Fort Lauderdale FY2027 Final Budget and Millage Hearing

By Brian D’Antoni
Sundaze Gazette · Politics / Owner-impact budget

Updated Oct. 6, 2026. Fort Lauderdale’s City Commission held its second and final FY2027 millage and budget hearing on Monday, Sept. 14, 2026 and adopted all ten budget items, including the final city millage rate of 4.1193 and the debt service millage rate of 0.2216, according to the city’s official Action Summary. This post is kept as an owner record of what those rates mean.

Monday, September 14, 2026, 5:01 p.m. was Fort Lauderdale’s second and final Truth in Millage public hearing on the FY2027 city millage, non-ad valorem assessments, Capital Improvement Plan, and operating budget. The special meeting was held at the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, Community Room #1004, 1300 West Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33312. Fiscal year 2027 began October 1, 2026.

That night the Commission adopted the FY2027 final city millage, the final budget and personnel complement, the five-year Capital Improvement Plan, and the stormwater, fire and district assessment resolutions. The millage, budget and Capital Improvement Plan resolutions passed 4 to 1; the assessment and district items passed 5 to 0 (Action Summary). For owners, the result is the one this guide mapped before the vote: a flat city millage headline sitting beside higher stormwater and fire assessments.

Controlling primaries for every rate and logistics line below: the city’s Understanding Your Property Tax Notice page (posted July 9, 2026), the Legistar MeetingDetail for the Sept. 14 special meeting, the public hearing notice, and the SpeakUp for the Second Budget Hearing. Packet PDFs live on the Annual Budgets hub. If a newer city posting lands after this story’s deadline, the newer posting controls.

What the Sept. 14 hearing was: the final vote, not a workshop

Florida’s TRIM calendar gives cities two noticed millage/budget hearings. Fort Lauderdale’s first budget hearing was Wednesday, September 9, 2026, 5:01 p.m. at the same FLPD Community Room. The Sept. 14 CITY COMMISSION - SPECIAL MEETING was labeled Second Budget Hearing on Legistar’s calendar and carried agenda items titled Final millage, Final budget, and Final Sunrise Key NID millage/budget.

Ten budget-track items (BGT-1 through BGT-10) were on the docket, including stormwater, fire assessment, city millage/debt millage, city final budget/personnel, CIP, and several district-specific assessment lines, and the city’s Action Summary lists each one as ADOPTED. This guide stays owner-impact: what the rates are and who they hit.

Flat millage, rising assessments: the owner math that matters

From the city’s Understanding Your Property Tax Notice comparison table (2026 Rate/Assessment vs 2027 Rate/Assessment):

The city states it is the only Broward city to hold the same millage for twenty (20) years. On Sept. 14 the Commission adopted that flat operating line and the lower debt line: File 26-0676 / BGT-9, Resolution Adopting the Fiscal Year 2027 Final Millage Rate (4.1193) and Debt Service Millage Rate (0.2216), passed 4 to 1.

Owner decode, not slogans: Flat millage is not a flat bill. Ad valorem tax for the city line is still:

Taxable value ÷ 1,000 × millage rate = city ad valorem tax

One mill = $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value. Homestead parcels generally ride Save Our Homes caps on taxable-value growth; non-homestead residential, newly purchased, newly improved, and commercial parcels do not get the same shield. Your November Tax Collector bill also stacks school, county, and other district lines that are not decided in this chamber.

Voted debt millage falls from 0.2306 to 0.2216. The city’s TRIM explain page notes voted debt covers four voter-approved bonds (Series 2011A GO; 2015 GO Refunding; Public Safety Bond; Parks Bond). That dip is a packet fact owners can cite; it does not erase non-ad valorem increases.

Non-ad valorem is where many SF owners feel the budget first. Stormwater single-family moves $376 → $451 (+$75). Fire assessment moves $403 → $444 (+$41 per unit). On those two published SF / per-unit lines alone, the combined illustration is +$116/year, before any change in taxable value on the millage lines. Note: the city table publishes single-family stormwater and per-unit fire, and this guide does not estimate commercial, multifamily, or ERU stormwater schedules. Read your TRIM and the Legistar exhibits for File 26-0824 (stormwater) and File 26-0674 (fire); both resolutions were adopted Sept. 14.

A TRIM notice is not a tax bill. The city formula on the explain page is the right mental model: Taxable Value × Tax Millage Rates + Non-Ad Valorem Assessments = Tax Bill. Payment comes later on the Tax Collector cycle (with early-payment discount windows as published by the collector, not invent deadlines here).

The adopted Legistar stack: which BGT item hits your parcel

From the live MeetingDetail agenda (file numbers as posted):

All ten items were adopted. Match the BGT numbers to the lines on your TRIM or district map; Lauderdale Isles, Beach BID, utility undergrounding, and Sunrise Key apply only inside their districts. District-specific assessment amounts beyond the agenda titles above are not republished here; open the Legistar attachments for your line.

Sunrise Key NID: only if you are in the district

The same Sept. 14 hearing adopted the Sunrise Key Neighborhood Improvement District final millage and budget. Agenda title for BGT-8 / 26-0675: final millage 1.0000 and final budget $230,072 (Commission District 2); both resolutions passed 5 to 0. The district’s city page (Sunrise Key NID) confirms authority to levy up to two mills annually for beautification/security purposes; the adopted figure sets the district line for FY2027. If Sunrise Key is not on your TRIM, skip this item. If it is, treat 1.0000 mills as an additional district ad valorem line stacked on top of the city 4.1193 / 0.2216 stack, not a substitute for city millage.

Budget copies for review: City Clerk’s Office, 1 East Broward Boulevard, Suite 444, and fortlauderdale.gov / Annual Budgets. Budget documents: FY2027 Proposed Budget PDF, FY2027 to 2031 Proposed CIP PDF, FY2027 Proposed Budget Neighbors Guide.

Financial Transparency: following the adopted budget

The city points owners to its Financial Transparency Portal (OpenGov drill-downs) for following the budget. Before the vote, the Office of Management and Budget also offered an interactive Balancing Act simulation of the proposed FY2027 general fund budget (fortlauderdale.abalancingact.com). The Legistar record and adopted resolutions are what control the rates on your bill.

Homestead vs landlord vs commercial: who feels what

Homestead owners: City millage flat at 4.1193 means the city ad valorem line moves mainly with your capped taxable value (SOH / CPI rules on the Appraiser side). The line to watch is the non-ad valorem block (stormwater and fire), plus any district line (Sunrise Key, Isles, undergrounding, Beach BID). Use exemptions tools on web.bcpa.net if you are eligible and not enrolled (Homestead, senior, veteran, disability, and related categories listed on the city’s TRIM explain page).

Non-homestead landlords and newly purchased parcels: No SOH shield. Flat millage can still produce a higher dollar city line when taxable value resets toward market. Pair TRIM taxable value with 4.1193 / 0.2216, then add assessments. Brief HOA boards and property managers with the +$75 SF stormwater and +$41 fire illustrations only where those schedules apply, and flag that commercial schedules may differ.

Commercial / beach / corridor operators: Watch BGT-6 Beach BID if you are in that district; BGT-5 undergrounding if assessed; BGT-2 CIP for project timing near your block; and fire/stormwater like everyone else. Large wastewater users watch BGT-1 ($3.80 / 1,000 gallons treated). This is a rates-and-assessments checklist, not a grants map. CRA incentives are a different track (Fort Lauderdale NPF CRA incentives map if you need that guide).

Related Gazette budget hearing guides

Related Gazette hearing guides: Oakland Park FY2027 tentative millage hearing, Broward County FY2027 budget hearing Sept. 10, Palm Beach County FY2027 final millage hearing Sept. 15. Different chambers, different millages, different assessment schedules. Do not copy Oakland Park or county numbers onto a Fort Lauderdale TRIM.

Related hub: SoFla Business Grants and Incentives Guide

Related reading: Oakland Park FY2027 Final Millage, Budget and CRA Guide.

Key Facts for Owners and Search

What was Fort Lauderdale's Sept. 14, 2026 hearing?

The second and final FY2027 Truth in Millage hearing, at 5:01 p.m. in the Police Department Community Room #1004, 1300 West Broward Boulevard. It covered millage, non-ad valorem assessments, the Capital Improvement Plan and the operating budget across ten budget items. FY2027 began Oct. 1. The city’s Action Summary lists all ten items as adopted.

What millage rates were adopted?

The Commission adopted a city millage rate of 4.1193, the same as 2026, on a 4 to 1 vote, while voted debt millage moved from 0.2306 to 0.2216. The city says it is the only Broward city to hold the same millage for twenty years. Flat millage is not a flat bill, because taxable values and other lines still move.

What happened to the non-ad valorem assessments?

On the city's table, the single-family stormwater assessment moved from $376 to $451, and the fire assessment moved from $403 to $444 per unit. Together that is about $116 more per year for those two lines, before any change in taxable value. Check how the per-unit lines apply to your property.

How do I estimate my city tax?

Use taxable value divided by 1,000, times the millage rate, then add non-ad valorem assessments. One mill is $1 per $1,000 of taxable value. A TRIM notice is not a bill, and your November bill also includes school, county and other district lines. Homestead parcels generally have Save Our Homes caps.

When do the adopted rates reach my bill?

On the Tax Collector bill that follows the TRIM notice. A TRIM notice is not a bill, and your November bill also includes school, county and other district lines.

Sources (outbound)

• Understanding Your Property Tax Notice
• Notice Registry: FTL public hearing
• Legistar MeetingDetail: Sep 14 Second Budget Hearing
• Legistar Calendar
• SpeakUp: Second Budget Hearing
• Annual Budgets hub
• FY2027 Proposed Budget PDF
• FY2027 to 2031 Proposed CIP PDF
• FY2027 Neighbors Guide PDF
• Financial Transparency Portal
• Balancing Act: FY2027
• Sunrise Key NID
• City Commission Meetings
• BCPA TRIM · Exemptions / web.bcpa.net
• Legislation anchors: 26-0676 millage, 26-0674 fire, 26-0824 stormwater