Alachua County reviews proposed FY26 budget; board to consider debt-policy change and rollback impact

Alachua County budget staff on Thursday reviewed the county manager's proposed fiscal year 2026 budget, outlining a $944,000,000 plan, proposed changes to debt policy and options if the board chooses the rollback tax rate.

The presentation, led by Tommy Crosby, assistant county manager for budget and fiscal services, gave commissioners an overview of projected revenues and reserves, staffing requests, one-time transfers and upcoming dates for budget hearings. Crosby told the board staff will return with any requested adjustments and a formal proposed millage to adopt in September.

Crosby said the FY26 countywide budget totals $944,000,000, an increase of about $81,000,000 over FY25, and that much of the increase reflects new debt the county is planning to issue for an animal services building and to finish the courthouse. He said transfers between funds and timing of capital projects also inflate the headline number because transfers can be double-counted when presented at a summary level.

Why it matters: county leaders said maintaining reserves and meeting policy targets is central to preserving the county's credit capacity while advancing capital projects. Commissioners asked how a rollback decision would affect services and asked staff for a line-by-line list of discretionary items that would be cut if the board chose the rollback rate.

Key details from the presentation

- Reserves and fund-balance policy: Crosby summarized several reserve rules cited in the budget materials: a general-fund ending fund balance target of 10% of operating revenues; a 5% target for the municipal service benefit unit (MSBU) and the gas-tax fund; and a general reserve floor of not less than 5% of operating revenue and a ceiling not greater than 10% of the total budget. Crosby said the county rebuilt reserves during the year and that only about $1,100,000 was spent from reserves in the current year.

- Revenue mix called out: taxes were shown at about $285,000,000; charges for services at roughly $99,000,000 (with ambulance and solid-waste fees cited as major components); permits and assessments were listed around $42,200,000; and miscellaneous revenue and interest earnings were also noted. Crosby said surtax receipts have returned to a more normal pace but that a state action affecting commercial leases will reduce surtax proceeds by a figure the presentation described as “about $14,000,000 over the life of the surtax.”

- Major expense categories: the presentation listed personal services at about $132,000,000, operating at about $198,000,000, capital outlay (figure given as “2.65” in the materials as presented), and $13,000,000 in debt service. Crosby said the budget uses some fund balance for one-time projects and that carry-forward of unfinished projects will roll into the next year.

- Personnel and department requests: the property appraiser received one FTE; the supervisor of elections had requests totaling about $190,000 that were included (poll-worker stations and related materials); the sheriff's office had multiple personnel requests that staff said were accommodated within the manager's proposal; judicial and other departments had smaller included requests. Crosby said no new FTEs were approved on the commission side.

- Facilities and preservation: staff said they will request an additional $3,000,000 for facilities preservation projects to catch up on roof and HVAC systems; Crosby also flagged that the county expects jail-related facility needs to drive additional preservation costs and mentioned a separate estimate of $33,000,000 tied to jail needs.

- Other program items: the manager's budget includes a $1,000,000 transfer from the general fund to the housing trust in addition to surtax funds; staff described progress on an emergency operations center, environmental protection department relocations, a garage and chiller plant for courthouse support, and plans to solicit for a construction-manager-at-risk in October for courthouse construction funds still to be raised.

Policy and debt: proposed per-capita debt threshold change

Crosby told the board staff will bring recommended adjustments to the county debt policy at a follow-up meeting. In the presentation he said staff plans to ask the board to raise the per-capita debt policy target to $1,000 (from an earlier number stated in the presentation as $7.50). He said the change would cover the county's planned issuance for animal services and courthouse work. The presentation stressed that the debt-policy change is a request for capacity and that metrics and peer comparisons will be provided at the August 14 follow-up meeting.

Rollback-rate scenario and potential cuts

When commissioners asked about the budget impact of adopting the rollback millage, Crosby said he did not have his prepared worksheet with him but later summarized the board-level calculation: under the rollback projection the county would generate roughly 3.6 (mills or millions, as represented in staff materials) versus 14 under the proposed rate, creating an estimated revenue gap of about $11,000,000 that would need to be found in the general fund. Crosby and commissioners characterized that gap as likely to require cuts to discretionary services and promised a detailed list of affected items before the next meeting.

Expenditures tied to insurance, retiree costs and pharmacy clinic

Crosby said the county applied modest health-insurance increases in the proposal and that retiree-health accounting changes have grown that cost category; retiree health is being tracked separately from the county's self-insurance risk pool. Staff also said a clinic renovation and an eventual in-house pharmacy could reduce prescription costs once brand medications are available through the county clinic.

Schedule and next steps

Crosby reminded commissioners of a special Thursday meeting on August 14 to review FTEs, the capital improvement plan and millage decisions ahead of the statutory truth-in-millage timetable; he said the final budget adoption is scheduled for September (staff listed September 11 for some items and September 23 for final adoption). Staff also said they will return with the requested rollback analysis, peer comparisons for the debt policy and more detail on surtax adjustments.

Who spoke

Tommy Crosby, assistant county manager, delivered the budget review and answered most technical questions. Multiple commissioners asked clarifying questions: Commissioner Halperd, Commissioner Prizia, Commissioner Wheeler and Commissioner Alford. The county manager and clerk's office were referenced repeatedly in the presentation.

Ending note

Commissioners praised staff for organization and transparency in the presentation and asked staff to provide the rollback impact list and peer comparisons at the August 14 meeting so the board can decide whether to adopt the manager's recommended millage or a rollback rate.