From Staff Reports
In Summary:
Apopka’s latest budget proposal contains approximately $228.85 million in spending, about $54.8 million below the preliminary plan reviewed earlier this summer. Commissioners previously voted 4-1 to set a compromise tentative operating millage rate of 4.6761 mills after two deadlocked meetings. Tuesday’s workshop will allow commissioners to question department directors and seek additional reductions before the formal budget hearings.
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The Apopka City Commission will take an in-depth look at its proposed $228.9 million budget during a workshop Tuesday, September 1, as officials continue searching for spending reductions following a weeks-long dispute over its tentative property-tax rate.
The workshop will begin at 1 pm at the Apopka Community Center, 519 S. Central Ave. The meeting will also be livestreamed on the City of Apopka’s YouTube channel.
The commission will not vote during Tuesday’s workshop. The agenda includes one presentation covering tentative revenues and expenditures for the fiscal year beginning October 1.
Related: Two years after Apopka’s financial wake-up call, the alarm is still ringing.
Finance Director Blanche Sherman will lead the presentation, with department directors available to answer questions about their respective budgets.
The meeting follows the commission’s 4-1 vote July 30 to set a tentative operating millage rate of 4.6761 mills. That compromise ended two consecutive deadlocks and allowed the city to meet the state deadline for continuing its Truth in Millage, or TRIM, process.
The rate can still be reduced before the final budget is adopted in September, but it cannot be increased without additional notification to property owners.
Proposed rate emerged from weeks of debate
City staff initially proposed raising the operating millage rate by one mill before reducing the recommendation to 5.1876 mills, a 0.75-mill increase over the current rate of 4.4376.
Commissioners failed to reach the unanimous vote needed for that higher rate during meetings July 15 and July 27. They ultimately settled on 4.6761 mills, which required approval from only four of the five commissioners.
The tentative rate is 0.2385 mill above the current rate and 0.4251 mill above the rollback rate of 4.2510 mills. The rollback rate is the rate that would generate approximately the same property-tax revenue as the current year, excluding new construction.
At 4.6761 mills, a property owner would pay approximately $4.68 in City operating taxes for every $1,000 of taxable value. That calculation does not include other taxing authorities or any separate city debt levy.
Mayor Nick Nesta emphasized during the July 30 meeting that approving the tentative rate did not lock the City into its final tax rate. He said commissioners would have additional opportunities to examine departmental spending and reduce the budget before the September hearings.
“This commission has never been more transparent about the budget process than it has been this year,” Nesta said. “The time to do it started months ago.”
Commissioner Nadia Anderson cast the lone dissenting vote. She argued that residents had not received enough detail about how the additional tax revenue would be used and said the commission should identify further reductions before increasing the rate.
“I just can’t commit to a blank check,” Anderson said. “We’re asking the taxpayers to trust us with a blank check, and I’m just not willing to do that.”
Her concerns included proposed new positions and the cost of the City’s recently created Public Information Office. Tuesday’s line-by-line review will give commissioners another opportunity to revisit those expenses and other departmental requests.
Proposed spending falls to $228.85 million
The latest proposal contains approximately $228.85 million in expenditures across all City funds, according to budget documents dated August 21.
That is approximately $6.82 million, or 2.9%, below the $235.67 million budget adopted for the current fiscal year. It is also approximately $54.8 million below the $283.7 million preliminary spending plan commissioners reviewed earlier in the process.
City administrators and department directors held another round of internal budget meetings following the commission’s July 30 session and adjusted departmental requests before preparing the latest proposal.
Tuesday’s workshop shifts the commission’s attention from how high a tentative millage rate should be to whether the revised budget can be reduced further before the final hearings.
General Fund spending set at $107.2 million
The proposed General Fund budget, which pays for most of the city’s everyday governmental operations, totals approximately $107.25 million. That is about $1.61 million below the current adopted General Fund budget of $108.86 million.
The proposed revenue budget projects approximately $41.21 million from current ad valorem, or property, taxes. That would be an increase of approximately $6.55 million, or 19%, over the amount included in the current-year budget.
The increase reflects the proposed millage rate and the growth in taxable property values. The amount ultimately collected will depend on the commission's final rate and the taxable value placed on the tax roll.
The City is also projecting increases in several other General Fund revenue sources, including state revenue sharing, the local half-cent sales tax and ambulance-service fees. However, building-related revenue estimates have been reduced considerably. The tentative budget projects approximately $5.08 million in building-permit revenue, down $3.38 million from the current adopted budget.
Plan-analysis fees are projected to decline by approximately $2.46 million, while engineering-fee revenue is expected to fall by approximately $589,000.
The budget also eliminates a $680,784 transfer from the Sanitation Fund to the General Fund.
Departmental spending remains under scrutiny
Commissioners are expected to examine personnel, compensation, equipment and operating requests throughout the city government.
The proposed Public Information Office became one of the most closely debated additions during the earlier millage discussions. Anderson estimated the office would cost about $439,000 annually, including salaries, benefits, retirement contributions, insurance, and operating expenses.
Supporters of the increased millage rate have pointed to years of deferred infrastructure investments and rising personnel costs as reasons the city needs additional recurring revenue. Anderson and residents who questioned the increase have called for clearer distinctions between essential needs and discretionary additions.
The workshop will allow commissioners to question department directors directly about staffing levels, new positions, equipment requests and the consequences of additional reductions.
Formal hearings begin September 3
Tuesday’s workshop is intended to give commissioners time to examine the revised figures and propose additional changes before the legally required public hearings.
At the first budget hearing Thursday, September 3, city staff is expected to review the city’s financial position and major changes within each fund. Commissioners will then be asked to adopt a tentative millage rate and tentative budget, including any adjustments resulting from the hearing.
The final millage-rate and budget hearing is scheduled for September 16 at 5:15 pm.
Public comment will be accepted at Tuesday’s workshop under the City’s recently adopted participation procedures.
Key Points:
- The workshop begins at 1 pm September 1 at the Apopka Community Center.
- Proposed citywide expenditures total approximately $228.85 million.
- The commission previously approved a tentative operating millage rate of 4.6761 mills.
- Property-tax revenue is projected at approximately $41.21 million, up 19% from the current adopted budget.
- Commissioners will examine departmental spending, new positions and major infrastructure projects.
