“Nothing I’ve ever voted on in a previous budget was frivolous”: City Commission discusses budget proposals, considers closing Ironwood Golf Course

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla – The Gainesville City Commission held a workshop yesterday to consider recommendations for changes to the City’s budget for FY24. Mayor Harvey Ward pointed out at the beginning that they would not be voting on “this very difficult, manufactured budget crisis that we find ourselves in” because it was a workshop, but the commission will continue to have meetings over the next few weeks to discuss various departmental budgets, with the next meeting on June 14.

City Manager Cynthia Curry emphasized that the recommendations were not final “because we are looking to these workshops to continue to get input and refine” the budget. She also mentioned that the commission will likely need to increase the property tax by one mill, from 5.5 mills to 6.5 mills. 

Steve Varvel, Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget, started out by saying, “I’m here to tell you that we will just not be able to produce a budget that provides a level of service that the city deserves at 5.5. So we are hoping that we can get at least some thoughts on developing that budget at a 6.5 millage rate, which will still result in going back to the departmental budgets and looking for an additional $3 million of savings.”

Sustainable Development

The proposed Sustainable Development department budget includes small increases in Code Enforcement and Urban Forestry and the Chief Climate Officer position that was transferred from the City Manager’s office; the budget cuts the Director of Economic Development position (the person currently in that position is retiring at the end of July), two vacant Planner positions, and an Assistant Director position. The budget also eliminates the City’s contribution to the North Florida Regional Planning Council. The department’s budget is proposed to have an overall decrease of $200,960, 5.73% less than the FY23 budget. Varvel emphasized that the presentations only cover expenses funded with General Fund dollars.

Ward said the new GCRA Director has an extensive economic development background from the City of St. Petersburg, so he will pick up some of the work done by the previous Economic Development Director: “We’re not abandoning the concept of economic development; we’re just doing it differently.”

Housing and Community Development

The proposed Housing and Community Development budget includes increased responsibility and salary for one position and moves another position over from the City Manager’s Office, for an overall increase of $130,155, 40.5% more than the FY23 budget. Varvel said the proposed budget for the “relatively small department” would have no service impacts because the department is mainly funded by grants.

Transportation

The proposed Transportation budget eliminates three and a half currently-filled positions and one temporary position and also consolidates operations under fewer cost centers. The budget proposes eliminating the GAC-SmartTraffic public website and the Community Bike Program. Free bus passes (Fare-Free) for City employees, GRU employees, children under 18, and elders over 65 would also be eliminated, along with two supplemental bus routes, two campus bus routes, and holiday bus service. The department’s proposed budget has an overall reduction of $383,974, 9.37% of the FY23 budget. 

Curry clarified that the City has a Processing Pipeline Committee with the goal of matching vacant positions that have not been eliminated with people whose positions will be cut. Ward added that he wanted to make sure everybody understands that the City is making an effort to place people in different City jobs if their job is eliminated.

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker said it’s “really difficult” for her to see the elimination of the Fare-Free program: “I’m really hoping that there may be some way for us to re-think this.” She said the City will be providing summer job opportunities for young people, “and some of them may need to use the buses… And once that disappears, how will these young people, who we are trying to provide employment opportunities for, keep them free from gun violence, gang violence, get to work? When this may be the only way that they can do that for now.” She asked about the cost savings associated with eliminating the free fares, and Curry said it’s $115,000 per year. 

Duncan-Walker was also concerned about eliminating any bus routes in east Gainesville; she said people in her district always tell her they want more bus service. 

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut also encouraged the City Manager to “sharpen your pencil there and find the $115,000 to continue that service.” Curry responded, “We’ll do our best.”

Commissioner Ed Book questioned whether eliminating the Fare-Free program would actually save any money because the buses run anyway. Curry responded that the $115,000 is a real expense paid from the City to RTS, so eliminating it will save money in the City’s General Fund. 

Commissioner Casey Willits said it was “hard to swallow” eliminating the Fare-Free program. He added that when service is reduced, the bus becomes less convenient, so people stop riding it, and it “starts to just be a downward spiral.”

Commissioner Bryan Eastman said that bus passes for City and GRU employees “cost RTS nothing because the marginal cost of providing one more seat on a bus is not particularly high.”

Ward said that Gainesville is one of only two municipalities in the state that have their own transit systems because most cities share transit systems with other cities; he said it’s a “very complex operation” and that the commission should lean on the expertise of RTS. Ward said he was very proud of getting the Fare-Free program approved in 2021 and that he was “hopeful that through some kind of budget magic, we’re able to find a way to save that.”

Public Works

The proposed Public Works budget eliminates 9.7 positions and reduces the budget by $738,033, 9.7% of the FY23 budget. The Crosswalk Painting Program will be eliminated, and the timeliness of some services will be impacted. 

Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs

The Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs budget proposes closing down Ironwood Golf Course for a net savings of $162,745 in FY24. The proposed budget eliminates 11 positions, including 3 filled positions at the golf course, the Nature Operations Manager and a Nature Operations Staff Assistant (both filled), and three Depot Park Ambassador positions (all vacant). The budget reduces some travel and training expenses, along with reduced artist/talent fees, and also restructures the Youth Services department, eliminating the funding allocated to youth services. The department’s budget will be reduced by $3,171,914, 23.06% of the FY23 budget. 

Book suggested making small increases in fees at Ironwood to make up the deficit.

Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker brought up the idea of selling Ironwood, adding, “I’m not saying it’s something I want to do; I don’t want to do any of this.”

Regarding Youth Services, Roxana Gonzalez, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Affairs, said the budgeted positions were never hired except for the Youth Services Manager, and “the mission of Youth Services was to strengthen the youth in our community through programs and services and partnerships with local nonprofits and other youth service agencies. So it’s pretty much leveraging and working with the local youth agencies.” She said they are now bringing the Youth Services component over to the Recreation Division.

Duncan-Walker said, “It’s no secret that I had a slightly different vision for the organization and being able to fold some things in about gun violence. I wanted at least two positions out of that Youth Services Department that would specifically speak to and deal solely with gun violence prevention. But here we are, and we’ll find a way to do that.”

Willits wondered whether Ironwood could be converted into a park, but he noted that it’s expensive to maintain the grounds. He added, “This is where we’ve actually started talking about a real, real large amount of cuts, large amount of employees, and also filled positions that we’re talking about, not just vacancies… This is hard to swallow.” He also said it was sad that Youth Services is “on the chopping block.”

Gonzalez responded that she believes that consolidating Youth Services and Recreation “will enhance our programs. But it will also give us the opportunity to leverage and utilize and assist those nonprofit organizations that… have wanted to work with the City of Gainesville for years.” She said the City could offer vacant facilities to nonprofits at no charge, for example.

Chestnut said she was “not sold” on closing Ironwood and added that it may not be easy to sell. She also pointed out that the facility is used for meetings, events, and conferences. 

Saco ask for confirmation that Ironwood operates at a loss, and Varvel said it’s “hovered around $200,000 to $300,000 persistently now, for at least the last three fiscal years.” He said the net savings, however, would be about $162,000 for FY24. Varvel added that the pools also operate at a loss.

Saco said she was “not inclined to keep Ironwood, I never really have been, if only because golf is an environmental travesty–I will go on the record and say that. It takes land that could be better used, that can be better conserved, it wastes water, it puts fertilizer, it is not something that I would associate with a city that wants to put itself out there as green, like, environmentally conscious, period.” She also pointed out that the land would move onto the tax rolls if it were sold.

Responding to a question from Saco about eliminating the Nature Operations Division, Gonzalez said, “That does not affect the services.”

In response to a question from Eastman, Gonzalez said the Downtown Plaza events budget “was not touched, so that is intact. So the Free Fridays, Live and Local, and any other events that happen in the Plaza area will remain.” She said she hoped the cuts in artist and talent fees would be made up with a State grant.

Eastman said the City doesn’t expect pools or parks to be revenue-positive, “but, of course, we’re sitting up here saying, ‘$100,000 here, $100,000 there.'” He reminded the commission that the proposed General Fund budget is still $3.5 million short, even with the one-mill property tax increase. 

Eastman said it was unlikely that the City could sell the golf course before October 1, so he proposed running it just for the next fiscal year. 

Ward said he was interested in hearing “creative ideas” about the golf course: “I am not telling you that we should absolutely shut it down. I am saying we need to be hearing ideas and that we need to make sure that we examine this very carefully as we go through it.”

Ward continued, “None of this is good. None of this makes the city of Gainesville a better place to live, I don’t think.”

Duncan-Walker said that “several individuals” had contacted her about buying the Ironwood property.

The final slide showed the budget proposals to date; the proposals so far increase the budget by $6,338,585.

Public comment

During public comment, Linda Demetropoulos, the Nature Operations Manager, spoke for over ten minutes about the elimination of her job. She said she has been with the City for 12 years, and she manages 30 nature parks that operate seven days a week, so she’s always on call. She said, “And I just kind of felt like the packet that you received didn’t reflect the fact that I do work. Because it literally said there would be no impact if I’m to be eliminated.” She said her team has a completely different skill set from anybody else in Parks and Recreation–for example, her team does prescribed burns, which she said is a “real specialized field, and not just anybody can do it.” She said the nature parks will degrade if her team is eliminated. She also said she’s the only person in the department with a “working knowledge of conservation land acquisition and the Hogtown Creek Greenway, as well.” She said that trail connections will not be completed if she leaves. She added that exhibits at the nature centers and nature education will also suffer. She suggested using some of the tree mitigation funds or exploring grants to fund Nature Operations. 

“It is just that the State of Florida has decided that they are going to beat up on Gainesville for a bit”

After public comment, Eastman said that if they have to cut positions, “it’s not because your work was not important, it is not because you are not valued by your community, it is just that the State of Florida has decided that they are going to beat up on Gainesville for a bit, and we are doing our best to live within the reality of where we are… All of this is real people, it is real services that people rely on, it is our environment, it is the things that make Gainesville so great.”

Book said they should at least explore across-the-board pay cuts for employees who are not in bargaining units or in contracts and also consider reducing the size of the City’s fleet.

Ward concluded, “I will reiterate that none of us want to do any of this, nor was it something that naturally occurred through the economy, but it is upon us. Regardless, there is nothing we talked about today that makes the city of Gainesville better for the people who live here. Nothing I’ve ever voted on in a previous budget was frivolous… We’re not approaching any of this lightly. In the short term, I would encourage folks to go back and review the Joint Legislative Audit Committee, when some folks said that they wanted to see the City of Gainesville experience some pain. And I want to assure them that we are experiencing pain through this.”

Ward promised they would be “extra creative in how we find ways to make this work, and how we save jobs, and how we deliver services with less money. We will do our very best to keep any tax increases as low as possible and still deliver services. But that was also a suggestion from the Joint Legislative Audit Committee members–that we raise taxes.”

Move of Clerk’s Office to City Manager’s Office postponed to June 1

Because the budget items went long, Ward moved the discussion about putting the Clerk’s Office under the City Manager to the June 1 City Commission meeting.