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Update: Winter Garden City Manager Jon Williams announced earlier this evening at the city commission meeting that staff was able to set the tentative millage rate at 4.8565 mils. He said that budgets were "fluid things," and that the "goal is to bring [the rate] down to the existing millage of 4.5 mils."
Winter Garden may increase its millage rate from 4.5 mils to 5.3 mils in an effort to close its budget gap for fiscal 2025-2026, which begins Oct. 1.
City Manager Jon Williams mentioned the millage increase during Tuesday's community meeting at City Hall.
The millage rate has not increased in eight years, according to Laura Zielonka, the city finance director.
Discussion about the millage rate was part of the community meeting's information session about increases to the city’s fire fee.
The city commission passed a resolution at its June 26 meeting that allowed it to levy the maximum fee allowed by law on all property owners. A study was conducted by the professional services firm Benesch, which developed a fee structure for residential, commercial and institutional properties based primarily on square footage. Homes under 1,000 square feet could expect to pay $333 annually while homes in the 2,000 to 2,500 square foot range would pay about $414.
Williams said those fees were based on the “max rate” and that it was the city’s “goal to bring that down.”
The resolution allows the commission to also consider a lower rate or none at all.
“The commission can choose not to move forward with implementation of this assessment like they did back in 2008 and just totally fund everything from a proposed property tax increase,” Williams told attendees. “They can decide to move forward with this rate and then leave the millage rate currently at the same. Or there's an option that we can kind of pick between maybe a little bit of funding from the fire assessment and a little bit of a millage rate increase. But overall the goal is gonna be to try to certainly reduce the impact that it has on you.”
Last week, Ocoee passed a one-year fire fee increase that doubled its base rate to $139.23 per fire protection unit. That increase is estimated to cover about a third of its fire department $13.7 million budget. Ocoee is also considering raising its millage to 5.5 mils, according to City Manager Craig Shadrix.
Winter Garden anticipates that personnel and operating costs for the police department and fire and rescue department will be about $36.8 million for the next fiscal year out of a proposed total budget of nearly $70 million. Projected ad valorem or tax revenues are $28.4 million. That leaves a deficit, Zielonka pointed out, of $8.4 million for both police and fire and rescue services. Fire and rescue services alone are projected to be $14.6 million.
If enacted, the fire fee would bring in $11.5 million and cover about 80 percent of the fire and rescue department’s costs.
During the meeting, Zielonka offered a primer on city’s finances and government services.
The key takeaway: there are distinct funds — such as General and Enterprise — and monies can’t be mixed. Ad valorem or property taxes and state revenues go into the General Fund, which pays for public services like public safety, general city government, city planning and development. User fees for utilities like water, sewer, stormwater, and garbage are part of the Enterprise Funds.
“Those revenues can only pay for those services,” Zielonka said. “And same with the General Fund. You can't use taxes to pay for a solid waste salaries. They have to be completely separate.”
Williams, Zielonka and Fire Chief Jose P. Gainza, Jr. also offered insight into some of the external market pressures that have prompted the city to consider millage and fire fee increases, including inflation, state-mandated minimum wage laws and the need to offer competitive salaries with agencies in the Orange-Osceola-Seminole region to attract and retain the highly trained fire fighters and paramedics.
Williams noted that last year, Winter Garden negotiated a 20 percent salary increase with its police department —something Ocoee did as well —and said the fire department would receive the same raise “over the next two years.”
One of the longer-term solutions Williams said the city was exploring — as is Ocoee — is state legislation that would allow the city to become independent from Orange County. He said Winter Garden could then pay for what he said the city does receive from the county such as animal control and mosquito control.
“That would give you immediate tax relief for 28 percent of what you provide to the county,” he said, referring to the portion of resident taxes that go to Orange County.
The city will hold at least one more community meeting on July 29, 6-8 p.m. at City Hall, 300 W. Plant Street. Many residents at the July 22 meeting said they had not received the letters the city mailed out about the meeting. It's possible the city will schedule a third meeting to ensure residents are informed.
The commission will vote on the fire fee on August. 14. The city budget will be passed in September.
People had many questions about the city’s proposed fire fee at Tuesday’s community meeting. We answer the most common ones.
How will the fire fee be billed?
If the commission votes to implement it, City manager Jon Williams said that residents would see the fire fee reflected on their annual tax bill.
Is the fire fee in addition to a millage rate increase
Much depends on what the city commission decides. At the June 26 commission meeting, commissioners voted up a resolution to permit them to increase the fire fee to its maximum level allowed by law if necessary — but they are not obligated to do so. In addition, the city manager is requesting a millage rate increase to 5.3 mils. So, the commission could do both. But Williams said at the community meeting that the commission could also vote to pass a fire fee increase and leave the millage rate at the current rate of 4.5 mils; not impose the fire fee at all or strike a balance by raising both slightly.
How much money would be raised?
$11.5 million, which would cover about 80 percent of the fire and rescue department’s personnel and operating costs.
How does Winter Garden’s proposed fire fee compare to Ocoee’s new fire fee?
Both are based on square footage so that smaller homes would not pay more than larger homes, and commercial, warehouse and institutional buildings would pay even higher fees. Most Ocoee homeowners are expected to pay between $205 and $342 annually, and the fire fee is anticipated to raise about a third of the fire department’s $13.7 million budget or $4.4 million. In Winter Garden, where most homeowners could expect increases between $333 and $414 annually, a fire fee would net $11.5 million or 80 percent of the fire and rescue budget.
Can the city use the $1 million it saved by canceling its recycling program to offset some fire department costs?
Unfortunately no, according to Finance Director Laura Zielonka, because the monies are in separate city funds and can’t be mixed. The recycling program was a user fee-based utility in the Enterprise Funds while the fire and rescue department is funded through ad valorem taxes through the city’s General Fund.
What would the fire fee cover?
The fire fee can only be used for personnel, equipment, training or capital costs, according to Zielonka. Fire Chief Jose P. Gainza, Jr. outlined several items on the fire department's wish list, including a new fire engine. Gainza noted the same fire engine the city bought last year for $785,000 now costs $1.1 million … and won’t even arrive for three years, thanks to inflation. Gainza also noted that Station 23, long housed in a modular unit, needs a brick-and-mortar home, and Station 24 needs remodeling to accommodate the women fire fighters in the battalion. The fire fee would cover those costs.
Will Winter Garden’s Fire Department adopt 24 hours on/72 hours off?
No. Gainza told VoxPopuli that the new state law “encourages” adoption of the practice for fire fighters' physical and mental wellbeing but does not mandate it. Presently, the union isn’t requesting it, which is helpful from a budget standpoint since that schedule would necessitate hiring another 21 to 22 fire fighters to maintain 24/7 coverage. Gainza said that as more agencies adopt this schedule, however, it will become standard.
