Council Member Sanchez called the Sept. workshop to discuss the town's draft budget and public concerns about a proposed tentative millage and other revenue changes. Town Manager said the presentation incorporates council direction from the prior meeting and several technical changes.

The town manager told the dais that staff had incorporated three main council directions: assuming a change in the Florida Power & Light franchise fee from 3% to 6; suspending a local FPL franchise ordinance that directs amounts above $1,275,000 to infrastructure so those funds can be used in the general fund for one year; and maintaining committee budgets flat for the coming fiscal year. "That generates in this coming fiscal year ... $1,125,000 for this next fiscal year," the manager said of the franchise-fee change; he added that those two items together lowered the proposed tentative millage from 2.6372 to 2.2459.

The budget director, Melissa, reminded the council of a statutory rule affecting revenue estimates. "Per Florida statute, we have to budget it at 95%," she said, referring to the way the town must estimate ad valorem receipts for the proposed budget.

Council members said they are seeking further cuts while preserving core services. Vice Mayor Moreira said public safety, park maintenance, road repairs and sidewalks are nonnegotiable priorities: "If a budget's going to have my vote, the police will be fully funded. Our park maintenance cycle will be fully funded. The road maintenance, road repairs ... are going to be fully funded and sidewalk repairs are going to be fully funded." Several other council members said they had been reviewing line items and asked staff for detailed alternatives and the likely service impacts of cuts.

Multiple residents said the proposed rate increases would harm households. Esperanza Reynolds, a resident, urged greater transparency and a citizen budget-auditor approach: "So tonight, please do what is right." Other speakers, including former councilmember Marilyn Ruano, argued the town had and can maintain lower millage by using prior-year carryforwards and tighter line-item scrutiny.

Town staff flagged budget risks and limits. The manager said the town has relied in prior years on one-time transfers (for example transfers from capital funds) to balance operations and that those one-time sources are largely exhausted: "We should budget recurring expenses and recurring revenues. We should not have one-time transfers to balance a budget." Melissa also explained how fund-balance and reserve rules and recent budget amendments affect what cash is available for one-time versus recurring uses.

What happened next: no final votes were taken. Council members asked staff to return with revised numbers, detailed savings options and the legal/technical consequences of proposed changes before the first public budget hearing.

Why it matters: the council had previously set a tentative cap rate to comply with state notice requirements; workshop discussion and possible amendments over the next weeks will determine the final millage and which services are preserved or reduced. The manager and finance staff warned that statutory timing (certified tax rolls, Department of Revenue forecasts) and ordinance constraints shape how and when the council can lower the tentative cap before final adoption.