Florida's local budget offices turn property tax dollars into sheriff patrols, road resurfacing, libraries, and drainage work. All 67 counties adopt an annual budget, and so do hundreds of cities. The staff who prepare those documents answer questions from homeowners, business owners, and reporters who want to see where the money goes. Our directory lists 22 of these offices, from Key West to Pensacola, with street addresses and phone numbers so you can call before you drive.

Who Prepares and Approves Local Budgets in Florida

In Florida, the elected governing body adopts the budget. For a county, that is the Board of County Commissioners. For a city, it is the city commission or council. Budget staff do the groundwork. They collect spending requests from departments, estimate revenue, and present a balanced proposal that elected officials can amend and approve.

What the office is called differs from place to place. Orange County runs a Budget Department at 201 South Rosalind Avenue in Orlando. Hernando County's office is at 20 North Main Street in Brooksville, and the Broward County office is at 115 South Andrews Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. Some counties fold budgeting into an Office of Management and Budget or a finance division under the county administrator. If you cannot find a department with the word budget in its name, ask for the person who prepares the annual budget book.

Cities follow a similar pattern. Our listings include Clearwater, Davie, Delray Beach, Miami, Ormond Beach, Stuart, and Tallahassee. In a council-manager city, the city manager usually proposes the budget and the commission votes on it. In a strong-mayor city, the mayor often drafts it. Either way, the city budget is separate from the county budget, even though both appear on the same annual property tax bill.

Several constitutional officers also have budgets that run through the county process. The sheriff submits a budget to the county commission. The property appraiser's and tax collector's budgets are reviewed by the Florida Department of Revenue. Those offices are independent, so a question about deputy staffing or a property appraisal belongs with them, not with the budget department.

Florida Statutes and State Agencies Behind Local Budgets

Several parts of the Florida Statutes set the ground rules. Chapter 129 covers county annual budgets and requires them to be balanced, meaning estimated receipts and balances equal appropriations and reserves. It also limits how much a county can set aside as a contingency reserve. Chapter 166 governs municipal finance. Chapter 200 controls how taxing authorities set millage rates and notify taxpayers. Chapter 218 covers local government financial reporting.

Local governments run on an October 1 to September 30 fiscal year. The state government uses a different one, July 1 to June 30, and its budget is passed by the Legislature as the General Appropriations Act. People often confuse the two. The Tallahassee entry in our listings (850-488-7810) is a place to start with questions, but state agency budgets are a separate matter handled by the Governor's Office of Policy and Budget and the Legislature.

Three state bodies keep an eye on local finances. The Department of Revenue oversees property tax rolls and millage compliance. The Department of Financial Services collects annual financial reports from local governments. The Auditor General audits certain local entities. Two open government laws also apply to every budget office: the Sunshine Law in Chapter 286 for public meetings, and the Public Records Act in Chapter 119 for documents.

The yearly cycle follows a predictable calendar. Exact dates vary by county, but the sequence is the same:

One mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable value. As a simple example, a home with $300,000 of taxable value and a 5-mill levy owes $1,500 for that levy. Your bill adds up several levies from the county, the city, the school board, and special districts such as the regional water management district.

Metro Counties Versus Rural Counties Across Florida

Budget offices in the largest counties handle enormous volume. Broward County has two listings, the county office in Fort Lauderdale and the Davie City Budget Department at 6591 Orange Dr. Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, and Orange counties operate on the same scale, and the Miami City Budget Department at 444 SW 2nd Ave and the Delray Beach office at 100 Northwest 1st Avenue serve two of their busiest municipalities. Large governments typically publish thick budget books, employ analysts for each major department, and field calls from many interested groups during hearing season.

Smaller counties work differently. Citrus County's office sits in Lecanto at 3600 W Sovereign Path, and the Hernando County office is in Brooksville. Santa Rosa County's is in Milton, and Indian River County's is in Vero Beach. Staffing is leaner, and one small team may cover budgeting, grants, and financial reporting. Smaller tax bases also mean fewer dollars per resident for services. State law recognizes this by designating some counties as fiscally constrained, which makes them eligible for additional state revenue sharing. Calling ahead matters more in these offices, because the person who knows the answer may also be covering another desk.

Geography shapes access too. The Monroe County Budget Department is in Key West, at 1100 Simonton St, but the county stretches along a chain of islands. Someone in Marathon or Key Largo may find a phone call or the county's online documents far more practical than a drive south. Similar logic applies in the Panhandle, where Bay, Escambia, and Santa Rosa counties have rebuilt budgets and reserves after Hurricane Michael in 2018 and Hurricane Sally in 2020. Storm recovery costs, insurance, and reserve levels are common budget hearing topics there.

Overlapping governments add another layer. In Volusia County, you will find the county office in DeLand and a separate city office in Ormond Beach. A homeowner inside Ormond Beach pays both governments, while a homeowner in an unincorporated area pays only the county for most services. Before you call, check your tax bill to see which authorities actually levy a tax on your parcel.

Using a Florida Budget Office: What to Bring and When to Call

Start by identifying the right government. Your TRIM notice lists every taxing authority, its current rate, its proposed rate, and the date of its hearing. Pick the authority you have a question about and call its budget office on a weekday during business hours. Late August and September are the busiest weeks, so expect to leave a message or wait for a callback.

Have your parcel number ready, along with the TRIM notice if you received one. Say which fiscal year you are asking about and which department or program interests you. A specific question gets a faster answer than a request to explain the whole budget. Budget staff can explain proposed and adopted budgets, millage rates, department allocations, and hearing dates. They generally cannot change your assessed value, process a homestead exemption, or accept a tax payment.

Those jobs belong to other offices. The county property appraiser sets assessed value and takes homestead exemption applications, which are due by March 1. If you disagree with a value, you can petition the county Value Adjustment Board, and the filing deadline is 25 days after the TRIM notices are mailed. The tax collector accepts payments and offers a discount for early payment, which starts at 4 percent in November. Sending your question to the right office saves you a second trip.

The state budget department in Delaware is responsible for coordinating the governor's executive budget proposal, managing the state's fiscal year appropriations process, monitoring agency spending, and reporting on the state's financial condition to the legislature and the public.

Budget Departments locations are available in 1 cities across Delaware. They are spread across 1 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration include Wilmington, where larger municipal governments maintain dedicated budget offices to manage complex multi-department expenditure plans and capital improvement programs.

Residents of Delaware interested in participating in the budget process can attend public budget hearings, review draft budget documents posted online, and submit written comments to their local government budget office during the public comment period before budget adoption.

Wilmington City Budget Department

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Wilmington City Budget Department

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Nonprofit organizations, contractors, and grant recipients working with Delaware government programs should contact the relevant budget department for information about current fiscal year appropriations, spending freeze notifications, and any mid-year budget adjustments that may affect funding levels for ongoing programs or contracts.

Browse Budget Departments by county across Delaware to find the nearest location.

Budget Offices From the Panhandle to the Keys

Our Florida listings cover every corner of the state, and the office you need often depends on where you live. In the Panhandle, the Escambia County Budget Department is at 221 Palafox Place in Pensacola (850-595-4960). The Santa Rosa County office is at 6495 Caroline Street in Milton (850-983-1860), and Bay County's is at 840 West 11th Street (850-248-8240).

In central Florida, Orange County is at 407-836-7390, and Lake County's office is at 315 West Main Street in Tavares (352-343-9452). On the Gulf side, the Clearwater Budget Department at 100 South Myrtle Avenue (727-562-4540) sits inside Pinellas County. Pasco County's office is at 7530 Little Road in New Port Richey (727-847-8129), and Charlotte County's is at 18500 Murdock Cir in Port Charlotte (941-743-1551).

Along the Atlantic coast, you will find Brevard County at 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way in Melbourne (321-633-2153) and Indian River County at 1801 27th Street in Vero Beach (772-226-1214). The Stuart City Budget Department, in Martin County, is at 2401 Southeast Monterey Road (772-288-5518). Further south, the Delray Beach office serves part of Palm Beach County. Hours and staffing change, so confirm by phone before visiting in person.

Florida Budget Department Questions

Florida counties and cities use a fiscal year that runs from October 1 through September 30. The budget adopted at the final September hearing takes effect only days later. The state government uses a different calendar, July 1 through June 30, and the Legislature passes its budget separately. School boards also adopt their own budgets on a separate schedule. If you want to influence local spending, the best window is late spring through September, while department requests are still under review. After October 1, changes require a formal budget amendment approved at a public meeting.

Look for the TRIM notice, formally the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, which the property appraiser mails in August. It lists each taxing authority, last year's tax, the amount you would owe at the proposed rate, and the date, time, and place of each hearing. Compare the proposed millage rate with the rolled-back rate, which is the rate that would raise the same revenue as last year. For help reading it, call the budget office of the authority in question, such as Pasco County at 727-847-8129 or Charlotte County at 941-743-1551.

Yes. Florida's Sunshine Law requires budget meetings to be open to the public, and state law gives members of the public a reasonable opportunity to be heard on a proposition before the board votes. Hearings are usually held in the evening so working people can attend. Many boards ask speakers to fill out a card and limit remarks to a few minutes, so prepare a short, specific statement. You can also send written comments ahead of time. Agendas are normally posted online, and the budget office can confirm the date of the tentative and final hearings.

Contact your county property appraiser, not the budget department. The appraiser sets assessed value and can review your concerns in an informal conference. If that does not resolve it, you can petition the county Value Adjustment Board within 25 days of the date the TRIM notices were mailed. Homestead exemption applications also go to the property appraiser and are due by March 1. The budget office controls the millage rate applied to your value, not the value itself, and payments go to the tax collector, who offers discounts starting at 4 percent in November.

Florida's Public Records Act, Chapter 119, covers budget documents, and you generally do not have to explain why you want them. Inspecting records is free. Copies of standard pages cost up to 15 cents per one-sided page, and extensive requests that take a lot of staff time may carry an additional service charge. Many offices post adopted budgets online, so check the website first. If you need something specific, call. For example, the Davie office is at 954-797-1050 and Delray Beach is at 561-243-7129. Put detailed requests in writing so there is a record of what you asked for.

No. Counties and cities are separate governments with separate budgets and hearings. Volusia County is a good example. The county office is at 123 West Indiana Avenue in DeLand (386-736-5934), while the Ormond Beach office is at 22 South Beach Street (386-676-3226). The county covers countywide services and unincorporated areas, and the city covers services inside its limits. Some counties also levy special assessments or municipal service taxing units in unincorporated areas. Check your tax bill to see which authorities tax your parcel, then call the matching office.