Weekly comments from Dale Martin

Dale L. Martin
City Manager
July 22, 2016 1:00 a.m.

Honorable City Commissioners, Residents, and Staff of the City of Fernandina Beach:

Please click here for  proposed 2017 budget.

The proposed budget reflects total revenues and expenditures in the amount of $115,229,929. Approximately half of that amount, however, is related to cash and expenditures associated with the Trust and Agency Funds. With those funds excluded, proposed revenues and expenditures total $73,501,151.

The portion of the proposed budget that typically draws the most interest is the General Fund, which is the primary operating fund for the City, and principally financed by property tax receipts. The proposed General Fund expenditures total $19,443,736. The proposed General Fund budget is supported by a total millage rate of 6.3044 mills, the identical millage rate levied by the City for the previous budget. The proposed millage rate consists of 6.0682 mills levied for operations (down from 6.1021 mills), and 0.2362 mills levied for voter-approved debt service (up from 0.2023 mills). The proposed property tax levy, at a collection rate of 96%, will generate approximately $10,937,700. For property owners, the proposed levy will result in an increase of approximately $30 for each $100,000 of taxable value of property. This increase will generate approximately $414,342 in additional revenue for the City of Fernandina Beach (based upon comparable property values from the current year).

Key components of the proposed General Fund budget include efforts to enhance the levels of service provided by the City, especially in light of the continuing growth in the community. Proposed full-time staff additions include two Police Department Patrol Officers, two Fire Department Firefighters, two Maintenance Department Maintenance Technicians (elevated from current part-time positions), an additional Community Development Department Building Plans Examiner, and a Community Development Department Planner. A new Director-level position (intended to serve as a City Engineer; reporting directly to the City Manager) is also created to oversee storm water and project management.

Proposed capital projects supported by the General Fund include street and sidewalk improvements, waterfront park development, beach renourishment and monitoring, marina dredging, downtown improvements, and a variety of recreational facility improvements. Loan proceeds included in the General Fund are proposed to finance continuing software implementation and the re-opening of the Alachua Street railroad crossing.

In accordance with the City’s reserve policy, approximately $4,000,000, or 20% of General Fund expenditures, is budgeted for unrestricted reserves. For the first time, the restricted reserves of the Building Department have been separated from the otherwise unrestricted General Fund reserves. The Building Department reserves total approximately $1,000,000. The two reserves combined represent 25.6% of the General Fund’s operating expenses.

The proposed budget includes several other funds in addition to the General Fund. The most significant of these funds are the Enterprise Funds and the Trust and Agency Funds. The Enterprise Funds include the Golf Course, the Airport, Sanitation, Wastewater, Water, Storm Water, and the Marina. Total Enterprise Fund expenditures, funded primarily through user charges, total approximately $17,521,225. The Golf Course and the Marina continue to require additional General Fund support.

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the Department Directors, especially Controller Ms. Patti Clifford, for their assistance in preparing my first proposed budget for the City of Fernandina Beach. The desired personnel and projects could not all be included in the proposed budget, so the policies and priorities as indicated by the City Commission resulted in some difficult decisions.

While additional review and work is necessary, I look forward to working with the City Commission to complete the 2017 budget. As I approach the conclusion of my first year serving this community, I am very thankful for the welcoming and enthusiastic support provided to me by the City Commission, the City Staff, and, most importantly, the residents of Fernandina Beach that I am privileged to serve.