Maitland council adopts fiscal 2026 budget, sets millage rates and advances CIP and CRA plan

The City of Maitland City Council adopted the fiscal year 2026 budget, set the operating millage rate at 5.0465 mills and the combined millage rate at 5.2425 mills and approved a capital improvements program that funds major projects including the new library, Quinn Strong Park and Westside Trail work.

At a public hearing, staff presented a recommended general fund revenue projection just above $42 million and outlined capital and operating priorities across multiple funds. The presentation noted a roughly $316,000 actuarial shortfall in the police and fire pension plans that the city proposes to fund in FY2026 from operating contingency to reduce long-term cost growth.

Staff described the capital program programmed for FY2026: the Maitland Avenue–Horatio Avenue traffic signal, Minnehaha boardwalk design, Sandsboro Road repaving, Art & History Center chapel stabilization (single bid received and scheduled for construction), the library and Quinn Strong Park construction, and Domerick Drive/Lake of the Woods Creek flood mitigation work. The utilities fund was presented at nearly $14 million in total, with about $1.5 million in capital outlay including lift station design and pipeline relining; the utilities fund’s debt-service coverage ratio was shown at roughly 160% of the requirement.

On reserves and designations, staff said the city would increase the vehicle-replacement designation by about $950,000 at year end, add $153,000 to the emergency fund and use carryforward funds to cover about $2 million in library FF&E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) to avoid an immediate revenue impact. The presentation noted FEMA reimbursements tied to hurricane response are in process and that FEMA reviews have slowed reimbursements.

Council moved through three separate motions required by state law: to adopt the operating millage rate for FY2026, to adopt the voted debt millage rate, and to adopt the budget resolution setting the combined total millage rate for FY2026. Council recorded the required votes and the measures were adopted; staff told the record that no members of the public were present to speak on the budget at the hearing.

Separately, council considered ordinance No. 1448, described in the record as an opt-out from the Live Local Act ad valorem tax exemption for another year because county data indicates a surplus of affordable housing; the staff recommendation was to adopt the opt-out annually while uncertainties remain about statutory interpretation. The council adopted the ordinance on second reading as recorded in the meeting.

Staff also discussed Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) planning, describing a proposed five-year CRA capital plan that consolidates CRA projects into the broader capital plan while preserving a CRA-specific five-year plan in case state action on CRAs moves forward. The CRA budget for FY2026 was presented at just over $4.5 million, including roughly $1.2 million for downtown mobility and nearly $2 million slated for repayment of an advance to the general fund.

No new appropriations tied directly to the Art & History Museums of Maitland request were made during the hearing; staff and council discussed monitoring potential midyear requests if an affected noncity organization seeks assistance.