The City of Largo wishes our community a happy and safe Fourth of July. As a reminder, City facilities will be closed on Monday, July 4. Highland Family Aquatic Center and the Largo Golf Course will be open on July 4.

There will be NO residential collection on Monday, July 4. Monday residential collection moves to Tuesday, and Tuesday residential collection moves to Wednesday. For commercial collections, there is no change to the schedule. To view the holiday collection schedule, visit Largo.com/MyTrashDay

Indian Rocks Baptist Church presents this year's fireworks show at Largo Central Park. Bring your chairs, blankets, and family and enjoy a spectacular fireworks show. Please no pets, alcohol, tents, fireworks or sparklers permitted in the park. Food and beverage vendors will be on-site. View the Facebook event for more information.

Interested in how climate change might be impacting the community? Join us for one of three Community Climate Sessions and help inform the City's Sustainability and Resilience Plan update. Sessions will be held in-person, both in English and Spanish, and virtually. Free childcare and food will be provided for in-person events (registration is required for childcare services). Visit Largo.com/Sustainability to learn more. 

The City of Largo is thrilled to announce that the “HPO: Leaders at All Levels” video was recently awarded a Gold Viddy Award! “HPO: Leaders at All Levels” tells stories behind High-Performance Organization (HPO) principles that are transforming the City of Largo organization by inspiring and empowering team members so that decisions are being made by those they impact the most. Examples include the Public Works drone program, new team member benefits, Police vest equipment carriers, and more.

Would you like to join Team Largo and work for a High-Performance Organization? If so, visit Largo.com/Jobs today. The Viddy Awards is an international competition honoring video excellence in a digital world by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals (AMCP). 

How do you want your community dollars spent? Each year, community priorities help to determine how tax dollars are spent within the City of Largo's Annual Budget totaling nearly $310 million of local investment. This year, community members can provide feedback on budget priorities in the following ways:

Take 10 minutes to prioritize specific initiatives within the City’s strategic focus areas of Sustainability, Public Health & Safety, and Community Pride.

Visit the Largo Public Library on Saturday, July 16 anytime between 9am to 12pm and stop by the Budget Engagement Pop-up Table in the entryway to learn about how community dollars were spent in past years and share your priorities for current funds. City’s budget team will be available for questions.

For more information including past financial reports, upcoming Commission Meetings with public comment available, and other ways to learn more and share feedback visit Largo.com/Budget.

The Florida Recreation and Parks Association partnered with the Sports Facility Advisory organization to develop a statewide economic calculator. This calculator uses nationally standardized data from various components to determine the economic impact of recreation and park facilities and programming. The Recreation, Parks, and Arts Department participated in the Beta testing of the calculator. In 2020, staff used the calculator to present the impact of Largo Central Park on the community. Staff is planning to utilize the calculator to determine the effect of the various parks and recreation facilities and special events to inform our leadership team, City Administration and City Commission on the value of recreation and parks. The report that is prepared is very static to ensure data validation. Staff chose to measure the economic impact of the Largo Golf Course with regards to property value incremental tax value as well as the effects of visitors coming to the course. The attached report includes detailed information on how data is used and how the calculator is developed.

On Saturday, July 16 from 9am-11am, Largo Fire Rescue will host a free hurricane preparedness expo in the Jenkins Wing of the Largo Public Library. Learn how to be prepared before, during, and after the storm with information including disaster kits and where to find shelter. Chief Meteorologist Denis Philips of ABC Action News Tampa Bay will join the event for a meet and greet with attendees and various agencies and businesses on site to share preparedness tips. The first 200 attendees will receive a free hurricane prep starter kit and can also enter to win hurricane preparedness raffle prizes. Visit Largo.com for more details and Largo.com/StormReady for storm preparedness tips.

Buckcherry is an American rock band from Anaheim, California, formed in 1995. The group gained popularity in the early 2000s after a run of opening shows for AC/DC and later became well known for monster hits like "Lit Up" and "Sorry." Despite having formed during an era of post-grunge, and alternative rock, the band maintained a heavy metal sound with profanity and attitude to match.