On Thursday, Jan. 13, Plant City City Manager Bill McDaniel detailed the town’s annual budget and what city funds are going toward.
He was the guest speaker at The Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce’s luncheon, held at the TECO Expo Hall.
As city manager, McDaniel oversees which departments or projects are allocated funds for any given year. For fiscal year 2021-2022, the total amount of funds appropriated for Plant City use is $91.2 million – a 3.8% dip from the last fiscal year.
“We’ve got a lot going on here in Plant City,” McDaniel said. “I’m focusing on what your city organization is involved in and the city government. There’s just a tremendous amount of things going on all around our city in every sector.”
The vast amount of the budget goes toward the general fund at $42.3 million.
This consists of the departments for parks and recreation, police and fire rescue, administration, development services, libraries, and other uses.
Over several years there has been an increase in property value by 12.6%.
“That does not mean that your individual home or business property increased in value by 12.6%,” McDaniel noted. “What that number is reflective of, is the total assessed value of the entire corporate limits of the City of Plant City.”
The construction of new facilities around town prompts increased value.
The police, parks and recreation, and fire departments receive the most distribution.
Much of this is due in part to the addition of several department positions: legal secretary, IT Technician II, a code enforcement inspector, a digital evidence technician, evidence technician, a meter maintenance specialist, a crime intelligence analyst, a fire inspector and a meter maintenance specialist.
Also included are an environmental lands supervisor and two park rangers for the newly completed McIntosh Preserve.
“We have to actively manage that,” McDaniel said. “It’s a well-used site. I think we’re going to see that continue to be even more-so visited by our public.”
He also reasoned that those resources are needed in the event that someone gets lost or has a bad encounter with wildlife.
At approximately 363 acres, the preserve was recently equipped with a trail, a 30-foot observation tower, parking areas, and educational signage.
The 11 additional positions cost over $630,000.
There is also a need for new city trucks, police vehicles, rear load refuse trucks, a fire truck, and mowers, among other resources.
This totals to almost $3 million.
A Community Development Block Grant will assist in milling and resurfacing eight roads in the Forest Park neighborhood, with 970 linear feet of new sidewalks.
Under the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), there will be improvements to Evers Street and Collins Street, as well as midtown utility improvements.
By the end of the fiscal year, approximately 84 miles of road will be resurfaced.
Funds from the city budget as well as the CRA budget accumulate to $2.8 million for street resurfacing for fiscal year 2021-2022. One venue that the city has been using to keep residents up to date with these projects is social media.
In addition to YouTube, Facebook has become a popular platform, reaching over a million people, McDaniel said.
Other outlets include Nextdoor, Twitter, and Instagram.
“We’re at a level of communication to the community we serve, that we’ve never had before,” he added.
Other items on the budget are renovating dog parks, cemetery property and building Plant City’s first spray water park. One project that has been proposed to the Plant City City Commission is a boardwalk patio at the South Depot parking lot in downtown.
The strip of land in question, runs along Palmer Street, providing stormwater benefits but is deemed as an under-utilized area.
McDaniel said that the new amenity “will enhance the experience in downtown.”
Should it come to fruition, the structure will be raised from ground level and incorporated with a boardwalk, lighting, tables, chairs, and shelter for the patio.
Also, the new Cart-to-Curb garbage-collecting system has already implemented Phase 1 – providing many Plant City residents with brand new receptacles.
The second phase is set to begin in August of this year. However, 6,000 new receptacle bins have yet to be purchased.
In the long term, funds will have to cover the purchasing of new bins annually.
The 2021-2022 budget also includes aid for 11 outside organizations such as The Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce, Black Heritage Celebration, and Plant City Main Street.