of those in our service area that we serve. [00:25:34] And if we don't, then I'll be even more adamant come next spring in really promoting the need for us to look at our legal means. [00:25:47] And they don't have to be mean or angry. [00:25:49] They just have to be, you know, we have statutory rights. [00:25:52] I think we can prove the service that we provide. [00:25:56] And I think it would be very helpful for a county that's growing so much with so much of its resources going to Trinity, [00:26:06] Wesley Chapel, the new Suncoast Parkway corridor. [00:26:11] They're in a good position to treat us fairly. [00:26:15] And I think we're in a good position to tell our story. [00:26:17] So that's my little pitch on the budget that I've said before, and I would support it as we go. [00:26:25] But I hope that things will change for the better for our residents as we move forward. [00:26:31] Thank you. [00:26:34] The operating budget struck me as very well put together. [00:26:39] I was particularly impressed with the capital improvement program. [00:26:43] You know, from the public works going in and doing water and sewer line replacements [00:26:53] and realigning so that we don't wind up in the headlines for a major sewer spill somewhere, [00:27:00] to the neighborhood improvements, including coming up this year, [00:27:06] not only redoing a bunch of neighborhood roads, but also getting a crack on alleys, [00:27:13] which I know there's a lot of interest among the residents in seeing that happen, [00:27:20] money being allocated in the plan for the Grand Bridge replacement, [00:27:27] and even the preliminary work on the pedestrian overpass [00:27:32] that I know Mr. Altman in particular is very keen to see us be able to do, [00:27:38] that we've managed to find the money to try to get these programs moving forward. [00:27:44] I think it's a good plan, and it's well balanced. [00:27:49] There are a bunch of other things I could name that I haven't, but the city's on the move, [00:27:55] and it shows both in the general operating budget and in the dreams that show up [00:28:02] as we put together the capital improvement budget that goes from the 20-23 fiscal year [00:28:08] through the 26-27 fiscal year, so I think very, very positive. [00:28:16] Any further discussion? Hearing none, all those in favor, please signify by saying aye. [00:28:22] Aye. Opposed, like sign. Motion passes.

   This text was generated automatically from the meeting video. It is not a verbatim or official record. For exact wording, consult the video or the city clerk.

5. 5Communications▶ 28:27
6. 6Adjournment