Fellsmere, Florida Government Guide

Three Fellsmere government guides go deeper than this hub: the City Council and elections guide, the city budget and millage guide, and the Fellsmere Police Department guide.

The council and elections guide covers the members, meeting schedule, election rules and records requests for the City of Fellsmere. The budget and millage guide follows the tax rate and the city's revenue and spending in detail, and the police guide covers contacts, public services such as fingerprinting, and the department's cost. This hub draws only on Indian River County, Florida and state election sources, so it can be checked against each of them.

The City Clerk's office at 22 South Orange Street in Fellsmere is the front door to city government and takes council candidate filings.

The Indian River County Supervisor of Elections lists Maria F. Suarez-Sanchez as the City of Fellsmere clerk, at 772-571-1616 and the 22 S. Orange Street address (Supervisor of Elections, municipal clerks). Candidates for Fellsmere City Council file their qualifying papers and campaign reports with that clerk rather than with the county elections office, so the clerk's office is the first call for anyone thinking of running.

The same 22 S. Orange Street office is one of the places in Fellsmere that accepts voter registration applications, listed with the phone number 772-646-6301; the Marian Fell Library at 63 N. Cypress Street, 772-783-6950, is the other (Supervisor of Elections, voter registration agencies). Completed forms go to the Supervisor of Elections at 4375 43rd Avenue, Vero Beach.

Meetings of the Fellsmere City Council fall under Florida's open meetings law, which requires reasonable notice of every meeting and minutes that are promptly recorded and open to public inspection (Florida Statutes 286.011). Meeting dates and agendas are covered in the Fellsmere City Council and elections guide. Last verified: October 15, 2026, on the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections website.

In the November 5, 2024 general election, Fellsmere voters chose three council members from five candidates: Shayla Macias, Fernando Herrera and Jessica Salgado.

The official summary for the race, City of Fellsmere City Council Member (vote for 3), shows Shayla Macias first with 329 votes, or 26.90 percent, Fernando Herrera second with 280 votes, or 22.89 percent, and Jessica Salgado third with 222 votes, or 18.15 percent (2024 General Election summary results, Indian River County). The whole Fellsmere contest was decided in a single precinct.

The race was close at the cutoff: the third seat went to Jessica Salgado by 16 votes, 222 to 206 for the fourth-place finisher, in an election where Indian River County turnout reached 82.85 percent (election results). Roughly a quarter of each winner's votes came from early voting. The current council roster, the mayor and the meeting calendar are in the Fellsmere City Council and elections guide.

The 2026 General Election for Fellsmere voters is Tuesday, November 3, 2026, with polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. at each voter's assigned polling place.

The Indian River County Supervisor of Elections set October 5 as the registration deadline for this election, so new registrations after that date apply to later elections (Supervisor of Elections, upcoming elections). Requests for a mail ballot must reach the elections office by October 22 at 5:00 p.m. On Election Day, Fellsmere voters must vote at their assigned polling location; the elections office answers polling place questions at 772-226-4705.

No early voting site is inside Fellsmere, and Sebastian City Hall on Main Street is the only one of the four outside Vero Beach. The county elections office keeps a Spanish hotline at 833-347-2763 (Supervisor of Elections). Whether Fellsmere council seats appear on a given ballot is set by the city's election calendar, covered in the Fellsmere City Council and elections guide.

Fellsmere adopted a city property tax rate of 5.3500 mills for fiscal year 2025-26, the highest of the five cities and towns in Indian River County.

The Florida Department of Revenue comparison table shows Fellsmere moving from 5.0000 mills in 2024-25 to 5.3500 mills in 2025-26, against a rolled-back rate of 5.2020 (Florida Department of Revenue, Table 1). Taxes levied by the city rose from $836,833 to $994,935, an 18.9 percent increase, and the adopted rate sits 2.8 percent above the rolled-back rate. In the same table Sebastian adopted 3.4455 mills, Vero Beach 2.9816, Indian River Shores 1.2810 and Orchid 0.7000, while the Indian River County commission levied 3.5475.

Florida law caps a city's property tax rate at 10 mills, except for levies approved by voters (Florida Statutes 200.081), so Fellsmere's 5.3500 uses a little over half the allowed room. Each year the city must tell the Indian River County Property Appraiser its proposed millage, its rolled-back rate and the date, time and place of the public hearing on the proposed millage and tentative budget within 35 days after taxable values are certified (Florida Statutes 200.065). The property appraiser uses that information to prepare the notice of proposed property taxes, so the Fellsmere hearing date appears on the notice each property owner receives. The Fellsmere city budget and millage guide follows the rate year by year.

The City of Fellsmere spent $10,844,051 across all funds in the fiscal year that ended September 30, 2024, about $2,173 for each of its 4,990 residents, according to state finance data.

The Florida Office of Economic and Demographic Research compiles each city's annual financial report by account code (Florida EDR, Fellsmere expenditures). In fiscal 2024 the largest Fellsmere spending line was other physical environment at $3,019,031 (EDR), followed by flood control and stormwater management at $1,384,395 (EDR), water utility services at $1,256,074 (EDR) and law enforcement at $1,241,971 (EDR). General government services, which covers legislative, executive, financial and administrative, and legal counsel costs, came to $946,372 (EDR).

Property tax is a small part of the money. Fellsmere collected $752,175 in ad valorem taxes in fiscal 2024 (Florida EDR, Fellsmere revenues), less than the $927,094 the city received from the local government infrastructure surtax (EDR). The Fellsmere city budget and millage guide breaks down the remaining revenue, including state shared taxes and grants.

Fellsmere has its own police department, reached for non-emergencies at 772-646-6309, while 911 law enforcement calls from the city are dispatched by the Indian River County Sheriff's Office.

Indian River County 911 Administration lists the Fellsmere Police Department non-emergency line alongside those of Sebastian, Vero Beach and Indian River Shores (Indian River County 911 Administration). The Sheriff's Office 911 Communications Center dispatches law enforcement calls for the unincorporated county, the Town of Indian River Shores and the City of Fellsmere, along with Fire and EMS calls for the entire county, about 283,000 calls for service a year (Indian River County Sheriff).

Since April 1, 2022 the answering points in Indian River County have accepted Text to 911 from the major wireless carriers, for use when a voice call is not possible (Indian River County 911 Administration). The county 911 Administration office is at 4225 43rd Avenue, Vero Beach, phone 772-226-3900. Department contacts, fingerprinting and the police budget are in the Fellsmere Police Department guide.