Port Orange council hears preliminary capital plan, officials warn grant timing could delay local projects

City officials and staff presented a preliminary Fiscal Year 2025–26 capital improvement plan, capital outlay and fleet requests and told the City Council on a budget workshop night that grant timing and preliminary revenue estimates mean some projects may be pushed into later years or require trade-offs.

The city manager and Mark Simpson, finance director, opened the discussion by stressing that personnel is the city’s largest recurring expense and that capital is the area where the council has most control. “The largest expense in your budget is personnel but you don't have a whole lot of control over personnel,” the city manager said, adding that capital spending is where one-time revenues can be used without creating ongoing obligations.

Staff highlighted the stormwater fund projects as among the most urgent items. Simpson…