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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09.04.2025 - City Council Meeting City of Clermont MINUTES FIRST BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING SEPTEMBER 04,2025 CALL TO ORDER The City Council met in a Special Meeting on Thursday, September 4, 2025, at City Hall. Mayor Murry called the meeting to order at 5:30 pm with the following Council Members present: Council Members Strange,Howard,Myers,and Petersen. Other City officials present were City Manager Van Wagner,Deputy City Manager Matthys and City Clerk Howe. The agenda items will be discussed concurrently and voted on separately. Item No. 1 —Resolution No. 2025-027R—Tentative Ad Valorem Millage Rate A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE TENTATIVE LEVYING OF AD VALOREM TAXES FOR FISCAL YEAR 2025-2026; PROVIDING FOR COLLECTION OF TAXES; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. Item No. 2—Resolution No.2025-028R—Tentative Budget A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CLERMONT, FLORIDA, ADOPTING THE T E N A T I V E BUDGET FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2025-2026; PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE. City Clerk Howe read into the record Resolution No. 2025-027R and Resolution No. 2025-028R by title only. Council Member Strange provided the invocation followed by the pledge of allegiance. Finance Director Borror stated that Resolution No. 2025-027R establishes the tentative millage rate for the ,City of Cl'ermont's fiscal year 2025-2026 at 4.5900 mills.This proposed rate,approved by the City Council on July 29, 2025, is lower than the rollback rate of 4.6185 mills and represents the maximum rate that was publicly noticed to property owners. Before fmal adoption, the public must be given the opportunity to provide comments during the tentative millage hearing. While the City Council may reduce the proposed rate, it cannot raise it.Adoption of the tentative rate requires a majority vote,and the fmal millage rate will be set on September 18,2025. Mayor Murry opened the public hearing. Bryan Bain, 245 Nautica Mile Drive—spoke in support of the 4.59 millage rate. Mayor Murry closed the public hearing. Council Member Strange motioned to adopt a millage rate of 4.4 mills for fiscal year 2026; seconded by Council Member Myers. Council Member Howard stated that he supports keeping the millage rate at 4.59 mills,he has not seen,nor will he support a lower rate like 4.4 without more detailed budget information. Council Member Strange explained that if grant income is included,the Capital Reserves would not require funding.Also,by reducing the healthcare estimate from$8.8 million to$7.4 million and directing the City Manager to pursue revenue from Lake County for EMS services, the millage rate could be lowered to 4.4 mills. City of Clermont MINUTES FIRST BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING SEPTEMBER 04,2025 Motion failed 2-3 with Council Member Howard,Council Member Myers and Mayor Murry opposed. Council Member Howard motioned to approve Resolution 2025-027R at the millage rate of 4.59; seconded by Council Member Myers.The motion passed 4-1 with Council Member Strange opposed. Finance Director Borror stated that Resolution 2025-028R approves the tentative budget for fiscal year 2025-2026, requires public comments before adoption, mandates the City Council adopt the tentative budget by the end of the public hearing, and sets the fmal budget adoption for September 18,2025. Mayor Murry opened the public hearing.No comments.Mayor Murry closed the public hearing. Council Member Howard said he supports aiming towards a 4.2 millage rate but will only approve a concrete budget without relying on uncertain assumptions, stressing the need for solid agreements with Lake County and a thorough review of insurance costs. Council Member Strange noted that this year's actual insurance costs are high, allowing for a reduced estimate next year and potential savings. She spoke about over funding the reserves and taxing without a plan.There is a new position for a grant writer for next fiscal year without any corresponding requirements, they should have a dollar amount or number of grants to reach each year. Council Member Strange requested an update on the EMS program from City Manager Van Wagner. City Manager Van Wagner stated that a preliminary EMS agreement is currently under review, with two main concerns identified. The first concern involves uncertainty regarding the extent of the service boundaries,particularly in relation to EMS coverage south of the turnpike.Second,the county has proposed lowering the ALS payment, which the city opposes due to budget needs. The county has offered $423.58 per transport from billing revenue and an additional $141.81 per call from MSTU ambulance funds. Fire Chief Ezell said that the biggest concern right now is that the county says if the city does not fully join the countywide EMS system,they cannot guarantee the funding levels they have offered,and they have not said what the funding would look like if we do not join. There is also a push to get a flat annual amount- instead of being paid per transport,for easier budgeting.The city is working to schedule a meeting with the county soon,aiming to finalize an agreement by next week. Discussion ensued on funding the program,coverage boundaries and long-term goals for the EMS program. Mayor Murry requested information about the debt services total,he felt that the city should not reduce the millage rate while incurring debt. Finance Director Borror explained that in total there are six debt service payments that amount to $75.5 million of that$48 million comes out of Enterprise Funds. The council discussed potential annexations and the additional revenue they could generate for the city. Council Member Strange requested the following three amendments to the budget before adopting. • Add grant revenue, create a condition upon hire of a grant writer to bring in between$750,000 and $1.5 million per year in grant funds. • Remove the transfer of$4.6 million to the capital reserves. • Reduce health care from$8.8 million to$7.4 million. City of Clermont MINUTES FIRST BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING SEPTEMBER 04,2025 The council discussed the risks of budgeting uncertain revenue, concerns about reducing the healthcare allocation based on a year when the city was not fully staffed,and the potential flexibility issues that could arise from not transferring$4.6 million to capital reserves,particularly if the city moves forward with the EMS program. Council Member Petersen motioned to approve Resolution 2025-028R: seconded by Council Member Howard. Discussion ensued on whether any of the amendments requested would be included in the motion. Council Member Petersen called for the vote. Passed 4-1 with Council Member Strange opposed. CLOSING COMMENTS None. City of Clermont MINUTES FIRST BUDGET PUBLIC HEARING SEPTEMBER 04,2025 ADJOURN: With no further comments,this meeting adjourned at 6:28 pm. m+1' 40t, ` APPROVED: Itcy Tim Murry, Mayor ATTEST: Tracy Ackroyd How , C City Clerk