Gainesville City Commission’s first budget workshop reveals increased budget gap

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At a Budget Workshop on May 8, the Gainesville City Commission heard preliminary budget presentations from the Charter Offices and internal support departments. City Manager Cynthia Curry said the budget gap for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) has “crept up some” from the $5.3 million gap that was shared on March 27; the presentation covered expenditures that amount to 15% of the estimated budget for FY26, but the projected increases add up to 83% of the projected increases in revenue.

Executive Chief of Staff Cintya Ramos explained that the current FY26 estimated General Fund budget is $162.0 million, $6.6 million or 4.2% higher than the FY25 adopted budget. The budget estimate reinstates funding for 20 police officers and a Grant Program Specialist in the Department of Financial Services, reinstates fleet fixed expenses to support vehicle replacement, maintains the same number of employees as FY25, and includes a 3% raise for employees.

All of the summaries below are for General Fund expenses, except where noted; every department also has a budget that incorporates funds from other sources. The full budget presentation is available here.

City Attorney

The City Attorney’s office proposed $62k in salary and benefits increases and an increase of $5k in operating expenses for an overall increase of $67k, or 4.0% more than the FY25 budget. 

City Attorney Daniel Nee said the budget is “lower than it was in FY23 and in fact, it’s a lower budget amount than any year since 2011, other than the last two years.” He said the increases are due only to the Commission-approved raises, increases in health insurance and pension obligations, and price increases for contracts for their document management system and online research. Nee said his office currently has two vacancies, and one of those might not be needed “when the relationship with GRU becomes more stable.” He said his office is still doing work for GRU, and GRU has been paying the City for that work. 

City Auditor

The City Auditor’s office proposed a $38k decrease in salaries and benefits and a $377 increase in operating expenses, for an overall decrease of about $38k, or 4.2% less than the FY25 budget.

Through a series of questions, City Commissioner Bryan Eastman established that there is one vacancy in the department, the department does not do any work for GRU, and GRU does not make any payments to the department.

City Clerk

The City Clerk’s Office proposed a $90k increase in salaries and benefits and a $16.5k decrease in operating expenses, for an overall increase of $73k, or 6.0% more than the FY25 adopted budget.

City Clerk Kristen Bryant said an office reorganization was implemented to reduce expenses, but costs for some supplies and contracts had increased. She said her office is still doing work for GRU, and GRU is paying for that work, “but not the full amount.” The office has no vacancies at this time.

City Commission

The City Commission office proposed a $3k increase in salaries and benefits and a $19k increase in operating expenses, for an overall increase of $22k, or 3.8% more than the FY25 adopted budget.

The increase in operating costs comes from a staff recommendation that the Commission Retreat, Swearing-in Ceremony, and State of the City event be funded in the City Commission cost center.

City Manager

The City Manager’s office proposed a $79k increase in salaries and benefits, a $2k increase in operating expenses, and no change in Aid to Private Organizations ($4k) out of the General Fund, for an overall increase of $81k, or 5.0% more than the FY25 adopted budget. No positions were eliminated.

The City Manager’s expenditures from other funds (i.e., not the General Fund) were increased from the FY25 adopted budget by about $12.5 million during the budget year, leading to an increase of about $225k in salaries and benefits, $3 million in operating expenses, and a $10 million increase in Aid to Private Organizations from other funds. That money came from carry-forward ARPA funds and infrastructure sales surtax revenues. For FY26, those budget lines have been cut back to close to the adopted FY25 levels.

Equity & Inclusion

The Office of Equity & Inclusion proposed a decrease of $30k in salaries and benefits, a $30k increase in operating expenses, and a $1k increase in Aid to Private Organizations ($5k), for an overall increase of $626, about the same as the FY25 adopted budget. The department eliminated one position, an Equity Specialist, and re-established $30,000 in funding for the City’s Juneteenth celebration. The Immigrant Affairs Manager position, funded by ARPA, was also eliminated.

Director of Equity and Inclusion Zeriah Folston said the department currently has four vacancies.

Eastman asked whether the department is still doing work for GRU, and Folston replied, “I get calls from staff members at Gainesville Regional Utilities, and I’ll leave it at that for now.” Folston said the City still gets an allocation from GRU for compliance services. 

Office of Communications and Marketing

The Office of Communications and Marketing proposed a $35k increase in salaries and benefits and a $350 decrease in operating expenses, for a total increase of $35k, or 3.3% of the department’s FY25 adopted budget.

Executive Chief of Staff Cintya Ramos said the increase in operating expenses is driven by cost increases in printing and other services. No positions were cut or added. 

Commissioner Ed Book recalled that video streaming for some City meetings was eliminated in the FY25 budget, “so my comment would be, as we move forward in future budget meetings – if there’s capabilities to consider our ability to boost transparency in that regard, I’d be interested in hearing about that.”

Mayor Harvey Ward said, “I’m thrilled with what we do with the size of staff that we have. I think they do tremendous work, very responsive… I know we’re not really in a position to do that, but I’m always interested in expanding what’s possible through our comms network and would love to see us take any opportunity to add staff for Director [Jennifer] Smart to manage.”

Department of Financial Services

The Department of Financial Services proposed a $137k increase in salaries and benefits and a $7k increase in operating expenses, for an overall increase of $144k, or 4.7% more than the adopted FY25 budget. Two positions remain frozen and unbudgeted, and the Hippodrome Rental Program was moved to Non-departmental.

Ramos said two positions that were frozen in last year’s budget were unfrozen and funded during FY25 and absorbed in the current operating budget – a Finance Grants Program Specialist and a Financial Systems Analyst.

Procurement & Contracts Management

Ramos separated out the Division of Procurement and Contracts Management, which is under the Department of Financial Services but is currently on Management Watch. She said that since the division was placed on Management Watch in July 2024, the City has been focusing on stabilizing operations, filling critical vacant positions, and making some investments in Workday for specific modules that will help staff produce reports more quickly.

The division proposed a $74k increase in salaries and benefits and a $62k increase in operating expenses, for an overall increase of $137k, or 18.3% more than the adopted FY25 budget.

The proposed budget includes funding for records management software, office supplies, and training; it restores funding for software that was eliminated in FY24 and adds more robust software for contract management. 

Department of Human Resources

The Department of Human Resources proposed increasing salaries and benefits by $98k and no increase in operating expenses, for an overall increase of $98k, 4.2% more than the adopted FY25 budget.

Ramos said there is no projected change in the number of positions, but operational changes may be made, depending on changes at GRU.

Human Resources Director Laura Graetz said her department provides a full range of HR services to GRU, which is working toward building its own HR department. 

Graetz also addressed the reductions in positions in her department and others since FY23: “We have done a lot of reductions over the past fiscal years, as I know you’re aware, and it requires… that our existing staff absorb a lot of work. We monitor that very carefully because we want to try to minimize burnout and stress as much as we can. But I just want to commend not just the employees in HR, but across the City, who have had to continue to do that over the past few years.”

Graetz said her department has five vacancies, and she’s trying to fill a couple of them, but she’s holding the others open because her department may need to make cuts if GRU takes over its own HR duties.

Commissioner Casey Willits asked whether GRU would be paying the City extra for assistance with the transition to their own HR department, and Graetz said that had not been negotiated, but that is an element of the Indirect Costs Study currently being performed by a consultant.

Ward added, “I’m glad you mentioned… the additional workload that is created for people whose positions are not eliminated; the work doesn’t get smaller. There are more people in Gainesville today than there were when we started having to cut positions. And all those people need to be served, and we will not see a lower workload. People still need to be served at the level that they expect, and I want to recognize the truth that everyone who is here and working for the City of Gainesville is working harder than ever because we have a smaller team.”

Office of Management and Budget

The Office of Management and Budget proposed increasing salaries and benefits by $199k and increasing operating expenses by $7k, for an overall increase of $206k, 22.6% more than the adopted FY25 budget.

Ramos said the salary estimates for the Director, Manager, and Budget Analysts were increased because of the difficulty in attracting qualified candidates, and operating expenses were increased to allow for a larger training budget for new staff. 1.6 positions were cut, with the fraction coming from the General Fund and one position from other funds.

Ramos said the department consists of one person right now, and they are actively working to fill vacant positions.

Risk Management Department

The Risk Management Department proposed no changes in salaries and benefits from the General Fund because those positions are funded from other sources; one position was added. The department proposed an increase of $31k in operating expenses for security services at City Hall, for an overall increase of $31k, 20.3% more than the adopted FY25 budget. The department’s budget from other funds increased by $4 million, an increase of 11.4% from the adopted FY25 budget.

Technology Department

The Technology Department proposed increasing salaries and benefits by $126k and increasing operating expenses by $190k, for an overall increase of $316k, or 3.9% more than the adopted FY25 budget.

The increase in operating expenditures reflects an increase in the Workday maintenance contract.

Ramos said the City is putting together its own department to avoid paying GRU for IT services; a new Technology Director is scheduled to start work on May 19.

Regarding the increase in Workday expenses, Ward said, “We always see the next new, big thing come forward from the private sector that’s going to somehow be more efficient and save us money, one way or another, but it ends up not working out that way, ever. But we’re not the only ones in that position, and this is not the first such implementation that has come along. So there’s not a lot we can do about that sort of thing.”

In response to a question from Willits about the incoming Technology Director, Ramos said he has experience with Workday and with “implementing a Technology Department from the very beginning… We were very comfortable with his level of expertise and the questions that he was asking. He also has utility experience, so we thought it would be helpful [to have] someone that understands the language that GRU speaks, in helping us navigate separation.”

Ramos showed a chart of the budget estimates so far; they will add $1.2 million to the FY25 adopted budget, an increase of 4.9%. 

Upcoming budget meetings

The second budget workshop will be on May 22, covering Gainesville Police Department; Gainesville Fire Rescue; Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs; and Public Works, including the first public hearing for the Fire Assessment Fee. The third budget workshop on June 12 will cover Housing and Community Development, Gainesville Community Reinvestment Area, Sustainable Development, Transportation, and non-departmental budgets. The City Commission will approve the maximum property tax rate on July 17, and budget hearings will be held on September 11 and September 25.

Commissioner Comments

During Commission Comments, Eastman said the budget estimates discussed above “do not fill our budget gap.” He criticized the GRU Authority for cutting transfers to the City “every time they have a new shiny object,… as opposed to simply saying, ‘This is our payment in lieu of taxes.’… It is not a slush fund; it is an amount of money that is paid the same way that I pay my taxes every single year. And so I hope that all of our Charter Officers are working together to come back to us in June with hard cuts across the board and that… we are leaving future commissions and future residents of this community a financially sustainable City, that we’re not having to make hard decisions every year.”