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Committee probes planning consultant costs after slower development year
Summary
Officials said planning contractual services were under-spent amid a slower year for development and that consultants working on state-required comprehensive-plan updates accounted for recent expenditures that will carry into next fiscal year.
Committee members questioned why planning's miscellaneous contractual services showed a large variance between budgeted and actual spending.
A committee member noted the line was budgeted at $50,000 for 2024 but actual spending was only $6,163. An agency official said the low spending reflected a slower development year—"we only spent 6,000 was representative of, a little bit of a slower year in development mainly because we had the hurricanes"—and that part of recent spending went to a consultant working on comprehensive-plan updates required for compliance with the state of Florida.
Staff and officials said some consultant work on the comprehensive-plan compliance will carry over into the next fiscal year and that budget figures for planning are often best guesses because the volume of new development is uncertain. The group emphasized the need to account for likely plan-review costs so the department does not "run short."
