Seth Johnson
The Gainesville City Commission voted to approve the 2023 millage rate, fire assessment and budgets for the general government and utility on the first reading at a special meeting on Thursday.
With the approval, the commission will take a final vote on Sept. 22 to finalize the ordinances.
City Manager Cynthia Curry noted in her report that Gainesville’s taxable assessed value increased for the 10th year in a row—lifting the property tax revenue by $4.5 million.
The city decided to keep the 2022 millage rate for next year: 5.5000. The rollback rate—the rate at which the city would earn the same amount of money as last year—sat at 5.0351.
The fire assessment rate will also stay at $133.
In the 2023 budget, the city expects to add 22 new full-time positions and to see a $9 million increase in expenditure to $154,356,686.
The Department of Strategy, Planning and Innovation received the largest budget increase of $4.2 million, lifting the total budget to $5.7 million. However, most of that change comes from Curry’s restructuring efforts earlier this year when the department absorbed the Office of Technology and Innovation and its $3.4 million budget.
Fire Rescue and the Gainesville Police Department got the second and third largest increases of just over $2 million, giving the departments respective budgets of $22 million and $38 million. The police department increase includes more than $600,000 for body cameras.
The city will continue decreasing the amount of money it takes from Gainesville Regional Utilities. In July 2021, the city voted to lower the transfers by $2 million each year from until 2027.
For the GRU budget, the utility expects $464 million in revenue for 2023. Of those earnings, $280 million will fund operations and management, $104 will pay off debt, $34 million will transfer to the general government side and $46 million will go into a Utility Plant Improvement Fund.
Click here to view the city’s proposed budget online.