The St. Johns County Board of Commissioners voted 3-2 on Tuesday to move forward with a proposed budget and millage rate for Fiscal Year 2026.
When presented with the option to either lower rates or keep them flat, commissioners went with the latter for now. However, it’s not final; the rate can still go down.
The potential to go lower has the St. Johns County Fire and Rescue department concerned.
Several members from the Fire Department, including the chief, showed up for the meeting.
Wade Schroeder with the Office of Management and Budget for the county laid out what would happen to the fire department if the county commission decides to pursue the rolled-back rate for the Fire District fund.
“At a rollback rate, the Fire District fund would be depleted by Fiscal Year 27,” said Schroeder. “If we went to the rollback rate, we would not recommend staffing for any of the new fire stations.”
According to a spokesperson for the county, the proposed millage rates for the various St. Johns County BCC Taxing Authorities could go lower than the proposed millage rates, not higher.
Both options for millage rates will be discussed at the first public hearing meeting on September 3rd. There will be a second public hearing later on to set the FY26 budget.
The budget will go into effect on October 1, 2025.
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