OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

City of Fort Lauderdale Second Budget Hearing - September 12, 2025

City Commission — Friday, September 12, 2025
BodyFort Lauderdale, Florida
SessionCity Commission
DateFriday, September 12, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the City Commission's second budget hearing this September twelfth, twenty twenty five.

0:06

Thank you for being here today.

0:08

Uh we appreciate your attendance and um uh this is a very important meeting for the community because we'll be voting uh for the new budget, the new millage rate, and uh um and hoping that we have a very successful twenty twenty-six uh budget year.

0:25

So before we begin, I'd like to um ask you all to please rise and join James and Leela Williams, children of our esteemed city manager uh at the podium to help recite the Pledge of Allegiance prompts.

0:50

Okay.

0:51

All right, so put your right hand your right hand over your heart, and you may begin.

0:57

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republican.

1:07

One nation under God, individual with literacy and justice for all.

1:20

That's it.

1:21

Have fun with the budget.

1:29

Wow.

1:31

So what do you talk about at the dinner table?

1:36

Does Dad want to come too?

1:37

Come on.

1:51

All right, very good.

1:52

Thank you, guys.

1:53

Thank you, James.

1:55

Thank you.

1:56

Thank you.

1:58

We're back next year.

2:07

Okay, let's begin.

2:08

Mr.

2:08

Clerk, please call the roll.

2:11

Vice Mayor Herbst.

2:13

Commissioner Glassman?

2:14

Here.

2:14

Commissioner Beasley Pittman?

2:16

Here.

2:16

Commissioner Sorensen?

2:17

Here.

2:17

Mayor Trentels.

2:18

Here.

2:24

So uh we will begin with budget one.

2:27

Uh someone please introduce a resolution approving the fiscal year twenty twenty-six central wastewater uh region large user rate.

2:36

Introduced.

2:37

It's been introduced.

2:39

Excuse me.

2:40

Um Mr.

2:41

Clerk, please call the roll.

2:42

A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida approving setting a rate per 1,000 gallons of wastewater treated for the fiscal year 2026 for all large user wastewater customers of the central wastewater region providing for an effective date.

2:55

Vice Mayor Herbst.

2:57

Commissioner Glossman?

2:58

Yes.

2:59

Commissioner Beasley Pittman?

3:00

Yes.

3:00

Commissioner Sorensen?

3:01

Yes.

3:01

Mayor Trentals.

3:02

Yes, and budget two is now approved.

3:05

Excuse me, budget one is now approved.

3:06

Budget two.

3:08

Uh this is regarding the community investment plan.

3:10

Will someone please introduce a resolution adopting the final five-year community investment plan for the period beginning October first, twenty twenty-five and ending September thirtieth, twenty thirty.

3:21

Introduced.

3:23

The item has been introduced.

3:24

Please call the roll.

3:26

A resolution of the city commission of the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, approving and adopting a final five-year community investment plan for the period beginning October one, twenty twenty-five and ending September thirtieth, twenty thirty, appropriating the portion of the community investment plan for the fiscal year beginning October one, twenty twenty-five and ending September thirtieth, twenty twenty-six, reappropriating the unspend community investment plan project office at the end of the fiscal year beginning October one, twenty twenty-four, and ending September thirtieth, twenty twenty-five for the fiscal year beginning October one, twenty twenty-five, and then ending September thirtieth, twenty twenty-six and providing for several and an effective date.

3:58

Vice Mayor Herbst.

3:59

Yes.

3:59

Commissioner Glossman?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████████████████████████49%
Procedural████████████13%
Water And Wastewater Management███████████12%
Public Engagement█████████10%
Arts And Culture█████5%
Public Safety███3%
Fiscal Sustainability███3%
Homelessness██2%
Education██2%
Summary of Proceedings

City of Fort Lauderdale Second Budget Hearing - September 12, 2025

The City of Fort Lauderdale City Commission held its second and final budget hearing on September 12, 2025, at 5:01 PM in the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. The meeting focused on adopting the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 final millage rate, budget, and associated assessments. All commissioners were present: Mayor Dean J. Trantalis, Vice Mayor John C. Herbst, Commissioner Steven Glassman, Commissioner Pam Beasley-Pittman, and Commissioner Ben Sorensen.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Chris Nelson (Flagler Village resident) appeared twice. During the millage rate discussion, he argued that maintaining the millage rate while property values rise results in a 67% increase in property tax revenue (from $168 million in 2020 to $250 million in FY 2026) with only 1.24% population growth, calling it an effective tax increase. He urged cuts to positions such as the Strategic Communications Office ($3.5M for 13 staff) and a Chief Education Officer. During the budget discussion, he repeated these points and predicted property taxes will be eliminated via ballot measure, urging the city to prepare. He also questioned the need for a new city hall and suggested using tourist taxes and state surplus as alternatives.
  • Joe Kenner (President, Hope South Florida) commended the commission for allocating $200,000 for a safe overnight parking initiative for the homeless and thanked the city for partnership.
  • Joe Cox (Museum of Discovery and Science) thanked the city for its support, noting the museum provides free programming to all K-5 students in Fort Lauderdale public schools.
  • Bonnie Clearwater (Director and Chief Curator, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale) thanked the city for funding, highlighting that Livability.com named Fort Lauderdale a top livable city due to its arts and culture, and that a major art collection including Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera was donated to the museum.
  • NCL Pratt III (Early Learning Coalition of Broward County) thanked the city for its School Readiness Match Program funding, noting Fort Lauderdale has the largest subsidized child care population in Broward County (2,960 children served, $15.6M in subsidies, 1,754 households, 67 child care small businesses). He emphasized that city contributions are matched dollar-for-dollar.

Discussion Items

  • Item BGT-10: Final Millage Rate – The commission adopted a final operating millage rate of 4.1193 (unchanged for 19 years) and a debt service millage rate of 0.2306 (down from 0.2545). The aggregate rate including dependent districts is 4.1230, a 6.71% increase above the rollback rate. Vice Mayor Herbst voted no, arguing the rate should be cut by 50 basis points. Mayor Trantalis and Commissioner Glassman defended the rate, citing comparisons to Pembroke Pines (5.6690) and Broward County (5.3), and noting the city's low rate. Commissioner Sorensen noted the vice mayor missed prior workshops where such cuts could have been proposed. The city auditor clarified his role is to verify accuracy, not set policy.
  • Item BGT-11: Final Budget – The all-funds budget of $1,194,366,687 was adopted 4-1 (Vice Mayor Herbst opposed). The budget maintains the millage rate, increases the fire assessment by $75 to $403 per residential unit, and funds salary/wage increases ($12.7M), fringe benefits ($10.4M), and capital outlay ($4.2M). Discussion also covered reserves (target 25% of operating budget, currently $110-120M), bond ratings (Triple-A since 2018), and a potential Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) from the airport. The city manager confirmed a $14M budget amendment planned for October 7 to advance capital projects and incorporate PFAS settlement funds ($34M total).
  • Other Agenda Items (BGT-1 through BGT-9) – All were adopted unanimously (5-0):
    • BGT-1: Central Wastewater Region large user rate of $3.22 per 1,000 gallons.
    • BGT-2: Five-Year Community Investment Plan (FY 2026-2030).
    • BGT-3: Stormwater Management Program Assessment (estimated $42,030,429 revenue).
    • BGT-4: Lauderdale Isles Water Management District budget ($129,790) and non-ad valorem assessment of $15 per parcel.
    • BGT-5: Nuisance Abatement Assessment ($29,006.62 revenue, 100% cost recovery).
    • BGT-6: Las Olas Utility Undergrounding Assessment ($1,712.75 per equivalent benefit unit, $501,150 estimated revenue).
    • BGT-7: Beach Business Improvement District annual rate (0.8525 per $1,000 assessed value, $1,285,343 revenue).
    • BGT-8: Fire Assessment ($403 per residential unit, $61,616,864 estimated general fund revenue).
    • BGT-9: Sunrise Key Neighborhood Improvement District final millage rate (1.0000 mills) and budget ($223,168), representing a 9.15% increase over the rollback rate.

Key Outcomes

  • Adopted FY 2026 Millage Rate: Operating rate 4.1193, debt service rate 0.2306 (vote 4-1, Vice Mayor Herbst dissenting).
  • Adopted FY 2026 Final Budget: Total all-funds budget $1,194,366,687 (vote 4-1, Vice Mayor Herbst dissenting).
  • Approved all nine associated resolutions/assessments (BGT-1 through BGT-9) unanimously (5-0).
  • Directives: The city manager will explore the feasibility of an airport PILOT and report back; also will engage bond rating agencies to assess the impact of lower reserve levels on the city's credit rating.
  • Next Steps: A budget amendment utilizing $14M in excess reserves and $34M (including PFAS settlement) will be presented at the October 7, 2025 commission meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Good afternoon, everybody, and welcome to the City Commission's second budget hearing this September twelfth, twenty twenty five. Thank you for being here today. Uh we appreciate your attendance and um uh this is a very important meeting for the community because we'll be voting uh for the new budget, the new millage rate, and uh um and hoping that we have a very successful twenty twenty-six uh budget year. So before we begin, I'd like to um ask you all to please rise and join James and Leela Williams, children of our esteemed city manager uh at the podium to help recite the Pledge of Allegiance prompts. Okay. All right, so put your right hand your right hand over your heart, and you may begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republican. One nation under God, individual with literacy and justice for all. That's it. Have fun with the budget. Wow. So what do you talk about at the dinner table? Does Dad want to come too? Come on. All right, very good. Thank you, guys. Thank you, James. Thank you. Thank you. We're back next year. Okay, let's begin. Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. Vice Mayor Herbst. Commissioner Glassman? Here. Commissioner Beasley Pittman? Here. Commissioner Sorensen? Here. Mayor Trentels. Here. So uh we will begin with budget one. Uh someone please introduce a resolution approving the fiscal year twenty twenty-six central wastewater uh region large user rate. Introduced. It's been introduced. Excuse me. Um Mr. Clerk, please call the roll. A resolution of the City Commission of the City of Fort Lauderdale, Florida approving setting a rate per 1,000 gallons of wastewater treated for the fiscal year 2026 for all large user wastewater customers of the central wastewater region providing for an effective date. Vice Mayor Herbst. Commissioner Glossman? Yes. Commissioner Beasley Pittman? Yes. Commissioner Sorensen? Yes. Mayor Trentals. Yes, and budget two is now approved. Excuse me, budget one is now approved.

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