The committee gave guidance in the last meeting to redraft the budget using a 11% across-the-board budget cut for all items with the intent of developing a balanced budget. The 11% cut is indiscriminate and often infeasible on items with fixed costs like the Florida Retirement System, property, and workmen’s compensation insurance. Instead, I have attempted to meet the intent of the guidance, which was to balance the budget. This was accomplished with various revenue increases and expenditure reductions. Of particular note is reducing the number of events and using the events director as a part-time grant writer. The attached draft FY26/27 budget represents about a $20,000 draw on reserves if the rolled-back millage rate is used. If the council chooses to adopt the current rate 3.6073), the resulting additional $20,000 in revenue will balance the budget and stabilize the 5-year general fund outlook with healthy reserves. The Cemetery fund is balanced. The infrastructure and CRA funds continue to have deficit spending that will have to be addressed through less infrastructure investment or grants to offset required infrastructure investments.

The budget and finance committee reviews the proposed budget and provides any guidance or concerns before the budget is taken before the City Council.