08/26/2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 26, 2026
Media Contact: City of Palatka Public Information Office : [email protected]
Palatka City Commission to review next year's budget on August 26
City Manager recommends cutting spending by more than $5 million and removing twelve positions to address a projected $4 million gap
PALATKA, Fla. — The Palatka City Commission will review the City Manager's budget plan for next year at a workshop on Wednesday, August 26. The Commission will be asked to give direction so a balanced budget can be presented on September 10.
Departments turned in their budget requests on July 14. The Commission reviewed them on July 23. At that meeting the Commission set the highest property tax rate it may charge next year at 6.2397 mills. It also asked staff to show what 5% and 10% cuts would do to City services and staffing.
The budget shown that night was not final. Staff was still checking payroll numbers. Reserves, transfers between funds, debt payments, insurance and other costs had not been reviewed. That work is now done.
The City Manager also ordered a review of this year's budget, line by line. The goal was to confirm that every number was supported by records. The review found budgeted amounts that were not. They include loan proceeds, transfers between City funds, and cash carried over from past years that has not yet been reconciled with the City's audit. The staff report describes each one. Next year's budget counts only money the City can document and expects to receive.
Based on current estimates, the General Fund expects $16,528,959 in revenue and $20,546,040 in spending. That leaves a gap of $4,017,081. Further cuts of $2,262,088 are recommended. That would leave $1,754,994 still to close.
The review is not finished. Grants, capital projects and the Better Place Fund are still being worked through with staff. The budgets for the CRA, Utilities and Sanitation funds are not final. All figures are estimates. As this work is completed the gap could grow. The City Manager will bring updated numbers to the Commission before the first public hearing.
The City Manager's plan does four things. It cuts 10% from every General Fund department. It cuts 5% from the Police Department, which is the most state law allows. It takes further cuts on top of those. It removes twelve positions, seven of them already vacant, and saves $1,094,093. It also ends the City Attorney position and sets aside $150,000 for outside legal help.
“This plan reflects what the City can afford. Last year's budget leaned on savings and on transfers. That money is not there again. My job is to bring the Commission a budget built on money we can document and expect to receive. That is what this is. Some of these cuts affect people who have served this City well. I did not reach them lightly. I would not bring them forward if there were another way to close a gap this size.”
— Cynthia W. Curry, Interim City Manager
The Commission set a tax rate cap of 6.2397 mills on July 23. It can lower that rate before the final vote, but it cannot raise it. The rolled-back rate is 5.9248 mills. That is the rate that would bring in the same amount of property tax money as this year. Under Florida's Truth in Millage law, any rate above the rolled-back rate counts as a tax increase.
What happens next-
The first public hearing is September 10. The Commission will set a tentative tax rate and adopt a tentative budget. The second and final hearing is September 24. The Commission will set the final tax rate and adopt the budget. The new budget year starts October 1.
Workshop materials, including the department detail, are on the City's agenda portal.
About the City of Palatka-
The City of Palatka is the county seat of Putnam County, on the St. Johns River in northeast Florida. The City was incorporated in 1853 and operates under a Commission-Manager form of government, with an elected Mayor-Commissioner and four City Commissioners who appoint a City Manager. Palatka is home to about 10,600 residents and provides police, fire and rescue, water and wastewater, sanitation, public works, planning, parks and recreation, and a municipal airport. More information is available at palatka-fl.gov.
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