Budget Season is Here! The first workshop on the proposed new budget
was held last Wednesday with the second meeting coming up this Wednesday @
7:30pm. Please attend if you can and make your thoughts known.
I have been communicating with several of our Commissioners
due to the unique situation we find ourselves in of setting a budget now
without the benefit of the audited financials from the previous year. Why this
is a concern is that we still do not have the final confirmation of the
overages we encountered in completing the two new buildings. As a brief recap, the
admitted cost disclosed in the closing reconciliation was $1,800,147.24. However, closer inspection found
that an additional $161,216.00 (less unexpected credits not known at the time of
expenditure) were incurred using unappropriated Village funds. I assume this came
from our reserves, but won’t fully know until after the audit has been
completed. And that’s a problem, both then and now.
CNBC
contributors laid out why they believe that a downturn or “reset” may be
looming. “The truth is the economy is most likely already in a recession and there
never was a viable economic recovery.”
So, I have
advised caution moving forward and to prioritize spending for departments based
on those that have the most direct benefit to the majority of our homeowners and in their
overall impact to our property values, etc. Due to the fact we were unsuccessful
in our efforts to add to or diversify our tax base, I am of the opinion that we
need to do everything within our power to increase our home values and our
investment in them. This brings me to our Code and Recreation departments.
CODE:
Previous budgets
committed as little as just 3% of our overall budget to our code department. And
this under allocation of resources shows in the condition of our Village as
there are issues on most every street that have gone unattended. Part of the
problem has been a lack of support, training and oversight for our code
officer. Part of it also is the possibility that the design of the department
is just not efficient and as a result is too time consuming causing the code
officer to spend approx. 90% of his time in the office… not out in the field
where he is most needed.
But there is
some good news. First, our new Manager’s background has been based in code and that
should provide a major boost in every way imaginable. Secondly, there has been
more money proposed in the new budget to provide for a part-time assistant to
help with the paperwork and provide additional support. So, in my opinion, the
message that we residents have been sending to the Commission has been heard
and they are attempting to address it. Kudos.
RECREATION DEPARTMENT:
This department has been a hot topic for years. There have
been many residents who have questioned both the use and design of this department.
The main question seems to be “who” is using the park… our residents or others? There was a rather halfhearted attempt to
gather this information in the past, but the results proved unreliable. Some
years ago we successfully outsourced the after school and summer camp programs.
Residents have questioned why not complete that measure by outsourcing the rest?
As such I
thought now would be the time to gather input from our homeowners regarding specifically
the Rec. Centers costs and its use. The new proposed budget for the departments employees
is $84,979.00 in salaries + $20,881.00 in benefits =$105,860.00 in total. As with any budget, there is only so much money to
go around and again due to our unknown fiscal condition and reserves amount, we
need to insure that we get the most bang for every tax dollar spent. Would you rather see the expenditure of
$105,860.00 used for other purposes that may better benefit a larger number of
our residents? I.e. additional street lighting, etc.
The purpose
of the poll is to discover what number of our residents are actually using the rec. center services
provided by our employees? (the poll question is located on the top right hand corner of the page)
POLL
QUESTION:
·
Do you use the Rec. Center services provided by our employees?
·
Do
you think that staffing it with our employees makes any difference in our
property values or quality of life?
Request- please limit your vote to one vote per household.
The results should represent our property parcels and not our total overall population.
Thanks-
Due to some limitations on how this site deals with polls, I
am going to attempt to pose these two questions that will result with the same
answer, either yes or no. However, if you agree with one point but not the other,
please post your comments below with a brief explanation.
The more residents that
participate, the better the statistical results will be.
This type of community involvement may perhaps
assist our Commission with dealing with the new budget prior to it being finalized.
Standing Watch,
Milton Hunter
The
Biscayne Parker
