Venice commission approves notice to issue $5 million certificate of obligation for streets, public-safety and building repairs

The Venice City Commission voted Tuesday to publish notice of intent to issue a $5,000,000 combination tax-and-revenue certificate of obligation to support capital projects including streets, bridges and drainage; an animal-adoption center (either joint or stand-alone); city hall repairs; and public-safety facility repairs.

City staff, with consultant SEMCO on-screen, said the measure is part of a multi-year financing plan that previously used certificates of obligation in 2020, 2022 and 2024 and is designed to preserve the current property tax rate. "All of that is to be done without any increase to the city's current property tax rate," a city staff member told the commission.

Commissioners emphasized that approving publication is an early procedural step, not a final allocation. Commissioner Jones asked who would prioritize spending if all projects competed for the funds; staff replied that detailed project scopes, pavement-management ratings and underlying data would be brought back to the commission for individual approvals, and that any specific capital project spending would return to the commission before implementation.

The commission approved a motion to publish the required public notice under state statutes to begin the certificate issuance process; the motion carried on a voice vote. According to staff, the $5 million issuance is a smaller step this year that would be followed by a larger issuance anticipated in 2027 as part of a longer-term capital improvement plan.

Next steps: staff will provide the commission and the public with the underlying analyses, preliminary cost estimates and pavement-management data to support future allocation decisions and any later bond or certificate issuance.