Pasco County officials review FY2026 budget outlook; parks maintenance and road rehabilitation top debate

Pasco County budget director Amy Farrell told the Board of County Commissioners on the morning of the workshop that county staff was presenting a proposed fiscal year 2026 budget and seeking the board’s guidance before the Truth in Millage (TRIM) process.

At the heart of the meeting was a debate over how to fund parks maintenance and operations. The county is considering using a municipal services taxing unit (MSTU) created last year for parks, which was adopted at 0 mills in FY25, or finding funds inside the general fund. Farrell said staff modeled a range of scenarios and asked the board which funding mechanism and level it preferred before the July TRIM meeting.

Why it matters: the workshop laid out revenue and spending pressures that, under staff assumptions, would reduce county reserves in FY26. The discussion focused on whether to make the parks MSTU active (and at what level), how to treat public safety and other large programs, and how to protect core services while responding to deferred maintenance and capital needs.

Amy Farrell, the county budget director, summarized the county’s near-term picture and the assumptions that underpin staff recommendations. She said the June 1 property appraiser numbers showed “9.5% growth” and that staff were modeling revenue and allocation scenarios. On projected property-tax receipts she said, “we're expecting to see roughly 37,000,000 more dollars in property tax revenue.” Farrell also reported the broad FY26 gap under current proposals: the county would start the year with about $97,000,000 in fund balance, expect roughly $583,000,000 in revenue and about $629,000,000 in expenses, and finish the year with approximately $50,600,000 in reserves—about 35 days of operating cash against a 60-day target.

Parks: MSTU, stopgap options and board positions

The parks maintenance MSTU was the most contested single item. Staff estimated full funding for the parks MSTU would generate about $8,200,000 annually for capital maintenance; the parks department currently receives roughly $1,213,000 from the general fund, and parks staff also requested roughly $1.1–1.5 million in additional operations funding for FY26. Parks leadership and several commissioners pushed for a stable funding stream: Commissioner Oakley said, “I am 100% and fully funding keys request, which I think is a conservative request.” Commissioner Waitman argued the MSTU should cover both capital maintenance and operations and said, “I would really prefer the capital maintenance and operations all in MSU, but I want those mills cut.”

Other board members cautioned that shifting millage from the general fund into separate MSTUs can reduce available revenue for constitutional officers and other services unless the board cuts or offsets general fund millage or identifies other revenue. Staff noted state statute requirements and the timing constraints tied to TRIM and said that establishing new MSTUs for public safety or other large programs would generally show up on the next year’s TRIM schedule. The county administrator described a multi-step path: stop-gap one-time funding this year (by reprioritizing one-time capital or reserves) versus adopting MSTU ordinances now to appear in next year’s millage process.

Road rehabilitation program: first-year execution

Public works staff and commissioners highlighted the road rehabilitation MSTU (first levied in FY25) as a successful example of program execution. Jason Mickle told the board he could spend the money that the county committed; staff reported roughly $14,100,000 executed or expected to be expended in the road rehabilitation program this year and significant lane-mile work in each commission district. When asked whether the department could execute the funds, the board reported Jason’s reply: “Absolutely. And then he said, look, I did it.” Commissioners and residents’ feedback was described as broadly positive.

FEMA reimbursements and reserves

Farrell described storm impacts on revenues and reimbursements. The county had 147 unique FEMA projects from the recent storm season compared with 35 projects during the prior 15-year period, illustrating the increased workload for documentation and reimbursement. Staff reported drawing about $20 million into the solid waste fund for debris removal and roughly $4 million for forced-account labor this year; staff cautioned additional FEMA reimbursements would likely arrive over the next two to three years as documentation is vetted.

Budget drivers and constitutional officers

Farrell outlined operating pressures: public-safety staffing (sheriff deputies and jail expansion), the first full year of a D shift for fire rescue, the opening of Wesley Chapel Library, a proposed wage increase tied to the county’s classification-and-compensation study, and mandatory retirement-rate increases. She also summarized constitutional officer submissions and timing: most constitutionals met state deadlines; the tax collector’s numbers are due Aug. 1. The sheriff’s FY26 allocation included 10 additional deputies funded from new property tax revenue (the sheriff’s share of new revenue was shown as roughly $14,840,000).

Capital program and long-term projects

Staff presented a five-year capital program (roughly $1.7 billion across funds) that includes library projects, a potential new fire station, solid-waste investments, and transportation capacity projects such as Ridge Road and Sunlake Boulevard segments. Long-term unfunded capital items—such as a criminal courthouse and a public safety operations center—remain without an identified dedicated funding source; staff described possible debt, referendum, impact-fee changes, or grants as options and noted some federal design funds already secured for a PSOC design.

Board direction and next steps

The board provided several clear directions for staff. Commissioners asked staff to: - Bring parks funding scenarios into the July TRIM discussion showing (a) incremental general-fund funding, (b) an MSTU that funds capital only, and (c) an MSTU that funds capital plus operations, with projected millage and median-home impacts. Staff estimated that, under current structures, parks could realistically absorb between $3–4 million this year without additional staffing or structural changes. - Continue to refine road rehabilitation lane-mile estimates, publish a clearer paving schedule on the county website, and provide unit-cost detail for different pavement treatments. - Continue FEMA reimbursement efforts and provide updated estimates for storm reimbursement as FEMA inspections and engineering scope are completed. - Return with ordinance language, revenue projections and a sequencing plan if the board wishes to pursue public-safety MSTUs (law enforcement and rescue/fire) so those could be available for next year’s TRIM cycle.

No formal votes or ordinance adoptions occurred at the workshop; staff left with direction to model specific funding scenarios and return at the TRIM meeting in July with draft millage options and implementation steps. Farrell closed by thanking the board for guidance and confirming staff will present numbers and ordinance drafts where appropriate ahead of TRIM.

Ending: The board scheduled follow-up work for the July TRIM session and the regular September public hearings to adopt the FY2026 final budget.