How Fort Walton Beach is run
Who runs Fort Walton 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 Fort Walton Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Fort Walton 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
- City pays all contributions to the general employees' 401(a) retirement plan, plus 5% of base salary into a 457(b) plan
- City vehicle or $500 a month vehicle allowance, and $100 a month cell phone allowance
- Medical, dental and life insurance like other full-time employees
- Up to $5,000 in relocation expenses
Fort Walton Beach city staff
317 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 75, Fire 43, Golf club 27. 2025-09-30. City of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The budget shows wage totals by department, not what each employee is paid. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Fort Walton 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: $2.5M (2025-09-30). City of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 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$9.3M · 27%
- Other taxes (utility, communications, fuel)$6.3M · 19%
- Charges for services$4.4M · 13%
- Drawn from reserves$4M · 12%
- Intergovernmental (state shared revenue)$3.9M · 11%
- Licenses and permits$2.4M · 7%
- Other (interest, transfers in, fines)$3.6M · 11%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Fort Walton Beach homeowner paid for 2025, about 32 cents went to the city. For FY2026-27 the council raised the city rate to 4.5600 mills, 7.18% above the rollback rate of 4.2546 mills.
32¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Fort Walton Beach
- Okaloosa County School Board5.377 · 40%
- City of Fort Walton Beach4.3282 · 32%
- Okaloosa County3.8308 · 28%
- Northwest Florida Water Management District0.0207 · <1%
- Total (mills)13.5567
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in Fort Walton Beach (Okaloosa County). City of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
See what a Fort Walton Beach home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Fort Walton Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFort Walton Beach Police DepartmentCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- FireThe cityFort Walton Beach Fire DepartmentTwo fire stationsCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- EMS (first response)The cityFort Walton Beach Fire Department5,296 emergency medical responses in FY2025City of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- Drinking waterThe cityCity of Fort Walton BeachCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- Sewage treatmentThe countyOkaloosa County Water & Sewer (city contract)$3,370,200 paid to the county in FY2025City of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of Fort Walton BeachCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Fort Walton BeachCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Fort Walton Beach Public WorksCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- Library and museumThe cityCity of Fort Walton BeachCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 2026
- Parks, recreation and two golf coursesThe cityCity of Fort Walton BeachCity of Fort Walton Beach · Mar 27, 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 | MinneolaFL | CocoaFL | Fort Walton BeachFL | TavaresFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 21,201 | 21,518 | 21,553 | 21,869 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $196,227 | $220,000 | $265,385 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,722 | $2,721 | $1,578 | $1,486 |
| Debt per resident | $405 | $4,086 | $1,351 | $2,531 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $271 | $508 | $611 | $613 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 20.9 | 14.7 | 11.2 |
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). Minneola and Tavares pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Fort Walton 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 timeThe FY2025 audit, for the year ended Sept. 30, 2025, is dated March 27, 2026, before Florida's June 30 deadline, and is on the Auditor General site. Florida Auditor General
- Partly: Adopted budget posted online City of Fort Walton Beach
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Fort Walton Beach · May 19, 2026
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's aye or nay, e.g. the 4-3 vote adopting the FY2026-27 budget on Sept. 29, 2026. City of Fort Walton Beach · Sep 29, 2026
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Fort Walton Beach · Dec 16, 2025
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget book lists wage totals by department only. We found no list of what each employee is paid. City of Fort Walton Beach · Sep 29, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2026-27 general fund budget draws $4.0 million from reserves, and unassigned general fund balance was $2.55 million at Sept. 30, 2025. How will the council balance the FY2027-28 budget?
- The police and firefighters' pension plans had $13.2 million in unfunded liabilities, with the firefighters' plan 75.07% funded. What is the plan to close that gap?
- The council raised the city tax rate from 4.3282 to 4.5600 mills for FY2026-27 on a 5-2 vote. Which projects will the added revenue fund?
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