Boca Raton adopts tentative 2025–26 budget, sets millage at 3.6649 mills; keeps $155 fire assessment

The Boca Raton City Council on Monday adopted a tentative budget for the 2025–26 fiscal year, approved proposed millage rates totaling 3.6649 mills and kept the residential fire-assessment fee at $155. The council also approved the city’s six-year capital improvement program (CIP) funding plan and a revised municipal user-fee schedule, with a modification delaying replacement billing for overdue library materials for 30 days after the end of the renewal period.

City officials said the proposed total millage rate — 3.6649 mills, composed of a 3.6476 mills operating rate and a 0.0173 mills debt-service rate — represents a 4.42% increase over the rollback rate of 3.4931 mills computed under state law. The council approved Resolution 130-2025 adopting the proposed millage and Resolution 131-2025 adopting the tentative budget; both measures passed on unanimous 5–0 votes.

Why it matters: The tentative budget and proposed millage set the baseline for property-tax notices and the council’s final budget decisions in September. The council’s action preserves the city’s stated goal of presenting a balanced budget without drawing on reserves while funding planned capital work and routine operations.

OMB Director Sharon McGuire told the council the city produced a balanced proposal "and we were able to reduce some expenditures by about $2,000,000 in the general fund." McGuire said the recommended millage rate is slightly lower than the prior year’s rate and the budget was prepared with attention to the city’s strategic priorities, including community safety, financial soundness, transportation and growth management.

Council members and staff emphasized that an accounting timing difference, not new recurring spending, explained a large year-to-year variance in audited totals shown on one slide. Mayor Scott Singer summarized the explanation: "Right. So just to summarize for the public, the budget did not jump up 75% in one year. It's been steady. It's just about the timing of capital improvements and how it's accounted for under the controlling law." Finance staff explained the difference reflects the divergence between cash-based budget figures and accrual accounting treatment of capital assets at year-end.

Key budget figures and changes discussed by staff: - Proposed total millage: 3.6649 mills (3.6476 operating; 0.0173 debt-service). The staff-reported rollback rate was 3.4931 mills; the computed percentage increase over rollback was 4.42%. - Assessed value: staff reported the city’s taxable assessed value reached about $40,000,000,000, a 7.5% increase year over year; new construction was reported at about $700,000 (as presented by staff). - General-fund changes: staff said they identified roughly $9,500,000 in budget reductions and also reclassified about $8,200,000 of items from the CIP into ongoing operating categories (an accounting reclassification, not net new recurring spending). - Personnel and cost changes cited included COLA and step increases ($4,600,000), pension contribution increases ($3,700,000) and modest net new position costs. - Fund balance: the city reported a current fund balance near $85,600,000 and an available fund balance of about $34,000,000 after reserves.

Capital program and major projects: City staff presented a six-year CIP totaling about $1.2 billion in projects, with the proposed program for the next fiscal year shown at roughly $272,000,000 (about $261,700,000 in projects plus roughly $10,600,000 for vehicles and equipment, as presented). Staff identified major next-year allocations for a city services building, a transit-oriented-community (TOC) redevelopment placeholder, Jefferies Street railroad-crossing work, a municipal fleet garage, police department headquarters design funding and water-sewer infrastructure projects. Council members were reminded the TOC redevelopment line is a placeholder and may be adjusted or reallocated by the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) board or through future budget amendments.

Fire assessment and user fees: The council adopted Resolution 132-2025 to impose fire-service assessments for 2025–26 at the same rates as the prior year; the residential rate remains $155. Finance staff confirmed no changes to commercial or industrial assessment rates.

On the municipal user-fee schedule, staff presented multiple department-level adjustments to take effect Oct. 1, 2025. The Utility Services Department will increase water, sewer and stormwater rates by 3.1% (the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach Consumer Price Index figure for June 2025 used by the city). Other proposed changes included modest increases in solid-waste residential collection fees (the presentation showed the monthly curbside fee rising from $27.06 to $27.90 and the monthly multifamily container collection fee from $16.38 to $16.89), updated development-service compliance fees, public-notice processing charges, certain recreation permit and program fees, and adjustments to library fees and room-deposit rules.

Library policy amendment: Council members raised concerns about immediately charging replacement costs for overdue materials under a proposed new rule. Internal audit and compliance supervisor Jean Michel Noc described the proposed approach and staff suggested an implementation change after discussion. The council adopted Resolution 133-2025 approving the user-fee schedule with a modification: library users will not be billed for replacement-cost charges until a 30-day grace period has elapsed after the end of the applicable renewal period. The resolution passed 5–0.

Votes at a glance: - Resolution 130-2025 (proposed millage rates for FY 2025–26) — approved, 5–0 (Drucker: yes; Deputy Mayor Nacklis: yes; Thompson: yes; Wachter: yes; Singer: yes). - Resolution 131-2025 (tentative budget for FY 2025–26) — approved, 5–0 (Drucker: yes; Deputy Mayor Nacklis: yes; Thompson: yes; Wachter: yes; Singer: yes). - Resolution 132-2025 (fire services assessments for FY 2025–26) — approved, 5–0 (Drucker: yes; Deputy Mayor Nacklis: yes; Thompson: yes; Wachter: yes; Singer: yes). - Resolution 133-2025 (municipal facilities and services user-fee schedule, effective Oct. 1, 2025) — approved with amendment to library replacement billing, 5–0 (Drucker: yes; Deputy Mayor Nacklis: yes; Thompson: yes; Wachter: yes; Singer: yes).

What’s next: The council will hold its final budget hearing on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, at 6 p.m. in the council chamber, when final millage rates and any amendments will be adopted.

Speakers quoted or referenced in this report spoke during the public hearing and budget presentations; quotes are attributed to the listed individuals.