Email: ddavis@juno-beach.fl.us or DianaDavisJunoBeach@gmail.com

David Dyess resigned his position with a last day in office of November 1. [click here to see resignation letter]. We will miss you David.

Moving forward, Colin Baenziger & Associates were selected to provide executive recruiting services to find a new town manager. They described a schedule where five finalist candidates would be selected by December 10th, with a reception and one on one interviews to follow. If the aggressive schedule is adhered to then, we could have a new town manager hire sometime the first weeks of January 2025, assuming the selected candidate could begin immediately without providing notice to their current employer. The interim manager would serve from appointment through that time, approximately four months. At the Town Council meeting there was a discussion to select an interim manager from our staff leadership who applied for the position. We are fortunate to have amazing talented staff leaders who are willing to step up when there is a need, which is so appreciated. These staff leaders can also apply for the permanent position of town manager to be evaluated with others who apply. Interviews to fill the position of interim town manager will begin next week. We can all be optimistic about charting this path forward. By applying lessons learned from our last town manager search, we can achieve an outcome providing lasting benefits.

Budget 2024-25 & Millage Rate - Approved First Hearing

The Town's budget for 2024-2025 of $10,785,377, was approved by the Town Council at the first budget hearing. Juno Beach is debt free and shows a balanced budget with $5 million in reserves.

As a Town, we are in excellent financial shape with no findings in our annual financial audits and an active citizen audit oversight committee.

1. Click here for the 2024-2025 Millage & Budget Proposal (power point)
2. Click here Town Annual Budget for Fiscal Year ending September 30, 2025 (one page)
3. Click here for Capital Improvement Plan and funding sources

We welcome Emily Alves, as our new Finance & Human Resource Director.

The majority vote approved a millage rate of 1.8195 on first-reading, which has been the same since 2022. It represents a 6.75% tax increase from the rolled back rate of 1.7045. The millage rate per $1,000 dollars of assessed property at 1.8195, will result in the Town collecting higher taxes due to increased property values and new builds, which is an increase of $255,671.00.

My vote was to set the millage rate at 1.7640, where homestead properties would not pay additional taxes to the Town of Juno Beach. I will continue to push for governmental efficiencies and work toward a consensus for the budgeting discipline needed to lower your taxes for those with homestead properties.

• Budget Calendar: September 25 - Final 2024-25 Budget Hearing

James Karas, Urban/Resource Strategic Planner and Certifed Facilitator, began collecting the thoughts of staff and Town Council by individual interviews as initial steps to create a multi-year work plan for our Town. [Link to questions] The next steps will be to talk to our residents about their vision for our Town and prioritization of their strategic initiatives.  The Strategic Plan is intended to make it clear that Town Council and Town Staff are working toward the same results that achieves a shared vision and mission for the Town. The strategic plan for Juno Beach is anticipated to include strategic initiatives to assure, for example: (1) Preservation of Natural Areas, (2) Slow Growth, (3) Maintain our unique small Town Character and Feel, (4) Fiscal Responsibility, (5) Organizational Excellence, (6) Public Safety, (7) Reducing Traffic, and (8) Preserving Local Businesses [or other initiatives agreed upon by Council and Staff and the public]. Town staff could have their key performance indicators for their annual reviews tied to the action plans associated with achieving the strategic initiatives. Important strategic initiatives such as "slow growth" and "maintaining the character of Juno Beach" must be part of the job description for Town Staff. The efficiency of Town Council suffers due to an overload of Town Council agenda items that are not focused on “strategic initiatives.” A strategic plan provides a multiple year "work plan" for Town Staff and Council to assure success toward our shared values. This is a very exciting positive step forward for our Town to focus our time and resources on planning for meaningful results over a multi-year timeframe to benefit our residents.

At its September 25^th meeting, the Town Council will review the site plan /PUD proposal by Pulte Home Company, LLC for a forty-unit three-story townhouse project on the property on the South West corner of Donald Ross and U.S.1, referred to as the Christmas Tree Lot. The August down-zoning decisions by Town Council where zoning approvals were given for significantly less density, less height, greater set backs, more landscape lot coverage, and less traffic trips than the current zoning allows, are contingent upon the approval of the site plan and appropriate public benefits if required. Pulte Homes Presentation to P&Z meeting Link with site plan and traffic study. the site plan for traffic reports have not yet been presented to Town Council - look for the backup materials on the Town's web page for the September 25th meeting (not yet posted).

Please fact check emails that are circulating from citizen/neighbor groups regarding the Christmas Tree lot approval given at the Sept. 11th meeting. One such email referred to the downzoning approval as a "harmful deal." Downzoning is a tool in a land-use planner's toolbox to reduce the intensity of land-use otherwise allowed. The facts are that the downzoning decision for this property would (1) reduce density allowed from 18 to 8.51 units per acre, (2) reduce height of buildings allowed from as many as 12 stories to 3 stories, (3) increase the setbacks, (4) increase the landscape coverage, and (5) will reduce the number of traffic trips estimated for the former zoning for the space from more than 3,000 trips per day to less than 300 trips per day. While residential projects are not benign, the downzoning approval here would create a less-intensive use for the site than could be allowed with the current zoning of 100% commercial, or a mixed-use project with 75% residential and 25% commercial (that with workforce housing units could be a 12 story project reviewed by staff only without P&Z or Town Council review). The no-building option would be a huge burden on Juno Beach taxpayers of approx. $17 million for the Town to purchase the property. The project's approval depends on the review of the site plan/ PUD proposal at the September 25th Town Council meeting, including the traffic circulation and the correct public benefits if required. 

Your input and opinions: Public engagement is a vital part of the work that Town Council does for our community. Your comments and thoughts are encouraged and welcomed. We are "Better Together!"

All the Best to you,

Diana Davis

phone: 561-267-7772 official email: ddavis@juno-beach.fl.us

From left to right, Marianne Hosta Vice-Mayor Pro Tem, Diana Davis (me) Council person, Peggy Wheeler Mayor, Jacob Rosengarten Council person,and DD Halpern Vice-Mayor.

Save the Dates:

September 16th 4pm - Planning and Zoning Meeting [link to agenda],

September 20th 4pm - Council Hour and 5:30pm - Art Show, September 24th 3pm - Audit Oversight Committee,

September 25th 5:30pm - Town Council Meeting.

[link to Town Calendar on webpage]

Click here for the agenda and backup materials for the September 11th Town Council Meeting. Click here for the link to watch the the September 11th Town Council Meeting on YouTube.