How Rockledge is run
Who runs Rockledge, 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 Rockledge's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Rockledge
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
Rockledge city staff
254 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2025-26. Full-time equivalent positions in the budget, plus 14 part-time positions. City of Rockledge · Mar 9, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database, and we found no list of what each city employee is paid. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Rockledge 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: $25.5M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: No written minimum is stated. The city reviews its cash reserves each budget season and keeps them as a contingency for emergencies. City of Rockledge · Mar 9, 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 FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Property taxes$14.4M · 41%
- Carry-forward from reserves$5.1M · 15%
- Intergovernmental (state and county shared revenue)$5.1M · 14%
- Utility taxes$3.4M · 10%
- Franchise fees$2.3M · 7%
- Transfers from other city funds$1.9M · 6%
- Communications services tax$1.1M · 3%
- Other$1.7M · 5%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Police$10.4M · 30%
- Fire$9.4M · 27%
- Public works$7.6M · 22%
- General government (incl. $2.8M of tax increment sent to the CRA)$4.3M · 12%
- Administrative office$2.8M · 8%
- Other (debt service, city attorney, mayor and council)$617,850 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Rockledge homeowner paid in FY2024-25, about 34 cents went to the city. The council set the city rate at 5.2335 mills for 2026.
34¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Rockledge
- City of Rockledge5.38 · 34%
- Brevard County schools6.311 · 40%
- Brevard County3.9461 · 25%
- Water management and navigation districts0.2081 · 1%
- Total (mills)15.8452
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Rockledge (Brevard County). City of Rockledge · Mar 9, 2026
See what a Rockledge house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Rockledge is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityCity of Rockledge Public Safety Department, Police DivisionCity of Rockledge · Mar 9, 2026
- FireThe cityCity of Rockledge Public Safety Department, Fire DivisionCity of Rockledge · Mar 9, 2026
- WaterAnother agencyCity of CocoaCity of Cocoa
- Sewer and reclaimed waterThe cityCity of RockledgeCity of Rockledge · Mar 9, 2026
- Streets and sidewalksThe cityCity of RockledgeCity of Rockledge · Mar 9, 2026
- Public schoolsSeparate districtBrevard County School BoardCity of Rockledge · Mar 9, 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 | VeniceFL | CasselberryFL | RockledgeFL | West MelbourneFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 29,802 | 30,132 | 30,554 | 32,372 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $224,895 | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed | $209,449 |
| Council member pay | $22,646 | Not confirmed | $7,200 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,873 | $1,028 | $1,148 | $896 |
| Debt per resident | $2,826 | $1,731 | $114 | $1,686 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $1,395 | $14 | $139 | $148 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 13.5 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 5.2 |
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). Casselberry and West Melbourne pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Rockledge 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 report with a transmittal letter dated March 9, 2026, within the nine months state law allows; posted on the Florida Auditor General site. Florida Auditor General
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Rockledge
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineAgendas are posted without packets, and we found no manager contract on the city site. The incoming manager's contract was on the Oct. 7, 2026 agenda. City of Rockledge
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public document City of Rockledge · Aug 19, 2026
- No: Employee pay publishedThe Finance page posts budgets and reports, but we found no list of employee pay or pay ranges. City of Rockledge
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund ended FY2025 with $25.5 million unassigned against $25.6 million of spending that year. With no written reserve target, how much does the council want to keep?
- The CRA sunsets on September 30, 2026. What happens to the $2.8 million of tax increment the general fund sent to it in FY2025-26?
- The fire pension plan was 89.12% funded on September 30, 2025, below the police and general plans. What is the plan to close the gap?
The fiscal year starts October 1. Staff begin the budget in May, the council Finance and Budget Committee works on it June through August, a public workshop is held in August, and public hearings follow in September (Sept. 9 and Sept. 23, 2026 for FY2027). See who is running for council
Help decide what comes next
What do you want to know about Rockledge 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.