2010-0914 1st Budget Hrg - Special Commission Meeting

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Summary Minutes: Special City Commission Meeting September 14, 20 I 0 First Budget Hearing Sunny Isles Beach, Florida was accomplished through readjusting the fees. In addition, the concession stands were also evaluated and we are looking to outsource that in order to optimize our opportunities. The changes that have taken place since the last workshop were: increasing some of the utility fees, the revenue sources, and the franchise fees. In addition there were slight changes to the health insurance plans for the employees which were also adjusted. With the Commission's direction, staff has had significant accomplishments during the year: the City secured a $15 Million debt in order to accomplish some Capital Park Improvements; the City secured a $3.5 Million debt for Stormwater Capital Improvements; the City started construction of Heritage Park with near completion on the garage; and purchased land in order to do future development for the parks. We have also maintained the City's Fund Balance at $10 Million. Capital Improvement Projects: Some of the Capital Improvement Projects that we have accomplished throughout the year, are in progress, and new projects are: the Intracoastal Park System; the Newport Fishing Pier; and the Central Island Drainage Project, Phase II which is North Bay Road. Property Values: What is important to note here is that last year our preliminary tax values came in at about $6.1 Billion, and throughout South Florida we have experienced a decrease in valuations, and we too experienced that decrease of almost $1 Billion which equaled about 15.6%. Although that is a large number, it is not as large as our neighboring cities, some of which experienced 20% to 28% decreases. In addition we were fortunate enough to have new construction come onboard, we have had three developments for this fiscal year: Trump Towers III, Jade Ocean, and St. Tropez II. With that we were able to recognize almost a half a billion dollars worth of construction. Next year we will also recognize another new addition which will be St. Tropez III. With that we have a total in property values of $5.6 Billion which shows a net decrease of 8.3%, and again, our neighboring cities are experiencing double digit decreases. Millage Rate: Because of the Commission's vision and commitment, they have elected to propose a millage rate of2.886, and it is really important to note that with a simple majority vote the Commission could have had proposed a millage rate as high as 3.4158, which was allowed, and if you did a major majority of2/3rds vote, it could have been as high as 3.7574. The 2.886 actually recognizes a 23% decrease from the maximum millage that could have been proposed. With the millage rate as low as 2.886 we are actually the ih lowest millage rate in the County. Over 17 cities in the County have more than doubled our millage rate. Assistant City Manager Shah presented a graph of "History of Taxable Values, Tax Revenues, and Millage Rates" and noted that the Commission has maintained the revenues steady and at a lower rate when it could have also peaked. General Fund: Since the General Fund is the largest operating fund for the budget, Assistant City Manager Shah showed a summary of the budget and outlined the change between fiscal year 200912010 adopted budget to fiscal year 2010/20 1l budget is up $251,000 which represents a 1 % increase. We were fortunate that our revenues for the franchise fees and utility taxes came in more than we had budgeted, and so we recognize a slight increase for that. To offset that we have had slight increases in personnel services due to retirements and health insurance, as well as operating expenses due to the addition of new parks. We have 2