St. Augustine commissioners review FY2026 budget; millage held, utility rates rise and city readies Knights of Lights cost detail for county

At a special budget workshop, the St. Augustine City Commission reviewed the proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, with staff reporting the millage rate will remain at 7.5 mills and the budget includes a 2.3% request for utility rate increases tied to CPI adjustments.

The budget presenter, Mary Burns, told commissioners "The millage rate stays at 7.5 mills. This results in a $1.7 million net additional ad valorem revenue compared to last year," and she said the rollback rate is 7.3513, with each one-tenth of a mill change reducing city revenue by about $352,998.

Why it matters: The budget outlines how the city will cover personnel costs, capital projects and service levels for police, fire and public works while continuing to use visitor-related revenues — notably parking garage and Visitor Information Center receipts — to fund historic preservation and mobility projects.

Key points

- Revenue and millage: City staff said net ad valorem revenue is roughly $1.7 million higher than last year under the 7.5-mill rate. Staff noted the rollback rate of 7.3513 and provided examples showing a $35 annual tax difference to a homeowner for each one-tenth mill change.

- Utilities and surcharges: The budget includes a 2.3% utility rate increase tied to CPI. Staff also proposed lowering the outside-utility surcharge on water and sewer customers from 17% to 12%; the presenter said the surcharge has been reduced incrementally over the past decade from 25%.

- Personnel and compensation: The proposed budget contains no net new positions (citywide staff remains at 408). Compensation in the draft includes a 2.5% general wage increase plus a flat $0.50 hourly increase and up to a 2% merit component. Staff estimated the combined effect could approximate roughly 6% for an average employee depending on base pay and merit awards.

- Public safety and dispatch costs: Public safety remains the largest general-fund expenditure. Commissioners drew attention to the city’s dispatch contract with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office; staff said the city’s share of dispatch is calculated from the sheriff’s prior-year communications expenditures and the city’s percent of call volume, and the total for dispatch approached about $985,000 in the current figures.

- Paving and capital: The draft shows a $50,000 increase to paving in the proposed fiscal year and a multi-year paving plan included in the capital improvement plan. Staff highlighted a roughly $900,000 paving program in the CIP pages provided to commissioners.

- Visitor revenues and transfers: Staff reiterated that parking garage and Visitor Information Center (VIC) revenues fund a suite of items including a garage sinking fund, mobility (shuttles and sidewalks) and historic preservation programs (grants and sinking funds for repairs to civic assets). Staff said garage and VIC revenue does not produce a general profit but is directed to those specific transfers and maintenance needs.

- Knights of Lights and county TDC request: Commissioners discussed a recent county workshop and a pending St. Johns County Tourist Development Council (TDC) vote on Knights of Lights funding. Staff said the city will provide a detailed, line-item package of Knights of Lights expenses — contracts for shuttles, lighting, restrooms, overtime, barricades and other direct city costs — to the county in advance of the TDC/board meeting. The proposed budget includes prior-year commitments for the event and an additional $125,000 for sheriff resources; staff cautioned that additional service requests the county has discussed (extra shuttles, additional restrooms, expanded barricading) are not currently built into the draft and would require separate funding if county TDC funds are not granted.

Public comment and next steps

Two members of the public commented during the workshop. City staff said they will produce the requested Knights of Lights expense detail for the county meeting and will report back to commissioners on options if county funds are not provided. Staff also asked commissioners to refer more detailed follow-up requests to staff; the commission signaled support for finishing the budget review and returning for formal adoption hearings later in the budget process.

Ending

Staff closed the presentation by noting the draft budget balances multiple priorities — maintaining public safety staffing, funding infrastructure and continuing targeted transfers from visitor revenues for historic preservation and mobility — and invited commissioners to flag any line items for further review ahead of the formal adoption process.