Bay County commissioners approve FY 2026 millage rates, adopt budget and authorize mandatory contracts

The Bay County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously during a budget hearing to approve FY 2026 millage rates, adopt a budget county staff said reflects a 13.94% overall increase, and authorize a list of mandatory contracts.

County finance staffer Miss Miranda read the proposed millage rates for FY 2026: general fund 5.4362 mills, mosquito control 0.2 mills and MSTU fire 1.38 mills. She said the total of all millage rates is 7.0162 mills, the aggregate rollback rate is 5.9982 mills, the aggregate millage rate is 6.1067 mills and the percentage above rollback is 1.81%.

The millage motion passed on a roll call where Commissioners Crosby, Carroll, Raheville (as recorded), Pease and Chairman Moore each voted “yes.” No public speakers addressed the millage during the hearing.

County staff told commissioners the draft FY 2026 budget was reduced to reflect the millage approved at the prior hearing. Staff said the budget represents a 13.94% overall increase, includes capital equipment requests totaling $19,100,000, and shows cuts primarily in the fire services fund of $6,900,000. The recommended staffing level in the proposed budget is 835 authorized positions. The board earlier in November adopted a reserve release policy that staff said was applied to the current budget numbers.

A motion to adopt the budget passed on a roll call with the transcript recording “yes” votes by the commissioners listed as Commissioner Rafael, Commissioner Pease, Commissioner Crosby, Commissioner Carroll and Chairman Moore (all yes). The public hearing produced no speakers and no substantive public comments were recorded.

Commissioners were also presented a list of mandatory or public‑health related contracts for FY 2026 and were asked to authorize them. The board voted to authorize the contracts; roll‑call responses recorded in the transcript show Commissioner Carroll, Commissioner Crosby, Commissioner Raftold (as recorded), Commissioner Pees (as recorded) and Chairman Moore voting “yes.” The memo before the board listed the contracts and amounts but the transcript did not read full contract details into the record.

Commissioner Carroll thanked staff for their work, saying, “Been a great day today. Just wanna, again, thank all the staff.” Other commissioners similarly offered brief thanks to staff before Chairman Moore adjourned the meeting.

Votes at a glance

- Millage rates for FY 2026: Approved; roll call recorded as yes by Commissioners Crosby, Carroll, Raheville, Pease and Chairman Moore. - FY 2026 budget adoption: Approved; roll call recorded as yes by Commissioner Rafael, Commissioner Pease, Commissioner Crosby, Commissioner Carroll and Chairman Moore. Staff described the budget as a 13.94% overall increase; total budget amount not specified in the transcript. - Mandatory/public‑health contracts for FY 2026: Authorized; roll call recorded as yes by Commissioner Carroll, Commissioner Crosby, Commissioner Raftold, Commissioner Pees and Chairman Moore. Individual contract details were included in the board memo and were not read in full on the record.

The meeting record shows no public comments during the hearings. Following the votes, commissioners offered brief remarks thanking staff; the meeting was then adjourned.