City presents $248 million FY26 preliminary CIP, highlights resilience and Penny for Pinellas shifts

City budget staff presented the city of St. Petersburg’s preliminary FY26 capital improvement plan (CIP), telling the Committee of the Whole the five‑year program totals $248,272,000 for FY26 projects and places a renewed emphasis on resilience planning. The presentation reviewed how the plan was developed, major fund totals, and items staff plans to return to council for appropriation later in the year.

The budget director said the presentation “is based upon information contained in the workbook,” and walked council members through the CIP process, timelines and key funding assumptions for Penny for Pinellas and other funds. The Water Resources CIP fund is the largest single fund in the FY26 plan — roughly $126.12 million and just over half of the FY26 projects — while the stormwater drainage fund is the second largest, at about $52.5 million.

Why it matters: the CIP sets project priorities and shows which projects staff expects to seek appropriations for next fiscal year. Council members used the committee review to press staff on timing, revenue assumptions and how the emerging St. Pete Agile Resilience (SPAR) program will be funded.

Most important details: staff described the CIP as a five‑year planning document with the first year subject to appropriation and the remaining four years indicative and subject to change. Penny for Pinellas revenue for the 10‑year plan was revised modestly to $385 million from prior estimates; allocations include $6 million for affordable housing land acquisition and multi‑year investments in stormwater and water resources. The presentation noted a decline in the Penny revenue estimate compared with the prior plan and that two SPAR funds are not yet balanced because staff is still identifying revenue sources.

Council members asked for more granular information on several priorities: sidewalk and complete‑streets increases, specific park and recreation projects (including the Sunshine Center), and whether projects listed in later years could be advanced. Staff said some projects — for example final funding for Fire Station 2 and Williams Park — will be brought back later in FY25 or early FY26 for council consideration. On Penny for Pinellas uses, staff explained some flexibility was intentionally preserved in the five‑year plan to allow shifting to higher‑priority projects as revenues and needs evolve.

Funding and trade‑offs: the city stated it is targeting a roughly 50/50 cash‑to‑debt funding mix for several enterprise CIP funds (water and stormwater). That goal, incorporated into policy in recent years, was described as a deliberate tool to manage long‑term leverage and rating agency perspective; council members said they want public conversations about whether and how to use general obligation bonds, rate adjustments, or other sources to deliver major resilience investments more quickly.

What’s next: staff said they will return with more detail on particular projects (including project fact sheets and a GIS view to let council and the public toggle projects by district), report back on Penny revenue updates in the summer after certified values are available, and bring requests to appropriate funds for specific projects as design or procurement advances.