CLAY COUNTY – Months of workshops, public forums and the first public reading almost came to a crashing halt during Monday’s Special Session when two of five Green Cove Springs city council members suddenly had second thoughts about setting the 2026-27 fiscal budget with a 5.229 millage rate.

And with a gross taxable value of more than $21 million, the board approved an aggregate operating millage rate of 8.5931. This is 3.36% more than the current year aggregate rolled-back rate. The final rates were broken down as follows:

• County Services- 5.5471
• Conservation Lands Program- 0.2000
• Unincorporated Services MSTU Fund- 0.1477
• Law Enforcement MSTU-4 Fund- 2.4014
• Fire Control MSTU-8 Fund- 0.5048
• Lake Asbury MSBD- 0
• Challenge Center MSTU- 3.0000

The Town of Orange Park also adopted a 5.90 millage rate for the new fiscal year with a 5-0 vote on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

After weeks of budgeting sessions, the town arrived at the number as a stark difference from the originally proposed 6.15. During the meeting, there was also discussion that further decreased the rate from 5.95. Councilman Kenneth Vogel urged that dropping the number would be in good faith to residents.

"We understand these are tough times, and we know that we have raised rates in other areas. And there's certainly some fees in some other areas. But we want to be able to have a little bit of good faith," Vogel said.

The final millage has a current rollback rate of 5.7071 mills, which it exceeds by 3.38%.

Additionally, councilmembers settled on a final operating budget. With $35.5 million in revenue and $36.9 million in expenditures, the town's general fund still carries a deficit of $360,649. This will be funded through its reserves.

After evaluating expenses and reallocating funds, there were also several cuts that the town agreed on, including reducing Carrie Clarke Day and Orange Park After Dark by $2,000 and $11,750, respectively.