ANNA MARIA – The city’s 2023-24 fiscal year budget may include a feasibility study aimed at attracting and retaining permanent residents through property tax breaks and building code incentives.
On June 22, with Mayor Dan Murphy absent, the city commission participated in the first of at least three preliminary three budget meetings to occur before the final budget and the yet-to-be proposed millage rate are finalized during two public hearings in September.
Thursday’s 30-minute budget meeting focused on capital outlay projects and other potential miscellaneous expenditures.
The budget proposes $325,000 for road repaving and Commission Chair Mark Short said there are only about four streets left in the city that have not been repaved in recent years.
The proposed budget includes $1.93 million for the Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project that will include new sidewalks, crosswalks and streetlights along Pine Avenue.
The Pine Avenue sidewalk and crosswalk improvements will be funded by a $1.28 million state appropriation approved last year. The Pine Avenue streetlight improvements will be made using $460,000 in remaining American Rescue Plan funds previously provided by the federal government.
The proposed budget includes an additional $1.41 million in recently approved state funds to expand the Reimagining Pine Avenue project to include portions of Magnolia Avenue and Spring Avenue.
The budget proposes $525,000 for the ongoing maintenance of the city’s existing stormwater and drainage systems, $1.21 million for stormwater-related capital improvements and $75,000 to design a pumping station to address frequent flooding along Archer Way.
Additional projects
The proposed budget includes $1.8 million in additional potential capital projects that will require further commission discussion and decision-making.
The potential projects include $156,486 to install shade sails over the children’s playground at City Pier Park, $79,660 to expand the existing City Pier Park shade sail structure and $69,912 to install shade sails over the T-end of the City Pier.
The budget proposes $200,000 for improvements to the city hall building that would allow building department personnel to vacate the rented annex building on Pine Avenue and return to city hall, with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office Anna Maria Unit possibly moving into the annex building.
The budget proposes $275,000 to engineer and permit a permanent solution for the Lake LaVista jetty and canal area that would eliminate the need to dredge that area every two or three years.
The budget proposes $500,000 to construct stand-alone public restrooms on the city-owned property that contains City Hall, the Island Players theater and a public parking lot.
“This has come up because of the number of people using the beach and going into the stores and coming in here (city hall) to use the facilities,” Short said.
The budget also proposes $21,200 to redesign the Island Players parking lot to make it more disabled accessible and to include a designated passenger drop-off area.
The budget proposes $500,000 to extend the multi-use path along Gulf Drive that currently extends from the entrance of the city to Willow Avenue.
Incentivizing residents
To retain and attract permanent residents, Commissioner Charlie Salem proposes budgeting $75,000 for a feasibility study pertaining to property tax breaks and building allowances being given to residential property owners who voluntarily agree to deed restrictions that would prohibit them for 25 years from renting their homes out for less than six months at a time.
Salem said Murphy supports the idea, which has also been discussed with City Planner Ashley Austin.
Citing U.S. Census data, the one-page document Salem shared with commissioners noted Anna Maria’s population declined from 1,814 in 2000 to 1,504 in 2010 and 968 in 2020.
Salem cited three primary goals: Retaining existing permanent residents through tax and building code incentives, marketing Anna Maria as a place to relocate for permanent residents and creating a better long-term rental market that allows more Island employees to live in Anna Maria.
To attract new residents and families, Salem suggests enacting building code incentives that include enhanced lot coverage, living area ratio and parking requirements in exchange for a voluntary deed restriction, with property tax relief as another potential incentive. Salem noted more people work from home these days and Anna Maria is an excellent place for that.
To increase the availability of long-term rentals, Salem and Austin suggest allowing code-compliant accessory buildings to be used as long-term rentals of more than six months, with a deed restriction in place.
Salem suggests creating a marketing plan to attract long-term residents and encourage existing residents to take advantage of any incentives given.
“I think it’s an excellent idea,” Commissioner Robert Kingan said, noting the city must be able to recapture benefits given to a property owner who agrees to a deed restriction and later tries to walk away from it.
Short suggested asking the City Attorney Becky Vose to provide her legal insight on Salem’s proposal before funding and conducting a feasibility study.
Vose said she would conduct that legal research because there’s no reason to conduct a study if the proposed deed restriction concept isn’t legally sound.
“This is a pressing issue,” Kingan said. “If it legally passes muster, we should fast-track this because we don’t have a lot of time. A lot of people are leaving.”
The commission reached a unanimous consensus in preliminary support of all the proposed expenditures, including the feasibility study.
