How Key Biscayne is run
Who runs Key Biscayne, 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 Key Biscayne's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Key Biscayne
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
- Council travel and per diem budget: $15,000 (FY2027)
Key Biscayne city staff
143 full-time-equivalent positions, including Public safety (police and fire) 92, General government 14, Parks and recreation 14, Building, planning and zoning 13, Public works 10. FY2025. Full-time equivalent employees at the end of FY2025. The FY2026 budget lists 145 full-time positions plus part-time and seasonal staff. Village of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
The budget lists authorized positions by department but not pay by position. Florida has no statewide public pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Key Biscayne 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: $0 (2025-09-30). That means every dollar the general fund has saved is set aside in a named reserve or category, not that it has no savings. Village of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 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$33.5M · 71%
- Charges for services (recreation, community center, athletics)$3.4M · 7%
- Utility taxes (electric, water, gas)$2.9M · 6%
- State and county shared revenue$2.2M · 5%
- Electric franchise fees$1.6M · 3%
- Interest$1.5M · 3%
- Other (local option and communications taxes, permits, fines, grants, misc.)$2.1M · 4%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Police$12.2M · 26%
- Fire rescue$11.4M · 24%
- Parks, recreation, community center and athletics$7.5M · 16%
- Public works$5.8M · 12%
- Administration (manager, finance, HR, communications, IT)$4.1M · 9%
- Transfers to capital projects and the parks land trust$3.1M · 7%
- Council, clerk and attorney$1.4M · 3%
- Debt service$1.1M · 2%
- Planning and zoning$642,997 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Key Biscayne owner pays, about 19 cents goes to the village. The county fire and rescue district levy does not apply, because the village runs its own fire department. For FY2026-27 the village set its rate at 2.8708 mills.
19¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Key Biscayne
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools (operating)State-required 5.4990 plus voter-approved 1.00006.499 · 42%
- Miami-Dade County (operating)4.574 · 29%
- Village of Key Biscayne (operating)2.8846 · 19%
- The Children's Trust0.4638 · 3%
- Miami-Dade County (debt)0.4171 · 3%
- Miami-Dade Library District0.2812 · 2%
- South Florida Water Management District (incl. Okeechobee Basin and Everglades)0.0948 + 0.1026 + 0.03270.2301 · 1%
- Miami-Dade County Public Schools (debt)0.134 · <1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
- Total (mills)15.5108
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the Village of Key Biscayne (Miami-Dade County). Miami-Dade Property Appraiser
Who provides your services
Not everything in Key Biscayne is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityKey Biscayne Police DepartmentVillage of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
- FireThe cityKey Biscayne Fire RescueVillage of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
- Trash and recyclingContractorContracted hauler, paid from the village Solid Waste FundCovers single-family homes and duplexesVillage of Key Biscayne
- StormwaterThe cityVillage of Key Biscayne (stormwater utility)Village of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
- Streets and public worksThe cityVillage of Key Biscayne Public WorksVillage of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityVillage of Key Biscayne Parks and RecreationVillage of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
- Building, zoning and planningThe cityVillage of Key BiscayneVillage of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
- SchoolsSeparate districtMiami-Dade County School BoardVillage of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 2026
- HospitalThe countyMiami-Dade CountyVillage of Key Biscayne · Jun 30, 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 Key Biscayne publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online Village of Key Biscayne
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no manager employment agreement on the village website, budget pages or recent council packets. Village of Key Biscayne
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's roll call vote on ordinances, e.g. a 6-1 vote on May 14, 2026. Village of Key Biscayne
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe village's Granicus page posts agendas, packets, minutes and video for council meetings and budget hearings. Village of Key Biscayne
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public document Miami New Times (May 22, 2025)
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists authorized positions and salary totals by department, not pay by position. Florida has no statewide database. Village of Key Biscayne · Sep 22, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 tax rate of 2.8708 mills is 4.70% above the rolled-back rate. What does that extra revenue pay for?
- Voters approved general obligation bonds in November 2020, but the FY2025 audit reports no general obligation debt. When will the village borrow for utility undergrounding, and how will it affect the tax bill?
- A spokesperson put the manager's pay at $252,847, but no contract is posted online. Will the village post it?
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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?
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