Oviedo staff lays out FY25-26 personnel, capital priorities and proposal to use reserve funds

City staff on a council work session presented a prioritized list of requested personnel additions and capital projects for fiscal year 2025–26 and asked council for direction on which items to prioritize and whether to use portions of the city’s unassigned fund balance to pre-fund selected projects.

The presentation, led by Mr. Cobb, identified four request categories: personnel, capital improvement projects (items greater than $25,000), capital outlay (items under $25,000) and facilities maintenance. "Please bear in mind though, as we go through this process, this process is not a guarantee of absolute funding," Cobb told council, adding that staff wanted council priorities up front so funding decisions later in the budget cycle could reflect them.

Why this matters: staff said recurring personnel costs are treated cautiously because they add to the base budget while capital is generally one-time spending. Council direction now will shape which positions and projects staff try to fund when final revenue numbers (property valuations and state estimates) come in later in the spring and early summer.

Discussion highlights

- Personnel and timing: Staff provided a three-year view of full-time equivalents added in recent years and said the current prioritized personnel list was developed after a directors' meeting. When asked whether staff intended to hire all requested positions in the coming year, Cobb said the list reflected requests for FY25–26 but that a full funding decision would depend on revenue estimates later in the budget process.

- Departmental priorities: Staff said parks and facilities maintenance ranked higher this cycle than additional firefighter/EMT positions. "Yes, that's correct," Cobb responded when a council member asked whether the prioritization reflected staff consensus.

- Capital items: The capital list included large items such as an artificial turf project and a City Hall chiller. Councilmembers questioned spending $250,000 on consultant master plans versus using that money for direct recreation or facility improvements. Staff said some plans (such as a FEMA- or grant-required facility management plan) might be necessary to meet grant terms.

- Equipment and operational items raised: Councilors asked about locker room renovations, vehicle replacement policies (including a request for an additional code enforcement truck), shade structure performance, a specialized park piece of equipment (a "dingo"), swan-boat revenue and a multi-year portable radio replacement program for public safety. Chief Coleman and other presenters explained the radios are a multi-year, Motorola-based portable replacement estimated at about $900,000 total, with $300,000 budgeted in the current year and another $600,000 needed.

Council direction and staff proposal on fund balance

Staff asked for council consensus to use unassigned fund balance for three purposes: pay off approximately $2,200,000 of existing general fund debt to free up cash flow; allocate $2,200,000 toward construction of a police station annex; and use $550,000 to pre-fund capital outlay and equipment for the next fiscal year. Cobb summarized how those uses would affect reserves and policy compliance.

On the reserve policy, staff said the city policy calls for a 15% general fund reserve and noted GFOA best-practice guidance of about 16.67%. Cobb said the projected unassigned fund balance before the proposed uses was about $19.8 million; the three proposed uses would move the balance toward about $14.8 million but staff expected to remain close to the city’s policy floor. A council member said, "I always like paying off debt, especially if we could stay above our threshold that we still have enough for hurricanes."

Action and next steps

Staff requested consensus to prepare budget-adjustment documents for formal consideration in a future meeting (May/June). Council gave verbal consensus for staff to bring back the recommended adjustments and a formal budget adjustment ordinance for approval later in the process.

Ending

Staff said final decisions would await updated property valuations and state revenue estimates in June–July; council priorities provided tonight will guide what staff attempts to fund if revenue allows. If council wanted changes to the ranked lists, staff asked that those be provided before staff completes the budget packages for formal hearings.