- July 11, 2025
Palm Coast is cutting three personnel positions and freezing two others in order to reduce the city's budget, including the chief of staff position.
At the June 24 Palm Coast City Council workshop meeting, Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri requested that staff reduce the budget by a tenth of a mill. City staff had just told the council the city's taxable property value had increased by 9%.
"The max [millage rate] I would like to see is a tenth rollback,” she said at that meeting. “We can always go lower.”
The first presentation of the fiscal year 2026 general fund budget will be presented at the 6 p.m. July 8 workshop meeting with the tenth-mill rollback, going from 4.1893 to 4.0893 mills. To make the reduction, the city is cutting the chief of staff's $205,000 position after Jason DeLorenzo leaves for Palm Bay in July, as well as a Finance Technician position and part-time hours in Communications and Marketing, a Palm Coast press release said.
The three cut positions total $308,000 in savings. Palm Coast will also be reducing IT-related costs that equal $500,000.
"This budget reflects a continued commitment to responsible financial stewardship, enhanced services, and maintaining residents' quality of life," the press release said. "The City Council’s priorities remain at the heart of this budget, with a focus on maintaining a healthy FUND balance while investing in public safety, infrastructure, and long-term efficiencies."
Cutting the chief of staff position will permanently divide the leadership workload, which is already missing three other positions: a community development director, a utility director and a city manager.
In an email to the Observer, Communication Director Brittany Kershaw said the city is actively recruiting a utility director and a community development director, hopefully alleviating the work load on the senior-level positions. Chief Strobridge, she wrote, will be city's the acting assistant city manager for the next several months as well.
Kershaw also said the city has received over 60 applications for the city manager position which will be reviewed in August.
The 2026 budget is also investing in local priorities, the press release said. Almost $4 million dollars is allocated across neighborhood street maintenance, saltwater canal dredging, economic development incentives and investment for the Maintenance Operations Complex to support the city's infrastructure needs.
A 17% increase in public safety is also in the 2026 budget, including nine new Flagler County Sheriff’s Office deputies.
“This budget allows us to prioritize what matters most, while finding smarter ways to serve the community,” said Acting City Manager Lauren Johnston. “As Palm Coast continues to evolve, this balanced approach ensures we protect what makes Palm Coast a great place to live, work, learn, and play—today and into the future.”
Palm Coast also recently launched an agency-wide risk assessment with the national consulting firm Plante Moran, according to a May press release. The assessment will include evaluating Palm Coast's capabilities and developing a framework to use to assess risk on an ongoing basis.
Based on a review of Palm Coast's current risks, Plante Moran will work with city leadership to prioritize risks, create targeted mitigation strategies, and recommend ways to align these efforts with long-term objectives, the press release said. The firm will also provide guidance on actionable measures that can enhance operational efficiency and improve services across all departments.
