How Fernandina Beach is run
Who runs Fernandina 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 Fernandina Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Fernandina Beach
A city manager hired by the commission runs the city day to day and appoints department directors. The five-member commission, including the mayor, passes laws, sets policy and adopts the budget.
What they are paid
- City pays 10% of salary into a deferred compensation account
- $500 a month vehicle allowance and $50 a month cell phone allowance
- City-paid life insurance equal to one year's salary
- Health insurance on the same terms as department directors
- $5,000 relocation stipend
Fernandina Beach city staff
283 full-time-equivalent positions, including Fire 49, Police 47. FY2025-26. FY2025-26 budgeted total, full- and part-time. The FY2026-27 total cell is cut off in the published PDF. City of Fernandina Beach · Sep 15, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The budget shows positions by department but not pay by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Fernandina 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
Unassigned general fund balance: $3.3M (2025-09-30). City of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 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$23.6M · 54%
- From savings (cash carried forward, less reserve)$4.6M · 11%
- Transfers in (mostly utility tax)$3.7M · 9%
- Sales and fuel taxes (small county surtax, gas tax)$3.3M · 8%
- Other (permits, recreation, grants, fines, misc.)$2.4M · 6%
- Franchise fees$2.1M · 5%
- State shared revenue$1.5M · 4%
- Charges and fees (ambulance, ocean rescue)$1.3M · 3%
- Reimbursements from utilities and other city funds$1.1M · 3%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire and EMS$10M · 23%
- General government (commission, manager, clerk, legal, finance, IT, HR, planning, facilities)$8.4M · 19%
- Police$8.1M · 18%
- Transfers out (mostly capital projects, marina, airport)$6.4M · 15%
- Parks, recreation and culture$5.3M · 12%
- Streets$2.2M · 5%
- Contingencies$2M · 5%
- Other (code enforcement, building, other)$1.2M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Fernandina Beach homeowner paid, about 26 cents went to the city. The city has no voter-approved debt levy. For FY2026-27 the city set its operating rate at 4.8530 mills.
26¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Fernandina Beach
- Nassau County6.8822 · 38%
- Nassau County Schools6.329 · 35%
- City of Fernandina Beach (operating)4.6849 · 26%
- St. Johns River Water Management District0.1793 · <1%
- Amelia Island Mosquito Control0.106 · <1%
- Amelia Island Beach MSTU0.096 · <1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.0288 · <1%
- Total (mills)18.3062
2024 tax year (FY2024-25) rates for a home in the city of Fernandina Beach (Nassau County). City of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
See what a Fernandina Beach house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Fernandina Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFernandina Beach Police DepartmentCity of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
- FireThe cityFernandina Beach Fire DepartmentCity of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of Fernandina Beach utilitiesCity of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Fernandina BeachCity of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of Fernandina Beach sanitationThe city took over yard debris pickup from its contracted hauler in 2022City of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Fernandina Beach Streets DepartmentCity of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Fernandina Beach Parks and RecreationCity of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 2026
- AirportThe cityFernandina Beach Municipal Airport (city-owned)City of Fernandina Beach · Mar 11, 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 | Fernandina BeachFL | PalmettoFL | DestinFL | Key BiscayneFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 13,958 | 13,961 | 14,640 | 14,653 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $205,000 | Not confirmed | $255,000 | $252,847 |
| Council member pay | $18,000 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $3,123 | $1,459 | $1,791 | $3,222 |
| Debt per resident | $1,991 | $871 | $3,000 | $864 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $530 | $215 | $0 | $-763 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 20.3 | 10.7 | 8.6 | 9.8 |
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). Destin pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Fernandina 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 timeFY2025 audit dated March 11, 2026, posted on the Florida Auditor General site, before the June 30, 2026 deadline. Florida Auditor General
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe city's Budget page posts the FY2026-27 adopted budget, plus proposed, tentative and past budgets and the capital plan. City of Fernandina Beach
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Fernandina Beach
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists positions by department but not pay by position. We found no city pay list. Florida has no statewide database. City of Fernandina Beach · Sep 15, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 budget raises the city operating tax rate to 4.8530 mills from 4.6849, above the 4.4425 rollback rate. What does the added property tax revenue pay for?
- The general fund will send $6,409,620 to other funds in FY2026-27, mostly for capital projects, the marina and the airport. How much of that is expected to recur each year?
- The city manager's 2024 contract allowed two $10,000 raises after satisfactory evaluations. Will the city post the commission's decisions and her current salary?
Help decide what comes next
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