Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
August 10, 2016 2:04 p.m.
Less than a handful of citizens joined media and city staff to listen to the Fernandina Beach City Commissioners (FBCC) discuss the FY2016-17 draft budget on August 9, 2016. The meeting lasted almost 3 hours, as Controller Patti Clifford walked the FBCC through each department and fund budget as well as the Capital Improvement Plan. With only a few exceptions, commissioners and city staff were in agreement on budget needs.
City Manager Dale Martin said that he and staff would work together to make adjustments reflecting FBCC changes in time for the Special Meeting on the budget, scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on August 16, immediately preceding the FBCC’s Regular Meeting.
The City Manager kicked off the meeting with a table and a graph. The table (shown below) presented a breakdown of the General Fund Budget. It shows that Police (27 percent) and Fire (24 percent) account for slightly more than half of that budget, and that Streets accounts for 11 percent. All other departments funded by the General Fund individually account for 5 percent or less of the budget.
The proposed General Fund Budget will come in at approximately $18,543M for the next fiscal year. Revenue for this fund is derived primarily from ad valorem (property) taxes. A total of 8,330 parcels are taxed to provide this revenue, with the median tax of $780. Single-family tax payments in the city range from $22,000 to $130, with 8,000 paying less than $3,000. Note that headings on the columns across the table above represent amount of taxes paid, and the numbers in the column reflect how much of those taxes fund the various activities. For example, if a tax bill is $1,000, $513 of that amount goes to fund public safety ($274 for Police and $239 for Fire Rescue).
Building and Permitting is funded by the revenues it brings in through the permitting process (restricted fund).
Martin presented a graph showing changes in workload and staffing from 2005 to the present (see below). It showed that currently the number of fulltime employees has dropped while the number of residential building permits has risen and commercial permits have remained static.
Commissioner Len Kreger said, “I support the budget. We cannot expand the city without expanding services. [The commissioners] have all been involved in the process.” Other commissioners appeared to be in agreement with Kreger. Prior to the workshop, City Manager Martin and Comptroller Clifford held individual meetings with commissioners to explain the city’s needs for the new fiscal year and to address any questions.
The proposed budget will bring in an additional $400K+ in revenue, allowing it to add more public safety staff: 2 additional police officers and 2 additional firefighters. There will also be increased hours for a part-time Code Enforcement officer from 10 to 20 hours per week, an additional plans examiner. The Streets department will convert two part-time employees to fulltime.
General Fund items that generated discussion among commissioners at the workshop included:
- Increase in costs for lifeguarding. The city will revisit its 5 year-old agreement with the county this fall to renegotiate county payment, since the city provides this service on county as well as city beaches.
- Increasing hours for part-time code enforcement officer from 10-20 per week. Commissioner Roy Smith expressed skepticism, echoed by other commissioners, that this action would be sufficient to address the many complaints about current city code enforcement efforts. He said, “I hope we will do better this year.”
- Not supporting at this time a request from the Parks and Recreation Department to add a full time person to reception. While Kreger and Mayor John Miller supported this action, the other 3 commissioners demurred, preferring to await the outcome of the departmental audit and to determine if the new software system will lessen the need for the position. Currently 3 part time employees perform this function.
- Studying the existing state of Fire Department facilities and looking for a replacement location for Fire Station No. 2. Commissioners expressed dissatisfaction with the condition of the current Fire Station, which, among other problems, has been beset with mold issues. During their January Planning Retreat, Commissioners had discussed the possibility of either combining the two current fire stations into one new facility or replacing Station No. 2 with a new facility at a different location. Commissioners agreed to support adding revenue to fund a study to help make this determination.
- City’s contribution ($5,000) to the Nassau Economic Development Board (NCEDB). Commissioner Roy Smith, the FBCC representative who sits on the NCEDB, opined that he did not see benefit accruing to the city from this board’s efforts. He suggested that the greatest area for economic development was at the airport. He expressed his hope that the newly hired airport manager would fulfill the economic development role for that area. Other commissioners disagreed, citing the benefits accruing to the city even when businesses and new residents move to Yulee. Smith was not convinced, suggesting that another commissioner take over his seat following the FBCC reorganization meeting in December.
Controller Clifford reminded commissioners that there is a $120K contingency reserve that could be used to fund changes that they might authorize from the budget presented to them. However, she added, that the city has committed to maintaining a 20 percent unrestricted reserve, which stands at $3.9M for the FY 2016-17 Budget.
With respect to the Enterprise Funds, the golf course continues to generate the most discussion and dissatisfaction, because each year the General Fund must subsidize that fund, primarily to cover debt that was incurred to build the clubhouse several years ago. Kreger said that the city “can’t just keep pumping General Fund money into the golf course, because we have other capital improvement needs.” He allowed that he did not have the answer to the problem, but that he knew the city manager was working on ways to increase revenues. Smith agreed with Kreger, adding that he found it difficult to explain why the citizens need to pay [out of the General Fund] so that only a fraction of the people can play golf.
Commissioner Tim Poynter noted that golf revenues would be increasing by 7 percent in October because the city will add sales tax to the fees, as opposed to the current practice of taking them out of the existing charges. Poynter added that the golf course does add to the natural setting of the island and contributes to the idea of land banks and saving trees. Vice Mayor Robin Lentz agreed with Poynter. Poynter said, “Not every city function needs to make money.” Kreger countered by reminding Poynter and other commissioners that the point of enterprise funds is to be self-supporting. He expressed frustration that the city put off tackling stormwater problems for 20 years while it has put money into the golf course.
Municipal golf course general manager Steve Murphy said that two of the items in the budget request—rebuilding tee boxes ($75K) and driving range improvement ($25K)—could be done in-house, which he would prefer, although it might take longer to complete. City Manager Martin will meet with staff to change the budget accordingly by the next meeting. Smith said, “I know we will continue to lose money, but I’d like to lose less money each year.”
The final budget item of the evening was the allocation of money to non-profit agencies. Traditionally, this has been the most contentious part of the budget. This year the commissioners and staff were in general agreement. Money was allocated as follows:
- Episcopal Children’s Services $2,000
- Starting Point $9,000
- Micah’s Place $3,000
- Barnabas $3,500
- America’s Youth $2,500
- CW Vision $1,500
- Salvation Army $3,500
