Redevelopment agency adopts FY2026 budget; board discusses limits of CRA spending and possible boundary changes
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Summary
Temple Terrace Redevelopment Agency adopted its fiscal year 2026 budget unanimously. Finance Director Ingram told the board the CRA budget totals $1,736,084.84 and is restricted to activities inside the redevelopment area; board members asked staff to research changing CRA boundaries and legal limits under recent state law.
The Temple Terrace Redevelopment Agency unanimously adopted its fiscal year 2026 budget after a brief presentation and roll-call vote.
Finance Director John Ingram told the board the TTRA operates as "a dependent special district operating under the restrictions of chapter 163 part 2 of the Florida state statutes" and that estimated revenue for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025, equals $1,736,084.84, "in keeping with past practices and the requirements of Florida law." He said the budget lists $907,134 for scheduled principal and interest payments on the CRA loan, $3,000 for the annual CRA audit, $400,000 toward River Side Park construction and $782,666 as contingency reserves, and that any unspent balance at Sept. 30, 2026, will be appropriated in next year’s budget pursuant to Florida Statute 189.016.
Board members pressed for clarity about how CRA funds may be used. Agency member Fernandez asked whether tax-increment (TIF) and property-tax revenues received by the CRA "have to be spent within the redevelopment area, or can it be spent in other parts of the city?" Ingram replied, "No. It is restricted for the redevelopment area. So everything that we budget, we spend has to be connected to the CRA." Agency member Kravitz and others noted public misperceptions that the CRA covered only a handful of parcels near Bullard and 50th Street; the record shows the agency’s CRA totals about 225 acres across four quadrants and extends beyond the corner often described by commentators.
Kravitz asked whether the agency could shrink the CRA to exclude established single-family neighborhoods west and southeast of 50th Street. Planning staff said changing CRA boundaries would be a multi‑department effort and likely require ordinance action; the city attorney warned of recent legislation limiting CRA powers, including restrictions on new debt after July 1, 2025, and earlier statutory termination dates for many existing CRAs (cited to changes enacted by the Florida Legislature). Staff agreed to research the legal and fiscal consequences of a boundary change, noting the matter would require coordination with the legal department and careful analysis of potential effects to existing CRA projects and financing.
Action: Agency member Chambers moved to approve the FY2026 CRA budget; the motion was seconded, and the clerk recorded a unanimous roll-call adoption (ayes from Fernandez, Chambers, Kravitz, Vice Mayor Schisler and Mayor Ross).
