How Venice is run
Who runs Venice, 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 Venice's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 9, 2026.
Who runs Venice
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day and appoints department heads. The council of seven, including the mayor, passes ordinances, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
- 20 weeks' pay as severance if fired without cause
- Florida Retirement System, senior management class
- May join the city's 457 and 401(a) deferred compensation plans
- City-paid term life insurance equal to one year's base salary
- Same health and disability coverage as other city employees, plus a city-paid yearly physical
- Must live inside the city
- City-paid cell phones and iPads for council members
- Council travel and training budget: $23,500 (FY2027 proposed)
Venice city staff
402 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 77, Fire and EMS 73. FY2025. The FY2027 proposed budget lists 405.9 positions; in August 2026 the council added two police officers. City of Venice · Mar 10, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database, and we found no city-published list of pay by position. Council memos state the city manager's and city clerk's salaries. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Venice 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 FY2027 general fund budget uses $885,821 of savings, mostly $800,000 to start a new city fleet garage. The city's budget documents we reviewed include a five-year capital plan but no multi-year general fund forecast. City of Venice · Aug 6, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $27.6M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Keep unassigned general fund balance of at least three months of operating spending (25%), plus a $5 million disaster reserve. If it falls below, the city must adopt a plan to rebuild it. The city meets this target. City of Venice · Mar 4, 2026
Bar: unassigned savings of $27.6M. Line: the amount the city's target calls for.
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$28.3M · 51%
- Administrative charges and transfers in$5.2M · 9%
- State and other governments$4.6M · 8%
- Utility taxes (electric, gas)$4.1M · 7%
- Franchise fees$3.5M · 6%
- Charges for services$3.3M · 6%
- Interest$1.6M · 3%
- Other (communications tax, insurance premium tax, permits, misc.)$4.4M · 8%
- From savings (fund balance)$885,821 · 2%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire and EMS$20.3M · 36%
- Police$15.4M · 28%
- Administration (council, manager, clerk, attorney, finance, HR, historical resources)$7.1M · 13%
- Public works and parks$7M · 13%
- Information technology$3.3M · 6%
- Planning, zoning and engineering$2M · 4%
- Transfer to new fleet garage fund$800,000 · 1%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Venice homeowner pays, about 28 cents goes to the city. The county's 0.73-mill EMS levy does not apply inside the city. For FY2026-27 the city kept its operating rate at 3.8450 and set debt at 0.3451.
28¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Venice
- Sarasota County School BoardState-required 2.8470 plus local 3.24806.095 · 41%
- City of Venice (operating)3.845 · 26%
- Sarasota County3.2273 · 22%
- Sarasota County Hospital District1.042 · 7%
- City of Venice (voter-approved debt)0.3405 · 2%
- Southwest Florida Water Management District0.1831 · 1%
- Sarasota County debt (bonds, Legacy Trail)0.1049 · <1%
- Mosquito control0.052 · <1%
- West Coast Inland Navigation District0.0394 · <1%
- Total (mills)14.9292
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the city of Venice (Sarasota County). Sarasota County Tax Collector · Oct 23, 2025
See what a Venice house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Venice is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityVenice Police DepartmentCity of Venice
- FireThe cityCity of Venice Fire Department (3 stations)City of Venice
- EMS / ambulanceThe cityCity of Venice Fire DepartmentCity of Venice
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of Venice (utilities fund)City of Venice
- StormwaterThe cityCity of VeniceCity of Venice
- Trash and recyclingThe cityCity of Venice Solid WasteCity of Venice
- ElectricityPrivate companyFlorida Power & LightPays the city a 5.9% franchise feeCity of Venice
- SchoolsSeparate districtSarasota County SchoolsSarasota County Tax Collector
- ParksThe cityCity of Venice Public Works, Parks & RecreationCity of Venice
- City streetsThe cityCity of Venice Public WorksCity of Venice
- AirportThe cityVenice Municipal Airport (city-run)General aviationCity of Venice
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 | Temple TerraceFL | VeniceFL | CasselberryFL | RockledgeFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 27,698 | 29,802 | 30,132 | 30,554 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $211,000 | $224,895 | Not current (2023) | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $9,200 | $22,646 | Not confirmed | $7,200 |
| General fund per resident | $1,489 | $1,873 | $1,028 | $1,148 |
| Debt per resident | $361 | $2,826 | $1,731 | $114 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $908 | $1,395 | $14 | $139 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 12.0 | 13.5 | 8.1 | 8.3 |
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). Casselberry pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Venice 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 dated March 4, 2026, posted on the Florida Auditor General site in March 2026, before the June 30, 2026 deadline. Florida Auditor General
- Yes: Adopted budget posted onlineBudget Ordinance 2026-26 with fund totals and the full proposed budget workbooks are posted in the city's Legistar agenda system. City of Venice
- Yes: City manager's contract findable onlineEmployment agreement is attached to Legistar item 25-0281; the 2026 raise is item 26-0710. City of Venice
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineLegistar and the minutes list each member's yes or no vote, e.g. the 7-0 vote adopting the FY2027 budget. City of Venice
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineLegistar posts agendas, approved minutes and public meeting video for council meetings and budget workshops. City of Venice
- Partly: Council pay stated in a public documentThe charter sets pay as 20% of a county commissioner's salary, plus $1,200 for the mayor. No city document we found states the dollar amount. City of Venice
- No: Employee pay publishedWe found no city-published pay list by position. Florida has no statewide database. Council memos state the manager's and clerk's salaries.
Questions to ask your council
- The FY2027 budget uses $885,821 of general fund savings, mostly to start a new fleet garage. How will the garage's yearly costs be paid in later years?
- The firefighters' pension plan was 82% funded in September 2025, and the city expects six to eight more years to pay off its local plans' shortfall. Is that schedule on track?
- Council pay is set at 20% of a Sarasota County commissioner's salary, but no city document lists the dollar amount. Will the budget show it?
- Unassigned general fund reserves were $27.6 million, above the about $18.1 million the city's policy calls for. How does the council plan to use the amount above the target?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The city manager proposes a budget in June (June 2, 2026 this year), council holds workshops (June 18 and July 8), sets a maximum tax rate in July (July 14), and holds two public hearings in September; the FY2027 budget was adopted Sept. 22, 2026. See who is running for council
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