City Council Highlights – July 15 2024
Last updated on July 15, 2024
City Council Update 7.15.24
BUDGET WORKSHOP
Thanks to the commitment and professionalism of our city team members, the City of Orlando is able to provide critical municipal services, programs and amenities that residents, businesses and visitors rely on every day.
We are grateful for our staff and also proud that they serve our city in a fiscally-responsible way.
This morning, the Office of Business and Financial Services will outline a proposed budget designed to continue to positively impact the quality of life of those in Orlando... while also planning for the future. Because of our strong financial management, we’re able to do this without raising the millage rate for the 11th-consecutive year.
The proposed budget allows us to add 24 new police officers and 39 OFD first responders, with many of those expected to work in the growing southeast portion of the city. We’re also recognizing the need to expand mobility options in our region by investing in SunRail, so residents and visitors are not solely reliant on roadways.
This discussion will also briefly cover future plans to issue bonds for critical city infrastructure such as fire stations, parks and road networks in the southeast area, as well as funding for streets and stormwater infrastructure improvements to limit future flooding throughout the city.
We'd like to call on Chief Financial Officer Michelle McCrimmon for a full overview of the budget.
Following the presentation:
Thank you, Michelle. And thank you to the entire budget team and our staff in each department who works on this... year round. Commissioners, thank you for your dedication and unique perspectives that help ensure the City of Orlando continues to serve our community with the best municipal services in the entire state.
And to our nearly 4,000 city team members: thank you for making Orlando such a great place to live, work and visit.
Invocation and Pledge
Call on Commissioner Sheehan to lead the Invocation and Pledge of Allegiance.
Before we begin, it’s important for us as a City Council to denounce political violence and dangerous political rhetoric. We should all be relived that former President Trump was not seriously injured on Saturday and we are saddened that an individual attending his rally was tragically killed.
As Americans, when it comes to politics and government, our views won’t always align. But we can and must agree to be respectful, cease the personal attacks and never let differing viewpoints lead to hatred and violence.
If we can all take a step back, we believe that we will see that there is much more that unites us... than divides us as Americans. There is no question that we are stronger together... and our country is stronger when we are united. We hope and know that Orlando will continue to showcase this every day through our unity, compassion and work to put inclusion at the forefront of all that we do.
AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS AND RECOGNITIONS
Now on to Awards, Presentations, and Recognitions.
#2-3 – Florida League of Cities Mayor John Land Awards – Mayor and Commissioner Sheehan
The City of Orlando has for many years been an active and proud member of the Florida League of Cities.
For more than 100 years, the League of Cities has been the champion of Florida's now more than 400 cities, towns and villages. Our very own Commissioner Tony Ortiz is a recent Past President of the Florida League of Cities and Commissioner Robert Stuart is a long-serving member of the League's Board of Directors.
With us today from the Florida League of Cities is Mr. Chris Holley, the League's Director of Member Services and Training. Mr. Holley has a couple of recognitions to make to two members of this City Council.
Mr. Holley, the floor is yours.
Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee
On to our general update, many members of the community have expressed interest in contributing feedback on efforts to develop a permanent memorial at the Pulse site. Later this month, there will be an open house to help inform the recently formed Pulse Memorial Advisory Committee.
The open house will allow the community to provide input into the design and will be held on Thursday, July 25 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Kia Center.
The committee includes family members of the victims, survivors and community stakeholders. This group will help lead a collaborative approach to the creation of the memorial. We encourage those interested to visit pulseorlando.org for more information.
INEZ LONG PASSING AND MWE Anniversary
Our community recently lost a champion for inclusion and opportunity with the passing of Inez Long. As the long-time President and CEO of the Black Business Investment Fund, Inez was a dedicated partner of the City of Orlando, working to help Black-owned businesses launch, thrive and grow. We send our condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.
One of the ways that we’ll honor her legacy is through our Minority Business Enterprise Program, which increases opportunities for minority and woman-owned businesses to participate in the city procurement process. This month, our MBE Division is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Four decades of impact is certainly worthy of celebration.
J#1 - FORWARD Orlando – Safe Streets
Moving on to items of note, we’re working every day to make Orlando safer for pedestrians, cyclists and all people traveling. To support us in this work, we’re the recipient of a more than three-million-dollar grant from the federal government.
This funding will help our Transportation team launch the FORWARD program: Focusing on Resilient Walkways and Rethinking Design. This will transform high-need areas for pedestrian safety into real world implementation of quick build projects and demonstration activities, providing much needed safety countermeasures citywide.
B#8 - Bloomberg Public Art Challenge
Also on the agenda, we are awarding nationally renowned artist Juan William Chavez as the principal artist for the Bloomberg Public Art Challenge titled “Art Pollination: Building Food Justice through Creativity.”
Chaves will create temporary public art installations around downtown Orlando as a way to engage local artists and farmers to raise awareness about food insecurity. Our hope is that these art installations further our sustainability goals to both educate and increase access to local healthy foods.
B#15 – B#17- Proposed Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget – Millage Rate
You’ll also see on the agenda we have our proposed millage rate. Earlier this morning we held a workshop that outlined a proposed budget designed to continue to positively impact the quality of life of those in Orlando... while also planning for the future. Because of our strong financial management, we’re able to do this without raising the millage rate for the 11th-consecutive year.
C#4 - CRA Orlando Main Street Parklet Program
Lastly, we’ll look to approve the new Downtown Orlando CRA and Orlando Main Street Districts Parklet Program, which focuses on increasing community connectivity and expanding restaurant and café businesses. We originally opened parklets during the pandemic as a way to support small businesses and encourage social distancing. Due to that success, staff has worked on a new proposal to also allow parklets in qualifying Orlando Main Street districts, including a micro-mobility parklets, Main Street community parklets and a dining parklets.