Clearwater Annual Report 2023
The city of Clearwater is proud to present its Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report, which covers Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2023. Below are the city's accomplishments during this timeframe.
These successes would not be possible without the care and professionalism of our city employees and this incredible workforce. To all of our teams, thank you for the work that you do, each and every day.
Our Top 22 Accomplishments
The city created a new Clearwater Strategic Plan and led a robust budget planning and prioritization process for development of the Fiscal 2024 operating and capital budgets. The creation of this plan ties into our Strategic Plan objective 1.1.
Every single department was involved in some aspect of Coachman Park. The grand opening was a momentous occasion that featured a lineup of events, concerts and the return of Clearwater Celebrates America, drawing more than 50,000 attendees. Seven days of fun, it was the largest event in Clearwater’s history. The rebirth of this important community park ties into a number of city objectives, including 2.3 and also 1.2, 3.3, 4.2 and 5.3.
One of our biggest successes was leading the efforts to create the North Greenwood Community Redevelopment Area plan. It was adopted by the Clearwater City Council in January 2023, and it was approved by the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners in May 2023. The creation of this new special tax district fulfills the city’s objective 2.1, 3.1, 3.2, 3.4 and 5.3.
The city fixed our recycling program after learning of past failures and resumed recycling services. We changed the Solid Waste/Recycling department’s leadership team, secured a long-term recycling contract, approved the issuance of customer credits, and created a transparency dashboard to show residents what is recycled each month. From January to September 2023, more than 6,093 tons of recycling have been collected and was properly processed as recycling. This important work meets objectives 4.1 and 4.2, as well as 1.1, 1.3, and 3.3.
The city took steps to help make housing more affordable for our residents. We secured tax credits to leverage $21 million in equity for construction of Clearwater Gardens, an 80-unit affordable housing project. We closed on millions of dollars of affordable and workforce housing grants and loans for purchase assistance, rehabilitation, single-family construction, and many others. All of these efforts directly tie into objective 2.4.
Having received more than $22.4 million through the American Rescue Plan Act, the city developed a transparency portal this year, to show how the funds are being spent in the community. Last fiscal year, purchases include grant awards in the North Greenwood CRA area, Intelligent Transportation System updates, housing loans and grants, the Amplify Clearwater incubator, cultural affairs grant programs, solar panels, and sidewalk repairs. Learn more at MyClearwater.com/ARPA. These funding efforts tie into objectives 2.2 through 2.5, 4.3 and 4.4, and perhaps others.
Best Fleet in America
Clearwater’s fleet team was recognized as one of the “100 Best Fleets in North America” for the sixth year in a row, by the National Association of Fleet Administrators. The city ranked 53rd in the nation out of 38,000 public fleets. In addition, the city’s fleet team is ahead of its objectives laid out in Clearwater’s Green Fleet Policy.
This achievement ties into objectives 1.3, 1.5, 4.1, 4.4 and 5.1.
Capital Construction
The city completed construction on several important capital projects, including Coachman Park and the Sound, District 3 Police Substation, Fire Station 46, Cleveland Street Improvements, and improvements at the Municipal Services Building and Garden Avenue parking garages. Planning efforts are underway for next year’s capital projects, which will include major renovations to the Clearwater Beach Marina, a new City Hall, several key road improvements, and the Osceola Parking Garage. These accomplishments tie into objective 1.2, 1.5, 3.2 and 5.3.
Citizenship Program
In partnership with the Literacy Council of Upper Pinellas, the Clearwater Public Library System assisted 15 Clearwater residents, including a library employee, to become U.S. citizens through its Citizenship Tutoring program. They were recognized at the June 15 City Council Meeting. This program is just another example of how our library system is so much more than “just books.” The library is a thriving place that brings residents together and positively impacts the community it serves. This important citizenship program fulfills objectives 3.1 and 5.2 of our strategic plan.
Clearwater Gas Growth
This year, Clearwater Gas System achieved a 5 percent new customer growth rate, bringing the total customer count to 33,000 customers. Thirteen miles of new natural gas mains were installed, bringing the total to 1,087 miles. This year, Clearwater Gas System sold $35 million of natural and propane gas services and more than 500,000 gasoline gallon equivalents at our natural gas fueling station. These achievements exemplify objective 1.3.
Diversity Celebrations
Clearwater planned and hosted the city’s first “Living the Culture Series,” which brought community groups together to celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity, Juneteenth and Pride Month. And in February 2023, the Clearwater North Greenwood Library presented the sixth-annual “Night at the Library: A Celebration of Memories – Segregation and Desegregation, Then and Now,” along with the Clearwater African American Remembrance Committee, Pinellas County Schools, the Clearwater Historical Society, the Upper Pinellas NAACP, the Black Cemetery Network, and the Pinellas Genealogy Society. The night featured a special dedication to students from the Pinellas High School Class of 1969. All of these important efforts tie into objectives 1.1, 2.5, 3.1, 3.4, 5.3, and 5.4.
Energy Savings
Clearwater conducted a new municipal energy conservation program, which reduced overall electricity consumption by 9 percent and natural gas consumption by 27 percent in the last year. This has saved more than $450,000 in electricity and natural gas costs. This effort ties into our Greenprint 2.0 sustainability plan, as well as the city’s objectives 4.2, 1.3 and 5.3.
Mental Health Initiatives
This year, the city was awarded $184,000 in grants toward the Clearwater Police Department's Mental Health Unit, which provides valuable services to a once underserved community. The department employs a full-time homeless outreach specialist, who connects people experiencing homelessness to social services, including mental health. In addition, the city provides mental health services for its public safety employees and employee assistance support to all citywide staff for counseling and mental health services. These important efforts tie into the city’s objectives 5.2, 5.3 and 1.4.
The city secured a new, long-term lease to manage and operate the Clearwater Airpark with FlyUSA. The city completed the standard operating guidelines for Clearwater Airpark in conjunction with the new fixed-base operator. We also ensured compliance with Florida State Statutes, Federal Aviation Authority regulations, and accounting best practices. This achievement meets objectives 1.1, 2.1 and 3.2.
New Fire Engines
Clearwater Fire & Rescue purchased two new engines last year. The engine for Station 50 is in service, and we will receive the one for Station 48 early in 2024. Both were purchased before significant price increases, saving the city more than $100,000. This important investment ties into objective 1.2.
Thanks to the hard work of our neighborhoods and innovation teams, the city forged a new official Sister City relationship with Ixmiquilpan, Mexico. City leaders and staff look forward to all that we will learn as a community because of this new relationship. This effort ties into objectives 2.3, 3.1, and 3.4.
Police and Public Transparency
This year, the city increased public transparency by installing 14 additional Clearwater Police Department dash cameras in patrol vehicles, and the department increased its Flock cameras citywide to 22 cameras, which help teams find stolen vehicles, wanted suspects and missing individuals. The Clearwater Police Department’s Real-Time Operations Center is an asset that helps solve crimes and locate missing people in real time. These investments meet objectives 1.1 and 1.4.
Public Art Investment
The city brought art into Clearwater’s public spaces. New art is on display at Coachman Park, and we processed a call-for-artists for a mosaic mural installation that will enhance the Mercado, a public gathering space under construction at Cleveland Street and Gulf to Bay Boulevard. An artist and design are approved for a mural that will go on the large water tank in the Countryside area, and the city hosted art exhibits, openings and book signings for the Clyde and Niki Butcher art shows at the Main Library. We also are working on getting art at Fire Station 46. These efforts tie into the city’s objectives of 2.5, 3.1 and 5.3.
Sidewalk Safety
The city continues to make great progress in repairing broken sidewalks. The Public Works team achieved a significant reduction in sidewalk hazards, using a comprehensive effort of both contractor and in-house forces.
In addition to sidewalk improvements, considerable effort and engagement is going into improving Clearwater’s urban forest resource. A new tree policy was created, and the city’s tree inventory is being collected. We’re engaging with the community and are focused on prioritizing, growing and maintaining this vital resource for our city.
This hard work ties into the city’s objectives 4.3, 5.3, as well as 1.3, 3.2 and 4.4.
Take Stock In Children
The Clearwater Public Library System partnered with the Pinellas Education Foundation and Pinellas County Schools in the “Take Stock in Children” program to assist 16 students from the Clearwater East Community Library to win scholarships for two prepaid years at a Florida college or university. This program ties into the city’s objectives 2.5 and 3.4.
Technology Improvements
The city made several technological improvements to our programs and processes this year. These include many departmental public transparency portals or dashboards, a vigorous website migration of its five websites, and a restructuring of the employee intranet platform. Clearwater also purchased a severe weather warning system that will be used for Clearwater Beach and city parks during storm events. These and other technology improvements tie into citywide objectives 1.1, 1.3, 3.4 and 5.3.
And last but certainly not least is the hard work of our utilities and water teams.
Clearwater Public Utilities provided more than 4 billion gallons of drinking water over the past year to Clearwater’s water customers and cleaned roughly the same amount of wastewater. Water crews also produced and provided roughly 2 billion gallons of reclaimed water to customers. And staff made multiple efforts to protect the wastewater system by cleaning and lining pipes and manholes. All these efforts exemplify objectives 1.1 through 1.5, 3.2, and 4.2.
Our Additional Successes
Everything the city does ties into our strategic direction. In addition to the top accomplishments, our additional successes from Fiscal year 2022/23 are listed below.
High-Performing Government
Received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the Sept. 30, 2021 ACFR for the 43rd consecutive year, and submitted the document for Sept. 30, 2022, for the same award. (1.1)- Received the Government Finance Officers Association’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the fiscal 2022 Budget document, for the 36th consecutive year. We submitted the fiscal 2023 Budget document for the same award. (1.1)
- Implemented a data analytics audit software that specializes in the Munis platform, to assist in the identification of anomalies and high-risk areas, and assist management in making informed operational decisions. (1.1)
- Updated camera and inspection trucks for stormwater maintenance personnel to investigate and get critical information to design engineers for evaluation. This will help maintenance crews to make necessary repairs in shorter durations and to minimize impacts to residents while the work is performed. (1.1)
- Lined more than 10.5 miles of wastewater pipes, cleaned and TV’d an additional 15 miles, smoke tested 71 miles of wastewater pipe, and lined approximately 245 manholes. (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 3.2 and 4.2)
- Completed Water & Sewer and Gas utility system rate studies to assist with proactive management of the utilities. (1.1 and 1.3)
- Secured healthcare coverage for the city workforce, allowing staff to remain with the past provider and see as little increase in costs as possible. (1.1 and 1.3)
- Renewed the city’s contract with its provider for the employee health center, which helps keep medical costs down for city employees and the city in general. (1.1 and 1.3)
- Planned the migration of electronic performance evaluations for some of its employees and provided training to affected managers. (1.1, 1.5, 5.2)
- Obtained funding for new Fire Station 47, to be built on South Hercules Avenue. Construction is expected to begin in Fall 2023. (1.2)
- Installed 13 miles of new natural gas mains for a system total of 1,087 miles. (1.2)
- Maintaining the city’s best inventory results in fleet parts ever. (1.2)
- Responded to more than 5,550 work orders for building and facilities maintenance. (1.2)
- Repaired or replaced the flooring at the Reverse-Osmosis Water Treatment Plant #1; Kings Highway Center; Fire Station 48 offices, training facility, warehouse, and hallways; and at the Clearwater Beach Recreation Center and Library. (1.2)
- Painted the McMullen Tennis Complex exterior, Long Center exterior walkways, Clearwater Beach Recreation Center and Library interior, Police Communication Center interior, North Greenwood Recreation Complex exterior, North Greenwood Library exterior, Fire Station 45 interior, and Countryside Library interior. (1.2)
- Repaired or replaced the roofing at the Fire Station 48’s training building, Carpenter Field walkway, and McMullen Tennis Complex. (1.2)
- Maintained more than 400 air conditioning units totaling 6,000 tons, 100 drinking fountains and 48 ice machines in city buildings. (1.2)
- Performed more than 300 in-house radio service calls to ensure critical and reliable radio communications for city staff. (1.2)
- Managed and assisted with the new XL-185M police mobile radio replacement program, which consisted of 265 mobile radios and more than 300 portable radios. The city also reprogrammed the police department’s remaining mobile and portable radios. (1.2)
- Prepared and programmed mobile radio kits for new police vehicles, and more than 285 kits were deployed to install GPS services in city vehicles. (1.2)
- Replaced more than 1,420 feet of water main, 19 valves, and four fire hydrants. (1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 3.2 and 4.2)
- Is nearing completion of a $20 million project at the Northeast Water Reclamation Facility to improve process reliability and treatment. (1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 4.2)
- Completed renovation of the Police Communications Center and drastically improved the culture and retention within that area. (1.2 and 1.4)
- Reached 60 percent design on the Beach Marina reconstruction project. (1.2, 2.2 and 4.1)
- Discovered in January 2022 that the city’s underground trash and recycling vaults at Clearwater Beach and throughout the city were collecting groundwater, due to incorrect waterproofing of concrete. Staff contacted the vendor and demanded a solution to the problem. The company agreed to properly seal all active vaults at the company's cost. (1.2 and 4.1)
- Permitted Stevenson's Creek with slow-speed, minimum wake zones in problematic areas of the creek. (1.2 and 4.1)
- Renovated the following recreation facilities: Beach Walk, Clearwater Sailing Center Docks, Cliff Stephens Park Pier and Sidewalks, Country Hollow Tennis Courts, Crest Lake Veterans Memorial Plaza, Del Oro Park, Enterprise Dog Park Agility Course, Ream Wilson Trailhead, Ross Norton Recreational Pier, Soule Road Park’s pickleball courts, and the gym floors at Ross Norton and North Greenwood recreation centers. The city also completed renovations of the Municipal Services Building’s break room in Public Works; Fleet offices, safety equipment, and energy-efficient lighting; and the Solid Waste/Recycling administration office. (1.2 and 4.2)
- Implemented payroll debit cards to eliminate paper checks and ensure that all employees can be paid electronically during a storm or other disaster. (1.3)
- Achieved an accuracy rate of 99.95% on 955,308 meter reads by Utility Customer Service meter readers; billing area billed on average 62,512 accounts per month, with 99.59% billed within three business days; and cashiering processed $61.1 million while only being over/short $2.41. The call center significantly improved all call response statistics by eliminating staffing shortages and a phone system upgrade. (1.3)
- Began to proactively assist city departments with internal audit controls and operational efficiencies and effectiveness. (1.3)
- Completed various audits, including a review of Utility Customer Service internal controls; point of sales activities evaluation at six customer payment locations; an examination of Clearwater Gas System sales commissions for compliance with policies and procedures; assisted Clearwater Police Department with the fiscal accreditation review process; provided assistance and oversight of year-end physical inventories at various departments’ locations; and completed an audit of airpark operations to include the fixed base operator’s compliance with the lease agreement. (1.3)
- Conducted fiber deployments at Coachman Park, North Clearwater Beach, Crest Lake and Cleveland Street areas. (1.3)
- Launched a revamped version of the employee intranet, for which we received a lot of great feedback from city staff. (1.3)
- Improved data storage and backup upgrades. (1.3)
- Deployed approximately 750 computers throughout the city. (1.3)
- Started the process of creating a comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan, scheduled for completion by December 2023. (1.3)
- The library added Saturday hours at the North Greenwood Library to better serve its community and increased hours at the Beach Library without adding any full-time equivalent positions. (1.3)
- Worked hard to integrate new technologies, equipment and practices by Clearwater shop employees, to improve efficiencies and reduce project durations to minimize impacts to our beautiful communities. (1.3)
- Prevented approximately five sanitary sewer overflows using the SmartCover system. (1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 4.1 and 4.2)
- Implemented IVR SelectText, which expands inspection scheduling through text message. It also enables customers the ability to receive inspection results via texts. (1.3 and 1.5)
- Expanded a web-based service, Dockwa, from only doing transient reservations at the marinas to using the service for all commercial and recreational permanent tenant leases, payments, record-keeping, and sale of fuel service. With the addition of an ice vending machine contract and a new laundry service agreement that both use credit/debit card payments for our tenants and guests, this has allowed the city to go cashless. (1.3 and 4.2)
- Reorganized the Solid Waste/Recycling Department’s new management team and added two assistant managers. The assistant managers now work directly with supervisors to address the daily concerns of our citizens. In addition, an administrative division support manager was brought onboard to address the lack of policy and procedures and safety training that had been previously in place and to address employee concerns and career advancement opportunities. (1.3, 5.1 and 5.2)
- The Solid Waste/Recycling Department struggled to fill key positions, such as the division controller, senior accountant, commercial manager, and several solid waste drivers and workers. Now those key positions are filled, and the department is set to achieve its goals. (1.3 and 5.1)
- Migrated from an outdated call center phone system to a Genesys upgraded system to serve customers who call the Utility Customer Service, Clearwater Gas, Planning and Solid Waste/Recycling departments. (1.3 and 5.3)
- Completed security camera upgrades at Clearwater Airpark. The Marine & Aviation and Information Technology departments worked together to secure 80 percent funding for the $150,000 project through the Florida Department of Transportation's Joint Automated Capital Improvement Program. (1.3 and 5.3)
- Enhanced GIS reporting tools for the city’s Emergency Operations Center to support hurricane preparations to achieve first-class emergency response services. Efforts created additional layers that will enable quicker tracking of concerns and overlays of FEMA flood maps against the city’s utility systems and roads to see likely trouble locations. (1.4)
- Hired 16 new firefighters to protect the city. (1.4)
- Implemented a collegiate-style supplemental training program, providing valuable lessons to Clearwater Police officers with skills learned from our own personnel. (1.4 and 5.2)
- Created a homeless outreach program through Clearwater Police Department that provides direct assistance to clients by helping them navigate social services. (1.4 and 2.4)
- Implemented a new bank authentication software that recently assisted in detecting a bank fraud attempt in the amount of $150,000. (1.5)
- Increased employee engagement on the Public Utility Department’s annual engagement survey by seven percent. (1.5, 5.1, 5.3 and 5.4)
Economic & Housing Opportunity
Engaged more than 200 local businesses to gather market and business intelligence and to provide access to resources and referrals as part of the city’s business retention and expansion program. (2.1 and 2.2)- Launched a robust and comprehensive marketing campaign featuring an animated 3D video with flythroughs of conceptual renderings of redevelopment scenarios at prime sites along the U.S. 19 Corridor. Campaign was directed at site selectors, developers and commercial real estate brokers to drive awareness of the development potential of the Corridor. Efforts resulted in Innovation in Marketing Award from Florida Economic Development Council, earned media on a regional and national level, and advertising placement in respected national industry publications. Together, these efforts yielded more than 740,000 impressions, 4,000 video views, and 1,100 landing page visits, received numerous referrals and introductions by industry influencers, and gained the attention of qualified real estate with the capacity to support multi-billion-dollar projects. (2.1 and 2.2)
- Fostered new communications between The Sound and the local business community to strengthen collaboration around special events. (2.2)
- Sold $35.2 million of natural and propane sales. This includes $3.9 million in retail services, $1.35 million in the sale of gas appliance, $1.85 million Installation of gas piping, $700,000 in service and repairs, and $650,000 at the natural gas filling station. The department then transferred $1.7 million to the city’s General Fund, and $2 million in transfers to the city’s supporting city departments, for a total amount of $3.7 million in FY 22/23. (2.2)
- Formed a partnership with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through our community engagement program. (2.3)
- Hosted two Division I Women’s Elite Softball Events: the Clearwater Invitational, which is co-produced with ESPN, and the NFCA Division I Leadoff Classic. Both events combined generated a gross revenue of more than $800,000 over two consecutive weekends, which created an economic impact of more than $13 million. (2.3)
- Initiated negotiations with the Philadelphia Phillies, taking a proactive step to expand a partnership that enhances our community's sports tourism industry. (2.3)
- The library partnered with the Ross Norton Recreation Center in March to present the 6th Annual Clearwater Comic Con, which featured scores of vendors, panelists and cosplayers, and welcomed close to 1,700 participants. (2.3, 3.1 and 3.4)
- Became recertified as a Coast Guard City. (2.3 and 3.1)
- Partnered with the Americans for the Arts Foundation to help capture economic impacts of art and culture programming in Clearwater. Clearwater residents completed 350 surveys, and results will be implemented in the coming. (2.3 and 3.1)
- Granted local non-profit organizations $1 million in American Recovery Plan Act funds for arts and culture projects. (2.3 and 3.1)
- Hosted the first high school student exchange of Clearwater students to and from Nagano, Japan, since the pandemic started. (2.3 and 3.4)
- Closed 30 affordable and workforce housing loans totaling nearly $3.4 million: 12 Purchase Assistance loans ($555,000), 8 rehabilitation loans ($610,334), and 10 single-family construction ($2,150,928). (2.4)
- Approved 55 grants totaling $275,000 for emergency repairs for owner-occupied homes. (2.4)
- Provided $675,621 in grant funds to 13 non-profit organizations to provide services to low-income residents including those at Capri Mobile Home Park which was acquired for redevelopment. (2.4)
- Provided more than $1 million in grant funding for 13 public facility improvement projects. (2.4)
- Improved the Clearwater Redevelopment Area’s business assistance grant program by streamlining the application process, making it easier for applicants to receive funding through six unique grant programs. (2.5)
- Partnered with the University of South Florida to launch the Clearwater ARTours augmented reality mobile app, providing the opportunity to view four downtown murals through the lens of augmented reality. (2.5)
- On Feb. 24, the Clearwater North Greenwood Library partnered with the Clearwater African American Remembrance Committee, Pinellas County Schools, the Clearwater Historical Society, the Upper Pinellas NAACP, the Black Cemetery Network, and the Pinellas Genealogy Society to present the sixth-annual “Night at the Library: A Celebration of Memories – Segregation and Desegregation, Then and Now,” with a special dedication to students from the Pinellas High School Class of 1969. Two-hundred thirty participants enjoyed special presentations by Kevin Hendrick, Pinellas County Schools Superintendent; Joyce Russell, Business and Professional Woman of the Year; Edward Baldwin, retired Pinellas County Schools Administrator, and performances by Charmaine “Cmaine” Jennings and the Mt. Zion United Methodist Church Praise to Sing Team. (2.5 and 3.1)
- On April 11, the library worked with the Clearwater African American Cemeteries Memorial Committee, in partnership with the Black Cemetery Network, to present “Grand Rising: Confronting the Erasure of African American Cemeteries in Clearwater.” It was an evening of performance, presentation and storytelling by local artists, residents, community leaders, archaeologists and USF faculty and staff at the North Greenwood Library to highlight the histories of two African American cemeteries in Clearwater, and to demonstrate what the community is doing to honor their legacies today. (2.5 and 3.1)
- Hosted art exhibitions, openings and book signings for the “Daydreaming: Niki Butcher’s Hand-Painted Photography,” “CUBA: The Natural Beauty – The Photographic Expeditions of Clyde Butcher,” and “El Arte: Echoes of Cuba” at the Clearwater Main Library. These collections celebrate the beauty and inspiration of Niki and Clyde Butcher’s famous works of art. (2.5 and 3.1)
Community Well-Being
Activated Station Square Park through a partnership with KnowBe4 on “Food Truck Thursdays,” which enlivened the park with food and music on seven days this year during lunch hours. (3.1)- Awarded first Placemaking and Resident Engagement grant to the Clearwater Community Sailing Center for their Winds of Change pop-up art installation in Station Square Park. (3.1)
- Staff of the Heritage Studio of Community Memory at the Main Library preserved more than 20,000 treasured photos, slides, negatives, videos, films and audio recordings for nearly 300 patrons through its free Memvelope program, or “memory envelope” drop-off digitization service. (3.1 and 3.4)
- City Council recognized six graduates of the library’s ongoing “1,000 Books before Kindergarten” early literacy incentive program at its April 20 meeting. Families register children ages 0-5 in the continuous, self-paced, online program and record books that the family reads together for small prizes and the chance to attend a graduation ceremony. Research shows that children who read before starting formalized schooling have an enhanced likelihood of academic success. The program also promotes strong bonding between young children and their caregivers. (3.1 and 3.4)
- To give children an opportunity to help those less fortunate than themselves, the library partnered with Lotz of Blessings throughout the summer at “Kids Are Kind Fridays,” where they helped pack snacks for children living at Hope Villages of Clearwater. (3.1 and 3.4)
- In March, the Clearwater Public Library System participated in the 15th Annual RoboFest Regional Qualifier Competition. Under the direction and guidance of North Greenwood Youth Librarian, the team took home 1st and 2nd place trophies for participating in the RoboParade Competition. (3.1 and 3.4)
- The library partnered with the Clearwater Threshers, the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Raising Cane’s, Rita’s Italian Ice, 611 Outpost, Madison Ave Pizza, Big Storm Brewing Company, Maple Lanes, Starlite Cruises, the Salvador Dali Museum, and the Seminole Hard Rock Café to promote the library’s Summer Reading Program for children, teens and adults and to reward them for their accomplishments. Nearly 3,000 patrons participated in the Summer Reading Program. (3.1, 2.5 and 3.4)
- Collaborated with the Juvenile Welfare Board to offer free swim lessons to 1,134 Pinellas County elementary school students. (3.2)
- Managed five summer camps that consistently operated at full capacity. (3.2)
- Processed approximately 11,000 permits. (3.2)
- Developed and launched the city’s new Comprehensive Plan, Clearwater 2045. (3.2 and 2.2)
- Provided communication and public relations support for many city programs, to include: Coachman Park and Downtown Clearwater events and activities, sustainability outreach programs, recycling program updates, Cleveland Streetscape Phase III construction project, Clearwater Police Department memorial and promotion ceremony events, Parks & Recreation master plan meetings, the Clearwater 2045 initiative, and the city’s health and wellness programs for staff. (3.3)
- Strengthened and empowered the community through active dialogue and communication with Clearwater residents, businesses and visitors using social media, email news blasts, print publications, website content, streaming video and C-VIEW TV. Publications include “MyClearwater” magazine and “Sunshine Lines” utility bill stuffer. (3.3)
- Created and distributed more than 100 videos and public service announcement videos for many of Clearwater’s city departments. (3.3)
- Provided graphic design service to all departments for design projects that embody the city’s brand, including MyClearwater magazine, trash vault decals, social media graphics, downtown mailers and brochures, recreation center newsletters, parking meter decals, vehicle wraps, and department print needs. (3.3)
- Improved DowntownClearwater.com to make it easier to learn about downtown, events and Coachman Park. (3.3)
- Worked with a variety of community organizers across many departments to develop and host special events throughout several holidays. In addition, the Community Redevelopment Agency’s team enhanced more than 70 storefront window locations with colorful and decorative art for the holiday season. (3.4)
- Partnered with the Clearwater Library Foundation this summer to present backpack giveaways at all five Clearwater Public Library System locations as well as the Countryside Recreation Center, the North Greenwood Recreation Center, and the Señor Bubbles Laundromat. Nearly 1,500 children and teens received free backpacks, each filled with school supplies and books. (3.4)
- Focused on social media community engagement. We increased our follower growth rate for each of the city’s multiple social media feeds and saw the highest growth, on average, on the city’s Instagram feeds (31%), LinkedIn account (29.48%), Facebook accounts (13.45%), and Twitter feeds (12.56%). In addition, more than 28,835 households receive city messages through Nextdoor. (3.4)
- Coordinated the 20th annual Citizens Academy, a community engagement program that is designed to encourage residents’ involvement with city government. To date, more than 365 program participants serve as vital ambassadors throughout the community. (3.4)
- Encouraged civic engagement by providing live cablecast and streaming 14 types of recurring council and board meetings throughout the year using various streaming platforms, such as YouTube, Facebook Live and streaming video, in conjunction with Information Technology. This year, the city doubled its number of YouTube subscribers from 500 to 1,000. (3.4)
- Collected more than 1,800 pounds of candy at the city’s Halloween Sweet Swap, which was donated to United States troops overseas. (3.4)
- Partnered with the Philadelphia Phillies and the Clearwater Threshers to promote literacy, the library’s Summer Reading Program, and to reward participants with free game tickets. The team from the Clearwater Public Library also contributed to the library’s popular, ongoing “Find Phinley” program at the Main Library, giving children the opportunity to explore the library while searching for a stuffed Phinley to keep each month. Members of both teams also participated in the popular bilingual story time, “Once Upon a Cuento,” at the East Community Library at St. Petersburg College. (3.4 and 2.3)
Environmental Stewardship
Implemented Forerunner, a flood zone and elevations interactive mapping program. (4.1 and 1.1)- Launched a Seed Library at the Countryside Library, with seeds available for check out free with a library card. Seed varieties include vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs offered on a seasonal rotation. Patrons may check out up to three seed packs at a time, and up to nine per month. (4.1 and 4.3)
- Hosted or had presence at 35 education and outreach events in which staff promoted environmental stewardship and green programs in and around Clearwater, including hosting a community-focused sustainability conference on the topic of “Save Energy, Save Money,” with more than 70 attendees. The online recording of the conference was viewed more than 150 times. (4.1, 3.3 and 3.4)
- Made progress with solar energy. The city retired its first batch of more than 1,970 renewable energy certificates through Duke Energy’s Clean Energy Connection Program. This allowed for some of the city’s operating electricity to be powered by solar, equivalent to about 1.97 million kilowatt hours. In addition, a solar feasibility study for city facilities has concluded, and we identified the top 10 city sites that are likely to receive solar installation through a $1 million Department of Energy grand and $3 million of American Recovery Plan Act funds. And third, the city’s support of the Pinellas Solar Co-op 2022 program enabled more than 35 Clearwater homes to go solar (or be in the process to), along with other co-op members. This effort also involved educating residents and small business owners about solar energy through workshops, outreach events and digital media. (4.2, 1.2 and 3.3)
- Considerable effort and engagement is going into improving the city of Clearwater’s urban forest resource. A new tree policy was created, city’s tree inventory is being collected, community engagements are occurring, and a focused effort is being made to prioritize, grow and maintain this vital resource for our city. (4.3)
- Hosted the city’s annual tree giveaway, resulting in more than 2,200 trees being provided to citizens helping the city enhance its urban forest to conserve and protect our urban forests. (4.3)
- Raised awareness for stormwater pollution prevention through a comprehensive stormwater education and outreach program, made possible with an $11,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. This effort featured a “Wildlife Protector Squad” campaign, “Say No to Stormwater Poo-llution” stickers for dog park plastic bag dispensers, a “Wag Into Fall” dog park event, and other engagement activities for youth and adult engagement. (4.3, and also 3.3 and 3.4)
- Installed two new electric vehicle charging stations at the Garden Avenue parking garage, three dual-port chargers at Pierce Street, and more that are coming to Coachman Park. (4.4)
- Improved the energy efficiency of Clearwater Fire & Rescue vehicle fleet by replacing 7.6 percent of vehicles with hybrid models. (4.4)
Superior Public Service
Recruited and onboarded several key city leaders to round out the city’s Senior Executive Team. (5.1)- Launched a classification and compensation study to identify and adjust city positions that are below the market rate. Results and program implementation is expected for January 2024. (5.1 and 5.3)
- Completed union bargaining and implementation of pension, pay and vacation improvements for the Communication Workers of America and International Association of Firefighters employees in October 2022. (5.1 and 5.4)
- Restructured the Human Resources Department to better serve departments and staff. The new structure features teams for Employee Relations and Equity, Talent Acquisition and Diversity, and Employee Benefits, Leave and ADA. The department created a Training and Engagement team and surveyed employees to identify training needs in March 2023. (5.1, 1.3 and 5.2)
- Coordinated a variety of team building and information-sharing sessions to communicate with and motivate staff, including the health fair, open enrollment meetings, monthly talks with staff and the city manager, all-employee meetings, training opportunities, and other activities. (5.2)
- Developed and implemented a Peer Support Program available to Clearwater Police’s sworn and telecommunicator staff and partnered with Lighthouse Health and Wellness to provide access to its telephone app to all agency members. (5.2 and 5.4)
- Executed several network and user security upgrades throughout the city. (5.3)
- Acquired citizen sentiment survey software, allowing Clearwater Police to gauge how the community thinks police teams are doing. (5.3)
- Improved the city’s wellness program with new health offerings, challenges, webinars, physical activities, mental health resources, and retirement planning. These efforts are led by a new Cigna wellness coordinator. (5.4)
- Created an employee recognition program by sending personalized and handwritten cards to Clearwater Police personnel on significant occasions. (5.4)
Where the Money Goes
The 2022/23 General Fund budget reflected revenues of $190.7 million and expenditures of $200.9 million. The city’s approved millage rate is 5.885 mills. The city employed 1,684 permanent full-time equivalent positions in 20 city departments. Of those positions, 1,623 employees are full-time, 61 are part-time, are 365 are temporary.
