Tonight’s meeting went without much of a hitch, and the council was able to review again a brief overview of the 2022-2023 budget and millage rate. Ms. Alves and her associate presented a brief overview of the final budget with one minor adjustment due to rounding issues. The final proposed budget is to be $328,187,636 dollars, a three dollar increase from the last budget meeting at $328,187,633 dollars.
The council voted on the State Road 100 Community Redevelopment Agency Budget, and it passed 4-1 with Councilman Danko being the only no vote.
The council then proposed the final millage rate of 4.6100 mills, a 14.85% increase from last years roll back rate of 4.0138 mills. The mayor opened the floor for public comment, but residents had nothing more to say. The proposed millage rate was brought back to the dais for a motion and discussion; where councilman Danko made a comment that everyone had already stated their positions, and there was nothing more to say. He commented that he was happy the fire department was getting what they needed, but he was against the millage rate increase. Councilman Branquinho made a comment that almost all the posted jobs for the city are currently entry level for minimum wage, and those jobs are not what is hurting our budget. The council then voted on the adopting the final millage rate of 4.6100 mills and it passed 4-1 with Councilman Danko being the only no vote.
The council then moved on to the proposed budget of $328,187,636 dollars, the mayor opened the floor for public comment. No residents had anything more to say on this matter; it was brought back to the dais for motion and discussion. The council had nothing to discuss on the matter, and it was sent to a vote where it passed 4-1 with councilman Danko being the only no vote, again.
The council then opened the meeting up to general comments. There were two residents who had a comment. One questioned the council on why we were continuing to spend such large amounts of money when we could potentially be on the cusp of a recession worse than 2008. Another commenter wanted to lodge a complaint on the lack of communication at city hall. He has been calling for over a month about his flooded swales in his neighborhood and his yard and no one has reached out to him about it.
With that the council moved to adjourn the meeting. The final millage rate for the next fiscal year in Palm Coast is 4.6100 mills. A 14.85% increase from last years roll back amount of 4.0138 mills. The budget was also adopted, at $328,187, 636 dollars, a $3 increase from the last meeting because of rounding issues. They mayor stated that the budget process takes roughly seven months, so citizens should start to become aware of workshops starting sometime early 2023, if they wish to follow the next years budget process more closely.
