Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/348392
city commissioners refuse to pass along the cost of downtown parking management to the people who use the spaces. Lege proposed a variety of methods to plug the $3.6 million hole. Florida governments now "harvest" money without strings on it, usually from enterprise funds, such as those for utilities with excess cash, or self-funded operations, such as insurance and pen- sion funds. This year the city budget uses $657,000 "har- vested" from such funds. But for next year, Lege sees only $250,000 available — once again, from the solid waste enterprise fund. The biggest pot of money in the city budget is for staff salaries and benefits, which comprise 80 percent of the expenses. Lege noted the city is already using a four-month hiring delay to fill authorized positions, saving $500,000. Instead of cutting staff, the administration is looking to hire six positions using general fund money while retiring eight police offi- cers, for a net savings of $14,000. Six more positions are proposed to be covered through the use of enterprise funds, while 3.5 full-time equivalents (FTEs) will be deleted from the budget for a net gain of 2.5 FTEs covered by enterprise funds, leaving a net change of one employee. So cutting staff is not the staff's rec- ommended option for balancing the budget. A third option would be to decrease specified levels of service, but only City Commissioner Paul Caragiulo wanted to explore this option. Nobody expressed interest in an increase in the ad valorem property tax rate, either. Lege pointed out that a 19-percent hike would be required to cover the $3.6 million gap. The City Commission has declined to reinstitute paid parking along city streets downtown, even though its Parking Department has an annual deficit of about $500,000. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader July 18, 2014 Page 37