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Budget remains a work in progress

Largo commissioners work on requests, including a fundraising manager for the library foundation.

By SHANNON TAN
Published August 10, 2005

LARGO - The Greater Largo Library Foundation asked for a full-time executive director to oversee fundraising.

The Community Development Department wanted to add an assistant building official and permit technician.

Pinellas County Coalition for the Homeless requested help funding its executive director position to the tune of $11,000.

The City Commission discussed these budget requests at Tuesday's work session. Although commissioners approved the city's first biennial budget last year, several changes were being proposed for the fiscal 2006 budget.

Property tax and utility rates are not going up this year. Commissioners already have set a maximum property tax rate of $4.75 for every $1,000 of taxable value. The first public hearing is Aug. 30.

The library foundation wanted the city to pay for a portion of the new director's $67,000 salary and benefits for three years. But the city staff said the foundation should reimburse the city for the position. And several commissioners said the position should be that of a development specialist instead.

Vice Mayor Gay Gentry also pointed out that Partners N Progress, the fundraising arm for the Largo Cultural Center, has a similar position that is paid for by the group.

"I want to make sure both of these groups feel like they're being dealt with evenhandedly," Gentry said.

Other changes include converting a management analyst position to assistant to the city manager, increasing the budget by $25,000 to pay outstanding annexation incentives, and reconstructing the Largo Golf Course at a cost of $1.8-million.

The $3-million police technology project to put computers in police cars is being rebudgeted for fiscal 2006. A $1.19-million road reconstruction project is planned within the Bay Vista office park on Roosevelt Boulevard and 58th Street N.

Then the touchy issue of Fourth of July fireworks came up. Officials decided against letting a church sponsor the event this year, and combined the annual Heart of Largo event with Fourth of July fireworks to save costs. The fiscal 2006 budget includes money for Heart of Largo but not the $20,600 fireworks.

"I hate for us not to have fireworks," said Commissioner Pat Gerard. Commissioners agreed to find a sponsor to help pay for them.

Also on Tuesday, commissioners voted 5-2 to approve changes to the Clearwater-Largo Road redevelopment plan.

The plan aims to revitalize the area by turning blighted mobile home parks into multifamily housing. Developers would get incentives if they set aside units for affordable housing or participate in the city's relocation assistance program. Displaced mobile homeowners would get $2,500 for single-wide homes and $5,000 for double-wides.

Mayor Bob Jackson disagreed with the base density of 15 units per acre for the mobile home parks. If developers are able to build projects using that density, they would not participate in the relocation assistance program and residents won't get additional compensation, he said.

Pinellas County commissioners are expected to vote on the plan Aug. 16. The Pinellas Planning Council will review the plan Sept. 21.

The city has had to tweak the plan in response to concerns from the county, leaving business owners and developers frustrated with the delay.

Jackson and Commissioner Mary Gray Black voted against the plan, saying more needed to be done for mobile home residents. "If I vote yes, I'll regret it for years," Jackson said.

Shannon Tan can be reached at shtan@sptimes.com or 445-4174.

[Last modified August 10, 2005, 00:37:16]