First Public Budget Hearing

Lake Park Town Commission, Florida Regular Commission Meeting Tuesday, September 05, 2023 at 6:30 PM Commission Chamber, Town Hall, 535 Park Avenue, Lake Park, FL 33403 Roger Michaud — Mayor Kimberly Glas-Castro — Vice-Mayor John Linden — Commissioner Mary Beth Taylor — Commissioner Judith Thomas — Commissioner John D’Agostino — Town Manager Lainey Francisco — Town Attorney Vivian Mendez, MMC — Town Clerk PLEASE TAKE NOTICE AND BE ADVISED, that if any interested person desires to appeal any decision of the Town Commission, with respect to any matter considered at this meeting, such interested person will need a record of the proceedings, and for such purpose, may need to ensure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made, which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based. Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations in order to participate in the meeting should contact the Town Clerk’s office by calling 881-3311 at least 48 hours in advance to request accommodations. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL 6:35 P.M. PRESENT Mayor Roger Michaud Vice-Mayor Kimberly Glas-Castro Commissioner John Linden Commissioner Mary-Beth Taylor Commissioner Judith Thomas arrived at 6:49 P.M. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Grant Writer/ Chief Public Information Officer Merrell Angstreich. TOWN ATTORNEY, TOWN MANAGER, COMMISSIONER COMMENTS: The Town Commission commented throughout the meeting. Regular Commission Meeting September 05, 2023 Page 1 NEW BUSINESS: Mayor Michaud opened the public hearing and asked Town Manager D'Agostino to explain the budget. Town Manager D'Agostino explained the proposed budget. A copy of the General Fund Budget highlights are included as Exhibit "A". Vice-Mayor Glas-Castro asked how much the Lake Park Marina owes the Town. Town Manager D'Agostino explained that the General Fund has been covering $350,000 a year to the Marina Fund. Finance Director Jeff Duvall explained that the Marina owes about $3.5 Million to the General Fund. He explained that $2.4 Million of the total was for payment back to Palm Beach County, which allowed for the acceleration of the P3 project. Vice-Mayor Glas-Castro asked what the Community Greening Program was. Town Manager D'Agostino explained that it was a tree planting program where residents participate and have trees planted on their property. Commissioner Thomas explained the Community Green Program was a Non-Profit organization who partner with municipalities to offer tree planting services to the Town and residents at a discounted rate. Commissioner Taylor proposed changes to the Special Events budget as it pertained to Sponsored Events. Her comments are included as Exhibit "B". Vice-Mayor Glas-Castro asked where the funding of a multicultural event would come from. Commissioner Taylor proposed taking the $10,000 budgeted for the Haitian Flag Day event and Battle of the Badges towards the event. Town Manager D'Agostino explained that the budget was presented as balanced and it was up to the Commission to allocate funds for the event. The Commission and Town Manager had a lengthy discussion pertaining to options to fund and put on these events. The decision was made to allocate $5,000 towards the Haitian Flag Day event, $10,000 for a multicultural event, and $17,500 for all other events. Public Comment: Dianne Sophinos asked questions regarding street lighting; road improvements; elevators; uniforms; insurances; shot spotter; hepatitis vaccinations; historic property registers; and cost of the evergreen study. Town Manager D'Agostino and staff responded to questions in which the information was readily available to them. Evelyn Harris Clark asked if the Town offered home improvement grants to residents and questioned the need for several consultants in the Community Redevelopment Agency. She agreed with a multicultural event. 1. Resolution 65-09-23 Adopting the Proposed Millage Rate for Fiscal Year 2023-2024.  A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF LAKE PARK, FLORIDA, ADOPTING A PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE FOR THE TOWN OF LAKE PARK FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2023 AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2024; STATING THE ROLLED-BACK RATE FOR THE TOWN OF LAKE PARK; STATING THE PERCENT BY WHICH THE TOWN MILLAGE RATE EXCEEDS, IF ANY, THE ROLLED-BACK MILLAGE RATE; AND LEVYING FOR AD VALOREM TAXES ON ALL TAXABLE REAL AND TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY IN THE TOWN OF LAKE PARK FOR FISCAL YEAR 2023/2024; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Motion made to approve Resolution 65-09-23 adopting a millage rate of 5.187 mils by Commissioner Thomas, Seconded by Vice-Mayor Glas-Castro. Vice-Mayor Glas-Castro commented that the reduction in the millage rate was 3%. New notices would be mailed to home owners explaining the new rate. Commissioner Linden asked if the budget was balanced with the new millage rate. Town Manager D'Agostino stated yes. Voting Yea: Mayor Michaud, Commissioner Linden, Commissioner Taylor 2. RESOLUTION 67-09-23 Adopting a Tentative Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. A RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COMMISSION OF THE TOWN OF LAKE PARK, FLORIDA, MAKING SEPARATE AND SEVERAL APPROPRIATIONS FOR ITS NECESSARY OPERATING EXPENSES, THE EXPENSES OF THE VARIOUS FUNDS AND DEPARTMENTS OF THE TOWN FOR THE FISCAL YEAR BEGINNING OCTOBER 1, 2023, AND ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 2024, AND PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE THEREOF. Motion made to approve Resolution 67-09-23 as presented by Vice-Mayor Glas-Castro, Seconded by Commissioner Linden. Commissioner Taylor asked if she could discuss the proposed salaries. She expressed concerns that the lower end employees were not receiving a realistic increase. She felt that it was a very large span between the higher paid employees and the lower paid employees. Vice-Mayor Glas- Castro explained that when the last salary survey was conducted, adjustments were made to Public Works employees and those lower level employees, and they did not make adjustments to the top tier employees. Those adjustments were all deferred. She explained that this was to catch up because those salaries were not adjusted accordingly. Commissioner Taylor explained that in Regular Commission Meeting September 05, 2023 Page 3 Exhibit A Exhibit B