How Cocoa Beach is run
Who runs Cocoa Beach, 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 Cocoa Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Cocoa Beach
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
- $500 a month car allowance (proposed contract)
- City pays 10% of salary into a retirement plan, plus a match of up to 5% (proposed contract)
- Payout of 1,246 hours of leave he earned as police chief (proposed contract)
Cocoa Beach city staff
285 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 74, Fire 41, Golf course 37. FY2025. Full-time equivalent city employees on Sept. 30, 2025. City of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The budget shows salary totals by department but no pay ranges for positions. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Cocoa Beach 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.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $9.9M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Ordinance 1681 requires a general fund reserve of at least 23% of budgeted spending less capital outlay: 19% committed for emergencies only, and at least 4% non-committed, rising 1% a year to 6% in FY2029. City of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 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$18.5M · 41%
- Charges for services$12M · 26%
- Intergovernmental$5.6M · 12%
- Local option and utility taxes$3.3M · 7%
- Business taxes, franchise fees and permits$2.9M · 6%
- Payments from city utility funds$1.7M · 4%
- Other$1.5M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public works (incl. trash and capital projects)$15.6M · 35%
- Public safety$14.5M · 32%
- Administration$5.7M · 13%
- Leisure services (incl. golf)$5.2M · 12%
- Non-departmental (incl. debt service)$3.6M · 8%
- Other$515,434 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Cocoa Beach homeowner paid in FY2024-25, about 41 cents went to the city. The city cut its rate to 6.0000 mills for FY2025-26 and adopted 5.9988 mills for FY2026-27.
41¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Cocoa Beach
- City of Cocoa Beach6.1644 · 41%
- Brevard County Schools (operating)3.811 · 25%
- Brevard County3.4347 · 23%
- Brevard County Schools (capital outlay)1.5 · 10%
- Other (Florida Inland Navigation District and St. Johns River Water Management District)0.2159 · 1%
- Total (mills)15.126
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Cocoa Beach (Brevard County). City of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
See what a Cocoa Beach house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Cocoa Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Cocoa Beach Police DepartmentCity of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
- Emergency medical servicesThe cityCity of Cocoa BeachCity of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
- WastewaterThe cityCity of Cocoa BeachAlso serves nearby unincorporated areas, including Port Canaveral.City of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
- SchoolsSeparate districtBrevard County School BoardCity of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Cocoa BeachThe city also operates a 27-hole golf course.City of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
- StreetsThe cityCity of Cocoa BeachCity of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 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 | Avon ParkFL | Cocoa BeachFL | Satellite BeachFL | Wilton ManorsFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 9,786 | 11,361 | 11,493 | 11,497 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $110,000 | $189,900 | Not confirmed | Not current (2022) |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No salary | Not current (2022) |
| General fund per resident | $1,174 | $3,974 | $1,653 | $2,296 |
| Debt per resident | $2 | $3,020 | $1,193 | $198 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $636 | $727 | $178 | $1,387 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 10.1 | 25.1 | 10.4 | 11.0 |
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). Avon Park and Wilton Manors pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Cocoa Beach publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Audited financial report filed on time City of Cocoa Beach · Mar 24, 2026
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe City Budgets page posts adopted and proposed budgets for FY2023 through FY2027. City of Cocoa Beach
- Partly: City manager's contract findable online City of Cocoa Beach · Jan 15, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Cocoa Beach
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget shows $30,000 in combined pay for the mayor and four commissioners, but not each person's pay. City of Cocoa Beach · Sep 17, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget gives salary totals by department only. The Human Resources page links to job postings, not pay ranges. City of Cocoa Beach
Questions to ask your council
- General fund balance fell $5.6 million in FY2024-25 as the fund spent $48.9 million against $38.5 million of revenue. How much of that spending was one-time capital work?
- Unassigned general fund balance was $9.9 million on Sept. 30, 2025. How does that compare with the 23% reserve that Ordinance 1681 requires?
- The police pension plan was 83.70% funded on Sept. 30, 2025. What is the plan to close the gap?
- Property taxes are $18.5 million of FY2026-27 general fund revenue. How would the larger homestead exemption on the November ballot change that?
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