Nassau County tentatively adopts $452.8M budget, cuts libraries and nonprofit funding

The Nassau County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 14 tentatively approved a $452,786,618 countywide budget and set proposed millage rates, while moving a final public hearing to Sept. 28 at 5:01 p.m.

County manager Taco Pope, summarizing the budget package, said, "This is the 6th consecutive millage rate reduction." He and staff said the tentative budget is structurally balanced but includes program cuts to keep property-tax rates lower, including elimination of county funding for most nonprofits and reductions in library hours and some public-works maintenance.

Why it matters: the budget reduces the county general fund and, according to staff, is a 6% reduction when reserves are included. The package maintains statutory obligations (constitutional offices and courts) while trimming services: staff said the Bryceville branch will close, Yulee Library hours will be reduced from five to three days a week, and some park and roadside maintenance and drainage work will be scaled back.

During the public comment period residents urged the board to restore library and nonprofit funding. Angie Hall, president of the Friends of the Bryceville Branch Library, told commissioners: "When budgets are tight, it can be tempting to look at a library as just a building full of books, an expense that can be zeroed out in a budget... Our children, the library is where they love to read." James Thomas and other speakers described libraries as digital-access hubs for jobseekers, students and seniors.

Board action: Commissioners voted unanimously on the procedural motions: to accept updated documents into the record, to adopt tentative millage rates (countywide 6.5178; Municipal Services Taxing District 2.1479; May Island Beach renourishment 0.0960) and to adopt the tentative budget. The board set the final budget hearing for 09/28/2026 at 5:01 p.m.

Next steps: The commission will revisit final adoption at the Sept. 28 hearing; staff told the board that a November state ballot measure (Amendment 3) could materially change property-tax revenues and that the county may pause some decisions until voter action is clear.