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Largo unveils 2027–31 capital improvement program; stormwater rate proposed to rise 15%
Summary
City staff presented the proposed 2027–2031 CIP and recommended a 15% stormwater rate increase (about $2.66/month) alongside other fund changes; commissioners asked staff and the finance advisory board to refine priorities and consider spreading increases.
City staff presented a proposed five-year Capital Improvement Program for fiscal 2027–2031 and described how projects would be funded and prioritized. The CIP presentation, led by Jared Campbell and Connor Anderson of the Office of Performance and Budget, mapped projects to the city's strategic goals and asked the finance advisory board to review items before the commission moves toward adoption in June.
The packet includes a set of utility and revenue assumptions for FY27–31. Staff proposed a 15% stormwater rate increase for FY27, which staff said would add about $2.66 per month to the typical bill and is intended to fund roughly $7,000,000 in needed infrastructure maintenance to address a 20-year backlog. Solid-waste rates are proposed to increase 5% in FY27 and then reduce to a 2% annual increase in later years; wastewater was presented with no rate increase for FY27. Staff estimated these proposals would raise average utility bills by about $50.40 per year for an average ratepayer.
The CIP lists numerous funded projects (fire station recapitalization and land acquisition for Fire Station 40; roof and solar programs; recreation and parks improvements; wastewater and stormwater capital work) and several unfunded needs (highland/transportation multimodal improvements and various pavement projects). Staff noted that wastewater fund projections assume a reimbursable SRF loan for a deep-well injection project that improves fund balances in later years.
Commissioners focused on how rate choices affect residents and asked staff and the finance advisory board to consider options for phasing increases. One commissioner suggested evaluating the solid-waste and stormwater increases to ease immediate rate pressure on residents; staff agreed to forward the questions to the finance advisory board for consideration and to return recommendations after the board's April 27 review and the May 12 presentation to the commission.
Next procedural steps: the finance advisory board will review the CIP and rate proposals on April 27; staff will return with the finance advisory board's recommendations on May 12, and a resolution to adopt the plan will be placed on the commission's June agenda ahead of the annual budget adoption.
