How Satellite Beach is run
Who runs Satellite Beach, 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 Satellite Beach's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Satellite Beach
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
- $600 a month car allowance
- $100 a month cell phone allowance
- City pays 10% of base salary into the general employees' retirement plan
- City-paid health and life insurance for her and her dependents
- 12 weeks' salary as severance, plus accrued leave
- $50 monthly travel stipend
- Council operating budget (travel, dues, supplies): $11,030 (FY2027)
Satellite Beach city staff
120 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 37, Public Works 35, Fire 22. FY2025. Full-time equivalents; three part-time jobs count as one full-time. City of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database, and we found no city-published list of pay by position. The FY2027 budget gives employees an extra 1% raise. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Satellite Beach 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: $987,773 (2025-09-30). The city's own target: The city keeps a separate stabilization reserve of at least 60 days of budgeted operating spending for disasters and other non-routine needs. It held $4,745,625 against a 60-day amount of $2,959,025 for FY2025. Unassigned balance is separate. City of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 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$12.8M · 67%
- State half-cent sales tax$815,000 · 4%
- Electric franchise fees$775,000 · 4%
- Building permits$600,000 · 3%
- Recreation program fees$530,000 · 3%
- Communications services tax$485,000 · 3%
- State revenue sharing$460,000 · 2%
- Other (gas tax, transfers in, fees, fines, interest)$2.5M · 13%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Public works$4.4M · 23%
- Police$4.4M · 23%
- Fire$3.9M · 20%
- General government (insurance, utilities, IT, legal)$2.3M · 12%
- Support services (finance, HR)$1.6M · 9%
- Recreation$1.4M · 7%
- Community development$641,326 · 3%
- Other (city clerk, council, added to reserves)$384,066 · 2%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Satellite Beach homeowner paid in FY2025, about 44 cents went to the city. The city set its rate at 7.8 mills for FY2026-27.
44¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Satellite Beach
- City of Satellite Beach (operating)7.9812 · 44%
- Brevard County School Board6.311 · 35%
- Brevard County2.9207 · 16%
- Brevard County special districts0.7724 · 4%
- St. Johns River Water Management District0.1793 · <1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.0288 · <1%
- Total (mills)18.1934
FY2024-25 rates for a home in the city of Satellite Beach (Brevard County). City of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
See what a Satellite Beach home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Satellite Beach is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe citySatellite Beach Police DepartmentCity of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Satellite Beach Public WorksCity of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Satellite Beach (stormwater utility)City of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Satellite Beach Recreation DepartmentCity of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
- Planning and zoningThe cityCity of Satellite BeachCity of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
- WaterAnother agencyCity of MelbourneMelbourne also maintains the water linesCity of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 2026
- SewerThe countyBrevard CountyThe county also maintains the sewer linesCity of Satellite Beach · Mar 10, 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 | Avon ParkFL | Cocoa BeachFL | Satellite BeachFL | Wilton ManorsFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 9,786 | 11,361 | 11,493 | 11,497 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $110,000 | $189,900 | Not confirmed | Not current (2022) |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | No salary | Not current (2022) |
| General fund per resident | $1,174 | $3,974 | $1,653 | $2,296 |
| Debt per resident | $2 | $3,020 | $1,193 | $198 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $636 | $727 | $178 | $1,387 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 10.1 | 25.1 | 10.4 | 11.0 |
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). Avon Park and Wilton Manors pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Satellite Beach 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 dated March 10, 2026, on the Florida Auditor General site, before the June 30, 2026 deadline. Florida Auditor General
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Satellite Beach · Sep 23, 2026
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Satellite Beach
- Yes: Council pay stated in a public documentThe city's election page says council seats are unpaid, with a $50 monthly travel stipend. City of Satellite Beach
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list by position on the budget and audits page. Florida has no statewide database. City of Satellite Beach
Questions to ask your council
- Unassigned general fund balance was $987,773 on Sept. 30, 2025, while the stabilization reserve held $4,745,625. How much unassigned balance does the council want to keep?
- The city has notes outstanding of $13.7 million and no formal long-term financial plan. Will the council adopt a multi-year forecast?
- Property taxes are $12.8 million of the $19.0 million FY2026-27 general fund. How would proposed state property tax changes affect services?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The council held a budget workshop on July 29, 2026, the first public hearing on Sept. 9, and adopted the FY2026-27 budget and a 7.8-mill tax rate on Sept. 23, 2026. See who is running for council
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