Melbourne City Government Guide

Melbourne runs under a Council-Manager charter in which the seven-member Melbourne City Council, led by Mayor Paul Alfrey, sets policy and hires City Manager Jenni Lamb to run daily city business.

The Melbourne City Council is the Mayor and six Council Members who serve four-year terms, and it passes city laws and the annual budget (City of Melbourne City Council). Every member is elected by a citywide vote, but each Council Member represents a district: Marcus Smith (District 1), Mark LaRusso (District 2), David Neuman (District 3), Rachael Bassett (District 4), Mimi Hanley (District 5) and Julie Kennedy, Vice Mayor and District 6. The Mayor may live anywhere in Melbourne, while a Council Member must live in the district for at least six months before qualifying (Run for City Council).

By majority vote the Melbourne City Council hires the City Manager and the City Attorney. Jenni Lamb is City Manager; the office prepares the budget for council review, serves as chief adviser and is responsible for all city personnel, and answers at 321-608-7200 on the fifth floor of City Hall (City Manager's Office). The charter provides for a Council-Manager form of government, and the city covered 51.59 square miles as of March 2026, astride the Indian River Lagoon with a large portion of Melbourne on the mainland and a portion on the barrier island (About the City of Melbourne).

Serving on the Melbourne City Council is a part-time post. The Mayor receives a salary of $10,350 per year plus a $415 monthly expense allowance, and a Council Member receives $7,475 plus $255 a month (City Clerk candidate page). The Melbourne city council members guide and the officials guide list each member with district contacts.

Melbourne City Hall is at 900 East Strawbridge Avenue, main line 321-608-7000, and most of the offices a resident needs, from the City Clerk to Code Compliance, work inside that building.

The department directory lists a direct line for each office (City of Melbourne departments). One detail trips people up: the Melbourne City Council page gives 321-608-7221 for the City Clerk, while the Clerk office page and the department directory list 321-608-7220 (City Clerk's Office). Both belong to the same fifth floor office.

The Melbourne Code Compliance Division keeps hours of Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., on the second floor of City Hall (Code Compliance Division). Last verified: October 14, 2026, on the City of Melbourne website (City Council, City Clerk, Departments and Budget pages).

The Melbourne City Council meets in the Council Chamber at City Hall, typically on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m., and every meeting is open, live-streamed and closed-captioned.

Recordings of regular Melbourne City Council meetings are also televised on Space Coast Government TV, and videos of meetings held before November 25, 2025 sit on an older video page after a switch of streaming service (City Council). The schedule usually shifts in September for the budget hearings and in June and December for summer and holiday travel (Run for City Council).

The remaining 2026 dates on the Melbourne meeting calendar are October 27, November 10, November 24 and December 8, each listed from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at City Hall (City Council Meeting calendar). Questions about an agenda, minutes or speaking before the council go to the City Clerk at [email protected]. The Melbourne city council meetings guide explains public comment.

Melbourne residents can also serve. Approximately 100 volunteers serve on 13 standing boards and committees, from the Code Enforcement Board to the Planning and Zoning Board, and the council appoints members by majority vote from among volunteers who apply through the City Clerk (Municipal Boards). The Melbourne boards and committees guide describes each board, and the city clerk and public records guide covers Chapter 119 requests.

Melbourne pays for city services through a budget that runs from October 1 to September 30, adopted each September after two public hearings, and the city warns that statewide Amendment 3 would cut about $15 million from its operating budget by FY2029.

After staff and the City Manager prepare a preliminary Melbourne budget, the council reviews it in summer workshops and posts it for the public in August and September; amendments come later by resolution, and the Budget Office answers at 321-608-7830 (City of Melbourne Budget). For fiscal year 2026-2027 the council held a budget workshop on July 29 and adopted the budget and millage rate at hearings on September 9 and September 23, 2026 (Property Tax Amendment page).

What is changing: Amendment 3 is on the November 3, 2026 ballot. It needs 60 percent of voters statewide and would raise the homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 on January 1, 2027 and to $250,000 on January 1, 2028. Using 2026 tax roll data, the City of Melbourne estimates a funding gap of approximately $10.1 million in FY2028 and another $4.9 million in FY2029, and it says it may need to sunset its two CRA districts early (City of Melbourne Amendment 3 page). The FY2026-2027 budget resolutions name the two CRA funds: the Melbourne Downtown CRA and the Olde Eau Gallie Riverfront CRA (Budget resolutions). The Melbourne property taxes and millage guide, the city budget guide and the Melbourne Downtown CRA guide go deeper.

Melbourne votes in the Brevard County General Election on Tuesday, November 3, 2026, and city voters get one charter question, Melbourne Ordinance 2026-25, on their ballot.

The Brevard County Supervisor of Elections set 5:00 p.m. on October 22 as the deadline to request a mail ballot, and early voting runs from Monday, October 19 through Saturday, October 31 at 10 locations throughout Brevard, any of which a Melbourne voter may use (Brevard County Supervisor of Elections). Mail ballots must arrive by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Five Brevard municipalities carry local questions this year: Malabar, Melbourne, Melbourne Beach, Palm Bay and Palm Shores.

Melbourne Ordinance 2026-25 asks whether Section 8.04 of the City Charter should allow the council to delegate the duties of the Board of Adjustment to the city zoning commission, the Planning and Zoning Board (2026 Amendments and Referenda). The same page lists four Supervisor of Elections offices: Titusville, Viera, Palm Bay and the Melbourne office at 1515 Sarno Road.

Running for the Melbourne City Council starts with the City Clerk, the qualifying officer. Qualifying falls between 96 and 82 days before the election, and a candidate brings a petition signed by 25 registered city voters, a financial disclosure form, a $50 qualifying fee and a state assessment of $153.30 for Mayor or $105.35 for a council seat (Run for City Council). Nobody may serve more than two complete consecutive terms in the same office. The Melbourne city elections guide has the full calendar.

Melbourne building permits and code complaints go to the Code Compliance Division on the second floor of City Hall, while a new Melbourne business needs both a city and a Brevard County business tax receipt before it opens.

The Melbourne Code Compliance Division takes plans only through EnerGov and reviews them first come, first served; it also keeps the flood zone maps, elevation certificates and letters of map revision for the city (Code Compliance Division). The Melbourne building permits guide and the code compliance guide cover inspections and complaints.

A Melbourne Business Tax Receipt must be obtained before a business begins operating, and Brevard County requires that any business operating within the City of Melbourne also hold a County Business Tax Receipt; the city office answers at 321-608-7038, Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (Business Tax Receipts). The Melbourne business tax receipts guide and the doing business with the city guide cover fees and bids.

Land use questions go to Community Development at 321-608-7500, which also runs Housing and Urban Improvement at 321-608-7530 (Departments). The Melbourne planning and zoning guide, the historic preservation program guide, the housing assistance programs guide and the homelessness services guide build on that office, and the Melbourne-Tillman Water Control District guide covers that district.

Nineteen Melbourne government guides sit under this hub, and the table below matches each common question to the guide that answers it.