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Sebastian budget workshop flags $2.8M year‑one hit under proposed property‑tax amendment
Summary
City Manager Brian Benton told council the proposed FY26–27 budget balances at the current 3.4455 millage but that state estimates show Sebastian could lose about $2.78 million in year one under Amendment 3; council debated whether to preemptively cut or wait.
City Manager Brian Benton told the City of Sebastian council during the first day of a two‑day FY26–27 budget workshop that staff has balanced the proposed budget at the current millage rate of 3.4455 but warned a pending state constitutional amendment could sharply reduce property‑tax revenue.
“The budget before you today is balanced at a millage rate of 3.4455,” Benton said, and he later cited figures from the July 10 state Revenue Estimating Conference showing an estimated year‑one loss to Sebastian of $2,779,077 under the amendment’s proposal to raise homestead exemptions and lower non‑homestead assessment caps.
The distinction matters because property taxes account for roughly 43% of the city’s general fund. Benton said even if the city allocated 100% of ad valorem revenue to the police department, the proposed FY27 police budget still would not be fully funded, leaving an estimated shortfall of about $1 million.
Councilmembers debated how aggressively to react in this budget cycle. Mayor Jones said it was premature to engage in alarmist messaging, cautioning against “scare tactics” in public communications. Councilmember Dodd urged strategic planning: if the amendment passes, he said the city will face choices about staffing, reserves and program timing that may be difficult to reverse.
Staff outlined steps already taken to limit future budget stress: a freeze on nonessential open positions, holding back a portion of discretionary sales tax revenue and cutting project requests where feasible. Benton said these moves, combined with conservative revenue assumptions, were intended to afford flexibility without immediately raising the millage.
No formal votes were taken during the morning session. Council set a procedural plan to continue department reviews and to take public comment at the end of each session; staff will present a proposed tentative millage rate to the Budget Advisory Committee on July 20 and to council on July 22 for a tentative trim notice.
Next steps: council will continue department‑level reviews across the second day of the workshop and is expected to decide how much of the Amendment 3 risk to bake into the FY27 final recommendation as staff brings updated fiscal detail to the body.
