Overview
The City of Tavares’ FY2025-26 adopted budget totals $69,424,677 across all funds. The General Fund is $29,826,614 (about 43% of the total), followed by Water/Wastewater at $15,069,797. The adopted millage is 6.685 mills, down 0.09 mills from the prior year’s 6.7756 and 5.21% above the estimated roll-back rate of 6.3538. The budget adds 13 full-time and 4 part-time positions, including two police officers and three firefighter/paramedics.
At a glance
Headline budget
| Total budget, FY2025-26 adopted (all funds) | $69,424,677 |
| General Fund | $29,826,614 |
| Millage rate | 6.685 mills |
| Prior-year millage | 6.7756 mills |
| Estimated roll-back rate | 6.3538 mills |
| Millage above roll-back | 5.21% |
| General Fund unreserved balance, estimated 9/30/2026 | $7,169,527 (24.0%) |
| New positions | 13 full-time + 4 part-time |
Source: City of Tavares Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget (tavaresfl.gov).
Breakdown
All-funds FY2025-26 adopted appropriations by fund (sum-checked to $69,424,677):
| General Fund | $29,826,614 |
| Water/Wastewater (Utilities) | $15,069,797 |
| Solid Waste | $4,848,980 |
| Stormwater | $2,433,038 |
| Seaplane Base | $1,046,608 |
| Pavilion | $851,720 |
| Restricted Utility Funds | $3,927,052 |
| Other funds (public safety and parks impacts, fire impacts and assessment, infrastructure surtax, building permits, debt service, pensions, trust and other) | $11,420,868 |
| Total appropriations | $69,424,677 |
General Fund revenues: own revenues $22,297,721 (taxes/franchise/utility tax $15,963,465; permits and fees $2,966,671; intergovernmental $2,971,977; charges for services $111,601; fines and judgments $37,445; interest and other $171,551; grants $75,011), plus reimbursements and transfers in $7,010,059, plus fund-balance appropriation $518,834, totaling $29,826,614. General Fund appropriations include public safety $11,683,899 (the book’s General Fund public-safety line) and estimated ending General Fund reserves of $7,169,527 operating (24.04% of appropriations) plus building-permit reserves.
Elected officials
City Council, per the budget book: Mayor Walter Price Sr., Vice Mayor Lori Pfister, and Councilmembers Bob Grenier, Sandy Gamble, and Troy Singer.
Sources & notes
- Sources used: City of Tavares Fiscal Year 2026 Adopted Budget (tavaresfl.gov): cover and council page, budget message (millage 6.685, roll-back 6.3538, prior year 6.7756), Summary of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Reserve (fund totals and General Fund revenue split), and estimated reserve balances at September 30, 2026.
- Sum checks: the eight fund-group appropriations sum exactly to $69,424,677; General Fund own revenues ($22,297,721) plus reimbursements/transfers ($7,010,059) plus fund-balance appropriation ($518,834) equal the $29,826,614 General Fund total.
- Figure flags: no adoption date is stated in the retrieved material, so none is shown; the Pavilion and TIF fund balances are negative in the book because of long-term internal loan balances, as the book itself notes; the book’s General Fund public-safety line ($11,683,899) is a departmental appropriation line, not a police-plus-fire sum.
- Jurisdiction palette: no verified Florida jurisdiction palette was on file, so this page uses the neutral Hometown Numbers dark-glass theme rather than a jurisdiction color.