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Our city management team recently presented our budget plan for next year, and once again, for the 18th consecutive year, the City Commission will not raise property tax rates.
This is accomplished all while also meeting major community goals of improving public safety, upgrading our infrastructure, addressing homelessness, and enhancing our waterways and environment.
We are able to continue the long trend of keeping one of lowest tax rates in Broward County because of the additional revenue brought in from new construction. Our tax base increased some 8 percent in value, slower than in the past couple years but enough to bring in another $16 million to enhance key programs and services.
In public safety, we have added 40 police officers and 41 firefighters in the last two years. With this budget, we will fund an innovative recruitment program in the Police Department to assist with filling vacant positions and we add five more firefighters. With the additional firefighters, we can deploy another three-person rescue unit and increase EMS units throughout the city.
The budget also funds a pilot program to use cameras and technology to catch speeders in school zones. This will boost the safety of our children going to and from school. And, in the Fire Department, $800,000 will be spent to replace critical equipment, including the purchase of a fire engine and 18 other new vehicles.
Money to pay for the recently approved contracts with police officers and firefighters is also in the budget. These contracts represent some of the strongest compensation packages in the county and reflect the city’s commitment to retain qualified, high-performing emergency personnel.
We continue the aggressive efforts underway through programs like Fortify Lauderdale to upgrade critical infrastructure.
The budget includes $8.4 million to pay for bridge repairs and replacements, $4.4 million for repairs to sidewalks and roadways as well as money to pay for traffic flow improvements, replace old seawalls and improve street lighting.
One major undertaking will be the start of a water meter replacement program. The City Commission has signed a contract to replace thousands of old water meters with smart meters that use solid-state technology.
The old meters relied on moving parts that could degrade over time and register inaccurate measurements used for water billing. The new meters will be extremely accurate and will provide customers the ability to monitor their water consumption in real time and turn off water flow remotely if necessary.
We are also boosting the staff in the Public Works Department to manage the construction of new stormwater infrastructure.
We continue to make tremendous progress in this area. For instance, the City Commission recently allocated the money needed to complete final design and bidding for work planned in Melrose Manors. We also took steps necessary to begin the construction of a pump station in Dorsey Riverbend that will help collect stormwater runoff in both the Dorsey Riverbend and Durrs neighborhoods.
At the same time, we are continuing to improve our water and sewer system. The city recently approved a $46 million agreement for the design and construction of 48-inch and 54-inch sewer mains along Southeast 9th Avenue and Southeast 10th Avenue to the Lohmeyer Wastewater Treatment Plant. This project will repair or replace more than 15,000 linear feet of existing pipe and install an additional 8,220 feet of pipe.
The budget also expands our commitment to the environment, particularly the cleanliness of the waterways that make Fort Lauderdale the Venice of America. We create a new position of chief waterway officer, who will coordinate our efforts to improve our rivers and canals.
Fort Lauderdale already has one of the most expansive programs in the region to address waterway cleanliness. Using a boat that operates five days a week, we service our 165 miles of waterways about once a month.
In comparison, the city of Pompano Beach focuses exclusively on trash and floating debris in its 27 miles of waterways with work occurring four days a week. The city of Boca Raton focuses only on non-organic debris with a boat operating three days a week.
The majority of debris that Fort Lauderdale pulls from the waterway is landscape material, and we have substantially increased our effort to remove debris. Between 2016 and 2019, we removed between six and 28 tons of waste a year. But since 2020, we have been pulling out between 63 and 159 tons a year.
In addition, we conduct more than 17,000 proactive inspections of the stormwater system a year to identify areas that need repair or cleaning. In all, about 5,000 catch basins are cleaned annually so stormwater can readily flow off our streets.
We are working toward a new waterway contract that would enhance our efforts further. We would like to double the number of boats in service with a target of removing 50 percent more debris and hitting hot spot areas every two weeks.
Another initiative in the budget increases our efforts to address the number of homeless people living on our streets. We fund a new shelter bed access program that would provide temporary shelter for homeless individuals for up to 60 days while they receive help to transition to permanent solutions.
This will amplify the programs currently under way including the community court program and the Police Department’s homeless outreach team.
Police Station
Let me take a moment to provide everyone an update on the construction of the new police station. We broke ground on the project last June, and work is now 50 percent complete. However, our contractors have noticed a significant issue that needs to be addressed.
The architects made an error in the design of the station that is now causing part of the roof slab to bend and fracture. This must be corrected for the future safety of the building and those who will work there.
Initial efforts to stabilize the roof this spring were unsuccessful, so we have brought in independent experts to look for solutions. The cost of this work will not be shouldered by the taxpayers, but rather will be covered by the parties responsible for the design error.
City amenities
We recently passed two significant milestones that illustrate how far the city has come in improving the amenities it offers to the public.
First, the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup.
Our new Baptist Health IcePlex at Holiday Park hosted large crowds for viewing parties during the playoff series, and on top of that, many people are now taking advantage of the ice rinks for skating and sport. The IcePlex, of course, was made possible through an innovative partnership with the Panthers to provide public offerings while also building themselves a training center for the team.
Second, we have marked Leo Messi’s one-year anniversary with the Inter Miami soccer team. Fans continue to fill Chase Stadium next to the executive airport to see Messi and the team play, proving the success of the partnership in which the team built the stadium, their training facility and other public amenities at no cost to the taxpayers.
We recently cemented a new initiative to improve our tennis offerings locally. We accepted an offer from the Orange Bowl to help upgrade the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center in Holiday Park.
Their funds will supplement parks bond money already committed to improvements. These improvements include a sub-surface irrigation system to improve playing conditions, the conversion of three hard courts to clay and new LED lighting. A new stadium court with 210 permanent seats will also be constructed and named the Chris Evert Stadium Court. Shade structures will be added to accommodate all 20 clay courts.
The legacy gift from the Orange Bowl will also help cover annual maintenance needs through 2039. There will be a new electronic scoreboard and the stadium court will have the ability to add 500 temporary seats. In exchange, the center will host the Orange Bowl’s annual International Tennis Championship and other tournaments. Work should be completed by September 2025.
I hope everyone is having an enjoyable and relaxing summer. Remember this year’s weather forecast calls for an active hurricane season so please make sure that you, your family and your friends are properly prepared.
Sincerely,
Dean
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