Tampa City Council - Budget
Thursday, July 21, 2016
9:00 a.m.
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09:00:45
09:01:37 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Tampa City Council is now called into order.
09:02:15 The chair recognizes Mr. Harry Cohen.
09:02:17 >>HARRY COHEN: Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
09:02:19 Good morning, everyone.
09:02:20 It's my pleasure to welcome this morning the reverend James
09:02:24 P. Golden, the pastor of the Mount Zion AME Church here in
09:02:29 Tampa, Florida.
09:02:30 Prior to that he was pastor of Wharton Baptist church in
09:02:36 Bradenton.
09:02:37 He was the social action coordinator for Florida and the
09:02:40 Bahamas for the after can Episcopal church.
09:02:44 You will be interested to know that he served two 4-year
09:02:47 terms as a member of the Bradenton City Council and in
09:02:50 September 2007 he was chosen by our own representative Kathy
09:02:54 Castor to deliver the morning invocation to the U.S. House
09:02:57 of Representatives in Washington, D.C.
09:02:59 Good morning, Reverend Golden.
09:03:01 Let's stand and join him for the invocation followed by the
09:03:04 pledge of allegiance.
09:03:05 >> If I might take the honor for just a moment, I am going
09:03:17 to ask everyone to hold hands.
09:03:24 This might not be comfortable, though.
09:03:26 Let us pray.
09:03:29 God omnipotent, omnipresent, we thank you for your mercy
09:03:35 that you have awakened us this morning for another day of
09:03:39 service, to this city, by the mayor, and this City Council.
09:03:45 We thank you for your grace that will empower them to
09:03:50 overcome any challenges they will face today.
09:03:53 We also pray now for our president and all of our fellow
09:03:56 servants in federal, state and local government across the
09:03:59 land; that thy will be done today and everything they see,
09:04:06 everything they utter, everything they hear, everything they
09:04:10 think, and everything they feel.
09:04:14 We also pray for our vigilant Armed Forces as they protect
09:04:19 our interests and send our liberty and secure justice at
09:04:24 home and abroad in selfless sacrifice for our country.
09:04:29 We pray a special prayer for those officers who daily lead
09:04:40 the peace and tranquility of their own neighborhood and
09:04:42 safety of their own home, love and care of their own family,
09:04:46 to assure that all of us can have these things in every
09:04:52 neighborhood, every home, and in every family.
09:04:56 By your mercy, keep them from harm and danger both seen and
09:05:02 unseen, known and unknown, and yet to come.
09:05:07 For we know in your precious sight all lives matter.
09:05:14 God our help in ages past, for 129 years, God of our father,
09:05:21 God who has brought us thus far along the way.
09:05:26 O God our hope for years to come.
09:05:28 Keep this city, this state, and this nation forever in thy
09:05:34 path of goodness and righteousness we pray.
09:05:38 Amen.
09:05:38 [ Pledge of Allegiance ]
09:06:02 >> Roll call.
09:06:04 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Here.
09:06:06 >>FRANK REDDICK: Here.
09:06:08 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Here.
09:06:10 >>HARRY COHEN: Here.
09:06:15 >>GUIDO MANISCALCO: Here.
09:06:16 >>Here.
09:06:19 We are glad to have our Mayor Bob Buckhorn to make his
09:06:22 budget presentation.
09:06:23 >> Mayor Bob Buckhorn: If we could bring up the
09:06:29 presentation on the screen.
09:06:31 This is a better screen than when Councilman Miranda and I
09:06:35 were here.
09:06:36 Just for the record, I did not nor did anybody in my staff
09:06:39 copy this speech from anybody else.
09:06:44 (Laughter).
09:06:46 >> We are not doing Orlando's budget is what you are saying,
09:06:50 right are?
09:06:50 >> I hope not.
09:06:52 And if somebody would please tell me if they did.
09:06:58 First of all it's good to see you and thank you for the
09:07:00 opportunity to be here.
09:07:01 This is the one time of year that you allow me to come to
09:07:05 your chambers, and I am thankful for that.
09:07:10 It has been an interesting year.
09:07:11 It's been a productive year.
09:07:14 It's been a year that I think all of you should be proud of
09:07:17 in spite of the economic conditions that we have found
09:07:20 ourselves in over the last five, certainly five years that
09:07:24 most of us everybody together.
09:07:26 If you think back to where we were in 2011 when the majority
09:07:29 of us came to this council and to this administration, it
09:07:33 was a very different place.
09:07:34 It was a very different country.
09:07:36 It was a very different state and certainly was a very
09:07:38 different city.
09:07:39 Unemployment in the City of Tampa was close to 10%.
09:07:47 There were over 4,000 houses in some state of foreclosure.
09:07:51 Our family friends and neighbors were losing their jobs and
09:07:54 people losing their houses.
09:07:55 On day one of 2011 and when I assumed this office we were
09:08:00 $30 million in debt.
09:08:02 It was a pretty bleak scenario.
09:08:05 Thankfully, my predecessor, Mayor Iorio, had left our
09:08:09 reserves very, very healthy.
09:08:11 That enabled us to get through that recession over the last
09:08:14 five years and emerge to where we are now.
09:08:18 We are not out of the woods yet.
09:08:20 In spite of all of the construction and building that is
09:08:23 taking place, we along with other cities in this country are
09:08:27 still struggling to find our footing.
09:08:30 I can tell you -- and you will see this as we move through
09:08:33 this presentation -- that the resources that we have are not
09:08:35 even close to what we had in 2007.
09:08:39 You can imagine that almost ten-year gap and we are still
09:08:42 not at the point where we are recovering in property tax
09:08:47 revenues what we received in 2007.
09:08:50 You will understand the magnitude of the task that we have
09:08:53 embarked on over the last five years and the good work that
09:08:55 all of us have been able to accomplish, still moving the
09:08:59 community forward but doing it with less people and a
09:09:02 significantly less amount of revenue.
09:09:16 All right.
09:09:17 We are going to take you through some of the budget
09:09:19 highlights, the recommended budget overview, some of the
09:09:23 highlights of the capital improvement program, as well as
09:09:25 the enterprise department budget, and then the calendar
09:09:29 moving forward.
09:09:30 I think you will be proud to look at this chart and see some
09:09:35 of the accolades that your city has been awarded over the
09:09:38 last couple of years.
09:09:40 It is an amazing list of things that point out how far we
09:09:48 have come over the last five years and where we are
09:09:50 positioned oat national or International stage.
09:09:52 If you start at the top, one of the most significant
09:09:58 recognitions we got being named as one of the best cities in
09:10:01 the southeast United States by money magazine as well as one
09:10:04 of the top places to move, as well as one of the best cities
09:10:08 for women to open a business in.
09:10:12 As well as one of the best cities for veterans.
09:10:17 That is a pretty significant list of accomplishments and I
09:10:20 know you all are as proud as I am of some of the things that
09:10:24 we have done.
09:10:26 I think I am going to buy some new equipment.
09:10:40 Not on your screens are? I don't know what that was.
09:10:43 >>MIKE SUAREZ: There you go.
09:10:46 >> There we go.
09:10:51 Okay.
09:10:53 As many of you know, because I talk about it a lot, three of
09:10:59 the last five years Tampa Bay has created more jobs than
09:11:02 anyplace in the State of Florida.
09:11:03 Just last year alone the Tampa Bay metropolitan area created
09:11:07 42,000 new private sector jobs.
09:11:10 These are not government jobs.
09:11:11 These are private sector jobs.
09:11:13 And as we have tried to change Tampa's economic DNA, I think
09:11:17 these numbers are reflecting the growth and some of the
09:11:20 value-added industries that we need to attract intellectual
09:11:24 capital that will allow us to continue.
09:11:30 Just in 2011, employment was at 9.9%.
09:11:34 Right now we are at 4.6%.
09:11:36 That is a significant drop in unemployment in our community
09:11:45 and we see it every day as our friends and neighbors are
09:11:48 employed and able to provide for their families.
09:11:58 The highlights and goals of, creating jobs, protecting our
09:12:04 kids, enhancing our quality of life, improving our
09:12:07 infrastructure, retaining and rewarding our employees,
09:12:10 balancing the budget without using reserves, streamlining
09:12:13 the regulatory permitting process.
09:12:16 And I think by all measures we have succeeded at every one
09:12:19 of those things.
09:12:22 Some of the highlights of that wove accomplished and some of
09:12:29 the focuses certainly involve our kids and our parks and
09:12:32 recreation highlights for this past year.
09:12:34 As you know, as many of you joined me the other day at the
09:12:38 groundbreaking for Julian B. Lane, what we did, they are the
09:12:43 great equalizer in our community.
09:12:45 They are the places where families can gather and children
09:12:48 can be children.
09:12:49 We have achieved a number of national awards in our Parks
09:12:55 and Recreation Department.
09:12:57 One of the programs that I am particularly excited about --
09:12:59 and I think has done as much to stabilize our needs in this
09:13:08 community is the stay and play program.
09:13:10 Stay and play, as you know, like a lot of cities around the
09:13:13 country, who are experiencing significant violence in our
09:13:18 inner city neighborhoods.
09:13:20 We knew we had to do something.
09:13:21 We knew that if we didn't do something that there would be
09:13:25 kids that would be at risk, kids that potentially would be
09:13:28 victims of gun violence, and we weren't willing to tolerate
09:13:33 that.
09:13:34 We made a decision, and we are willing to pay for that, to
09:13:38 embark on a project that I think by all measures has been a
09:13:41 tremendous success.
09:13:42 We refer to it as stay and play.
09:13:45 What we did was open our parks and recreation centers in
09:13:48 some of our tougher neighborhoods until midnight, seven days
09:13:52 a week, through the end of the summer.
09:13:54 Based on the success of that, we have extended that and have
09:13:57 done it in some of those same parks year round.
09:14:02 69,000 kids.
09:14:06 Those parks and recreation centers under the guise of
09:14:09 mentorship and protection of adults, of teachers, of
09:14:13 coaches, they are not in harm's way when they are in our
09:14:17 facilities, and as Councilman Reddick can attest to, those
09:14:21 children that are in our facilities are not out on the
09:14:24 streets.
09:14:25 And if they are not out on the streets, they are not as
09:14:27 likely to be seduced by gangs and succumb to the violence.
09:14:32 I can promise you this.
09:14:34 Even though we can never measure this, that we save lives by
09:14:40 opening up these parks.
09:14:41 There are children today in East Tampa and Sulphur Springs
09:14:45 and West Tampa that are alive today because they were in our
09:14:49 facility and they were not out on the streets and
09:14:52 potentially victims of random gun violence or gang activity.
09:15:07 I have to say "next slide."
09:15:10 All right.
09:15:11 There's going to be a little more on the budget.
09:15:18 (Laughter).
09:15:21 >> It's only practice.
09:15:23 >> Yeah, it's only practice.
09:15:26 Okay, this is a highlight.
09:15:29 Next slide.
09:15:30 All right.
09:15:39 We didn't get rid of the CTTV department.
09:15:42 Next slide.
09:15:43 All right.
09:15:44 This slide points out why it's important, those of a-school
09:15:51 hours and hours when many single parents are having to work,
09:15:55 why it's important that we keep these facilities open.
09:15:58 Next slide.
09:16:03 Our after school program is another thing we introduced.
09:16:06 This was initially started in the State of Florida in
09:16:08 Orlando.
09:16:08 We brought it to Tampa.
09:16:11 This is another opportunity for some of our young people to
09:16:15 engage in activities that are healthy, that are productive,
09:16:18 where they have great leadership, great mentorship.
09:16:21 Next slide.
09:16:29 We made a commitment to the president of the United States
09:16:32 along with some other mayors.
09:16:34 This is from Obama, and that is to end veterans
09:16:40 homelessness.
09:16:41 We signed up and said yes, Mr. President, we are willing to
09:16:44 do what we can to try to end veterans homelessness.
09:16:48 We launched operation reveille in partnership with
09:16:51 Hillsborough County and as a result of operation reveille
09:16:56 our community experienced a 42% decline in veterans
09:16:59 homelessness.
09:17:00 We are not happy until we get to net zero.
09:17:03 We may never get there but we are going to continue to push
09:17:05 to try to get the men and women who served our nation off of
09:17:08 the street and into shelter.
09:17:10 Next slide.
09:17:14 These are some of the highlights from what has occurred from
09:17:16 the economic development.
09:17:20 Since I became the mayor in 2011 we permitted necessarily
09:17:23 $10 billion worth of construction.
09:17:26 Last year, we did 2.47 billion worth of profits, which set a
09:17:31 record for Tampa.
09:17:33 In fiscal year 16 we are projected to end about 2.3 billion,
09:17:37 and revenues in fiscal year 17 are anticipated to be
09:17:41 $7.5 million in revenues.
09:17:44 Those are good numbers.
09:17:45 We said from day one we couldn't cut our way out of the
09:17:49 recession, we had to grow our way out of the recession.
09:17:52 That's why we extreme lined the permitting process.
09:17:54 Heretofore we were not competitive, people did not want to
09:17:58 come Don business with us because the regulatory process was
09:18:01 so burdensome.
09:18:03 We have become the model of how to permit as opposed to the
09:18:06 poster child for bureaucracy and I couldn't be prouder of
09:18:09 our folks in construction services who are doing that.
09:18:12 Next slide.
09:18:15 We have invested over $96 million in some of our urban
09:18:20 neighborhoods.
09:18:20 Some of you participated in it.
09:18:21 We created a master plan that I think will be the blueprint
09:18:24 for Tampa's economic development for the next 25 years.
09:18:28 It's referred to as the InVision program.
09:18:31 Part of that InVision program was identifying the long-term
09:18:35 goals of the community, down to the granular level, and
09:18:39 investing the money accordingly. This wasn't a plan that I
09:18:42 was going to put on the shelf. This is a plan that we were
09:18:44 going to implement.
09:18:45 We are largely completed with than the bulk of that, but it
09:18:49 is important that that framework remain in existence long
09:18:52 after all of us are gone because that gives developers, it
09:18:56 gives investors, it gives neighborhoods an opportunity to
09:18:59 know what their future will look like based on a plan where
09:19:02 over 1800 people participated.
09:19:05 Center city, our urban core, is doing well.
09:19:08 Currently we have over 3,000 residential units that are
09:19:11 either under construction or contemplated to be under
09:19:14 construction over the next 12-18 months.
09:19:18 We invested over -- private capital has invested over $500
09:19:23 million in our downtown hotels and office buildings.
09:19:26 As many of you know, most of the buildings have flipped and
09:19:28 then sold.
09:19:29 That obviously adds value to the property tax revenues and
09:19:32 they are selling at a very, very high price point.
09:19:36 The decision by the University of South Florida after about
09:19:39 two and a half years of lobbying and effort at the state
09:19:43 level is going to move their medical school USF Morsani
09:19:48 institute to downtown Tampa.
09:19:50 I can tell you in no uncertain terms that is the most
09:19:52 significant event that has occurred in our urban core for
09:19:55 decades.
09:19:56 And I anticipate we will have a lasting impact, a
09:19:59 generational impact on the development of downtown.
09:20:02 As a result of that decision, the applications that USF med
09:20:07 school have already increased significantly, and the med cap
09:20:12 scores have risen in terms of the universities applying to
09:20:17 the medical school have been risen significantly.
09:20:20 That decision to move it to the downtown area has increased
09:20:21 the level of application, the quality of the application,
09:20:25 and I can tell you in terms of attracting faculty,
09:20:28 researchers and medical students, that decision is going to
09:20:31 be critical for us moving forward.
09:20:34 Next slide.
09:20:36 These are some of the projects in downtown Tampa that have
09:20:40 been announced or that are underway.
09:20:42 Not all in downtown.
09:20:44 There are some significant investment in Ybor City that we
09:20:48 have broken ground on or cut ribbons on, or we anticipate
09:20:52 moving forward, will be coming out of the ground in the
09:20:55 not-too-distant future.
09:20:58 Next slide.
09:20:59 Riverwalk tower on the site that shall not be named.
09:21:06 It's potentially the most significant new construction
09:21:11 project in downtown Tampa in 20 years.
09:21:16 It's a 52 story tower.
09:21:19 It's mixed use.
09:21:20 It's got 7 stories of parking, 14 stories of office space,
09:21:23 and 31 stories of luxury residential units.
09:21:28 Charlie Miranda has the penthouse reserved.
09:21:30 (Laughter)
09:21:32 Two penthouses?
09:21:35 I can't wait for the coffee shop when that's announced.
09:21:40 The view corridors over the bay will be the best view
09:21:43 corridors in the bay area.
09:21:45 I cannot be more excited.
09:21:46 That is private capital that is being invested largely
09:21:49 because of the investment that we made in the Riverwalk.
09:21:54 I mean, that's exactly an example of whereof public sector
09:21:57 investment at a very minimal amount will encourage private
09:22:02 capital that will be invested in that Riverwalk.
09:22:04 The ground floor of that particular project will be all
09:22:07 retail restaurants which is exactly what we need on the
09:22:09 Riverwalk.
09:22:10 That will be an amazing project for our waterfront being
09:22:15 developed by Larry Feldman and the architect out of
09:22:18 Shanghai.
09:22:22 It's going to be a pretty exciting project.
09:22:24 Next slide, please.
09:22:27 Obviously we are all familiar and City Council has been a
09:22:30 big, big part of it sitting as a CRA, our relationship with
09:22:35 Mr. Vinik, and strategic property partners, as well as
09:22:40 investments by Bill gate's investment fund.
09:22:46 That investment has grown to not just one billion but over
09:22:50 two billion and in more likelihood more on 40 acres in
09:22:53 downtown Tampa.
09:22:54 It obviously includes the USF institute and College of
09:22:58 Medicine, a new hotel, redeveloped plaza.
09:23:03 We'll break construction in conjunction with the city will
09:23:06 start in August of this year.
09:23:07 So we will start to see dirt being moved.
09:23:10 And I can tell you that I am appreciative of the support
09:23:13 that the CRA has given to this and our relationship with Mr.
09:23:16 Vinik.
09:23:17 This will return multi-fold back to the CRA as these
09:23:21 projects come online and start replenishing the CRA with
09:23:25 property tax revenues.
09:23:26 Next slide.
09:23:28 Tampa Heights project.
09:23:30 Most of you were at the announcement of this.
09:23:36 This project has been long overdue.
09:23:38 Council member Miranda and I were on the council when we did
09:23:40 the original development agreement.
09:23:42 It has been a long time coming.
09:23:44 We could not be more excited.
09:23:46 In my estimation that is one of the last best pieces in the
09:23:49 southeast United States in an urban core, on the waterfront.
09:23:53 Some of the best view corridors in downtown Tampa.
09:23:56 As you have seen by the success of Waterworks Park.
09:24:00 Again, an investment that we made as a city has triggered
09:24:05 the redevelopment of Ulele where Mr. Gonzmart is doing
09:24:10 significantly higher revenue projections than what he had
09:24:13 anticipated.
09:24:14 That tells you how successful and what a great destination
09:24:17 that is.
09:24:17 The Heights project will be equally successful.
09:24:20 The Encore project, a project by Tampa Housing Authority
09:24:24 that has taken a violent formerly public housing project,
09:24:32 Central Park Village, and the Encore project is coming out
09:24:36 of the ground as we speak.
09:24:37 That is a model for a Tampa Housing Authority HUD-city
09:24:43 relationship.
09:24:44 For those of you that have been there know its transformed
09:24:47 the lives of people that are living there now and is an
09:24:50 example of how a HUD project should work.
09:24:53 That was a choice neighborhood project.
09:24:56 I will talk about this a little later.
09:24:59 Competing for a choice neighborhood granted again this year,
09:25:02 but we have great partners in Tampa Housing Authority.
09:25:04 Next slide.
09:25:07 This is something that each of you should take great pride
09:25:10 in.
09:25:12 This particular project, four 40 years, six mayors, will
09:25:18 have an impact on the community that is immeasurable.
09:25:22 That is a destination that has opened up the waterfront for
09:25:25 our community and N ways that we hadn't even imagined.
09:25:29 It is bock becoming a gathering point.
09:25:31 It is the linkage between Channelside and the Tampa Heights
09:25:34 area.
09:25:35 It is a conduit for folks to explore our waterfront, to open
09:25:39 up that Hillsborough River, to make people realize -- and I
09:25:42 can't tell you how many conversations that I have listened
09:25:45 to over the last year and a half that that's been opened,
09:25:48 where people will come down on the Riverwalk, even long time
09:25:52 Tampanians who have not been down there in years, where
09:25:58 sidewalks rolled up at 5:00, people who lived here for five
09:26:01 generations, and they walk around looking like a kid in a
09:26:05 candy store.
09:26:06 And you hear them say to themselves, what happened here?
09:26:10 This is an amazing river.
09:26:12 Look, honey, look at the downtown.
09:26:14 Have you ever seen anything like this before?
09:26:15 Where did this come from?
09:26:17 I mean, I hear that conversation all the time.
09:26:20 I mean, Guido is out there every week walking on the
09:26:26 Riverwalk.
09:26:26 It is a destination, and I think transformed the way we feel
09:26:30 about ourselves, the way others look at us, and it will
09:26:33 trigger significant private capital that will more than
09:26:37 compensate for the investment that we made and that the
09:26:42 federal government made with us in the completion of that.
09:26:47 Doyle Carlton segment was completed connecting to the Straz.
09:26:52 Obviously the Straz, as a result of the success of the
09:26:54 Riverwalk, has embarked on a master planning process that
09:26:57 will fully take advantage of that waterfront access for our
09:27:02 Performing Arts Center, predominantly privately funded.
09:27:06 But it is doing exactly what we want it to do which is
09:27:09 activating that waterfront and creating the destination for
09:27:12 people to eat and drink and walk and enjoy the waterfront.
09:27:15 Next slide.
09:27:17 West Tampa redevelopment.
09:27:19 A private and a passion for council member Reddick and for
09:27:23 many of you honor remember as a child growing up in.
09:27:29 Council member Capin and I were talking at the
09:27:32 groundbreaking for Julian B. Lane and her comments to me
09:27:36 about this being long overdue.
09:27:38 We are dead on right.
09:27:40 This is an investment in a community that has not received
09:27:43 the same priority for decades that it deserved.
09:27:47 This is a significant investment and I am deeply
09:27:50 appreciative of all of you that supported this project
09:27:53 knowing full well that it was expensive, knowing full well
09:27:57 that, you know, in these type times these are tough
09:28:02 decisions that we have to make and you stood up and made
09:28:04 them and I am thankful for that.
09:28:06 And I think for the community that surrounds Julian B. Lane
09:28:11 Riverfront Park as well as our entire community, if you can
09:28:14 imagine what Curtis Hixon is to downtown, and that Curtis
09:28:17 Hixon is only five acres, just imagine what will happen in
09:28:21 West Tampa in areas around West Tampa with a 23-acre park,
09:28:27 and given what the plans are for this.
09:28:29 It will be transformative.
09:28:31 It will change West Tampa as we know it.
09:28:33 It is also a critical link to our efforts to redevelop North
09:28:38 Boulevard homes, the yard that we have at Spruce and Rome
09:28:43 that we are moving those vehicles off.
09:28:46 When of this is said and done this will be the largest
09:28:48 redevelopment project the city has ever undertaken in a
09:28:51 neighborhood that deserves it and desperately needs it.
09:28:54 It will be 150 acres.
09:28:56 That will be re-creating an entire section of our city.
09:29:00 We are competing for a choice neighborhood grant but I can
09:29:03 promise you this, whether we are successful or not, and it
09:29:06 is a very, very competitive process, I think we put one of
09:29:10 the best plans into submission that any city could possibly
09:29:13 do it.
09:29:14 It is bigger than most.
09:29:15 It's not just a public housing, it is a public-private
09:29:20 endeavor.
09:29:21 I think we will be competitive, but even if we are not
09:29:24 chosen, we are moving forward.
09:29:28 North Boulevard homes, I think there's 30% of the residents
09:29:32 that are still there.
09:29:33 Demolition will start in the first quarter of 2017.
09:29:38 We are almost complete.
09:29:40 Probably second quarter of 17 to move vehicles off of Rome
09:29:45 Avenue yard which will open up that land for redevelopment.
09:29:49 Those buildings will be demolished.
09:29:51 Our properties will be demolished up there.
09:29:53 So in essence you will have 150 acres of prime property on
09:29:57 the waterfront that will be redeveloped.
09:30:00 The residents of public housing will be allowed to come
09:30:02 back.
09:30:03 We are taking 800 units which currently exists to a total of
09:30:08 2300 units.
09:30:09 It's mixed use.
09:30:10 It's market rate as well as subsidized.
09:30:12 It will be a neighborhood that we are proud of and that
09:30:15 those children that live right now in North Boulevard homes,
09:30:18 that every day that they gone outside of their houses they
09:30:20 are at risk, will have the same quality of life as our kids
09:30:24 do, and they absolutely enjoy it.
09:30:26 So I could not be prouder.
09:30:28 Thank you to all of you that helped make that happen.
09:30:30 Next slide.
09:30:33 Julian B. Lane.
09:30:36 We did that.
09:30:36 All right.
09:30:39 Some of the companies that are excited to be here, we have
09:30:43 had a lot of interest in Tampa.
09:30:47 I would submit to you -- and I'm privy to a lot of these
09:30:51 conversations that for every major corporate relocation out
09:30:54 there, Tampa is on the list.
09:30:55 And we are on the short list.
09:30:58 We were in the top 4 for the GE relocation.
09:31:02 So we have become -- we are not going to get them all, but I
09:31:08 can tell you that we will get our share.
09:31:10 And I couldn't be more excited about that.
09:31:12 Next slide.
09:31:14 Obviously, Google fiber has found us.
09:31:19 We are working through that process right now.
09:31:21 We have been at this for about nine months, creating the
09:31:26 framework for which they can operate.
09:31:28 Our staff has been amazing in terms of facilitating that
09:31:31 process.
09:31:32 Up guys have been supportive.
09:31:33 You have some votes coming up shortly on some of the
09:31:36 agreements and some of the franchise agreements.
09:31:41 Google fiber puts us opt on the map in ways that we can't
09:31:45 even imagine at this point.
09:31:46 The fact they looked it up and Jacksonville are the only two
09:31:49 cities in Florida they were contemplating.
09:31:54 I think we are close to realizing that.
09:31:56 But when it's all said and done the fact that we will be
09:31:59 wired with Google fiber, which is about 100 times faster
09:32:03 than existing networks, really makes us more competitive,
09:32:06 and in that technology space will drive a lot of growth.
09:32:10 Next slide.
09:32:13 Johnson and Johnson, another world class company that is
09:32:17 calling Tampa home.
09:32:18 We continue to track those.
09:32:21 Next slide.
09:32:22 But it's not all about corporate growth.
09:32:24 It's about neighborhood support and quality of life.
09:32:27 We, as you know, have been passionate about taking care of
09:32:30 our neighborhoods, particularly our neighborhoods that need
09:32:33 our intervention the most.
09:32:35 We have really emboldened and empowered code enforcement,
09:32:42 some of the concerns that you have raised over the years.
09:32:44 We have added bodies, which is important.
09:32:46 We have added equipment.
09:32:48 We have been very targeted in terms of the neighborhoods
09:32:52 that we are attacking, if you will.
09:32:55 If you look at some of those numbers up there, I think you
09:32:58 will find them to be pretty astounding.
09:33:03 Jake Slater and Rogero everybody really good about what this
09:33:09 mission is about.
09:33:10 80% of compliance for code enforcement.
09:33:13 All of us nobody what you hear more than anything is code.
09:33:19 All of us know that has an impact on quality of life and
09:33:23 those neighborhoods that have neighbors that are not
09:33:25 cooperating or absentee landlords, we have got to be
09:33:28 aggressive about going after them and cleaning up the areas.
09:33:34 We cross trained solid waste employees.
09:33:37 We added heavy additional equipment to remove debris.
09:33:40 It has been a tremendous success.
09:33:43 2015 -- and I know this is near and dear to Councilman
09:33:47 Reddick's heart -- we cleaned up 906 illegal dumping sites.
09:33:54 We know what that means in a community.
09:33:56 We know what people back up that pickup truck in the alley
09:33:59 or vacant lot and dump out old mattresses or refrigerators,
09:34:04 if it's not dealt with immediately it attracts more and more
09:34:06 and becomes a dump.
09:34:07 I see it every day as I'm driving around.
09:34:11 East Tampa in particular has been challenged by folks who
09:34:13 were dumping.
09:34:14 So we made this a priority.
09:34:15 We anticipate in 2016 that we will do 920 illegal dumping
09:34:20 sites that we have cleaned.
09:34:22 In terms of debris that we remove, in 2015, we did almost
09:34:30 two tons of debris.
09:34:34 Actually, we did a lot more than that.
09:34:39 Yes, 200,000 -- 2,000 tons of debris.
09:34:44 That we picked up on alleys and lots that would have stayed
09:34:49 there had we not been out there doing this.
09:34:51 The other project that we are particularly proud of that we
09:34:54 started in the last five years is neighborhood university.
09:34:58 We had five graduating classes.
09:35:01 We are going to build a network of strong neighborhood
09:35:03 access that will be here long after all of us are gone.
09:35:06 It's to empower the next generation of neighborhood
09:35:10 activists.
09:35:11 We have set up a training program.
09:35:13 It has been wildly successful.
09:35:15 I think if you talk to anybody that has been through that,
09:35:17 they will tell you it's one of the most rewarding civic
09:35:21 things that they have done.
09:35:22 Over 190 civic activities have been through the neighborhood
09:35:27 university.
09:35:28 Next slide.
09:35:29 Nehamiah project, Sulphur Springs, an area absent our
09:35:33 intervention.
09:35:34 I think Sulphur Springs was teetering on the verge of chaos
09:35:40 and collapse, and thanks to a lot of our private sector
09:35:44 partners, some of our religious community, from Idlewild
09:35:49 Baptist, from some of the other churches in the Sulphur
09:35:51 Springs area to the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club and the
09:35:55 children's board, all of whom made this a priority, all of
09:35:58 whom put their own parochial views aside and worked
09:36:01 together.
09:36:01 The Sulphur Springs elementary school is going from a K-6 to
09:36:05 a K through 8 to make sure we can track those kids, keep
09:36:09 them in the same neighborhood.
09:36:10 I think this has been an amazing success story in a
09:36:14 collaborative fashion.
09:36:15 We have a small role in it in terms of some of the code
09:36:17 issues.
09:36:20 All of you out here when we launched the Nehemiah project,
09:36:23 we have already demolished 53 basically abandoned houses and
09:36:27 structures.
09:36:29 11 new homes were constructed.
09:36:32 Phase 2 will continue this year, and we will be adding
09:36:37 additional homes with the project.
09:36:40 Next slide.
09:36:41 Something new and dear to council member Montelione's heart.
09:36:46 And this will be her last budget.
09:36:48 So this is our gift to our friends and neighbors in the New
09:36:54 Tampa area.
09:36:55 In the fiscal year 2017 budget, we will be constructing fire
09:37:02 station number 23.
09:37:03 We had acquired the land previously.
09:37:06 The growth in New Tampa is now starting to emerge again.
09:37:11 During the recession it was virtually nothing.
09:37:14 But we recognize now that with the anticipated entitlements
09:37:18 and the demand for housing up in New Tampa, that we needed
09:37:22 to fulfill that obligation, and so we will be building fire
09:37:26 station number 23.
09:37:28 We also have included in future years planning dollars and
09:37:33 construction dollars for fire station number 24 which will
09:37:38 be done.
09:37:38 We have got design dollars in there which will be done as
09:37:41 the growth couldn't to occur.
09:37:43 But fire station 23 will be built.
09:37:47 Next slide.
09:37:52 Another project that all of you should be very, very proud
09:37:54 of.
09:37:54 Many years in the making. This was a commitment that was
09:37:57 made prior to most of us being here.
09:38:05 Mayor a or owe had faith in the community but it was up to
09:38:10 us to get it done.
09:38:11 This is about an 8.7 million project and I am confident in
09:38:14 saying that it is probably the largest investment in the
09:38:18 celebration of Tampa history of African-Americans,
09:38:22 particularly the African-American community on Central
09:38:25 Avenue in the State of Florida.
09:38:29 But for us, this was personal for me.
09:38:33 I knew many of the people that are highlighted on those
09:38:36 walls, and it's an issue and a park that allows the
09:38:44 community to come together again on that common ground, and
09:38:47 to understand and to learn about the contributions of our
09:38:51 African-American forefathers and community citizens that
09:38:56 helped get us where we are today.
09:38:59 They have never been recognized before in this significant a
09:39:03 fashion.
09:39:04 I am couldn't think of a better way to do it from Steve
09:39:08 Banders Sr. to Mr. Harvey.
09:39:11 It is as Mr. Reddick said, at the groundbreaking, an
09:39:15 opportunity for our kids to learn our history, because if
09:39:20 they don't see it, they don't read it, they don't learn it,
09:39:23 they don't appreciate it.
09:39:24 This gives them the opportunity to appreciate the
09:39:26 contributions of our fellow citizens.
09:39:28 And I couldn't be prouder.
09:39:30 This is a cool place.
09:39:31 And we accommodated the skate bowl.
09:39:38 The skaters after they jumped over me when they broke the
09:39:41 ground have moved from where they hated me to now they think
09:39:44 I'm the coolest mayor in America.
09:39:46 So I'll take it.
09:39:48 I'll take it.
09:39:49 Next slide.
09:39:54 Again we are refocusing our historic buildings just like we
09:39:58 did the old federal courthouse, just like we did the water
09:40:01 works building.
09:40:01 This is something that this council was strongly in favor
09:40:06 of.
09:40:06 It was not without its challenges.
09:40:09 I acknowledge that.
09:40:12 It has been rebuilt in years past.
09:40:13 It wasn't done correctly.
09:40:15 It had been shuttered for a number of years.
09:40:18 But thanks to the advocacy of this council, particularly
09:40:22 council member Reddick, we were able to find the money to be
09:40:26 able to do that.
09:40:28 This is a place where council member Miranda grew up, where
09:40:32 he learned to swim.
09:40:35 Not Olympic caliber, but, you know, those water wings were
09:40:40 okay.
09:40:41 (Laughter).
09:40:42 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: I'm going to be in Rio.
09:40:46 Where are you going to be?
09:40:47 (Laughter).
09:40:48 >>YVONNE CAPIN: Not the growing up part.
09:40:55 >> This is the place for along of long time Tampanians, and
09:41:00 many of our ball players came out of this park, Charlie
09:41:04 included, a place where children learned how to swim.
09:41:06 I will tell you, though, these historic pools are difficult
09:41:09 projects to do.
09:41:11 We find that out with the pools, Roy Jenkins on Davis
09:41:17 islands, and this is not an inexpensive project, because of
09:41:19 the nature of it, because it's elevated, above ground.
09:41:24 These kind of pools are prone to leaking.
09:41:26 So we are hopeful -- and we took some extra measures to make
09:41:29 sure that it doesn't, and we were willing to pay for that in
09:41:32 terms of high capacity liners and things like that, that
09:41:35 than we hope that to not occur.
09:41:40 But we are going to open that up in August.
09:41:42 So it's going to be a great time for the kids in that
09:41:46 neighborhood to learn how to swim.
09:41:48 Because I can tell you, far communities of color,
09:41:51 particularly our African-American community, the inability
09:41:53 to swim leads to tragic consequences.
09:41:58 And we need these kids to get in that pool to learn how to
09:42:01 swim, because they will be faced with circumstances down the
09:42:03 road that they may not be able to deal with if they don't
09:42:07 have the opportunity to swim.
09:42:09 We have also added to the budget.
09:42:12 And you will see this a little bit further down the road in
09:42:14 terms of personnel.
09:42:15 We are going to staff this pool six days a week year round.
09:42:19 And we are going to do the same thing at Roy Jenkins pool.
09:42:24 There will be staggered hours, but I didn't want these
09:42:27 pools -- made the investment to put heaters in them, and we
09:42:31 are looking at heaters for Roy Jenkins.
09:42:34 I want this pool to be used a lot.
09:42:36 I want these kids to have access to it year round.
09:42:38 I was willing to put that extra money in here and we are
09:42:41 going to put the extra staff to accommodate it so it can be
09:42:43 six days a week year round.
09:42:45 Staff is not cheap, as you know.
09:42:51 Next slide.
09:42:54 Another great project, Cal Ripken, the iron man, who hold
09:43:00 the record in major league baseball for the most consecutive
09:43:02 games played.
09:43:06 We in conjunction thanks to Greg Bayor with his foundation
09:43:11 has built a world-class baseball, softball, athletic field
09:43:16 in Sulphur Springs at Spring Hill park.
09:43:18 If you haven't seen it, you need to go see it.
09:43:21 It truly is a world class facility in a very tough
09:43:25 neighborhood.
09:43:25 If we can keep kids on the athletic field we can keep them
09:43:31 out of trouble.
09:43:31 So this park -- and you can see Cal Ripken right there --
09:43:35 this park really was a partnership that was well worth it.
09:43:39 I appreciate Greg Bayors having a relationship with Cal rip
09:43:45 Kens to bring it here.
09:43:46 It's going to be one of those legacy type projects that I
09:43:49 hope you are all proud of.
09:43:51 Next slide.
09:43:51 Another similar project that we are involved in to some
09:43:54 degree.
09:43:55 I think this will anchor the redevelopment of the West River
09:43:59 area.
09:44:01 This is the Bryan Glazer family, JCC.
09:44:07 It was the armory at one point, another historic structure
09:44:10 that had been abandoned for many, many years.
09:44:12 The J will be a destination for everybody in the community,
09:44:15 not just the members of our Jewish community.
09:44:17 It will be a place where everyone can come.
09:44:20 They are doing an amazing job out there.
09:44:23 It is going to be the anchor on that end and a place where
09:44:26 the community can gather.
09:44:28 They will have swimming pools we are moving our arts program
09:44:35 in partnership with the J.
09:44:37 It will have a brand new arts studio in that facility.
09:44:40 So that will encourage people to take advantage of it.
09:44:43 We are hiring some additional people to staff it.
09:44:46 But I think it's the kind of partnership.
09:44:48 And this building is being built with state funding.
09:44:51 Obviously with local donations from people like the Glazer
09:44:54 family and Mr. Vinik, as well as city dollars and county
09:44:58 dollars.
09:44:58 So it's a true public-private partnership that will take an
09:45:01 old historic building and repurpose it.
09:45:05 Next slide.
09:45:08 Obviously, Bayshore Boulevard, the most beautiful street in
09:45:11 the State of Florida.
09:45:15 I hear more compliments about Bayshore Boulevard than almost
09:45:18 anything we have done.
09:45:19 People love of what we have done on Bayshore Boulevard.
09:45:22 They are proud of that street, and with the enhancement that
09:45:27 we have made, it really has become, I think, even more
09:45:30 attractive than it already was.
09:45:32 The West River trail, eventually we will have a trail on the
09:45:36 west side of the river that will start at the site of the
09:45:39 old Tribune building, which will in short order be
09:45:43 demolished, and there will be 400 units of residential
09:45:46 there.
09:45:47 That trail will start there.
09:45:49 And I hope eventually on Bayshore, but it will start and
09:45:53 move all the way through Plant Park which we own, which we
09:45:59 have finished the construction on thanks to our partner with
09:46:04 the University of Tampa.
09:46:05 We own the east behind Tampa prep.
09:46:09 The trail will continue through Riverfront Park.
09:46:11 We already have the easement and existing trail behind Blake
09:46:15 high school that has been closed off, and then we have the
09:46:18 easements going all the way up to Rick's on the river.
09:46:22 So wash you see here with hopefully an addition of some, you
09:46:25 know, historic, at veterans, will literally start at the
09:46:31 Tribune building all the way up to Rick's on the river
09:46:34 connecting the side of the river now.
09:46:36 So it's pretty exciting.
09:46:38 All right, now for the nitty gritty.
09:46:40 Next slide.
09:46:41 All right.
09:46:42 This is our budget.
09:46:45 This is where the rubber hits the road.
09:46:50 We have a gross budget of over a billion dollars.
09:46:54 Net budget of $905 million.
09:46:58 You can see how the budget is broken out.
09:47:01 There are really two pots of money which all of you know.
09:47:04 It's important as we talk to a larger audience here that
09:47:07 folks understand some of the constraints that we have.
09:47:11 Two pots of money.
09:47:12 One being enterprise fund.
09:47:14 And that's under the direction of Brad Baird, water, sewer,
09:47:18 wait water, self-sufficient based on rates.
09:47:21 Generally, we set that aside.
09:47:23 We can't use a pot of dollars to pay for personnel and
09:47:30 things like that on the general revenue side.
09:47:33 Enterprise funds represent about $351 million.
09:47:37 The general fund which is generally what we talk about here,
09:47:39 generally where we have the most flexibility and ability to
09:47:43 prioritize nonenterprise funds activities.
09:47:46 General funds includes police, fire, parks, all of the
09:47:50 general government activities.
09:47:52 It is personnel heavy
09:47:54 Because of the nature of what these departments do.
09:47:58 And personnel largely drives this budget.
09:48:01 The more bodies you have, the more money it costs you.
09:48:05 Because you are talking about pension contribution, talking
09:48:08 about health care costs.
09:48:11 It is a budget of city government, any government is driven
09:48:14 largely by its people.
09:48:17 So that's the breakout in the general sense of where we are.
09:48:20 Next slide.
09:48:26 This is the general fund expenditures.
09:48:29 And this is largely where we spend most of our time.
09:48:34 As you can see -- and this has diminished really since -- I
09:48:41 started in 1987 and it was largely the same.
09:48:44 Public safety.
09:48:45 These two gentlemen right here, their departments gobble up
09:48:50 65 percent of our general revenue budget.
09:48:53 Now, that's a good thing.
09:48:55 We want our community safe.
09:48:57 We will deploy the manpower necessary to keep it safe.
09:49:01 When someone calls 911, we want this fireman to have the
09:49:06 tools and capabilities and the manning to be able to
09:49:08 respond.
09:49:08 If you don't have a safe community in every sense of the
09:49:11 word, both on the police and fire side, you can't attract
09:49:15 those kinds much companies of that we saw.
09:49:17 Our crime rate in the City of Tampa in the last decade has
09:49:20 dropped over 60%.
09:49:23 I would submit to you that there are not many cities in this
09:49:27 country that can lay claim to a crime reduction like what we
09:49:32 have experienced here in Tampa under the leadership of Steve
09:49:36 Hogue and Jane Castor and now chief Eric Ward.
09:49:40 That is a real accomplishment and something that we should
09:49:43 be proud of and every neighborhood of our city is safer,
09:49:47 particularly some of our tougher neighborhoods thanks to the
09:49:49 work of TPD and their partners Tampa fire and rescue.
09:49:54 Next slide.
09:49:55 Here we go.
09:49:58 This is what it will look -- what it looked like in 2011
09:50:02 when most of us came here.
09:50:04 As you can see, red is bad.
09:50:06 Blue is good.
09:50:12 That's what Sonya told me when I came here.
09:50:15 Red is bad, blue is good.
09:50:23 2011, you can see that the expenditures far surpass the
09:50:28 revenues.
09:50:30 Each year since then, we have been getting closer and closer
09:50:33 to being able to balance the budget, having revenues meet
09:50:37 expenditures.
09:50:37 2015 was the first year that we were able to pull that off.
09:50:42 Again, bear in mind that we came in here with a $30 million
09:50:45 deficit.
09:50:46 Folks -- and I can't overstate this -- all of us
09:50:51 collectively, we will be lucky in this economy to start a
09:50:54 budget process in the eight years that we will be together
09:50:57 not in a deficit position.
09:51:00 We are not out of the woods yet.
09:51:03 2015 is balanced.
09:51:06 16 is balanced.
09:51:07 17 is balanced.
09:51:08 Moving forward, though, I will tell you that we will have
09:51:11 some challenges.
09:51:12 And we are going to talk about that a little bit later.
09:51:15 But those red lines, meeting the blue line, is a very, very
09:51:20 good thing and we have come a long way over the last five
09:51:22 years.
09:51:23 Next slide.
09:51:24 Millage rates.
09:51:28 I was here the last time we raised it.
09:51:31 Charlie, I think you were, too.
09:51:32 It was 1989.
09:51:34 Mayor Freedman at the time raise it to hire more police
09:51:38 officers.
09:51:39 Raised the millage one mill.
09:51:40 We talked about safe streets.
09:51:42 The millage has not been raised in 29 years.
09:51:46 27 years.
09:51:49 Moving forward, we will be challenged to maintain that
09:51:53 record.
09:51:54 But I think you should be proud -- certainly I am -- that
09:51:57 this is a government that has operated within its means, and
09:52:00 moving forward for the last 27 years has maintained that
09:52:04 millage rate at a consistent level.
09:52:06 Now, people will pay more taxes depending on the valuation
09:52:11 of their home but based on our responsibility that has
09:52:14 remained constant.
09:52:15 I think we are one of only three cities in the State of
09:52:18 Florida that has not raised its millage rate over the last
09:52:22 probably five, six years.
09:52:27 Next slide.
09:52:28 This is where we have been struggling.
09:52:32 If you look at 2007, property tax revenues generated
09:52:37 166.2 million.
09:52:41 2011 when we came to office collectively, most of us, that
09:52:45 has dropped to $112 million, the first budget I put together
09:52:52 we were down to $119.4 million.
09:52:57 There were 700 people less than what we were in 2007.
09:53:02 Mayor Iorio had to make some tough decisions in that 2007,
09:53:07 8, 9 years.
09:53:11 We have been doing the same job better than we have ever
09:53:16 done it before with 700 less people and a net loss of over
09:53:24 $230 million.
09:53:25 From 2007 to where we find ourselves today.
09:53:31 That is an accomplishment and a testimony to the people
09:53:33 behind me.
09:53:36 And it speaks volumes about how much smarter we work, how we
09:53:40 deploy technology, how we deploy our resources, but
09:53:44 ultimately it's a compliment to the folks who get up every
09:53:47 day in this department and this city who go to work with
09:53:51 $230 million less dollars doing the same thing, performing
09:53:57 the same job, and doing it better than we have ever done
09:54:01 before.
09:54:03 Fortunately, things are changing.
09:54:06 Part of the challenge is two fold.
09:54:09 One, much of the growth in the tax base and tax rate has
09:54:15 occurred in our CRA.
09:54:21 Downtown in particular.
09:54:22 Which means that increase in revenue is captured in the TIF
09:54:26 and has to remain in the TIF.
09:54:29 All the buildings that you see downtown and all the new
09:54:31 construction, all of our revenue remains in the TIF and
09:54:34 cannot be used for general obligations, general revenue
09:54:39 obligation.
09:54:39 The other part of that challenge is as a result of save our
09:54:42 homes, while all of us enjoyed a tax reduction as a result
09:54:47 of the values of our homes' decline, there is a 3% cap on
09:54:51 the appreciation.
09:54:53 So even though those values are now climbing back up, and in
09:54:57 some cases we are beyond where we were in 2007, the city can
09:55:01 only recapture a maximum of 3% increase per year.
09:55:05 So it takes up a long time to get from those 2007 numbers
09:55:09 back to where we were -- or we probably will be five years
09:55:14 before we get back to where be we were in 2007 largely
09:55:18 because of our inability to recapture that appreciation.
09:55:21 It makes it very, very difficult for cities and counties and
09:55:27 schools who rely on property tax revenue to fund the bulk of
09:55:31 their activity.
09:55:32 Don't forget that chart.
09:55:34 Next slide.
09:55:37 Our two friends here in uniform, most people find this
09:55:41 amazing when we tell this story.
09:55:43 We generate $153 million in property taxes.
09:55:47 And they always say when I bring this slide up.
09:55:51 They are looking at their shoes right now.
09:55:54 (Laughter)
09:55:58 $153 million of property tax.
09:56:01 Those two departments alone, just those two departments,
09:56:05 cost us $240 million.
09:56:08 So you can see the balancing act that we have to do to fund
09:56:12 all the other departments and work that we do when these two
09:56:16 agencies eat up a large significant sum of our revenues.
09:56:22 Next slide.
09:56:29 Next slide.
09:56:30 All right.
09:56:30 Fund balance.
09:56:31 A critical part of what we are.
09:56:33 One of the reasons that we are so highly regarded by Wall
09:56:36 Street.
09:56:38 And I can tell you that Sonya lives and breathes fund
09:56:43 balance.
09:56:45 Because she knows how important that is to our financial
09:56:47 security and the industry's opinion of our debt.
09:56:53 Obviously Mayor Iorio left us very healthy.
09:56:56 29% fund balance.
09:56:58 That allowed us to get through those next three brutal
09:57:01 years.
09:57:04 City Council was supportive of that.
09:57:06 Not something that we want to engage in on a yearly basis.
09:57:09 We try to avoid it at all cost.
09:57:11 But there was no option.
09:57:12 We had to do that.
09:57:13 But we never dropped below 24% and the Wall Street rating
09:57:17 agency standard for cities and counties is 20%.
09:57:20 And we always maintain a significant cushion, and as a
09:57:26 result of that, you know, our status is really, really
09:57:34 highly regarded, and debt we issue is snapped up almost
09:57:39 immediately.
09:57:39 Fiscal year 17, we are at 23% fund balance.
09:57:42 Again maintaining well beyond the reserves that we need to
09:57:48 continue.
09:57:49 Next slide.
09:57:51 This is another chart that you should be proud of.
09:57:57 This shows how aggressive we have been at keeping our
09:58:01 personnel increases to a minimum.
09:58:04 Remember what I talked about earlier in terms of what drives
09:58:07 our budget.
09:58:09 It's largely personnel costs.
09:58:10 I knew that as the recession started to recede, typically
09:58:14 what government does is sort of a binge purge, in the good
09:58:19 times they load up on people and in the bad times they end
09:58:22 up laying people off.
09:58:23 I knew that we couldn't do that and I was not going to be
09:58:27 supportive of any of those kinds of efforts.
09:58:30 You have heard me tell you -- and Dennis Rogero will attest
09:58:35 to it -- I am renew every new item, every personnel addition
09:58:40 we make has to get approved by me.
09:58:42 Every travel request has to be approved by me, because I
09:58:45 know that incremental creep is what drives these numbers in
09:58:48 the wrong direction.
09:58:50 So our population has continuously to grow.
09:58:53 But our employees numbers have continuously to remain the
09:58:56 same.
09:58:58 And in 2016, we got that employee number down from 43,774
09:59:06 employees in 2012, we got it down to 4,370.
09:59:11 2017 we are adding some additional bodies largely in
09:59:15 departments that generate the revenue that will refund that,
09:59:19 replace it.
09:59:20 Construction services being a great example.
09:59:22 With more permit activity, more construction demand, we need
09:59:26 people to keep pushing those projects through the pipeline.
09:59:30 Also done an amazing job speeding up that process.
09:59:33 They are overworked and we needed more people.
09:59:37 But the good thing is the more permits we issue, the more
09:59:40 revenue we get.
09:59:41 So I can justify that.
09:59:42 We have added some bodies in parks as well to accommodate
09:59:45 the pool hours.
09:59:48 In enterprise funds we have some people, something near and
09:59:54 dear to chief Ford's heart.
09:59:58 We have added bodies, particularly mechanics, to help move
10:00:01 those vehicles of which we have a lot out of the garages and
10:00:06 back out on the streets.
10:00:08 And we have made some significant changes in our fleet
10:00:11 department.
10:00:12 They were desperately needed and long overdue.
10:00:15 And that department is now like solid waste before has now
10:00:20 been cleaned up and fixed.
10:00:22 Well, it's not fixed yet but going to get it fixed, and we
10:00:27 will be a lot more productive than we have been
10:00:29 historically.
10:00:30 Next slide.
10:00:31 All right.
10:00:33 Another good chart for us in comparison to other cities.
10:00:37 We are the blue on the left.
10:00:40 At this point the number of employees per population.
10:00:44 And you will see that we have less employees per population
10:00:47 than almost any city in the State of Florida, and yet we do,
10:00:52 I think, a better job than most of them.
10:00:56 Our employees per thousand residents is 11.8.
10:01:01 Others are at 15.3, 13.8, 12.8, 12.2.
10:01:07 We are the lowest in the State of Florida.
10:01:08 That is a good thing.
10:01:09 That's how we keep our costs down.
10:01:11 Next slide.
10:01:13 General employees pension.
10:01:15 As all of you know, our pensions as public pensions go are
10:01:22 probably in the top one percent in terms of their stability.
10:01:27 It's the longevity of it.
10:01:29 The commitment that we have made to continue to fund it at
10:01:33 100%.
10:01:35 And when the cities take pension holiday and they don't
10:01:38 fund, their pension obligations based on anticipation of the
10:01:42 marketplace doing well, that's how they get into trouble.
10:01:47 That's one.
10:01:47 Reasons Jacksonville's has plummeted probably 35%.
10:01:52 They have multi-billion dollar liability in their pensions
10:01:55 that I don't know how they are going to get out of but it
10:01:58 was because a lot of mayors didn't do the right thing.
10:02:01 So we do the right things.
10:02:03 We have funded it at 100%.
10:02:05 But marketplace instability last year, as well as revised
10:02:14 mortality rates, things that we don't control, we have to
10:02:18 react to them, and we are obligated to live up to our
10:02:22 contributions, but we don't control the marketplace.
10:02:25 It has resulted in an increase in pension contributions to
10:02:29 both general employees as well as police and fire.
10:02:31 They are funded at 92% for GE.
10:02:37 Next slide.
10:02:38 And 93% for F&P.
10:02:41 I would submit to you there aren't too many pensions in the
10:02:44 country that are as well run, as well funded, and as well
10:02:50 invested in the City of Tampa's and you should be proud of
10:02:53 that.
10:02:53 But they are not inexpensive.
10:02:56 When the market goes south, contributions go up as well as
10:03:00 the contributions in F and P of the employees.
10:03:03 I think they are north -- and Steve may correct me -- of 12%
10:03:07 contributions from their paychecks to their pension.
10:03:10 It is a shared pain shared gain scenario.
10:03:14 That's exactly why this is so successful and why it has done
10:03:17 so well and why we were all in this together.
10:03:20 But you will see again those pension contributions are not
10:03:25 inexpensive.
10:03:26 And we have to allocate for that every year.
10:03:29 Next slide.
10:03:32 All right.
10:03:33 Another burden on us as it is on any government, any
10:03:37 household.
10:03:40 Health care costs.
10:03:42 If you look at the blue line, the blue line is bad, the
10:03:46 green line is good.
10:03:47 These are annual health care costs on a national health care
10:03:51 trend which is the blue line.
10:03:53 As you can see, they are going straight up basically.
10:03:58 And what you see is the City of Tampa's health care trend.
10:04:04 And as you can see, we are far below the national health
10:04:08 care trend.
10:04:10 We are managing our costs better than the national average.
10:04:14 There are a couple of reasons for that, one of which is the
10:04:18 clinics that we established in 2011.
10:04:24 Those two wellness centers receive 60,000 visits for our
10:04:28 employees or their dependents.
10:04:31 That's over 7,000 visitors.
10:04:33 Over 45,000 prescriptions have been filled at those centers.
10:04:38 This gives our employees an opportunity to monitor and
10:04:42 manage their own health by providing them these clinics that
10:04:47 hi think have largely led to us being below the national
10:04:50 average in terms of health care costs.
10:04:52 But both lines are still going up.
10:04:56 We are going to have to have some discussion over the next
10:04:59 year about our health care plan.
10:05:01 We are self-funded.
10:05:03 If we get a few bad cases, which we did this year, cases
10:05:08 that are worth millions of dollars, that has a direct impact
10:05:12 on that line right there.
10:05:13 So we are going to have to have a discussion about our
10:05:15 health care costs, about the prioritization, about the costs
10:05:19 associated with it.
10:05:22 It's going to impact our employees to some degree but we
10:05:25 can't continue to run at that rate.
10:05:27 It's be significant, and we need to pay attention to it.
10:05:32 So there is more to come on that front.
10:05:35 Next slide.
10:05:38 These are the medical trend rates for other jurisdictions
10:05:40 around us.
10:05:41 If you see significant lower numbers in the right hand
10:05:44 column, 3.6, 3.9, in all likelihood that is because they are
10:05:49 dipping into their reserves to pay for health care costs.
10:05:52 As you can see, we are below the national medical trend at
10:05:55 7.4.
10:05:56 Medical trend nationally at 8%.
10:06:01 The ones you see there, for example, city of St. Pete 8%
10:06:04 being the national trend.
10:06:05 The premium increase at 3.6.
10:06:07 They are funding that out of somewhere else.
10:06:10 We are trying to pass the true costs on to the folks that
10:06:13 are absolutely using it.
10:06:15 Next slide.
10:06:17 All right.
10:06:18 These are our capital improvement numbers.
10:06:20 I am not going to go through them all but obviously you can
10:06:23 see it's a lot of money.
10:06:24 We have got a lot of improvements.
10:06:25 A lot of deferred maintenance that we have to have do that
10:06:28 we weren't able to do because of the recession that we are
10:06:30 now trying to catch up on.
10:06:32 There's a lot of things in there from the convention center
10:06:35 to water, weight water, transportation, T and I, solid
10:06:40 waste, that we will be prioritizing this year.
10:06:43 Next slide.
10:06:45 Next slide.
10:06:48 This is the chart that I am particularly proud of.
10:06:52 Look at 2003.
10:06:55 There was 2.6 million invested in our neighborhoods.
10:06:58 And look at where we are now in this budget that I am giving
10:07:01 you.
10:07:03 Julian B. Lane, that is a $69.5 million investment in
10:07:09 projects that affect our neighborhoods in every one of your
10:07:12 districts.
10:07:13 Obviously, 34.5% of it is Riverfront Park, but even if you
10:07:18 take that 35 million-dollar out of it, it's a -- without
10:07:23 JBL, you are at about $34.5 million which is $14 million
10:07:29 more than last year's budget, which when I came in in 2012
10:07:33 we were at 12.4.
10:07:35 We have increased it every year moving forward to make sure
10:07:38 that our neighborhoods get the benefits that they deserve,
10:07:42 that we catch up on deferred maintenance that we do new
10:07:45 projects if we are able to, but that we understand that our
10:07:50 neighborhood are where people live.
10:07:51 And downtown is a neighborhood.
10:07:55 We have other needs out there that we have to accommodate.
10:07:58 But if we don't have the growth we can't Don the things we
10:08:00 need to Don to take care of streets in Sulphur Springs in
10:08:03 East Tampa, North Tampa, and Tampa Heights.
10:08:05 Next slide.
10:08:07 These are some of the investments that we will be making.
10:08:11 Obviously fire station 23.
10:08:13 We have got stormwater issue in here, and that stormwater
10:08:16 number is our commitment to what we hope will be a
10:08:24 successful stormwater initiative that you guys will be
10:08:27 dealing with in the not-too-distant future.
10:08:31 Thanks to your input we have revised that plan, and doing
10:08:38 the very best that we can to minimize the impact on the
10:08:41 people that we represent by using other sources of money, 20
10:08:44 million including CIT dollars.
10:08:47 But I can tell you that absent a successful vote on that
10:08:57 plant there is very little stormwater money in this budget.
10:09:00 We need that vote.
10:09:01 We need you guys to do the right thing on that, because our
10:09:04 ability to fix the stormwater problem, not in its
10:09:07 entirety -- we are never going to fix in the its entirety --
10:09:10 but mitigate significantly the impact.
10:09:14 I know it's not cheap.
10:09:15 I recognize that.
10:09:16 I deal with these numbers every day.
10:09:18 But I also see the impact every day of not doing what we
10:09:22 need to do.
10:09:23 It's going to be a courageous vote on your part.
10:09:26 I understand that.
10:09:27 I understand the pushback that you will get from some.
10:09:29 But I would only ask you to look at the long-term of this
10:09:32 community.
10:09:33 We cannot duck tape and patch our stormwater system with
10:09:37 existing revenues.
10:09:38 We have got to have a dedicated revenue source.
10:09:41 And so I would only ask you to, in the quiet of night, as
10:09:48 you think about that decision and that vote, just think
10:09:51 about the long-term impact of this.
10:09:53 And I am confident that you guys will dough the right thing.
10:09:56 Next slide.
10:10:00 Obviously roads are a big part of it.
10:10:02 People accuse us of having every road in the city torn up.
10:10:06 That's not entirely inaccurate.
10:10:09 (Laughter)
10:10:11 But they desperately needed it.
10:10:13 You know, there was a lot of deferred maintenance that
10:10:15 hadn't occurred on our road network.
10:10:17 Resurfacing, potholes.
10:10:21 we, to the extent that we can afford it, are trying to do
10:10:25 the best that we can to fix it.
10:10:27 I recognize it's an inconvenience.
10:10:29 I am on the road every day, always in the city, and I get
10:10:34 it.
10:10:35 But I also understand, like the stormwater issue, we can't
10:10:39 continue to keep our heads in the sand and pretend it
10:10:41 doesn't exist.
10:10:42 We have got to fix our infrastructure.
10:10:44 Next slide.
10:10:49 Next slide.
10:10:50 These are some of the -- and I will go through these pretty
10:10:53 quickly -- these are some but not all the projects in than
10:10:58 each of the respective -- well, this is stormwater capital
10:11:02 improvement plan.
10:11:04 If council votes to approve this, this is where you are
10:11:06 going to see the improvement.
10:11:08 These are projects that your vote will allow us to do.
10:11:11 They are throughout the city.
10:11:14 Obviously some areas of our community have more challenges
10:11:16 than others.
10:11:18 It allows everybody in this community to bear a small burden
10:11:22 to accomplish this.
10:11:24 You can't do it by individual district.
10:11:26 It has to be a community-wide effort.
10:11:29 And we can't look at this, our neighborhood doesn't have
10:11:34 problems so therefore I shouldn't pay.
10:11:36 This is an issue that affects shall.
10:11:38 We drive through.
10:11:39 Our cars get flooded in it.
10:11:41 It doesn't matter what neighborhood you are in.
10:11:43 You are affected by it and we need to find some way to do
10:11:46 something about it.
10:11:47 Next slide.
10:11:49 What you see in the red that is anticipation of a positive
10:11:57 vote.
10:11:57 What you see in the blue is what will happen if there's not
10:12:00 a positive vote.
10:12:03 We don't have the revenues in that stormwater assessment to
10:12:07 do major improvement.
10:12:08 I'm just telling you right now.
10:12:09 We don't have it.
10:12:10 I don't anticipate us having it.
10:12:12 He would literally will be patching old pipes.
10:12:14 Absent a dedicated revenue source.
10:12:17 Next slide.
10:12:18 These are some of the projects.
10:12:21 I know this is hard to see so I will GOP through this
10:12:23 quickly.
10:12:24 In individual single-member districts.
10:12:27 Next slide.
10:12:28 You will have in your packet these projects identified.
10:12:31 This is not the entirety of it.
10:12:35 Some of the more significant ones.
10:12:37 Next slide.
10:12:38 Next slide.
10:12:40 Next slide.
10:12:43 All right.
10:12:44 Enterprise fund.
10:12:45 We will go through this quickly.
10:12:47 Obviously very stable.
10:12:48 Very well-run.
10:12:50 Great leadership in each of the departments.
10:12:54 A lot of work getting done out here.
10:12:57 Water, weight water, solid waste, parking, parking is
10:13:00 healthy, unlike a number of years ago where it was
10:13:04 hemorrhaging.
10:13:05 Parking has gotten much better moving forward.
10:13:09 Next slide.
10:13:14 Of this is one of the things that I, Sonya, Mike Perry, some
10:13:18 of the folks in the first two or three rows, are really
10:13:22 proud of.
10:13:24 In spite of the worst recession since the great depression,
10:13:28 in spite of the fact that we started this journey together
10:13:33 $30 million in the hole, in spite of the fact that those
10:13:38 unemployment numbers were what they were, and the
10:13:40 devaluation of our property was what it was, your city has
10:13:46 received eight rating upgrades since 2011.
10:13:52 I don't know of a jurisdiction certainly around here,
10:13:55 perhaps in the state, that can lay claim to 8 upgrades of
10:14:01 our credit rating like we can.
10:14:06 We are in good financial position in terms of Wall Street.
10:14:10 They recognize that.
10:14:11 They recognize the leadership of the people you see behind
10:14:15 us.
10:14:15 They recognize that we have made the tough decisions in
10:14:18 order to make sure that we were stable, that we were
10:14:21 financially solid.
10:14:23 Those rating increases, like your own personal credit
10:14:26 rating, means that you can buy more because your credit
10:14:31 rating is better and you are paying less of an interest
10:14:34 rate.
10:14:34 When we go to the markets to float debt, we get that debt at
10:14:38 a lower rate because this slide that you see right here.
10:14:46 That is a very, very complicated but very, very positive
10:14:49 thing for this city.
10:14:51 And you guys should be really, really proud.
10:14:54 Next slide.
10:14:58 So as we wrap this up, these are what we set out to do every
10:15:01 year in terms of the larger parameters and framework for how
10:15:08 this government works.
10:15:09 These are our goals and our missions.
10:15:12 This is how we wrap this up.
10:15:18 Always try to think of these main goals.
10:15:24 We have a number in this budget, as all of you know, we are
10:15:27 in the mid of negotiating with our three bargaining units,
10:15:31 the ATU, local 754, International association of
10:15:36 firefighters, and the PBA.
10:15:40 All of their leadership is here.
10:15:43 They have been great partners with us moving forward.
10:15:45 We started that negotiations as all of you know, when I
10:15:49 first came in, we did a three-year deal because I wanted to
10:15:53 give them the certainty of what the future looked like, and
10:15:56 we gave our employees a deal that in spite of all of those
10:16:01 things that we were dealing with, I think reflective of the
10:16:05 value that we hold them in, and the appreciation for what
10:16:08 they do.
10:16:10 We can never do enough for them.
10:16:13 But we do what we can with the resources that we have.
10:16:16 The number that is in this budget literally is a placeholder
10:16:20 because we will be going through this problem sees for the
10:16:22 next couple weeks with our bargaining units.
10:16:27 It has been open.
10:16:28 I don't hide anything.
10:16:30 And I hope that they will tell you that we start this with
10:16:33 basically -- this is what we have, folks.
10:16:37 I don't have secret account, you don't have to hire a
10:16:43 forensic accountant to be see what we have.
10:16:46 I think it's good for all of us because we get a perspective
10:16:51 briefly for what it's like to sit in my chair and have to
10:16:53 balance all of these competing needs.
10:16:55 Sole we will be negotiating with them over the next couple
10:16:58 of weeks, and come to you as a council.
10:17:02 There will be hurdles.
10:17:04 That's just part of the negotiating process.
10:17:07 I will do for them what I can.
10:17:10 But what I can't do I will tell them.
10:17:12 And I will tell them why I can't do it.
10:17:14 And I can't put us at financial risk moving forward because
10:17:19 that would be fiscally irresponsible.
10:17:22 But I absolutely will do for the men and women that serve us
10:17:26 and serve this community everything that I possibly can
10:17:29 within what I have.
10:17:33 I am now turning this over to you guys.
10:17:36 I have talked way too long.
10:17:39 It has been -- it's a complicated process.
10:17:42 As all of you know, this budget is balanced.
10:17:47 But it wasn't easy getting there.
10:17:49 This has been the toughest budget that we have had over the
10:17:52 last five years in terms of all of the low hanging fruit has
10:17:58 been picked.
10:17:58 I mean, we have dug through every account.
10:18:01 We have eliminated every unfilled position.
10:18:04 We have moved money around.
10:18:06 We have done everything we possibly could to get to this
10:18:10 point.
10:18:13 There is little fat in this budget.
10:18:15 I can tell you moving forward, in spite of the fact that the
10:18:19 economy is doing better, in spite of the fact that the
10:18:21 construction industry is doing better, we will have
10:18:25 challenges.
10:18:26 Whether it's health care costs, whether it's pension
10:18:28 contributions, whether it's the payroll package that we put
10:18:32 together, we are not out of the woods yet.
10:18:35 And I don't want to leave this city three years from now in
10:18:42 a position that whoever follows me and whoever follows a lot
10:18:45 of you will really have to make much tougher decisions than
10:18:50 we have had to make over the last five years.
10:18:53 That is not something that I would prefer to do, and I will
10:18:56 do everything I can to avoid that.
10:18:57 But I can tell you that if you pluck something out of this
10:19:01 budget it's going to affect something else somewhere else.
10:19:05 And so the council has been very supportive of what we have
10:19:09 done for the last five years.
10:19:11 You know, you have made some suggestions or some additions.
10:19:14 But this is an very tightly woven budget.
10:19:18 And moving things are going to affect other things.
10:19:20 There is no fat here, no additional money we parked
10:19:23 somewhere that we can plug in.
10:19:25 So as I turn this over to you, I would urge you to look at
10:19:29 it in the context of that, because we don't have much room.
10:19:33 We really do not have much room.
10:19:36 The budget is balanced.
10:19:39 Depending on the union negotiations.
10:19:41 We may have to come back to you for a budget allocation that
10:19:44 is entirely within the realm of possibilities.
10:19:46 But I would hope that as we move forward that we can
10:19:50 continue with all the great things that we have done.
10:19:54 These are exciting times for our community.
10:19:56 And so as I wrap this up, I would be remiss if I didn't
10:20:01 thank the folks that are sitting right here behind me. This
10:20:04 is a year in the making.
10:20:06 I mean, we start this problem sees after you adopt the
10:20:10 budget on September 31st for the next year. This is a
10:20:16 constant process for our revenue and finance people.
10:20:18 They do amazing work.
10:20:19 The amount of detail that's involved in pulling all of this
10:20:22 together, all the scenarios, and the things that we have to
10:20:24 do to get this done, couldn't happen without our amazing
10:20:29 staff.
10:20:29 What I would like to do first and foremost is recognize our
10:20:32 revenue and finance staff led by the ever-capable Sonya
10:20:36 Little.
10:20:36 Would you all stand up?
10:20:39 [ Applause ]
10:20:40 These people do an amazing job.
10:20:56 They do an amazing job to get us to this point.
10:20:58 I would put them up against any revenue and finance
10:21:01 department in the country.
10:21:02 And I would have no problem telling them that we are the
10:21:08 best.
10:21:08 So thank you to all of you for making this happen.
10:21:11 Then the other part of this equation is all the other folks
10:21:14 that are here today that serve you, serve this community.
10:21:19 We have had a great team in place for five years.
10:21:21 The vast majority of them were here when I got here and have
10:21:24 stayed with me through the duration.
10:21:26 I couldn't do what I do without them.
10:21:29 So with all the rest of the city folks, stand up, take a
10:21:35 bow.
10:21:35 [ Applause ]
10:21:38 That being said, council members, colleagues, the budget is
10:21:47 yours.
10:21:49 Thank you for the indulgence.
10:21:52 I appreciate all that we have accomplished together.
10:21:54 I can tell you this, that when we leave here, this will be a
10:21:58 different city.
10:21:58 And all of you should be proud of what you have done to help
10:22:02 make it that way.
10:22:02 Councilwoman Montelione, good luck to you.
10:22:05 We have enjoyed having you here for five years and the
10:22:08 contributions that you have made.
10:22:11 All the best, and to whoever fills your seat this fall,
10:22:15 let's train them up, right?
10:22:19 >>MIKE SUAREZ: She still has a few more months, Mr. Mayor.
10:22:21 >> I know.
10:22:22 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Thank you for the budget presentation.
10:22:24 Mr. Miranda had a comment to make.
10:22:25 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Mr. Mayor, thank you for your
10:22:28 presentation.
10:22:29 Thanks to all of your staff.
10:22:30 There's a couple of things today.
10:22:32 There are three new words.
10:22:33 Next slide please. You did very well.
10:22:38 Then there are rumors that I have to dispel.
10:22:40 Every time I turn on the TV or read the newspaper it says
10:22:43 you are going to maybe run for another office and that you
10:22:46 may be appointed to some person if that person gets elected
10:22:49 president.
10:22:49 And then now you just said that you are going to finish your
10:22:52 term the next three years.
10:22:53 Which one is it?
10:22:55 (Laughter)
10:22:59 >> Wow.
10:23:00 >> They are just rumors.
10:23:01 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA: Those are rumors, Mr. Mayor.
10:23:06 I hate to put you in the hot seat.
10:23:08 I know you have other things -- (Laughter)
10:23:12 >> Whatever it is, Mr. Miranda, it will be huge!
10:23:19 (Laughter)
10:23:19 >> Charlie Miranda: Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
10:23:31 >>MIKE SUAREZ: Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our
10:23:35 special call meeting for the budget.
10:23:36 We are going to take a five-minute recess so that we can
10:23:39 reset for our CRA meeting.
10:23:41 Those folks here for CRA, please be patient.
10:23:43 We will be back in five minutes.
10:23:44 Thank you.
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