The Gainesville City Commission approved a tentative millage rate and budget for the next fiscal year at a special meeting Thursday while also allocating $100,000 for GRACE Marketplace’s homeless services budget.  

The City Commission voted 7-0 to approve a 6.4297 millage rate, the same as the current rate, for fiscal year 2025, which runs from Oct 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025. The new rate will generate an estimated $5.2 million more than in the current budget because of a rise in property values.  

A final vote on the millage rate and budget will happen on Sept. 26.

Keeping the same rate means the Gainesville millage will be 6.37% higher than the rolled-back rate, the state defined level at which the city would earn the same amount in property taxes as the previous fiscal year. The current rate happened after a 17% rate increase last year. 

The flat millage rate comes as the City Commission has faced budget issues, namely losing funding from Gainesville Regional Utilities (GRU). The current fiscal year included a $19 million drop in the general services contribution sent by GRU, approved by the City Commission before the creation of the GRU Authority, followed by several smaller cuts in funding after the authority started managing the utility in October 2023.  

The cuts have been part of back-and-forth changes in Gainesville as the City Commission and GRU Authority adjust to their new roles.  

For the next fiscal year, the city will experience another drop in the general services contribution (GSC), from $15.3 million to $8.5 million. City Manager Cynthia Curry planned for various levels of GSC during the city’s budget process, requiring departments to create two budgets. The budget scenarios anticipated having a $15.3 million GSC and no GSC funding.  

The GRU Authority considered cutting the GSC entirely under the previous board members, who all resigned in March. 

While property taxes will bring in more funding, the loss in other revenues has resulted in a general fund that is $1.1 million smaller than the current fiscal year. Gainesville’s Cintya Ramos, executive chief of staff, said at the meeting that this is the first time in 25 years the general fund has shrunk from one budget to the next.  

The budget has a general fund of $155.3 million and a total budget of $458.9 million. The general fund portion pays for the majority of city activities. 

The city also has a reserve fund balance of $49 million. Commissioner Ed Book said that this balance is $10 million above the caution limit set by the city. He asked the commission if anyone wanted to consider using $1 million or $2 million from the reserve fund balance to reduce the millage by a few tenths.  

Commissioners spoke against the idea, citing the turbulent relationship with the GRU Authority and lack of a contingency within the proposed budget for fiscal year 2025. Curry noted that the current budget had a contingency that the city used to deal with changes from the utility.  

“We’re dealing with partners that are very chaotic, and I’m concerned about what happens within the next year,” Commissioner Bryan Eastman said.  

Mayor Harvey Ward said a certain percentage of the fund balance has already been earmarked to handle an internal change in software systems, leaving less cushion than there appeared. The city will also need to use the funds for capital improvements on aging facilities, he said.  

Book said he had forgotten about the earmarked funds and added that he’d like to see the city aim toward a rolled-back rate in the next fiscal year. Eastman and Ward said they were also anxious to cut taxes when able.  

Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut noted that the proposed budget includes cutting 36 full-time position equivalents. She said the city doesn’t need to dip into the fund balance to equalize the budget.  

“We can go to our citizens representing a stable government, and we’ve got a balanced budget,” Chestnut said. “I don’t want to create any chaos.” 

Along with the millage rate and budget, the commission passed the fire assessment and solid waste rates.  

The fire assessment will stay the same as the current year. This assessment accounts for nearly 50% of the fire rescue budget, collecting an estimated $12.3 million in net revenue. 

Fire Assessment Rates  

• Residential property rate per square foot
  • Single family: $0.0878
  • Multi-family: $0.0870
• Non-residential property rate per square foot:
  • Commercial: $0.115
  • Industrial/Warehouse: $0862
  • Institutional: $0.2211

Commissioner Casey Willits dissented on the fire assessment vote—mirroring his past stances on the issue. He has called the methodology unfair for renters since the commission accepted it in 2023.  

The solid waste rate for residential curbside collection will stay the same after the commissioners decided to postpone a decision on a 25% increase recommended by city staff.