How Daytona Beach is run
Who runs Daytona 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 Daytona Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Daytona Beach
A city manager hired by the commission runs the city day to day, including the police and fire departments. The seven-member commission, a mayor elected citywide and six district commissioners, makes policy, adopts the budget and appoints the city manager, city attorney and city auditor.
What they are paid
Daytona Beach city staff
1,011 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2025. Full-time equivalents from the city's Human Resources Department, up from 996.2 a year earlier. City of Daytona Beach · May 21, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. We found no city-published list of pay by position; the budget resolution says a pay schedule with ranges is filed with the City Clerk. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Daytona 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.
The city's own outlook
The adopted budget says revenue growth slowed in FY2027 while costs kept rising, and reserves have absorbed some of the gap. It warns the statewide property tax amendment on the November 2026 ballot could leave a $10 million deficit next year, rising to $15 million the year after. City of Daytona Beach · Sep 23, 2026
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $36.8M (2025-09-30). City of Daytona Beach · May 21, 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$63.9M · 39%
- Other taxes (utility, communications, local business)$24.3M · 15%
- Transfers in from other city funds$23.1M · 14%
- From savings (fund balance)$13.3M · 8%
- Charges for services$11.9M · 7%
- State and county shared revenue$11M · 7%
- Permits, fees and special assessments$9.4M · 6%
- Other (non-operating, internal charges, fines, rents)$5.9M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Salaries and benefits$84.9M · 52%
- Operating expenses$43.6M · 27%
- Transfers to other funds$18.2M · 11%
- Contingency and reserves$13.6M · 8%
- Capital projects (mainly an ERP system upgrade)$2.4M · 1%
- Capital outlay$216,300 · 0%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Daytona Beach homeowner pays, about 33 cents goes to the city under the proposed rates. The commission then adopted the rolled-back operating rate of 5.7309 mills instead of 5.9300. Properties in the downtown authority area also pay 1.0000 mill.
33¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Daytona Beach
- City of Daytona Beach (operating)5.93 · 32%
- Volusia County Schools5.243 · 29%
- Volusia County general fund3.2007 · 17%
- Volusia County law enforcement fund1.5994 · 9%
- Halifax Hospital Medical Center0.985 · 5%
- Volusia County voter-approved debt0.4 · 2%
- Volusia County library0.3697 · 2%
- St. Johns River Water Management District0.1793 · <1%
- City of Daytona Beach (voter-approved debt)0.1574 · <1%
- Mosquito control0.1573 · <1%
- Ponce Inlet port0.064 · <1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
- Total (mills)18.3128
2026 tax year (FY2026-27) proposed rates for a home in Daytona Beach (Volusia County). Volusia County Property Appraiser · Aug 1, 2026
Who provides your services
Not everything in Daytona Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityDaytona Beach Police DepartmentCity of Daytona Beach
- FireThe cityDaytona Beach Fire DepartmentCity of Daytona Beach
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of Daytona Beach (one water plant, two sewage plants)City of Daytona Beach · May 21, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Daytona BeachCity of Daytona Beach · May 21, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Daytona BeachCity of Daytona Beach
- Public works and streetsThe cityCity of Daytona BeachCity of Daytona Beach
- Marina and pierThe cityCity of Daytona Beach (Halifax Harbor marina, pier)City of Daytona Beach · May 21, 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 | LargoFL | KissimmeeFL | Daytona BeachFL | MelbourneFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 84,075 | 87,664 | 88,144 | 88,499 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $248,887 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $230,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,610 | $1,387 | $1,847 | $1,340 |
| Debt per resident | $2,309 | $1,721 | $2,523 | $2,100 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $373 | $530 | $1,282 | $223 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 11.8 | 9.3 | 11.5 | 10.3 |
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). Largo pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Daytona Beach publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineAn 11-page FY2026/27 adopted budget summary is posted. We did not find the full FY2026/27 budget book; the FY2025-26 book is posted. City of Daytona Beach · Sep 23, 2026
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted contract. The May 6, 2026 minutes record the 4-3 renewal vote but not the terms. City of Daytona Beach · May 6, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online City of Daytona Beach · May 6, 2026
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget lists City Commission salaries only as a department total. We found no document stating each member's pay. City of Daytona Beach
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no posted pay list by position. The budget resolution says a pay schedule with pay ranges is filed with the City Clerk. City of Daytona Beach · Sep 14, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget uses $13.3 million of fund balance after the commission chose the rolled-back rate of 5.7309 mills. How much unassigned reserve will be left?
- The budget warns of a possible $10 million deficit next year if the state property tax amendment passes. Which services would the city cut or keep?
- The police and fire pension plan was 75% funded on Sept. 30, 2025, with a $78.4 million net liability. What is the schedule to pay it down?
Help decide what comes next
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