Seminole County approves tentative $1.215 billion budget and 0.5‑mill increase to general millage

The Seminole County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 10 adopted a tentative fiscal year 2026 budget of $1,215,087,959 and set the countywide millage at 5.3751 mills — a 0.5‑mill increase over the prior year — after a public hearing and presentations from county staff. The board voted unanimously to approve the tentative millage and the tentative budget; a final public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 23 at 5:30 p.m. in the same chambers. County Manager Gray told the chamber that the hearings were required by Florida law and that “this adjustment was not made lightly.”

County staff said the tentative plan is intended to preserve core services and shore up reserves. Timothy Jeks, Management and Budget director, told the commissioners that “the FY 26 tentative budget is balanced with revenues and expenditures totaling $1,200,000,000” and then presented line‑item adjustments and revenue changes that produced the $1.215 billion tentative total. Jeks read the tentative millage rates into the record: the general countywide millage of 5.3751 mills is 16.42% above the rollback rate of 4.6168 mills; the fire/rescue MSTU is 2.7649 mills (5.43% above its rollback); the Unincorporated Road MSTU is 0.1107 mills (5.33% above its rollback); the tentative aggregate millage for all BCC taxing districts is 7.3663 mills (12.7% over the aggregate rollback). The fire and road MSTU rates remain unchanged from FY25.

Staff cited several revenue and expenditure adjustments. Key revenue changes included a…