Staff: department budget, master plan proposal and Culinary District grant reported

City staff briefed the advisory board on budget planning, a forthcoming master plan contract and a small grant award for the Culinary District.

A staff member reported the department's FY2027 budget will include funding for lead generation and that the department had requested a professional-services line for a master plan; the staff member said a roughly $44,000 proposal would be sent to City Council for approval so the work can start in the next fiscal cycle. "We did receive a 22500 dollar grant from the Visitor Convention Bureau, for the Culinary District," staff said when describing current marketing resources.

Staff also described planned marketing buys (a recurring quarter-page ad in Florida Weekly and online ads) and a city contribution for Culinary District marketing that staff represented as a $1,010,000 contribution through Florida Weekly. Staff said the department would use lessons from the master plan to hire a consulting firm to support lead generation and that vendor or software purchases would be considered only if budget allowed. The Farmers Market expansion (see separate note) and a business roundtable scheduled for Sept. 23 were also announced as part of downtown-activation work.

The staff remarks were presented as operational updates to the advisory board; members asked follow-up questions about budget cuts tied to a potential property-tax amendment and requested further briefings on major projects.