Winners and Losers in Key West’s Proposed FY 2026 Budget

Key West’s budget for 2026 hides higher wages behind cuts in travel, consultants.

Key West City Commissioners are set to vote on a $101.6 million general fund budget that looks flat compared to last year during a special meeting set for Thurs., Sept. 11 5:05 p.m. at 1300 White St.

But beneath the surface, spreadsheets released late last week show a pattern of shifting dollars that critics say makes rising personnel costs harder to detect.

The final budget for fiscal year 2026 totals $101,637,122 — nearly unchanged from both the July draft and the FY 2025 plan.

At first glance, the city appears to be holding the line. Yet an analysis of line-item changes suggests a strategy: raise wages and benefits while trimming professional services, travel and training so the department totals appear flat or even lower.

This is freshman City Manager Brian Barroso’s first round of budget meetings since being hired to replace the fired Al Childress, who was terminated in a commission room coup orchestrated by disgraced City Attorney Ron Ramsingh, his brother, indicted felon and former Chief Building Officer Raj, and long-time (now retired) Code Enforcement Director Jim Young.