Palm Coast’s Tech Tab: IT Budget Clears $8.5 Million for 2026 as Fiber Costs Climb

Part 16 of an ongoing look at the City of Palm Coast budget, drawn from figures posted on the city’s website.

Keeping a city’s computers humming, its phones working, and its water and wastewater systems watched around the clock is expensive work. For Fiscal Year 2026, Palm Coast approved a combined Information Technology budget of $8,529,371 split between two funds — that’s $577,837 higher than the $7,951,534 adopted for FY 2025.

The full budget with line-by-line expenditures for each department can be found here.

IT supports every department in the organization. In practical terms, that means more than 650 computers, 80-plus servers, and technology spread across 25 sites around the city. Add in over 800 mobile devices, phones, tablets, and modems/routers, plus the phone system itself, video meetings, storage, email, and secured servers, and the scope gets big fast.

Two Funds Feeding One Operation

Palm Coast finances the IT Department through two streams: an Internal Service Fund and an Enterprise Fund.

Most of the budget sits in the Internal Service Fund. It pays for the daily technology services other departments rely on, and it is funded mainly through internal transfers and allocation charges — in other words, departments are charged for the IT support and systems they consume.

The Enterprise Fund is aimed at outward-facing work, especially Palm Coast FiberNET, the city’s fiber optic network, and the Wireless Master Plan that lays out how wireless infrastructure will expand to improve citywide cellular coverage. That fund draws outside revenue through wireless ground leases (cell tower sites) and fees tied to dark and lit fiber services. FiberNET itself covers more than 60 miles of conduit and fiber along major Palm Coast roadways, connecting city facilities, schools, and other users.

Internal Service Fund: $6.95 Million

For FY 2026, the IT Internal Service Fund totals $6,953,140, which is actually $15,571 lower than the $6,968,711 adopted for FY 2025. Looking back, actual spending in FY 2024 came in at $5,088,068.

Here is the FY 2026 breakdown with the prior-year context:

Personnel Services (pay and benefits): $2,798,966 for FY 2026, an increase of $37,967 over the $2,760,999 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending: $2,368,320.

Operating Expenses (daily operating costs): $4,064,174 for FY 2026, up $162,851 from the $3,901,323 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending: $2,632,368.

Capital Outlay (larger equipment purchases): $10,000 for FY 2026, down sharply by $135,678 from the $145,678 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending: $87,380.

Contingency (set-aside for surprises): $80,000 for FY 2026, a reduction of $80,711 from the $160,711 adopted for FY 2025. FY 2024 showed no recorded contingency spending.

Staffing funded through this side is set at 22.50 positions in FY 2026, one position lower than the 23.50 adopted in FY 2025. FY 2024 was also 22.50.

Enterprise Fund: $1.58 Million, With Capital Spending Doing the Heavy Lifting

The IT Enterprise Fund for FY 2026 is budgeted at $1,576,231. That is a jump of $593,408 from the $982,823 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending was $880,682.

The increase is largely explained by one category: capital outlay.

Personnel Services: $201,482 for FY 2026, down $27,433 from the $228,915 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending: $210,392.

Operating Expenses: $425,244 for FY 2026, down $4,523 from the $429,767 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending: $392,624.

Capital Outlay: $925,000 for FY 2026, up $625,000 from the $300,000 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending: $252,583. The capital plan more than triples year over year, matching the city’s continued push on fiber and wireless buildout.

Transfers to Other Funds: $24,505 for FY 2026, a $364 increase over the $24,141 adopted for FY 2025. Actual FY 2024 spending: $25,083.

Enterprise Fund staffing stays the same at 1.50 positions in FY 2024, FY 2025, and FY 2026.

What IT Covers Day to Day

Palm Coast’s IT operation is set up across five divisions.

Service Desk handles user support, troubleshooting, and service requests. Development is responsible for city websites, app integration, and custom software work. GIS, or Geographical Information Systems, supports mapping and spatial data used for planning and operations. Applications Administration runs the city’s enterprise software, integrations, and user support. Infrastructure manages the core IT systems and network backbone that keeps everything connected and secured.

How the Department Says It Did

The budget document includes performance measures and a progress update.

For customer satisfaction, IT set a goal of keeping satisfaction at 95% and meeting that level 100% of the time, with a target of 100%. The reported result was 100%.

On workload, the target was to keep the gap between tickets created and tickets resolved under 150 per quarter. The department reported meeting that mark 96% of the time. Across the fiscal year, staff opened 9,851 help tickets and closed 9,499.

By month, the numbers were reported as: October, 828 opened and 712 closed (86%); November, 628 opened and 562 closed (89%); December, 700 opened and 645 closed (92%); January, 866 opened and 868 closed (100%); February, 691 opened and 677 closed (98%); March, 912 opened and 934 closed (102%); April, 804 opened and 866 closed (108%); May, 854 opened and 830 closed (97%); June, 799 opened and 852 closed (107%); July, 879 opened and 809 closed (92%); August, 962 opened and 886 closed (92%); September, 928 opened and 858 closed (92%). Any month over 100% reflects closing more tickets than were created, cutting into backlog.

A Full Slate of Projects

The progress report lays out what the department tackled during the year.

Service Desk work included hurricane-season readiness, setting up the Emergency Operations Center for Hurricane Milton, then running a full exercise later to confirm equipment and procedures. The team also replaced virtual workstations across the city with physical PCs after virtualization costs rose sharply, a shift expected to lower long-term costs while improving performance. ITIL service practices were formally put in motion, including ticketing improvements and building Change Management processes. Audio and video gear was upgraded at Central Park, the Community Center, and the Community Wing at City Hall. A WIN-911 alert system was also rolled out for the SCADA network, giving plant operators richer alerts through a mobile app.

Infrastructure completed construction of the new City Hall Data Center, moved plant operations fully into the new SCADA environment, and wrapped up a citywide wireless refresh with new access points. The group also finalized Microsoft Teams configurations for every department, with rollout slated to start in the fourth quarter.

On the applications side, the city rolled out phase one of the NeoGov recruitment platform, giving Palm Coast a listing presence on GovernmentJobs.com, and scheduled phase two, aimed at employee onboarding, to go live in July. Merchant services for payment processing were upgraded, with another phase planned for the fourth quarter to integrate with the Munis financial system. Other efforts included moving Business Tax Receipts from Munis into CDPlus, launching a Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) inspection system with mobile tools, and upgrading to a web-based cashiering platform. Projects still underway include migrating Timekeeping and Telestaff scheduling into a cloud-hosted setup and replacing Agenda and Meeting Management software, targeted for the fourth quarter.

Development continued building the city’s in-house Palm Coast Connect mobile app, while expanding the web portal so residents can see case status, estimated completion time, and email threads between staff and customers. The team launched a redesigned Economic Development site (selectpalmcoast.com), created web pages that show live status updates for the Strategic Action Plan, and is moving toward a custom reporting tool that will use AI to write progress summaries. Other work cited: an online Short-Term Rental registration system, moving end-of-life SQL servers into more secure environments, and shifting HR Risk Management functions so workers’ compensation and risk claims live in one unified system.

GIS submitted a grant application to support a formal GIS Strategic Plan, moved the full Inframap Asset Management solution for water, sewer, and reclaimed water into the cloud in March, and built a new reference layer for utility construction drawings. Staff were embedded with Stormwater and Community Development. In coordination with Flagler County IT, the team produced a Fire Pre-Plan GIS solution for emergency response, supported the Hurricane Milton response, and reviewed emergency GIS options with nine departments ahead of the 2025 hurricane season. The division also finished a year-long Stormwater Database Development project, built a Stormwater Network Viewer, launched a public GIS Open Data Hub, adopted agile project management practices, worked on ADA accessibility for GIS products, and began looking at AI-based workflow automation alongside a new isolated 3GIS environment for fiber assets.

The Enterprise division, before it was merged with Infrastructure, worked with a consultant on a pricing analysis for FiberNET services, with updated pricing expected before the fiscal year ends. City Council adopted an updated Wireless Master Plan in March, the first major revision since 2018, and later approved three new ground leases for cell towers. Within the first year of a three-year effort, all fiber cables and conduit were entered into the 3-GIS documentation system. The team also handled an emergency fiber repair that restored Old Kings Elementary service within 24 hours of a cut. Staff surveyed city departments on software and process needs for the Software Technology Plan and completed the FY 2026 budget process by meeting with departments before presenting the proposed budget to administration.

Bottom Line

Across both funds, Palm Coast plans to spend $8,529,371 on IT in FY 2026: $6,953,140 through the Internal Service Fund and $1,576,231 through the Enterprise Fund. Staffing totals 24 positions overall, 22.50 on the internal side and 1.50 on the enterprise side. The internal budget is essentially steady, but the headline shift is the Enterprise Fund’s $925,000 in capital outlay, pointing to ongoing investment in fiber and wireless infrastructure.

Disclaimer: Information in this article is public record and was taken from the City of Palm Coast website. Any deeper budget detail would need to be requested through a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request.

Another budget series for Palm Coast will be published when the budget hearings have been completed, outlining the budget for the fiscal year 2026-2027.

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