How Edgewater is run
Who runs Edgewater, 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 Edgewater's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Edgewater
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' severance pay if fired without cause after the first year (16 weeks during it), plus up to 20 weeks of health and dental coverage
- City pays 12% of base salary into a 457 or 401(a) retirement plan
- City-owned vehicle for personal and official use, with fuel, insurance and repairs paid
- Keeps the health, dental, life and disability coverage he had as police chief
- Same wage increases as department directors
Edgewater city staff
230 full-time-equivalent positions, including Fire 40, Police 39. FY2025. City of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database, and we found no city-published pay list by position. The budget shows salary totals by department; the manager's contract states his pay. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Edgewater 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $17.8M (2025-09-30). City of Edgewater · Mar 20, 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$14.2M · 34%
- State and other governments (includes $7.9M in boat ramp grants)$11.2M · 26%
- Charges for services$4.1M · 10%
- Utility services tax$3.1M · 7%
- Charges to other city funds$2M · 5%
- Franchise fees$1.8M · 4%
- From savings (fund balance)$1.4M · 3%
- Other (sales and insurance taxes, permits, assessments, communications tax, fines, transfers)$4.5M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Citywide costs and transfers (mostly $9.7M to capital projects)$14.7M · 35%
- Police$8.6M · 20%
- Fire and rescue$7.7M · 18%
- Administration (council, manager, clerk, legal, HR, finance)$3.3M · 8%
- Community development and building$3.1M · 7%
- Parks and recreation$2.4M · 6%
- Streets and beautification$1.5M · 4%
- Other (code enforcement, animal control, economic development)$1M · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar an Edgewater homeowner pays, about 36 cents goes to the city. The council adopted the 6.33-mill operating rate on Sept. 28, 2026, the same rate as the year before.
36¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Edgewater
- City of Edgewater (operating)6.33 · 36%
- Volusia County School Board5.243 · 29%
- Volusia County general fund3.2007 · 18%
- Volusia County law enforcement1.5994 · 9%
- Volusia County voter-approved levies0.4 · 2%
- Volusia County library0.3697 · 2%
- St. Johns River Water Management District0.1793 · 1%
- Mosquito control0.1573 · <1%
- City of Edgewater (voter-approved parks debt)0.105 · <1%
- Southeast Volusia Hospital District0.1 · <1%
- Ponce Inlet Port Authority0.064 · <1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
- Total (mills)17.7754
2026 tax year (FY2026-27) proposed rates for a home in the city of Edgewater (Volusia County). Volusia County Property Appraiser · Aug 5, 2026
See what a Edgewater house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Edgewater is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityEdgewater Police DepartmentCity of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
- FireThe cityEdgewater Fire RescueCity of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
- EMS / fire rescueThe cityEdgewater Fire RescueCity of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of Edgewater (Water and Sewer Fund)City of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Edgewater (Stormwater Fund)City of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of EdgewaterCity of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of EdgewaterCity of Edgewater · Mar 20, 2026
- Animal controlThe cityCity of EdgewaterCity of Edgewater · Mar 20, 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 | DebaryFL | Palmetto BayFL | EdgewaterFL | Key WestFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 24,529 | 25,217 | 25,655 | 26,526 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $235,108 | Not current (2020) | $185,000 | $265,000 |
| Council member pay | $9,849 | $12,000 | $18,000 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,021 | $979 | $1,654 | $3,904 |
| Debt per resident | $88 | $330 | $1,246 | $201 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $0 | $0 | $302 | $279 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 2.5 | 9.0 | 20.2 |
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). Debary and Palmetto Bay pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Edgewater publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe Budget Information page posts the FY2027 proposed budget and the FY2026 adopted budget; the FY2027 adopted budget was not yet posted. City of Edgewater
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Edgewater · Oct 6, 2025
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes name each member's vote, e.g. the 5-0 vote adopting the FY2027 budget on Sept. 28, 2026. City of Edgewater · Sep 28, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Edgewater
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentOrdinance 2026-O-03 sets council pay at $18,000 and the mayor's at $20,000 a year from Dec. 7, 2026. City of Edgewater
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list by position on the budget or financial reports pages. Florida has no statewide database. City of Edgewater
Questions to ask your council
- The general employees' pension plan was 68.14% funded on Sept. 30, 2025, with a $5.8 million shortfall. What is the plan to close it?
- City debt rose in FY2025 largely from $20 million of new notes for a public works complex. How will the general fund and utility funds share the repayments?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The council holds a first public budget hearing in September (Sept. 14, 2026) and adopts the tax rate and budget at a second hearing; the FY2027 budget was adopted Sept. 28, 2026. See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Edgewater next?
One tap, no sign-in. We count answers; we never show who chose what.
Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
See something wrong? Report an error
Something wrong or missing? Tell us what and where, with a link to a source if you have one. Reports feed the next verification run.