MargateNot a ballot

How Margate is run

Who runs Margate, 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 Margate's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.

Who runs Margate

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.

City of Margate · Mar 30, 2026

What they are paid

City manager Cale Curtis: pay as of 2019$200,0002019-06. Starting base salary in his June 2019 contract. The contract adds any cost-of-living raise given to department heads, and the commission may grant more; we found no posted document that states his current pay. City of Margate · Jun 5, 2019
In the contract
  • 20 weeks' severance if removed without misconduct
  • City car for his exclusive use
  • $80 monthly cell phone allowance
  • City-paid term life insurance equal to his base salary
A council member (as of 2023)$45,000 a yearFY2023-24. City of Margate · Sep 20, 2023
The mayorNot confirmedFY2026-27. City of Margate · Sep 16, 2026

Margate city staff

514 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27 budget. Budgeted full-time positions in all funds, plus 24 part-time and 52 temporary or seasonal positions. City of Margate · Sep 16, 2026

Florida has no statewide pay database. The city posted pay ranges by job title with a 2025 pay study, not pay for each employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.

Is Margate 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.

General fund, FY2026-27$90.7MOut of $251M across all city funds, which includes utilities and other money that can only be spent on one thing. City of Margate · Sep 16, 2026
Savings grew, FY2025 (audited)+$3.3MGeneral fund revenue $80.1M, spending $82M. City of Margate · Mar 30, 2026

The city's own outlook

The budget says spending growth exceeds revenue growth, and it draws $6.3 million from unassigned reserves to balance the general fund. In July 2026 the city manager said a larger homestead exemption on the November 2026 ballot would cut property tax revenue by about $8.0 million in FY2028 and $12.1 million in FY2029, and the city put a hiring and travel freeze in place. City of Margate · Sep 16, 2026

Savings against the city's own target

Unassigned general fund balance: $21.5M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance at about 16%, or two months, of the prior year's regular general fund operating spending, less capital outlay. City of Margate · Mar 30, 2026

Pension promises not yet funded$59.6MNet pension liability from the audited report: the city's share of the statewide FRS pension plan ($46.6M) and its retiree health subsidy plan ($13.0M), measured June 30, 2025. (2025-09-30). City of Margate · Mar 30, 2026
Debt owed$20.3MGeneral government $20.3M in voter-approved general obligation bonds (2016 refunding and 2019 parks bonds). Water and sewer: none at Sept. 30, 2025, before the $60M revenue bonds of December 2025. 2025-09-30. City of Margate · Mar 30, 2026
Credit ratingAA (S&P)FY2027 budget. City of Margate · Sep 16, 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$38.1M · 42%
  • Charges for services$13.5M · 15%
  • Transfers in and reserves used$9M · 10%
  • Miscellaneous (interest, CRA and utility reimbursements)$8.1M · 9%
  • Utility and communications taxes$7.9M · 9%
  • State and county shared revenue$7.3M · 8%
  • Permits, fees and special assessments$5.8M · 6%
  • Other (fines, business taxes)$818,000 · 1%

City of Margate · Sep 16, 2026

Goes to (FY2026-27)

  • Police$30.5M · 34%
  • Fire rescue$21.1M · 23%
  • Non-departmental$13.4M · 15%
  • Parks and recreation$7.3M · 8%
  • Public works (buildings, fleet, streetlights)$5.2M · 6%
  • Other (commission, manager, finance, HR, IT, clerk, legal, planning)$13.2M · 15%

City of Margate · Sep 16, 2026

Your property tax bill: who gets it

Of each property-tax dollar a Margate homeowner pays, about 35 cents goes to the city, including about 2 cents for the voter-approved parks and refunding bonds.

35¢

of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Margate

  • City of Margate (operating)7.1171 · 33%
  • Broward County School Board (operating)State-required plus local board rates6.294 · 29%
  • Broward County5.6628 · 26%
  • North Broward Hospital District1.2391 · 6%
  • Children's Services Council0.45 · 2%
  • City of Margate (voter-approved debt)0.3988 · 2%
  • South Florida Water Management District0.2301 · 1%
  • Broward County School Board (voter-approved debt)0.1587 · <1%
  • Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
  • Total (mills)21.5776

2026 tax year (FY2026-27) rates for a home in the city of Margate (Broward County). Broward County Property Appraiser · Oct 1, 2026

See what a Margate house pays, line by line →

Who provides your services

Not everything in Margate is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.

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.

SarasotaFLBradentonFLMargateFLNorth MiamiFL
Residents58,27958,46958,72761,371
Top administrator's base pay$279,500Not confirmedNot current (2019)$350,000
Council member pay$53,739Not confirmedNot current (2023)$77,910
General fund per resident$1,940$1,495$1,544$1,660
Debt per resident$2,834$1,470$345$980
Unfunded pension per resident$1,224$547$1,015$814
City staff per 1,000 residents14.110.68.86.7

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). North Miami pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.

What Margate publishes

What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.

Questions to ask your council

  1. The FY2027 budget draws $6.3 million from unassigned reserves to balance the general fund, which had $21.5 million unassigned on Sept. 30, 2025. How long can the city keep doing that?
  2. The city manager estimated a larger homestead exemption would cut property tax revenue by about $8.0 million in FY2028 and $12.1 million in FY2029. Which services would change first?
  3. Police ($30.5 million) and fire rescue ($21.1 million) make up more than half of the $90.7 million general fund. How does the commission weigh those costs?
  4. Commissioners voted 4-1 in 2023 to set their salaries at $45,000. Will the budget show each member's current pay?

See who is running for council

Help decide what comes next

What do you want to know about Margate 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.