More than four of every 10 Wildwood residents moved into the city during the past five years.
The city’s latest population estimate is 36,783 as of April 1, according to the University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research.
Permanent residents have increased by 21,053 since April 1, 2020. About 30,000 residents have been added since 2010 and the city limits now stretch from Middleton to Oxford.
Commissioners received the estimates and gave tentative approval to Wildwood’s $280-million budget and the property tax rate for 2025-26 at a meeting Monday night. Final approval will come in about two weeks before the next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The city’s explosive growth, including home construction in the Villages of Southern Oaks, apartment projects and commercial areas, have boosted the estimated tax base next year to $8.1 billion.
A major cost of growth is a $150-million expansion of Wildwood’s wastewater treatment plant. Revenue bonds issued this fall will cover about $120 million of the cost of the new plant and upgrades to the current plant.
When the projects are completed in about two years, the city will have daily wastewater processing capacity of 5.5 million gallons.
Wildwood expects to collect about $21.9 million in property taxes next year, which funds almost half of the operating budget.
A tax rate of $2.83 per $1,000 assessed valuation is the same as this year and considered a tax increase because it is higher than the rolled-back rate of $2.70. The rolled-back rate is the amount needed to collect the same revenue as the prior year except new construction.
The budget also includes capital projects, equipment purchases and 18 new positions.