Pembroke Park adopts 8.5 mills and a $29 million tentative budget; commission schedules final hearing Sept. 24

The Town of Pembroke Park commission on Sept. 10 adopted a tentative millage rate of 8.5 mills and approved a tentative consolidated budget for fiscal year 2025–26 totaling about $29 million, the commission recorded.

Finance Director James Daverman told the commission the town’s ending fund balance was about $25.2 million and said the proposal keeps the millage unchanged "at 8.5 mills," above the rollback rate of 7.8676. "So our ending fund balance for the entire town is is $25,200,000," Daverman said during the presentation, noting the town expects roughly $1.3 billion in taxable value and about $804,000 in additional ad valorem revenue going into the next fiscal year.

The budget presentation combined the millage and spending discussion as required by Florida law. Daverman said the town used a zero-based budgeting process — resetting each line item to zero and asking department heads to justify expenses — and credited that approach with limiting spending growth to roughly 1% across four funds and an 8.5% increase in the general fund compared with the prior year. "We used a 0 based budgeting process," he said, describing the method’s role in extracting savings.

Daverman outlined fund-by-fund projections: general fund expenditures around $19.7 million, a stormwater fund with about $4.4 million in expenses (including an estimated $3.5 million in capital outlay), and a sewer fund near $4.0 million with roughly $550,000 set aside for capital. He reported the town had received $3.4 million in ARPA funds, had expended about $1.1 million to date, and expected to obligate remaining funds to specific projects before the federal deadline.

Members and staff also emphasized a shift away from outside contractors and toward in-house staffing. The town manager noted the share of spending on contracted services had fallen markedly, saying the percentage "was at 62 percent, and then it went down to 33% this year," a change he described as a near "culture change" that reduces recurring contractor costs.

A commissioner asked whether sewer treatment charges from the City of Hollywood are calculated by water usage; Daverman said the charge is tied to water usage and the town attorney added that Pembroke Park participates in a large-user agreement among several municipalities and that litigation involving Pembroke Pines could affect billing methodology.

Votes at a glance

- Resolution 2025-031: Adopt tentative millage rate of 8.5 mills for fiscal year 2025–26 — Approved (Recorded roll call: Commissioner Mohammed, Mayor Jacobs, Acting Clerk Commissioner Morissette, Vice Mayor Kashem, Clerk Commissioner Hodgkins recorded "Yes"; motion carried.)

- Resolution 2025-032: Adopt tentative consolidated budget for fiscal year 2025–26 (10/01/2025–09/30/2026) — Approved (Recorded roll call: Vice Mayor Kashim, Acting Clerk Commissioner Morissette, Mary Jacobs, Clerk Commissioner Hodgkins, Commissioner Mohammed recorded "Yes"; motion carried.)

What happens next

The commission set the second and final public hearing for Sept. 24, 2025, in the commission chambers; that hearing will present the proposed millage and the proposed budget in the form required for final adoption. Staff said changes to the draft budget will be accepted through mid-September to allow time to publish final figures.

Budget and legal context

The town attorney opened the hearing by citing Florida Statutes chapter 200.065 — the state requirement governing millage and budget hearings — and by explaining that the tentative millage is considered first, followed by the tentative budget. The attorney also noted prior years’ separate fund actions were consolidated into the single budget resolution before the commission.

Disclosure: Quotes and votes are taken from the public hearing transcript and the meeting record.