Costs include drainage repairs, pay raises and a YMCA subsidy. Property taxes will also rise, but not because of a tax rate hike.
By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published September 17, 2003
BELLEAIR BEACH - The city's 2003-04 budget, scheduled for final approval Monday, will raise spending by 12 percent to improve storm drainage and cover higher employee salaries and insurance costs.
The tax rate will fall slightly from 2.469 to 2.416 mills, but because of higher property values, residents will pay more taxes. The owner of a $225,000 home, with the standard $25,000 homestead exemption, would pay about $483 in property taxes.
Here are some of the budget details.
STORM DRAINAGE: Belleair Beach and the Southwest Florida Water Management District will split the $80,000 cost of developing a master plan for repairing the city's storm drainage system.
SALARIES/BENEFITS: The city will spend more to compensate its employees. New salary levels include:
City clerk: $44,242, a $4,700 increase.
Finance officer: $41,140, a $4,574 increase.
Assistant to the mayor: $36,505, an $8,735 increase.
Police chief: $50,288, a $6,288 increase.
Director of public works: $51,810, a $2,136 increase.
General employees also will receive pay hikes (2.3 percent for cost of living, plus a 2 percent merit increase). In addition to salary increases, workers' compensation costs increased more than 41 percent, while other insurance premiums increased as well.
Some people questioned spending $20,000 a year to subsidize resident membership in the YMCA. Fewer than 100 of Belleair Beach's 1,633 residents are participating in the YMCA programs.
City officials said they planned to review the expenditure next year. The YMCA program was started last year by four cities (Belleair Beach, Belleair Shore, Indian Rocks Beach and Indian Shores) and uses municipal facilities to offer yoga, swimming and other things.
The public hearing on the $1.847-million budget is scheduled for 6 p.m. Sept. 22 at City Hall, 444 Causeway Blvd.
