Budget workshops begin
The Cape Coral City Council and the Budget Review Committee met for the first time Tuesday to begin hashing out the city’s budget for the 2021 fiscal year.
And, as City Manager John Szerlag presented his final budget on his final day on the job, it has turned out to be one of the smoothest budget meetings in quite some time, with only a few concerns expressed by the city council.
Cape Coral Mayor Joe Coviello said all the doom and gloom that many thought would happen, didn’t quite come to be (though things will still be challenging), resulting in a good budget.
“The numbers looked pretty similar to what we had in the past. There was concern about the gas tax from COVID-19, but it seems the drop-off wasn’t that bad,” Coviello said.
Szerlag presented an operating budget of $197,803,302 for FY21, which is actually about $902,000 less than in 2020. The property tax levy is expected to remain at 6.4903 mills, or $1 for every $1,000 of assessed, taxable valuation. The rollback rate, the rate at which the same amount of revenue would be raised, is 6.2428, a difference of $3.9 million.
Among the main goals for 2021 include making the Cape Coral Charter Schools sustainable, though financial assistance will be needed, again subsidizing the city-owned Sun Splash Family Waterpark and Coral Oaks Country Club, as well as increase sewer capacity downtown for vertical development with a $27 million price tag.
There is also a line item for the possible purchase of the old golf course. However, it has been recommended that negotiations and purchase be suspended until Ryan Industries, property owner, produces its assessment.
Fire, Police and Public Works presented their budget proposals. The Police Department’s proposed $47,553,863 budget includes funding for four new school resource officers, paid for by a grant to provide an extra SRO at the city high schools, and $1,373,196 in fleet replacement and new vehicles.
The Police Department proposed to use the impact fee monies to construct a new training facility.
The Fire Department, with its 62 percent of cost recovery from the fire service assessment, has submitted a $39,079,848 budget which includes the design and construction of a new fire station, 18 new full-time positions and $1.17 million in fleet replacement.
Neither fire nor police got much questioning from council or the BRC. The same cannot be said for Public Works, which has had to deal with funding issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially with gasoline tax revenues.
The proposed Public Works budget is $15,311,445 as part of the General Fund budget, which is nearly $1 million less than in 2020. However, there was great concern over funding for median landscaping, on which the city has placed greater emphasis.
Councilmember John Gunter said the medians are an investment in the city.
“If you reinvest in the city, you increase property values. Beautification is a benefit to the city and we’ve done a poor job reinvesting in the city,” Gunter said.
Coviello said the county didn’t lose as much money from the gasoline taxes as anticipated, so perhaps some of that money, or the money received from the sale of surplus property (about $2.7 million) or FEMA, can go toward median beautification.
Councilmember Rick Williams was concerned about the number of 50-plus year old bridges that need rehab or replacement, while Councilmember Jessica Cosden wanted to see more money place in sidewalks, an infrastructure improvement project she has prioritized.
The BRC and city council are set to have two more budget workshops, on Aug. 18 and 25, both at 1 p.m., this time with new city manager Rob Hernandez at the helm.
Coviello said he doesn’t see any real issues with Hernandez taking the baton from Szerlag in the middle of budget season and anticipates great things from the new city manager.
“I look forward to seeing good things for the city moving forward,” Coviello said.
Hernandez would not comment on the budget, since he hadn’t officially taken over yet, which he will do Wednesday.
The first public hearing on the 2021 budget will be held Friday, Sept. 4, at 5:05 p.m., where the not-to-exceed final budget and millage will be set. The final hearing will be on Thursday, Sept. 17, where the budget and millage will be ratified. Both meetings will be at 5:05 p.m.