HOLMES BEACH – Budget discussions are underway in Holmes Beach and commissioners so far have only made a few minor adjustments to the proposed 2021-22 fiscal year finances.
City Treasurer Lori Hill presented the proposed $11,156,128 budget to city commissioners during a July 13 work session. In addition to the more than $11 million break-even revenue/expense budget, Hill’s proposal also included $9,306,655 estimated reserves and carryover from the previous year for a total of $20,462,782.
Some revenue, including proceeds from the half-cent sales tax, state revenue sharing, and communication tax are all estimates until final numbers are received from the state, Hill said. Until the end of the current fiscal year, Sept. 30, the $5,526,635 in unassigned reserves/general fund is also an estimate.
Commissioners voted unanimously on July 15 in a special meeting to set the maximum millage rate for the coming fiscal year at 2.25 mills, the same as the current year and in line with what Hill suggested during the budget workshop.
Millage is the tax amount charged to property owners by the city for each $1,000 of assessed property value determined by the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office.
Despite proposing the same 2.25 millage rate as the current year, Hill said the city’s ad valorem revenue would increase by 6.93% due to an increase in property values.
The 2.25 mills rate is 6.24% higher than the rollback rate of 2.1178 mills which would bring in the same amount of ad valorem revenue as the current fiscal year.
While some commissioners questioned whether or not they could potentially lower the millage rate and still meet the city’s financial goals for the 2021-22 fiscal year to give property owners a tax break, Hill said that the city cannot lower the millage rate and still receive federal American Rescue Plan Act funding. Currently, she said she does not know how much funding the city could receive under the program, which will see funds distributed by state officials, or what those funds could be used for. Commissioners agreed to reassess their options in September during the two required public hearings for the budget when they hopefully will have more information on the possible amount of funding and its approved uses.
During budget discussions, commissioners reviewed areas where there are significant changes proposed, including in the police department, public works and outside agency funding.
Outside agency funding, which includes city contributions to The Center of Anna Maria Island and other nonprofit organizations on the Island, only saw a $2,500 increase from the previous year to a total of $27,500 but was a topic of some debate among commissioners. Ultimately, commissioners voted three-to-two, with Commissioners Jim Kihm and Jayne Christenson dissenting, to budget $25,000 for a contribution to The Center, one that would be guaranteed and not require commissioners’ to approve before it can be distributed to the nonprofit. The contribution is $2,500 higher than the $22,500 that has been given in previous years. The additional $2,500 in the $27,500 line item is to be distributed to other Island nonprofits at the mayor’s discretion.
The general government budget also increased by $4,000 after budget discussions at the workshop to allow for any commissioner who wants one to receive a city-issued laptop to conduct city business with instead of using their private devices.
The mayor and commission budget remained largely the same at $205,006, with $1,820 added for increases in elected officials’ stipends and $2,785 in increased computer and information technology services.
The budget for the Holmes Beach Police Department is proposed to increase by $374,105 to $3,990,311 for the 2021-22 fiscal year. Increases in the budget include the rehiring of a records clerk for the department, a position that was lost during the 2018-19 fiscal year and put off to cut costs in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years. It also includes the addition of another officer to assist in the promotion of Det. Sgt. Brian Hall to lieutenant and succession planning for the eventual retirement of Chief Bill Tokajer.
Other costs are the long-planned 911 upgrade that every law enforcement and first responder agency in Manatee County is required to participate in, the purchase of a new vehicle for the new hire officer, a new computer server, $64,000 for new tasers for officers to replace aging ones that are out of warranty and associated liability protections, $5,000 for five new bulletproof vests and $5,200 for the purchase of a new bulletproof shield. Tokajer said he hopes to recoup some of the funds for the bulletproof vest purchase via a grant.
The budget for the public works department is proposed to increase by $688,280 to $2,660,173. Planned spending in that department includes the addition of one new employee, an in-house engineer, $100,000 to repair 13 trolley stops and add two new ones, new phones and software for employees and rollover funds for lighting and landscaping at city center.
Mayor Judy Titsworth said that some of the funding for the in-house engineer position is planned to be recouped in lowered professional service fees paid to outside engineering firms by the city.
The building department’s budget is proposed to come in at $821,536, an increase of $191,960 over the current fiscal year. Planned spending includes the addition of a new employee, new computer equipment and a new server and $105,000 to be paid to LaRue Planning for services to the city, not including a payment of $27,000 for the final year of the comprehensive plan review which staff from LaRue is assisting planning commissioners on. The comprehensive plan expenditure is noted under the general government budget.
The Code Compliance budget is projected to increase by $50,197 to $640,863 to account for the hiring of a new full-time employee and the purchase of a new Ford F150 vehicle. Other line items, including professional services where officers plan to spend $32,000 less than the previous year.
Holmes Beach commissioners plan to host the first of two required budget hearings where the public is invited to speak and ask questions about planned spending at 5 p.m. on Sept. 15. The final budget hearing is planned for 5 p.m. on Sept. 28. The new budget will go into effect on Oct. 1.
Copies of the proposed budget are available to the public in the lobby at Holmes Beach City Hall.
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