Special City Commission Meeting - September 16, 2024: Budget and Millage Approvals
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Special City Commission Meeting - September 16, 2024
The City Commission held a special meeting on September 16, 2024, at 5:30 PM to conduct the second public hearing on the fiscal year 2024-2025 budget and millage rates for the City of Sarasota, the Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special District, and the Downtown Improvement District. The meeting included public comments, a staff presentation on a budget reallocation, and unanimous approval of all six resolutions.
Public Comments & Testimony
- David Lowe, President of the Downtown Sarasota Condominium Association, praised the budget town hall but noted a missed opportunity for earlier input. He urged the commission to consider a workshop on infrastructure funding given rising project costs and the need for connectivity (e.g., Fruitville). He also expressed support for the Main Street streetscape project but cautioned about cash flow issues with growing population.
- John Mercer, a former mayor of Sunnyvale, California, recommended five budget improvements: 1) add performance measures before adoption, 2) include effectiveness measures (not just workload), 3) track measures throughout the year, 4) post performance dials on the city website, and 5) adopt multi-year revenue and expenditure projections (at least five years). He provided examples from other cities.
Discussion Items
- Staff Presentation on Bay TIF Fund Reallocation: Finance staff (Ms. Strickland) explained that an ordinance passed earlier that day (24-5543) created a new City Bay Tax Increment Financing fund, allowing the city to reduce its contribution to the Bay TIF by $1.8 million and set aside those funds for future Bay District projects, while keeping the original fund sufficient for debt service. This reallocation did not change overall budget numbers.
- City Manager's Remarks: City Manager Marlon Brown thanked the commission and staff, then highlighted a growing challenge: capital project bids are coming in significantly higher than engineering estimates (e.g., a pedestrian bridge estimated at $300-400k bid at over $700k). He attributed this to labor costs, not materials, and noted that the city may only be able to spend $80 million of the $191 million in surtax revenue over 15 years if current cost trends continue. He recommended a future workshop to discuss project prioritization and timing, and suggested that some projects may be delayed until labor costs stabilize.
Key Outcomes
- The commission approved all six budget and millage resolutions unanimously (5-0) via roll call votes:
- Resolution 24R-3263: General Fund operating millage at 3.0000 and debt service millage at 0.1436, with an aggregate rate 7.47% higher than the rolled-back rate.
- Resolution 24R-3264: Adoption of the City of Sarasota budget for FY 2024-2025.
- Resolution 24R-3265: Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special District operating millage at 0.6148 and debt service millage at 0.6979.
- Resolution 24R-3266: Adoption of the Golden Gate Point Streetscape Special District budget.
- Resolution 24R-3267: Downtown Improvement District operating millage at 2.0000.
- Resolution 24R-3268: Adoption of the Downtown Improvement District budget.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everybody. I'm gonna call this uh special September sixteenth, twenty twenty four uh city commission meeting to order and call on our city auditor and clerk for the invocation. Heavenly Father, we affirm our faith in thee. We seek your divine strength, wisdom, and guidance in the deliberations that affect the lives of each of the citizens of our community. In the name we pray, amen. And Vice Mayor, if you don't do the uh Pledge of Allegiance. Yes. I pledge the United States of America. Underground are there any changes to the order of the day, Miss Griggs? Um, Madam Mayor, but for the record, we'd like to announce that Commissioner Oroyo is on Zoom. Thank you so much. And um, if you will read the pledge of public conduct. Yes, we may disagree, but we will be respectful to one another. We will direct all comments to issues. We will not engage in personal attacks. All right. And those are both for on our agenda items. Okay, all right. So we don't have anybody signed up for the uh citizens input. All right, thank you. Okay. So we'll go right into our legislative public hearings and call upon again, Miss Griggs to administer the oath. Um everybody who may possibly speak today. Please stand, take an oath. Sorry. Do you swear affirmate evidence or factual representation which you're about to give or present to this commission during any public hearing held this 16th day of September 2024 at Truthful. Thank you. All right, and then we're gonna go through um each item um separately, but um we're gonna go through the budget resolutions number 24R 3263 through 24R8. And um I'm gonna open the public hearing on these budget resolutions and call upon the city auditor clerk to read the titles of the proposed resolutions. Okay. Everybody be patient with me here. But I'm going to read all six resolutions. Thank you. Resolution number 24R 3263, a resolution of the city commission of the city of Sarasota, Florida, certifying to the property appraiser and tax collector of Sarasota County the rates of millage to be levied by the City of Sarasota for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024. Establishing the City of Sarasota's general fund operating millage at 3.000, which contributes to an aggregate millage rate for the city of Sarasota that is 7.47% higher than the aggregate rolled back millage rate of 2.8548. Establishing the City of Sarasota's debt service millage at 0.1436. Providing for the reading of this resolution by title only and providing for an effective date. Providing for reading by title only and providing an effective day. A resolution of the city commission of the city of Sarasota, Florida, certifying to the property appraiser and tax collector of Sarasota County, the rates of millage to be levied by the City of Sarasota within the Golden Gate Point Street Skate Special District for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024. Establishing the Goldegate Point Streetscape Special Districts Operating Millage at 0.6148, which contributes to an aggregate rollback millage rate for the city of Sarasota that is seven point 7.47% higher than the aggregate rollback millage rate of three of 2.8548. Establishing the Goldegate Point Streetscape Special Districts Debt Service Millage at 0.6979. Providing for the reading of this resolution by title on and providing for an effective date. Prescribing the terms, conditions, and provisions with respect to the items of appropriation in their payment, providing for supplemental appropriations or reappropriations, providing for the severability of the parts hereof if declared invalid, providing for reading by title only and providing an effective date. Resolution number 24R 3267, a resolution of the City Commission of the City of Sarasota, Florida, certifying to the property appraiser and the tax collector of Sarasota County, the race of the millage to be levied by the City of Sarasota within the downtown improvement district for the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2024, establishing the downtown improvement district operating millage at 2.000, which contributes to an aggregate roll millage eight role. I'm sorry, aggregate millage rate for the city of Sarasota, that is 7.47% higher than the aggregate rollback millage rate of 2.8548. Providing for the reading of this resolution by title only and providing for an effective date. All right. Thank you very much. Both of these signed up to speak are for item 11, too. So all right.
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