As I finish my term as mayor, there has been a lot of discussion about the budget process and the financial position of the city. When I first got elected in 2018, we were headed toward a general fund reserve of less than $4 million by the end of the 2018 fiscal year. My first job as the new mayor was to stop the bleeding and shore up our reserves.  

Over the last eight years, we have chipped away at the debt (96% reduction), and we will end the 2026 fiscal year with a reserve of over $30 million, which is 28% of our general fund budget. We have also started a cemetery perpetual fund to help with our long-term operating expenses when our cemetery is full.  

I have also permanently increased the funding for all three pension funds to make sure that our retirees pension checks are never in jeopardy.   

Our budget process has been a very deliberate process starting in April with each department bringing their wants and needs to the discussion. As with any household budget, we can’t fund all of the wants but allocate resources for all the needs and sprinkle in a few wants based on available dollars. We ask the tough questions of each department to justify their staffing levels, operating costs and capital costs.  

After several department level budget discussions, we then bring in the entire team together to formulate an overall budget based on their needs and the projected estimated revenue.  

At that point, we bring the budget to city-wide budget workshops, where the commissioners and public have a chance to weigh in on our priorities. It then goes to the City Commission for two public hearings before final adoption.  

A lot of questions have been asked about budget amendments and why we need so many of them. By running a lean budget with very little fluff, emergencies come up that need to be addressed by budget amendments. By doing this, the commission and the general public have a chance to say no or to justify the reason for the budget amendment.  

If we had more fluff in the overall budget, the administration could spend the extra money without ever coming to the Commission for permission. The budgeting methodology I have utilized gives ultimate transparency to both the City Commission and the public at large.