Destin council reviews preliminary FY26 operating budget, discusses return to Florida Retirement System and Social Security

City Manager presented a preliminary FY2026 operating budget and described it as an early plan that could change as council and staff continue work.

The City Manager said, "what we have before you tonight is a proposed, operating budget that is preliminary. So a lot of things can change between now and then, but this is where we've kind of landed at this point." The presentation showed a proposed operating budget of about $27.3 million, a roughly 2% increase from the prior year, with staff wages and benefits driving most of the change.

The nut graf: The discussion centered on personnel costs — a proposed modest 3% wage increase, a larger jump in benefits tied to possible re-entry into the Florida Retirement System (FRS) and the requirement to participate in Social Security — and on requests from councilmembers for more detailed backup before taking further steps.

The City Manager walked council through high-level allocations: debt service about 20% of the proposed budget, operating expenses 38%, staff wages 29% and taxes/benefits 13%. He said staff wages include a proposed…