Summer temperatures are rising and so it appears are Bradenton Beach property taxes.
In less than 18 minutes July 15, Bradenton Beach city commissioners gave their nod the city’s proposed 2016-17 budget with a 3-2 vote.
Mayor Bill Shearon and Commissioner Jan Vosburgh were opposed.
Shearon said he was “disappointed” with the quick decision.
Vosburgh attended via Skype and was unavailable for comment after the meeting.
“We didn’t discuss anything,” Shearon said. “The budget was approved without any conversation or discussion.”
As it stands, the city is expected to retain it’s 2015-16 2.33 ad valorem millage rate, which leaves the budget with a $205,827 deficit.
The millage rate will be decided upon at a noon meeting July 21 at city hall.
The July 15 meeting’s agenda called for the commission to go through the proposed budget line-by-line, but before the five members could begin their review, Vosburgh and Shearon both said they wanted to discuss a budgeted employees salary increase.
During pre-budget meetings in June, the city’s department heads — Police Chief Sam Speciale, building official Steve Gilbert, public works manager Tom Woodard and city clerk Terri Sanclemente — requested an 8 percent salary increase for their respective departments.
Commissioners agreed a pay raise was merited, but didn’t decide on whether to grant the 8 percent requested or adjust salary base for city employees up 5 percent.
At the time, Vosburgh said she felt 5 percent was more than adequate. The mayor agreed a pay raise was needed, but he wanted to hire a consultant to review and compare the city’s pay rates before making a decision.
Commissioners Ralph Cole and Jake Spooner and Vice Mayor Ed Straight said they felt an 8 percent raise was fair on the grounds that city employees hadn’t been adequately compensated in the past few budgets.
Staff received a 3 percent pay increase in the current budget.
An 8 percent salary increase would add approximately $80,000 to the city’s expenditures. A 5 percent raise would amount to almost $60,000. It wasn’t clear if those numbers reflect the cost of employee’s benefits, which include insurance for the employee, spouse and family.
At 12 minutes into the July 15 meeting, Cole motioned to approve the 2016-17 spending plan with the 8 percent pay increase.
Vosburgh and Shearon wanted to continue the discussion, but Spooner seconded Cole’s motion and the vote was called.
Living on credit cards
After the meeting, Cole said he had complete faith and confidence in the staff that created the budget. “We already discussed everything in the June meetings,” he said. “There was no need to go back over everything.”
Shearon disagreed. “Last year we were $184,000 in the red and had to pull from the city’s reserves,” he said. “This year it looks like we’re going to have to do the same.”
He also said the city’s been doing this for years. “I won’t be part of a deficit budget. I’ll do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t happen,” Shearon said.
Shearon said the 2016-17 budget also doesn’t account for several items, including replacing the air conditioner for the Historic Bridge Street Pier restaurant and replacing the day dock, also at the pier.
The commission approved June 2 spending up to $70,000 to replace the AC unit at the restaurant. The current unit is still operational but it’s feared it may fail during the next few months.
The day dock replacement is estimated to cost $130,000. The floating dock was damaged June 6 and could be demolished by another storm.
“That’s $200,000 unbudgeted,” Shearon said.
Police Chief Sam Speciale also asked the city to budget $70,000 for a study that would be required to convert the anchorage area south of the pier to a mooring field, which he believes, as head of the city pier team, would help avoid future damages.
The 2015-16 budget called for the city to take $186,519 from its reserves to pay for expenditures. But the city also has unbudgeted funds — the windfall payments resulting from the construction of its cell tower and from the BP oil spill settlement.
“That money’s gone,” Shearon said. “People keep thinking it’s there and we can dip into it, but we’ve dipped too much and its already been spent.”
When asked if he anticipates the city will raise its millage to cover costs, Shearon shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Property values, millage
The approved 2016-17 expenses assume the city will repeat the ad valorem rate of 2.33 mills.
It results in increased taxes for property owners.
In order to avoid a tax increase, commissioners will need to adopt the $2.14 rollback rate — the rate needed to produce the same revenue as the current year. Anything above the rollback rate is a tax increase.
Millage is used to calculate the amount of property tax per $1,000 of assessed value.
At the 2015-16 millage rate of $2.33, a $600,000 property will be taxed $1,398.
According the Manatee County Property Appraiser’s pre-tax roll, published June 24, the city’s taxable value increased 9.25 percent, up from $539,703,922 to $585,590,631 — excluding exemptions.
The 9.25 percent value increase means last year’s $600,000 property is now worth approximately $664,864. If the city decides to adopt the 2.33 ad valorem rate for the 2016-17 fiscal year, that property owner’s tax will rise to $1,549.12.
Assigning the ad valorem rate from 2015-16 to the future budget would result in a revenue increase of $120,127 for the city.
“That’s if everyone pays,” Shearon said. “We only get what the county gives us. If someone doesn’t pay their taxes then the city doesn’t get the revenue.”
The commission is expected to determine the millage rate at their meeting at noon Thursday, July 21, at Bradenton Beach City Hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.
The deadline to get the millage rate to the Manatee County Tax Collector is Aug. 4.
The budget is expected to be adopted by ordinance in September.
Bradenton Beach 2016-17 budget
Total proposed expenditures: $3,080,738
Total proposed revenues: $2,874,911
Proposed reserve spending: $205,827
Proposed millage rate: 2.33
Rollback rate: 2.14
Percentage of tax increase: 9.18
Total assessed property value: $510,995,936
2015-16 budget
Budget expenditures: $3,000,855
Budget revenues: $2,814,336
Reserve spending: $186,519
Millage rate: 2.33
Rollback rate: 2.15
Assessed property value: $467,736,000