Fiscal 2023-24 is here and the city of Holmes Beach’s financial ducks are in a row.
City commissioners unanimously voted Sept. 26 to adopt a $25,121,957 budget and 2.05 millage rate during a second public hearing on the spending plan for the new fiscal year, which began Oct. 1.
The motion to adopt the budget included one change: to move $152,587 from the municipality’s restricted reserves into its unrestricted reserves to maintain financial flexibility and a safety net in case of catastrophic storms.
The adopted 2.05 millage rate is a reduction from the city’s previous 2.07 rate in fiscal 2022-23 and the 2.0677 rate initially proposed for this year. It matches the city of Anna Maria’s millage rate as the lowest on the island.
But the decrease in percentage is a tax hike for property owners, who have seen their property values increase.
In order to avoid a tax increase, the commission had to adopt a 1.8273 rollback rate, which would have raised the same ad valorem income as the city collected last year.
The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 of property value used to calculate property taxes. The owner of a property appraised at $500,000 with a 2.05 millage rate will pay $1,025 in property taxes.
If the city adopted its previous 2.07 rate, the owner of a property appraised at $500,000 would have paid $1,035 in ad valorem taxes.
While this year’s millage rate is lower than last year’s, the city will generate $697,087 more in ad valorem revenue than it did last year due to a $398,848,826 increase in total taxable property value.
The owner of a property appraised at $500,000 would have paid $913.65 under the rollback rate — 10.86% less than the adopted rate.
Commissioner Terry Schaefer said the city nevertheless has reduced the millage rate twice over the past two years, dropping it from 2.15 to 2.07 last year and 2.07 to 2.05 this year.
Commissioner Dan Diggins moved to adopt the 2.05 millage rate for fiscal 2023-24.
Schaefer seconded the motion, which passed.
No one spoke during public comment on the millage rate.
Spending plan
The adopted 2023-24 budget is $314,285 smaller than last year’s $25,436,242 spending plan.
The decrease is due to small drops in projected building permit revenue, vacation rental certification revenue and Manatee County concession income.
The biggest decrease is a $2,128,977 drop in capital outlay expenses, which were inflated last year due to the municipality’s $3,001,460.85 roadway improvement project.
The city also will spend $472,085 less on the Holmes Beach Police Department this year, down to $4,633,257, due to a drop in capital outlay expenses.
Another savings is the removal of a $100,000 algae skimmer vessel proposed by the city’s clean water committee to mitigate algae blooms in municipal canals in waterways.
Ron Huibers, chair of the committee, spoke during public comment to request that funding be added back into the budget.
He questioned why the city was funding the $195,000 purchase of a street sweeper instead of an algae skimmer vessel that costs less than $90,000.
Schaefer, the commission’s liaison to the CWC, told Huibers that the city could still allocate unrestricted reserves to purchase an algae skimmer vessel.
Nevertheless, he said the city still needed to identify and test equipment to find the right fit, as well as seek potential grant funding, before making a purchase.
“I don’t think there’s any disagreement that we need to address it,” Schaefer said. “We’re looking for the most expeditious and fair way to test it and to pay for it. Ultimately, if we have to pay for it, we can move reserves to do so.”
Mayor Judy Titsworth added that the street sweeper would help the city meet requirements for funding from the Southwest Florida Water Management District.
City treasurer Cindy Dunham-Tozer recommended they approve the budget with one change: moving $152,587 from the city’s restricted reserves to its unrestricted reserves.
Dunham-Tozer said the change will bring the city’s unrestricted reserves to $4,127,348, which meets the state standard for having at least 25% of the city’s operating budget available in unrestricted reserves.
The city will still have $3 million in restricted reserves for fiscal 2023-24.
Commissioner Pat Morton moved to adopt the budget, with the recommended change.
Commissioner Greg Kerchner seconded the motion, which passed.
City officials thanked Dunham-Tozer for her work on the municipal budget and the millage reduction.
The commission will meet next at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
A livestream of the meeting can be found on the city’s website, holmesbeachfl.org.
Into the numbers…
2022-23 adopted budget
Taxable property value: $2,770,184,718
Ad valorem revenue: $5,475,606
Budget: $25,436,242
Fund carryover and reserves: $12,695,699
2023-24 adopted budget
Taxable property value: $3,169,033,544
Ad valorem revenue: $6,172,693
Budget: $25,121,957
Fund carryover and reserves: $10,960,076
— Ryan Paice