Proposed nearly $1.5 billion Orlando budget sees small bump in spending

Orlando city commissioners were briefed Monday on a proposed nearly $1.5 billion spending plan — a slight increase over last year’s $1.4 billion budget.

Mayor Buddy Dyer praised the proposal as furthering goals made last year toward racial equity, such as expanding youth programs, funding mental health professionals to respond to some 911 calls and hiring an equity official to his administration. This year’s proposed budget continues those initiatives.

“This is an ongoing mission that cannot be accomplished in just a single budget. That’s why this budget ensures they remain a top priority with continued funding to enhance police accountability and transparency, expand our youth programming and outreach and further economic development issues,” he said.

The city council later also signed off on a property tax rate of 6.65 mills, meaning homeowners will again pay $6.65 for every $1,000 of the taxable value of their land. The rate has remained the same in the city since 2015.

But the city will also rake in a little bit more money than last year, as property values increased by about 4% last year to $39 billion total. About 65% — or $983 million — of that increase is attributed to new construction.

“We’re grateful for the increase, but it’s a much flatter increase than what we’ve seen in past years,” said deputy chief financial officer Michelle McCrimmon.

Last year, property values increased by about 10% in the city.

The city came out of the pandemic mostly unscathed compared to others around the country — employees weren’t laid off or furloughed — in part because its largest funding source is property taxes, which proved mostly resilient.

“We all thought property values might be depressed, but property values, at least in the residential market have continued to go up and commercial hasn’t declined, though it hasn’t climbed like residential has,” Dyer said. “For the most part, we were unaffected.”

Because of uncertainty due to COVID-19, McCrimmon said department heads were asked to submit flat budgets as well as some potential cuts if they became necessary. They didn’t, she said, but the planned spending plan is tighter.

The biggest chunk of the city’s $545 million general fund — about 31.4% — goes toward OPD, the department of 1,012 employees. The department’s budget is projected to increase about $2.15 million over last year, or a 1.27% raise.

The agency’s budget came under scrutiny last year, along with police budgets around the country, following protests of systemic racism and the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. At the time, some called for “defunding the police” or shifting money away from law enforcement and instead toward substance abuse, mental health and other services.

This year, the increased police spending is attributed to hiring two new civilian employees, and rolling out updated body-worn cameras for officers. The new cameras, paid for in part by federal funds, turn on automatically when an officer removes a gun or taser from its holster and has longer battery life.

The overall budget discussed Monday can be tweaked through September, when it will again face scrutiny in a pair of public hearings scheduled for Sept. 13 and Sept. 27.

rygillespie@orlandosentinel.com