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Edgewater finance director proposes 6.33 millage; council weighs reserves, ladder truck and capital priorities
Summary
Finance director Bridget Bass presented a balanced proposed FY2025 budget built on a 6.33 operating millage, recommending set-asides for a ladder fire truck, capital purchases and limited use of reserves while deferring most new staff hires; council discussed trimming council travel and other line items.
Bridget Bass, the city of Edgewater's finance director, presented the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget on July 15, recommending a 6.33 operating millage and a set of capital priorities that include a ladder fire truck, police vehicles and school-zone cameras.
Bass said the fire assessment approved previously will be held flat and outlined a plan to set aside a portion of fire-assessment and fire-impact fees over three years so the city can pay for a ladder truck without taking on long-term debt. The proposed capital list also includes five police patrol vehicles, license-plate readers and equipment to support school-zone camera enforcement. Bass described the proposed budget as balanced at 6.33 and said adding items would require raising the millage, using reserves, or removing other budgeted items.
On personnel, Bass recommended a 5% wage increase and noted estimated increases in health and dental costs, but she recommended deferring most of the roughly $2.3 million in requested new or reclassified positions for at least one year because current revenue projections do not sustain added ongoing operating costs at the proposed millage. Bass said the city is maintaining charter-required reserves and suggested using reserves primarily for capital projects rather than to support recurring operating expenses.
Bass provided general-fund reserve detail, described the city's hurricane-related exposure and noted staff's preference to keep a multi-month operating reserve. She also summarized special revenue balances: transportation, police and fire impact fees and an ARPA economic impact balance; staff proposed using $1 million of ARPA as a grant match for a stormwater grant application, leaving an estimated $2.5 million in that fund.
Council members pressed for follow-up detail on capital timing and for a workshop to prioritize which vision-plan items the city could realistically deliver without increasing the millage. Bass said staff will return to the council with detailed pages from the budget book and a schedule of hearings and workshops: a proposed millage setting at the next meeting, a rate resolution at the Aug. 5 meeting, a tentative budget workshop on Aug. 12 and public hearings in September.
The workshop ended with no vote; staff will return with the trim notice and the formal proposed millage at the next council meeting.
