City Council Meeting - January 13, 2026 Goal Setting Workshop
City Council Meeting - January 13, 2026 Goal Setting Workshop
The City Commission of Fort Lauderdale convened to discuss priorities, budget development for Fiscal Year 2027, and progress on existing strategic goals. The meeting featured extensive updates on public safety, infrastructure resilience, homelessness, broadband access, and major redevelopment projects including the new City Hall and the use of the former federal courthouse site. Commissioners engaged in detailed discussions regarding neighborhood-specific concerns, strategic communications, and the potential for charter revisions, emphasizing a consensus to continue prioritizing the current six strategic goals while addressing emerging community needs.
Consent Calendar
- No formal consent calendar items were listed for approval in the transcript; the meeting proceeded directly to staff presentations and discussion.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Marilyn Amano: Representing a civic group, expressed full support for charter revision recommendations regarding public lands, specifically the goal to close the "sale, lease, license loophole" to ensure all conveyances are for public purpose with unanimous approval. She expressed strong support for a specific Public-Private Partnership (P3) ordinance, improved conditional use regulations in the ULDR, and strong support for addressing traffic congestion, road conditions, and first responder times. She stated support for reviewing homeless program data for effectiveness and strongly advocated for increasing green and open spaces.
Discussion Items
- Strategic Goals and Budget Timeline: Staff outlined the timeline for FY2027 budget development, moving from goal setting in January to proposed budget in July and adoption in September. The six strategic goals (Public Safety, Housing, Infrastructure, Public Places, and Economic Development) remain aligned with the five-year strategic plan.
- Landscape Review and Community Perception: Staff presented data showing a gap between city infrastructure achievements and resident perception. Residents ranked affordability and cost of living as challenges, while businesses cited infrastructure conditions (largely due to construction) and employee quality of life. Commissioners and staff expressed consensus that improved messaging and education are required to highlight ongoing massive infrastructure investments.
- Homelessness: Staff reported unmatched commitment to homelessness with a $13 million annual allocation, including a mobile integrated health unit and outreach teams. Commissioners expressed concern that the public conflates panhandling with true homelessness and supported the creation of a monthly one-pager detailing homeless initiatives to improve transparency.
- Infiltration and Inflow (I&I): The Utilities Director reported that 71 of 76 milestones under the consent order are completed, with 54 ahead of schedule. Full support was expressed for the current progress. The City is negotiating a second amendment to extend the timeline seven years to focus on I&I reduction, with $30 million in existing contracts and $130 million identified in the capital plan.
- Broadband Access: The IT Director presented options to enhance access, including expanding an existing pilot Internet Service Program, increasing bandwidth in parks, and offering digital literacy training. Strong support was expressed by Commissioners for a comprehensive approach (A, B, C, and D) to expand access and educate the community, particularly in District 3.
- Camera Expansion: Commissioners expressed a strong desire to aggressively expand city cameras in high-crime hotspots. The Chief of Police confirmed that cameras approved in the FY26 budget are in the planning/installation phase, with new units expected to be in service by the end of the month.
- Police District 4 Proposal: The Chief of Police proposed creating a fourth police district encompassing the downtown entertainment area and Lauderdale Isles to concentrate existing resources on high call-for-service areas without hiring additional officers. Strong support was expressed for the concept to improve proactive patrol and response times, with the understanding that officer counts would remain the same while geographic boundaries shifted.
- Federal Courthouse Acquisition: Staff presented the option to acquire the former federal courthouse ($36 million value) via public benefit conveyances offering up to 100% discount if used for specific public benefits. The Commission expressed strong interest in pursuing the property with two potential uses: Education (including potential charter school or FAU expansion) and Affordable Housing. Commissioners noted that the building's lack of windows may preclude housing use without significant historic facade disruption, but agreed to pursue both options with the GSA.
- One-Stop Shop Site: Staff presented opportunities for the 2.75-acre vacant downtown site, including an unsolicited P3, public park conversion, or a new lift station to support downtown development capacity. Commissioners expressed strong support for a public-private partnership that activates the space while retaining green space, with conditional support for a lift station if it is integrated efficiently. A solicited P3 process was proposed to define mandatory minimums upfront.
- New City Hall: Staff reported preliminary negotiations with the lead developer, aiming to deliver a project within the $200 million target (down from a previous $344 million estimate). Cautionary positions were expressed by Commissioners regarding the feasibility of the $200 million target, urging realism and a balanced approach to scope vs. cost. No reliance was expressed on CDBG funds for the project due to restrictions.
- Charter Revisions and Governance: The Mayor raised issues regarding the November election cycle (now at ~12-15% turnout vs. 70-80% in presidential years), the $1,000 campaign contribution cap, and the "weak mayor" form of government. Mixed positions were expressed regarding the election timing (support for November due to cost and turnout, caution regarding primaries). Strong support was expressed for retaining the manager-mayor form of government, with opposition to the term "weak mayor" and consensus that the current system fosters collaboration and district representation.
Key Outcomes
- Consensus reached to focus the Federal Courthouse acquisition on Education and Affordable Housing as the two primary public benefit conveyance options to present to the GSA.
- Consensus reached to support the creation of a new Police District 4 to redistribute existing resources in the downtown area without increasing headcount.
- Directive issued to staff to create a monthly one-pager on homelessness initiatives to improve community communication.
- Directive issued to staff to explore a solicited P3 process for the One-Stop Shop site with mandatory minimums for activation and green space retention, potentially including a lift station.
- Consensus formed to retain the November election cycle and reject the implementation of an August primary due to legal constraints and low turnout risks.
- Consensus formed to maintain the current "strong city manager" form of government and reject a shift to a "strong mayor" system.
- Agreement to pursue the commuter rail tunnel with US DOT, with the expectation of receiving a cost proposal from tunnel construction firms within weeks to forward to the County.
- Staff Directive to investigate sinkhole issues in District 3 and Flagler Village and to establish a program to incentivize grocery and essential service operators in Flagler Village to enhance walkability.
- Staff Directive to finalize the public art program position and integrate all arts/cultural endeavors under one umbrella to improve efficiency and accountability.
- Consensus to expand broadband access through training, pilot program expansion, and increased bandwidth in public spaces.
- Action to approve the draft term sheet for the City Hall partnership by the end of February, with an interim agreement to be considered subsequently.
- Consensus to support the citywide expansion of the Gun Violence Interruption Program, piloted in District 3, to ensure it is sustainable and funded for FY27.
- Consensus to enhance swimming programs, specifically partnering with the Swimming Hall of Fame's "Every Child a Swimmer" initiative to increase access and participation for youth.
- Consensus to continue aggressive infrastructure investments under the "Fortify Lauderdale" and resilience bonds, acknowledging the need for clear messaging to residents regarding construction impacts.
Meeting Transcript
For each district and citywide. As we look at opportunities for this year, our team is looking to gain a lot of valuable feedback as we enter the budget development process for fiscal year 2027. And with that, I'll turn it over to the team. We have a video prepared. And I'll allow the team who spearheaded this workshop to kick it off. Thank you. All right. Can you hear me without this? Can everyone hear her back there? Good. Okay. Is this better? We're doing better? Okay, perfect. All right. Um so uh as we go through these goals today, the city commission will be sharing uh their goals, priorities, and direction for the city. Um ultimately you'll also be approving some funding later on to move these and advance them forward. Whereas staff, our role is really to operationalize these goals, create work plans, and implement them according to your direction. Um I think it's helpful as we're kind of in the crossroads of 26 and 27 to share a timeline. So today we're hearing from the city commission on what those priorities and ideas are. We will take that in March through June and build it into our budget development process to make sure that we're moving those initiatives forward with a resources. In July, you'll have the proposed budget where you'll clearly be able to see how we've articulated and funded each of those priorities. Fast forward a few more months, we'll have our final budget hearings in September where they will officially be adopted as part of the budget. Um, and then in October, we'll have funding in place and we're ready to hit the road running if we haven't already by that point. Um, so that's really what we're as we're looking for where the process will end up. Now, as a reminder, because I've said these priorities really serve to advance our five-year strategic plan. We have six goals under this plan. The first is focused on public safety. The second is focused on housing, and this is inclusive of both affordable housing and how we address homelessness in our city. Number three is focused on infrastructure, um, really more so the pipes in the ground, whereas the next goal is focused on infrastructure in terms of transportation, our roads, our sidewalks. Um, goal five is uh all about making the city beautiful, welcoming our parks, uh making sure that it's an inviting community, and goal six is focused on economic development. Now, if we're looking at the priorities that were established last year at this time, you can see that almost verbatim, they are perfectly aligned. We had public safety, homelessness response, infrastructure and resilience, the enjoyment of waterways, public spaces and cultural initiatives, and to bolster our thriving communities. So I'm gonna pause here for a second and I'm gonna ask our AV team, we're gonna pivot to a video to share just a little bit more context about uh the commission prioritization workshop as well as some of the progress that we've already made to date towards these 2026 priorities so that we can catapult onto that as we talk about next year. So Andres, if you want, thank you, and while our A V team pulls that up, I do want to mention that staff and the city commission, you have what we call our resource guide. And while our AV team pulls that up, I do want to mention that staff in the City Commission, you have what we call our resource guide. Fort Lauderdale is a city you never want to leave. Not just because of where we can follow along with today's discussion in here as well. So with that, here is the video. Not just because of where we are, but because of who we are. A connected, resilient and thriving city where people want to live, work and play. The city strategic plan turns our vision into action. Guiding our work through focused priorities in public safety, housing, infrastructure, public places, and business growth. Within each of these areas of focus, the city has outlined six goals. One, build a safe community that is proactive and responsive to risks. Two, enable housing options for all income levels. Build a beautiful and welcoming community. Build a diverse and attractive economy. The city is additionally guided by the principles of customer service, fiscal responsibility, innovation, the wise use of technology, and inclusivity. To ensure we are making progress towards our goals, accountability is key.
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