Residents to pay more for parks, utilities, garbage pick-up and more
City points to inflation, looming recession, weaker housing market as drivers for raising local fees in proposed budget
By Beth Kassab
Winter Parkers will notice a jump in fees for park facilities, ambulance rides, water utilities and garbage collection if next year’s budget is approved. The proposed $207 million budget represents a 4.2% increase over FY2023.
The preliminary budget, which does not include a property tax millage rate increase, also does not include several high-profile requests such as the purchase of the Bank of the Ozarks property, keeping the library open on Sundays, two additional police officers, one additional firefighter or increasing the city’s cash reserves.
The budget will be considered by the City Commission for the first time on Wednesday and final approval is expected by September.
City leaders pointed to inflation and the higher cost of wages as justification for raising fees and trimming other costs even as home values increased and translated to 10% growth in the city’s General Fund led by property tax revenue.
“As a result of upward pressure on operating costs, the proposed budget defers and trims some capital investments, raised fees across many areas, and had to prioritize among many needs presented by departments and community stakeholders,” reads the budget overview.
Proposed fee increases include:
- The cost of the city’s garbage collection contract with WastePro is set to go up by 45%, sending fees up by about $20%. The budget estimates homeowners will pay about $5 extra on average each month to account for the higher prices.
- Fees associated with the city’s parks, facilities and programs will go up by 5% to raise an additional $350,000 to cover higher expenses of maintaining the buildings and greenspaces.
- Ambulance transport fees will go up by 10% to raise an additional $100,000 to $150,000. The fee hasn’t been raised in more than five years and is sometimes covered by health insurance or Medicare rather than residents, the proposal noted.
- Water and sewer rates will go up by 7% in line with the index put out by the Public Service Commission, which regulates investor-owned utilities across Florida.
- Stormwater rates, which help cover the cost of drainage and infrastructure to prevent and reduce flooding, will go up 8% next year following two previous years of increases of 5% each. Owners of the largest homes will pay more while owners of smaller properties could pay less, according to the new rate structure.
Meanwhile, nonprofit groups traditionally supported by the city or its Community Redevelopment Agency are seeing across-the-board proposed increases:
- Winter Park Library will receive $1.9 million, a $92,000 increase.
- Mead Botanical Gardens will receive $93,500, an $8,500 increase.
- Winter Park Historical Association will receive $88,000, an $8,000 increase.
- Winter Park Day Nursery will receive $38,500, a $3.500 increase.
- United Arts will receive $18,400, a $1,400 increase.
- Blue Bamboo will receive $11,000, a $1,000 increase.
- Polasek Museum will receive $25,300, a $2,300 increase.
- Enzian Theater will receive $10,000, a $3,000 increase.
- Heritage Center will receive $50,000, a $10,000 increase.
- Welbourne Day Nursery will receive $38,500, a $3,500 increase.
- Winter Park Playhouse will receive $44,000, a $4,000 increase.
- Depugh Nursing Home will receive $25,000, a $2,000 increase.
Leaders noted that the yearly $100,000 obligation to the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center will end after next year. But the city’s local share of operating the SunRail commuter train, which has a stop in Central Park, is expected to come due next year and the first payment is budgeted at $146,000. The annual payment is expected to be $350,000 in future years.
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By: Beth Kassab
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Incremental budgeting? I would hope every increase can be justified by a need and not just we want more than last year. The big budget item that does not make any sense is the $100,000 to the Dr. Phillips Performing Center that is not even close to Winter Park, but I realize it is an obligation. Hopefully we see better transparency in our city and this should be part of the smart city project. Wait, how much will that cost and is it in the budget?
No one likes higher “fees,” aka taxes, but without drilling down too deep it all sounds fairly reasonable to me.
The $100,000 for the 10th year to Dr Phillips really isn’t an obligation but a choice. The sitting commissioners at the time changed the 3 words between the first and second reading with no notice. The 3 words now mean future commisssions would NOT need to have an annual vote on the donation like all other charities. Just think what we could have done for our intrastructure and roads with $100,000 in each of the last 9 budgets
Very many Winter Park residents donated “a ton” of money to DPAC. A lot more than $1,000,000. And a few donated significant sums. I’ve never heard one complaint about the quality of the center from the WP residents who regularly attend DPAC.
And in the grand scheme, WP received a $6,000,000 TDT grant for the new library which saved taxpayers a few bucks. A non-WP taxpayer could argue the $6M only benefited WP taxpayers. Overall, I’ll trade $100K for 10 years vs. $6,000,000 in one shot. But I see your point.
Winter Park taxpayers are also Orange County taxpayers. That $6M that supported the Events Center — it was specifically designated for the Events Center and not the library — came out of Orange County tourist receipts.
On the other hand, the $1M donation to DPAC, which had nothing to do with Winter Park and took badly needed funds away from Winter Park non-profits, came directly out of Winter Park pockets — and only WP pockets.
One had nothing to do with the other.
I’m aware. My point was prefaced with “in the grand scheme of things….” You gotta give to get. $6M > $1M.
Pitt Warner, I think it really is the “good ol’ boy quid pro quo” that you point out here that makes most people ill. The WPPL & Event Center had as much business getting the life saving transfusion of $6 million in TDT money as my left foot. Some people want to live in that world and tolerate that sort of I’ll-scratch-your-back-if-you-scratch-mine mentality while others don’t want to live in that world. Now we have a library complex designed by a disgraced architect from Ghana. And it’s an ugly collection of buildings with cracking floors and a prison like warmth. Karma, I guess.
1) Almost no Winter Park residents have ever been to Dr Phillips Performing Arts Center. Certainly less than 5% have been there any more than once. So the $1 million “gift” the City Commission gave them was totally gross and uncalled for.
2) Winter Park residents were ripped off by the Library and Events Center scam. It was a project Winter Park residents overwhelmingly didn’t want. And the only reason it got done was because Orange County made it happen. Even today though many residents signed up for their Library “card” few use it. And the facility along with its homely twin (the Events Center) is primarily used by Orlando residents due to its remote location. So the $6 million Orange County chipped in wasn’t a “gift” to WP residents. Rather it was just another tool used to rip off Winter Park residents to the tune of $50 million – the costs residents have to pay for the monstrosity.
I agree totally and so do the majority of the voters.
A friend carped the other day about the state of affairs in WP and criticized the Commish over a tax increase.
I said, “pipe down, times are good. You haven’t been asked to sign a Sally Flynn petition in recent years. We have a Commission finally interested in the greater good of the community. Get over it on the tax thing.”
Somebody wanted it. The YES people won the vote. (And BTW, Bush beat Gore)
At some point WP citizens will look back at the city commissions which gave us both the “Christmas-every-day” $1 million gift to DPAC as well as the new library/events center fiscal juggernaut —as the Medieval Period: the Dark Ages.
If you have been following, DPAC just got ranked top tier for its $145 million request for Orange County TDT hotel-tax funding. $145 million!! At best our WP $1 million should have been cast as a bridge loan to be paid back with interest —for the benefit of our own local non profit players. What a shame. Never should have happened. Remember those commissioners names.
I suggest the city restructure its annual non profit giving to serve in a secondary match/challenge role to those first-tier funds raised by our own local philanthropic and business community—the Chamber—yes! —as well as the non profits themselves. Whatever they can jointly raise- (show me the money!) the city matches by agreed upon formula, with an eye to helping the smaller orgs.
Its past time to restructure. This is not a healthy trend.
Our monthly home utility bill is staggering! “Across the board…” increases must be evaluated for inequities. Cost increases should be based on Usage, consumer property size, and whether commercial or personal based. In fact, the commissioners should be looking at ways to REDUCE utility costs to residential consumers by use (KWH/Month). Less use equals savings on basic charges for electricity, water, and garbage collection. A Consumer should receive a reduction in garbage collection cost by opting for once a week pickup, and same day pickup for recycled items as for regular garbage.
The budget both expenses and revenues must be constantly reviewed and improved.
Revenues can be increased without an increase in fees or taxes by increasing the tax base. The huge abuses of “nonprofits “ must be curtailed. These “nonprofits” use services; they need to pay the same percentages and fees the citizens pay.
If you sell a service or a product you should be taxed and pay fees like the rest of us
https://linkprotect.cudasvc.com/url?a=https%3a%2f%2fwww.healthaffairs.org%2fdoi%2f10.1377%2fhlthaff.2022.01542&c=E,1,CEdaGkYxXMNgkfTa8BFcRAww5LB1DeHFPM3Ebnn8Rvo1JyxUcCMK-X4U0Z2kGbZycZwK_WvTu-QqfZghI4-WwDgAyHJQ_Iwm_Q26Mv8g8BdUQC_W9UjkRw,,&typo=1
Thank you for sharing the details of Winter Park’s proposed $207 million budget, highlighting a 4.2% increase over FY2023. The delicate balance between addressing inflation, rising operational costs, and supporting community needs underscores the upcoming City Commission discussions.
Thank you for sharing insights into Winter Park’s 2024 budget, highlighting fee increases for park facilities, ambulance services, water utilities, and garbage collection. The city’s commitment to supporting local nonprofits amidst economic challenges is commendable.