Fort Lauderdale City Commissioners are still working on the city's budget for next year. But it's already clear that the city is reaching further into its pockets than last year.
The budget for 2020 tops $830 million - almost $46 million more than the budget for 2019.
The second - and final - public hearing for the budget is scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday in the Fort Lauderdale city commission chambers. The commission will vote on the proposal following the hearing, and then move into a regular meeting.
It's the last opportunity for residents to give input about how the city of Fort Lauderdale should spend its money. Yet, you don’t have to wait until the hearing to give comments on the budget - you can still submit them on a platform the city is using called Balancing Act.
Some improvements to the aging water and sewage system are included.
Read More: Fort Lauderdale Agrees To Borrow Money To Tackle Sewage Problems
The city is entering its second year of a four-year plan to wean off taking money out of the water and sewage fund for other areas in the budget. This year, there will be $266.2 million to spend on those infrastructure projects, including unused money from a community investment plan, that's expected to be reallocated for water and sewage infrastructure updates, according to the city's public affairs office.
The former commission voted early in 2018 to borrow $200 million to start making sewage improvements, after the state became involved following three years of sewage spills on streets and waterways.
More recently, in July, the city experienced a drinking water shortage when a contractor struck one of the city's main water pipes by accident. It resulted in weeks of boil-water-notices for some areas.
To help with the new budget for water and sewage, the average household in Fort Lauderdale could see its water bill increase by one percent. That's around 86 cents.
The budget will go into effect Oct.1.
There will be a live-stream of the hearing at the city's website.
You can read through the proposed budget for Fort Lauderdale's fiscal year 2020 in its entirety, below.
