®
oundtable:
Managing the cities of Broward Local city managers discuss the investments and developments that are ongoing in their respective cities.
Ana Garcia
City Manager City of Dania Beach
What are some of the top budget priorities for the city of Dania Beach? For FY20, we ended up reducing the budget by almost $1.9 million. We didn’t want to raise taxes, we wanted to build our reserves and as a newly appointed city manager, I wanted to fully assess our operations and our needs. Fast forward to today and our adopted fiscal year 2021 budget has the greatest investment in infrastructure in the history of Dania Beach, and this was achieved without raising taxes or reducing our city team and ensuring we have an incredibly sound reserve. In this challenging time do to COVID-19, we are actually one of those cities that are augmenting our services and investing in both personnel and in our community. What are some of the key investments for the city? Our investment in infrastructure is unprecedented. This year, the budget has a multitude of projects that we are investing in. Last year’s lighting assessment will be this year’s lighting investment, with over $2 million to be implemented. The priority of safety is aligned with our investment in citywide lighting. A massive investment in storm drainage to include a storm drainage master plan and a multitude of projects citywide was a priority for us. Additionally, we will bring forward several additional storm drainage projects seeking support from the commission. We will implement automated meter reading and put in place the infrastructure for citywide Wi-Fi as the pandemic has increased the need for better connectivity and communication due to more people working from home. We want to ensure all our residents have access to the internet. 26
| Invest: Greater Fort Lauderdale 2021 | ECONOMY
Desorae Giles-Smith
City Manager City of Lauderhill
How have pre-COVID plans to revitalize the city changed as a result of the pandemic? Prior to the pandemic, we had allocated money for capital projects to help revitalize our city. Those dollars must, and have, remained in place. So, our plans have continued to move forward. The NW 38th Avenue Arts District Business Attraction Plan, near our Warehouse District, is under construction and should be finished within a year. Our light industrial community in the area will undergo a total revitalization. We’ve had a great start with the opening of the city’s first microbrewery. Other businesses have also come into that area, and several are looking into it. The Arts District abuts the Central Broward Regional Park, which holds a multipurpose stadium that is the only International Cricket Stadium in the United States. What new improvements has the city been working on? Our residents voted in favor of a $45 million bond in 2016, which we’ve been using for major improvements on our parks. For example, we have upgraded facilities in Westwind Park, Veterans Park, St. George Park and have started on West Ken Lark. How accessible is housing in Lauderhill? Our housing stock is broad, and price isn’t as big an issue as in other parts of Broward County. Like other cities in South Florida, we have seen spikes in our housing values but on the whole, housing here is attainable. We have a number of condominiums and apartment complexes for those who are not interested in buying or renting a single-family home. We have workforce housing and we have market-rate housing to meet the needs for a wide range of incomes.
