Special City Commission Meeting

City of Deltona 2345 Providence Blvd. Deltona, FL 32725 Minutes Special City Commission Meeting Monday, July 22, 2019 5:30 PM Deltona Commission Chambers 1. CALL TO ORDER: The meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Herzberg. 2. ROLL CALL – CITY CLERK: Present: 9 - Commissioner Avila-Vazquez Commissioner Bradford Commissioner King Commissioner McFall Commissioner Nabicht Vice Mayor Ramos Mayor Herzberg City Manager Shang City Attorney 3. PLEDGE TO THE FLAG: Mayor Herzberg led everyone in the pledge to the flag. 4. BUSINESS: A. Public Hearing - Resolution No. 2019-29, Establishing the Tentative Proposed Millage Rate for the levy of ad valorem taxes for FY 2019/2020 - Camille Hooper, Finance Director, (386) 878-8552. Strategic Goal: Fiscal Issues Mayor Herzberg stated the Commission has two options, the 7.85 mills or the 8.085 mills and she reminded the Commission that the millage rate can be lowered, but it cannot be raised after it is set at first reading. Also, after Commission discussion she will open the floor to the public before the vote is taken. Commissioner Bradford asked if someone could go over the voting and whether there needed to be a supermajority vote. Finance Director Camille Hooper stated there are two options being presented to the Commission as stated by the Mayor and either requires a supermajority vote, five of seven, but anything less than that would go down to about 7.4 mills. City of Deltona Page 1 Printed on 7/25/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes July 22, 2019 Mayor Herzberg asked how many homes are tax exempt, at one point it was over 4,000 and Ms. Hooper replied she did not know. Mayor Herzberg asked how much would the increase be for the average home for either millage rate and Ms. Hooper replied the mathematical average for last year was $440.89 and a 3% increase represents $13.33 extra per year. Mayor Herzberg stated that State law states that property taxes can only go up 3%. Ms. Hooper stated the difference between the two millage options is $14.75 however it is less if the property is homesteaded. Mayor Herzberg asked what the total assessed taxable value for the City is, $3.4 billion and how much of that is taxable value. Ms. Hooper replied that is correct, about $2.3 billion is taxable. Mayor Herzberg stated then there is $1.1 billion that is non-taxable value or exempt. Mayor Herzberg asked what some of the exemptions would be and Ms. Hooper replied a homestead exemption, a low income senior, a widow or widower, first responder widow or widower, and there are a number of others available under the law. Mayor Herzberg asked what percentage of the City is residental and what percentage is commercial. Ms. Hooper replied 85.3% residential and 10% or less commercial. Commissioner Bradford asked how many new homes were there in the years 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 and Ms. Hooper replied she could get those numbers. Commissioner Bradford asked if a resident has a property of $180,000 what would their property tax be, not an average and non-homesteaded. Ms. Hooper replied the full amount of millage, whatever the Commission approves. Commissioner Bradford stated it is not $13.33 and Ms. Hooper replied no it is not, that is a year over year increase at 3% of the mathematical average. Commissioner Bradford asked if a lot of the newer homes were at the lower rate and Ms. Hooper replied no, they are not homesteaded yet. Commissioner Bradford asked how to compute the tax on a home with an assessed value of $150,000 and Ms. Hooper replied take the assessed value divide it by $1,000 times the millage rate ($150,000 ÷ $1,000 x 7.85 mills or 8.085 mills). Commissioner Avila-Vazquez stated the calculation is not done on the value of the home, but the assessed value and Ms. Hooper replied that is correct, it is the just value which would be equivalent to the market value less $15,000 which is typically what the Property Appraiser does. That means if a person sold their home and paid the closing costs that is what the person would get out of pocket. Commissioner Bradford asked what the homestead exemption is and Ms. Hooper replied $50,000. Commissioner Avila-Vazquez asked if the homestead exemption was per person and Mayor Herzberg replied it is per home. 5. PUBLIC FORUM: Time permitted, public comments shall be limited to items on the agenda and shall not exceed four minutes. Please be courteous and respectful of the views of others. Personal attacks on Commission members, City staff or members of the public are not allowed and will be ruled out of order by the Mayor. City of Deltona Page 2 Printed on 7/25/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes July 22, 2019 Brandy White, 2689 Chalmer Street, Deltona, spoke about whether the average was based on home values this year, if the City accounted for the new homes that had been built, that the Commission does not know what the residents have been doing with regards to the budget, a citizen committee that was formed who will audit the budget every year, that she found 18 places that could be cut from the budget, a couple of things that could changed and she gave an example, the YMCA (Young Men’s Christian Association), small cuts or reallocations, the transportation bonds, and to keep the millage rate or roll it back. Elbert Bryan, 1625 Joyner Drive, Deltona, spoke about the averages versus actual numbers, save our homes only covering the values of the home, the 3% being based on the value of the home and not on the millage rate, that there is 8% that can be trimmed from the budget, no one has mentioned trimming, everyone mentioned raising rates, federal government taxes, residents paying for prescriptions and food, $85,000 for CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funding, $50,000 for five years being paid to DeLand for the homeless, the homeless population in Deltona, the lack of beds for the homeless and the rates of hotels, the funds allotted to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), giving sponsorships to all racial organizations and not just the NAACP, the millage rate going up no matter what, the millage rate and taxes going up and the County raising their rate which is not capped at 3%. Mayor Herzberg asked the Finance Director to explain the 3% again and Ms. Hooper addressed the 3% being a cap on the assessed value and the differences in the millage rates. She also stated the City is made up of 6.3% commercial property. Motion by Commissioner Nabicht, to approve Resolution No. 2019-29 adopting the tentative millage rate of 8.085 for the levy of ad valorem taxes for fiscal year 2019-2020. Motion failed for a lack of a second. Motion by Commissioner Bradford, seconded by Commissioner King, to approve Resolution No. 2019-29 adopting the tentative proposed millage rate of 7.85 for the levy of ad valorem taxes for fiscal year 2019-2020. City Attorney Fowler read the title of Resolution No. 2019-29 for the record. A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF DELTONA, FLORIDA; ADOPTING A PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE FOR THE 2019-2020 FISCAL YEAR; DETERMINING THE ROLLEDBACK RATE; ESTABLISHING A DATE, TIME, AND PLACE AT WHICH A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD TO CONSIDER THE PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE AND THE TENTATIVE BUDGET FOR THE 2019-2020 FISCAL YEAR; City of Deltona Page 3 Printed on 7/25/2019 Special City Commission Meeting Minutes July 22, 2019 PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. The motion carried by the following vote: For: 6 - Commissioner Avila-Vazquez, Commissioner Bradford, Commissioner King, Commissioner McFall, Vice Mayor Ramos, and Mayor Herzberg Against: 1 - Commissioner Nabicht Resolution No. 2019-29 was adopted at 5:59 p.m. 6. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: None. 7. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:00 p.m. ______________________________ Heidi K. Herzberg, MAYOR ATTEST: ________________________________ Joyce Raftery, CMC, MMC, CITY CLERK City of Deltona Page 4 Printed on 7/25/2019