Seminole County gives early nod to $1 billion spending plan for 2024
Anticipating higher costs for keeping the county’s parks and roads in good shape, along with hiring new employees, Seminole commissioners on Tuesday gave a preliminary OK to a record-high budget of more than $1 billion for the next fiscal year, while opting to keep the property tax rate at the same level since 2010.
“I look at this budget and it was $1 billion, and I remember when it was half-a-million, or $500,000,” said John Horvath, a longtime Seminole resident who has kept a close eye on the county’s budget for decades. “But we also have an increasing population. … And that means a lot of goods and services need to be done for [residents]. I agree with this budget. We need to keep up with the infrastructure.”
The total proposed budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, is nearly 8% larger than this current fiscal year’s budget of $992.5 million.
About $418 million, or 39%, of the spending plan would go toward public safety, which includes the Sheriff’s Office and county Fire Department.
The budget also includes a proposed $385 million for the general fund, which pays for the day-to-day operations of the county, including salaries. That’s a $44.5 million increase over this fiscal year’s general fund.
It also includes more than $3.8 million directed toward the county’s new Seminole Forever program, which commissioners approved last month. Under the program, Seminole would use the funds to help purchase environmentally sensitive natural lands for conservation and passive recreation.
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According to the proposed budget, the county plans to have about 1,665 full-time employees next year, an increase of 24 from this year.
County Manager Darren Gray said there are plans to improve Seminole’s parks, trails, Boombah Sports Complex and its recently purchased Wekiva Golf Course on the western side of the county.
Gray also noted his staff starts planning Seminole’s budget for next fiscal year in January, when department heads begin submitting their spending plans. Even though the county expects an increase in tax revenues next year, Gray said his staff kept a tight rein on spending while still “meeting the needs of the community.”
“We cut over $17 million in the [county] departments’ budgets,” Gray said. “We have to be good stewards of taxpayer money.”
Commissioners also unanimously agreed to maintain the countywide tax rate of $4.88 per $1,000 of a property’s taxable value next year. That tax rate is estimated to generate roughly $233 million in revenue for the county’s general fund next fiscal year, a nearly $22 million jump from this fiscal year.
The county’s taxable value for total properties jumped by 10.8% this year, according to the Property Appraiser’s Office.
Because Florida’s Save Our Homes law limits annual increases in a property’s value to no more than 3% for homesteaded homes, many owners will not see a large increase in their property tax bills next year.
Commissioners did not comment specifically on the proposed budget.
They are scheduled to approve the new spending plan and the tax rates at a public meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 26 before the budget taking effect on Oct. 1.
