In a unanimous vote Thursday evening, the Lakeland City Commission approved an $872 million budget for fiscal year 2027, which begins Oct. 1.
City Manager Shawn Sherrouse led a roughly 15-minute high-level review of the budget, essentially unchanged from the draft approved Sept. 10. The $872 million net budget — excluding transactions among city departments — is about 7% higher than last year’s $815 million budget.
What’s in the city’s FY27 budget?
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The city’s property-tax rate will remain at 5.4323 mills, generating about $3 million more in revenue than last year as property values rise and new construction is added to the tax rolls.
“That is the same millage rate that we have maintained since 2022,” said Sherrouse. “Actually, prior to 2022, it was higher.”
Outgoing Finance Director Mike Brossart, who has been hired by Florida Southern College, walked commissioners through the major revenue and spending categories, including the $197 million General Fund.
Police account for 35.2% of General Fund spending and fire services another 17.4%, putting public safety at more than half of the fund. “Public safety is the largest type of expense in the General Fund,” Brossart said.
City department heads were asked to hold operating-expense increases to 1.5%, with only two of 30 budget divisions exceeding that target for justified reasons, as previously reported. “Holding those expenses to one and a half percent is really good work,” Sherrouse said.
Commissioner Terry Coney asked whether high diesel and gasoline prices could force the city to adjust its fleet budget. Brossart said fuel costs are budgeted conservatively and suggested officials reassess them after the first six months of FY 2027.
Impacts on Retirees
Much of the hearing focused on changes to the city’s employee and retiree health plans. City officials said that without changes, premiums would have needed to rise about 23%; the redesigned plans reduce the average increase to 9.9%.
The changes are particularly steep for some retirees. The city is eliminating a discounted premium for spouses on Medicare, affecting 96 retirees, and officials said those spouses’ supplemental premiums will more than double.
Several retirees objected during public comment. Karen Lucab, representing the City of Lakeland Association of Retirees, said one commonly used coverage arrangement would rise from about $639 to $1,441 per month under the proposed changes.
At 7:26 p.m., commissioners approved the final appropriation ordinance on a 7-0 roll-call vote.
“We work really diligently to be stewards,” Mayor Sara Roberts McCarley said. “It’s not an easy process . . . how we have to allocate all these different pieces of the puzzle is really challenging, and it keeps us up at night.”
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By The Numbers: Lakeland’s $872 Million Budget Faces Final Vote Sept. 24
The Fiscal Year 2027 budget includes spending on personnel, water and wastewater projects, and new radios for Lakeland police and fire.
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The city may have kept the same millage rate since 2022 but it didn’t stop them from raising the assessed value of your home. Either way your taxes went up. For the city to say they didn’t increase your taxes they went up as the assessed value went up. It’s just how they present it.