The Landings & Bay Colony

6

Mayor’s Message

John P, “Jack” Seiler

Mayor, City of Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale Capitalizing on Strong Economic Momentum

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uided by the priorities of our neighbors, Fort Lauderdale is moving full steam
ahead carrying out a shared Vision that builds community, enhances quality of

life, strengthens civic engagement, and creates a vibrant, active, inclusive, and
sustainable City.

At the forefront of our communitywide Vision is the City’s FY 2016 Proposed Budget.
While the Vision embodies our collective goals, ideas, and aspirations, the proposed
budget is the vehicle that allocates the necessary resources to achieve the plan’s
objectives. In addition to aligning with the needs and desires of our neighbors, the
proposed budget makes recommendations to fund priority initiatives encompassed in
our Strategic Plan, Community Investment Plan, and Commission Annual Action Plan. 

Our approach to budget planning is ongoing, transparent, and inclusive. The City
Commission works cooperatively with the Budget Advisory Board, City Manager, and
Community Building Leadership Team throughout the year to develop a
comprehensive, strategic, and meaningful budget that maximizes resources, minimizes
expenses, enhances service delivery, and preserves our core values.

As the FY 2016 Budget was taking shape, we received outstanding news from the
Broward County Property Appraiser's Office when they informed us that our property
values had increased by 9.68%, marking the fourth consecutive year of growth. Fort
Lauderdale also led the entire county with nearly $330 million in new construction.
These strong gains are a clear signal that our economy is right on track.

In July, the City Commission unanimously adopted a resolution proposing no increase
to the City’s current operating millage rate and no increaseto the fire assessment fee.
The proposed budget keeps the millage rate for FY 2016 at its current level of 4.1193
per $1,000 of taxable value, representing the ninth consecutive fiscal year that the
City Commission has held the line on property taxes.

We are now in the process of finalizing the FY 2016 Budget as we head toward the
start of the new fiscal year on October 1. The budget provides us with the resources to
deliver quality, cost effective services to our neighbors while investing in social capital to
build community, expand civic engagement, and enhance quality of life. It calls for
continued investments to maintain and strengthen our infrastructure, enhance citywide
public safety, bolster direct service delivery, enrich programming in parks and
recreation, and replace and upgrade critical fire-rescue equipment and apparatus.

The budget is structurally balanced and does not rely on the use of any reserve funds
to close gaps or eliminate deficits. It provides resources to improve traffic flow,
upgrade streets and sidewalks, enhance public safety, bolster emergency operations,
expand green space, advance urban planning, and strengthen infrastructure to
combat flooding, sea level rise, and the impacts of climate change.

As a result of our conservative fiscal management, operational efficiencies, and
continual process improvements, we are projecting a $56.9 million reserve fund
balance, which is above our adopted policy requirement and exceeds the national
standard for municipal governments. Our strong reserve fund, coupled with our low
debt load, enhances our bond ratings. In fact, earlier this summer, Standard & Poor’s
raised its rating on the City’s General Obligation Bonds to AA+ citing “strong

Proposed Budget Moves Citywide Vision Forward