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BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS • July 12, 2019 Board of County Commissioners Indian River County 1801 27th Street Vero Beach, FL 32960 Dear Commissioners: As required by Florida Statutes, transmitted with this message is the recommended budget for Fiscal Year 2019/2020 (FY 2019/20). The proposed budget represents the general operating framework for providing all County services for the forthcoming year. As presented, it reflects the County Administrator's plan of implementing and funding the recommended service levels. The budget has been developed with a combination of guidelines ovided by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) throughout the year, critical input from all apartments, Budget Department guidance, the Administrator's perception of needs, responses from the community, and requests from the Constitutional Officers. Major Issues Impacting FY2019/20 Budget Development Service demands have increased as Indian River County recovers from the economic downturn and as the population continues to grow. There is a delicate balance in meeting service needs and maintaining low tax rates for the citizens in Indian River County. The County continues to increase our focus on catching up on deferred maintenance and capital item replacement. Funding for these items was drastically reduced to absorb the funding reduction during the economic downturn. While a concerted effort has been made to catch up on these items over the last several years, a substantial amount of work remains. A departmental review earlier this year revealed a total backlog of $44 million across the County. Additionally, ongoing renewal and replacement work needs to be considered. The proposed budget includes $11,287,253 in funding ($1,107,253 in taxing funds). Staff support is also included in the Utilities budget to oversee this work going forward, as well as the Parks Conservation Lands budget to catch up on an exotics maintenance backlog. Indian River County voters approved two bond issues to acquire and preserve environmentally sensitive lands several years ago. Over the ensuing years, the County has acquired over 12,250 acres of property (2,791 acres actively managed) with these funds as well as matching grants. County funding in the amount of $77.7 million was supplemented with grant funding totaling $63.1 million, for a total "Prpenditure of $140.8 million. Many of these areas did not receive the initial improvements needed to ovide access to the public so that they could be enjoyed by our residents. Over the last few years, the 3