Manager's Report for the July 14, 2020 Town Council Meeting
Proposed Upcoming Town Council Meeting Schedule
- July 14th – 6:30 PM Regular Town Council Meeting, Budget Workshop, CRA Meeting (all virtual)
- August 11th – 6:30 PM Regular Town Council Meeting
- September 8th – 6:30 PM Regular Town Council Meeting, Budget Hearing, CRA Meeting
- September 22nd – 6:30 PM Regular Town Council Meeting, Budget Hearing
Upcoming Events
- No events through October.
Additional Updates
2021 Budget
The FY 2021 Budget covers the time from October 1, 2020 to September 30, 2021.
General Fund: Budget preparation this year was very challenging. We are anticipating a significant reduction in sales tax, gas tax, and business tax/building permit fees. We estimated the loss of General Fund revenue at $391,000. We had increases in garbage collection costs and our contribution to the CRA of approximately $93,000. So, I had to reduce expenditures by $484,000 from last year’s budget (approximately 13.2%). Since we are limited in what we can do in our parks and with our social events, I reduced those budgets significantly. I also reduced the anticipated capital purchases for all General Fund Departments for next year. The budget does not include any new vehicles.
Community Redevelopment Agency: Revenue this year is anticipated to be high. The assessed valuation of the CRA increase by more than 7% from last year ($30,963,476). Revenues are estimated to be $67,000. Staff will be proposing some new beautification programs for the businesses within the CRA for FY2021.
Infrastructure Surtax Fund: Revenues are estimated ($199,000) to be down this year by more than 18%. We borrowed last year for the Pine Tree Lane bridge construction and that work is expected to start in April 2021. Expenditures include the bridge construction, the bridge loan debt service, some additional roadway paving and striping, and some drainage repairs.
Utility Fund: The Utility Fund revenues are expected to be higher. More people at home during COVID means more dishes, more laundry, and more consumption. The Utility Fund budget for operations remains unchanged from FY2020. The Utility Fund Capital construction budget includes projects deferred from previous years. Those projects include the 12-inch water main down Lawrence Road, the new Utility Admin building, and the purchase of a closed-circuit camera system for pipe inspection. Also anticipated for FY2021 is the completion of the rate sufficiency study and the execution of a developer agreement with Maralago Cay for water service. We have received notice from Palm Beach County that they will assist with the funding for the 12-inch water main project by providing $125,000 of Community Development Block Grant monies for the FY2021 grant cycle. The Board of County Commissioners will approve the recommendation of staff on August 24, 2020
Virtual School
It is reported that the School District of Palm Beach County will open on August 10th as a virtual school with teachers and students working from home. We are working with each of our parents with school-age children to see what impact that will have on their ability to perform their job. We anticipate putting some of our staff on “work from home status” for part of their workweek.
COVID-19 EXPENSES
To date, we have incurred approximately $80,000 in COVID related expenses. We recently submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for reimbursement of $41,000 under a grant program they have for COVID. We are still collecting expenses for reimbursement by FEMA or any other opportunity that may come along.
Florida Development Finance Corporation
We have been honored with a grant from the FDFC. They are grateful for the in-kind services Lake Clarke Shores has provided to the Florida Resiliency and Energy District. FRED has closed on more than $56M in residential PACE funding and more than $17M in commercial PACE funding.
