How have the Key Colony Beach City budget (and our property taxes) skyrocketed?
Fresh on the heels of denying you the right to vote, the runaway Gang of 3 will pass a TWENTY MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET at the end of the day on Thursday.
Key Colony Beach has raised property taxes at least 73% since 2018 to pay for extra employees, extra vehicles, extra lawyers, extra boodoggles, and years of trailer houses. Now, the Gang of 3--Commissioners Harding, Ramsay-Vickrey, and Trefrey--will pass a resolution with that huge and unexplained spending.
The approved budgets over just the past few years show very worrisome trends.
» From 2018-22, KCB carried forward a lot of reserves that just plain disappeared in 2022-23.
» The city claims about a million less in 2023-24 Ad Valorem Tax "Revenue" than the county calculation yields based on millage rate and property values.
» The city claims to budget $7.8 million in 2023-24 expenditures but Resolution 2023-13 budgets $20.5 million for the same period.
Fiscal
YearProperty
Taxes%
IncreaseTotal
" Revenue"%
IncreaseTotal
Expenditures%
Increase2018-19 $1,732,677 - - $3,855,068 - - $3,855,068 - - "Revenue" will increase by $2,152,738 carried forward from 2017-18
Expenditures will increase by $3,128,148 transferred to "Reserves"
Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-18-19-budget-summary.pdf
2019-20 $1,804,165 4.1% $6,013,449 56.0% $5,496,295 42.6% "Revenue" will increase by $5,997,971 carried forward from 2018-19
Expenditures will increase by $6,515,125 transferred to "Reserves"
Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-19-20-budget-summary.pdf
2020-21 $1,878,301 4.1% $5,512,552 -8.3% $5,313,568 -3.3% "Revenue" will increase by $6,505,127 carried forward from 2019-20
Expenditures will increase by $6,702,111 transferred to "Reserves"
Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-2021-budget-summary.pdf
2021-22 $2,300,383 22.5% $6,436,199 16.8% $7,224,462 36.0% First "Turner" budget, last budget with funds carried over
"Revenue" will increase by $6,954,415 carried forward from 2020-21
Expenditures will increase by $6,166,162 transferred to "Reserves"
Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-21-22-buddget-summary.pdf
2022-23 $2,627,390 14.2% $7,737,390 20.2% $7,737,390 7.1% "Revenue" includes $500,000 from 2021-22 fund reserves
Expenditures will increase by $ transferred to "Reserves"
Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-22-23-budget-summary.pdf
Two official data sources for the upcoming fiscal year contradict each other.
The "official" city budget presentation offers a rosy picture of financial good health but the Resolution the commission passed 4-0 shows a $17 million dollar shorfall. Here are the two sets of figures:
2023-24 $2,999,042 14.1% $7,778,784 0.5% $7,778,784 0.5% Amounts claimed in "KCB Proposed Budget Presentation" by D. Turner
"Revenue" includes $124,829 of "internal transfers"
Expenditures include by $457,833 transferred to "Reserves"
Source: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-23-24-budget-approved-9-7-23.pdf
2023-24 $3,946,224 50.2% $7,778,784 0.5% $20,494,491 164.9% Amounts from calculated revenue and Commission Resolution_2023-13
"Revenue" includes $124,829 of "internal transfers"
Expenditures are the total approved in Resolution 2023-13
Source #1: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/fy-23-24-budget-approved-9-7-23.pdf
Source #2: http://PeopleAreAsking.org/resources/budget/budget_resolution_2023-13.pdf
» These numbers alone underscore the need for a forensic analysis of city finances.
»