Lynn Haven City Commission discussed potential cuts to the proposed fiscal budget at a precommission meeting, focusing on items that could reduce a proposed millage increase and whether to retain life-safety equipment for the fire department.

At issue was how to close a projected gap without raising the millage above recent years. Commissioner Peebles said eliminating two items—"the citywide re keys and the thermal imager camera"—would “save us, like, 100 and something thousand.” A staff member who ran the numbers said the two items together reduced the budget by about $138,000 and showed an updated millage figure on screen.

The commission debated alternatives to cuts tied to overtime, with one commissioner proposing a mix of operating and capital cuts plus reserve use instead of relying on uncertain overtime reductions. Commissioners and staff discussed tapping reserves to reduce the need for a higher millage; staff said returning the millage to the commission’s prior level of about 4.05 would leave roughly a $252,000 shortfall and that staff would review $252,000 of possible cuts before the Tuesday meeting.

Fire-department equipment became a focal point. A fire-department representative explained why thermal-imaging cameras were restored to the budget: “I have 2 of those units that are 20 years old. The rest are coming up on 10, and right now, I have 1 out of service. So we’re at the point now where these things are gonna fail.” Commissioners repeatedly said they did not want to cut the thermal imagers because of their role locating people in low-visibility fires.

Staff and commissioners identified specific cost items for further reduction. The July Fourth fireworks were listed as the single largest event cost at $50,000, with related event costs of about $54,000; staff suggested trimming both line items and shortening the fireworks display under the existing vendor contract to reduce expense. Commissioners also discussed delaying or temporarily removing a roughly $50,000 budgeted national executive-search fee for a city-manager search, noting staff could bring back a budget resolution later to restore funds if the commission desired a professional search.

By the end of the discussion, staff said the thermal-imager line item had been returned to the draft budget and the citywide rekeying removed; a staff update showed a revised millage of 4.2335 on the screen. Staff committed to present a set of proposed cuts and a recommended millage at the Tuesday commission meeting.

The commission did not vote on a final budget at the precommission session; staff will return with a revised proposed budget and any formal resolutions or motions for adoption at the next meeting.