Auburndale commission sets $33M budget, cuts tax rate

AUBURNDALE — The Auburndale City Commission unanimously approved a $34.8 million budget at Tuesday night's meeting and voted to reduce the property tax rate.

The figure represents a decrease of about $800,000 from the size of the current year's budget. The 2018-2019 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

The commission approved city staff's recommendation of setting the tax rate at $4.25 for every $1,000 in assessed property value. That is a reduction of 0.3 percent from this year's rate of $4.27.

That means a homeowner whose house is assessed at $150,000 with a $50,000 homestead exemption will pay $425.15 in municipal taxes, compared with $426.57 this year.

The proposed budget drew no comments from the audience of about a dozen and no discussion from the commissioners before the vote. City Manager Bobby Green gave commissioners an overview before the vote, using projected charts to show the financial details.

The city benefited from a boost in taxable property value of nearly 15 percent, bringing the total to $1.2 billion. The opening of a Saddle Creek Logistics plant and other new businesses boosted the tax revenue, Finance Director Shirley Lowrance said at a previous meeting.

The budget is based on $18.4 million in general revenues, $285,000 from reserves and an interfund transfer of nearly $3 million. General revenue comes mostly from taxes, franchise fees, licenses, permits, service charges and intergovernmental sources.

The budget allocates $12.2 million for water and sewer services and $1.2 million for the city's community redevelopment agency.

The property tax rate is forecast to generate nearly $4.9 million, an increase of about $681,000 over the current year's collections.

Auburndale sets its budget going out two years. Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a $33.1 million budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.

After the meeting, Commissioner Dorothea Taylor Bogert said there was no need for discussion before the vote because the city has been examining the proposed budget since April.

“We've been over everything in detail,” Bogert said. “We do a two-year budget at a time, so it really helps with the planning. I think that proves very effective for our budgeting process.”

Green said the city was able to trim the size of the budget because it completed some capital outlay projects in the current fiscal year, such as a stormwater project for the PK Avenue area and a water meter replacement program.

Major expenditures in the 2018-2019 budget include $650,000 to replace a disinfection system at Allred Wastewater Treatment Plant, $550,000 to construct a water main along County Road 542, $514,000 to replace a fire engine and $500,000 to continue street resurfacing projects.

In other action, the commission unanimously approved annexing a 19.5-acre tract adjacent to the recently annexed Berkley Ranch property, north of Pace Road and south of C. Fred Jones Boulevard. The owners, Andrew and Margaret Hanzlik, requested the annexation to add city utilities in anticipation for a residential development.

Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. Follow on Twitter @garywhite13.