Monday, Sept. 22, marked the first day of fall, as well as the end of budget season for many cities in Alachua County. Multiple City Commissions held hearings to finalize their budgets ahead of the 2025-26 fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.  

Some of the key budget pieces highlighted are millage and rolled-back rates, general fund budgets and how each commission voted during their final hearings for the millage and budget resolutions. 

Millage rates are set every year to determine what percentage of a property’s value the owner must pay in taxes, with each mill equaling $1 for every $1,000 of assessed property value.  

The rolled-back rate is the millage that would generate the same amount of property tax as the previous fiscal year. A tax increase is reflected anytime a millage rate is set above the rolled-back rate. 

This article will be updated throughout this week as other Alachua County municipalities finalize their budgets.  

Alachua 
Millage rate: 6.25 
Rolled-back rate: 5.7413 
Total budget: $67,078,940 
General fund budget: $21,145,886 
Commission millage vote: 5-0 
Commission budget vote: 5-0 

Interim City Manager Rodolfo Valladares said the city’s final budget is around $6 million more than the tentative budget passed on Sept. 8, and the general fund is about $1.2 million more. The increases account for projects and open purchase orders that will continue from the current year into the next. 

Valladares said during a previous budget meeting that some of the key financial priorities for the 2025-26 year will be growing the Alachua Police Department’s staff, launching the city’s solar project, completing a new well field and furthering the Hathcock Community Center. 

Multiple residents also asked on Monday whether the budget included livestreaming services for city meetings. Currently, recordings of the meetings can only be obtained afterwards via public records request.  

The city’s Finance and Administrative Service Director, Robert Bonetti, said staff are planning to do an overhaul of the city’s website and it will include livestreaming that could be available by January or February 2026. 

High Springs 
Millage rate: 6.99 
Rolled-back rate: 6.3438 
General fund budget: $6,792,313 
Commission millage vote: 5-0 
Commission budget vote: 4-1 (Mayor Tristan Grunder in dissent) 

Faced with a $723,000 deficit in its 2025-26 budget, the City Commission approved a strategy to address it of raising its current 6.74 millage rate to 6.99, increasing monthly sewer fees $24.25 and reducing commissioner and mayor salaries by 25%.  

But the approval still came with more discussion on Monday for options that could save the city money without burdening the citizens more. Commissioner Wayne Bloodsworth Jr. gave an emotional appeal that the commission consider other strategies, such as reducing the fire department staff from five to four, as he felt the budget he’d previously approved hadn’t been fiscally responsible.  

The approved budget strategy doesn’t address that over half the funds for multiple utilities are being supplied to the city’s general fund instead of the actual services themselves because the city doesn’t have reserves. 

The dais agreed with Bloodsworth that the financial increases for residents would be gut-wrenching and called on its police and fire staff to research ways the departments could consolidate costs over the next month. 

“I think this budget process has been more transparent than it ever has been since I’ve been up here and we’ve got a lot of things we need to fix,” said Commissioner Katherine Weitz. 

Newberry 
Millage rate: 5.8800 mills 
Rolled-back rate: 5.6995 mills 
Total budget: $66,709,940 
General fund: $15,277,194 
Commission millage vote: 5-0 
Commission budget vote: 5-0 

Newberry staff said the city’s budget intends to maintain services while also preparing for the future. The budget includes a decrease in millage from the current 5.9 rate but a 50% fire assessment increase to $300, and increased monthly utilities by about $5 for electricity, $4 for water and $6 for wastewater. 

The budget accounts for projects such as reworking utilities along the State Road 26 corridor, expanding the wastewater treatment facilities, building a new utilities and public works operation center and upgrading Champions Park and the Easton Sports Complex. 

“Budgets come down to not everybody gets what they want,” said Mayor Tim Marden. “We may not see the fruits of some of these projects for many years, but it’s important that we look out over the horizon and make the decisions now because they certainly don’t get any easier.” 

Editor’s note: This story is developing and will be updated throughout the week.