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Council weighs ARPA projects and tentatively backs $150,000 toward wastewater interconnect; asks sheriff to present on $1.1M contract
Summary
Council reviewed ARPA/CIP priorities (equipment, man lift, park work, DPW furniture) and reached consensus to allocate $150,000 toward a proposed wastewater interconnect with Hernando County (contingent on county agreement and procurement timing); members also asked the sheriff to aend the August budget meeting to discuss the current $1.1M contract for deputies and considered tentative millage scenarios.
Brooksville councilors on June 24 spent considerable time reviewing proposed ARPA and capital improvement projects, and they agreed in principle to earmark $150,000 of ARPA funds toward a planned interconnect of the city wastewater system with Hernando County — provided county agreements, engineering and timelines are resolved.
City staff presented a list of candidate ARPA projects including commercial lawn maintenance equipment (originally $150,000, later discussed reducing to $100,000 with Duke Energy sponsorship), purchase of a man lift, resurfacing of the Jerome Brown basketball court, furniture for a new DPW facility and cabinetry for Hernando Park. Staff said about $600,000 of ARPA savings were available for reallocation and recommended prioritizing projects that could be allocated and encumbered by the federal timing deadlines.
Council members focused on the wastewater interconnect as a high‑priority infrastructure item: staff reported the city has multimillion‑dollar resources available (references to $3.5M in reserves and about $900,000 in connection fees were made) and proposed setting aside $150,000 in ARPA funds to advance the interconnect planning. The council asked staff to pursue negotiations with Hernando County and to prepare procurement documents (including a sidewalk fallback plan that could be bid quickly if the interconnect timing slips). Council asked staff to report back at the August 12 budget meeting; staff cautioned formal allocation and PO timing requires lead time for bidding.
Separately, councilors discussed the existing sheriff contract budgeted at roughly $1.1M for eight contracted deputies. Lieutenant Brent Stence of the Hernando County Sheriff's Office briefed the council on call volumes and said the contractual arrangement mandates two deputies in the city at all times; council members asked the sheriff to attend the August meeting for a detailed conversation about service levels, costs and options.
Finance Director distributed millage scenarios. The council did not set a tentative millage rate but acknowledged reserves are below recommended levels (Finance estimated a carryover of approximately $3.7M and recommended reserve target vs. current). Some councilors suggested a modest millage increase may be needed to meet infrastructure needs; others urged further review to trim nonessential programs first.
Next steps: Staff will (a) start procurement planning for sidewalk projects as a fallback if ARPA timing requires it, (b) pursue county discussions and engineering estimates for the interconnect and (c) invite sheriff leadership to the August 12 budget session and return with a detailed ARPA/CIP schedule.
