The Newberry City Commission proposed a 6.0623 millage rate for the 2025-26 fiscal year during its regular meeting on Monday, the same rate as the city’s adjusted rollback rate.
Staff said the millage rate serves as a maximum cap on how high the millage can be set. The 6.0623 rate would allow the commission flexibility if it needed to adjust its property tax rate to generate additional revenue before finalizing the millage in September.
Staff will use Newberry’s current millage of 5.9000, or lower, to balance the city’s budget.
Budget workshops will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 6, Aug. 20 and Aug. 27 before the first public hearing at 7 p.m. on Sept. 8 in City Hall to finalize the budget.
Monday’s consent agenda, unanimously approved by the City Commission, included a thirty-year, $2,201,000 loan to Newberry Community School (NCS), the charter school which is currently Newberry Elementary School.
According to additional meeting documents, the loan is the financial commitment first communicated by the City Commission to the school in November 2024 and carries a 1% annual interest rate.
Repayment will begin Jan. 1, 2030, with semiannual payments over the 30-year period and a $75,000 balloon payment every 5 years.
Per request of the School Board of Alachua County, Newberry will continue covering the annual $80,000 cost for a school resource officer at NCS as well. The officer will be contracted with the Alachua County School District and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO).
The City Commission also approved a $1,111,262 contract extension with ACSO for law enforcement services in the city, plus an additional $32,000 for a traffic deputy at SW 15th and US Highway 41 every school day between 7 and 9 a.m.
The contract set to expire in September will extend through 2027 and increase $3.75% each year.
Commissioner Rick Coleman asked staff to point out the difference in cost if Newberry had joined the Municipal Service Taxing Unit (MSTU) this year. Assistant City Manager and Chief Financial Officer Dallas Lee said the MSTU would’ve cost taxpayers $2.99 million to join, as opposed to the $1.1 million contract with ACSO.
“I’ve been happy with the sheriff’s department contracts and everything we’ve been doing, so I’m on board with it,” Coleman said.
City Manager Jordan Marlowe updated the commission on projects at Champions Park that he said are well underway. He said the netting has been replaced, poles to extend the nets have been installed, misting fans have been added in the dugouts and the bathroom fans have been fixed.
“I’m sure at the next tournament you’re going to hear a whole lot of praise because it’s looking a lot better,” he said.
Marlowe also said the new city hall is on budget and on time, with a ribbon cutting anticipated for September.