ORLANDO -- Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer unveiled a budget plan Monday that he said would keep the city going, but would increase property taxes.
The City Commission voted 6-1 to approve the proposal, which will increase the millage rate from 4.9307 to 5.6500, as a way to make up for a $30 million defecit, partly caused by Amendment One.
No one wants to see a tax increase, but a majority of the Orlando commissioners said they had no choice.
"Unfortunantely, we're dealing with a national economy situation that we're not responsible for, but what's happenned is federal funding has been cut, state funding has been cut. And where does that finally come to roost? Down at the local government," said District 4 Commissioner Patty Sheehan.
There is some good news. Even with the millage rate going up, 70 percent of all Orlando homeowners will still see a reduction in their city property tax bills.
To find out if you are in that category, take the assessed value of your home before the homestead exemption of $50,000. If it is less than $178,000, your property taxes will actually go down.
Those in the more pricier homes will have to carry the burden now of the tax increase.
"I am not going to support this tax increase," said District 1 Commissioner Phil Diamond.
Before he agrees with approving any tax increase, Diamond said it was time for the city to take a fundamental look at how they do business.
Diamond said there are other ways to make up for the budget deficit.
"The Downtown Redevelopment Agency," Diamond suggested. "What is that? That's all the taxes that get collected Downtown. Do they get used for fire and police services? No, they're exempt from that. That's about $24 million this year."
The rest of the Commission, however, said they have no choice but to raise taxes to try to stay afloat.
A number of services will also be cut to make up for the budget deficit.
The Commission plans to eliminate all holiday bonuses for city employees, which should save the city about $300,000.
Training and travel budget for all city employees will be cut by 15 percent.
Some community and and recreation centers with low usage on Saturdays could be closed for that day.
The Commission also plans to reduce the Fire Department's public outreach budget by half, meaning health checks for seniors, health fairs and smoke detector checks will all be cut to help trim the budget.
There is also a plan to take about $2 million from the city's reserves.
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