Thursday is your last chance to say anything about your city tax rate

On Thursday, September 24 at 6:30 p.m., the City Commission holds the second and final public hearing on the budget for the year that starts October 1. The agenda is three lines long: public comment, two resolutions, adjournment.

That short agenda is the whole point. After Thursday, the tax rate is set for the year. This is the last meeting at which a resident can stand up and say anything about it.

What gets voted on

• Resolution 2026-081 — the final millage rates: 5.9835 mills for general operations, plus 0.1598 mills for debt service on the 2008 City Hall bond.
• Resolution 2026-082 — the final budget for October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

A “mill” is one dollar of tax for every thousand dollars of taxable value. The millage rate is the one number on this agenda that shows up on your bill.

The part worth noticing

The budget message accompanying the City Manager’s proposed budget states that the recommended budget “maintains the City’s operating millage rate at 6.2270 mills, while reducing the debt service millage from 0.1661 mills to 0.1600 mills.”

The rate the Commission actually set, at the first hearing on September 14 and again in Thursday’s resolution, is 5.9835.

That is roughly 3.9 percent below what staff recommended — the Commission cutting the rate past the administration’s own proposal, in an election year, with a statewide property tax amendment on the same November ballot. It is consistent with the direction of the last two budget cycles, and with at least one sitting commissioner’s long-running argument that the rate should come down further.

Whether that is prudence or a problem depends on what you think the city should be funding, which is exactly the argument Thursday’s public comment period exists for.

Numbers we are still checking

The proposed budget’s summary table puts the total across all funds at $72,684,097, with a $26,749,675 general fund. Those figures come from the proposed budget document rather than from an adopted resolution, so treat them as provisional until Resolution 2026-082 is posted.

We are also not publishing a year-over-year change in the tax rate yet. Published accounts of last year’s adopted millage disagree with each other, and we would rather say nothing than say something we would have to correct. When we have the adopted FY2026 resolution confirmed, we will run the comparison.

If you know these numbers better than we do — and some of you will — please tell us.

How to speak

Thursday, September 24, 6:30 p.m., Commission Chambers, 2020 Wilton Drive. Any member of the public may speak for three minutes. No sign-up required in advance.

If you cannot be there, you can email the Commission beforehand; comments received by 6 p.m. are delivered to commissioners before the meeting and entered into the public record. Include your name and address. The city’s agendas and public comment page has the address, and the meeting streams live from the same place.