Overall the City has a solid financial position as evidenced by S&P and Moody’s strong credit ratings on the City’s 2019 general obligation bond (AA+ for S&P, Aa2 for Moody's). The City operates with a balanced budget and has funds necessary for ongoing operations (e.g., City General Fund).

Capital spending is more challenging. In November 2018, the voters of Miami Beach supported $439 million for new capital spending which is extremely helpful. However, the City does not sufficiently contribute annually to its Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) fund to address ongoing capital renewal and replacement (e.g., streets, sidewalks, buildings, etc.). The purpose of this dual referral is to identify ways to address this challenge. Led by the City Administration, the following opportunities including illustrative examples should be explored to increase annual PAYGO funding:

- Dedicated Revenue Streams (e.g., Convention Center Hotel above the guaranteed minimum rent, Potential Convention Center Sponsorship, Potential Byron Carlyle Redevelopment etc.)

- Savings from Efficiencies in the operating budget (e.g., reductions in Commission generated event sponsorships, other efficiencies identified during annual budgeting process, etc.)

- Transfer of end of year Unspent Fund Balances after prudent reserve allocations

- Multi-year financial planning (e.g., five-year financial forecasts and a five-year capital plan)

The collaborative work of the Administration, Commission, and BAC may also be supplemented by the Office of Inspector General anticipated to be in place during calendar 2019.