News

By Margie Plunkett
    
A beach pavilion in disrepair that’s the target of a resident fundraising campaign was rescued from becoming a budget casualty in February, the sole survivor of midyear budget cuts necessitated by a $3.2 million shortfall from the defeated fire tax.
    Commissioners approved a package of budget cuts and the use of $1 million from reserve funds to make up for the shortfall at its Feb. 21 meeting, which had been recommended by City Manager David Harden. They decided not to take another run at instituting a fire tax, also among Harden’s recommendations.
    “The job staff has done is phenomenal” in plugging the budget gap, said Commissioner Jay Alperin.
    The beach pavilion project was one of many on the chopping block, although it was not scheduled to be cut altogether, just delayed. Postponing the pavilion would have meant a savings of $210,450, which commissioners ultimately directed be taken from reserves.
    Resident fundraising kept the pavilion in the budget. “It’s the only item that the community has raised money for, its repair,” said Commissioner Tom Carney. “Commission said to them if they raised some money, we could probably meet you.”
    Carney also noted that the pavilion’s continuing state of disrepair could lead to its closure.
    The community fundraisers have gotten agreement from developers to construct the pavilion for cost, Carney said, and commissioners said architect Bob Currie had contributed the design. Another fundraiser is scheduled by the end of February, Carney said.
    The pavilion project was unveiled as the Beach Property Owners Association pitched the concept of a Beach Master plan.
    The City Manager’s office took the opportunity to hold its midyear budget review while it searched for possible reductions to offset the fire-tax shortfall. Commissioners also noted their support for several efforts covered by increases in some budget areas, including unfreezing a staff attorney position and adding code enforcement, critical with an increasingly intense focus on transient housing concerns and landlord scrutiny.
    The pavilion was one of several planned reductions totaling $645,910 taken from the general construction fund. A total $50,000 cuts were taken in building maintenance; $50,000 from the City Hall chiller upgrade, $67,710 for computer replacement, $106,750 for street resurfacing and $4,000 for public arts.
    Other areas that will see decreases are parks and recreation, with about a $65,230 drop for vacant positions. While fire and safety overall increased about $176,575, the Police Department had $476,330 reductions for vacant positions.
    The Fire Department’s budget increased overall by about $563,325, which included $185,310 of reductions due to vacant positions. The increase was primarily due to $288,140 costs of four new paramedics hired in November to fully staff Station No. 2.The staffing was partially offset by a grant.
    The Community Improvement budget was up as well, rising $64,980 for code enforcement.
    The city first proposed the fire assessment fee, or fire tax as many called it, as a revenue generator when commissioners were designing this year’s budget. Commissioners recently noted their error in building a budget based in part on a tax revenue that had not been approved.
    The fire tax fell apart when the community turned out to protest the fee, arguing that it hurt residential and business communities at a time when the economy remains fragile. The proposed tiered system, which was based on the square footage of improved property, drew protest from businesses that believed it unfair to assess on building size rather than a business’s value.
    Commissioners voted down the fire tax after the resident outcry.