Facing $35M deficit, Seminole County to vote on increasing property taxes

Facing a $35 million deficit in its 2025-26 budget, Seminole County is considering raising its property tax rate for the first time in 16 years. 

The Seminole County Commission is set to vote July 22 to set its proposed property tax rate, known as the millage rate. The county manager is asking to increase its base property tax rate by 0.5 mills to 5.3751, a 6.4 percent increase. 

The county manager is also asking to increase the Local Option Gas Tax from six cents to eleven cents per gallon, and increase the Utility Services Tax in unincorporated areas, applied to electricity, natural gas and water services. 

“Despite significant cost-saving measures and internal restructuring, balancing the FY26

Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma speaks to the Seminole County Commission in June. The sheriff is asking for a 9% increase to his budget as the county considers raising property tax rates for the first time in 16 years. 

General Fund Budget required additional revenue to support core services and maintain

financial stability,” County Manager Darren Gray wrote in the proposed budget, which you can read here. “Cost containment alone could not close the gap without affecting critical

public safety operations or weakening the County’s financial foundation.”

The meeting starts at 9:30 a.m. July 22 at 1101 E. First Street in Sanford. You can see the agenda for the meeting here. 

Seminole County has a total of three millage rates it charges. The first is the base millage, which is possibly raising by 0.5 mills. The county also charges a separate millage of 2.7649 for fire service, which is paid in unincorporated Seminole County and in Winter Springs, Altamonte Springs and Casselberry, which contract fire services from Seminole County. Those living in unincorporated Seminole County also pay 0.1107 mills for roads and transportation.

That means the total millage rate in unincorporated Seminole County would go from 7.7507 to 8.2507. That means someone paying property taxes on a $200,000 home would owe $2,062 per year, before any tax breaks. 

Seminole County has been pulling money from reserves for the last two years to balance the budget. In the 2023-24 budget, the county pulled $4 million from reserves. Last year, it pulled $19.5 million. Next year, the county would have to pull $35 million in reserves if it doesn’t make the tax increases or find additional ways to cut costs. 

That would reduce the county’s reserves from $58.4 million, or 17.4% of its annual revenue, to $27.4 million, or about 9%. Dropping its reserves too low could jeopardize the county’s credit rating and cause it to pay more in interest to borrow money.

The county’s proposed total budget is $1.2 billion. 

“Even with the proposed 0.5 mill increase, Seminole County’s property tax rate remains among

the lowest in Central Florida and below the level in place more than 30 years ago,” Gray wrote. 

“These decisions were not made lightly.”

Seminole Sheriff’s office asking for 9% budget increase

So what’s driving the increase? 

A number of factors, including the loss of American Rescue Plan Act dollars, which were signed into law by President Joe Biden during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing transportation costs from Lynx and Sunrail, and inflation. 

The single biggest expense in Seminole County’s budget is public safety, and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office at the June 17 budget workshop asked the board for a 9% increase in budget. 

The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office is requesting a $196 million budget for 2025-26. 

“I’ve cut as much as we feel that we can cut without compromising public safety,” Seminole County Sheriff Dennis Lemma told commissioners. “If I could have come in leaner, I would have, I promise you.”

Lemma’s budget is increasing because the sheriff is looking to raise starting salaries, which have fallen below the starting salaries of nearly all the city police departments in Seminole County.  

At that same meeting, County Commissioner Lee Constantine said that, for the last two years, nearly every new dollar in tax revenue has gone to the sheriff’s department. 

“This is the tipping point right here,” Constantine said. 

In Florida, if the county commission says no to the sheriff’s budget, the sheriff can appeal that denial to the Florida Administrative Commission, which is the governor and his cabinet – which can overrule the county. That power came into effect after the Florida Legislature passed a law aimed at the state preventing counties from defunding police. 

“I don’t think anyone here wants to defund law enforcement,” Dallari said. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said that. I don’t think anyone’s making that move to do that. Let the record show that we all, five of us, are not trying to defund law enforcement, we’re just asking questions.”

Since that meeting in June, the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office told county staff it has found an additional $900,000 that can be trimmed from its budget.

“All of you have been tough as hell, actually, which shows you’re good stewards of your responsibility in advocating for the people,” Lemma said. “This is exactly what should happen in this process.”

Check here for contact information for your county commissioners. The meeting will also be livestreamed on YouTube at this link.  

This is only the first step in the budget process for Seminole County. After commissioners vote on the proposed maximum rate, there will be two public hearings to finalize the rate: The first is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, and the second is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025.