Brooksville council begins budget workshop with draft balanced at 6.5 mills; residents press for drains and line‑item cuts

The Brooksville City Council opened a special budget workshop on June 29 with Finance Director Autumn Sullivan presenting a draft budget balanced at a 6.5 millage.

Sullivan said the proposal includes a 2% cost‑of‑living adjustment for the full year and a 2% merit pool budgeted for six months, with merit increases slated to take effect in April 2027. “With this budget, as stated before, it is balanced at a 6.5 millage,” Sullivan said. She told the council the merit pool is performance‑based and would be up to 2% per eligible employee.

Public commenters used the meeting’s citizens‑input period to press the council on priorities. Donna Morin, identifying herself as a city resident, asked why the budget includes $15,000 tied to the softball complex, $3,000 for a ‘day at the Capitol,’ $10,000 for office furniture and $35,000 for crossing guards, and whether some expenses should be shifted to infrastructure and drainage. “Why do we have an annexation person? We allotted $1,000 for advertising for annexation,” Morin asked.

Connie Green, a South Brooksville community activist, urged the council to prioritize stormwater and drainage work for her neighborhood and questioned whether a planned affordable‑housing proposal from YouthThrive on Smith Street is limited because of flooding. Public Works and Community Development staff responded later that the site includes floodplain constraints and that some proposed unit counts would be restricted by those rules.

Council members pressed staff for more detail on several consolidated line items. Council asked for a clearer breakdown of the $10,000 consolidated travel/per diem allotment that covers certifications, memberships and training (HR said the line was consolidated last year to centralize review). Councilmember (speaker 4) proposed trimming nonessential items and directed staff to pursue grant funding before drawing on general‑fund lines for one item (office furniture), a change the council adopted in a subsequent motion.

Several council members recommended caution on sweeping cuts that could affect services or the city’s ability to retain employees. “We need to remain competitive as a city,” the mayor (speaker 2) said in response to proposals for a full hiring freeze. Staff noted open positions may save money short term but can reduce services residents expect.

Autumn Sullivan said estimated general‑fund reserves for fiscal year 2027 are about $2.8 million and that state revenue estimates were pending. The council scheduled further review and a special enterprise‑budget meeting for July 27 at 3 p.m., when millage and the CIP will be discussed again.