OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Venice City Council FY 2027 Budget Workshop – June 18, 2026

City Council & Boards — Thursday, June 18, 2026
BodyVenice, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateThursday, June 18, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 3:06:34

Transcript — Verbatim
0:49

I was trying to be you know very very gentle and subtle, you know.

0:53

Give everybody a little wake up.

0:57

Well, good morning staff, Bob, Norm, Steve Carr.

1:06

All right, let's go ahead and get started.

1:08

We'll call the meeting to order.

1:10

And Madam Clerk, if you'll do a roll call, please.

1:12

Okay.

1:13

Mr.

1:13

Engle Key is not present.

1:14

Mrs.

1:15

Frank.

1:15

Here.

1:16

Mr.

1:16

Howard.

1:17

Here.

1:18

Mr.

1:18

Smith.

1:19

Here.

1:19

Mr.

1:20

Weed.

1:20

Here.

1:21

Vice Mayor Bolt.

1:22

Mayor Pachota.

1:23

And I'm here.

1:24

So I will go ahead and ask everyone to stand and I will lead the Pledge Allegiance today.

1:32

I pledge allegiance.

1:53

All right.

1:54

We will start off with an introduction by the city manager.

1:57

Mr.

1:57

Clinch, I'll ask you to keep it under an hour and a half if you could.

2:01

No promises.

2:03

Good morning, everyone.

2:04

Good morning.

2:04

It is uh our honor to uh be here with you to present the FY27 budget.

2:10

Um I want to thank you all for your commitment and your support up to this point.

2:14

We've been working on this draft budget since January, going through strategic planning, CIP, and then obviously all the work that's been done behind the scenes by our team to bring you this draft today.

2:27

Want to say thank you to our staff that are here and our finance staff who have worked uh countless hours over the past few months to put this budget draft together.

2:36

Um it involved some really hard decisions this year, examining every line item, looking at every position, and uh adjusting to our current financial environment.

2:48

As we're all aware, and we've been talking about since January, it's gonna be a very challenging year.

2:54

We are operating in what is essentially a level revenue environment for property taxes, while the costs to deliver service continue to rise.

3:06

The only reason we are even level this year with property tax revenue is because we've had a two and a half percent increase with new growth that has offset a two and a half percent decrease in existing property values.

3:22

So, because of that, this budget reflects a very intentional and uh clear approach to scaling back, reducing positions where we can, and reducing our overall spending compared to last year.

3:35

All while remaining focused on our service delivery, which is the single most important thing we do in local government across all of our funds, this budget totals approximately 161 and a half million dollars, which is a uh reduction from from last year of about seven percent.

3:54

The general fund has been reduced by just over nine percent, and we are eliminating eight positions across multiple departments.

4:04

These are measured responsible decisions, in our opinion, that are consistent with our long-standing commitment at the city to fiscal discipline.

4:13

But even with these challenges, this budget still makes some very meaningful progress.

4:17

Uh, we're we'll be launching this coming year our first in-house fleet maintenance program, something we've talked about for a long time and uh and laid out during strategic planning last year.

4:28

Um, this will provide higher quality service for our vehicles, longer lifespan for them, and overall long-term cost savings.

4:36

After almost a decade of work, a lot of it done by this council here.

4:41

Uh, we are stepping into our new county parks interlocal agreement starting October 1st this year.

4:48

Uh, that's a big deal.

4:50

It's gonna involve us taking over the operation and maintenance of seven more neighborhood parks, as well as our local Venice community center.

5:00

Even with these significant services being added, we're going to accomplish it without adding any additional city staff, and while continuing to deliver the high level of service that our residents expect.

5:11

This budget includes a reduced but still very healthy capital improvement program.

5:17

It's going to continue our ongoing commitment to invest strategically in our infrastructure and our equipment.

5:26

This budget also allows us to close out what I believe has been a very successful and fun centennial celebration for our city.

5:34

We have several more modest but community focused events planned through this next fiscal year.

5:42

So while not directly impacting our budget this year, we do need to acknowledge and probably have some initial discussions on the property tax reform measures that are before us and before our citizens in November.

5:55

As we're all aware, this measure could result in some significant general fund impacts to every city and county in the state, but especially to us being a smaller community.

6:05

Our preliminary calculations show that when fully implemented, there would be reductions of our general fund by about five and a half million dollars, which is around 10%.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Budget Equity Analysis████████████████████████24%
Public Safety████████████12%
Water And Wastewater Management████████8%
Personnel Matters████████8%
Engineering And Infrastructure████████8%
Fiscal Sustainability██████6%
Public Engagement█████5%
Pending Litigation█████5%
Airport Management█████5%
Summary of Proceedings

Venice City Council FY 2027 Budget Workshop – June 18, 2026

The Venice City Council held a budget workshop on June 18, 2026, from 9:00 AM to approximately 1:30 PM to review the proposed FY 2027 budget. City Manager James Clinch and Finance Director Linda Senne presented a draft budget totaling approximately $161.5 million, a 7 % reduction from the prior year. The general fund was reduced by 9 % and eight vacant positions were eliminated. The budget maintains the current millage rate of 3.845 mills and includes a new in-house fleet maintenance fund, a capital improvement program, and rate increases for utilities and solid waste. Council discussed the potential impact of the November property tax reform referendum, which could reduce the general fund by $5.5 million (10 %) if fully implemented. No formal votes were taken; consensus was reached to modify the Venice Beach Pavilion roof project from $500,000 to $150,000 for a refurbishment. The draft budget will be revised and presented again at the August meeting, with final adoption scheduled for September.

Presentations and Discussion Items

  • City Manager Introduction: Clinch outlined a challenging fiscal year with flat property tax revenue (0.07 % increase), a 7 % overall budget reduction, elimination of eight positions (all vacant), and the launch of an in-house fleet maintenance program (3.5 new FTEs). He noted the city will take over seven neighborhood parks and the Venice Community Center without adding staff, and that the property tax reform measure could cut general fund revenues by about $5.5 million (10 %).
  • Finance Director (Linda Senne): Presented the city-wide budget structure, rate increases (water 5.25 %, sewer 3 %, reclaimed water 3 %, stormwater OM rate down from $8.55 to $6.03, solid waste 3 %), and closure of two funds. She explained that $800,000 from general fund reserves will seed the new fleet services fund.
  • Fire and EMS (Chief Frank Gidddens): Discussed EMS transport fees, noting a $200 fee increase could raise $1.4 million annually. Councilmember Smith suggested raising fees to reduce property tax dependency. The chief stated 83 % of 9,000 annual calls are EMS-related, and the collection rate is near 80 %.
  • Police (Chief Andy Leisenring): Addressed the elder crimes detective position (still vacant), the Salvation Army bed program funded via opioid settlement ($65,700 for four beds, 90 % occupancy), and planned e-bike patrols. Council deferred deeper staffing discussion to a June 23 meeting.
  • Planning and Zoning (Roger Clark): Reported 25 % progress on the Seaboard master plan and swing bridge concept, and that the parks master plan will be delayed to capture seasonal public input. The affordable housing initiative is 50 % complete.
  • Historical Resources: No significant questions.
  • Information Technology (Roger Navarro): Discussed a proposed $521,700 backup server for Sarasota data center. Councilmember Weed questioned the cost and requested a cost‑benefit analysis of a cloud alternative; consensus was to keep the item in the budget pending further information.
  • Human Resources (Alan Bullock): Noted a 44 % increase in health insurance costs driven by high‑cost claims, and described employee loyalty and merit award programs. Council discussed union negotiations with AFSCME.
  • City Attorney (Kelly Fernandez): Addressed a 28 % increase in legal costs over three years, attributing it to litigation cycles. She stated the retainer has not been increased recently and that overall legal spending is variable.
  • City Council and City Clerk: No questions.
  • City Manager: No questions.
  • Finance: Council thanked Senne for transparency.
  • Engineering and Stormwater (Jon Kramer): Noted a $150,000 allocation for capital project management consultant. Discussed the Flamingo Ditch phase‑1 design and excavation of a county enclave lot. Stormwater fund fees are decreasing because expenses are lower.
  • Public Works and Fleet (Ricky Simpson): Described metrics (100 % on‑time response), the new fleet services fund (a service truck with light‑towing capability), and that additional parks will be absorbed via schedule changes and contracted mowing/cleaning. Council approved the Venice Beach Pavilion roof revision to a $150,000 refurbishment.
  • Solid Waste: Director reported positive feedback on recent schedule changes.
  • Building Department (Derek Applegate): Explained that four positions were eliminated because the industry is shifting to private providers; the city still oversees through intake and certificate of completion.
  • Airport (presented by Linda Senne and City Manager): Fuel flowage fee discussions ongoing; $130,000 in property taxes paid on mobile home park. Councilmember Smith asked about funding community‑requested noise walls and landscaping—Clinch recommended first improving airport revenue before discretionary projects. A tenant default letter was sent; negotiations underway.
  • Utilities (Javier Vargas): Reported 90 % progress on a water master plan and feasibility study for a new water plant (to be presented early 2027). Seven of eight phases of pipe replacement completed on the island; reclaimed water expansion continues.

Key Outcomes

  • Consensus to Modify Venice Beach Pavilion Roof: Council agreed to change the project from a full $500,000 roof replacement to a $150,000 refurbishment, pending updated CIP.
  • No Formal Votes: All decisions are informal guidance for staff to incorporate into the draft budget, which will be brought back for adoption in August and September.
  • Future Meetings: The next budget workshop is scheduled for July 8, 2026 (not June 19, as council saw no need for a second day). The police staffing study will be discussed on June 23.
  • Request for Additional Information: Council requested a cost‑benefit analysis on the backup server project, a breakdown of the “other” $11.2 million general fund line item, and that the fleet service truck description and photo be revised to clarify its light‑towing capability.

Meeting Transcript

I was trying to be you know very very gentle and subtle, you know. Give everybody a little wake up. Well, good morning staff, Bob, Norm, Steve Carr. All right, let's go ahead and get started. We'll call the meeting to order. And Madam Clerk, if you'll do a roll call, please. Okay. Mr. Engle Key is not present. Mrs. Frank. Here. Mr. Howard. Here. Mr. Smith. Here. Mr. Weed. Here. Vice Mayor Bolt. Mayor Pachota. And I'm here. So I will go ahead and ask everyone to stand and I will lead the Pledge Allegiance today. I pledge allegiance. All right. We will start off with an introduction by the city manager. Mr. Clinch, I'll ask you to keep it under an hour and a half if you could. No promises. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. It is uh our honor to uh be here with you to present the FY27 budget. Um I want to thank you all for your commitment and your support up to this point. We've been working on this draft budget since January, going through strategic planning, CIP, and then obviously all the work that's been done behind the scenes by our team to bring you this draft today. Want to say thank you to our staff that are here and our finance staff who have worked uh countless hours over the past few months to put this budget draft together. Um it involved some really hard decisions this year, examining every line item, looking at every position, and uh adjusting to our current financial environment. As we're all aware, and we've been talking about since January, it's gonna be a very challenging year. We are operating in what is essentially a level revenue environment for property taxes, while the costs to deliver service continue to rise. The only reason we are even level this year with property tax revenue is because we've had a two and a half percent increase with new growth that has offset a two and a half percent decrease in existing property values. So, because of that, this budget reflects a very intentional and uh clear approach to scaling back, reducing positions where we can, and reducing our overall spending compared to last year. All while remaining focused on our service delivery, which is the single most important thing we do in local government across all of our funds, this budget totals approximately 161 and a half million dollars, which is a uh reduction from from last year of about seven percent. The general fund has been reduced by just over nine percent, and we are eliminating eight positions across multiple departments. These are measured responsible decisions, in our opinion, that are consistent with our long-standing commitment at the city to fiscal discipline. But even with these challenges, this budget still makes some very meaningful progress. Uh, we're we'll be launching this coming year our first in-house fleet maintenance program, something we've talked about for a long time and uh and laid out during strategic planning last year. Um, this will provide higher quality service for our vehicles, longer lifespan for them, and overall long-term cost savings. After almost a decade of work, a lot of it done by this council here. Uh, we are stepping into our new county parks interlocal agreement starting October 1st this year.

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