Budget passed is realistic
To the editor:
As a member of the Finance Advisory Committee through four budget cycles, inclusive of the coming fiscal year’s budget, and as one who has extensive previous experience in developing, and executing, large budgets, I will state unequivocally that is this is one of the most challenging with which I have worked. The FAC spent much of this last fiscal year analyzing the ongoing budget activities, the actual financial performance against budget, the ongoing review of key areas of impact, and working with city leadership and staff to understand the issues which would require focus for this upcoming budget. On Aug. 23, I presented the FAC recommendations to Council and the mayor, some of which were specific with monetary values, and some which were focus areas with known value but not quantifiable by the committee at that time. Following this, multiple budget workshops were held by the mayor and Council, and the budget was extensively vetted.
After Wednesday’s final budget hearing and the outcome, I want to thank the Mayor, Council members, city administration, and all of the employees for coming together as a team to develop a final budget that, while not perfect, is realistically workable and reasonably fair for this coming fiscal year. Many of the issues raised by the FAC were addressed and implemented, while others have been hopefully deferred for future consideration. And, my concerns about the impact of the deferral of most capital expenditures to future years are significant. That said, the final millage rate determined was actually less than the effective 8.1 rate I had predicted at the start of our budget hearings. The mayor and Councilpersons Brandt, Tate, and Bertolini even referenced the FAC recommendations multiple times during the workshops in a comparative fashion to encourage the lowering of their working rate. In the end, a reasonable balance was found for this year.
To be sure, this has been a challenging budget to develop, and the management of the city during this coming year will be equally challenging to meet the residents’ demands for both services and service levels within the established budget. That said, this budget will allow the city to continue to evolve as the community in which most of us want to live at a cost that is reasonable.
Steve Riggs
Cape Coral