Port St. Lucie will go forward with a budget of just over $869.8 million and their lowest millage on record for the next fiscal year, starting Oct. 1.
The City Council agreed 5-0 to pass the budget – repeated from the Sept. 8 budget meeting – shortly before their regular meeting Monday.
The 2025-26 budget uses approximately $18.8 million (2.21 percent) more than the FY 2024-25 budget of around $851 million, city documents show.
The City Council also feted the success of this year’s total millage rate reduction to 4.9750, or nearly $4.98 taxed for every $1,000 of home value. The millage remains the third lowest among Florida’s 20 most populated metropolitan areas, state records show.
This year marks a consecutive decade of millage reductions since FY 2016-17, when the millage rate was around $6.83 for every $1,000 of home value, city records show.
Mayor Shannon Martin and the City Council credited Deputy City Manager Teresa Lamar-Sarno with their latest millage decrease on the dais before the vote.
“I’m very proud that we’re able to lower the millage rate again,” Martin said, acknowledging how other Florida metro areas raised their millage before budget submissions over the weekend. “Knowing that we’re still a growing community and being as fiscally responsible as possible is something that everyone should be proud of.”
This year’s General Fund makes up the largest portion of income at approximately $212.5 million (24.43 percent). This year’s general fund is over $5.07 million (2.44 percent) greater than last year’s. Much of the remaining funds emerge from 36 items related to utilities and capital improvements.
Nearly $221.8 million within the Capital Plan portion of the budget will be invested toward infrastructure plans. This portion will use $2.88 million (1.32 percent) more money than last year. Port St. Lucie decided to reduce the budget by approximately $44.8 million from the $907.4 million proposed at the 2025 City Council Summer Workshop held late July, documents show.
All these reductions involve potential stormwater projects covered by the Operating Budget, now reduced to just over $648 million from a proposed $687.4 million. The Operating Budget will work with nearly $15.9 million (2.51 percent) more than last year.
The city enacted a $30 million reduction toward building out the Oak Hammock Watershed Improvement Project directly north of the C-23 Canal between Interstate 95 and the Florida Turnpike.
Other reductions include $6.4 million less toward improvements in the Elkcam Basin; $5 million less toward repairs near the B-15 Canal; and $3.4 million to various swale line and culvert buildouts.