- July 20, 2025
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The Palm Coast City Council has set its maximum millage rate to the current rate, capping the city's 2026 budget at almost $69 million.
The current rate is 4.1893 which will generate $44 million in ad valorem taxes, Financial Services Director Helena Alves said. That sets the general fund budget to $68.8 million, a $7.6 million difference from the 2025 fiscal year budget.
The July 15 vote was to set the maximum millage rate for the city's 2026 budget. Now that it is set, the council cannot go higher than the 4.1893 rate. The final millage rate will be set at two meetings in September when the final budget is adopted.
The budget includes an 11% and a 24% increase for the Palm Coast Fire Department and the Flagler County Sheriff's Office budgets, respectively, and cuts several positions to save money.
The council approved keeping the current rate as the maximum in a 4-1 vote, with Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri dissenting.
"I understand that we can always go down," she said, "but I think that we need to put ourselves accountable to a very responsible budget.”
Pontieri wanted to reduce that maximum by the one-tenth of a mill, but the rest of the council approved maxing out the millage rate at 4.1893. Councilmen Dave Sullivan and Ty Miller both said keeping the millage rate as the current rate would allow the most flexibility as the city continues through the budget process.
About one-tenth of a mill, around $1 million in ad valorem revenue, is being set aside for capital projects. On July 8, the council discussed keeping the 4.1893 millage rate in order to reserve funding for the two projects.
The reduced budget did not leave any funding for two major city projects: creating an in-house animal control shelter and purchasing building entitlements to a city-owned property for economic enhancement initiatives.
Neither project has a "concrete plan," as Pontieri said during the July 8 discussion when she advocated for the reduced budget. At the July 8 meeting, city staff presented the council with the one-tenth reduced budget.
Miller pointed out at the time that the city can always go lower.
“We’re being responsible with our millage rate but it’s a decision point on the maximum millage rate,” he said on July 8.
The city is meant to further discuss an in-house shelter with Flagler County at a joint meeting in August and the council is waiting to hear back from attorney discussions on the final cost of the building entitlements.
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