Public Input - Regular Meeting

Please take your seats. We're going to go ahead and start. I would like to announce that this meeting is being recorded and So we will move forward with the meeting, although it might be very brief. Welcome to the FY twenty twenty seven budget town hall meeting. This is the opportunity for all of our residents here to express their desires and their concerns about our budgeting process, to ask for any special requests, to bring anything to our attention.

We do have a brief presentation by the lovely Peter Gay Lake, Finance Director, related to the budget process and our current situation. Thank you. Peter Gay. Thank

you.

Good evening, everyone. As Sheila said, I'm Peter Gay Lake. I'm the finance director. And I do have Veronica Munoz with me here today. And we will both be presenting and just going over a high level overview of our financials, our roadmap for the upcoming fiscal year, and then we would have closed with input from the public.

But as of right now, we don't have any okay, moving on. Why are we here? So it's really about I'm sorry connection and transparency, and to give the public an opportunity to come and meet with us and, you know, let us know what their requests are and what their needs are for the upcoming fiscal year. So as we prepare the budget, we will be able to evaluate those requests and then incorporate it into the budget. So we're going to go over the financial overview, brief update on some long term planning and master plans that we have, and then we'll end with any input and questions.

So I wanted to start with just some of the revenues that we received. So in terms of housing values and taxable values, for this fiscal year, our values increased by 6.51%. Most of that was due to reassessments and a small portion to new construction. We do anticipate that housing prices in South Florida are expected to stabilize with some markets showing increases. We do have some uncertainty regarding property tax legislation that we're closely monitoring.

We also have some economic development activities, including the Strata Development Project, Leader Hillsboro Business Park, Greystar Logistics, which is right off Atlantic And Lyons Road, and our long awaited Main Street area, we're gaining some momentum there, which Veronica will talk a little bit more about later in the presentation. So, we did have, like I said, some modest increases in ad valorem taxes for this year that we used to fund ongoing operating costs as well as some of our capital priorities. We have seen some stabilization in our demand driven revenues, which basically are our revenues that are based on consumer spending. So, that includes, like, our half cent sales tax that we receive through the state, some of our other shared revenues, as well as electric franchise fees and utility taxes. We also continue to pursue funding through the Broward County MAP program, and that's the transportation surtax funding.

Right now, we have Sampler Road improvements that's funded, and we're in the process now of of finalizing the agreement and getting that project moving. Another one of the large projects we have that are coming up is the South Creek neighborhood enhancements, which includes a lot of street improvements and and bridge improvements in that area. We have design slated for fiscal year twenty eight, and then construction for fiscal year twenty nine for that project. We're also actively pursuing grant funding to help leverage the city funds. For example, we got approval for a federal air mark for approximately a million dollars to be used for our capital project for fiber optics.

So that's great news there. And we also get funding from the Seminole tribe. We have a municipal service provider agreement and a mitigation agreement with them, and we get about $7,900,000 from those agreements that we use for capital projects and for expenses in the Main Street area. So when it comes to our fiscal position, we are and we remain financially solid. We have adequate reserves in case there are any emergencies or unforeseen economic downturns.

We continue to optimize resources and leverage different grant funding, and we also have the continued support of the commission and the departments. And for the fiscal year twenty seven budget, we're gonna take a strategic but conservative approach. We're going to concentrate more on grant funded. And then we also have to be mindful of property tax reform and the potential for property tax reform that is out there, which we'll talk about a little bit more, actually, right now. So for those of you you might have seen or heard on the news, you know, there have been talk about property tax reform.

And whereas the state did close their legislative session without making a final decision, they had a few bills that passed through the House, that the house did approve one, but it wasn't picked up by the senate and essentially died at that point. But we are also hearing through, press releases that the governor plans to potentially have a special session on property taxes. We're not quite sure where that's gonna go. For example, previous proposals said that they would exempt school schools and that we could not reduce police and fire budgets to fill the gap, but we have also heard in press releases that the governor is saying that, you know, he wants to look at it again and was curious why we're exempting schools. So there's a lot of uncertainty and a lot of unknowns that are out there right now regarding property tax reform.

What we do know is whatever goes through in terms of reform would mean potential revenue impact for the city of Coconut Creek. And depending on how much that is, it could result in possible service adjustments. We would have to pivot accordingly and limit discretionary funding. And when I say discretionary, it's not an additional bucket of money we have. It's really looking at programs and services and determining what is a must and what is a nice to have, and making determinations and how we move forward with those.

So we're going to continue to monitor property tax reform and any changes there. And, of course, we're going to plan to pivot as needed based on that information. So I did wanna share with everyone just a graph of our general fund revenues. So the general fund is our main operating fund, and revenues basically is where the money comes from and how the services of the city is funded. And I did wanna point out that property taxes approximately 33% of our total revenue, so so that's a huge piece of the pie and where we get our money from.

We also have intergovernmental revenues, which is money we get from the state or through grants, which is about 6%. We have charges for services, which is at 20%, and that's basically when we charge a resident a specific fee for a program that you're they're utilizing, for example, summer camp. I did want to add that not all our fees are at full cost recovery, so depending on outcome of property tax changes, we may have to evaluate those fees and see if there are any changes And needed then we have what we call appropriated fund balance, which is basically, in layman's term, the savings for the city in case of emergencies or unforeseen situations, and that's at 24%. So property tax bills. So I wanted to pause here and just show everyone a typical example of what a property tax bill looks like.

So for the record, we do not have a resident by the name of Butterfly Capital that lives on ABC Monarch Way. That part we made up, but the rest of it is an actual property tax bill. And I just wanted to point out the first section in blue. You know, when residents get their bill, only a portion of that comes to the city of Coconut Creek. It's actually approximately 32%, as you can see here, and we use that to fund several different services, which I'll go into later.

And we also have the fire rescue fee on there and the solid waste collection fee as non ad valorem taxes on the property tax bill. So we like to use this slide right here. So it's basically what property taxes and the fire assessment fund, and this we based on an average taxable value of 283,000, which is actually the city's average taxable value. And we just calculated it to a monthly basis. So pretty much, you it's like writing a check to the city every month for $190 to fund all the city services.

So if you look at this chart, you'll see that for police protection services, you're paying, like, $58 a month. For fire rescue protection, it's about $56 and so on. And the rest of it is paid for, like, internal support departments, for street maintenance, for engineering, for parks and recreation, and so forth. So, this is a very useful slide to see where your money actually goes. And then, so property taxes, and the big question for everyone is what does it do for you as a resident?

So I just wanted to point out that for that 32% that you pay on your property tax bill for property taxes, that is actually helping to keep you and your family safe. It covers things like police, fire rescue, and emergency responses, as well as any hurricane or storm prepared, services or any emergencies. It also maintains the places that all our residents use every day, like the roads and the sidewalks and the street lights and the parks, all the playgrounds and the landscaping. It also supports reliable city services such as trash collection in all the public areas, code enforcement, some of our senior and athletic programs, special events, and the customer service, and that response that makes Coconut Creek such a great place to actually live. It also helps to invest in the community's future through improvements to the road and parks, which basically has a long term effect on property values and the quality of life in the city of Coconut Creek.

And then it helps keeps the city financially prepared for any kind of unknowns and emergencies. So when we talk about property taxes, it's funding all of those things at the local level here in Coconut Creek that we rely on as residents every day. So with that, I'm going to turn it over to Veronica, who's going to talk a little bit more about the long term planning and some of our major capital projects that are coming up in the upcoming year. Veronica?

Thank you, Peter Gay. So I'll pick up by sharing a little bit of our about our long term planning. So taking a look at the long term plans listed here, you can see that the city has been proactively planning for the future. We have extensive we have an extensive plan, capital improvement program that provides for the replacement, improvements to, and the addition of infrastructure and facilities that is needed to continue providing service excellence for the community. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan provides a vision and action plan for the city's parks, recreation, open spaces, and trails.

The long awaited Main Street development project is also gaining momentum and will include improvements to parcels owned by the city and are in the Main Street area. We are also working on a vulnerability assessment plan and actively pushing towards a regional solid waste system. All of these long term plans will generate future initiatives, programs, and projects that come with additional costs that we, as a city, have to start planning for. Major capital projects that we have on the horizon are Fire Station 113 and police department improvements, as well as the development of the civic space in Main Street, which will include the Village Green Park, Lakeside Plaza, and surface level parking. We are currently in the process of planning for the design for these Main Street improvements.

These projects are a priority and come with a significant investment. Staff is currently working through the design plans and cost estimates for both projects, all while actively pursuing grant funding to help offset some of the costs for these projects. The Main Street project remains a top priority for the city. And while we are still in the early stages, we continue to work closely with the developer to support steady and visible progress. We are beginning to see site clearing and preliminary activity taking place in the area, which reflects forward movement on the project.

To date, we have funded approximately $3,300,000 for infrastructure improvements associated with the city's commitments, including critical infrastructure needed to support the development of city owned properties. We have also funded $1,900,000 for the design of Village Green Park, Lakeside Plaza, and service surface level parking. These parcels will require additional investment to bring key projects to fruition. With the city's share of the total construction cost currently estimated at 1,700,000 for Village Green Park and Lakeside Plaza, as well as a planned addition of surface level parking with a parking garage structure slated for a future date. As shown in this image, Block 13 is identified for future development and will play an important role in the city's future economic development strategy.

We've also made notable progress towards the completion of our Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which is a ten year visioning and action plan for parks, recreation facilities, open spaces, trails, recreation programs, and special events. The purpose of this parks and recreation master plan is to ensure the city continues to meet the leisure needs of its residents and that the parks and recreation system continues to contribute to the long term sustainability and resiliency of the city. This plan calls for an estimated investment of approximately $40,200,000 over a ten year period. Implementation began several years ago with facility improvements that include playgrounds, picnic pavilions, ADA access, signage, Wi Fi, and outdoor table games. Improvements at Cocoa Point, Lakewood, Donaldson, and Sunshine Parks were completed over the last couple of years, and we are currently working on phase one of Lakeside And Oak Trails Park expansion.

As we continue to successfully progress through fiscal year twenty six, fiscal year twenty seven will bring its own set of challenges. As with any other year, we are faced with competing priorities and limited resources. While the city remains financially strong, the challenge is to prioritize our activities and balance our resources among all that is required and or desired. With the current economic climate, we will need to navigate this year's budget process while considering the impacts of increased operating costs due to price inflation, and this is particularly challenging when funding capital improvement projects. As a city, we have been faced with major price escalations for operating and capital costs for the last several years, and this continues to be an ongoing challenge.

While the consumer price index is increasing at a lower rate, prices have not gone down and still reflect significant increases over the last few years. We also have to ensure our operations, programming, projects, and services continue to align with vision 2030 strategic goals and objectives. Lastly, we also have to monitor the current economic environment and the impacts of recent changes as well as any new legislative items at the state and federal level that may impact our revenue streams and ongoing costs. Some of the top budget priorities for fiscal year twenty seven include ensuring continuity of operations and to maintain public health, welfare, and safety, providing initiative services and programs that are actively wanted and utilized by the community, and commit to ongoing investments in infrastructure that are needed to provide the services and programs that we offer. And as mentioned earlier, some of the major upcoming investments include Fire Station 113, police department improvements, main street area development, including the infrastructure, village Green Park, lakeside plaza, and surface level parking, as well as the parks and recreation master plan.

All of these priorities are, of course, contingent upon property tax reform outcomes, which the city is actively monitoring. Let's take a quick look at our budget calendar. A few dates to highlight include July 1, which is when we get the certification of taxable value from the property appraiser. August 1 is when fiscal year twenty twenty seven proposed budget is submitted to the city commission. August 13 is when we hold the budget workshop to discuss the proposed budget, followed by the first and second public hearings to adopt the fiscal year twenty twenty seven budget in September, and October 1 starts our city's new fiscal year.

So now we'll open the floor to hear from you and allow you to provide input on programs, services, or infrastructure that you would like to see more or less of in the city. If you prefer not to share your input in this open forum, we also have an input form at the back of the room that you can complete and provide to us at the end of the meeting. Before we get started, just ask that you raise your hand. And then we also have our contact information provided and available here in the back on the printouts, in the event that you'd like to reach out to myself or PDG after this meeting. Thank you.

Nancy, come on down. You've got to walk up, it's recorded. Something for coming here. That

works good enough. Hi. Nancy Fry, 534133073. I just wanted to ask about, given all of the implications of property taxes, what it's going to look like for, nonprofit and community grants for the upcoming year, if there's been any decisions made about that yet, those grants that we've used for the schools, for the safety and security in the communities and the nonprofit grants.

I'll answer that. Thank you. Nancy's question is, have we come to any resolution related to how nonprofits will be handled? In the years past, we've had a specific line item budget that was allocated for the commission to allocate to various nonprofits. Our expectation is that we will budget the same amount in this year from a staff perspective, but that we may propose using a portion of our CDBG funds, which would allow us to free up money potentially for the community foundation.

These proposals have not been presented formally to the commission, and we expect you know, to have a robust discussion about that. So I hope you'll participate.

Any

more questions? That was the one I had. Any other questions from the audience? All right, with that, good night all. Thank you. Thank you.