How Melbourne is run
Who runs Melbourne, 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 Melbourne's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Melbourne
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints the department heads. The council of seven, including the mayor, passes ordinances, adopts the budget and also hires the city attorney.
What they are paid
Melbourne city staff
915 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 256, Fire 189, Water and sewer system 198. FY2025. City of Melbourne · Mar 17, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The city's budget lists positions by department but not pay, and we found no posted pay schedule. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Melbourne 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 against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $40.7M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep a general fund operating reserve of 25% of the operating budget, plus a reserve equal to 75% of the retiree health (OPEB) liability for governmental activities. Unassigned money above both targets can pay for one-time costs. The city says it met the operating reserve target at Sept. 30, 2025. City of Melbourne · Mar 17, 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 (proposed).
Comes from
- Property taxes$52.5M · 45%
- State and county shared revenue$17.7M · 15%
- Utility and communications taxes$16.6M · 14%
- Franchise fees, permits and business taxes$12.3M · 10%
- Charges for services (incl. fees charged to city utilities)$10M · 8%
- Transfers in (mostly water and sewer rate of return)$4.8M · 4%
- Interest and miscellaneous$3.8M · 3%
- Other (fines, contributions)$208,500 · 0%
Goes to (FY2026-27 (proposed))
- Police$38.5M · 33%
- Fire and emergency medical services$32.6M · 28%
- General government (council, manager, clerk, attorney, HR, IT, finance)$14.5M · 12%
- Public works, engineering and streets$13.8M · 12%
- Parks, recreation and community centers$8.3M · 7%
- Non-departmental$7.1M · 6%
- Other (code compliance, community development, housing)$3.1M · 3%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Melbourne homeowner paid in FY2024-25, about 40 cents went to the city. The city raised its operating rate to 7.0112 mills for FY2025-26, and adopted 6.9473 mills plus 0.2885 mills for debt for FY2026-27.
40¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Melbourne
- City of Melbourne (operating)6.5466 · 38%
- City of Melbourne (voter-approved debt)0.3153 · 2%
- Brevard County schools6.311 · 37%
- Brevard County3.6931 · 21%
- Regional districtsFlorida Inland Navigation District, Sebastian Inlet District and St. Johns River Water Management District0.3709 · 2%
- Total (mills)17.2369
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Melbourne (Brevard County). City of Melbourne · Mar 17, 2026
See what a Melbourne house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Melbourne is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityMelbourne Police DepartmentCity of Melbourne · Mar 17, 2026
- FireThe cityMelbourne Fire DepartmentCity of Melbourne · Mar 17, 2026
- Emergency medical careThe cityMelbourne Fire Department, Emergency Medical Services divisionCity of Melbourne · Jul 13, 2026
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of Melbourne Public Works & UtilitiesBulk water sales to West Melbourne end in December 2026 as that city moves to its own water systemCity of Melbourne · Mar 17, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Melbourne Stormwater UtilityCity of Melbourne · Mar 17, 2026
- Trash, recycling and yard wasteContractorWM (Waste Management)City of Melbourne
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 | LargoFL | KissimmeeFL | Daytona BeachFL | MelbourneFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 84,075 | 87,664 | 88,144 | 88,499 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $248,887 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | $230,000 |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,610 | $1,387 | $1,847 | $1,340 |
| Debt per resident | $2,309 | $1,721 | $2,523 | $2,100 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $373 | $530 | $1,282 | $223 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 11.8 | 9.3 | 11.5 | 10.3 |
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). Largo pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Melbourne publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineThe budget page posts the FY2027 proposed budget and the adopted budget and millage resolutions with their exhibits. City of Melbourne
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no employment agreement on the city manager's page, the budget page or the council's agenda portal. City of Melbourne
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no pay list or pay schedule on the Human Resources page. The budget lists positions by department but not pay. City of Melbourne
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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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