Manatee County adopts $1.368 billion FY26 budget, cuts millage rate; CIP and reserves debated

The Manatee County Board of County Commissioners adopted the county's fiscal year 2026 budget and related tax and capital plans during a Sept. 22 special budget meeting, approving four resolutions by 6-1 votes, with Commissioner Bob McCann voting in opposition.

County Chief Financial Officer Sheila told the board the FY26 adopted budget establishes a balanced financial plan that funds county services, maintains reserves and supports strategic capital investment. She said the county's total net budget is $1,368,000,000 and the total gross budget is about $3.6 billion, which includes prior-year grants and special districts such as the Port Authority, the Law Library and the Historical Commission.

The budget package included a final aggregate millage rate of 6.5033 mills, a reduction from the rollback aggregate rate of 6.7559 mills that Sheila said represents a negative 3.7393% change. The board approved the millage resolution (B-26-004) on a motion by Commissioner Siddique, seconded by Commissioner Bearden; the motion passed 6-1 with McCann opposed.

Why it matters: the budget and the five-year capital improvement plan direct county spending on public safety, transportation, utilities and infrastructure projects and determine tax rates residents pay.

Sheila outlined how revenue and spending are allocated: property taxes make up almost 34% of county funding sources, with charges for services the next largest source. She said public safety is the single largest spending category at about $364.5 million (roughly 26–27% of the budget), followed by investments in the physical environment (including utilities, solid waste and stormwater) and capital outlay. The county-wide CIP for FY26–30 was described as approximately $2.27 billion in new CIP funding supported by $2.48 billion of prior appropriations; Sheila also noted a larger figure earlier in her presentation (about $2.30 billion) reflected a rounded presentation in slides.

The board adopted the FY26 budget resolution (B26-5) and a resolution adopting tentative budgets for dependent special districts (B26006) each by 6-1 votes (McCann opposed). The five-year capital improvement plan and its administration policy (R-25-155) were approved by the same margin.

Infrastructure sales tax and debt mix: Sheila said the infrastructure sales tax (IST) funds about 40% of the CIP overall and funds 47% of transportation projects in the CIP. She told commissioners that board direction has been to fund as much of the CIP as possible with pay-as-you-go resources; she said 84.9% of governmental CIP funding is expected to be pay-go while 15.1% would be funded with existing debt lines. By contrast, she said enterprise-side CIP (utilities) requires more financing and is currently projected to be about 73% debt-funded as the county evaluates rates and facility investment fees.

Commissioner questions and staff responses: Commissioners asked how much of IST is going to road repairs versus new construction. Sheila said Florida law allows IST revenue to be used for new roads, maintenance or repairs but she could not provide an immediate dollar split. Later in the meeting a county staff member said roughly $2 million was added in the FY26 budget to public works for major road rehabilitation. Commissioners also discussed smaller tax increment financing (TIF) or improvement districts; Sheila said some districts (for example a port improvement district) collect far less than larger districts such as the Southwest district. A commissioner asked about the Parish improvement district revenue; staff said assessed values increased and the district will generate close to $800,000 this year, up from about $200,000 the prior year, compared with roughly $12 million for the Southwest district.

Reserves and public comment: Sheila reported county reserves totaling $992,000,000, of which $871,000,000 are designated restricted reserves and $121,000,000 are unrestricted. During public comment, Manatee County resident Ed Ference criticized the CIP financing mix and said the plan's use of debt proceeds (he cited a figure of 73% debt-funded in the FY26–30 CIP) was “upside down.” He urged the board to direct staff to produce a spreadsheet listing funds and object codes, identifying restricted funds and allowable uses so the board could consider projects that might be funded from reserves. Ference said his prior calculation of reserves had been lower and he noted the reported reserve total changed between meetings.

Formal actions and votes: the meeting record shows four separate motions required by TRIM and budget-adoption rules; each motion passed by a 6-1 vote with Commissioner McCann opposed. The motions were recorded as: - Adopt resolution B-26-004 setting final FY25–26 millage rates (mover: Commissioner Siddique; seconder: Commissioner Bearden) — approved 6-1 (McCann opposed). - Adopt resolution B26-5 adopting the FY25–26 budget including unincorporated and the Palmer Municipal Service Tax Unit (mover: Commissioner Ron; seconder: Commissioner Maseke) — approved 6-1 (McCann opposed). - Adopt resolution B26006 adopting tentative budgets for identified Manatee County dependent special districts (mover: Commissioner Ron; seconder: Commissioner Sadiq) — approved 6-1 (McCann opposed). - Adopt the five-year capital improvement plan and policy (resolution R-25-155) for FY26–30 (mover: Commissioner Sadiq; seconder: Commissioner Ron) — approved 6-1 (McCann opposed).

Board members and next steps: after adoption, Sheila read the TRIM notice summary and confirmed the aggregate millage rate and the percentage change from the rollback rate. Commissioners exchanged brief closing remarks; Commissioner Phelps announced a District 1 town hall at Rocky Bluff Library about roads and traffic, and Commissioner Ballard invited the public to the Under 1 Roof women's shelter ribbon-cutting at 10:30 a.m. Oct. 1 at 50 Seventh Avenue East.

The board concluded the special budget meeting after the final motions.