Commissioners Approve Tentative $3.17 Billion FY 2027 Budget

The Board of Collier County Commissioners approved a tentative budget for the 2027 fiscal year, advancing the $3.17 billion budget for final public review later this month.

During the BCC’s most recent budget hearing on Thursday, the mill rate was also tentatively set at 3.7 mills, a 0.52 percent increase over the current fiscal year. That comes from an aggregate of the county’s three mill rates for the general fund, along with Water Pollution Control and Conservation Collier, both of which increased by a little over one percent.

One mill is about $1 for every $1,000 in assessed taxable value on a property, representing about $370 in taxes per resident for every $100,000 in property value next year.

According to the county’s estimates, the new tax rates will generate $512 million for the government’s general fund, while Water Pollution Control will receive $4 million in specifically allocated revenue, and Conservation Collier will receive $35 million to purchase and maintain its preserved wilderness properties.

The budget had remained largely the same as when it was first put before the BCC earlier this year, though an additional $3.5 million was allocated to the tax collector’s office for the construction of the Immokalee Government Center. Additionally, the water and sewer department received an additional $2.2 million to purchase seven new vehicles to support its operations. The cumulative budget increases totaled around $10 million.

This comes as Christopher Johnson, Collier County’s director of Financial & Management Services, announced that the county also saw a 3.5 percent increase in taxable value, rising to $170.2 billion next year from $166.7 billion during the current fiscal year.

“$3.5 billion of the $5.8 billion increase countywide is related to net new taxable value,” Johnson said, noting that the unincorporated areas of the county also saw an increase of $3.1 billion, with $2.3 billion coming similarly from new property construction.

During the discussions, District Two Commissioner Chris Hall suggested a vote to decrease the mill rate for the Conservation Collier Fund, reducing the overall amount to $30 million and splitting it so the fund had $15 million for maintenance and the other half would be used for property purchases. The excess money then could be put to use elsewhere in the budget.

The other commissioners, such as William McDaniel Jr., were uncertain about voting for the measure without enough information on the impact of the change and suggested delaying it to the next meeting, when they could decide with more data. Commissioners Rick LoCastro and Burt Saunders were also hesitant, believing it wasn’t responsible and could potentially hinder conservation efforts.

“Conservation Collier might have excessive funds in it, but it has excessive funds because of what the citizens voted for to self-tax them on. So if that money is not needed, we don’t think that many pieces of property are going to come forward and to sort of slide the money around into another fund, I just think it’s sloppy,” LoCastro said, feeling that there wasn’t any pressing need to divert the money from the fund as there might have been in previous years when the county was facing a budgeting shortfall.

“I think every time we sit here looking at Conservation Collier as this free bag of money to move around, I just don’t think that’s the most responsible thing … I don’t think it’s really required.”

The motion was tabled to the final budget hearing, scheduled for Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. in the BCC Boardroom, located at 3299 Tamiami Trail E. The meeting will include public comment before the commissioners deliberate on passing the budget, which is scheduled to be sent to the state by Oct. 1.