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Panama City CRA previews FY27 projects and debates a $2.75 million loan; staff recommends waiting on November tax outcome
Summary
Panama City's CRA staff presented FY27 preliminary budgets and projects across Millville, Saint Andrews and downtown districts and proposed a $2.75 million loan/bond to expand work. Staff and commissioners agreed to include loan scenarios in budget drafts but many preferred waiting until after a November property-tax vote to confirm revenue impacts.
Staff opened the July virtual CRA workshop with updated certified tax values and a preliminary FY27 budget presentation covering Millville, Saint Andrews, Downtown North and downtown districts. The presentation included project allowances, carry-forward balances and a proposed $2.75 million loan or bond that officials said would free up reserve funds for additional projects.
Why it matters: The loan decision would determine whether the CRA can move ahead with several planned projects — including a $1.5 million waterfront boardwalk in Saint Andrews and expanded marina work downtown — or limit FY27 spending to paving and previously committed obligations.
Staff summarized the financing picture and the impacts of choosing debt versus pay-as-you-go. Michelle, a CRA staff member, said, “If we don't move forward with the loan, there is no project budget for fiscal year 27. It will all be obligated to the paving contract and the boardwalk obligation.” She recommended including a loan scenario in budget materials but noted the CRA’s financial adviser and staff advised waiting until after the November property-tax measure to assess how tax changes could affect CRA revenues.
Commissioners split on timing. Mayor Branch said he preferred waiting to see the post-election revenue picture before executing new debt, while several commissioners agreed the loan scenario should appear in budget drafts so the board retains flexibility. Commissioner Granger said she was “in favor of not borrowing money we don't have” and supported waiting for November data, adding she had no objection to showing the loan in preliminary budgets. Commissioner Lucas and others pressed staff for clearer debt-service schedules and asked how a loan would affect annual payments and the CRA’s sunset timeline.
Staff provided examples of how debt service might look: for Saint Andrews a $2.75 million loan would translate to roughly $265,000 a year in debt service under a typical 15-year schedule, and downtown borrowing capacity could be similar in scale (staff cited about $2.5 million as a working number for downtown). Staff also noted that bonding could allow longer amortizations than bank loans, which typically stop at about 15 years.
Staff emphasized the recommendation to wait for the November property-tax outcome before locking in debt terms, while still preparing budget presentations that show both a no-loan baseline and a loan-enabled project list. No formal motion or vote was recorded during the workshop.
The board asked staff to return with more detailed schedules, clearer line-item breakdowns (staff agreed to separate paving contract line items from operating summaries), and a budget presentation that includes both the loan scenario and the conservative no-loan baseline. The CRA will also monitor the property-appraiser’s numbers and report impacts to each CRA district after November.
Next steps: Staff will prepare a detailed budget presentation and debt-service schedules for future meetings and will revisit the loan/bond decision after the November property-tax results. The workshop concluded with no formal action taken.
