BRADENTON — At a public hearing last week, Manatee County commissioners approved a $3.7 billion gross budget for fiscal year 2027, including a 0.012-mill reduction in the aggregate millage rate.
The county government’s final budget public hearing for FY27 was held Sept. 24 in the Board of County Commissioners' chambers at the downtown county administration building. Manatee County Chief Financial Officer Claudia Campos provided the presentation. The meeting was the second public hearing to adopt the FY27 budget and millage rates, as well as the county’s five-year Capital Improvement Plan.
The approved annual budget is roughly $125 million higher than the previous fiscal year’s adopted budget. The gross budget total includes reserves and grants; the approved FY27 net budget is $1.5 billion.
Property taxes and government service charges fund nearly two-thirds of the county’s $1.5 billion net budget, contributing 32.9% and 32.6%, respectively.
Major net budget spending categories include public safety, capital outlay, physical environment—utilities, natural resources, solid waste and stormwater—and general government, which includes county department spending.
County departmental spending accounts for 19% of the approved net budget, with $706 million planned for FY27.
The approved budget includes a $4.83 billion five-year Capital Improvement Plan for FY27-31, with $694 million planned for investment in FY27. The adopted plan includes 14 new projects, bringing the total number of projects to 664.
The CIP includes major investments in infrastructure, including water system resiliency and new amenities at Mixon Farms. The CIP’s largest funding categories are transportation, at 78.6%, and public safety, at 14% of its total investments.
The majority of CIP funding comes from debt proceeds, at 46.7%, and Infrastructure Sales Tax revenues, at 24.4%. Impact fee funds account for roughly 20% of the plan’s funding structure.
The county’s reserves for FY27 total $1.14 billion, including $339.8 million reserved for capital projects, $15.6 million for salary, $21.1 million for contingency, and $767.4 million in cash-balance reserves.
The millage rate approved by commissioners sets the aggregate millage rate at 6.4912 for the next fiscal year.
The county holds two public hearings in September before adopting its budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. The county’s next fiscal year will begin Oct. 1, 2026.
To review all available budget materials, visit the county’s budget materials page.
To replay the Sept. 24, 2026, final budget adoption hearing, view the video below.
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