Citrus County adopts $540 million tentative budget, sets tentative millage at 8.6600

The Citrus County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 10 adopted a tentative FY2026‑27 budget totaling about $540,000,000 and set the proposed tentative millage rates that will be heard at a final hearing Sept. 21.

"The total budget is 540,000,000 proposed," County Administrator Steve Howard said during the presentation, and budget staff later read the proposed millage figures. Budget director Barb Lookum told the board the proposed tentative millage produces $148,998,582 in ad valorem revenue and that the proposed aggregate millage is 8.6085, a 0.58% increase over the aggregate rollback rate of 8.5591. Lookum also stated the "total proposed tentative millage is 8.6600."

The adopted tentative budget includes a general fund figure listed at $176,000,000 (staff described roughly $116,000,000 of that as the discretionary portion available for county operations after constitutional and restricted obligations). The presentation included allocations of $75,000,000 for constitutionally and statutorily mandated services, $5,600,000 toward sheriff's‑office pay (reflecting outcomes from a pay/class study), $50,000,000 for state mandates, $65,700,000 for capital improvements and $12,600,000 for road improvements. The budget packages a 3.5% cost‑of‑living increase for county employees.

Commissioner Janet Barrick said she would not support the tentative millage, arguing the administration could have made deeper cuts in administrative spending. "I'm not gonna be able to support this because there could have been more cuts in administration," Barrick said during board discussion. Despite that objection, the board voted to adopt the tentative budget and authorize the chair to execute the resolution, with the motion recorded as "Motion by Commissioner Davis, second by Commissioner Barrick" and carried 5‑0.

The board scheduled the final budget hearing for Sept. 21 during the regular board meeting. Under Florida budget procedure, the tentative adoption preserves the board’s ability to adjust millage and line items prior to the final adoption at the advertised final hearing.