On Tuesday, Sept. 26, the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency (IA) is set to approve the final $174 million FY2024 capital budget. The final budget reflects direction provided by the IA Board during three budget workshops on May 11, August 24, and September 21, 2023. Major changes include reducing Airport Gateway funding to $82 million and reducing the Northeast Park funding to $12 million.
The $174 million FY2024 capital budget, details provided below, is focused on the Northeast Gateway ($66M), the Northeast Corridor ($64M) and the Airport Gateway (17M).
The key points from the proposed budget include:
-The Infrastructure program will provide an estimated $304 million to support the local economy through direct expenditures over the next five fiscal years.
-The proposed FY 2024 – 2028 Capital Improvement Program for Blueprint Infrastructure continues the implementation of 32 key community projects across Leon County, funds eight regional mobility, gateway, and placemaking projects, and provides $49.5 million to the City and County for improvements to sidewalks, transit, and water quality.
-Full funding for all existing Office of Economic Vitality programs including funding for the Competitive Project Fund and the Future Opportunity Leveraging Fund.
The agenda item provides for IA Board consideration of the proposed: FY 2024 operating budgets for the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency, the FY 2024 – 2028 Infrastructure Capital Improvement Program, the FY 2024 – 2028 Office of Economic Vitality Capital Improvement Program, and the proposed FY 2024 Operating and Capital Improvement Program Budget Resolutions.
The public hearing begins at 3:00 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers located in City Hall on the 2nd floor.
As car destroy the planet (steel, battery, rubber, etc, manufacturing; followed by asphalt, oil, etc manufacturing; followed by deforestation for parking and sprawl; followed by exhaust) our elected officials should be building bike-lanes, bus routes that make sense, etc.
We need to start emphasizing that the monies that local governments spend was taken in the form of taxes from citizens. As such, the representatives that spend that money have a duty to do so with the best of intentions and regards to those that paid that money.
Those moneys are NOT a slush fund, to be spent to make the government look caring, benevolent, any other adjective, or with the intention of ensuring reelection. If the government looks good as a result of the spending, that’s fine. But that should not be the primary focus!
Well put, August!
Mayor Flintstone, Sergeant Curtis Schultz, Comrade Matlow and his pinko sidekick all need to be voted out yesterday.
But it won’t happen.
“Placemaking” is how the democrat party elite in Leon County steal money from the taxpayer and give it to their friends, who turn around and give it back in the form of “contributions”.
And then they say “look at this place we made for you”… with a straight face.
Like the $600,000 bus stop at Orange ave and Meridian Road. They made a really nice place for the same crack dealers to hang out and sell crack. I mean, it’s a heck of a lot nicer than the old bus stop they used to sell crack at… for 600k of our money! Every time I catch that red light I watch a drug deal go down. No one is remotely worried about getting caught either.
Every commissioner needs to be fired the first chance we get. They are all just a bunch of self-serving hacks trying to figure out new ways to separate the taxpayers from our money.
There isn’t an ounce of honesty or humility in the entire bunch!
Just three business days after the unseemly SOMO giveaway, they’re cementing it so taxpayers are on the hook for it irrevocably. Time to defund Blueprint, this whole agency has jumped the shark
What exactly is “Placemaking”?
With the huge problem we have with Sewage, WHY does the Alt. SEWER Sol. only get $500,000?