City Council members tweaked a proposed City of Vero Beach budget during a five-hour workshop last week, restoring three slashed police department positions and imposing new fees, while increasing others, to pay for the officers and craft a balanced budget for 2026-2027 that will not increase the property tax rate.

The proposed budget amount following the workshop was $37,242,588. The council can still adjust the budget at its Aug. 11 and Aug. 15 regular meetings. After that, the public can comment on the proposal at 5 p.m. hearings on Sept. 10 and Sept. 22. The council will vote to adopt a final budget and property tax rate following the Sept. 22 public hearing.

At the July 22 workshop meeting, the budget that City Manager Monte Falls presented to council members eliminated three open positions for police officers. But council members said they preferred to fund those positions, if possible, and find other ways to pay for them.

“There is not a lot here to cut,” Mayor John Cotugno told council members. “Eighty percent of the budget is labor and labor-related costs. Insurance costs are up 12 percent. The way to make a balanced budget is to increase revenue.”

After agreeing to move about $410,000 in unassigned funds left over from last year into the capital improvements section of the budget, the council heard, one-by-one, from department heads, who had all been asked to come up with ideas to cut expenses and increase revenues.

Planned changes include:

• The portion of City Marina fees that are transferred to the city’s general fund will increase from 6 percent to 10 percent. This would bring in approximately $117,000 in additional revenue. Some council members were less in favor of that idea than others.

• The Recreation Department will raise fees for summer camps, dance, exercise, gymnastics, aerial classes, swimming lessons and other recreational programs – by an average of 25 percent, which will bring in about $135,000.

• Parking fines, now $20, will increase to $40, raising an estimated $125,000 in additional revenues.

• Fees charged by the Planning Department will go up, raising about $90,000 in revenues.

n New fees charged to businesses that use city right-of-way – such as restaurants that set up outdoor dining in city-owned alleys or parking areas – will bring in an extra $20,000 or so.

In June, council members approved increases in water, sewer and irrigation water fees to help pay for the $164 million One Water plant now under construction. The average household, based on 4,000 gallons consumption per month, will pay around $11 per month more next year. The rate hike continues every year through 2030, for a total increase of 47 percent.

The proposed budget does not increase those fees further. However, the council asked Water and Sewer Department Director Rob Bolton to calculate how much more in water and sewer revenues would be transferred to the general fund if the city raised the transfer rate from the current 6 percent to 8 percent or 10 percent. Bolton will present those figures at an August council meeting.

Most of the new and increased fees were included on a list of possible new revenue streams the council discussed at a June 23 special call meeting where council members considered ways to replace tax revenues the city will lose if Florida voters approve Amendment 3. The amendment raises the state’s homestead exemption for non-school property taxes from the current $50,000 to $150,000 next year and then to $250,000 in 2028.

Falls estimates that the amendment, if passed, will cost the city more than $640,000 in tax revenues next year and more than $1.26 million in 2028.

The budget is not final until the council adopts it after the public hearings on Sept. 10 and Sept. 22.