DDA keeps 1-mill levy, renews office lease and eyes budget changes for Old School Square

The Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority voted June 9 to keep the district’s millage rate at 1.0 mills for the coming fiscal year and approved a five‑year renewal of the DDA’s current office lease.

Why it matters: The millage decision preserves the DDA’s primary funding stream for district operations, public-realm maintenance and Old School Square programming. Board members said steady funding helps the DDA continue ambassador and public‑safety support downtown.

The vote: Board members conducted a roll call on the millage resolution and the motion to retain the 1.0‑mill levy passed unanimously among those present. Several members said the levy amount represented a modest per-property tax change while supporting essential downtown services.

Lease renewal: The board also approved a formal five‑year renewal of the DDA office lease at the current location downtown. Staff said the renewal includes the routine annual increase (approximately 3 percent) and that a clause in the agreement allows early termination with notice; the board discussed but did not adopt any right‑of‑first‑refusal purchase language.

Old School Square finances: Staff presented April financial reports for the DDA and Old School Square. Key takeaways included roughly $1.83 million in DDA revenues to date and operating expense items for events and programming at Old School Square that will be examined in greater detail at the June 24 budget planning meeting. Staff noted that the DDA’s recently announced $500,000 Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) allocation is currently being scoped and will fund grounds work such as lawn resodding at the Old School Square museum lawn.

Board comments and next steps: Board members pressed staff for greater clarity about event expenses and how Old School Square programming is budgeted; staff promised a detailed, line‑by‑line review at the June 24 budget planning session. One board member requested summary budgets for major events (total revenue and total expenses) grouped so the board can easily evaluate return on investment across cohorts of programming.

Staff asked the board to mark its calendar for the June 24 planning session and said a more detailed financial workbook would be distributed in advance.

Speakers

- Laura Simon — Executive Director, Downtown Development Authority; affiliation_type: government - Jim Knight — Board member; affiliation_type: government - Board members: Al Castillo (chair), Brian Rosen, Cole David, Vera Woodson, Arden Wharton

Authorities

- {"type":"statute","name":"DDA charter/statute (millage authority)","referenced_by":["Laura Simon"]}

Actions

- {"kind":"other","motion":"Set DDA millage rate at 1.0 mills for FY 2025–26","mover":"Jim Knight (motion recorded)","second":"(recorded second)","vote_record":[{"member":"Arneli Barton","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Cole David","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Alan Castello","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Brian Rosen","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Vera Woodson","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Jim Knight","vote":"yes"}],"tally":{"yes":6,"no":0},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Board set millage for DDA per charter authority."} - {"kind":"other","motion":"Approve five-year renewal of DDA office lease with standard annual increases","mover":"(recorded)","second":"(recorded)","vote_record":[],"tally":{},"outcome":"approved","notes":"Board approved renewal; staff to finalize documents and execute."}

Discussion vs. decision

- Discussion: How to allocate Old School Square programming dollars, need for itemized event budgets and how to use the CRA allocation for grounds improvements. - Direction: Staff to deliver detailed financial workbooks and event-level budgets at the June 24 budget planning meeting. - Decision: Millage retained at 1.0 mills; office lease renewal approved.

Clarifying_details

- DDA revenues reported to date (April): $1,828,672 — source: DDA financial report presented at meeting - DDA total expenses to date (April): $1,030,710 — source: DDA financial report - Old School Square income through April: $631,330 — source: Old School Square financial report - CRA allocation under discussion: $500,000 for grounds (resodding front museum lawn mentioned) — source: staff

proper_names

[{"name":"Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority","type":"agency"},{"name":"Old School Square","type":"facility"},{"name":"Delray Beach","type":"location"},{"name":"Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)","type":"agency"}]

community_relevance

- geographies: ["Downtown Delray Beach","Old School Square grounds"] - funding_sources: ["DDA millage","CRA allocation","sponsorships","ticket revenues"] - impact_groups: ["downtown property owners","businesses","visitors"]

meeting_context

- engagement_level: {"speakers_count":9,"duration_minutes":60,"items_count":3} - implementation_risk: "low" (millage and lease are routine annual actions; detailed budget work remains) - history: [{"date":"2025-05-19","note":"Prior budget discussions and Old School Square programming review"}]

searchable_tags:["millage","DDA budget","Old School Square","lease renewal","CRA"],

provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"transcript_4089.99","local_start":0,"local_end":320,"evidence_excerpt":"Ido now item 4 a, which is our millage... our DDA district has increased in property value... it is the Board's responsibility to set. Our maximum is a 1 mil assessment...","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"transcript_4373.89","local_start":0,"local_end":240,"evidence_excerpt":"This is just a formality. So we have, we're just renewing the lease on our current office... we'll just see a 3% increase as we've seen every year, for us with the renews for the next 5 years.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]} ,