City staff presented a draft 2025–26 budget to the Palatka Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) on June 4, outlining projected revenue from tax increment financing, proposed operating expenses and transfers to capital projects.

The draft projects modest revenue growth from current tax-increment receipts and lists transfers to support downtown police services and major streetscape projects. Staff told the CRA board the draft is conservative and will be updated as more information — including grant awards and firm contractor estimates — becomes available, and asked the board for input before the next meeting.

Board members pressed staff for clearer project-level accounting. The draft includes a transfer to cover two full-time police officers assigned to the downtown district and line items for an electrical connection and pump work tied to the downtown streetscape. Staff said an initial high-end estimate for restoring downtown electrical service was $414,000 but that an engineer’s site review identified existing conduit that could reduce the CRA’s incremental cost; staff said one updated estimate could drop the city portion toward $250,000. For the pump house work, staff said engineers had submitted a current project estimate and that the CRA’s forthcoming budget would reflect the full anticipated expense.

Staff also noted proposed reductions to the building improvement grant fund for 2025–26 to accommodate newly budgeted police and code-enforcement costs; the draft shows smaller grant allocations than the current fiscal year. The presenter described the document as a working draft and asked the board to submit priorities so staff can deliver a revised budget by June 11–13 ahead of the June 18 meeting.

The meeting closed without a formal vote on the draft; a motion to adjourn carried by voice vote.

Next steps: staff will refine revenue assumptions and project cost estimates, break out transfers and capital allocations by line item, and deliver an updated draft to the CRA by mid-June for further review.