Broward County adopts tentative FY2026 millage rates, budgets after public comments on rising property taxes

The Broward County Board of County Commissioners on Monday approved tentative millage rates and budgets for fiscal year 2026 during the legally required first public hearing, adopting the advertised countywide rate and separate budgets for municipal and special districts after public comments on property assessments and local services.

County Administrator Monica Sapero provided an overview of the proposed FY2026 budget, saying the countywide package totals $8,756,000,000 — an increase of $930,800,000 from FY2025. Sapero said operating increases of roughly $428,000,000 reflect contract increases for the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) and fire-rescue, growth in constitutional officers’ budgets, and a new hotel enterprise operating fund for the Convention Center headquarters hotel. Capital spending rises by about $568,400,000 driven by projects including a new Terminal 5 at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and a new emergency operations and communications center. Sapero also reported the county has paid off all general obligation debt and that GO debt per capita is $0.

Why it matters: The board’s decisions set the maximum property tax rates the county can levy this year and shape spending on public safety, infrastructure and resilience. The advertised general-purpose millage — 5.669 mills as shown on the required notice — is higher than the rollback rate (5.2832 mills) and represents a 7.3% increase in…