Palm Bay officials aim for up to $15 million in FY27 budget reductions, schedule department reviews

City finance staff told the Palm Bay City Council at a workshop that they are targeting roughly $13–15 million in reductions for the fiscal 2027 budget while attempting to preserve core service delivery.

"The number that we have is around $15 million we're looking to reduce our budget by," Dr. Robinson said in his closing remarks, adding that exact revenue figures were not yet available. Finance staff emphasized the council-directed effort is broader than a single across-the-board cut and will include department-level reviews and one-on-one meetings beginning in early June.

Finance presenter Jason Dorenzo told the council the budget team asked departments to propose a 20% operational reduction “that did not impact on core service delivery” as an initial exercise, but cautioned staff have not finalized revenue forecasts and that the 20% figure may vary by department once operational impacts are reviewed.

Council members pressed staff on process questions: when the department reductions would be refined, how travel and recurring requests are counted, and how departmental estimates for vehicles and projects are generated. Staff said an internal-service review — involving procurement and technology reviewers — screens requests and that the next step is one-on-one meetings with the city manager and department directors to vet and prioritize requests before the July 7 proposed-budget workshop.

Staff also stressed that different funds will be treated separately: the general fund, enterprise utilities and impact-fee funds will be reconciled on their own timelines, and utilities and impact fees can skew the all-funds totals. The city reported 353 requests across all funds totaling roughly $287 million, with a much smaller subset affecting the general fund.

What’s next: staff will complete department follow-ups in June, present a proposed budget at the July 7 workshop, and hold two public hearings on Sept. 9 and Sept. 23. The council did not vote on any measures at the workshop; the session was informational and procedural.