Key Points
The Apopka City Commission adopted its tentative fiscal year 2027 budget and a 4.6761-mill property tax rate Thursday at the Apopka Community Center, while restoring several expenditures commissioners had debated during a budget workshop two days earlier.
The commission voted 4-1 to approve the tentative millage rate, with Commissioner Nadia Anderson opposed. The rate is 10% above the 4.2510-mill rollback rate and is expected to generate approximately $41.2 million in property tax revenue.
Commissioners later unanimously adopted the tentative budget with adjustments made during the hearing. The budget presented for the hearing included about $228.9 million in expenditures and $203.2 million in revenues across all funds. The General Fund included about $107.2 million in expenditures and $103 million in revenues before adjustments made during the budget process.
Among the most significant line-item decisions was leaving $100,000 for the city’s nonprofit grant program out of the budget after Anderson’s motion to restore the funding failed for lack of a second.
Commissioners restored six firefighter positions and a risk-management specialist and retained $297,565, including benefits, for an in-house city attorney position.
They also restored $75,000 for second-floor City Hall renovations and $210,000 for office furniture replacement. Anderson questioned the renovation cost, saying she wanted more detailed information about how the money would be spent.
“I just think it’s ridiculous that you present a piece of paper and cannot tell the taxpayer how much it’s going to cost,” she said.
Mayor Nick Nesta countered that the $75,000 figure came from staff and represented the next phase of the renovations. He said commissioners could request a detailed breakdown from staff and that the figures had been available for months.
The commission also restored $5,000 in discretionary funding for each commissioner, half the $10,000-per-commissioner amount previously under consideration.
In a separate vote, the commission unanimously approved the fiscal year 2026-27 non-ad valorem assessment roll for the Emerson Park Assessment Area. The assessments fund improvements including pavement, curbs, sidewalks, streetlights and traffic signs and are being collected in 15 annual installments.
The final millage rate and budget hearing is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, in the City Hall Commission Chambers.