ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County commissioners spent hours Wednesday hearing from department leaders as they worked through next year’s proposed $8.9 Billion budget.
During the meeting on Wednesday, every department was asked to break down how a 10% budget cut would affect county services.
It comes as voters will decide in November whether to approve a property tax amendment that would increase the homestead exemption and force local governments to make cuts.
During the lengthy discussion on Wednesday, Orange County Fire Rescue said that if the amendment is approved, their response times could suffer.
Orange County Fire Chief Anthony Rios explained that the department’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027 is $495.8 million.
It includes funding two new fire stations to reduce response times: Fire Station 31 in the Dr. Phillips area, and Fire Station 78 in Boggy Creek.
“When Fire Station 78 opens, calls within that community will now be served by resources positioned much closer to them,” said Rios, “The result is faster response times to that region projected at nearly 60% improvement in travel time.”
But the Chief warned the department would be impacted significantly if property tax reform is approved by voters.
The ballot measure needs 60 percent approval to take effect, but would begin by increasing the exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027, then to $250,000 in 2028.
Analysts say the proposal now on the ballot could save homeowners an average of $3,000 every year.
“If the amendment is passed with 60% of the required votes on November 3rd. These changes in revenue will greatly impact the fire department’s ability, as we rely on property tax revenue,” said Rios.
About 86 percent of Orange County Fire Rescue’s budget is funded via a fire Municipal Service Taxing Unit, or MSTU, a dedicated property tax paid by property owners in unincorporated Orange County.
The county said that, if approved, the ballot measure will reduce the fire department’s revenue by $46 million, or about 20 percent, beginning in 2028.
“We will scale down on every level of service. We may have to put restrictions on the type of calls we go to, but always try to preserve,” said Rios. “My commitment, my mission is always to preserve the core service of life safety.”
Rios said the revenue loss would impact the department’s ability to bring new fire stations to areas in East and West Orange County, where the chief said at least three new fire stations are needed. He said as a result, some communities could see increased response times.
“911 calls continue to increase. And when they increase, if you don’t increase with the corresponding needed resources, then you will elongate your travel times,” said Rios.
Similar concerns were echoed in Osceola County during a workshop held by commissioners last month.
Osceola County officials stated that emergency response times, road construction, and debris collection after hurricanes could be affected by revenue loss. They also suggested there could be an impact on School Resource Officers and the ability to fund Sheriff’s Office K-9s.
Channel 9 asked Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Blaise Ingoglia, about the potential cuts at the time.
“I will respond to that with two letters: B. S.,” said Ingoglia, “They’re going to roll out a parade of horribles. Of everything and every reason why they can’t. It’s just not true,” Ingoglia said.
During Orange County’s budget session on Tuesday, Mayor Jerry Demings explained that state lawmakers required the county to complete an exercise demonstrating how its budgets would look after a 10% reduction.
He asked every department to list out services that could be on the chopping block.
“What we have done is, as we always do, challenge our department heads to look within their budgets to see where they can reduce costs,” said Demings, “The sad reality of it is you cannot accomplish the type of reductions that people want to feel in their wallets and their pockets without reducing services.”
During the session on Wednesday, the Fire Chief floated implementing a possible Fire Fee to offset revenue losses from property taxes, though no decisions were made on implementing it.
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