Public Money · Fees & Bills
Fees on your tax bill, and what water and garbage cost
Beyond property tax, your tax bill can carry flat fees for fire service, stormwater and lighting. Your utility bill adds water, sewer and garbage. Here's what each government charges.
Research compiled Oct 20, 2026
The simple version
Taxes vs. fees
- Property tax depends on your home's value. A bigger taxable value means a bigger tax.
- Fees on the tax bill are mostly flat. Non-ad valorem assessments charge per home, per parcel or by building size for a specific service, like fire protection or stormwater drainage. They're not affected by homestead exemptions or Amendment 3.
- Utility bills are separate. Water, sewer and garbage are billed monthly by your city or the county, based on how much you use.
Fees on Bay County tax bills$28.1MFY2026 tax roll, all governments
City fire assessments$14.5MPanama City, PCB and Springfield
Stormwater fees$9.5MCounty and cities
Garbage on the tax bill$0Billed on utility bills instead
Fees on the tax bill
FY2026 bills (2025 tax roll)| Fee | How it's charged | Most common bill | Parcels billed | Total | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stormwater utility fee - residential Bay County | $40.00 per residential unit per year | $40.00 | 42,113 | $1.7M | Source |
| Stormwater utility fee - commercial Bay County | $200.00 per parcel per year | $200.00 | 1,530 | $306,000 | Source |
| Street lighting assessments Bay County | ALSL1 $60.00/parcel; BOCA $27.00/parcel | $60.00 | 43 | $2,580 | Source |
| Road improvement assessment Bay County | $165.68/parcel | $165.68 | 7 | $1,160 | Source |
| Levy code PPCD (DOR function: community development/redevelopment) Bay County | varies by parcel | $1,003.38 | 20 | $1.0M | Source |
| Liens / other Bay County | varies | $0.00 | 241 | $312,692 | Source |
| Fire service assessment City of Panama City | $150 homestead unit / $300 non-homestead unit / $24.51 vacant parcel | $150.00 | 17,667 | $5.8M | Source |
| Fire service assessment City of Panama City Beach | $0.78/$1,000 improvement value + $95.66/parcel (noticed maximum) | $103.17 | 20,630 | $7.9M | Source |
| Stormwater management assessment City of Panama City Beach | $0.49/$1,000 improvement value + $48.30/parcel (noticed maximum) | $56.70 | 20,137 | $4.8M | Source |
| Front Beach Road CRA assessment City of Panama City Beach | see how_charged | $66.14 | 12,662 | $1.1M | Source |
| Stormwater assessment City of Lynn Haven | about $139 per unit (2021 adoption); current per-unit rate not located | $172.10 | 8,486 | $2.7M | Source |
| Fire assessment City of Springfield | not located | $146.57 | 3,805 | $866,479 | Source |
| Other City of Callaway / City of Springfield | varies | $254.53 | 3 | $24,315 | Source |
| CDD assessments Lake Powell Residential Golf Community Development District | varies by lot/product | $2,219.01 | 560 | $1.3M | Source |
| Levy code SB (DOR function: community development) Independent special district | varies | $788.13 | 140 | $195,920 | Source |
| Lighting assessments (DOR function: lighting) Independent special districts | PW $141.00; WMH $92.00 | $141.00 | 30 | $4,230 | Source |
| Levy code TWIN (DOR function: other) Independent special district | $99.45 | $99.45 | 20 | $1,989 | Source |
Unincorporated Bay County's fire service is a property tax (1.38 mills), not a flat fee, so it's on the tax dollars page. Counts and totals come from the Florida Department of Revenue's parcel-level file for Bay County. DOR file
A typical monthly utility bill
5,000 gallons of water, 3/4-inch meter- Water and sewer
- Garbage
- Stormwater, fees and utility taxes
How each bill is calculated
| Provider | Water and sewer | Garbage | Other | Total | Calculation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of Panama City Utilities (water, wastewater, garbage) Panama City (city utility also serves parts of unincorporated Bay County) | $137.28 | $45.91 | — | $183.19 | 14.09 + 32.29 + 45.91 + 5 x 6.28 + 5 x 11.90 = 92.29 + 31.40 + 59.50 = 183.19 Effective: October 2026 usage (first bills week of Nov 2, 2026) Source |
| City of Springfield Public Works / Utility Billing Springfield, inside city | $139.53 | $37.67 | $3.00 | $180.20 | $3 stormwater Base 8.95 + 30.43 + 37.67 + 3.00 = 80.05 (city's stated total base); + 5 x (5.13 + 14.90) = 100.15; total = 180.20 Effective: October 1, 2025 Source |
| City of Mexico Beach (water/wastewater supplied by Bay County; city bills) Mexico Beach | $104.78 | $40.00 | $3.12 | $147.90 | 7% utility tax on water Water 40.83 + 1 x 3.68 = 44.51; utility tax 7% = 3.12; Sewer 55.07 + 1 x 5.20 = 60.27; Sanitation 40.00; Total = 147.90 (city's stated minimum bill is $138.76) Effective: Not stated ('current monthly rates', page retrieved 2026-10-20); council raised water 2.6% and sewer 4% on Oct 28, 2025 Source |
| City of Lynn Haven Utilities Lynn Haven, inside city | $104.90 | $24.86 | — | $129.76 | 16.85 + 16.95 + 24.86 = 58.66 base; + 5 x (4.05 + 10.17) = 71.10; total = 129.76 (matches budget's own table: 5,000 gal - $129.76). Water+sewer only = 104.90 Effective: FY2025-26 rates as printed in budget approved Sept 23, 2025 (FY2026-27 budget exists but could not be downloaded; rates may have changed Oct 1, 2026) Source |
| Bay County Utility Services (retail) Bay County retail water/wastewater service area (unincorporated customers where the county is the retail provider) | $120.70 | — | — | $120.70 | Water: 21.10 + 3 x 2.60 + 2 x 2.90 = 34.70; Sewer: 37.00 + 5 x 9.80 = 86.00; Total = 120.70 (3/4-inch meter, 2026 column; assumes wastewater volume charge on all metered water) Effective: Fee schedule header 'Effective April 21, 2026'; uses the '2026' column (prior '2025' column took effect Jan 1, 2025) Source |
| City of Callaway Utility Billing (water/sewer purchased wholesale from Bay County) Callaway, inside city | $99.31 | $13.00 | $4.80 | $117.11 | 10% franchise fee on water ($3.80) and $1 stormwater Water 11.37 + 5 x 5.32 = 37.97; franchise fee 10% = 3.80; Sewer 30.69 + 5 x 6.13 = 61.34; Stormwater 1.00; Solid waste 13.00; Total = 117.11 Effective: Not stated on page (retrieved 2026-10-20) Source |
| City of Panama City Beach Utilities Panama City Beach, inside city | $87.42 | — | — | $87.42 | 5,000 gal is within the 6,000-gal minimum: water 37.54 + sewer 49.88 = 87.42 (rate sheet also shows combined 0-6,000 gal water+sewer = 87.42) Effective: February 1, 2026 Source |
Bills are worked out from each provider's published rate sheet. Panama City Beach's garbage rate and Parker's utility rates weren't found online. Panama City's own notice gives an "average" bill equal to its base charges alone, so its usage charges may include an allowance the notice doesn't describe.
What we couldn't find
- Final adopted rate resolutions not located for Panama City fire (commercial per-square-foot rates), Panama City Beach fire/stormwater/CRA (only the maximum-rate notice found), Lynn Haven stormwater (current per-unit rate), and Springfield fire (rate method).
- Several levy codes could not be matched to a named district: SB, PW, WMH, TWIN, ALSL1, BOCA, OERR, PCN; PPCD (probably Pier Park CDD) and LPWH1 (probably Lake Powell Residential Golf CDD) are inferred.
- Typical single-family amounts for value-based assessments (PCB fire/stormwater, Lynn Haven stormwater, Springfield fire) can't be stated without parcel-level property-use data. The DOR NAL parcel file for 2025 wasn't available from the portal, so only all-parcel medians are given.
- Parker: no published water/sewer/garbage rate schedule found, and no FTE count.
- Panama City Beach: no residential garbage rate and no FTE count (the budget book could not be downloaded; the site blocks automated access).
- Panama City: the 5,000-gallon bill is provisional, because the city's 'average bill' equals its base charges alone. No stormwater fee found.
- Lynn Haven: the FY2026-27 budget (which may carry rates effective Oct 1, 2026) could not be downloaded because the connection was reset; FY2025-26 rates are used.
- Callaway: the rates page shows no effective date, and the FY2027 budget assumes small consumption increases that may not be on the page yet.