How Palmetto Bay is run
Who runs Palmetto Bay, 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 Palmetto Bay's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Palmetto Bay
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
- Village puts 6% of salary into a 401(a) retirement plan, plus a match of up to 6% more
- Another 6% of salary as 457 deferred compensation
- $550 a month car allowance and a village cell phone
- Village-paid medical, dental and vision insurance for him and his family, plus life and disability insurance
- If let go without cause: payout of up to 240 hours of unused paid time off
- Unless fired for cause: one year of medical insurance after leaving for each two full years of service
- Council health allowance budget: $87,000 for the five members (FY2027 proposed)
- Council retirement contributions budget: $11,376 (FY2027 proposed)
Palmetto Bay city staff
63 full-time-equivalent positions, including Parks and recreation 14, Public works 14. FY2026-27. Full-time village positions in the FY2027 proposed budget, plus 22 part-time. Another 50 full-time contract positions, 49 of them Sheriff's Office police in the village's district, are not village employees. Village of Palmetto Bay · Sep 1, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The budget lists positions by department but no salaries. The manager's salary is in his posted 2020 contract. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Palmetto Bay 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.
The city's own outlook
The proposed FY2027 budget uses $871,176 of unassigned fund balance to balance the general fund. It projects unassigned general fund balance falling from an estimated $7.6M at the end of FY2026 to $6.3M at the end of FY2027. The audited report says $3,352,513 of new FY2026 funding for capital projects and transfers lowers the estimated general fund balance to $10,484,217. Village of Palmetto Bay · Sep 1, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $9.3M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep at least $4,700,000 in fund balance for disasters, unexpected one-time costs or uses the council approves. The village holds this amount as assigned fund balance, separate from the unassigned balance. Village of Palmetto Bay · 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 (proposed).
Comes from
- Property taxes$11.6M · 47%
- Utility taxes$3.8M · 15%
- State and county shared revenue$3.7M · 15%
- Franchise fees (electric)$2.4M · 10%
- Charges for services (parks, rentals, passports)$1.1M · 4%
- Use of savings (unassigned fund balance)$871,176 · 4%
- Other (permits, fines, interest, miscellaneous)$1.1M · 5%
Goes to (FY2026-27 (proposed))
- Police (Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office contract)$12.6M · 51%
- Parks and recreation$3.9M · 16%
- General government (non-departmental)$2.1M · 9%
- Planning and zoning$889,355 · 4%
- Human resources and communications$877,304 · 4%
- Debt service$751,267 · 3%
- Other offices (council, manager, clerk, attorney, finance, IT, facilities)$3.4M · 14%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Palmetto Bay homeowner pays, about 13 cents goes to the village. For FY2026-27 the village proposed 2.3500 mills, and the council raised the tentative rate to 2.3890 mills at the first hearing, 9.98% above the rolled-back rate of 2.1722.
13¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Palmetto Bay
- Miami-Dade County School BoardOperating 5.4990, voter-approved operating 1.0000, debt 0.13406.633 · 38%
- Miami-Dade CountyOperating 4.5740 plus debt 0.41714.9911 · 29%
- Miami-Dade Fire Rescue district2.3965 · 14%
- Village of Palmetto Bay2.3018 · 13%
- The Children's Trust0.4638 · 3%
- Miami-Dade library district0.2812 · 2%
- South Florida Water Management District (incl. Everglades and Okeechobee Basin levies)0.2301 · 1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
- Total (mills)17.3245
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the Village of Palmetto Bay (Miami-Dade County). Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser
See what a Palmetto Bay home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Palmetto Bay is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorMiami-Dade Sheriff's Office (village contract)Village of Palmetto Bay · Sep 1, 2026
- FireThe countyMiami-Dade Fire RescueVillage of Palmetto Bay · Mar 27, 2026
- Water and sewerThe countyMiami-Dade CountyVillage of Palmetto Bay · Mar 27, 2026
- ParksThe cityVillage of Palmetto Bay Parks and RecreationVillage of Palmetto Bay · Sep 1, 2026
- Streets and sidewalksThe cityVillage of Palmetto Bay Public Services DepartmentVillage of Palmetto Bay · Sep 1, 2026
- Building permitsThe cityVillage of Palmetto Bay Building and PermittingVillage of Palmetto Bay · 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 | DebaryFL | Palmetto BayFL | EdgewaterFL | Key WestFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 24,529 | 25,217 | 25,655 | 26,526 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $235,108 | Not current (2020) | $185,000 | $265,000 |
| Council member pay | $9,849 | $12,000 | $18,000 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,021 | $979 | $1,654 | $3,904 |
| Debt per resident | $88 | $330 | $1,246 | $201 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $0 | $0 | $302 | $279 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 2.1 | 2.5 | 9.0 | 20.2 |
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). Debary and Palmetto Bay pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Palmetto Bay 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 report dated March 27, 2026, ahead of the June 30 state deadline, posted on the Florida Auditor General site. Florida Auditor General
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe FY2027 proposed budget book is on the Budgets page. The final adopted FY2027 book was not yet posted; FY2026 adopted is. Village of Palmetto Bay
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online Village of Palmetto Bay · Sep 23, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineMeeting Central offers live and past meeting videos, agendas, packets and minutes. Minutes appear in later meeting packets. Village of Palmetto Bay
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe charter sets $1,000 a month for council members and $2,000 for the mayor; the budget shows $72,000 in council salaries. Village of Palmetto Bay
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists positions by department but no salaries. We found no village pay list. Florida has no statewide database. Village of Palmetto Bay · Sep 1, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- Police services cost $12.6 million of the $24.7 million tentative FY2027 general fund. What is the village doing to control the Sheriff's Office contract cost?
- The FY2027 budget draws on unassigned savings, which were $9.3 million on September 30, 2025 and are projected at $6.3 million by the end of FY2026-27. What level does the council want to keep?
- The council raised the tentative FY2027 tax rate from the proposed 2.3500 mills to 2.3890 mills to fund added projects. Which projects does the extra revenue pay for?
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