Old Orchard discusses annual plan, budget transfers to newly forming merchant association; city finance provides line-item guidance

Commissioners discussed the annual planning report due before March and the FY26 budget, including how event funding and staff charges will move to a newly forming Old Orchard merchant association.

Pam and other city representatives explained the planning-report template and said commissions will present accomplishments and a work plan. Commissioners noted the city requested prior-year materials and that the commission had not completed the structured annual planning exercise as a group the previous year; they agreed to use the coming month to prepare a submission.

On budgeting, commissioners asked for a line-item breakdown of recent expenditures so the district can identify where money for events such as the gazebo series, holiday festival and trunk-or-treating was recorded. City Director of Finance Gregory Donovan joined the meeting and described how personnel-related charges appear in the report: parks staff time historically was tracked and then apportioned to business districts, and the finance department recorded those charges; contracted staff (Fran) appear under contract or professional services. Donovan said he was given an allocation split for parks hours across the three districts as roughly 50%, 40% and 10% (the figure was presented to him as an estimate of time spent); he described that allocation as based on estimated time in each district and on factors such as the number of planters and maintenance needs. Donovan recommended the commission begin by breaking down advertising and special-event expenses because those categories likely contain most event-related costs.

Commissioners noted some unfamiliar line items in the new worksheet, such as FICA and medical insurance, which reflect personnel-cost classification; they requested that Gregory provide an updated budget breakdown with receipts and line-item detail once outstanding credit-card statements and receipts (from the holiday festival and Fran's December expenses) are posted. The commission asked staff to compile prior-year budgets and mission/purpose statements for an apples-to-apples comparison and to clarify how funds will be shifted to the new merchant association’s account. No transfers or appropriations were approved at this meeting; the commission directed staff to obtain the requested detail and to place budget decisions on the Feb. 11 agenda.

Commissioners and staff also noted citywide items: the KVC Children's Hospital project was expected to come to the city council’s third reading and probable vote soon, and the Safe Streets for All grant planning and a resident survey were underway, though those items were described as city-level rather than commission-level actions.