CC Minutes 07/12/2011 Budget Workshop

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GENERAL FUND CASSELBERRY The General Fund is the chief operating fund of the City. The proposed Operating and Capital Budget for FY12 is $18,291,258. As compared to the FY11 adopted budget of $18,073,720, there is an overall increase of $217,538 or 1.2%. The increase is primarily attributed to the proposed increase of ALS rates and the transfer of the available funds to the Neighborhood Improvement Program. As you are well aware, the General Fund budget continues to be impacted by the significant losses in property values exacerbated by the continuing effects of legislative property tax rollbacks, increases in property tax exemptions, and general economic malaise. The City's taxable value fell an additional 6.58% for FY12 marking an unprecedented four year decline. The total decrease in taxable value from 2007 to 2012 is $343,972,000, resulting in a total anticipated revenue decline of $1,424,614. The 2011 budget forecast for FY12 budget year anticipated an 8% decline in property value; however, the Property Tax Appraiser has revised this estimate to a 6.5% decline. To position for the 8% decline, the FY 2011 General Fund budget was purposefully planned to yield a surplus of $300,460 in order to position the City to operationally sustain this anticipated loss of revenue in the 2012 budget year. Because taxable value did not decline as much as originally forecast, the excess $300,000 is anticipated to be used in the Neighborhood Improvement Program. The FY12 budget has been prepared with no change to the millage rate established in FY 2009/10 of 5.4500 mills. Highlights of the General Fund include the following: • The Parks and Facilities Division reflects an overall increase of $92,147 to replace two (2) fishing piers on North Lake Triplet Drive with eco -friendly composite material, replace drinking fountains on the City's trails, to provide plant and sod replacement at City parks and the ball fields located at Wirz and Secret Lake Parks. • "Non -Departmental" expenditures will experience a $140,000 transfer to the Infrastructure Surtax Fund in order for this fund to meet the debt covenants associated with Infrastructure Sales Surtax Revenues Notes issued in 2003 and 2007 that are set to mature on 09/30/12. Additionally, $352,577 was transferred to the Neighborhood Improvements Capital Fund. • Public Safety - The City's commitment to law enforcement continues the purchase of take-home vehicles for sworn police officers. The budget for the Department includes new capital leases of approximately $27,000 for seven (7) police vehicles. Some 59 new radios, $241,400, will need to be purchased in FY12 as Seminole County undergoes its digital conversion program. These Police radios are programmed to be financed through a capital lease with annual payments reflected in the operating budget of the Police Department. Concurrently, the Fire Department, in an effort to reduce costs allocated to the General Fund, will be seeking a regional grant with the City of Longwood for radios under the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program. Should the grant not be provided, the General Fund will need to be used for Fire Department radios. • Information Services continues to pursue the advancement of technology and innovation in order to maximize technological efficiency City-wide. Capital improvements increased approximately $45,000 in this department to include computer network equipment for disaster recovery, a battery backup system to maintain power in case of surges and outages and, most importantly, a tape drive for extended data recovery systems. The employment of these systems will ensure the continued availability of the network infrastructure in case of emergency. A-5