The City of Hollywood maintains more than 85 facilities and parks, 400+ miles of streets and alleys, 301 miles of sidewalks and 5+ miles of beach. Each year the City adopts a 5-year plan to address large scale maintenance projects, renovations and construction of new facilities. This allows the City to plan funding for maintenance of its basic infrastructure such as street resurfacing, sidewalk repair, facility upkeep, etc. After more than a year of public input, needs assessments, and cost analysis, many significant projects in all areas of the City were identified as important to improve the safety and quality of life for Hollywood residents. GO Bonds are a cost-effective way for cities to pay for major projects like these.
The City uses various sources of funding to pay for the projects. Such funding sources include:
- Taxes
- Debt Financing (borrowing money)
- Licenses
- Permit Fees
- Charges for Services
- State and Federal Grants
Even with these sources of revenue, the City does not have available funds to complete many proposed improvement projects. Debt financing has been the primary mechanism for paying for large, City-wide projects. The interest and principal (debt service) on debt financed projects is repaid by the General Fund Operating Budget over a period of time. The City has the ability to pay for debt financing but, if you add in paying for the annual debt service too, that figure limits the amount of funding available for capital improvement projects in any one year. Bond financing allows cities to spread the cost for large projects out over many years.
