Brooksville CRA adopts amended FY 2025-26 budget after debate over recipient transparency

The Brooksville Community Redevelopment Agency adopted Resolution 202601, an amended budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025, and ending Sept. 30, 2026, following a discussion about transparency and record-keeping for CRA grants.

A clerk read the resolution headnote before a staff member summarized the budget amendments and said staff would provide additional details in response to requests. "We've pretty well zeroed out last year's funding to the CRA," the staff member said, explaining why amendments were needed and that annual reports typically list awards but not the exact grant dates.

Councilwoman (speaker 8) pressed for finer-grained records and a recipient-level Excel listing showing who received funds, dates, and amounts. "That to me is unacceptable because, you know what, that's not free money," she said, adding that she wanted the city to account down to the penny and said she was "looking out for the taxpayers" and that, if transparency was insufficient, the CRA should be defunded.

Staff responded that applications include a total project cost and that CRA awards frequently require at least a 1-to-1 match from the applicant. A council member defended the CRA as a tool to help downtown property owners rehabilitate historic buildings and said the agency has supported investments that have changed downtown.

A motion to approve Resolution 202601 was made, seconded and adopted by roll-call vote (Earhart: Aye; Hallow: Aye; Tanner: Aye; Chair Bronson: Aye). Staff said they would compile the requested date-level details from past minutes to satisfy an open-records request and to provide the council the specific grant dates missing from the annual report.

The board also discussed that some projects can appear twice in reports because CRA policy reclaims funds if projects do not start within 90 days; staff said they will produce records showing the dates and recipients when available.