Key West tax rate close to final; pet shelter asks for help

Key West tax rate close to final; pet shelter asks for help

BY PRU SOWERS

KONK LIFE STAFF WRITER

After a summer full of financial planning discussions, departmental pleas for money and painful spending cuts, Key West is close to having a final budget for the 2016-17 fiscal year despite a last-minute twist that could cost another $150,000.

City Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the draft $172 million budget on first reading. A second and final vote will be taken at the last budget public hearing on Sept. 22 at 6 pm in Old City Hall.

The good news is that city Finance Director Mark Finigan was able to cut another $450,000 from the proposed annual financial plan, allowing him to present a budget that achieved “rollback,” meaning the tax rate for the new fiscal year will generate the same revenue as the previous year. Barring any unexpected changes, the millage rate for 2016-17 will be $2.4896 for every $1,000 of assessed value. While that is lower than the $2.59 millage rate in the current fiscal year, taxes could stay the same or go up depending on whether city assessors increase the value of a property in the coming year.

Finigan was able to close the $450,000 rollback gap by using three days of reserve funds. As a result, the city will have a reserve fund able to pay 89 days of operations in the case of an emergency, as opposed to 92.

Finigan also proposed to postpone hiring “four or five” new employees, waiting until April 1 to make the hires instead of Oct. 1.

“In all of that we were able to decrease the amount that we needed by $186,000 on the expenditure side,” he told commissioners, referring to the savings the hiring delay will create.

However, three other new hires that were deemed critical will take place on Oct. 1, including a full time parking enforcement specialist, a network administrator for the police department and a transient rental specialist.

When Finigan was finished presenting what he considered a final proposed budget, a last minute plea for money turned up. Sue Turner, treasurer of the Florida Keys Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (FKSPCA), went to the podium to ask the city to contribute approximately $150,000 towards the new animal shelter the organization is planning. Turner explained that the initial estimate for a new shelter on College Road on Stock Island came in at $5 million and the group raised $6.1 million. But when contractor bids came in, the lowest was $8.4 million.

Monroe County Commissioners voted recently to kick in $1.5 million towards the project. The FKSPCA board reduced the budget by another $600,000 but it’s still not enough. And the contractor bid expires on Sept. 22.

“We’re still a little bit short,” Turner said. “If we don’t start [Sept. 22], then that means we start all over again, going out for bid, having to raise more money because the costs are going to go up. Our donors are going to get frustrated.”

Turner asked if the city could waive the building permit fees for the project – estimated at about $150,000 – which will cover the last budget gap. But several officials, including City Attorney Shawn Smith, were against that idea.

“I’m uncomfortable with anything that has to do with the waiver of fees and issuing permits without payment, I can tell you that now,” he said.

“These [permit] charges should be consistently applied,” said Finigan. “We should not discriminate between certain classes of building permit payers.”

City Commissioner Margaret Romero was also against bailing out the FKSPCA by waiving permit fees, pointing out that the commission just asked Finigan to cut $450,000 from the city budget. While she said she was empathetic to the difficulty the animal shelter project was facing, all Key West non-profit organizations should be treated equally.

“They have an emergency but why has it become the city’s issue? We are not the bank. A homeowner would have to take care of this, a businessperson would have to take care of this,” Romero said.

However, the rest of the commission told Finigan and Smith to come up with some financing options that would give the FKSPCA the money it needs to break ground. Finigan said he had four options, including using another day from the city reserve fund or using part of the money the city received as its settlement of the BP Gulf oil spill lawsuit. The city received $2.1 million in that settlement and just over $1 million of it has been set aside for renovation of two city parks. Although city commissioners voted earlier this year to use the entire settlement amount on projects devoted to youth activities and recreation, that resolution could be rescinded.

“What’s a more recreational use than someone adopting a dog and go out to the park and play,” asked Commissioner Jimmy Weekley.

Smith will deliver a list of financing options at the Sept. 22 final budget hearing.

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