Lake City Report - May 14, 2010
This
week
city budget planning tops the list
Columbia County, FL (Posted May 15, 2010 04:15 am)
by City Manager Wendell Johnson and
staff
From City Manager Wendell Johnson
The
City Budget
City Manager Johnson:
I encourage the public to attend all budget
workshops and city council meetings. We have
staff available to answer your questions and
Lake City values your contribution.
The FY2010-11 Budget Workshop process
continues at 5:30 pm this Monday night. In
contrast to the previous meetings, this workshop
will spotlight the potential financial impacts
resulting from the further decline of General
Fund revenues.
The Staff provided the Council with a
preliminary General Fund revenue projection
report for FY 2011. Based on the report, General
Fund revenue will be approximately $1,500,000
less than the current year. This
projection does not include any transfers from
the City reserves ($793,251) which was required
during FY 2010,
The City will benefit tremendously from
$2,000,000 in general fund bond proceeds which
will subsidize capital equipment and project
needs for the coming budget year. This will
allow greater flexibility in the application of
General Fund operational and maintenance needs.
Introduced during the first two Council
workshops, the Staff will offer the following
budget enhancement initiatives for Council
consideration:
• Inventory
and identify City owned property that is surplus
to the needs of and/or under utilized. Convert
such property to private ownership where
possible.
• Implement the vehicle leasing program (5-year
cycle) to reduce annual operating and
maintenance costs and to improve the image of
the City’s overall fleet.
• Sale of surplus vehicles and equipment.
• Implement Residential Stormwater Utility Fee
to fund capital improvement needs. The fees will
be used to create a Stormwater Utility
Enterprise Fund which will enhance the Public
Works General Fund Budget.
• Eliminate/Reduce grant expenditures.
• Eliminate overtime other than in emergency
and/or life-threatening situations and offer
comp time in lieu of.
• Continue a hiring freeze other than for public
safety and other key positions as determined by
the City Manager.
• Require all employees to take furlough days
during the budget year 2011 or eliminate pay for
some holidays.
• Consider Health Insurance “Opt Out” program
for eligible employees.
North Florida Broadband Authority (NFBA)
The NFBA met this week at the Suwannee Water
Management District Office in Live Oak. The
planning for the $30 million NFBA Broadband
Grant continues. When construction is completed,
there will be high-speed internet connectivity
for the 14-county region, which includes
Columbia County and Lake City.
The notable action this week was the
distribution of the “Notice of Intent Resolution
Committing in Kind Assets to the NFBA.”
Lake City provided intent to commit
rights of use and access to Towers and Elevated
Tanks to NFBA for use in its broadband network.
By adopting the resolution, the City is
continuing its commitment and participation in
the NFBA and will realize the benefits of
broadband “Middle Mile” infrastructure to serve
the community.
The City Staff Report is available in pdf format
here.