St. Augustine sets tentative millage at 7.5 mills; commission approves FY2025–26 budget on first reading

The City Commission of the City of Saint Augustine on Sept. 2025 adopted a tentative millage rate of 7.5 mills and approved the city's FY2025'026 budget on first reading.

The tentative rate of 7.5 mills was adopted by roll call after a public hearing; city staff said that figure is 2.02% above the rollback rate of 7.3513 mills as required by Florida Statutes 200.065. The commission then approved the budget's first reading, which includes capital projects and operating allocations for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2025 and ending Sept. 30, 2026.

Why it matters: The commission's decision preserves revenue that staff and commissioners said is needed for roads, resilience and other capital projects; residents at the hearing said the decision will worsen affordability for people on fixed incomes and urged the commission to roll back the millage or seek alternative revenue-sharing with St. John's County.

City action and immediate effect

At a special meeting that commenced at 5:05 p.m., the commission voted to adopt Resolution 2025-32 setting the tentative millage rate at 7.5 mills. The resolution text read that the tentative millage rate is 7.5 mills and noted the required rollback calculation under Florida Statutes 200.065. The roll call showed unanimous "yes" votes from Mayor Nancy Sykes Klein and commissioners John de Prater, Cynthia Garris and Barbara Blonder. The resolution record lists the tentative millage as an increase of 2.02% over the rollback rate.

The commission also approved on first reading Ordinance 2025-29, the proposed…