Fiscal Year 08/09 Budget Guidelines
and Proposed Millage Rate

“We are recommending a plan to meet our budget challenge. It’s a sensible and strategic solution that will:  keep us safe, maintain our high quality of life, create opportunities for our families to succeed, and still give a vast majority of residents a reduction in their property tax bill, even in these challenging economic times…

This plan restores the millage to a rate slightly below the rate we experienced between 2002 and 2007.  This modest adjustment means our rate will be lower than any year for the past two decades, except last year. Even more importantly, at the rate of 5.65, a vast majority, 70 percent, of our residents will be paying less in City taxes than they did last year.  And – 80 percent will be paying less in taxes than they did two years ago.

To put it bluntly, finding a solution to our budget challenge in this new, post-Amendment One era… comes down to two choices:  We can be the City Beautiful… or, we can be the City Ordinary.”

- Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer

What is the next step in the budget process?

The Orlando City Council approved the proposed millage rate on July 21 that will be submitted to the Property Appraiser for inclusion on the TRIM notice sent to all property owners to inform them of the proposed rate for 08/09. 

The City Council will hold two public budget hearings on September 8 and 15 to approve the millage rate.  The final rate cannot be higher than the amount voted on July 21.

How did the City arrive at the current 30 million dollar budget gap?

The City of Orlando, just like businesses and families across the country is experiencing an increase in costs with a reduction in revenues.  The City is facing a 30 million dollar budget gap caused by a decrease in sales tax, an increase in energy costs, an increase in the cost of employee healthcare and state-imposed revenue reductions because of property tax reform.

What is the City doing to bridge this shortfall?

The City has developed a sensible and strategic solution that will

• Make cuts to City services.
• Use efficiency measures.
• Withdrawal from our reserves.
• And, make a modest adjustment of the millage rate at 5.65, that is lower than the rate for the past two decades… a rate that reduces the property tax bill for more than 70 percent of our homeowners.

In addition, this plan will allow the City to remain on track with the following commitments:

• Continuing year three of the Public Safety Initiative putting 25 additional police officers in our neighborhoods.
• Ensuring our streets are maintained and our children are safe on their way to and from school – by funding our school safety sidewalk program.
• Helping to maintain livable neighborhoods with dedicated traffic-calming funds in each district.
• Giving our firefighters the replacement gear necessary to perform their jobs at the highest level.
• Making sure families on the edge have a safety net.  During tough economic times we remain committed to our regional plan to end homelessness. We are directing housing dollars for rental, utility assistance and transitional housing.

Has the City identified places to cut during the 08/09 Fiscal Year?

Yes, the following have been identified:

• Eliminating holiday bonuses for City employees.

• Reducing landscaping, mowing and parks maintenance Citywide.

• Cutting training and travel budget for all City employees by 15 percent.

• Closing community and recreation centers with low usage on Saturdays.

• Reducing all holiday decorations by half.

• Reducing the Fire Department’s public outreach budget by 50 percent.  This means cutting health checks for seniors, health fairs, school presentations and smoke detector checks.

• At the highest level of the organization, Mayor Dyer is cutting a director level position from the cabinet and another management position.

I heard the City’s budget has increased at a rate greater than the population growth?

Of the 59% increase in the City’s budget since 1999, almost 53% of the increase has been devoted to public safety.  Accordingly, only 6% of this overall increase is attributable to increases in non-public safety government costs.

If the public safety costs are isolated from general government costs, public safety spending has increased 110% while general government spending has risen only 22%.  During this period the national average for inflationary cost increases is 36% -- this does not account for the substantial increase in service demand experienced in the City of Orlando.

Why doesn’t the City cut other places to bridge the gap?

In 2003, Mayor Dyer inherited a 23 million dollar budget deficit. In order to correct the City’s financial situation, Mayor Dyer took difficult, but necessary, steps to streamline City operations and downsize the City’s workforce.  During this same time, the City of Orlando was growing with residents, businesses, visitors and acreage. In order to provide the same quality services with reduced resources, the City was forced to operate as efficiently as possible, already cutting unnecessary programs and spending, including reducing the workforce by more than 250 employees. 

While this year City residents are looking at an increase in their property taxes, the rate being set is the same rate at which the City operated at during the 1990s.  Since the 1990s the landscape of the City of Orlando has changed significantly, including a 27% growth in population, 8% growth in land area, 23% growth in visitors and $5.5 billion in new construction.

What does this mean for Orlando residents?

More than 70 percent of Orlando’s homeowners will still see a reduction in their City property tax bills. While maintaining the high quality services and programs residents desire, including a fire department rated among the top 55 in the country, prestigious parks, recreation activities, brick street restoration, sidewalks and a police department equipped with the latest tools, training and technology.

If the mileage rate isn’t raised, what services or program would potentially be cut?

Some of the programs and services that could potentially face cuts include:

• Fire Department
  • Eliminate Rescue 3
  • Eliminate Rescue 12
  • Eliminate Engine 16
• Police Department
  • Eliminate Community Involvement Officers
  • Eliminate Mounted Patrol Unit
  • Eliminate Super Kids Unit
• Families, Parks and Recreation
  • Reduction in after school capacity
  • Reduction in trash collection schedule
• Leu Gardens
  • Close Leu House Museum except for weekends and eliminate all plant purchases

I heard the City was raising taxes by 21%.

On July 14 and 15, the City of Orlando held budget camps to take an in-depth look at the budget for Fiscal Year 08/09.  At that time, a variety of budget options were discussed including the highest rate the millage could be set.  That number, 5.9, represents a 21% increase to the millage rate, not the dollar increase residents would see in their taxes.

In fact, Mayor Dyer has laid out a plan that includes cuts to City services, efficiency measures, a withdrawal from reserves and a modest adjustment of the millage rate at 5.65

While the millage rate is increasing, more than 70 percent of residents will experience a decrease in their property taxes. 

What about the funding for the Community Venues projects?

The funding for the Community Venues is generated exclusively from sources other than the City’s General Fund.