Dade City approves budget that eliminates 7 jobs

City Commissioners unanimously adopted a budget that eliminates seven jobs but maintains the millage rate at 7.1 mills.

At first glance, the $20 million budget appears to have nearly doubled. But $10 million is related to utility projects that are funded through federal grants. The general fund budget is just under $5 million.

The budget actually cut personnel costs by $259,600, and city employees will go without raises for the second year in a row. The budget also includes $125,000 for studies and design costs for a new city hall and police station.

Commissioners are wasting no time in their goal to move forward with plans for the municipal complex. Building a new city hall was identified as one of their top priorities. City Manager Billy Poe wants to build on the existing site of the nearly 90-year-old building. The site also includes the former TECO building, which houses the commission's meeting room, the old jail and surface parking.
The project would be funded with a combination of loans and grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Poe and other city officials will interview four architecture firms Thursday. They are:

Fawley/Bryant Architects: based in Bradenton, the firm specializes in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design . It designed Bradenton's City Center Complex in 1999. The $9 million complex includes a city hall, police station and auditorium.

Harvard Jolly Architecture: founded in 1938, the Tampa firm is designing a new high school and elementary school in Pasco County. The firm also designed a municipal office and police complex for Gulfport in 2002. The $2.5 million project was constructed around the existing city hall site to minimize disruption to city services.

WannemacherJensen Architects: This St. Petersburg-based firm designed a new city hall for St. Pete Beach, which was completed in 2003. The firm also designed a combined library and police substation for St. Petersburg.

Woodroffe Corporation Architects: In 2000, this Tampa-based firm designed the renovations for St. Petersburg City Hall. The project included a space analysis and needs assessment and the addition of a new meeting chamber and resource center.