How Casselberry is run
Who runs Casselberry, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Casselberry's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Casselberry
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- 20 weeks' pay as severance if fired without cause, plus 12 months of city-paid health and dental coverage
- City pays 15% of salary into a 401(a) retirement plan and matches up to 4% in a 457 plan
- $500 a month car allowance
- Same health, life and disability benefits as other city employees
- The commission waived the rule that the city manager live in the city
- City retirement plan (401a) contributions for the commission: $6,689 (FY2027)
- Commission travel budget: $13,500 (FY2027)
Casselberry city staff
245 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 74, Water and sewer lines (distribution and collection) 16, Recreation 15, Streets maintenance 14. FY2026-27. City of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The budget lists positions, pay grades and salary schedules, but no pay by named employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Casselberry in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The FY2027 budget raises the city tax rate from 3.9999 to 4.2613 mills and still uses $194,097 of general fund reserves. The city manager says sales tax, utility tax and franchise fee revenue are flat to declining. The city's ten-year forecast shows spending slightly above revenue in FY2027 and projects fund balance staying well above the minimum reserve through the forecast period. City of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $14.3M (2025-09-30). City of Casselberry · Jul 31, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27.
Comes from
- Property taxes$11.8M · 38%
- Transfers from other city funds (mainly the water and sewer utility)$6.6M · 21%
- Utility and communications taxes$4.7M · 15%
- State shared revenue (half-cent sales tax, revenue sharing)$3.7M · 12%
- Franchise fees and permits$2.6M · 8%
- Other (fees, fines, interest and miscellaneous)$1.5M · 5%
- From savings (fund balance)$194,097 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public safety (police)$12M · 39%
- General government$8.5M · 27%
- Parks and recreation$4.3M · 14%
- Transportation (streets)$2.2M · 7%
- Transfers to other funds$2M · 6%
- Debt service$1M · 3%
- Other (physical environment, capital)$950,001 · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Casselberry homeowner pays, about 26 cents goes to the city, including the voter-approved parks debt levy. Fire service is paid through a separate Seminole County fire levy.
26¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Casselberry
- Seminole County5.3751 · 29%
- Seminole County Public SchoolsState-required 2.9830 plus local 2.24805.231 · 28%
- City of CasselberryOperating 4.2613 plus 0.5911 voted debt for the parks bond4.8524 · 26%
- Seminole County fire district (MSTU)2.7649 · 15%
- St. Johns River Water Management District0.1793 · <1%
- Total (mills)18.4027
2026 tax year (FY2026-27) rates for a home in the city of Casselberry (Seminole County). Seminole County Property Appraiser
See what a Casselberry home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Casselberry is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCasselberry Police DepartmentCity of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
- FireThe countySeminole County Fire DepartmentCity fire department merged into the county on Oct. 1, 2015City of Casselberry · Jul 31, 2026
- Emergency medical servicesThe countySeminole CountyCity of Casselberry · Jul 31, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Casselberry Utilities DepartmentCity of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Casselberry Utilities DepartmentCity of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Casselberry Public WorksCity of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
- ParksThe cityCity of Casselberry Public Works and RecreationCity of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Casselberry Public WorksCity of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
- Golf courseThe cityCity of Casselberry Golf ClubCity of Casselberry · Jul 31, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | VeniceFL | CasselberryFL | RockledgeFL | West MelbourneFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 29,802 | 30,132 | 30,554 | 32,372 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $224,895 | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed | $209,449 |
| Council member pay | $22,646 | Not confirmed | $7,200 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,873 | $1,028 | $1,148 | $896 |
| Debt per resident | $2,826 | $1,731 | $114 | $1,686 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,395 | $14 | $139 | $148 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 5.2 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Casselberry and West Melbourne pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Casselberry publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: Audited financial report filed on timeThe FY2025 audit came to the commission for acceptance on Aug. 10, 2026, after Florida's June 30, 2026 deadline. City of Casselberry
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2026-27 adopted budget is posted on the city's Annual Budgets page. City of Casselberry
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Casselberry
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document City of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Casselberry · Oct 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 budget raises the city tax rate from 3.9999 to 4.2613 mills and still uses $194,097 of general fund reserves. What would it take to balance the budget without reserves?
- The city owed $52.2 million in notes and loans on Sept. 30, 2025, and the FY2027 budget plans $18,575,900 in new borrowing. How will the new debt affect water and sewer rates?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The commission held a pre-budget planning workshop on Feb. 25, 2026, and received the proposed budget July 2. It held a budget workshop July 13 and set the proposed tax rate July 27. The first public hearing was Sept. 14, and the final hearing and adoption of the FY2027 budget and tax rate was Sept. 28, 2026. See who is running for council
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