Our city staff recently finished its budget proposal for 2020, and I’m happy to share some great news. Despite some serious financial challenges, we will be able to address our priorities of improving infrastructure and quality of life without any increase in our property tax rate.
It represents the 13th consecutive year that the tax rate has remained unchanged.
This was indeed a daunting task for Chris Lagerbloom, who just became city manager in January. Despite the robust growth of our tax base, he anticipated that Fort Lauderdale’s expenses would exceed its revenue by some $20 million in this budget.
But at the urging of myself and the rest of the City Commission, he started the budget process early. He asked each department to find cuts that would have minimal impact on operations and to refocus on our critical priorities.
What were the financial challenges we faced? They were twofold.
First, the City Commission decided last year to end the long-running practice of raiding our utility reserves to balance the budget. This money is intended to pay for water and sewer infrastructure needs, yet the city was diverting millions each year. The former city management doubted the annual raid could be ended without a tax increase. The new city manager is proving that it can be done.
Second, the former City Commission approved significant increases in compensation packages for the police and fire unions right before they left office. I questioned at the time if we could afford these raises, but I was the lone voice of opposition. Sure enough, these two contracts consumed almost all the additional revenue generated by our growing tax base, denying our neighborhoods needed monies for long-awaited improvements. We will be burdened by these contracts for several more years.
In balancing the budget, city staff identified more than $6 million in strategic cost-cutting measures that should have no impact on our ability to serve the residents of Fort Lauderdale and another $4 million in savings based on how we manage major projects.
We also achieved significant cost-savings from the decision to bring in the Florida Panthers hockey team to re-envision War Memorial Auditorium and operate the renovated facility.
The city manager also is advocating the city take an innovative approach to its transportation services by partnering with the Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization. This will save money, but will also help us focus more on finding solutions to traffic congestion. Part of the plan is to have the MPO represent city interests at Broward County’s traffic center that controls traffic signalization on major arteries and other streets.
Here are some of the priorities that are funded in the budget proposal:
- Flood prevention. Many of our neighborhoods increasingly flood during high tides or heavy rain. Projects have been designed and are ready to go to make upgrades in areas experiencing the worst flooding. This budget starts the initiative.
- Water and sewer infrastructure. The budget continues the $200 million in water and sewer system improvements that the city promised to undertake after a series of underground pipes broke and spilled sewage into yards, streets and waterways in 2017.
- Homeless initiatives. We continue our new partnership with Broward County, the United Way and the business community to address homelessness. This includes money for our rapid rehousing initiative, the new community court program that directs homeless individuals arrested for minor crimes into social service programs, the Police Department’s homeless outreach unit, and a new initiative to redirect food left over from area restaurants to the needy.
- EMS station. Money is earmarked to open a new EMS station serving the greater downtown area. It should help improve medical response times there.
- High-dive tower. The budget moves ahead with a new, exciting project as part of the aquatic center renovation. We will build a 27-meter high-dive tower to attract extreme sport enthusiasts and events. It will be the highest dive platform in the Western Hemisphere and only the second one of its height in the world.
- Las Olas Boulevard. More than $800,000 is set aside to pay for improvements to the Las Olas corridor from downtown through the shopping district and into the Isles neighborhoods. A community group headed by commissioners Steve Glassman and Ben Sorensen has been studying the street’s future and will soon make recommendations.
- Bond issues for a new police station and park improvements. Voters approved bond issues this spring to build a new police headquarters and to make major improvements to our parks system. This budget launches both initiatives, including the proposed network of bike and walking trails called LauderTrail.
- Algae blooms. Waterways in our community have been hit hard in recent years by algae blooms, and the budget proposal addresses this. We are investing in research and will hire contractors to respond to algae blooms and mitigate their impact. We also fund free pump-out facilities for boats to help prevent degradation of our water quality.
- Sidewalks. The budget earmarks $1 million to repair and replace sidewalks in critical areas.
- New government campus. The city recently signed an agreement with Broward County to build a joint government campus. It will replace City Hall and the County Governmental Center, which are at the end of their life and face significant aging issues. The budget earmarks our share of initial design work.
- Streetscapes. Funding is set aside for several major streetscape projects. These include the Breakers-Birch area of North Beach Village, Third Avenue downtown, State Road A1A in the central beach area, and the section of Las Olas Boulevard on the barrier island.
- Median beautification. More money is devoted next year to improving medians throughout the city.
- Neighborhood improvements. Almost $800,000 is budgeted to address immediate maintenance needs of neighborhood improvements previously made throughout the city.
These are just a few of the programs that will be initiated or continued in the next budget cycle.
We will be vigilant in our attempts to combat rising sea levels as we study ways to implement emerging technologies. We will ensure that our children will be protected in our schools at all levels and that our commitment to reduce crime remains strong. These goals are at the basic core of our mission.
I’m pleased with my initial review of this budget plan. It appears to accomplish much of what my colleagues on the City Commission and I promised to do and does so without raising property tax rates. I look forward to public input in the coming months. Our budget hearings will take place Sept. 3 and Sept. 12. They will be held at 5 p.m. at City Hall. Please feel free to come out and share your thoughts.
Yours,
Dean
