By unanimous vote, Bradenton Beach commissioners passed the 2021-22 fiscal year budget — $3,631,757 in spending — Sept. 16.
The 2020-21 spending plan was $2,085,629.
The new fiscal year starts Oct. 1 and includes a tax hike with the millage rate at 2.3329 for at least a fourth year. That rate is a 4.83% increase over the 2.2254 rollback rate.
Millage, the number of dollars taxed per $1,000 of property value determines a property owner’s ad valorem tax for a year.
At 2.3329 mills, the ad valorem tax for a $500,000 property would be about $1,166.
The rollback rate represents the rate at which the city would collect the same amount of ad valorem revenue for the next fiscal year as it did this year.
At the 2.2254 rollback rate, the owner of the property valued at $500,000 would pay about $1,112 in ad valorem taxes.
Treasurer Shayne Thompson reported an additional $953 in revenue was reported from Manatee County in the week between the first reading of the budget Sept. 9 and its adoption Sept. 15, and was the only change.
Before voting to accept the budget as presented, Commissioner Jan Vosburgh said, “I would like to challenge the commissioners and the city to try really hard to lower the mill rate for next year since we have all these wonderful party houses that are paying a lot of taxes that we should work to try to lower the taxes of Bradenton Beach.”
The 2021-22 budget includes a 5% pay increase for city employees.
A budget also was adopted for the community redevelopment agency, the special district bordered by Cortez Road, Sarasota Bay, Fifth Street South and the Gulf of Mexico. The CRA promotes restoration, growth and tourism for the district by funding capital improvement projects with incremental tax revenue collected by Manatee County since 1992, when the area was declared blighted.
The CRA total revenue for the next fiscal year is $1,413,402 and total expenditures amount is $2,455,627. Expenditures include a funding increase of $40,000 for holiday decorations and a share of a 5% bump in salaries for city employees.
The bulk of the CRA money will be spent on capital projects, including living shoreline work, resiliency, arts and culture, beautification, finger docks at the Historic Bridge Street Pier, buried utilities, streetlights, pavers, landscaping and a tram path.
CRA revenues come from a variety of sources, including concession funds, state appropriations, interest income and the bulk of the money from the shared revenue generated by property taxes, including from the city and the county, with the county contribution for fiscal 2021-22 projected at $537,849.
The CRA budget meeting was about 11 minutes.
The budget meeting was about 13 minutes, including a comment from a visitor from Fort Myers Beach regarding the city’s floating and dinghy docks and how they compare to those in other cities.
Improvements to finger and dinghy docks are included in the CRA budget, with matching funding coming from Manatee County tourist tax, collected as part of the 5% tax on accommodations of six months.
Mayor John Chappie thanked the man for his comment and called for the vote to adopt the budget.
BB Y-to-Y budget
2021-22 proposed budget 2020-21 budget
Expenditures: $3,631,757 $2,085,629
Revenues: $4,187,065 $3,230,760
Reserves: $120,268 $1,145,131
Millage rate: 2.3329 2.3329
Rollback rate: 2.2254
Property value: $726,194,243 $690,318,688
Tingley Library: $46,532 $21,394
— Amy Moriarty