Civic Issues
Topics getting the most attention in Lynn Haven public meetings, ranked by how frequently they are discussed.
10 issues in taxes budget with high priority
Employee salary and classification study
The city's last salary study was done in 2015 and never implemented. New charter language would require pay grades and salary scales to be reviewed at least every three years so the city stays competitive and avoids turnover.
City Clerk-Treasurer hiring process
The commission tabled the hiring process to workshop the job description first — including thorny questions like who builds the city manager's budget if the treasurer oversees the city budget. The net cost is budgeted at about $45,000. A workshop will be scheduled in October.
City Clerk position structure
Voters approved having a city clerk; now commissioners have decided it will be a clerk/treasurer role, 3-2, with debate over whether it reports to the commission or the city manager and whether to hire internally.
Charter Review Committee changes
Lynn Haven voters will decide three charter questions on November 3: when the five-year charter review clock starts, how commissioner pay is stated (no pay change), and how vacant commission seats get filled. The vacancy change is the big one — the governor loses the power to fill a seat the Commission can't, and a special election happens instead.
Final CRA budget for FY 2026/2027
The CRA's $1.02 million budget funds sidewalks, parks, and downtown improvements using tax increment revenue from the city and county. It's down about 59% from the prior year's amended budget, and commissioners see room to shift more general-fund costs into it to save taxpayer money.
Animal shelter funding
The shelter stayed funded in the budget, but the Finance Review Committee had recommended shuttering it, and residents raised a hybrid model — one animal control officer plus volunteers or the Humane Society — to cut the roughly $1,000-a-day cost. Expect this fight to continue.
Sanitation rate increase
No garbage rate increase in six-plus years has left the sanitation fund running deficits. Commissioners debated who should pay more — single-can or two-can customers — and commercial can rates are the focus; dumpster service may come later.
Community Redevelopment Agency funding level
Commissioner Peebles was surprised the city sends roughly $400,000 to the CRA. Staff explained CRA dollars boost taxable value, but if Amendment Three passes the CRA budget could be cut in half, and by law the CRA can't backfill city budget shortfalls.
Elimination of the Community Redevelopment Agency
Killing the CRA would return roughly $500,000 to the general fund and erase the deficit under a 4.35 millage — but it ends facade grants, the residential paint program, sidewalks, and small park projects, and eliminates the CRA director's job. The commission just extended the CRA for ten years before the deficit picture was clear.
Municipal Legal Services Agreement
The city locked in its new legal services contract with Dunlap and Shipman at $275K a year, but amendments Warrick pushed have to come back for final approval. Performance reviews and quarterly reporting on the firm's work were debated at length.