The Apopka City Council will hold the first of two public hearings for the 2016-2017 budget today, Wednesday, September 14, at City Hall, 120 E. Main Street. It will start at 5:05 p.m.
The city’s fiscal year begins October 1 so the budget must be approved prior to then.
The second public hearing is set for Wednesday, September 28. It will also start at 5:05 p.m. and will be held at City Hall.
The proposed budget of $102,264,752 includes the raising of the property tax rate by a half-mill, which would equal $50 in additional annual taxes for every $100,000 in taxable property value. The proposed property tax rate would go to 3.7678, up from the current 3.2678 mills.
Items that have been earmarked for funding in the proposed budget include a new fire station, a new tower for the city’s internal communications, five police officers and other staffing needs at City Hall.
The proposed budget is comprised of the following: general fund budget, special revenue funds, and enterprise funds.
The general fund budget increased approximately $4.6 million or 10.6 percent over last year’s budget basically because of the addition of Fire Station 5 including equipment and personnel for $1.3 million, the construction of a second communication tower for dispatch to the tune of $2.8 million and an increase in debt service of $600,000.
The special revenue funds, which are monies restricted for specific purposes, increased $2.2 million or 33.4 percent. These funds include $2 million for downtown improvement, as well as individual costs for a skate park and a splash pad.
The enterprise funds increased by $5.4 million or 13.8 percent because of the continued construction of the sewer treatment plant for $16 million.
The full document of the fiscal year 2017 proposed budget is available on the city’s website, www.apopka.net. The PDF is accessible through the site’s homepage.
