Public safety, affordable housing top Orange County budget priorities
Orange County’s tax roll has more than doubled over the past decade but so has county government’s budget, which is estimated to be nearly $6.8 billion in fiscal year 2023-24, which starts Oct. 1.
Public safety and affordable housing are among the top priorities again.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina, whose budget jumped about $32.4 million last year, is seeking another increase of about $22.9 million and 54 more employees in the coming fiscal year.
Continuing growth requires more help, a sheriff’s spokesperson said in an email.
If his request is approved, Mina will command a Sheriff’s Office with 2,665 employees, including 1,880 sworn deputies. The sheriff proposed a total operating budget of $353.9 million, up about 7%.
A spokesperson said the sheriff would lay out his request in greater detail to commissioners.
In a foreword to the 388-page budget book, Mayor Jerry Demings said the county’s financial resources are “strategically allocated to fuel economic development, invest in affordable housing, preserve the environment, strengthen public safety, and expand children and family services and programs.”
Budget hearings get underway Wednesday with county commissioners.
The proposed spending plan of $6.76 billion is funded by several revenue streams, the biggest of which is property taxes, estimated to generate about $904 million, about $96 million more than last year.
Property Appraiser Amy Mercado set the 2023-24 tax roll at $203.9 billion as of Jan. 1, up $22.9 billion from fiscal year 2022-23. The total could fall slightly depending on outcomes of court challenges.
Central Florida property values, which offer glimpse of growth over the last year, soar
The countywide millage or property tax rate of 4.4347 has been the same for 15th consecutive years. The levy will pull in about 13% more because of new construction and rising property values.
The property tax would cost the owner of a home in unincorporated Orange County $4.43 for each $1,000 of taxable value. For example, the owner of a $350,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay about $1,330 in property tax in unincorporated Orange County.
Property tax revenues feed the General Fund, the backbone of the county’s financial structure.
“As the county grows, there seems to be more and more funding needs,” said Kurt Petersen, director of management and budget for the county. “It’s just difficult to maneuver. Everybody has a need.”
The emphasis on public safety adds up to more than $800 million in the proposed budget, including $184 million to operate the jail and about $300 million for Fire Rescue, which aims to add 56 positions.
The budget also includes $2 million for strategies recommended by the Citizens Safety Task Force, which the mayor reconvened after fatal shootings of a mom, a 9-year-old girl and a TV reporter in February.
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The budget also targets the lack of affordable housing.
Commissioners approved earlier this year adding another $14.6 million to the mayor’s “Housing for All Trust Fund,” which provides financial incentives for developers to build affordable and workforce housing.
The county has poured $68 million into the fund in the past five years.
Investment in affordable housing projects are intended to create options for residents, many of whom find themselves priced out of the local market because of low wages and spiking rent increases.
Since 2019, when Demings assembled a task force to examine the housing crisis and strategies, over 2,000 affordable housing units have been built or under construction in the county.
Though some economists have forecast a mild recession in the coming year, Demings was optimistic “our healthy financial reserves will help us navigate turbulent times and weather the storms ahead.”
He noted the main budget fund boasts a reserve account of $104 million, 7.5% of the fund.
