Forward Pinellas board approves TIP amendments, raises FY26 planning ceiling to $6.51 million

Forward Pinellas approved amendments to its Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) on May 14, 2025, moving unspent fiscal year 2024 planning funds into the fiscal year 2026 Unified Planning Work Program and raising the budgetary ceiling to $6,513,956.

The action, presented by Chelsea Favreau, the agency's MPO division manager, was put to a roll-call vote as required by state statute for TIP and long-range plan amendments. Commissioner Renee Flowers moved to approve and Clearwater Council member Mike Menino seconded. The motion carried unanimously.

Chelsea Favreau said the change allows the agency to use closeout funds sooner: "If we modify this, those funds are available as of July first of 2026 or 2025, which is the 2026 fiscal year. If we didn't take this action, we wouldn't have those dollars available for another year." The board recorded the budget ceiling as $6,513,956.

Board members asked no substantive questions during the item and no members of the public spoke. Forward Pinellas staff and the clerk completed the roll call and recorded unanimous approval.

The amendment changes the program-level availability of MPO planning funds but does not by itself authorize particular projects; project-level programming will follow existing procedures and future work-program actions as needed.

The board approved the consent agenda earlier in the meeting by motion and later took the TIP amendment as a separate public hearing action.

Details of the roll-call vote and the staff presentation will be filed with the meeting packet and the finalized Unified Planning Work Program amendment.