Slash Reserves and Services? Annex Maitland? Winter Park Mulls Answers to Property Tax Cuts

The (some not so serious) suggestions came in response to Legislative proposals to dramatically reduce city revenue and recommendations from Florida DOGE to eliminate some cities

Feb. 19, 2026

By Beth Kassab

The Florida House voted Thursday to ask voters to eliminate all property taxes — except those that fund schools — for people who live in their homes, but the Senate has yet to take up a plan.

With just three weeks left in the regular legislative session, Gov. Ron DeSantis signaled Thursday morning that he is in no hurry to finalize a proposal that must be approved by 60% of voters to take effect.

“Given that it can’t be voted on by the people before November, it’s better to do it right than do it quick!” the governor posted on X.

State leaders could call a special session after the annual 60-day lawmaking period ends March 13 to address property tax cuts or other unfinished matters.

The uncertainty over the future of their most important and flexible revenue stream has local governments such as Winter Park contemplating a bleak future if the cuts become reality.

“We’re losing people. We’re losing quality of life. We’re losing services,” Commissioner Kris Cruzada said last week as the City Commission heard staff projections. “You call down to City Hall, and you may not get a live person to deal with an issue.”

Peter Moore, director of the city’s Office of Management and Budget, presented an analysis projecting a $250 million loss over 11 years if a proposal like the one adopted by the House on Thursday is ultimately approved by voters.

While the House proposal aims to protect police and fire funding by prohibiting local governments from cutting those departments, it would impede the city’s ability to expand public safety and meet other local needs, including parks, roads, building permits and inspections, code enforcement, storm-related tree trimming, after-school programs, and playing fields for youth and adult sports leagues.

“This would call into question our ability to grow, and in the past we’ve had plans to expand our police and fire personnel. Those things are certainly not possible under scenarios like this,” he said. “It also implies that any government service that’s not public safety isn’t important.”

The tax repeal proposals address only those paid by property owners with homestead exemptions — those who live in their homes as a primary residence. That means people who own second homes, businesses, commercial properties or rental houses would likely face a higher, shifting tax burden that could be passed along to tenants in the form of higher rent.

“The part that bothers me the most,” Moore told the commission, “is that those who deserve the greatest voice in government — our local citizens — are not going to be contributing anything to it. And — this is tongue-in-cheek, and we don’t mean it — but we would be financially better off as a city if we really upset our citizens, they all left, sold their homes to BlackRock and let them be rented out as an Airbnb. Then we could at least pay for roads.”

Property taxes assessed on homesteaded property make up about $19 million — roughly half of the city’s annual property tax revenue — and more than 20% of total annual revenue, according to Moore.

Commissioner Warren Lindsey called the proposals “objectively one of the greatest threats, certainly since I’ve lived in Winter Park for 35 years.”

DeSantis and other state leaders have argued the proposals are driven by the need to make life more affordable for Floridians as government spending and waste have spiraled out of control.

But city officials across the state argue that state spending is ballooning at the same rate as local governments because both are affected by inflation and higher costs of goods and services, especially wages for police officers and firefighters.

Moore said the city’s general fund spent about $70 million in 2024, up from about $43 million in 2015 — an annualized growth rate of about 5.6%. The state of Florida increased spending during that same period from $30 billion to $50 billion, or about a 5.7% annual growth rate.

City officials also took exception to some of the characterizations and recommendations in the recently released “Report on Local Government Spending” by DeSantis’ Florida DOGE, or Department of Government Efficiency.

The report calls out 13 cities and counties, including Orange County, for what it describes as “excessive spending.”

“Property taxes are an expense that is entirely within the control of governments to rein in, and by ending the era of irresponsible spending, Florida and its local governments can give Florida’s homeowners freedom from this burden,” the report states.

The 98-page report is part financial audit and part ideological playbook outlining what the governor considers appropriate local government activities.

In the recommendations section, the unnamed authors predicted their proposals “will spark opposition.”

“Bureaucracies entrench themselves and create stakeholders who will argue that stronger oversight threatens ‘home rule,’ disrupts operations, risks federal funding or undermines public servants,” the report states. “They will highlight some recipient who benefits from every expenditure of public funds — ignoring that every dollar spent must also be taken from a taxpayer who is thereby harmed.”

The recommendations include giving Florida’s chief financial officer more power over local governments and standardizing local budgeting processes and wages, including freezing hiring and pay levels for city and county employees.

The report also says the state should forbid the use of government funds, facilities or communications to promote diversity, equity and inclusion concepts such as “social justice” or “systemic bias,” along with any phrases “that rely on the concept that mankind is inherently racist, sexist or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously, or bears responsibility for actions committed in the past by others based on race, sex or related characteristics.”

In addition, the report recommends changing state law so that state and local governments cannot enforce “green energy” or other “climate initiatives.”

The recommendation that drew the most pushback from Winter Park officials included a proposal to cap city reserve, or rainy day, funds at 10%.

After Hurricane Charley in 2004, Winter Park adopted a policy calling for reserves to stand at about 30%.

Winter Park’s reserve fund is about 27% today, or roughly $23 million.

Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said the funds are used to respond quickly to flooding and power outages before state and federal emergency reimbursements arrive.

Cruzada said the state is essentially telling local governments to be “irresponsible” and rely on state and federal assistance rather than manage their own affairs.

“What the state is doing is limiting our ability to raise revenue but, at the same time, reducing our reserves and it’s practically — for lack of a better term — telling us to be irresponsible,” he said.

The report’s final recommendation calls for some cities to disappear entirely and be absorbed by larger neighboring cities or counties.

“Florida should review the 411 municipalities for potential opportunities to provide local government services more efficiently through abolition or consolidation, with particular attention paid to small municipalities and highly urbanized counties,” the report states.

That prompted another tongue-in-cheek response from Winter Park officials, who joked about annexing neighboring Maitland.

Moore pointed to what he called a “curious note” in the report suggesting that “perhaps there are too many cities.”

He then showed an AI-generated image of City Manager Randy Knight and Assistant City Manager Michelle del Valle dressed in Colonial-era attire “crossing Howell Creek to invade our neighbors to the north.”

“Never to not be a team player, we are willing to do this,” Moore said, drawing laughter from the chamber.

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