City of Newberry staff presents balanced governmental budget, proposes $300 fire assessment

City staff presented a proposed governmental funds budget for fiscal year 2026 that staff said is balanced at a reduced millage rate of 5.88 mills and includes a staff recommendation to set the annual fire assessment at $300.

The recommendation—delivered by a staff presenter identified in the transcript as Dallas—laid out projected revenues of about $9 million and a general fund expense budget of roughly $13.9 million, driven largely by rising property values, grant activity and contractual increases. Dallas said, "we are coming forward with a balanced budget at a millage rate reduction, 5.88 mills." The presentation noted about $80 million in added taxable property value this year and that the city's gross taxable value is now just under $900 million.

Why it matters: The discussion focused most heavily on the fire assessment and staffing. Staff recommended a $300 annual fire assessment (down from a previously advertised maximum of $419) to address a growing shortfall and to fund two additional firefighter staffing positions per shift the chief requested to reduce overtime and provide succession depth. Dallas said the budget includes the $300 recommendation and that the advertised $419 represented a legal maximum, not the staff recommendation.

Budget highlights and context: The presentation covered general fund, special revenue and capital project funds. Key points included:
- Property tax (ad valorem) revenue for FY 2026 is budgeted at $4.9 million, up from $4.6 million, primarily from growth in taxable values. Dallas said grant revenues are included in the revenue totals and noted a $30,000 contingency in the proposed budget.
- The city remains below peer millage rates and staff noted Newberry has the second-lowest millage among nearby municipalities in the presented comparison, while cautioning direct comparisons are imperfect because cities provide different services and use assessments differently.
- The budget assumes a solid waste contract increase effective Oct. 1, a wage step in the fire union contract, proposed nonunion merit/cola adjustments (up to 4% merit and 2% cost-of-living), and a modest increase in the Florida Retirement System cost across funds.
- The budget includes continued funding for capital projects such as work on Southwest 15th and Cemetery Drive, calls out the environmental park and skate park design work, and carries forward remaining Champions Park funding from the wild spaces fund; staff noted $800,000 of the previously allocated $2 million for Champions Park was spent in the current year.

Fire assessment, staffing and timing: The fire assessment history presented by staff shows incremental increases since 2020 (from $175 in 2020 to $200 in 2023, with no increase in 2024–25), and staff said delaying increases led to a larger jump this year. Dallas told the commission there is broad recruiting pressure and noted other jurisdictions are shifting staffing models (one-day-on/three-days-off) that can require additional hires.

Commissioners pressed for context and alternatives. Commissioner Farnsworth asked whether new residential and commercial growth would cover the fire assessment increases; staff replied that new housing yields only modest assessment revenue in its first years and that salary and union-contract increases alone add six figures to public-safety costs. Commissioner Coleman and other commissioners emphasized keeping incremental increases rather than skipping years to avoid large jumps.

Personnel and new positions: The proposed budget funds several new positions (some partially funded): a facilities inmate supervisor, an assistant director of community development, a part-year human resources technician, a plans examiner (split with utilities) and a utilities/public-works staff assistant. Staff highlighted the value of in-house project-management capacity—naming Assistant City Manager Jamie Jones—saying it can reduce outside consultant costs for large projects such as the advanced wastewater treatment plant.

Taxes, Save Our Homes and commercial development: Staff explained the Save Our Homes cap (a constitutional amendment limiting annual homestead taxable-value increases to 3% or CPI, whichever is lower) and said Newberry currently has more than $45 million in deferred taxable value under that cap. Dallas noted Publix and other commercial projects already built may not appear on tax rolls until the next fiscal cycle; staff estimated the Publix store would contribute about $90,000 in taxable value (estimates discussed in the meeting varied) and a staff member later stated Publix would pay about $19,000 annually in fire assessment and that staff had included Publix in budget assumptions.

Budget process and next steps: Staff reminded the commission of upcoming meetings: a budget workshop the following week, and a final fire assessment-setting meeting on Monday night before the next hearing. The city manager (unnamed in the transcript) said staff were comfortable with $300 and asked commissioners for an early signal; three commissioners gave informal head nods during the discussion but no formal vote on the fire assessment was taken at the meeting.

Votes and formal actions at the meeting: The agenda was approved at the start of the meeting by voice vote; the meeting recorded the motion as "moved and seconded" and then "Motion passes unanimous." No other formal ordinances or resolutions were voted on during the recorded portion of this session.

Community and operations notes: Staff said Champions Park remains in a segregated wild spaces fund and that ongoing operating costs for that park would be considered separately; the commission scheduled a recreation workshop on Sept. 2 to discuss recreation planning. Staff also said the city is proposing a stormwater assessment and a street-improvement assessment as possible revenue diversifications.

What remains unresolved: The commission had not taken a final vote on the fire assessment at the meeting. Commissioners asked staff to return with additional detail at the scheduled budget hearings and workshops, and staff agreed to provide pricing for equipment requests discussed in the meeting (for example, a backhoe configuration noted for street sweeping attachments).