ProPosed FY 2010/11 Work Plan And Budget - City of Miami Beach

FY 2010/11 Proposed Work Plan and Budget Message
September 10, 2010
Page 2
modest proposed increase in millage, total property tax revenues will still be approximately $18
million below FY 2006/07 levels.
The General Fund has absorbed almost $43 million in recurring reductions and almost 20 percent
of the FY 2009/10 Adopted General Fund budget that is $226 million (and almost $50 million
and 245 positions across all funds. Despite this significant reduction, the City of Miami Beach has
essentially kept services and enhancements that were added through FY 2006/07 to address needs
and priorities identified by the community, despite increases in costs such as pension, living wage
impacts, fuel, and other operating expenses. We have continued to focus on priorities: public
safety, cleanliness, landscaping and beautification, recreation and cultural arts programming,
renewal and replacement funding for our facilities, building/development functions, and structural
changes that enhanced capital funding and reserves, while bringing on line several capital projects
with expanded operations and maintenance and resulting increases in operating costs such as:
North Shore Park and Youth Center, South Pointe Park, Normandy Shores Golf Course, Normandy
Isle Park and Pool, Beachfront Bathrooms, Colony and Byron Carlyle Theatres, Beachwalk and
Baywalk, multiple streetscapes, to name just a few.
Further, while a significant portion of property taxes in our City are collected from hotels,
restaurants and other businesses; a significant source of revenue to the General Fund is from nonproperty
tax tourism and business-related sources which have increased steadily over the years.
The Proposed Work Plan and Budget includes resort taxes and a transfer of Parking Operations
Fund year-end surplus as well as Parking Operations Fund reimbursements and right-of-way fees
paid to the General Fund that total almost $32 million; approximately 13 percent of the Proposed
General Fund FY 2010/11 Budget. This is an increase of 22 percent from just the year before. But
for these additional non ad valorem revenues, the millage rate would need to be set at a rate that is
1.7 mills than what is proposed.
OVERVIEW
The Proposed Work Plan and Budget was developed through an intensive review process with our
City Commission. Commission Retreats were held on January 22 and 23 and again on April 30
and May 1 of this year. Preliminary budget information was provided to the Commission and
budget strategies and priorities were established. Between June 3 and August 25, a series of 5
budget briefings were held with the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee, including a
discussion of capital project priorities, Current Service Level expenditures, potential efficiencies,
impacts of service level alternatives, revenue enhancements, potential service enhancements and the
City’s Budget Advisory Committee also provided additional input.
Early in the development of the City’s budget for FY 2010/11, I communicated that we were
anticipating that the City’s General Fund would be facing its most difficult budget year in many
years. Our preliminary estimates early in the calendar year estimated a budget gap that ranged
from approximately $26 to $40 million, as discussed in our Commission retreats in January and
May of this year.