HAINES CITY | A multimillion-dollar expansion and remodeling of City Hall will face a familiar refrain in the coming municipal budget year: Show us the money.
A floor plan developed by Furr & Wegman Architects PA in Lakeland calls for adding 5,018 square feet to the existing 13,034-square-foot building, a 38.5 percent increase.
The plan calls for remodeling 10,762 square feet of the existing building and leaving the rest untouched.
The City Commission approved the floor plan unanimously at its Thursday evening meeting.
Architect Phil Wegman told commissioners he wouldn't have a construction cost estimate until further design work is completed. The firm is working on a plan for the building's exteriors, which is expected to be completed in the next several months.
A pre-design estimate put the cost of the new City Hall at $2 million, Assistant City Manager Ken Sauer said.
The new building and other municipal projects could come up at the commission's budget workshop scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, 502 E. Hinson Ave.
Commissioner Roy Tyler called for the workshop to set policies and priorities for the upcoming 2009-10 budget under preparation by City Manager Ann Toney-Deal.
While Toney-Deal will make the decisions on specific spending items, the commission has the responsibility for setting priorities in what's expected to become a tight budget year, he said.
Finance Director Don Carter told the commission earlier he expects the city's general fund, which pays for most city services, will have $2.5 million less than the current fund.
The commission needs to decide, for example, whether it prefers delaying building projects versus employee layoffs, Tyler said.
The new City Hall will include a separate office for city commissioners to meet with residents. Currently commissioners have to borrow a vacant office for that purpose.
[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-422-6800. Visit his blog, Northeast Polk Pickins, at talesofthreecities.theledger.com. ]