From Staff Reports
In Summary:
The Apopka City Commission unanimously approved a $237 million budget and a property-tax rate of 4.6761 mills for fiscal year 2026-27. The final rate is 10% above the rollback rate of 4.2510 mills, while the budget is approximately $1.54 million, or 0.7%, larger than the current year's adopted spending plan. The final hearing also included discussion about rebuilding general fund reserves and potentially conducting forensic audits, including a review of impact fees and credits.
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The Apopka City Commission unanimously approved a $237.25 million budget and a property-tax rate of 4.6761 mills Wednesday night, ending months of debate over spending, taxes and city reserves.
The final millage rate is higher than the current 4.4376 mills and 10% above the rollback rate of 4.2510 mills. Finance Director Blanche Sherman said the rate is expected to generate approximately $41.2 million in property-tax revenue.
The $237,254,333 budget is approximately $1.54 million, or 0.7%, higher than the adopted 2025-26 budget.
Related: The Price of Saying No: Apopka cannot have a bare-bones budget without feeling the cuts.
Mayor Nick Nesta emphasized how much the proposed budget had been reduced during the process.
“I don’t know any other enterprise organization that isn’t raising their fees or prices in some capacity more or less than the 0.7,” Nesta said. “So as much as it may be a $1.5 million increase, we really have cut a lot to get here.”
Nesta said the budget could still change during the fiscal year.
“We will be making adjustments as we progress through the year,” he said. “We’re looking for efficiencies and ways that we can get projects done that the residents want to see done.”
Commissioner Yesenia Baron questioned Sherman about the city's general-fund reserves, which remain below the city's 25% target.
“Is it on target?” Baron asked. “Are we going to have to revisit and work on this again? What does that look like for us?”
Sherman said unassigned reserves are projected at approximately 21.9%, while another measure presented during the hearing placed reserves at approximately 19% compared with the 25% target.
Nesta acknowledged that rebuilding reserves remains unfinished business.
“It will need to be addressed,” he said. “We do need to re-strategize as we navigate forward and make sure those funds are replenished to get to where our policy is currently at.”
“We’ll definitely need to find efficiencies, and that’s what we’ll be focused on,” he added.
The hearing then shifted to another issue that could return to the commission soon: a forensic audit of city finances.
Commissioner Sam Ruth asked Sherman whether the city conducts a forensic audit each year.
“We do a financial audit every year,” Sherman responded.
Sherman said a previously proposed forensic audit covering six or seven years of city revenues and expenditures was estimated to cost between $1.3 million and $1.4 million.
“The more you narrow that scope, the less that it would cost,” Sherman said.
Ruth questioned spending that amount without clearly defining what auditors would investigate, calling it potentially “wasting a million dollars on a budget that’s already about as skinny as we can get it.”
Commissioner Nadia Anderson then said she now supports pursuing the forensic audit Nesta previously advocated.
“At the time, I was against it,” Anderson said. “Now I’m supporting it. So I do think that we need to go with that audit. You ran on it. That’s something that you advocated for.”
Baron also renewed her request for a narrower forensic audit focused specifically on impact fees and credits.
“I’m asking for a forensic audit on the impact fees and credits,” Baron said. “That is something that I’ve asked for for a month.”
Nesta said an audit is not included in the newly adopted budget but could be added later through a budget amendment.
“My whole focus is water right now,” Nesta said. “On all things water is my big focus. And so for you, impact fees, mine is water. We’re going to take it step by step, phase by phase,” he added. “We’re not going to do this based on emotion, drama, hearsay.”
The final budget includes 22 new positions and follows months of workshops in which commissioners reduced an earlier citywide spending proposal approaching $284 million. Major projects removed or restructured during the process included Fire Stations 1 and 7 and the proposed $15 million Golden Gem Road widening project.
Commissioners also unanimously approved an increase in the city's non-ad valorem stormwater assessment.
Ruth moved to approve the 4.6761 millage rate, with Vice Mayor Diane Velazquez seconding. Velazquez then moved to approve the $237.25 million budget, with Ruth seconding.
Both passed unanimously.
Key Points:
- Budget approved: The final citywide budget totals $237,254,333, approximately $1.54 million, or 0.7%, more than the adopted 2025-26 budget.
- Millage finalized: Commissioners unanimously adopted a 4.6761 millage rate, up from the current 4.4376 mills and 10% above the 4.2510 rollback rate.
- Reserves below target: General-fund reserves remain below the city's 25% target, with officials saying additional efficiencies will be needed.
- Audit debate returns: Ruth questioned the potential cost of a broad forensic audit, while Anderson said she now supports pursuing an audit previously advocated by Nesta.
- Impact fees: Baron renewed her request for a more narrowly focused forensic audit examining the city's impact fees and credits.
This developing story will be updated in future editions of The Apopka Voice.
