The Escambia County Board of County Commissioners is the five-member elected body that governs Escambia County, Florida. The commissioners set county policy, pass local ordinances, adopt the annual budget, and set the property tax rate. For fiscal year 2025–2026, the proposed countywide budget totaled approximately $824.4 million.1Escambia County, Florida. Proposed Budget Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Escambia operates as a non-charter county, so the board’s authority comes from the Florida Constitution and general state law rather than a local charter.2Florida Senate. The Florida Constitution
Who Sits on the Board
Five commissioners serve on the board, one elected from each of the county’s five districts.3Escambia County. Districts Only voters who live in a district vote on that district’s seat. Terms run four years and are staggered, so either two or three seats appear on the ballot in any given election cycle. The entire board never turns over at once.
Elections are partisan. Candidates run under a party label through the primary and general election. District lines are redrawn after each decennial census to keep populations roughly equal, as required by Article VIII of the Florida Constitution.2Florida Senate. The Florida Constitution Each year the commissioners choose a Chairman and Vice Chairman from among themselves to preside at meetings and represent the county.
What the Board Can Do
Florida Statute 125.01 gives county commissions broad authority over local government, including hospitals and ambulance service, health and welfare programs, parks, libraries, zoning, and business regulation.4The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 125.01 – Powers and Duties In Escambia, that shows up as votes on subdivision approvals, emergency management contracts, road and bridge maintenance, and funding for social services across unincorporated areas.
Ordinances passed by the board carry the force of law inside county boundaries. There are two limits worth knowing. Because Escambia has no home-rule charter, the board can only act where the Florida Legislature has authorized it to act.2Florida Senate. The Florida Constitution And where a county ordinance conflicts with a municipal ordinance, the county’s version does not apply inside that city’s limits, including Pensacola and Century.
The Budget and Your Property Tax Bill
Adopting the budget is the board’s most consequential annual job. The $824.4 million fiscal year 2025–2026 proposal covers departmental operations and capital projects like road construction and stormwater work.1Escambia County, Florida. Proposed Budget Fiscal Year 2025-2026
As part of that process, the board sets the property tax millage rate. A mill is one dollar of tax per $1,000 of taxable property value. For 2025, the countywide rate set by the board was 6.600 mills.5Tax Collector of Escambia County. Millage Rate Detail Your total property tax bill combines that rate with levies from the school district, special districts, and any municipality you live in.
Funding the Constitutional Officers
A large share of the county budget pays for five independently elected constitutional officers: the Sheriff, the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller, the Property Appraiser, the Tax Collector, and the Supervisor of Elections.1Escambia County, Florida. Proposed Budget Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Each runs their own office, but their operating budgets must be approved by the commissioners. The Sheriff submits a request; the board decides how much to fund. The Sheriff’s budget is typically the single largest line item, driven by law enforcement staffing and jail operations.
Land Use and Rezoning
Zoning decisions produce some of the most contested votes the commissioners take. The county’s Planning Board holds public hearings on Comprehensive Plan amendments, Land Development Code changes, and individual rezoning requests, then sends recommendations to the commissioners for a final decision.6Escambia County, Florida. Planning Board7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 163.3174 – Local Planning Agency
Rezoning cases and certain other land use matters are quasi-judicial, meaning the commissioners act more like judges than legislators. Witnesses testify under oath and can be cross-examined. Only qualified experts can offer opinion testimony on technical questions like traffic or environmental impact; a lay witness who tries to give expert opinion without being formally qualified will have that testimony given no weight.8Escambia County, Florida. Guidelines Regarding Testimony Before the Escambia County Board of Adjustment If you plan to speak at a rezoning hearing, your observations about neighborhood conditions are admissible as fact testimony, but a technical claim about drainage engineering is not unless you qualify as an expert.
Attending Meetings and Speaking to the Board
Regular commission meetings are held twice a month. One session is typically scheduled in the morning and one in the evening to accommodate different work schedules. Each regular meeting is preceded by a public forum where anyone can speak on any topic for two to three minutes, starting at either 8:30 a.m. or 4:30 p.m. depending on the meeting.9Escambia County. Escambia County Board of County Commissioners
Sign up before the forum begins if you want to address the board. If you plan to hand out documents or show visuals, give copies to the clerk in advance. Agendas, backup materials like staff reports and draft contracts, and video recordings are posted through the county’s online meeting portal. The Clerk of the Circuit Court records official minutes, which go online after the board approves them at the following regular meeting; draft minutes are usually available the next business day.10Escambia County Clerk. Board of County Commissioners BCC Minutes
Public Records and the Sunshine Law
Two Florida laws keep the board’s work transparent. Chapter 119, the Public Records law, makes virtually every government document available for inspection by any person, and anyone with custody of a public record must let you inspect and copy it at any reasonable time under reasonable conditions.11The Florida Legislature. Florida Code Chapter 119 – Public Records12The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 119.07 – Inspection and Copying of Records; Photographing Public Records; Fees; Exemptions You can request emails, contracts, audits, and other departmental records. Inspection is free; fees may apply for physical copies.
Chapter 286, the Government in the Sunshine Law, requires that any meeting where official action is taken be open to the public and noticed in advance.13The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 286.011 – Public Meetings and Records; Public Inspection; Criminal and Civil Penalties No binding vote can happen behind closed doors. Two or more commissioners discussing board business outside a noticed meeting can itself violate the law. Penalties include criminal charges, and any action taken in violation can be voided.
Running for a Seat
Commission seats are filled through partisan elections. You must reside in the district you want to represent, and single-member district commissioners are nominated and elected only by voters in that district.14Florida Senate. Florida Code 124.011 – Alternate Procedure for the Election of County Commissioners to Provide for Single-Member Representation; Applicability The qualifying fee for a partisan candidate totals 6 percent of the office’s annual salary: 3 percent as the filing fee, 1 percent as the election assessment, and 2 percent as the party assessment.15Florida Senate. Florida Code 99.092 – Qualifying Fee Candidates who collect enough petition signatures can skip the filing fee but still owe the 1 percent election assessment.