Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Budgeting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clermont finance director previews online budget book, outlines reserves and millage timeline
Summary
Finance Director Scott Ward gave council a preview of a new public online budget book and reviewed the calendar, reserves and how changes in the millage rate would affect the general fund.
Scott Ward, the city of Clermont finance director, told the council the departments have submitted proposed budgets and the city managers recommended budget is expected to be released on or about July 1, followed by public workshops and the councils July action to set a proposed maximum ad valorem millage rate.
Ward said the proposed online budget book, due to be published on or around July 1, will replace static Excel line-item reports with linked fund summaries, department pages, five-year capital planning and more narrative and graphics following GFOA (Government Finance Officers Association) principles. "We anticipate releasing the city manager's recommended budget on or about July 1," Ward said during his demonstration.
Why it matters: the calendar and the proposed online budget book set the public timeline for review and comment before the council adopts a final millage and budget this fall. Ward emphasized that when the council adopts the proposed maximum millage rate in July, that action limits the councils ability to later increase the millage (but does not prevent reductions) before final adoption in September.
Key figures and context: Ward walked the council through a six-year taxable-value history and said Clermont saw double-digit growth in recent years and that county growth updates expected in June could show about 5% growth this cycle. He said last years adopted rate of 4.88 produced about $26,700,000 and reminded the council that a 0.1 mill change would approximate $560,000 in revenue. On reserves, Ward said the unassigned (discretionary) portion of the general fund was about 55.9% of the citys 25% policy requirement as of the 2023 audit and that roughly $12,000,000 was available to the council; he projected that figure could be nearer $15,000,000 after the 2024 audit is complete.
Ward also showed examples from the departmental pages and a five-year capital plan. The online book will include project pages that can show project descriptions, renderings, accounting references, funding sources and operational impacts. Ward said the city is pursuing the GFOA award for the budget document and has asked staff to apply; he noted the GFOA award submission deadlines have required some schedule adjustments.
Council reactions: several council members thanked Ward and the budget manager, Kyle Bridal, for leading the work. A member asked whether the citys most recent audit would be ready on time; Ward said the city's financial audit is on track to meet the state deadline of June 30 and that the GFOA award submission has separate deadlines and requested extensions.
Where it goes next: Ward said the city manager's recommended budget will be published publicly with the new online portal around July 1, and council workshops and formal hearings will follow. Budget workshops are expected in July and formal adoption steps in September.
