The Palm Bay City Council adopted the city's final budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025, and levied an operating millage rate of 6.7 — higher than the current-year rolled-back rate of 6.4071 — at a special council meeting in Palm Bay Council Chambers (date not specified). Councilors also declared a "critical need" that allows the city to exceed the statutory 3% cap to address urgent public-safety equipment and pension funding needs.

City Manager Morton read a statement into the record saying the operating millage increase above the rollback is driven in part by required police and fire pension contributions, which Morton said total $11,000,000 and account for a 30.6% increase from the prior fiscal year. Morton also identified $2,900,000 in high-priority funding needs such as contractual obligations, fire and police safety equipment, costs to onboard new city facilities and police vehicle replacements due to loss; a $2,500,000 contingency for emergencies and vehicle replacements tied to pending union contract negotiations; $4,500,000 for heavy fire-rescue vehicles (including four engine quints and one heavy rescue); and continued annual road maintenance funding of $3,250,000.

The council also adopted a tentative debt millage rate of 0.9993, which Morton said would generate an estimated $10,013,744 based on certified gross taxable value and an assumed 96% collection rate; those revenues were described as restricted for debt-service payments on general obligation bonds series 2019 ($3,529,500), series 2021 ($3,449,150) and series 2023 ($3,035,825) due in fiscal 2026.

Members of the public addressed the council during the hearings. Chris Sehorn, a local business owner, asked how much the tax increase would add to an average home’s bill and said he feared being “priced out.” Finance Director Blair Wojciechowski said an illustrative example the city had prepared showed an increase of about $12.44 on a $300,000 home after accounting for offsets; she noted staff would provide more-specific calculations upon request. Resident Connie Almond, who identified herself as permanently disabled, told council the increases were unaffordable to some residents and urged additional exemptions for people with disabilities.

Formal actions on the budget and related millage measures passed unanimously. Councilors repeatedly emphasized that staff would supply more detailed, property-specific calculations on request and said the manager is pursuing organizational efficiency reviews as a separate initiative.

The council approved the final budget ordinance and associated millage resolutions with 5-0 votes. Council members asked staff to continue providing clear examples showing the dollar impact on typical residential properties and to meet with concerned residents for individualized information.

The city manager and finance staff said some of the budget drivers are one-time or debt-offset adjustments and that additional details will be provided to the public and council as staff implements the budget.