Transportation Surtax Oversight Board Budget Meeting - August 14, 2026
Transportation Surtax Oversight Board Budget Meeting - August 14, 2026
The Independent Transportation Surtax Oversight Board (ITSAB) held its budget meeting on August 14, 2026, reviewing the FY2027 recommended budget and the proposed five-year plan (2027-2031) for the Mobility Advancement Program (MAP). The meeting included presentations from the Office of Economic and Small Business Development, the Municipal Surtax Program, Broward County Public Works & Environmental Services Department, and the Broward County Transportation Department. After public comment (none received) and discussion, the Board approved the FY2027 budget and the five-year plans with one dissenting vote (Ray McGovern, voting by email, on statutory eligibility of projects).
Public Comments & Testimony
- No members of the public signed up to speak during the meeting.
Consent Calendar
- The minutes of the April 24, 2026, meeting were approved unanimously.
Small Business Update
- Maribel Feliciano (Director, Office of Economic and Small Business Development) reported that 123 county projects and 194 municipal projects have been reviewed. County average CBE goal is 29%, municipal average 32%. Actual awards averaging 38% CBE participation across both. 41 closed municipal projects totaling $40 million in awarded amounts, with $16.4 million going to 35 CBE businesses. Economic impact of 132 awarded projects: $643 million paid to vendors, creating 3,200 direct jobs, with total impact over $1 billion and nearly 5,000 jobs. Ongoing training and capacity building workshops (e.g., Bid Development Cycle, “You Have a Contract Now What?”) were highlighted.
Municipal Surtax Program Update
- Jonathan Hopkins (Transportation Surtax Administrator) presented the Municipal Surtax Program highlights. FY2027 budget: $23.5 million for capital projects; five-year plan total $142 million. Cycle one: 83 municipal capital projects (44 completed across 18 municipalities, representing $64 million in surtax investments). FY2026 projects under the Third Amendment are in progress, with cities granted an extension to end of FY2027. A microtransit expansion in Plantation (Freebie service) funded by $200,000 in cost savings was showcased via a video. The Board also noted that the City-County Managers Association may adjust the recommended allocation for formula-based funding and grant match.
Public Works & Environmental Services Update
- Tony Hughie (Deputy Director) reviewed FY2026 accomplishments: 16 projects completed including the Convention Center Connector Road, Cypress Creek Road multi-use paths (leveraging FDOT partnership), drainage, lighting, adaptive traffic signals (5 completed), and 4.3 miles of fiber optic backbone. An emergency bridge repair on Peters Road (Holloway Canal) was announced: $6.8 million, funded by reallocating from projects O2 and O109, with plans to backfill later. FY2027 proposed budget: $111 million for 34 projects. Detailed presentations were given by Division Directors Anton (Highway & Bridge Maintenance), Richard Torney (Highway Construction & Engineering), and Rossum Awad (Traffic Engineering). Projects include bridge repairs (Coconut Creek, Atlantic Boulevard, Pine Island Road, etc.), drainage (Andrews Avenue – leveraging a $50 million grant, Boulevard Gardens), sidewalk and drainage, resurfacing (Sheridan Street), safety improvements (Miramar Parkway curve with innovative barrier wall design saving $2.8 million), Dixie Highway separated bike lanes, school zone enhancements, mast arm replacements, and lighting. Discussion focused on design costs (e.g., 30% design cost for school zones raised as a concern), asset lifecycles, and the importance of contingency planning.
Transportation Department Update
- Corey Cuff Lawrence (General Manager) highlighted accomplishments: best on-time performance (81%) in 10 years; World Cup service transported ~1,000 passengers via express buses; ridership challenges: fixed-route ridership down 8% (attributed to immigration enforcement fears and fleet issues), student bus passes down 39%, but paratransit up 6% and Rider’s Choice up 246%. Security officers on Route 22 reduced incidents by 20%. Awards: IT procurement automation (NACo), bus rodeo mechanics won first place in Cummings Drive Train analysis. Risks: federal funding uncertainty (IIJA sunset, potential gas tax changes), construction cost increases (2.8% overall, steel +30%, aluminum +17%), and construction labor shortages. FY2027 budget request: $856.6 million ($408.2M capital, $181.2M operating, $252.2M Broward Commuter Rail South, $15M community shuttle). Five-year plan: $2.57 billion. Key projects: Oakland Park Boulevard BRT ($246.3M surtax, total $298M, open 2030); Airport–Seaport Connector ($384.5M surtax request, total $1.56B, open 2032); Broward Commuter Rail South ($453.2M request with $201M federal match; note that without Miami-Dade’s participation, viability was questioned). Denise Williams presented the FY2027 budget details; Abishek Dayal presented the five-year capital plan including BRT corridors (SR7, University Drive, Commercial Boulevard, Sunrise Boulevard), West Broward Intermodal Center ($121M), a future maintenance facility, and vehicle acquisitions.
Key Outcomes
- Approval of FY2027 Budget (Action Item 2): The Board approved the proposed projects and expenditures as statutorily eligible under Sec. 212.055(1)(d), F.S. for FY2027. Motion passed with one dissenting vote (Ray McGovern, voting by email, opposed on eligibility).
- Approval of Five-Year Plans 2027-2031 (Action Item 3): The Board approved the five-year plans for Public Works, Transportation, and Municipal Projects consistent with Section 31½-75(h)(3). Motion passed with one dissenting vote (Ray McGovern, voting by email, opposed).
- 2027 Meeting Calendar: The Board tentatively approved a calendar including a Zoom workshop on October 30, 2026 (dashboard focus), a December 10, 2026 workshop, and six meetings in 2027 (February 12, April 16, etc.). Final dates subject to conflict resolution.
- Board Vacancy: Urged members to recommend CPAs for an accounting vacancy on the board; appointing authority to meet in mid-September.
- Performance Audit: Expected completion in December or January; update at December meeting.
- Future Reporting: The Board requested clearer breakdowns of surtax spending by category (e.g., percentage on transit operations, capital, public works) and cost-per-passenger comparisons with peer agencies. Staff will also provide a safety-focused meeting in 2027.
Meeting Transcript
And um we'll start here with a roll call. So good morning, everybody. Tracy Kaplan. Here Thank you. Debbie Madden. Here. Douglas Coleman. Here. Thank you. Or dog dominance. Here. Phil Allen. Thank you. Ronald Frison. And Ray McGover will join us online and the appendix. Thank you, Roy. Do we have any members of the public signed up to speak? We don't have anybody here this morning. No speakers this morning. Okay. And as a reminder to all the board members here and online, um, please speak directly into the microphone so your uh comments can be recorded and um push the little red button um to speak. And also wanted to ask if there's any elected officials in attendance today. I see none. So we will move on, and I'm gonna turn it over to our new uh transportation surtex administrator and oversight board coordinator, Jonathan Hopkins. Welcome, Jonathan. We're very happy to have you here. So um I'll let you speak. Thanks. Yeah, well, good morning, everybody. It's a pleasure. Um and an honor to be able to take over from Gretchen uh in this role and join you guys in a very audacious and important task of supporting the implementation of one of the largest transportation support voter approved transportation measures in the country. Um as I ride the train every morning in Route 22 of Broward County Transit to get to work every day. We get to see a lot of promise of what's ahead, but also opportunity. And so I just like look forward to being able to work with you in support of what um our voters and our county commissioners made possible in 2018. Uh and there's there's a lot to do on that. Um with that, uh I I do want to start out all of our meetings every time on what like our basically what is the foundation of what we're here to do and center ourselves on that. So the first thing to bring up is is what I call our birth certificate, which is really the ballot measure in 2018 and what it called, what the voters said we were here to do, which was to reduce traffic congestion, improve roads and bridges, enhance traffic signal signalization, develop safe sidewalks and bicycle pathways, expand and operate bus and special needs transportation, implement rail and improved corridors, and implement emerging technologies. It's a long and important list that is necessary and essential as we help people live in an affordable place that they can enjoy. Um so as most of us are all aware of of the process and and how all of this works, there's some different steps to it. Um ultimately ours are to there's really three bullets on the oversight board role. Um reviewing projects for statutory eligibility and evaluate five year plans prior to commission budget adoption. Those two we're basically doing in this meeting today. And then the third bullet we do in all of the other meetings. Report on the performance of the ongoing projects and provide recommendations to the county administrator and the county commission. Um back in 2018 or shortly thereafter, the county commission approved. What are our foundational elements, transparency account, and resiliency, and what are our five goals? And you can see them there. They're broadly aligned and generalized versions of what we put in front of voters. Um with that, um, we did an annual report. Um, and so for 2025.
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