Hillsborough County presents FY2027 budget overview and warns property-tax reform could cut hundreds of millions

County Administrator Bonnie Wise and Kevin Brickey, management and budget director, presented an overview of Hillsborough County’s recommended Fiscal Year 2027 budget at an April 22 board workshop and warned commissioners to prepare for possible state property‑tax reform that could sharply reduce local revenues.

"We’re going to talk about the delivery of the Fiscal Year 2027 recommended budget," Wise said, introducing Brickey. Brickey said the county’s FY2026 adopted budget is just over $12 billion, with about $3.3 billion in the capital program and roughly $1.6 billion in the combined general funds where the board has the most discretion.

Brickey highlighted the county’s long record of budget awards and its triple‑A ratings, and summarized recent state legislation and proposed reforms that will change notice and transparency requirements for future budgets. He said new state rules will require longer public‑hearing notices, more online schedules, and a mandatory budget workshop at least 14 days before final adoption to perform a 10% reduction exercise beginning for FY2028.

On reserves and millage, Brickey said the county follows a board policy target of 20–25% for combined general fund reserves and that the county’s reserves have approached those targets in recent years. He provided homeowner examples based on current millage rates: the FY2026 county‑wide operating millage is 5.4608 mills (about $1,638 on a home assessed at $350,000); the unincorporated area millage is 4.6163 mills (about $1,385 on a $350,000 home).

Brickey also reviewed the capital picture. The FY2026 capital improvement program is about $3.3 billion — roughly half in the water enterprise — and transportation projects account for about 22% of the CIP. He said board investments in transportation and CIT have risen in recent years (about $50 million in FY2024, $119 million in FY2025 and $137 million in FY2026) and that the funded 15‑year CIT project list totals roughly $1.3 billion.

Staffing trends were addressed: county positions declined from about 6,600 in FY2007 to 6,277 in FY2026 (a net decline of about 5%), while fire‑rescue positions increased by about 393 (roughly 42%) over the same period. Brickey said staff are modeling personnel costs similar to recent years and will consider limiting new positions funded by general funds as a precaution.

A central focus of the presentation was the potential impact of state property‑tax reform. Using House Bill 209 as an example, Brickey said a $200,000 homestead exemption would reduce county‑wide revenue by approximately $217 million and the unincorporated fund by about $143 million beginning in FY2028. A smaller change — a $50,000 increase in the exemption — would have a more moderate impact (roughly $79 million county‑wide and $49 million for the unincorporated fund). "That would have a large impact beginning in FY '28," Brickey said.

Commissioners pressed staff on scenarios and tradeoffs. Commissioner Chris Boles asked whether the pro forma examples already included a millage swap; Brickey said they did not. Brickey also said some proposed state bills include carve‑outs that protect public safety from reductions, which would require deeper cuts in other services if overall revenues fell.

Commissioner Gwen Myers asked what services would be cut if tax reform forced reductions; Brickey and Wise said cuts would likely fall on non‑public‑safety areas such as parks, transportation and human services if public safety were exempted. Myers also asked about CIT revenue and future projects; staff estimated CIT could generate up to about $200 million, of which the county would receive approximately 72% after sharing with cities.

On employee compensation, staff told commissioners that investing in wages and benefits is part of a retention strategy and that salary increases are being considered as part of budget planning. Commissioner Joshua Wostal urged the board to move promptly on bonding plans for large projects such as Lithia Pinecrest.

No motions or votes were taken at the workshop. Brickey reviewed the calendar for next steps: budget delivery to the board is scheduled for July 15, a budget reconciliation public hearing is set for July 29, tentative millage and budget hearings on Sept. 10 and final adoption on Sept. 24. The board may schedule additional workshops before those dates.

The workshop closed without action; commissioners were asked to flag topics for further review as staff prepares detailed proposals for the formal July and September hearings.