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Collier County presents FY26 recommended budget: $2.215 billion total, timeline set for millage and hearings
Summary
Director Christopher Johnson gave commissioners an overview of the county’s FY26 recommended budget, a $2.215 billion plan that includes a millage‑neutral general fund proposal, expanded service requests of $19.5 million and a calendar of public hearings and TRIM compliance deadlines through October.
Christopher Johnson, director of Corporate Financial and Management Services, presented Collier County’s recommended FY26 budget at the board’s June 19 budget workshop, detailing totals, policy assumptions and the schedule of statutory and public steps ahead.
The most immediate facts: the county’s FY26 net budget totals $2,215,000,000, an increase of $19,500,000 over FY25. The proposed FY26 general fund is $728,900,000 and the unincorporated area general fund is $91,300,000. The recommended package includes $19,500,000 in expanded service requests (12 full‑time equivalents and 12 vehicles among operating requests) and a capital program with $127,400,000 in general‑fund‑supported capital budgets.
Why this matters: Johnson said the package was prepared on a millage‑neutral basis for the general fund and the unincorporated general fund; he also warned the board that program adjustments or funding realignments could change that outcome. He stressed key investments in strategic priorities, including stormwater maintenance, hurricane and multi‑hazard preparedness, beach renourishment, cybersecurity, road projects and employee recruitment and retention.
Johnson walked the board through the statutory and public process schedule required for adoption. The timeline includes: adoption of proposed maximum millage rates on July 8; a July 15 tentative budget presentation with a change log; submission of millage and rollback rates to the property appraiser in early August; TRIM notices mailed on or before Aug. 24 by the property appraiser; a first public hearing on Sept. 4 at 5:05 p.m. to adopt the proposed millage rates and tentative budget; and a final public hearing scheduled for Sept. 18 at 5:05 p.m. He noted the county must submit its TRIM compliance package to the Florida Department of Revenue by Oct. 6.
Budget details Johnson highlighted include a 2.5% wage increase for all classifications, a 0.5% set aside for pay‑plan maintenance, an employee health care plan increase of 9% to preserve the health fund’s desired percentile, and general fund reserves at $79,600,000 (about 12.3% of general fund expenses). Capital highlights include a countywide capital budget of $776,900,000 with heavy allocations to Public Utilities and transportation.
Ending: Johnson closed the overview and invited department‑level questions for the workshop’s next sections. He cautioned that the county is working with preliminary taxable values and will receive final taxable values from the property appraiser on July 1, which could influence rollback calculations and millage‑setting.
