Gulf County adopts tentative fiscal 2526 budget, proposes 5.9851‑mill tax rate

Gulf County commissioners on Sept. 3 adopted a tentative budget for fiscal year 2526 and set a proposed aggregate millage rate of 5.9851 mills, county officials said at a public hearing. The board also approved staff line‑item adjustments across funds and scheduled a final budget hearing for Sept. 16 at 5:01 p.m.

Sherry Herron, a county staff member who presented the millage figures, said the proposed aggregate rate of 5.9851 mills is 2.02% above the current year's aggregate rollback rate of 5.8665 mills. Herron said the aggregate rate includes a countywide operating levy of 5.6 mills and four dependent fire control districts ' St. Joseph, Tupelo, Overstreet and Howard Creek ' each at 0.5 mills.

The tentative budget was posted for public review, Herron said, and the board may amend line items before the final hearing. Michael Hammond, a county presenter who reviewed the budget book, told commissioners the "major change was the addition of the road bond money" after the county closed that financing, and that change produced the largest jump in the totals; he said changes to constitutional officer budgets were minimal.

The board voted 5-0 to approve staff's recommended line‑item adjustments to revenue estimates and expenditures within funds. Those adjustments, as read into the record, included a $7,280 decrease to the general fund (revised revenue estimates and offsetting adjustments to reserves and expenditures), a $6,235 increase to the secondary road and bridge fund, a $19,316 increase to the general grants fund (Fund 114), an $80,000 decrease to the E911 fund (Fund 126), and a $19,190 increase to the gas tax debt service fund (Fund 203). Herron asked for board approval to make additional line‑item adjustments prior to the final hearing so long as total ad valorem taxes were not changed.

Commissioners discussed Tourist Development Council (TDC) park funding that staff had set aside. Hammond said the board set aside $1 million in TDC funds for parks this year and $250,000 as a local match; he described a scenario in which splitting the TDC pot evenly across commissioners would yield roughly $200,000 per district and still require a local match because TDC funds may cover only up to 70% of a project's total cost. Hammond and staff said existing project balances could, in some cases, be used as part of the match if expenditures occur after Oct. 1.

The board adopted a resolution setting the tentative millage rates and a separate resolution adopting the tentative budget by unanimous 5-0 votes. In the budget resolution read at the hearing, the board recorded the countywide appropriations and revenue estimates for fiscal year 2526; the resolution text as read into the record contained the budget figure cited for public record. The board set the final public hearing for Tuesday, Sept. 16, at 5:01 p.m.; legal ads are to run on Sept. 11.

Separately, a board member asked the commission to invite U.S. Rep. Neal Dunn to visit an "Eglin site" in the county and requested the chairman call a special meeting to accommodate the congressman's schedule; county staff said they would draft a letter for board signature and arrange a meeting when the congressman's schedule permits. That item was discussed as a board direction rather than a formal budget action.

No members of the public spoke during the hearing on the tentative budget. The board adjourned after adopting the tentative millage and tentative budget and confirming the final hearing date.

Why this matters: The tentative millage and budget set the ceiling for property taxes and funding allocations while allowing the board to make final adjustments before the official adoption at the final hearing. The budget includes funding increases tied to public safety pay, park renovations and road projects influenced by recently closed bond financing.