Ocoee set for first reading of ordinance for FY 2020 budget amendment

The Ocoee City Commission will hear out the first reading of an ordinance regarding the amending of the FY 2020 budget during its meeting Tuesday, April 20.

The annual operation budget for the city was adopted back on Sept. 23, 2020, but since then the city's staff identified the need for additional appropriations for the general fund, stormwater fund, transportation impact fee and the water/wastewater fund.

At the time that the budget was adopted the general fund was set at $52,988,188, but now city staff is asking for an additional $1,633,296 to cover the planned costs to complete the Oakland Avenue Phase II — Taylor to Bluford downtown project. The other items include an additional $4,975,000 for general government items, including an inter-fund loan of $4,250,000 to the stormwater fund to cover a portion of the costs to construct the master stormwater pond, as well as $725,000 for downtown property acquisitions. Lastly $56,000 for police operations is being asked for to replace a K-9 unit vehicle that was damaged in an automobile accident.

For the transportation impact fee fund, which was adopted at $2,503,287, city staff is asking for $4,634,480 for the design and construction of the Clarke Road widening project. 

Meanwhile the stormwater fund — adopted at $4,493,123 — is in need of an appropriation of $2,900,000 to cover the remaining costs of the master stormwater pond not covered by the inter-fund loan.

Lastly, the water/wastewater fund, which was adopted at $14,902,173, requires an additional appropriation of $1,358,000 to cover the costs of planned projects that have moved forward ahead of schedule and to reimburse the R&R fund for unforeseen expenditures relating to the force main rupture at Clarke Road and the failure of a clarifying rod, according to city documents.