(PENSACOLA, F.L.) --- Looming uncertainty about future property taxes and Local Option Sales Tax revenue in the upcoming General Election dominated the Pensacola City Council’s first Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Public Hearing.
The September 9 meeting on the millage rate and the proposed budget brought all officials to the dais, but the public pews were empty, showing little interest.
OpGov.News covered the Pensacola City Council’s 2027 First Budget Review in a three-part series on the website; search “Pensacola $332 Million City Budget Review Series Wraps Up,” last report published August 14, which links to the first two, published August 12 and 13.
More of a wrap-up than the almost two-and-a-half-hour-long first discussion in August, officials adopted a 2027 tentative millage rate of 4.2895 for the City of Pensacola and 2 mills for the Downtown Improvement District in 2026, resulting in a 5.32% increase over the rollback rate.
Council Vice President Jennifer Brahier put her opinion on the record.
“I just want to say that for the public's sake and our sake, I've been very reserved on maintaining this millage rate; however, in light of the uncertainty of November, I feel like it would be irresponsible for us to roll this back,” Brahier said of the potential for property taxes and LOST.
Brahier’s proposal to reallocate $125K from the LOST 'Energy Performance and Conservation Project' for the East Gate basketball court, seconded by Councilwoman Tenaide Broughton, was later withdrawn.
There was a reason for that, according to Mayor D.C. Reeves, defending the city staff while explaining “the difference between a $10,000 resurfacing and $125,000 complete overhaul” of the basketball court.
“It's not a matter of want or desire,” Reeves said, adding that Pensacola has up to 95 parks to maintain. “If it's going to be presumed that there's some type of negligence happening on behalf of staff or things that we're taking out, I certainly would want to allow our staff to be able to defend themselves.”
Parks & Recreation Director Tanya Byrd told officials the department was not aware of a promise made "in 2022 or whenever it had been made."
"Certainly would have been something we would have prioritized," Byrd said. "But the decision was made based on the cost of resurfacing all of those tennis courts that were on the list."
Photo: Parks & Recreation Director Tonya Byrd at Pensacola City Budget Public Hearing
But Brahier was not willing to accept that answer, noting the countless times she reached out to the department to ensure the Eastside basketball court would be addressed.
"I was told no worries, no problems whatsoever," Brahier said, adding she was told it was in Project 25 to be assessed and resurfaced.
"Nothing was done," Brahier said, adding she was informed at Budget Workshop there would be a look to see where the money would be.
"I followed through with requests on that that never got responses," Brahier said. "I sent something out again last week saying, please, please, I am waiting for this so that I can move forward on this budget."
Again, nothing, according to the councilwoman.
"I did not get a response in time to do something," Brahier said.
At this point, the 60-year-old pebble court is dangerous, the councilwoman said.
"This is not something; this is not just another; this is an incredibly used basketball court," Brahier said. "It's an incredibly used basketball court; it has got a huge pickup game every single day of the week."
Calling the local players "diverse," Brahier pointed out her ask is "not me looking out for me."
"I'm looking out for the city and what diverse groups of Pensacola citizens use most," Brahier said.
Deputy City Administrator Amy Miller said she will assess the East Gate basketball court's condition and research appropriate funding.
Additionally, officials approved minor budget adjustments, including reallocating $200K from the "hashtag project" to the "Alkani Street project" and adjusting the General Fund's contribution to Community Response Specialist positions to an 80/20% Community Redevelopment Agency-to-General Fund split.
While officials discussed millions of dollars at the public hearing, they saw no opposition or questions from the public, as noted above, and moved on as planned. The same public absence was seen at the recent Escambia County Board of Commissioners public budget hearing report, showing a pattern of limited public input on the very dollars that dominate their day-to-day lives.
The next public hearing is today, September 16, in the council chambers at Pensacola Town Hall, 222 W. Main St.
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