The Brevard County Commission approved more than $664,000 in tourism-related event grants, adopted a tourism marketing plan and shifted nearly $890,000 in tourist-tax capital funds to cover the full cost of county beach lifeguards during its Sept. 15 meeting.

The commission also discussed, but did not advance, a potential new county gas tax that could have increased the price paid at local pumps to generate additional money for roads, drainage and transportation projects. The meeting included a request for county action concerning a Titusville pet store accused by a resident of selling commercially bred puppies.

Tourism funding approved
Commissioners approved 45 Tourist Development Council cultural and sports-event grants totaling $664,120 for the 2026-27 fiscal year. The funding comes from the county’s tourism-related cultural and marketing funds.

The board separately approved the Tourist Development Office’s annual marketing and media plan. County staff said the plan’s overall budget was about $15.28 million, including lifeguard costs and the event-grant program; roughly $11.96 million was described as available for marketing and promotional work.

Commissioners amended the plan to move $889,949 from unallocated tourist-tax capital funds into the marketing fund so the Tourist Development Tax can fully cover the county lifeguard program. The change is expected to remove the same amount from the county general fund obligation, leaving about $1.8 million in the tourism capital fund.

For Titusville-area residents, the tourism spending includes countywide promotion, cultural and sports-event support, and visitor-related services funded by tourist-development taxes rather than regular property-tax revenue. The board also added quarterly reporting on the spending and authorized the county manager to access certain disaster funds during a state or local emergency, with notice to commissioners at the next meeting.

Gas-tax proposal stalls
The commission took no action on a staff presentation about implementing either the county’s available 9-cent local-option gasoline tax or an additional local-option fuel tax of 1 to 5 cents. State law requires action by ordinance, and staff said a special meeting would have been needed before the end of September for a tax to take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

County staff said potential revenue could be used for road resurfacing, drainage work, culvert replacement, transit, traffic operations, transportation construction and equipment. A speaker representing Southeast Petroleum said the additional tax could generate about $9.1 million annually, but argued it could also push motorists to buy fuel outside the county and reduce sales for local convenience stores.

Commissioner discussion showed no immediate consensus. One commissioner said she was not comfortable imposing a new tax now but would consider allowing Brevard voters to decide through a future referendum; staff said a referendum could be considered for the 2028 general election. With no motion made, the item ended without direction to draft an ordinance or place a referendum on the ballot.

Titusville puppy-store complaint raised
Titusville resident Jennifer Mark asked commissioners to consider action involving a puppy-selling business at 1714 Riverside Drive. Mark said she had contacted Brevard County Animal Services and the Titusville City Council after raising concerns about the conditions and sourcing of dogs sold by the business.

Mark identified the business in county tax records as Breeders Pick Orlando Inc. and asked Brevard County to adopt restrictions similar to ordinances used in Orange County and elsewhere that limit retail pet-store sales to shelter or rescue animals. Her comments were public testimony; commissioners did not vote on the issue or announce a new county policy during the meeting.

Affordable-housing list revised
The commission unanimously approved an update to its list of county-owned surplus property considered appropriate for affordable housing. County staff said state law requires counties to review and post eligible land every three years.

Seven properties were removed from the affordable-housing inventory because they lack adequate improved-road access and needed utility infrastructure, according to county staff. The county said making those sites suitable for residential development would require infrastructure investments beyond typical residential site-development costs, making them unsuitable for affordable housing.

Other countywide actions
The commission recognized September as Hunger Action Month, citing an estimate that 13.2% of Brevard residents, including one in five children, experience food insecurity. The resolution stated that Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida distributed more than 9.1 million meals in Brevard last year through 84 partner agencies.

Commissioners also recognized September as National Suicide Prevention Month and heard that Brevard’s suicide rate is more than 17 deaths annually per 100,000 people, according to comments from the Space Coast Health Foundation. Representatives of 211 Brevard said the local 988 crisis-line center handled about 5,400 suicide- and mental-health-related contacts last year.

The board additionally voted to send a letter supporting a Central Florida Expressway Authority feasibility study for a potential toll-road connection along the St. Johns Heritage Parkway corridor in South Brevard. County officials said the study would be paid for by the expressway authority and would examine the corridor from the I-95 Micco interchange to the Ellis Road interchange

You can watch the meeting below