Ocala City Council Special Meeting on Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget and Millage Rates – September 9, 2026

The Ocala City Council held a special meeting on September 9, 2026, at 5:00 PM in City Hall Council Chambers to adopt tentative millage rates and budgets for the city and its downtown development districts for Fiscal Year 2026-27. The council unanimously approved five resolutions and heard public comments regarding the city's community sponsorship funding for nonprofits. Key decisions included maintaining current millage rates and proceeding with nonprofit funding at last year's levels while directing staff to develop a new process for future allocations.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Lauren Diorio, CEO of the Community Foundation, addressed the council about the proposed move of community sponsorship funding to a reserve. She clarified that the foundation takes no administrative fee from city funds and presented a paper outlining a process for selecting nonprofits. She expressed willingness to help design a future system and defended the use of taxpayer dollars for community investment. Mayor Marciano and Council Member Hilty expressed support for the foundation's role, with the mayor noting the increasing need in the community.
• Wayne Little Jr., representing the MLK Commission, thanked the council for past support and requested restoration of $10,000 in funding for the MLK observance. He highlighted the commission's scholarship program, which has awarded approximately $100,000 to over 175 students since 2000. He asked for at least partial funding or continued in-kind assistance (police, traffic control, facilities) if full allocation was not possible.

Discussion Items

• Nonprofit Funding and Future Process: The council debated the $140,000 held in the budget for four nonprofits (Community Foundation, MLK Commission, MCA, Veterans Helping Veterans) plus the Community Foundation. Council Member Dreyer requested a comprehensive list of all in-kind donations (e.g., police and fire support for events, discounted leases) to understand the full picture. City Manager Peter Lee proposed bringing back that information first, then working on contractual agreements with performance measures. Council Member Hilty and Mayor Marciano favored funding the nonprofits this year as previously done, with a year's notice before changing the process.
• City Manager's Guidance: Lee stated the budget money could be moved without impacting reserves and recommended holding the funds in an operating account pending council direction. He agreed to bring back an informational item on all in-kind services and then draft agreements with each group.

Key Outcomes

• Resolution 2026-54 (Fire Assessments): Adopted unanimously (5-0) at 5:06 PM. The resolution reimposes fire assessment rates for FY 2026-27 based on a revenue target of $18.2 million, using the same methodology as the current fiscal year.
• Resolution 2026-158 (Downtown Development District Millage Rates): Adopted unanimously (5-0) at 5:06 PM. Tentative millage rates set at 1.7185 (District A), 1.6332 (District B), and 1.4699 (District C), all above rollback rates.
• Budget Resolution 2026-159 (Downtown Development Fund Budget): Adopted unanimously (5-0) at 5:07 PM. Tentative budget of $856,159 for FY 2026-27.
• Resolution 2026-160 (City Millage Rate): Adopted unanimously (5-0) at 5:30 PM. Tentative millage rate set at 6.6177, above the rollback rate of 6.3727 by 3.84%, to support additional critical employees and cost pressures.
• Budget Resolution 2026-161 (City Budget): Adopted unanimously (5-0) at 5:32 PM. Tentative total budget of $1,269,705,929 (General Fund $27,375,696) for FY 2026-27.
• Nonprofit Funding Direction: The council agreed to proceed with nonprofit sponsorship funding as in the prior year for FY 2026-27. Staff will compile a full inventory of in-kind donations and return with draft agreements with performance measures by October 6, 2026. A new process for selecting nonprofits will be developed for the following fiscal year.