Lakeland may raise property taxes to fund nearly $3 million in public safety initiatives

LAKELAND — Lakeland officials unanimously voted Monday to advertise a potential increase in the city's tax rate to pay for public safety measures.

Commissioners face a decision on whether to raise Lakeland's property tax rate from $5.43 to $5.76 per $1,000 of assessed value. It would provide the city with nearly $3 million more in revenue to add more firefighters and police officers.

To raise taxes, a super majority — or five out of seven commissioners — will have to vote in favor.

"If the vote were today, I wouldn't vote for that," Commissioner Chad McLeod said. "I'm not convinced you can't do this under the current millage rate."

McLeod pointed out the city's property tax roll has grown by more than 14% since last year. The rollback rate, or $4.9865 per $1,000 of assessed value, would allow the city to collect the same amount of tax revenue.

For a Lakeland homeowner with a taxable valuable of $100,000 after applying the Homestead Exemption, the tax rate would be an increase of roughly $33 a year. The city's other option is to hold the line on taxes and absorb the cost of public safety measures from its reserves.

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Boosting police

Lakeland's proposed budget provides more than $1.3 million for the hiring of 13 additional police officers. The funds budgeted will cover the individuals' salaries and benefits. An estimated $866,000 from the city's unallocated $2.9 million American Rescue Plan funds will be used to purchase the officer vehicles and equipment.

"It's a step in the right direction," Lakeland Police Chief Ruben Garcia said.

It's roughly one-third of the manpower Garcia asked for in February. The chief had requested the city provide money to hire 31 additional officers over the next three years — 21 immediately, followed by five personnel each in 2024 and 2025 —  in order to keep pace with the city's population growth.

Garcia said based on the city's projected population of 117,00 by the end of 2022, different industry standards suggest hiring additional 26 to 35 officers. That could be difficult to do in a year, the chief admitted, given the lengthy process of recruiting and screening candidates.

"This is a well-measured, phase-in approach," Garcia said. "We want good-quality hires."

One of the 13 positions will be a school resource officer to help provide coverage of the middle and high schools when existing officers take sick or vacation leave, Garcia said. For years, the chief said he's had to cover absences by pulling people from the department's traffic division.

Garcia said the additional officers should help decrease the city's response times, answering a question from Commissioner Phillip Walker.

"It doesn't make us whole," Garcia told The Ledger.

City Manager Shawn Sherrouse said the commission could revisit the issues annually to determine whether hiring four to five officers is necessary.

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Building Fire Station 8

The city's proposed budget allocates $1.66 million to hire 12 new firefighters for a new Fire Station 8 to be built north of I-4 in Lakeland.

Fire Chief Doug Riley said the city's Station 3 is handling more than 6,500 calls a year, many of which are in the Kathleen area of the city. Emergency personnel have been faced with extended response times to the area because of the distance, frequent heavy traffic and other challenges getting to the area.

An exact site for the city's new fire station has not been finalized.

"We have not entered into contract on any property," Sherrouse said. "We have identified some potential sites where a station could potentially be constructed.

Lakeland's Financial Director Mike Brossart has allocated $800,000 in impact fees for the purchase of land. Brossart said he estimates it will cost the city about $4 million to design and construct the new fire station. The total of $4.8 million can be borrowed by the city, and the estimated annual payment on this debt is factored into the 2023 budget.

Riley said he expects that identifying a good site for the new fire station, design and construction will take two to three years. Yet the city has budgeted funds to hire 12 new firefighters in 2023 for the location.

The city's 2023 budget contains enough money to cover the full salaries and benefits for the 12 personnel needed to operate the new site, according to Brossart, in case the firefighters are hired early to undergo training.

RP Funding Center to change

Sherrouse announced that the city will be taking a new direction in how it operates the municipal-owned RP Funding Center.

Earlier this year, commissioners asked city staff to consider ways to reduce the annual subsidy required to operate the RP Funding Center. In fiscal year 2021, the subsidy was $4.8 million. The last projection placed it at about $3 million this year.

The city issued a Request for Proposal in June to see if a management company would be interested in running the venue. Sherrouse said it was sent out to more than 372 companies. He said one response was received from a company that was considered "unresponsive" as it did not submit required information.

Lakeland will keep control of the venue for now but plans to shift its approach. It has contracts it must honor for the next six months before it begins the transition.

"We will become more of a rental facility," Sherrouse said. "We will look for other promoters who rent the facility who take on risk on return and profits they generate."

This may change the mix of what's offered. Tony Camarillo, director of the RP Funding Center, said comedian Jerry Seinfeld is one example of an act that rented the venue for the show, taking the monetary risks and rewards.

Camarillo said the commission's request of a $1 million to $1.5 million subsidy won't be possible in fiscal year 2023, but possibly the following year. The city is still in active negotiations with the Orlando Magic and Florida Tropics, as both teams have contracts to utilize the facility.

"These things are financially important in our next steps," Camarillo said.

Commissioners Sara Roberts McCarley and Stephanie Madden asked Sherrouse to lead city staff in putting together a business plan that provides a more specific outline for the RP Funding Center and its costs that offer accountability and provide future benchmarking.

What's next

The commission's next scheduled budgetary hearings are at 6 p.m. on Sept. 8 and 22 at City Hall, 228 S. Massachusetts Ave. An official vote as to the final millage rate and city budget will take place on Sept. 22.

Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. 

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Needing more firefighters and police, Lakeland may raise property taxes