City of Panama Beach issued the following announcement on September 10.
The Panama City Beach City Council approved a $41.6 million General Fund Budget Thursday night, which is slightly less than last year’s budget.
City officials elected to be cautious with spending in the coming year, as the FY 2021 budget year was unusual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We don’t know if it was an anomaly, so we will not have much growth in this budget,” said Mayor Mark Sheldon.
Public Safety gets the biggest piece of the budget pie, as 57 percent of total expenditures by department are going to police and fire.
“Public Safety is our number one job as a City,” Sheldon said, “to keep our residents and visitors safe and our community as crime free as is possible. Public safety is a strategic priority for the City, as is a high quality of life, improved transportation, and economic development. All of these are not possible without investing in public safety first.
“This budget also includes a substantial investment in improvements along Front Beach Road within the Community Redevelopment Area. Improving this road will improve safety in that area as well.”
Highlights of the new budget include:
- Hiring three additional police officers
- Hiring two additional full-time lifeguards
- Constructing an east-end police substation (partial payment from grant)
- Constructing a fire training tower (partial payment from grant)
- Replace Fire Station 31 (next to the police department)
- Extension to Gayle’s Trails
- Improvements to North Richard Jackson Boulevard intersection
- Adding sidewalks to Hills Road
The Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment Area’s (CRA) budget includes $24 million for construction on Segments 3, 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3 which will run from the State Road 79 intersection east to North Richard Jackson Boulevard, where Segment 2 ends. Another $4.3 million will be spent on Alf Coleman Road, North Richard Jackson Boulevard, lighting improvements to Front Beach Road and South Thomas Drive and crosswalk improvements within the CRA.
Communications Director Debbie Ingram Ward can be reached at (850) 233-5100, Ext. 2261.
Original source can be found here.
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