Tampa City Council
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
5:01 p.m. session
Budget hearing
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[Sounding gavel]
17:04:01 >> We are going to call the budget meeting to order.
Roll call.
17:04:08 >>LINDA SAUL-SENA:
Here.
17:04:09 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Here.
17:04:11 >>JOHN DINGFELDER:
Here.
17:04:13 >>MARY MULHERN:
Here.
17:04:14 >>JOSEPH P. CAETANO:
Here.
17:04:14 >>GWEN MILLER:
Here.
17:04:16 >>GWEN MILLER:
We need to open the public hearing.
17:04:19 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
So moved.
17:04:20 >> Second.
(Motion carried).
17:04:20 >>CHAIRMAN:
Mr. Dingfelder?
17:04:24 >>JOHN DINGFELDER:
It's my honor to serve you as your
finance chair this year, and according to that, we are
having the first public hearing, City of Tampa fiscal
year 2008 budget.
This is the first public hearing for the City of Tampa
fiscal year 2008 budget.
The proposed millage rate is 5.7326 mills which is 5%
less than the rollback millage rate of 6.0343 mills.
Property tax funds are used to support the general
fund, operating budget of the City of Tampa.
This fund includes such departments as fire, rescue --
fire-rescue and police, human resources, parks and
recreation, and public works.
Thank you, Madam Chair.
17:05:07 >>GWEN MILLER:
We now turn it over to Ms. Bonnie Wise.
17:05:14 >>BONNIE WISE:
Director of revenue and finance.
I am going to go through a very brief presentation
this evening.
As you know, on August 9th, I went through the
entire budget presentation, and this is going to be a
much abridged version.
The theme of this year's budget is providing quality
services, this of course is the first public hearing,
and the second one will be two weeks from tomorrow on
September 19th.
The City of Tampa budget for fiscal year '08 is
proposed to be $761 million, that is $415 million of
tax operating fund, enterprise funds of 250 million,
and general service and other funds of 31 million and
bond funds of 65 million.
You can see there that the biggest change from fiscal
year '07 that we are currently in is the new bond fund
area and that relates predominantly to two things.
First is the community tax bonds issued in 2006, and
that is $17 million.
That particular bond issue.
And we are appropriating those bond funds in the
coming fiscal year '08.
And city wastewater bond, and so we have that bond
issue with 36 million, and we are appropriating much
of that particular bond issue in this coming fiscal
year as well.
You can see overall the total of a 5% increase.
Our internal service and other funds includes
department funds such as utility accounting,
self-insuring, grant funds including CDBG and whatnot,
and fleet maintenance.
Our top operating funds I'm going to go through more
specifically, that does include the general fund,
utility tax fund, guaranteed entitlement, storm water,
et cetera.
This is a pie chart of our tax operating fund, as I
mentioned before, $415 million.
You can see specific categories here.
This is State of Florida chart of accounts that we are
required to follow, and that way they can compare
government to government.
You can see that almost half of our tax operating
funds goes to the area of public safety.
Next to parks and recreation, another $55 million,
central government, 46 million, CIT, CIT vehicles of
54 million, debt service 20 million, public works 42
million.
As I mentioned almost 200 million.
That would be $198 million in the public safety
category.
As councilman Dingfelder previously mentioned, the
millage rate is proposed to go from 6.408 mills to
5.7326 mills, this is pursuant to the legislative
action that occurred in June.
We are required now to roll back the millage rate to
what's called the mandated rollback millage rate, and
then the City of Tampa, within the category to further
reduce an additional 5%.
So that is how we got to that 5.7326 mills.
5.7326.
When we talked last time and I gave the full
presentation, we talked about how our millage rate
will change going forward, and this is a summary of
how that millage rate will change.
For fiscal year '09 we will once again have to
rollback to the '08 millage rate levels.
However there will be increases allowed for new
construction, the Florida personal index, CRA
increases.
There is also out there the super homestead exemption
referendum, which will be held January 29th, 2008.
So that is something that is pending.
These are our tax operating revenues.
115 million.
You can see the largest part is property taxes of $162
million.
Last year, the year that we are currently in, fiscal
year '07, was 164.3 million.
We have season charges of 63 million, sales tax of 30
million, communications services, franchise fees,
utility taxes 80 million and other revenues and taxes
of 80 million.
The other revenues include items such as CIT, local
action gas tax, state revenue sharing, and other
transfers and fund balance.
This is a summary of the property valuations in the
City of Tampa over time since 2004, and you can see
this year we are now at 29.62 billion.
It's almost a 10% increase in property values from the
prior fiscal year.
And this year we did have a very large increase in net
new construction, about 27% increase, to $803 million
in new construction.
And this does account for approximately 30% of the
total property valuation growth from '07.
And here is a summary of the property taxes.
As I mentioned, budgeted for this coming fiscal year
'08, $161.6.
Last year being 164.3.
This is a decrease of 1.6%.
This is a chart showing the city's contribution into
the CRA.
So you can see over time how our contribution has been
increasing.
So fiscal year '07, of the $164.3 million we collected
in property taxes, the city paid $12.3 million of that
into the CRA.
This year, of our 161.6, we will pay into
$13.8 million.
So you can see even though there was a decline in the
millage rate, the growth in the CRA has been large,
and, therefore, our contribution is increasing.
This is a summary of the city's millage rate over
time.
It had been 6.539.
And then in fiscal year '07 it was reduced to 6.408
and now to the 5.7326.
The city's part of the tax bill that a City of Tampa's
taxpayer would pay is approximately 27% of their bill.
So their trim notice, you see total taxes paid, about
27% of that goes to the City of Tampa.
And there is actually a handout that we have available
for the public demonstrating that.
This is the average home in the City of Tampa. This
is a home that would be a homesteaded property of
$185,000.
Comparing last year's millage rate to the coming
proposed fiscal year '08 millage rate, the difference
in the property tax savings for the City of Tampa
portion would be a little over $108.
I am going to talk a little bit about a few of the
revenue items that I had discussed previously.
This is the history on sales tax revenue.
And you can see that our budget for fiscal year 08 is
actually lower than the budget for fiscal year '07
sales tax.
As you know, the state too is suffering from reduced
sales tax collection, and we are seeing that at the
local level as well.
These are franchise fees, utility and communications
services taxes.
Increasing a little bit, mainly quite stable.
This is a comparison of our property tax revenues that
we are proposing, compared to the budget of both police
and fire department.
We could see property tax revenue of 161.6, but the
police and fire budget, and that includes all their
operating, capital, their facilities, their vehicles,
all their CIP projects, of $193 million.
You can see that property taxes alone do not cover the
budget of police and fire.
Our personnel authorization, as you are aware, has
declined.
We were previously at 5,043 in personnel, now we are
at 4,767, comprising the general fund of 3429 and the
rest to be at 1,338.
The largest department is police department, has 1,324
positions, 992 of those are sworn and 332 are
civilian.
The largest department in the other category is
wastewater.
Wastewater has 376 positions.
Our CIT program, as you know, we are in the third
five-year program of the CIT.
But that takes us from fiscal year '07 to fiscal year
'11.
It is a significant source of revenue capital program
only, not for operating.
So as I mentioned before, the CIT bond issue was for
various parks programs, parks projects, I should say,
but is separate operating money that needs to be, for
example, for funding the programs on an ongoing basis.
Our enterprise funds of approximately $250 million,
almost exactly what we had last year, you can see
wastewater is the largest department at 91 million,
solid waste and water respectively at 70 and 69
million, parking at 16, the other includes marina and
utility accounting.
We have a very large capital improvement program
scheduled for fiscal year '08 and it relates
specifically to those bond programs.
You can see our capital improvement program at $118
million which comprises 65.5 million of bond and 53.2
in operating.
The investing in neighborhood programs continues.
We are pleased it is increasing over time.
And we are now going to be at $6.4 million for this
investing in neighborhood program. Increase in the
sign program 5%, resurfacing 134%, sidewalks 5%,
traffic calming 21%.
As I mentioned, this is the first public hearing.
September 19th there will be another.
And that is when the budget will be officially
adopted.
And I would like to open it up to any questions that
you may have.
17:16:16 >>GWEN MILLER:
Questions from council members?
Mr. Dingfelder?
Is there anyone in the public that would like to speak
on the budget?
17:16:28 >> Al Steenson, 4100 West Leila Avenue, Tampa,
Florida, and I'm here as representing vice-president
of the Gandy civic association.
I have a couple of issues I wanted to address.
However, I have a little handout that I want to just
pass around.
I brought 15 copies.
I don't expect to you read it now, but I think it's
food for thought, one of which is a letter to the
editor that appeared Sunday in the Tampa Tribune and
another one an editorial that appeared yesterday, and
I ask you to take a look at them and read them and see
what these people have to say.
One of the hot buttons, and Mr. Dingfelder will attest
to this, I'm sure, is the city's vehicle replacement
plan.
If I understand correctly, this vehicle replacement
plan was put back in in the Greco administration, and
it's a seven-year vehicle replacement plan.
Now, I think all of us recognize the fact with the
increases in the advances in technology, these
vehicles last more than seven years.
You don't even do the first tune-up on them until they
are 60,000 miles.
Now, I brought this question up to Mr. Lee when we
were having the ribbon cutting at Manhattan, said, I'd
like to set up a program where we replace them when
the warranty runs out.
Well, that's fine.
That's a nice luxury to have, if you can afford it.
Okay.
And I really think we need to examine this.
I get tired of seeing all these fancy 150 XLT pickup
trucks riding around town with fiberglass tops, one
person in them, and I don't know what they are
carrying in them, but I know one thing, it's costing
us a lot of money.
The very day that this administration passed out,
started passing out pink slips, at that council
meeting that day, this council approved, if my math is
correct, over $800,000 in vehicle purchase that is
very same day.
Now, to me, I have got a 1997 Silverado across the
street, has 134,000 miles on it.
Why am I still driving it?
Number one, it runs good.
Number two, I maintain it properly.
Number two it's not in my budget and I don't think all
of these replacement vehicles are in our budget.
The other issue is, and my members are asking me all
the time, what have we done in past when we have got
these windfalls because of increases in the property
valuations?
We have no incentive to be efficient.
If industry ran like we run, we wouldn't be in
business very long because we have to increase our
prices and what happens?
People won't buy their product.
They have to report to their stockholders.
The administration, I think, needs to take better
steps to report to their stockholders, and those
stockholders are us, the taxpayers.
So thank you very much for listening.
17:19:57 >>CHAIRMAN:
Thank you.
Would anyone else like to speak?
Come up.
If you want to speak, please come up.
17:20:08 >> my name is Joanne Milani, Executive Director of the
Florida museum of photographic art.
We were established in 2001 as a nonprofit
institution, and we moved one year ago to downtown
Tampa.
We were on the corner of Tampa and Jackson street,
right down the corner from here.
We offer a full schedule of critically acclaimed -- as
a matter of fact, last season we showed the first
travel exhibitions that national geographic ever put
out, attracted thousands of visitors.
This last Saturday, 80 people came into the museum to
see our exhibition of Florida conservation
photography.
Our membership has grown to 500 members N.two weeks we
are moving next door, our landlord asked to us move
next door because they want that space on the corner.
We are going to have about 3,000 square feet of space,
and, ironically, when the Tampa Museum of Art moves
out at the end of the year, we will be the largest
exhibiting institution for visual arts downtown
because we will have two galleries, and have a full
schedule for those, and we will have a classroom, we
will have expanded museum store, and even more
importantly, we will be helping the Tampa Museum of
Art take care -- we have a partner with them -- 2500
Hillsborough County school children are going to be
coming through our museum for the classes that we
offer.
In addition to that, we also offer free workshops for
at-risk children, by the way.
Seven years ago when we were established in Old Hyde
Park Village we paid no rent at all and the city has
been gracious and has helped us by sponsoring a show
for $15,000 and that really was MANNA from heaven.
Right now our rent is $3900 a month.
So we know that our budget is constrained.
We really would appreciate your consideration.
If not this year than in the future.
Maybe by sponsoring a show, you know, those 2500
school children have to go somewhere, and with shows
like the national geographic, or the Cuba show that's
coming up, that has to go somewhere, because there is
a demand for it.
Even the new downtown residents, and the riverwalk
aficionados, a stone's throw from the riverwalk, they
have to go somewhere.
So we offer what Tampa needs, and we would appreciate
anything you can help us, we would be very grateful.
Thank you.
17:22:53 >>GWEN MILLER:
Thank you.
Would anyone else like to speak?
Questions from council members?
Mr. Dingfelder?
17:22:58 >>JOHN DINGFELDER:
Thank you, Ms. Wise, for your
presentation on the budget.
Bonnie, a question I had relates to the nonprofits.
Overall most of the nonprofits have looked at a 20%
reduction from their prior years' budget that they
receive from the city.
And somebody asked me recently, the city employees
have a check box on their paycheck ifs they want to
designate some money to go to charity.
And I'm wondering if we could look into -- I don't
expect an answer tonight -- if we could look into the
possibility of adding the organizations, the
nonprofits that we do support, officially to our city
budget, if we could add them to the check boxes.
Then that way, some city employees might want to check
that off as a contribution.
That would be some small way that we could help make
up some of the difference.
Can you look into that?
Thank you.
17:24:00 >>GWEN MILLER:
Ms. Saul-Sena?
17:24:02 >>LINDA SAUL-SENA:
Thank you.
I think we have all worked very hard to move toward a
budget that would -- that we can afford.
I'm very concerned that we call ourselves a city of
the arts, which makes me -- which I think is what we
need to be as the center of west central Florida,
without funding it adequately.
We lost the position, we lost the position, we lost a
secretary, and I'm very concerned that we have a firm
staff person in addition to Mr. Corrada, who is
wonderful, but he has many other responsibilities,
too, to oversee cultural programming.
And the sorts of things we need to do. When Mrs.
Milani spoke, it underscored the fact we have never
had an organized, rational process from grant giving,
seems to have development overtime, and we just
continue what we used to do, and if we were going to
be rational and organized about it, we need a better
process, obviously not for this year but for the
future.
And between now and the next budget hearing, and you
and I discussed this when we met with the mayor, I'm
very interested in seeing where we can get the money
for a staff person to oversee cultural programming.
I suggested -- and we had a budget discussion -- that
perhaps when could take $25,000 from each of the three
CRA downtown Channelside and Ybor to spend on
marketing, which is developing cultural programming.
It's something I think we need to do.
And I would very much like in the future to be able to
fund the Florida center for photographic art to the
level in terms of what it contributes to the vitality
of downtown.
17:26:01 >>GWEN MILLER:
Mr. Miranda?
17:26:02 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
I just want to thank the police
department for having a $78,000 reduction in travel,
and that was the greatest sum.
And the second goes to the administration for 7,000.
So out of 100,000, but I was told from travel, if my
numbers are right, 85,000 came from two departments.
However, there are some departments that had a minimal
increase, and I am going to call them personally and
find out why.
And see if we can cut that a little more.
I'm not going to try to curtail any department from
doing any responsibility.
I would just like to think in the future. What do I
say by that?
I don't know what's going to happen January 29th.
And I think we ought to look much further than today,
in today's budget, because if another cut comes, it's
going to be a lot more than what this city just
experienced.
And my heart feels very sad by those individuals that
had to leave that were doing a good job, but, on the
other hand, I understand the process and what's going
on throughout the State of Florida.
The State of Florida themselves didn't cut anything,
now they fall behind because their sales tax revenue
is down 1.9 billion.
One of these entities, their taxes went up.
But I'm not here to talk about another entity of
government.
So what I am saying is, if you think it's tight now,
hold onto your seats.
This jet is going just going to take off and when it
starts to travel, who knows where it's going to land?
Thank you.
17:27:35 >>GWEN MILLER:
Other council members?
17:27:37 >>THOMAS SCOTT:
I want to go back to CRA money.
I don't think legally you can do that.
I don't think -- take $25,000 of CRA and give to the a
staff person of the arts.
So I guess, Margaret, you can look at that but I don't
think legally you can do that.
17:28:00 >>LINDA SAUL-SENA:
We have a meeting coming up on the
15th and I'm sure legal will tell us.
17:28:06 >>GWEN MILLER:
Other questions by council members?
We need to close the public hearing.
17:28:09 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
So moved.
17:28:13 >> Second.
(Motion carried).
17:28:14 >>JOHN DINGFELDER:
17:28:18 >> move an ordinance adopting the budget for the
fiscal year beginning October 1, 2007 and ending
September 30, 2008, as presented by the mayor
providing for levy as provided by law of a tax on all
taxable property in the City of Tampa and fixing the
millage within said city, making appropriations in
accordance with the provisions of said budget,
authorizing and directing the mayor and city clerk as
the proper authorities of the City of Tampa to certify
the property appraiser of Hillsborough County Florida
the millage to be levied for all purposes for the
fiscal year 2008, in the City of Tampa, providing an
effective date.
17:28:53 >>GWEN MILLER:
We have a motion and second.
(Motion carried).
17:28:57 >>GWEN MILLER:
17:28:58 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move to receive and file the
documents that were handed in today.
17:29:01 >>GWEN MILLER:
Motion and second.
(Motion carried)
17:29:08 >>JOHN DINGFELDER:
Bonnie, do we need to do the CIT
now?
17:29:12 >>BONNIE WISE:
Yes, sir.
17:29:13 >>GWEN MILLER:
We need to open.
17:29:15 >> So moved.
17:29:16 >> Second.
(Motion carried).
17:29:16 >>JOHN DINGFELDER:
Is there a presentation on that?
17:29:20 >>GWEN MILLER:
Does the public need to speak on that?
Would anyone in the public like to speak on item
number 2?
17:29:30 >>CHARLIE MIRANDA:
Move to close.
17:29:31 >> second.
(Motion carried).
17:29:33 >>GWEN MILLER:
Any action to take?
17:29:38 >>JOHN DINGFELDER:
The next public hearing for our
budget will be two weeks from tonight.
17:29:42 >>GWEN MILLER:
That's the 14th.
17:29:46 >> I believe that's a Wednesday.
Two weeks.
Two weeks from tomorrow.
17:29:51 >>BONNIE WISE:
Two weeks from tomorrow, Wednesday
evening, 5:00.
17:29:55 >> Okay.
September 14th.
19th?
Okay.
Nothing else coming before council, we stand
adjourned.
(Meeting adjourned)