City staff presented the proposed fiscal year 2026 operating budget to the Winter Garden City Commission and recommended a small millage increase — from 4.5 mills to 4.85 mills — to generate roughly $2.2 million in recurring revenue and return the general fund reserve to the staff target of 20 percent.

The recommendation came during a budget workshop presentation that covered the city’s revenue mix, the composition of expenditures, capital priorities and next steps in the public hearing schedule. Laura (staff member) led the presentation and said the budget as presented requires no new positions and prioritizes public safety, infrastructure and maintaining an adequate fund balance.

Staff said Winter Garden’s total city budget for FY26 is about $180,000,000, with general fund expenditures projected at $68,000,000 and enterprise funds totaling about $97,000,000. The presentation showed operating revenues of $169,000,000 projected citywide and noted that property taxes represent about 18 percent of total city revenues. The general fund was described as nearly balanced at the current 4.5 mill rate, but that balance reflects volatile revenue assumptions and would leave reserves at approximately 17 percent.

Why it matters: staff told commissioners that continuing to fund ongoing services with one-time or volatile revenues would risk depleting reserves and could lead to credit-rating pressure. Laura said, “Ongoing services must be funded by ongoing revenues and reserves will be preserved for emergencies and 1 time projects.”

Staff outlined two ways to reach the recommended 20 percent reserve target: identify about $2.2 million in recurring new revenue (the proposed millage increase) or reduce recurring expenditures by roughly the same amount. If cuts were chosen, staff emphasized that only unrestricted general fund dollars could be used for such reductions and estimated that $2.2 million in cuts would require trimming about 11.4% of unrestricted spending across personnel, operating and capital categories.

Major budget priorities and capital asks included:
- Public safety: The general fund dedicates roughly 57 percent of its operating (less capital) to police and fire. The FY26 budget includes a 7.5 percent wage increase for fire personnel per collective-bargaining agreements and a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment for other non-fire employees.
- Capital: Staff proposed $2.3 million in general-fund capital, including vehicle and radio replacement funds for fire ($1,000,000), $650,000 for IT upgrades (including $400,000 for a citywide security camera system), $516,000 for facilities and physical-environment improvements (including cemetery columbarium, City Hall chiller/roof and boathouse demolition) and $110,000 for police equipment.
- Streets and drainage: $4.5 million was proposed for road resurfacing, intersection upgrades and safety improvements out of the streets funds.

Enterprise funds and grants: staff said enterprise fund revenues for FY26 total about $62 million and are self-supporting. Utility rate increases are scheduled Oct. 1 in accordance with bond covenants; a CPI adjustment is recommended for solid-waste fees. Staff reported securing about $30 million in grant funding for utility projects, including: $15 million from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) for water-quality improvements at the wastewater treatment plant; $6.64 million from FDEP for an alternative water-supply project to convert septic users to sewer; $1.75 million in state appropriations for the wastewater treatment facility; and about $6.56 million in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds for stormwater work.

Large projects highlighted included the wastewater-treatment-plant capacity expansion, a northeast transmission/reclaimed-water main, the Teacup Springs septic-to-sewer conversion (plans at approximately 90 percent), well-filter designs, and continued implementation of East Winter Garden redevelopment work and the East Winter Garden drainage improvements funded by CDBG.

Enforcement technology: staff noted earlier technical difficulties reported by the vendor RedSpeed in other jurisdictions and said revenue originally contemplated from red-light and school-zone cameras has been removed from the FY26 revenue estimate. The city will proceed with a longer warning period (60 days instead of the standard 30) when cameras are launched and continue to use staff enforcement and other technologies in the interim.

Next steps: staff scheduled the first public hearing on the tentative millage and budget for Sept. 11 at 6:30 p.m., followed by a second public hearing on Sept. 25. Staff also told commissioners they will continue to search for recurring revenue and identify potential savings during FY26 and bring those ideas back to the commission in public settings.

Commission discussion: commissioners responded with a mix of support for the staff recommendation and suggestions for further review. Several commissioners urged staff to return with options and to use workshops to design a “zero-based” review of discretionary items (events, marketing spend and other nonessential programs) to identify candidate reductions or revenue strategies such as sponsorships.

Public questions and staff clarifications: during public comment and Q&A, staff confirmed the Teacup Springs conversion has been awarded a $6.4 million grant; engineering estimates place the on-site conversion cost at about $7.1 million, leaving additional grant or local funding needed to cover remaining costs. Staff also clarified that enterprise funds (water, wastewater, stormwater, solid waste) are legally restricted and cannot be used to subsidize general-fund public-safety operations.

What’s next: the commission did not take a formal vote during the workshop. The budget and millage recommendation will return to the commission for the required public hearings in September; staff said it expects to continue refining revenue and expenditure options through the fiscal year.