Groveland, FL City Council video uploaded after adopting budget of $69-million

See our short video of the Garden Grove Sept. 16, 2019, City Council meeting.  It took place right after a six-minute required hearing to adopt their final budget and millage rate for 2019-2020. There were no public comments provided related to the budget and millage rate, thus the vote was quick and short. They voted to continue the prior year's millage rate of 5.20 (no rollback) and a total budget of $69.5-million, even though the County Property Appraiser posted on his website that the Groveland valuations went up 17.21%. (Note: One reason for increased valuations is because the prior City Administration failed to transmit final documents on new construction to the County records system, so property with newly constructed homes or buildings was still taxed at much lower agriculture rates.  We will report later on details of this. )

 

You can get the agenda from the City website at:

https://www.groveland-fl.gov/AgendaCenter

 

The agenda contained numerous consent agenda items not discussed at the meeting, but showing various improvements and changes due to the new City Manager, Michael Hein. 

 

This meeting video covered general Groveland City Council issues including:

- The City donated three older vehicles to Lake Correctional Institute.

- Approval of a contract to pay for a restroom for Wilson Lake Parkway Park.

- A resolution to approve commencement of design of the SR 50 improvements.

- Approval of new Imapce Fee Rates for water, wastewater, fire prevention, law enforcement and parks & recreation.

- Approval of Ordinance 2019-52 to repeal the existence of the Development Review Committee.

- Approval of Ordinance 2019-51 to allow extra fees to be charged to firms that dump wastewater into the cities treatment system that exceeds certain pollution standards.  The city had conducted a study and found a specific commercial waste processing firm was dumping excessively polluted water into the city wastewater system, causing excess process costs that will not be passed on to such firms. 

 

There was very little public input or attendance.  

 

Video by Vance Jochim, Lake County fiscal watchdog from FiscalRangers.com or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/FiscalRangers/.