Palm Beach County adopts 2025-26 tentative budget, sets millage rates; board pauses homeless-coalition funding for review

The Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 16 adopted its tentative 2025-26 countywide budget and set a series of millage rates, approving a countywide millage of 4.5 mills (6.1% over the rollback rate) and several special‑district rates while directing staff to place funding for the local Homeless Coalition into contingency and return with a review.

The vote on the countywide millage was split, with a substitute motion to set the rate at 4.5 mills passing over a motion to return to the rollback rate of 4.2413; Vice Mayor Baxter and Commissioner Woodward voted against the 4.5‑mill motion. The board recorded multiple unanimous votes on related budget resolutions for the sheriff, library district, fire rescue MSTUs and other district funds.

In nut‑graf form: the meeting fulfilled Truth in Millage (TRIM) requirements to read and record proposed increases over the rollback rate, produced final millage and budget votes that will determine property tax bills for the coming year, and produced a direction from commissioners to staff to pause and reexamine one community partner's county funding.

County staff read the TRIM disclosure into the record before public comment. County Administrator Abruzzo told the board: "In accordance with the truth and millage trim bill, the Board of County Commissioners shall hold hearings on a tentative budget and proposed millage rate as stipulated in the trim bill." The staff presentation listed the percentages over rollback and itemized net increases and decreases across county functions, including a cited net increase of $88,722,420 countywide over the rollback baseline and a sheriff net tax increase listed at $121,900,000.

The board debated whether to return to the rollback rate. Vice Mayor Baxter moved to adopt the rollback rate of 4.2413, saying, "I can't express enough how important this would be to the residents that we don't increase their taxes again for another year." Commissioner Weiss offered a substitute motion to set the countywide millage at 4.5 mills, which the board approved (the clerk reported two nays: Vice Mayor Baxter and Commissioner Woodward).

Commissioner Powell pressed for clarity about the effect of a rollback on staffing and the sheriff's budget, asking whether rollback would force cuts to employee raises. County staff answered that rollback would require a roughly $88.7 million reduction across the budget and that nearly half of the county budget goes to the sheriff; the staff cautioned that protecting sheriff and fire budgets while rolling back would shift reductions to other general‑services programs and salaries. Powell said, "I want to make sure that we pay the people who work for us." Vice Mayor Baxter responded, "I would never be in favor of cutting funding for our first responders, law enforcement, fire rescue, never in a million years," and urged the board to find other spending priorities to trim.

The board approved several discrete millage resolutions and corresponding budget resolutions (votes shown below). Most of those item votes were unanimous 7-0. The board also approved the countywide budget resolution as presented.

During public comment, one speaker, Shane Doak, addressed unrelated federal constitutional issues; that comment did not alter the budget proceedings.

Separately, Vice Mayor Baxter moved to remove county funding for the Homeless Coalition from this year's budget, arguing the coalition was not serving as many people as expected and that a large share of its budget went to personnel. Commissioners disagreed about timing and fairness to the provider given the special evening hearing. County staff and several commissioners proposed an alternative: place the Homeless Coalition allocation into contingency, return the matter for detailed review (including contract review) and, if appropriate, act in October. A motion to move the funds into contingency and bring the matter back for review was made and seconded during the hearing.

Board members discussed next steps for conducting that follow‑up review. Administrator Abruzzo and budget staff said they could prepare a budget amendment to transfer the Homeless Coalition line from community services into contingency and schedule the item for the board's October calendar; commissioners agreed to that course.

Votes at a glance

- Countywide millage: set at 4.5 mills (6.1% over rollback of 4.2413). Substitute motion by Commissioner Weiss carried; recorded two nays (Vice Mayor Baxter, Commissioner Woodward). Outcome: adopted.

- Countywide debt service millage: set at 0.033 mills. Outcome: adopted.

- Countywide budget resolution: adopted for countywide funds (documented amount in the record).

- Sheriff's gross budget: motion to approve shown in the record as $1,084,345,335. Outcome: adopted 7-0.

- Palm Beach County Library District millage: set at 0.5491 mills (6.33% over rollback of 0.5164). Outcome: adopted 7-0. Library district budget: $268,000,000.512133. Outcome: adopted 7-0.

- Palm Beach County Fire Rescue MSTU millage: set at 3.4581 mills (6.23% over rollback of 3.2554). Outcome: adopted 7-0. Fire Rescue MSTU budget recorded in the hearing (see official minutes).

- Jupiter Fire Rescue MSTU millage: set at 1.7251 mills (11.47% over rollback of 1.5476). Outcome: adopted 7-0. Jupiter Fire Rescue MSTU budget: $30,827,578. Outcome: adopted 7-0.

- MSTU unincorporated improvement fund budget: $17,654,705. Outcome: adopted 7-0.

- Palm Beach County aggregate millage: set at 6.2862 mills (4.64% over rollback of 6.0073). Outcome: adopted 7-0.

- Homeless Coalition funding: board directed staff to move the Homeless Coalition allocation from the Community Services line into contingency and return the matter for review (to be scheduled in October). Motion made and seconded during the hearing; direction accepted by the board for follow-up.

What it means for residents

Setting the countywide millage at 4.5 mills rather than returning to the rollback rate preserves the county's planned revenue levels for the coming fiscal year, including the increases shown in the staff report for the sheriff, fire rescue and library systems. Commissioners who supported rollback urged that staff and the new county administrator search for efficiencies before future budgets; commissioners who opposed rollback emphasized the difficulty of safeguarding public safety and employee pay if rollback reductions are implemented.

Next steps

Staff will prepare the necessary budget amendments and bring back a detailed review of the Homeless Coalition contract and funding in October. Final adoption of millage and budget is part of the statutory TRIM process; the board's tentative actions set rates and budget direction that will be finalized in subsequent hearings and the final budget adoption process.

(Reporting note: all quotations and vote results are drawn from the Sept. 16 public hearing transcript. The transcript lists several numeric budget amounts that are recorded exactly as read into the record; where the transcript presented numbers in parentheses as negative values staff clarified in the hearing that those represented decreases.)