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Largo commission backs including floodplain manager in tentative FY2026 budget, prioritizes Pinecrest design and keeps millage at 5.52
Summary
Following a Finance Advisory Board recommendation, commissioners directed staff to include a floodplain manager position in the Sept. 3 tentative budget, swap funding from Venetian Gardens to the Pinecrest Conservation Area design (supported by a ~$950,000 grant), and present a proposed millage rate of 5.52 for the first hearing.
At the Aug. 12 work session, the Finance Advisory Board's chair reviewed recommendations for the FY2026 tentative budget and millage-rate proposal and the commission gave direction on three items: millage, a floodplain manager position, and stormwater project prioritization.
Bill McIntosh, chair of the Finance Advisory Board, told the commission the board had reviewed options to hold the millage at the current 5.52 or reduce it slightly to 5.5059 and recommended keeping it at 5.52 to avoid small reductions in services. The board estimated the homeowner difference between the two options would be about $2 to $4 annually in the average case and warned that small millage cuts can require service trade-offs.
FAB also recommended creating a floodplain manager position to improve the City's Community Rating System (CRS) score and help qualify homeowners for lower flood insurance premiums. Staff estimated the position would be largely fundable through a mix of general, stormwater and enterprise funds and described it as a roughly $100,000 recurring position; commissioners asked staff to provide counts of city flood-insurance policies to assess how many households would benefit.
On stormwater priorities the FAB recommended defunding the planned Venetian Gardens allocation (characterized as high-cost, low-impact) and accepting a nearly $950,000 grant toward the Pinecrest Conservation Area design (design estimated at $2.2M), which FAB said would provide broader flood-protection benefits across hundreds of homes and could remove up to 16 properties from the 100-year floodplain if fully implemented. Commissioners instructed staff to switch the tentative-budget line items accordingly.
The commission directed staff to include the floodplain manager position in the tentative budget for the Sept. 3 first hearing, swap Venetian Gardens for Pinecrest design funding, and bring a tentative budget with a proposed millage rate of 5.52 to the Sept. 3 hearing.
Next steps: staff will build those directions into the tentative budget packet for the Sept. 3 first public hearing and provide requested data (flood-insurance-policy counts and backup cost analyses) to the full commission.
