Titusville tentatively sets FY26 millage at 6.3 mills, advances budget and utility rate changes

The City of Titusville City Council held the first of two statutorily required public hearings on the FY26 budget on Sept. 11 and tentatively adopted an operating millage rate of 6.3 mills and tentative general, enterprise and capital budgets.

City Manager (City Manager) opened the meeting by reading the purpose of the hearing, saying, "Purpose of this special meeting is to conduct the first public hearing as required by Florida statute for the FY26 City of Titusville annual operating budget." Finance staff presented the budget and rate proposals that underlie the tentative actions.

The council’s tentative operating millage of 6.3 mills is 1.71% above the rollback rate of 6.1938 and, according to staff, generates $878,669 of additional ad valorem revenue compared with last year’s adopted budget. Finance staff said the FY26 budget includes a 3% cost-of-living adjustment for employees and targeted increases for public safety, technology, vehicles, equipment and consumables. The presentation noted local property values rose about 9.5% for FY26 while state shared revenues declined roughly 15.4 percent; health-care costs were presented as up about 35.6 percent. City staff reported meeting the statutory 10% cap on prior-year revenue and that the budget includes the required 50% city contribution to the OPEB trust.

Staff presented a citywide total budget figure of about $157,000,001 (staff noted two post-workshop changes: roughly $557,219 in new…