Town focuses on budget talks
The Fort Myers Beach Town Council discussed different revenue options as part of a preliminary budget talk during a Management & Planning meeting Monday morning at Town Hall. Council members and Town Manager Terry Stewart will wait to address ad valorem tax revenue -the Town’s largest percentage revenue source- only after the property appraiser releases his initial estimates in June.
Certain user fees such as franchise fees and public service taxes were mentioned during the exchange of views. Criteria for State Shared Revenues -the Town’s second largest revenue amount- was unavailable to be debated.
During the meeting’s opening comments, Stewart said he hoped to gain some “concept policy driven items” from the five council members.
“My goal for today at the very least is to be able to gain some information about where we are in our budget so that it will enable us to move forward and finish the crafting of it in a way which will meet the guidelines that were established,” he said.
Stewart referenced a “lack of revenue diversity” and the “reliability upon property taxes as a percentage of the Town’s budget revenues” in a memorandum he sent to council. In the memo, he also made fact that the Town may find “an opportunity to petition the state for approval of legislation that will enable it to tap a tourism-based tax.”
The council consensually agreed to allow Stewart to investigate that stream and others. They also allowed the Town Manager to start planning for the water utility debt.
“This doesn’t mean all the cost of this debt will hit next year,” said Stewart. “This debt will come in increments over a period of several years. But, you still have to start planning for it.”
Other major projects which need attention include storm water management and the relocation of Town Hall. Some council members believe the solution of moving town headquarters to another location should not be a long term debt. A Cash Flow analysis, which will enable Town officials to determine if any resources are available to support the major projects and aid in the determination of what additional revenue sources are needed, is underway.
“I think we need to probably have debt for Town Hall, but not advertised for more than three years,” said Councilman Tom Babcock. “Maybe we need to start a capital reserves fund that could be used for Town Hall.”
While scanning over the preliminary numbers for General Fund Expenditures, four particular expenses and their total percentages stood out. Parks & Recreation led all expenses with 16 percent, followed by General Services with 15 percent and Maintenance with 15 percent of the total Town expenditures.
“Let me bring back to you what we estimate will be used in the way of revenues and then you can make some determinations of how you can offset ad valorem taxes,” said Stewart. “This way you can make some judgements about what the actual impact of that will be and weigh it against the value of the revenue diversity issues.”
The council will hold other budget sessions regarding financial discussions and revenue options on Monday, June 7, and Monday, June 21.