by Beth Kassab | Nov 14, 2025 | County News, News, Taxes
Rosen Hotels Leader Calls for Tourist Transportation Tax to Boost SunRail, Lynx
Frank Santos, who lives in Winter Park, says out-of-state visitors would pay for the upgrades as an added tax on hotel bills
Nov. 14, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Frank Santos wanted to make SunRail work as his daily commute.
The chief executive officer of Rosen Hotels & Resorts had a lot in his favor. He lives just three blocks from the Winter Park station. On his morning walk to the train he often stopped at Croissant Gourmet on Morse Boulevard for coffee and, occasionally, a pastry.
He spent the ride to his office near International Drive reading the day’s news or getting work done — something impossible to do behind the wheel on Interstate 4.
Santos even devised a system for when he arrived at SunRail’s Sand Lake Road Station, the closest stop to his office overlooking the golf course at Rosen Shingle Creek. He left a car there Monday through Friday to cover the last 15 minutes or so of his trip.
But after about a year, he stopped taking SunRail.
“It was just complicated,” he said. He called his experiment with Central Florida’s underfunded and incomplete mass transit system largely worthwhile — even enjoyable at times — but one that underscored how the region is built around the door-to-door convenience of cars.
“I would do it again if I could get closer to my office,” he said.
Winter Park’s SunRail station is one of the commuter train system’s busiest.
It’s been about five years since he stopped his regular SunRail commute. Since then, he has helped guide his company, which operates seven hotels, through the COVID pandemic and, last year, the death of founder Harris Rosen.
But this week he found himself reflecting on those train rides and what he sees as untapped potential for Central Florida to finally build a mass transit system that works for more people.
Santos acknowledged that any inconvenience he experienced on SunRail, or the gridlock he faces routinely on I-4, is small compared to what some of his employees endure. Many Rosen Hotels workers and others who earn their livelihoods as restaurant servers, ride attendants, desk clerks, housekeepers, and groundskeepers rely on the Lynx bus system and spend hours on buses each day.
“We need our employees to get to work faster,” he said. “My employees take up to two hours to get to work.”
That’s why an idea he has tossed around since 1999 now has a name: the Tourist Transportation Tax.
It would be paid only by out-of-state tourists on their hotel bills, and the revenue would be used exclusively for transportation needs such as extending SunRail to Orlando International Airport and the Convention Center and, for the first time, providing a dedicated funding source for Lynx so it can add buses and increase route frequency.
The proposal is gaining interest across the state, including in Winter Park.
Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said she shares many of the same goals: extending SunRail service to weekends, which could reduce traffic during major events such as the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, and improving bus service.
Winter Park was SunRail’s second-busiest station last year with 124,000 riders, according to system statistics. Only the Lynx Central Station stop in downtown Orlando had more, with 138,000 passengers.
“We offered to pay for the train to run on the weekend and they wouldn’t do it,” DeCiccio said. “We want the train to run in and out of the airport. We want the buses to run better. Those are exactly the kinds of things I’ll be looking for in a plan.”
DeCiccio’s comments came after joining about 200 people who listened to Santos’ proposal — as well as a plan by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, who wants to change how existing hotel-room tax dollars are spent — at an Orange County League of Women Voters luncheon this week.
The discussion turned tense at times, with Santos arguing that Guillermo Smith’s statements about the Lynx budget were misleading and stepping in to defend the tourism industry, which he noted already contributes heavily to roads, schools, parks, and other essential services as the top property taxpayers in Orange County.
Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios, Marriott Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, and SeaWorld regularly appear on the county’s Top 10 list of property taxpayers, according to the property appraiser’s records.
Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat, was especially critical of the public dollars allocated to Visit Orlando for marketing hotels and attractions. The quasi-public tourism bureau was the subject of a recent county audit that questioned its expenditures.
Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith. Frank Santos pictured at top of page.
“I think $105 million in public money to Visit Orlando is an insane amount to give when we have so many community challenges,” he said. “We know that tourism is a huge economic driver in our region. … But we also have to acknowledge that tourists place a large strain on our community’s resources.”
Santos defended the spending.
“The senator doesn’t understand the cost of doing business,” he said. “We spend $40 million a year on sales and marketing at Rosen Hotels. Coming out of COVID, everyone understands the cost of doing business has increased.”
How much of the current 6% tax on hotel stays should be devoted to tourism marketing, the convention center, and other industry needs — versus helping local residents — has long been debated in Central Florida.
The difference this time is that someone from the tourism industry is proposing a new solution instead of simply guarding the existing 6%, which generated $385 million last year.
Santos still wants to protect that 6 cents on the dollar collected by hotels. But he wants to add another 1 to 4 cents dedicated to transportation.
Right now, he explained, guests pay 12.5% in taxes on hotel bills: 6% in Tourist Development Tax and 6.5% in sales tax.
Other popular destinations charge more. Chicago charges 17.3%. Austin charges 17%. New Orleans charges 16.2%. New York charges 14.75%.
“We could go as high as another four cents,” he said.
The steady revenue stream provided by the tax could be leveraged to finance major projects through bonds. One extra cent could generate nearly $350 million in bonding capacity, according to projections.
This table projects what different tax rates would generate each year and the capacity to bond against that revenue to fund projects. Source: Policy memorandum on Santos’ proposal
Importantly, hotels would exempt visitors with Florida driver’s licenses from paying the tax, meaning out-of-state visitors would fund the upgrades.
Santos needs the proposal to pass the Legislature and then win voter approval in a referendum. He says he has begun speaking with more tourism leaders to build support.
Without naming names, he said some organizations have encouraged him to continue pushing. At least one major group has suggested increasing the sales tax to fund transit — an idea backed by Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings that failed at the ballot in 2022.
Harris Rosen himself supported Santos’ plan before his death about a year ago, Santos said.
So he plans to keep talking, keep meeting, and keep spreading the word about the region’s needs.
One way he wants to do that is through another experiment. He plans to ride Lynx from a neighborhood where many workers live to his hotels on and near International Drive so he can better understand their challenges.
“I want to do it during the morning,” he said. “I plan to ride the bus from Pine Hills to my office.”
At the end of the day, he’ll face a familiar problem for any transit user in a car-centric region.
“And then I’ll find a way to get back home,” he said.
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by Beth Kassab | Nov 13, 2025 | City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Taxes, Uncategorized
New Firefighter Contract Boosts Pay as Winter Park Faces Rising Public Safety Costs
Base pay will rise 12% this year after negotiations with the union plus cost-of-living and potential merit increases as part of a new three-year contract
Nov. 13, 2025
By Beth Kassab
The base pay for Winter Park firefighters will increase by 12% this year, along with additional cost-of-living and merit raises, under a new three-year contract with the department’s union.
The City Commission approved the contract with little discussion in a 4-0 vote. Commissioner Marty Sullivan was absent.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio briefly remarked that the city was “fortunate” to have a “high-quality department” serving residents.
Under the new agreement, base salaries for firefighter EMTs will rise from $50,618 to $56,700. Firefighter paramedics will see their base pay increase from $61,908 to $69,300. Both groups will also receive a 2% cost-of-living adjustment and up to 3% in merit raises.
The contract includes merit and cost-of-living adjustments in the second and third years, consistent with those provided to other city employees.
Union President Joe Celletti, a firefighter paramedic who has been with the department about eight years, said the contract will provide increased financial stability for firefighters.
“We’re appreciative of the commission,” Celletti said. “It’s a historic raise for the fire department … we’re on par with Orlando, which is our biggest competitor.”
In addition to the built-in increases over three years, firefighters also have plenty of opportunities for overtime pay and special holiday pay. The contract changed the way firefighters are paid when they call out sick, but Celletti said it was a small concession.
“I think it will definitely keep us at an elite level,” he said. “People might even move out of state to come to a department like ours … you can be a great fireman, a great paramedic and have the financial stability to raise a family comfortably.”
Fire Chief Dan Hagedorn told The Voice in an email that the contract is designed to “maintain Winter Park’s competitiveness in a rapidly evolving regional market.”
Fire Chief Dan Hagedorn. (Photos courtesy of the city of Winter Park)
He said other area fire departments are “negotiating base pay increases as high as 25–30%,” making it harder for Winter Park to retain firefighters. Turnover, he noted, is costly.
“Losing experienced personnel costs the city thousands of dollars in retraining, onboarding, and lost operational expertise,” he said. “Any turnover impacts the continuity of service and public safety readiness.”
The pay increases come as the Florida Legislature prepares for its session in January, where Gov. Ron DeSantis has urged lawmakers to cut property taxes. Such a measure—if it reaches the November 2026 ballot and passes—could significantly reduce local government revenues.
Property taxes provide the largest share of the city’s General Fund, which pays for police, fire, parks, roads, and other services, including cybersecurity for public data. The General Fund totals about $90 million this year, with property taxes contributing roughly $39 million, or 44% of the total—enough to cover both the police and fire budgets, which are the fund’s largest expenses.
Hagedorn noted that the fire department doesn’t have the option of operating short-staffed, even briefly, when someone is out sick or on vacation. That means paying overtime or other costs to ensure stations are fully staffed every day.
The contract also includes policy changes for personal leave and overtime management aimed at “reducing unscheduled leave, improving staffing reliability, and lowering overtime costs.”
Staffing levels directly affect how quickly paramedics and firefighters can respond to 911 calls for medical help, fires, accidents, or other emergencies.
In 2024, the department’s average response time was six minutes and 52 seconds. So far in 2025, that average has improved to six minutes and 41 seconds. The goal for 2026 is to reach six minutes, according to performance metrics listed in the city’s budget.
The raises will be funded by an additional $350,000 allocated for fire department personnel in the city’s 2026 budget, which took effect Oct. 1.
The increases reflect a broader trend of rising public safety costs for local governments.
Winter Park’s budget includes an additional $700,000 this year for public safety wages across the fire and police departments. Meanwhile, city pension costs for public safety employees are expected to rise by $671,000, according to budget documents.
“Additionally, the governor has recommended in HB 929 that fire personnel have reduced weekly shifts with the same pay,” the budget states. “If this becomes the new standard in the state, the Fire Department would need to hire over 15 additional personnel to provide shift coverage. While only a few cities, such as Kissimmee, have enacted this change, staff is watching closely to see how it might affect future budgets.”
Police and fire expenses account for about half of the growth in the city’s General Fund this year—roughly $3.2 million.
Overall, the fire department’s budget increased by more than $800,000 this year to $17.1 million, with 85 full-time positions.
Just four years ago, in 2022, the fire budget was $13.6 million with 81 full-time positions.
The police budget increased by $2.4 million this year to $21.8 million, with 122 full-time positions. In 2022, the police budget was $16.3 million with 114 full-time positions.
No new positions were added this year. The higher costs stem from wage increases and the city’s new responsibility for providing dispatch services to Maitland, which will reimburse Winter Park for those services.
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by Beth Kassab | Oct 27, 2025 | Arts and Culture, City Commission, News, Police and Public Safety, Taxes
Fearing Property Tax Cuts by State, WP Opts Against Giving Extra to Nonprofits
Florida voters could be asked next year to cut their property taxes. That already has cities like Winter Park reeling over how they will fund essential services like police, fire and flood prevention.
Oct. 27, 2025
By Beth Kassab
City Commissioners met late last week to consider a plan to give out about $100,000 that once went to the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center each year to 10 local nonprofits in the form of $10,000 grants.
The conversation quickly reached consensus among city leaders that even $100,000 out of a $230 million budget couldn’t be spared amid proposals by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature to dramatically cut property taxes — a move they fear would kneecap local governments.
Budget Director Peter Moore said he was waking up at night thinking about what those proposals would mean on the doorsteps of residents who rely on the city government for essential services such as quick police and fire response times, clean drinking water, safe roads and sidewalks that don’t flood during storms and reliable electricity.
“I can’t even comprehend how we would wrap our brain around how that would even work,” he told commissioners during the Thursday work session. “But there’s five different proposals out there, which makes me think something is going to end up on the ballot.”
Property tax collections make up the largest source of dollars in the city’s General Fund, which pays for police, fire, parks, roads and other government services, including cyber security for public data.
The General Fund is about $90 million in the 2026 budget and city property taxes account for about $39 million or about 44% of that total. The money from property taxes is so significant it’s enough this year to cover the two largest expenses in the general fund: the police department ($21.9 million) and the fire department ($17.1 million).
“I’ve lost sleep over what’s going to happen,” said Commissioner Warren Lindsey. “I don’t know what they are doing up in Tallahassee. They have no idea how a local municipality and a county is run in terms of the things they’ve said and done.”
Proposals from the Florida House so far range from raising the homestead exemption to $100,000 to eliminating or phasing out non-school designated property taxes.
When a Winter Park property owner pays taxes, about 27% of that money goes to the city while 44% goes to Orange County Public Schools, 28% goes to Orange County government and 1% goes to the St. Johns River Water Management District, according to city budget documents.
DeSantis said last week he was unsatisfied with the House’s work, which would potentially put more than one tax-cutting measure on the November 2026 ballot. That could make it difficult for any single proposal to gain enough support to pass.
“Placing more than one property tax measure on the ballot represents an attempt to kill anything on property taxes,” DeSantis said on X. “It’s a political game, not a serious attempt to get it done for the people.”
The Legislative session begins on Jan. 13, earlier than usual because it’s an election year.
DeSantis’ administration is touring the state in an attempt to make a public spectacle out of his “DOGE” efforts to audit cities and counties. A Winter Park spokeswoman said the city has not received additional requests from Florida’s DOGE office beyond the requests that went to all local governments earlier this year.
State officials are pointing to the increase in property tax collections as property values have soared as largesse in local government.
For example, property tax collections in Winter Park have jumped from $27.5 million in 2022 to about $39 million in the current budget, a 41 percent increase. The growth is the result of a hot housing market as the city’s tax rate has remained the same for 16 years.
But local governments like Winter Park argue that costs have also soared during that time. The city spent $16.3 million on the police department in 2022 and now spends $21.9 million, largely the result of competition across the state to raise law enforcement pay. The fire department cost $13.4 million in 2022 and now costs $17.1 million, also a result of pay and other cost pressures.
Those two departments alone account for $9.3 million of the additional $11.5 million in property taxes collected by Winter Park due to rising property values since 2022.
Commissioners noted the potential “bad optics” of providing even small grants to nonprofits after Moore suggested it was the kind of expenditure that “could get picked up in a news article.”
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said the city would continue to give grants to the nonprofits that are regularly funded in each year’s budget. But, she said “we will probably” be able to reallocate the money for Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts, which is undergoing a leadership transition after founder Chris Cortez was recently diagnosed with brain cancer and the county is reviewing its $1 million grant.
Jeff Flowers, who is taking over the management of Blue Bamboo, said the group is growing and remains sustainable.
The money for the nonprofit grants comes from .25% of the gross revenue from each of the city’s three major funds — the general fund, electric and water and wastewater.
The electric and water and wastewater funds, which the city calls enterprise funds, account for even larger increases in the city’s budget than property taxes. Those funds, which charge residents and businesses for service based on a combination of flat fees and prices tied to the amount of water and electricity consumed, have grown to a combined $100 million this year.
City Commissioners have raised those prices in recent years to account for increased costs of maintaining the utility systems and what the city says are soaring prices to finish a citywide project that will underground all overhead power lines.
The funds “must support their operations through the revenues they generate, operating like a conventional private business,” the budget notes.
The quarter of a percent from those three funds — the general fund, electric and water — generates about $442,000. Those that receive yearly funding, including the Winter Park Library, which also receives additional dollars, are:
- Mead Botanical Gardens: $102,000
- Winter Park Historical Association: $97,000
- Winter Park Day Nursery: $42,500
- United Arts: $20,000
- Blue Bamboo: $12,500
- Polasek Museum: $28,000
- Winter Park Library: $2.1 million
During the same work session about whether to hand out an additional $100,000 to nonprofits, commissioner also discussed a plan by the Parks & Recreation Department to formalize a policy to sell sponsorships or advertising opportunities at is facilities to raise additional new revenue.
Staff estimates such transactions could generate $100,000 or more a year.
City commissioners indicated support for the plan so long as ads or sponsorship plaques or banners are “tasteful” and major deals would come before the commission for approval. Commissioners must also still approve the policy for the new revenue stream.
The effort would mostly focus on the city’s two golf courses, the tennis center and other parks with high foot traffic. Central Park, the highest-profile public green space along Park Avenue, would be off limits to advertisers, according to the proposal.
Even before talk of property tax cuts heated up to its current white-hot level, city staff was warning of slower times ahead for the city government.
“While this budget does not assume a recession in FY26, there are concerns on the horizon and visible weakening in the economy,” the budget proposal released in the early summer stated. “This could just mean a return to normal growth after the post-Pandemic spike, or this could portend something worse.”
Adding new services and projects will only be possible in the future by raising property taxes or raising the fees customers pay for services, according to the budget analysis.
With the governor and Legislature poised to try to take property tax increases off the table, that leaves the prices residents pay for everything from the use of athletic fields and after-school programs to the cost of building permits and water and electricity as the primary ways for the city to generate dollars.
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by Beth Kassab | Sep 24, 2025 | City Commission, News, Taxes, Uncategorized
How Today's City Commission Meeting Will Hit Your Wallet
Winter Park is poised to raise fees for everything from a round of golf to after-school programs along with a portion of your power bill
Sept. 24, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park Commissioners are set to vote Wednesday afternoon on the city’s $230 million budget, which includes an electric rate increase — though lower bills for the time being — and higher prices for everything from cemetary plots, off-duty police, rounds of golf and after-school programs.
The new fee schedule, which is slated to be adopted today along with a second and final vote on the 2026 budget, will take effect Oct. 1.
Some examples:
- Fire department detail for special events (with at least 10 days notice): From $47 per hour (for a minimum of three hours) to $60 an hour.
- Off-duty police officer (with at least seven days advance notice): From $57 per hour to $58 (with a four hour minimum); holiday pay for off-duty officers will move from $82 to $83 per hour.
- Fees for adult sports teams fees will jump from $500 for flag football and softball to $550.
- Youth after-school programs will increase from $50 to $55 monthly for residents and from $90 to $100 for non-residents.
- A single resident space at Palm Cemetery will jump from $5,800 to $6,950.
- Greens fees at the Winter Park Nine for residents on Friday through Sunday will increase from $22 to $26. Electric cart rental will go from $12 to $14 and from $10 to $12 for seniors.
- Rental of the Winter Park Events Center on a Saturday will change from $5,50 to $5,775.
The city’s budget proposal discussed how slower growth forecast in the economy means “adding new services and projects will only be possible in the context of the growth rate of traditional revenue sources such as the millage rate, fees and customer rates.”
The document even went so far as to make clear that fees for services have already become a critical piece of the budget as City Commissions have decided against raising the millage rate (which determines how much residents and businesses pay in property taxes, which make up the largest portion of the city’s general fund). And how future increases are likely:
“As the second largest component of the general fund at 20%, and as one of the few revenue sources that the city has direct control over, charges for services is likely to increase over time as fees and prices for activities and services will have to continue to be raised to support operations. In many municipal circles this is being called the pay-to-play form of providing services to residents and businesses and will only be more crucial if property tax revenue growth rates begin to slow.”
A portion of resident’s electric rates will also climb in October, though total bills will decrease.
That’s because the electric bill includes multiple fees, charges and taxes with some going up and one going down.
The non-fuel portion of electric rates based on how much each customer uses will increase by about 7%. That equates to a monthly jump from $91.46 to $98.26 for a home using 1,300 kwh, according to an estimate provided by the city.
But the charges customers pay for fuel (mostly natural gas in Winter Park) are going down from $49.20 to $29.61, resulting in a lower monthly bill.
Fuel charges, however, are variable and could rise again.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 5, 2025 | City Commission, News, Taxes, Uncategorized
Winter Park to keep property tax rate the same for 18th year
The city’s $233.5 million budget accounts for 7% growth in property tax revenue based on higher values as well as increases in utility fees
Aug. 5, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park City Commissioners will keep property tax rates the same for the 18th year in a row despite pressure from two commissioners to consider increases.
With a 3-2 vote to hold the line at the July 23 City Commission meeting, officials signaled that the increase in property values will drive a 7% increase in property tax revenues — from $36.2 million to $38.9 million — will be enough to cover expenses along with significant proposed increases in utility rates.
The city’s overall budget is proposed to increase by 8.9% or $19 million to $233.5 million.
City Manager Randy Knight cautioned that its likely he will ask commissioners to raise the property tax rate next year on top of the utility increases that are being proposed this year.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio along with commissioners Warren Lindsey and Kris Cruzada voted to keep the millage rate the same. Commissioners Marty Sullivan and Craig Russell dissented.
Sullivan began talking about a potential increase months ago in a letter to residents, citing growing costs and changing economic conditions. He said he wanted to raise the millage rate by a quarter mil with the intent of revising it back down in September after receiving reassurance from the city’s share of revenue from the state sales tax and other sources wouldn’t plummet.
“That’s a big unknown,” he told the group, citing needs like a new fire training center and continuing to build the city’s reserve fund, which would prove crucial in the event of a major hurricane or other disaster.
Russell surprised some observers by going even further, proposing a half mil increase.
He was elected as a first-time candidate in 2024 and was championed by local business interests and even campaigned on cutting taxes and targeting waste.
But he said he’s learned a lot about what it takes to keep the city running with the high level of service that residents have come to expect.
“How long can we provide the level of service we do without addressing that taboo subject?” he asked.
He proposed earmarking any increase for specific needs like roads or sidewalks to provide residents with “transparency” about how the dollars will be spent.
Russell said he knows most elected officials shy away from raising taxes because it could cost them their jobs the next time voters got to the polls.
“Anybody sitting up here is afraid of not getting elected the next time,” he said. “I’m a liar …” he said referring to his own campaign materials last year that called for reducing taxes. “But when you dive into it and sit here and you take on fiscal responsibility for thousands of people you have the ability to learn what that really means.”
The seats belonging to Sullivan and Russell are up for election next year.
DeCiccio expressed some doubt about how much longer the city would be able to maintain property tax rates, even with higher appraised values. She attributed the city’s growing values to the level of service residents receive when it comes to quick police and fire response, parks, roads, electricity and other services the city provides.
“The level of service and higher property values go hand in hand,” she said. “It truly amazes me that we are able to maintain the same millage rate and still maintain that … I don’t know how long we will be able to do it, but we can definitely do it this year, make this the 18th year we don’t raise property taxes.”
Residents will, however, see other proposed changes that are likely to hit their wallets.
The average resident will pay an extra $23 for electricity, water and stormwater is the proposed changes are approved.
The next budget hearing will take place next week on Aug. 13 where residents can sign up to speak on the budget.
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by Beth Kassab | Mar 16, 2025 | City Commission, News, Taxes, Uncategorized
More commissioners signal interest in raising property taxes
At the board’s first budget work session of the year, city staff pitched a targeted increase to cover transportation or public safety costs
March 16, 2025
By Beth Kassab
With costs for police and fire, transportation and other city services continuing to rise amid stubborn inflation, commissioners discussed last week the idea of increasing how much residents pay in property taxes by a quarter mil.
The talks took place at the Commission’s first budget work session of the year where the elected officials heard an overview of anticipated revenue and costs for next year.
Warren Lindsey, who will be sworn in as a new commissioner in Todd Weaver’s seat later this month, attended alongside Weaver.
Commissioner Craig Russell voiced a willingness to consider a tax increase and pondered ways to get residents on board with the idea.
“It’s just a matter of telling the story,” Russell said. “We still have unfunded projects” and expressed concern about a decline in city services “where we won’t be a destination anymore, we’ll just be run-of-the-mill.”
Russell, who was backed by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce and is up for re-election next year, said commissioners must talk about the needs with residents and “agree on whether we can market it so that the messaging is cohesive across the board with the public.”
Commissioner Marty Sullivan, who is also up for re-election next year and who proposed a property tax increase recently in a written message to residents, responded, “Craig, you stole my thunder.”
Sullivan said he didn’t mind if an increase is unpopular with voters. He said a .25 mil increase for many residents would be about $8 or so a month or “not much more than a cup of coffee at Barnie’s.”
“I’m OK with people hating me for it,” he said. “If 10 or 20 years from now they say they’re glad we did it.”
Commissioner Kris Cruzada, who was just re-elected last week and is often one of the more fiscally conservative voices on the board, said some older residents are “aging in place” and could be more concerned with increased costs.
He said he encountered a variety of viewpoints on the matter when he canvassed door-to-door ahead of the election.
“Some are more concerned,” he said. “I did get other residents who said, ‘I wouldn’t mind paying a little bit more,’ to make sure key performance indicators can be met,” such as police and fire response times.
“So it is a bit of a mixed bag with some of the residents,” Cruzada said.
City Manager Randy Knight said commissioners will be asked to set a tentative millage rate in July, the city’s typical practice. Then, in September when the budget must be approved, the board can lower the rate if there is negative feedback or if revenue estimates change.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio recalled how the board attempted to push the rate higher in 2020 in response to the pandemic.
“And there was a public outcry and we brought it down,” she said.
Winter Park’s millage rate is 4.0923 and is the only local city that has not increased its tax rate “since the 2009 Great Recession,” according to last year’s budget document. The rate equals about $4.09 in taxes for every $1,000 of a property’s taxable value.
City Management and Budget Director Peter Moore told the group that potential new costs in the city’s more than $214 million budget could total as much as $5.6 million, but potential new revenues under the status quo could reach just $3.5 million.
The potential new costs include: $900,000 in general fund operating costs; $700,000 for public safety positions; $250,000 for equipment replacement, which he said could face increasing costs as a result of federal tariffs; $300,000 more in the general fund for building projects; $150,000 for IT software and $140,000 to update the parks master plan.
He said the property tax base for Winter Park is expected to remain strong, though growth could slow or at least level out.
He added that he expects harder-to-come-by federal and state grants and higher electric utility costs down the road.
“We’ve seen cities target specific things,” Moore told the group such as raising taxes specifically for transportation or police as some other local governments have done. “Allocating a quarter point to public safety would help.”
At the City Commission meeting earlier in the week the board voted to pause offering more money for local nonprofit grants until later in the year as they wait to get a better picture of the budget numbers and after DeCiccio raised that federal and state grants will likely dry up.
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