City manager told to find money for firefighters

FORT LAUDERDALE — A heated debate over higher water rates and just how many firefighters Fort Lauderdale really needs lit up what might have been a dry-as-dust budget hearing Wednesday night.

The city has 380 boots on the ground, including 24 cadets in the academy, city officials say. Hiring an extra 16 firefighters would cut down on overtime but come at a cost $2 million a year.

That expense did not make it into Fort Lauderdale’s $401 million operating budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.

An irate Commissioner Robert McKinzie told City Manager Chris Lagerbloom to find the money.

Firefighters cost money

Lagerbloom balanced the city’s total $897.7 million budget with no hike in the property tax rate, no layoffs and no service cuts. It costs $103 million a year to run Fort Lauderdale’s fire department and another $140 million a year to run the police department.

Fire Chief Rhoda Mae Kerr told commissioners she wanted to boost staffing by 16 firefighters for the coming fiscal year to help cut back on overtime, but she was told there’s no money in the budget. Kerr says the department can still provide adequate protection without the new hires.

McKinzie insisted something be done to boost staffing.

If the commission wants the extra firefighters, something has to go, Lagerbloom warned Wednesday. The next and final budget hearing is coming up Monday, not leaving him much time to come up with a fix.

Mayor Dean Trantalis argued there’s not much fat in next year’s spending plan.

“We don’t have $2 million sitting on the table right now to fund it,” he said. “It would be nice to have more people working. But it’s not necessary in order to keep our city safe. The police department could say the same thing.”

Lagerbloom predicted that could happen. “I think my phone is going to ring tomorrow, and the police are going to want $2 million,” he told commissioners.

McKinzie said he thought the 16 extra firefighters were already in the budget.

Vice Mayor Heather Moraitis and Commissioners Ben Sorensen and Steve Glassman said they were open to seeing what Lagerbloom comes up with.

Before the meeting, Moraitis told a South Florida Sun Sentinel reporter she’d rather spend $2 million a year on firefighters than local nonprofits. Fort Lauderdale donates around $2 million a year in taxpayer money to nonprofits and is doing so again next year

Higher water rates

Fort Lauderdale relies on the Fiveash Regional Water Treatment Plant, built in 1954, to supply most of the city’s drinking water. Two years ago, Lagerbloom told commissioners the plant would not likely survive a major hurricane of Category 3 or higher.

The new plant, projected to cost an estimated $432 million, would break ground in 2026.

To help pay for it, water rates would rise 5% per year over the next seven years..

The average consumer would pay an extra $5.38 a month next year. By 2026, that would increase to an extra $7.21 a month, Lagerbloom said.

Putting off the increase would lead to a 30% rate hike down the road, Lagerbloom said.

McKinzie cast the lone vote against the fee increase, saying it’s bound to raise the ire of residents.

“People are coming to me talking about how expensive it is,” he said.

But the mayor argued against “kicking the

can down the road.”

A new water plant would help solve the ongoing problem with the city’s yellow-tinged water, Trantalis said.

“Hoteliers say the water in the bathtub is yellow,” he said. “People are afraid to drink the water.”

Even with the rate increase, Fort Lauderdale still falls in the middle compared to water rates levied by other cities in Broward, Trantalis said.

Davie, Wilton Manors, Dania Beach, Oakland Park, Sunrise, Parkland, Hollywood, Miramar and North Lauderdale all charge more, according to a chart created by Fort Lauderdale.

Steady tax rate

Here’s a bit of good news for property owners.

Fort Lauderdale is not hiking its $311 fire fee or base tax rate next year, though city officials warn a tax hike may be coming the year after next.

Over the past 14 years, Fort Lauderdale’s base tax rate has remained steady at $412 per $100,000 assessed property value — one of the lowest in Broward County.

The city’s total tax rate will increase to $438.06 per $100,000 in assessed property value to help pay off two 30-year bonds for parks and a new police headquarters approved by voters in March 2019.

Most property owners, even those with homestead exemptions, will end up paying slightly more than the year before due to rising property values.

Police station on the way

The Fort Lauderdale police station, built in the 1950s, will move to new digs in the next two or three years.

A new $100 million headquarters, funded by a voter-approved bond, would break ground next year and open in late 2023 or early 2024, Lagerbloom said.

A final commission vote on the budget is set for Monday at 5:01 p.m.