Sarasota City Commission Budget Workshop for FY 2025-2026 - July 29, 2025
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Sarasota City Commission Budget Workshop for FY 2025-2026 - July 29, 2025
The City Commission held a budget workshop on July 29, 2025, from 8:59 AM to 12:34 PM to review the proposed Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget. Financial Administration Director Kelly Strickland led the presentation, covering enterprise funds, internal service funds, trust funds, debt service funds, and the 5-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP). Key themes included storm recovery costs, parking rate adjustments, new staffing requests, and setting the maximum millage for the upcoming fiscal year. No formal votes were taken; decisions were deferred to a special meeting later that day at 2:30 PM.
Enterprise Funds
- Water and Wastewater Utility System: Proposed budget: beginning fund balance $42,350,594, revenues $61,777,085, expenditures $55,556,676, ending balance $48,571,003. A budget issue of $112,048 for an Application Support Administrator was presented to support implementation of CityWorks asset management software. The position is funded by utility rates, not the general fund. The fund has a healthy ending balance that can serve as a reserve. (Minutes p.1-2; Transcript lines 78-200)
- Bobby Jones Golf Complex: Proposed budget: beginning balance $1,577,068, revenues $4,569,717, expenditures $4,494,611, ending balance $1,652,174. A loan from the general fund for debt service is being phased out; the full debt service payment will be covered by the enterprise fund in FY26. Management by Troon was praised. (Minutes p.2; Transcript lines 201-280)
- Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall: Proposed budget: beginning balance $12,531,342, revenues $18,975,776, expenditures $18,727,782, ending balance $12,779,336. Hurricane damage cost approximately $5 million (including lost revenue and repairs). Mitigation projects using state grants and fund balance are planned. The hall maintains a strong fund balance. (Minutes p.2-3; Transcript lines 281-400)
- Solid Waste Management: Proposed budget: beginning balance $4,688,910, revenues $18,013,428, expenditures $18,185,698, ending balance $4,516,640. Two budget issues: a Fleet Services Technician ($78,646) to maintain aging equipment, and a Solid Waste Compliance Coordinator ($43,713 for six months) to address nighttime/weekend code issues and overflowing garbage cans. The three-year rate increase has achieved the target of a three-month operational fund balance. (Minutes p.3-4; Transcript lines 401-560)
- Parking Management (Citywide): Proposed budget without rate increase: beginning balance $821,981, revenues $4,172,790, expenditures $4,411,686, ending balance $583,085. Elevator replacements (4 elevators, $1.4 million over two years) are needed. Two rate increase options were presented: Option 1 (garages to $3.00, lots/meters to $1.50 with no increment) generating $231,852; Option 2 (lots/meters to $1.75) generating $502,528. Commissioners expressed differing views; Commissioner Ahearn-Koch stated opposition to rate increases. Discussion noted that the enterprise fund needs to cover costs and repay a $196,000 interfund loan. (Minutes p.4-6; Transcript lines 561-780)
- St. Armands Paid Parking Area: Proposed budget: beginning balance ($336,356), revenues $2,115,000, expenditures $2,029,341, ending balance ($250,697). The fund has a negative balance and an interfund loan of $1.1 million from the general fund. A $336,356 transfer from general fund reserves is needed to cover current year expenses. Rate increase options similar to citywide parking were presented. Interim City Manager Bullock acknowledged a fundamental calibration problem and stated that a more comprehensive discussion with the community would occur in the coming months. (Minutes p.6-7; Transcript lines 781-900)
Internal Service Funds
- Fleet Services: Proposed budget: beginning balance $1,291,552, revenues $5,213,681, expenditures $5,621,282, ending balance $883,951. The fund operates as a break-even service; a deficit is covered by fund balance. (Minutes p.7; Transcript lines 901-960)
- Information Technology: Proposed budget: beginning balance ($531,735), revenues $6,725,000, expenditures $6,017,974, ending balance $175,291. A budget issue of $45,871 for a half-year Computer Support Specialist II (webmaster) to manage the new city website was discussed. Commissioner Ahearn-Koch and City Auditor and Clerk Griggs expressed support for starting the position sooner. Vice Mayor Trice inquired about data science skills; IT Director Rodriguez noted that data analytics is a future goal. (Minutes p.7-8; Transcript lines 961-1080)
- Equipment Replacement Fund: Proposed budget: beginning balance $7,103,932, revenues $1,883,579, expenditures $2,670,266, ending balance $6,317,245. General Fund department allocation was suspended or reduced for FY26 to maintain fund balance. An error in the budget book was noted and will be corrected. (Minutes p.8; Transcript lines 1081-1120)
- Self-Insurance Funds Combined: Proposed budget: beginning balance $5,046,336, revenues $16,481,243, expenditures $17,985,689, ending balance $3,541,890. Worker's compensation, general fleet liability, law enforcement death benefit, group medical/dental, and police liability were reviewed. The general fleet liability fund has a slim margin; potential changes to sovereign immunity caps were flagged as a significant risk. (Minutes p.8-9; Transcript lines 1121-1300)
Trust Funds
- Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB): Proposed budget: beginning balance $55,423,681, revenues $3,597,395, expenditures $9,666,233, ending balance $49,354,843. (Minutes p.10-11; Transcript lines 1301-1320)
- 401(a) Defined Contribution Plan – General Employees: Proposed budget: beginning balance $52,943, revenues $80,000, expenditures $75,347, ending balance $57,596. The plan is closed to new members; some employees have both this and FRS. (Minutes p.11; Transcript lines 1321-1360)
Debt Service Funds
The city maintains strong bond ratings (Moody's Aa1, Fitch AA+). Total governmental debt outstanding will decrease from $86.2 million to $80.6 million in FY26. Proprietary debt (enterprise funds) will decrease from $85.3 million to $79.5 million. The millage for debt service is decreasing. (Minutes p.11; Transcript lines 1361-1440)
Capital Improvement Program (CIP)
Total 5-year CIP (excluding utilities) is $207 million, with $42 million requested for FY25-26. Twelve new projects totaling $23 million were added, including $12.7 million for Hurricane Helene and Milton infrastructure repairs. Other projects include Cocoanut Avenue redesign ($3.8M), Hyde Park Street redesign ($1.4M), and elevator replacements at Palm Avenue and State Street garages ($750K each). The CIP was structured without relying on FEMA reimbursements; if received, a policy discussion on allocation will occur. Public Works Director Doug Jeffcoat explained the lengthy FEMA process, with an example from Hurricane Ian taking over a year for a simple project. For the current storms, permitting and validation are ongoing, and a 3-year timeline for full repairs was estimated. (Minutes p.12-15; Transcript lines 1441-1800)
Wrap-Up and Proposed Millage
Interim City Manager Bullock highlighted upcoming major projects: performing arts center planning, parking garage at Bay Park, Van Wezel protection, Bobby Jones clubhouse, first street properties, and police radio upgrades. The proposed operating millage rate is 3.2730 mills (up from 3.0000). A special meeting was scheduled for 2:30 PM to set the maximum millage rate. The total proposed budget is $303,529,505, a 0.70% decrease from the adopted 2024-25 budget. (Minutes p.15-16; Transcript lines 1801-1900)
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken during the workshop.
- Discussions outlined preferences for parking rate increases, IT staffing, and storm recovery funding.
- The maximum millage rate (3.2730 mills) will be set at the special meeting at 2:30 PM.
- Staff will bring forward detailed proposals for parking rate changes, the Bobby Jones clubhouse, and the performing arts center.
Meeting Transcript
Oh, the phone for the model is lovely. So there's a phone. All right. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the um Tuesday, July 29th, 2025 City Commission budget workshop. This is day two of our budget workshop, and um we're gonna be beginning with enterprise funds, correct? All right, take it away, Kelly. Thank you. For the record, my name is Kelly Strickland. I'm Director of Financial Administration. And the first thing I want to show you is our checklist. We finished the overview of the general fund. We finished the reserves uh review for general fund. Uh we finished the city manager recommendations, we finished the um department of general fund review, and we finished special revenues. So we're almost halfway through. Uh we welcome to start on the enterprise funds today. And before we get started on that, I want to just point you in your workbook to page 289 through 291. This is a summary of every enterprise fund that we have. And this if you want to know what the term enterprise means, that means that these are funds that report an activity for which a fee is charged to external users for either goods or services. So we have our utility system, we have our Bobby Jones golf course, our Van Wezel, our solid waste management, and then our parking funds. The first uh fund that we're gonna look at is the water and sewer utility system. And I would ask for the director to come down and we'll start that presentation. While they're they're talking, um, the water and sewer fund for accounting purposes, we divide it up into four different subfunds. Our revenue account, which is our general operating account for water and sewer, um, the renewal replacement and improvement, which is for paying our unusual and capital type cost, our general utility reserve account, which is where we keep a reserve based on our bond resolutions, and when it gets a little bit high, then we use that for our CIP program, and then we have the interest in sinking accounts, which that is for debt service. Uh we put in one year of principal and interest in each of those. Just to give you an overview of the water and sewer fund, it has a beginning fund balance of 42.3 million, revenues of 61.7, expenditures, anticipated expenditures of 55.5 million, and then an ending fund balance of 48.5 million. And I will turn it over to Vern to talk furthermore about the system. For the record, Vern Hall, Utilities Director, and with me is Mark Nicholas, our general manager for administrative services. This gives a basic description of our water projects and wastewater projects for the coming year. The typical stuff that you usually hear from us, um water main replacements, sewer main replacements, uh lateral lines, lift stations, manholes, um, treatment plant rehabilitation, the typical stuff that you do every day in a utility. And these are a breakdown of some of our current projects that you're all very familiar with because we've been up here multiple times with the SRF funding packages talking about the water treatment plant quality improvements, the US 41 water main project, which has started, the Verna water mine replacement, that's getting ready to start. Wastewater treatment plant headworks, that's actively it's about halfway done. South Osprey Force Main and Replacement, that's actively ongoing. Um then the water reclamation facility comprehensive improvements, also known as the Wastewater Plant Project, um that is getting ready to go out to bid. Vern, could you speak closer to the microphone or speak up on it? Yes, ma'am. Sorry. And then this is just a uh quick utility rate comparison. And as you can see, we're just about in the middle of the pack with some of the surrounding municipalities. Uh budget issue. Uh this is a application support administrator for our CitiWorks implementation. CityWorks is an asset maintenance program. And what it does is it will sit on top of our GIS system. The GIS system is a graphical information system. It's like a map. And what CityWorks will do when we bring up a layer on that map. It shows us, let's say, our distribution system piping. It has hydrants, valves, meters, all those things. With CitiWorks, what we'll be able to do is say click on that hydrant, and we can see the repair history and maintenance history on that hydrant. So that helps for asset maintenance.
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