Final city budget hearing set for Thursday
Coral City City Council will hold its second budget hearing and ratify the Fiscal Year 2023 budget and millage rate on Thursday.
The 5:05 p.m. meeting will be the final hearing on the budget which, in the past, has been little more than a formal approval of the tentative budget and millage set at the first public hearing.
After months of Council deadlock between the rollback rate and City Manager Rob Hernandez’s suggested rate, on Sept. 8, Council voted 5-3 to set the not-to-exceed millage rate at the rollback of 5.3694 mills, a nearly nine-tenths of a point reduction from the 6.25 rate from the 2022 budget. The tentative millage for the parks GO Bond is 0.0471.
Councilmember Gloria Tate joined the four members of Council who have supported the rollback, the rate at which the impact on Homesteaded property owners would largely be flat.
One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable valuation and the rollback rate is the rate at which the city would receive the same amount of revenue as the previous year from those properties despite any increases in valuation.
City Manager Rob Hernandez said nearly $4.3 million in additional money was found as a result of the spike in revenues from the city’s public service tax on electric bills, allowing the rollback to be more palatable for Tate.
The public services tax windfall, coupled with property tax revenue from new construction and a the huge increase in taxable valuations, will bring in another $11.3 million in revenue at the rollback rate.
Tate joined Mayor John Gunter and council members Jennifer Nelson, Keith Long and Dan Sheppard, who have steadfastly supported the lower rate in property taxes due to increased property valuations and new construction.
Council members Tom Hayden, Jessica Cosden and Robert Welsh voted against the rollback.
Council also voted to set the not-to-exceed rate on the city manager’s budget, which has $249,278,980 in the General Fund and $944,681,592 in all funds.
Also included is $18.3 million in one-time revenues to be used for one-time expenses, with $2.5 million for sidewalks.
The vote went 6-2, with Welsh joining to approve the budget. Cosden and Hayden voted against.
City Hall is at 1015 Cultural Park Blvd.
To reach CHUCK BALLARO, please email news@breezenewspapers.com