Minutes 05-30-23 Workshop City Commission Workshop- Strategic Plan & Budget Priorities
Held Online Via the GoToWebinar Platform and
In-Person at the City Hall Commission Chambers
100 East Ocean Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida
On Tuesday, May 30, 2023, at 6:30 P.M.
Present:
Mayor Ty Penserga Daniel Dugger City Manager
Vice Mayor Thomas Turkin Mike Cirullo, City Attorney
Commissioner Angela Cruz Maylee De Jesus, City Clerk
Commissioner Woodrow L. Hay
Commissioner Aimee Kelley
Mayor Penserga called the meeting to order at 7:08 P.M.
City Clerk Maylee De Jesus, called the roll. A quorum was present.
1. Opening Overview by City Manager Daniel Dugger
Daniel Dugger, City Manager, stated that this will be regarding the Fiscal Year 23/24
budget outlook. He spoke about the City spending more than we are making. He
explained cutting the deficit from $11M to $2.2M. He explained the different challenges
that the City was having and ways to help offset cost as follows: they are proposing
increasing the fire assessment by$30; slightly reduce the CRA budget; annexing western
parcels into the City; or moving from an ad-valorem tax to a fee-based tax. He said that
Davenport will go into depth.
2. Presentation
A. Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Presentation
Commission Discussion and Review.
B. Davenport Presentation
Commission Discussion and Review.
Mara Frederiksen, Finance Director, stated that this is the first workshop prior to the July
workshop. She said that currently the $2.2M deficit does not incorporate the ARPA funds
or increase to the Fire Assessment. She spoke about the Fiscal Year 23/24 as follows:
2023 Budget workshop schedule; 2023 Budget hearing/adoption schedule; purpose of
budget workshop; budget workshop- general fund revenue highlights; budget workshop-
general fund highlights; general fund balance status; general fund FTE count with other
funds this correlates to recurring salaries and benefits costs; appropriation summary; and
millage rate.
Mayor Penserga commented about the projected net ad-valorem taxes and asked if
there's a historical trend.
Ms. Frederiksen explained the 12.6% that was given to the City by the County, which
equates to about $400-500K.
Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 30, 2023
Mayor Penserga asked if we factored in insurance savings.
City Manager Dugger stated that this does not include any mid-year budget adjustments
savings, which is going to be the healthcare savings of between $1-2M.
Mayor Penserga mentioned that he does not want people thinking there is a major deficit,
as many adjustments will be made.
Ms. Frederiksen stated that there is less of an increase than in the past, and she said that
in better economic times, we need to put more money into reserves. She introduced Kyle
Lox and Joe Mason, from Davenport Public Finance, who assisted with this budget.
Mr. Lox spoke about the following: background/goals and objectives; and current financial
situation.
Mr. Mason stated that the City is not alone in the current situation because many
municipalities are going through this same issue. He spoke about structural balancing of
budgets.
Mr. Lox spoke about the general fund and historical total taxable value.
Mr. Mason stated that although we have a lot in the pipeline, if the economy turns on us,
it will slow down revenue.
Mr. Lox continued as follows: current financial situation (continued)- operating budget;
general fund balance/reserves; and fund balance/reserves recommendations.
Mr. Mason stated that these are our formal recommendations, and they are
recommending that the emergency reserve be more sacrosanct. He said that the City
needs to think strategically of where they want to be in 3-5 years from now, and he spoke
about sustainability.
Mr. Lox continued as follows: recommended policy enhancement; available fund balance
ratio (%); tax supported debt profile; decline in debt services; capital improvement
programs; funding sources for general government fund 2023/2024; and main takeaways.
Mayor Penserga thanked staff for involving Commission from the very beginning, and he
thanked the people at Davenport for their recommendations. He said that he thinks they
can go above 12%, as a matter of policy. He asked what is the going percent for
emergency reserves.
Ms. Frederiksen stated that she provided what the neighboring cities typically reserves.
She said that the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends 60
days of operating funds. She stated that we are at 16% of our general fund in emergency
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reserves and we are one of the lower cities with reserves. She explained what the
reserves are used for.
Mayor Penserga stated that we should have it as a matter of policy to have a plan to
consistently put money aside into our reserves.
Mr. Lox stated that we should be proactively thinking about saving reserves years out in
advance.
City Manager Dugger stated that pre-funding is the reason why they are in deficit, and
they would like to keep from kicking this down the road.
Commissioner Cruz stated that we should save money now.
Vice Mayor Turkin agreed and said that he would like to see what some of these solutions
look like and what the financial benefits to the City are.
Commissioner Hay agreed and asked about the expenditures and revenues washing out.
Mr. Lox explained how they are trying to get the expenditures and revenues to equal out,
but they would have to put money in a savings for an emergency.
Mr. Mason explained tapping into emergency funds but then rebuilding it, by virtue of
process.
Ms. Frederiksen stated that they will be talking about the ad-valorem taxes, and other
presentations that will be given tonight.
City Manager Dugger explained using a fee-based system, instead of the ad-valorem
system that we currently use, and which would be a safer option for the City.
Commissioner Kelley asked for an explanation if they must use the emergency reserves,
and our funds are below policy, how do we recover from that.
Mr. Lox stated that there should be a mechanism in the policy of how they can use the
funds, and a timeframe to recover those funds.
Mayor Penserga asked if we were to have extra funds, is there a way to accelerate the
payments and reduce interest payments over time to pay more into the principal.
Ms. Frederiksen stated that there is an opportunity in 2027 to refinance the Town Square
payment, and we can rework the payment so that we are not paying so much.
Mayor Penserga asked about the surtax cap fund 303.
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Boynton Beach, FL May 30, 2023
City Manager Dugger stated that he heard that the County is going to narrow the scope,
to be able to use the funds for transportation, and those funds might go away.
Mayor Penserga stated that one of our greatest revenue makers is water, and asked if
we transfer funds into the reserves from there.
Ms. Frederiksen explained what funds comes in from utilities, and what it can be used for.
Dr. Poonam Kalkat, Utilities Director, explained why they have a cap in how much can be
transferred to the reserves. She spoke about using utility funds for other things that are
not water/sewer/stormwater.
Commissioner Cruz asked how the fees are charged.
Ms. Frederiksen explained how the fees work, including a fair and reasonable
apportionment to both residents and commercial.
3. Continued Presentations
A. Opportunities for Budget Stabilization
Ms. Frederiksen explained the fire assessment 2023-2024 as follows: case law
requirements; fair and reasonable apportionment; hardship exemptions; exemptions;
and fire assessment fee comparison.
Commissioner Kelley spoke about the fire assessment fees in other municipalities
sunsetting.
Ms. Frederiksen said that she will look into that further.
Mayor Penserga asked for a comparable graph to other municipalities.
Andrew Mack, Deputy City Manager, stated that he pays over $800 in just fire
assessment where he lives in Wellington.
Ms. Frederiksen spoke about the current rate scenario and exemptions options.
Vice Mayor Turkin stated that he believes we do need to expand options. He said that
he does not want to put residents into a bind.
City Manager Dugger stated that if we increase 20%, he would like to increase the
exemptions to help those residents.
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Boynton Beach, FL May 30, 2023
Mayor Penserga asked what the residents are saying when they come to apply for the
exemptions.
Ms. Frederiksen explained our exemption options and different reasons residents do or
do not qualify.
Commissioner Cruz spoke about staff time increase with helping residents apply for the
exemptions.
There was discussion regarding the following: contracts, renewal rates being lower than
other agencies; what other municipalities do we service; analysis of service to other
municipalities; and having options for exemptions.
Dr. Kalkat spoke about the Fiscal Year 2023/2024 rate study as follows; historical rates
adjustments; existing monthly bill vs neighboring utilities; and what the monthly bill pays
for.
Mayor Penserga asked if the fee is the function of the size of our City.
Dr. Kalkat explained what other municipalities might be doing and said that many of
them are doing rate studies for this reason.
Deputy City Manager Mack explained why we are currently working on the rate study.
Dr. Kalkat continued as follows: actual operating results vs budget; primary increase
drivers; historical/projected rates adjustments; existing/proposed bill vs. neighboring
utilities; affordability indicators; and recommendations.
Commissioner Kelley asked if we service outside of the City and if there would be an
increase for everyone.
Dr. Kalkat responded that for inside, it would be 10%, but there is legislation going on
that changes what the residents outside of City limits are charged.
Mayor Penserga said that he is interested about knowing what the outside customer
limit is.
Commissioner Kelley asked that we distribute responsibility and charge the outside
residents too, not just increase our residents 10%.
B. Strategic Plan (Lyle Sumek) Overview and Wrap-up
Commission Discussion and Review.
Mayor Penserga asked how we feel about continuing the meeting, and Vice Mayor
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Boynton Beach, FL May 30, 2023
Turkin stated that he is in favor of rescheduling.
Commissioner Hay agreed with rescheduling the strategic plan.
Kathryn Matos, Assistant City Manager, stated that she will confirm with Mr. Sumek
about his availability.
There was consensus to postpone Mr. Sumek's presentation.
Mario Guzman, Director of Public Works, stated that they are reassessing their fees, to
increase into the general fund. He spoke about the following: current state of affairs;
current rates; residential actual/comparative fees; roll off actual/comparative fees; and
summary.
Mayor Penserga said that he would like to see a holistic picture, so they can prioritize.
Kacy Young, Recreation and Parks Director, spoke about the following: Recreation and
Parks Department parking services; Oceanfront Park hourly parking rates (current); and
Oceanfront Park hourly parking rates (proposed).
Mayor Penserga asked if data is collected for how long people are parking for.
Mr. Young said that they can provide those reports that show that information and how
many permit holders are parking at the beach.
Mayor Penserga asked if people are parking at the beach for an extended period of time.
Mr. Young said that the assumption they are making is that people are parking for longer
periods of time because it is cheap. He said the permit holders are also parking with no
time duration.
Commissioner Hay asked how much the parking permit is.
Mr. Young replied that it is currently $50. He continued his presentation as follows:
Harvey E. Oyer, Jr. Park hourly parking rates (current); Harvey E. Oyer, Jr. Park hourly
parking rates (proposed); and Oceanfront resident annual parking permit (current).
Commissioner Kelley asked about the non-resident rate.
Mr. Young replied that the non-resident rate is $200. He said that the senior rate is $50.
Mr. Young continued by reviewing Oceanfront resident annual parking permit
(proposed).
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Boynton Beach, FL May 30, 2023
Vice Mayor Turkin said that he is not in favor of increasing the rate for seniors.
Mr. Young clarified that they are not proposing an increase for the Harvey Oyer boat
ramp.
Vice Mayor Turkin said that he would be ok with increasing the non-resident permit rate.
Mayor Penserga agreed with parking preference for residents over visitors. He asked
for data to show residents vs. non-resident parking stays. He said that the non-residents
are only a tiny fraction of residents. He spoke about micro mobility services to bring
people to the beach.
Mr. Young said that they can tell who are the non-residents from the permit holders, but
they cannot distinguish on the daily parkers.
Commissioner Cruz said that the residents on the west side do not have the ability to
park at the beach because the spots are all taken. She agreed with the suggestion to
provide transportation from the west side to the east side.
Vice Mayor Turkin said that he cannot support a 50% increase for seniors. He mentioned
that he likes the idea of priority parking once there are better transportation options.
Commissioner Hay said that he does not want to put additional burdens on seniors.
Commissioner Kelley asked what the huge increase is coming from regarding the senior
permits and asked for the data.
Commissioner Cruz spoke about the different rates for full-time seniors that live here
and the snowbirds.
Vice Mayor Turkin suggested that we request a homestead exemption to see if a
resident is a snowbird or not. He said that we should increase the rates of parking at the
beach, to increase the value of our beach.
Mr. Young concluded by reviewing the Parking Services Division revenue from beach
parking and boat ramp parking. He said that this information is to date, and they may
get more parking permits.
Ms. Frederiksen stated that she does not have a presentation on the ARPA funding, but
noted they are not using any of the ARPA Funds for balancing of the budget. She said
that there is $4.5M left to utilize for projects.
Vice Mayor Turkin asked for an elaboration on the vaccine incentive.
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Boynton Beach, FL May 30, 2023
Ms. Frederiksen explained the vaccine incentives.
Ms. Frederiksen stated that she does not have a presentation for the millage rate, but
explained what the request for the increase is.
Mayor Penserga said that we have a fundamental problem, but if we switch to a fee
base, we might be able to collect more revenue. He asked if this makes it fairer whether
you own property or not, or it is only if you use the services.
Commissioner Cruz asked about the fee base services and if we could charge per
person in each household.
Ms. Frederiksen responded potentially, but they would have to look into it.
There was discussion about getting many options to decrease the deficit and increase
revenue.
Mayor Penserga asked to have CRA present, if we are going to talk about decreasing
their funding.
4. Public Audience
Individual Speakers Will Be Limited To 3 Minute Presentations (at the discretion of the
Chair, this 3-minute allowance may need to be adjusted depending on the level of
business coming before the City Commission).
There were no public comments.
5. Administrative Information
A. Proposed July Budget Workshop Dates
• Monday July 10th, 2023 - 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
• Tuesday July 11th, 2023 - 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Ms. Frederiksen asked about the dates and time, and said that they currently have
them scheduled for 9:00 A.M. — 5:00 P.M.
Mayor Penserga said that he is comfortable with this.
Commissioner Cruz asked to have a Saturday or a weekday night for one of the
meetings.
There was discussion regarding the times and dates.
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Meeting Minutes
City Commission Workshop
Boynton Beach, FL May 30, 2023
There was consensus on Monday, July 10 from 9:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M., with the
possibility to finish on Thursday, July 13 at 5:30 P.M.
6. Adjournment
Motion:
Vice Mayor Turkin moved to adjourn the meeting. Commissioner Cruz seconded the
motion. The motion passed unanimously.
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:31 P.M.
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