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Atlantic Beach sets tentative millage at 2.841% and moves forward with $57.86M budget; commission approves salary ordinance first reading
Summary
After a public hearing with residents urging a rollback, the commission set a tentative millage rate of 2.841 (a projected ~$741,000 above the rollback) and adopted a $57,861,036 tentative operating budget as amended. The commission also approved first reading of an ordinance increasing mayor and commissioner pay (roughly $11,000 per commissioner; $14,000 mayor) with a five-year review provision.
The City Commission set a tentative millage rate of 2.841 and adopted a tentative operating budget of $57,861,036 for fiscal year 2025–26 after a public hearing in which multiple residents urged the commission to roll back the rate to avoid a tax increase.
Several residents, including longtime public commenter Mitch Reeves, told the commission that leaving the millage unchanged is effectively a tax increase because property values have risen. "If you leave the same millage rate as it was last year… it is a tax increase because your property value went up," Reeves said during the hearing. Commissioners debated the fiscal trade-offs; city staff said the difference between the rollback and the proposed rate is roughly $741,000 in additional revenue.
After public comment and discussion about competing priorities — including wastewater-plant work, public-safety staffing, and grants — the commission voted to adopt the tentative millage of 2.841 on roll call. The commission then debated and adopted the tentative operating budget as amended to include a one-time $20,000 education appropriation offset in part by reducing ARC’s budget by $10,000.
The commission also held first reading of an ordinance to amend annual salaries for the mayor and commissioners. Staff presented peer-city comparisons and a population-based calculation that yielded recommendations of about $11,243 for commissioners and $13,962 for the mayor; the ordinance as presented rounded those figures to approximately $11,000 per commissioner and $14,000 for the mayor and adds a five-year review requirement. The first reading passed after debate; one commissioner voted no.
Votes and next steps: The tentative millage and budget were adopted by the commission (roll-call votes recorded). The budget was adopted as amended; the commission directed staff to return with allocation details for the new $20,000 education pool and to continue regular budget work before final adoption. The salary ordinance passed first reading and will return for subsequent readings as required.
Speakers quoted: Mitch Reeves (public commenter), Brinkley Harold (public commenter), Mayor Curtis Ford and multiple commissioners during debate.
Ending: The commission closed the meeting after approving the tentative millage, the amended tentative budget and first reading of the salary ordinance. Final votes on the budget and millage will be taken at subsequent public hearings before formal adoption.
