TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - Tallahassee City Manager, Anita Favors Thompson, has announced her recommended budget for the 2016 fiscal year.
According to the City, Thompson's recommended proposed operating budget is $704 million and the capital budget is $143.5 million.
One of the focuses of that budget is to address public safety needs. This includes 18 positions proposed for the Police Department and 16 proposed for the Fire Department.
In a statement, Thompson said, "At this point, no other issue is more critical to address than the public safety needs of the community. Tallahassee has an extraordinary quality of life. This was not by accident but by careful design, thoughtful decision making and extremely hard work. Though we managed our way through difficult economic times by reducing staff and other expenditures, we must make some different decisions now to maintain the standards that our community expects."
Some of the other projects included in the proposed budget are, "Investment in the maintenance and refurbishments of ageing city facilities including Tallahassee Police Department and Animal Service Center, renovations at City parks to help address quality concerns related to lighting, facilities and field maintenance, funding for sidewalks and roadways including $500,000 for street resurfacing, continued support for construction of several major projects already underway including FAMU Way and Airport improvements, and increase the City's millage rate by one mill, raising it to 4.7 mills, to fund public safety expenses."
The first City Commission Budget Workshop will be held on Wednesday, June 17. There will be a final budget workshop on July 7 and two public hearings on September 9 and 21.
