Seminole County sets proposed FY26 millage, schedules budget hearings after wide public comment

The Seminole County Board of County Commissioners voted 4–1 on July 22 to set proposed millage rates and to schedule two public hearings on the fiscal year 2025–26 budget, after a daylong review of department budgets and more than an hour of public comment on proposed tax increases.

County Manager Darren Gray presented the countywide budget and the board’s options for closing a structural shortfall. “The proposed fiscal year 26 budget totals approximately 1,230,000,000.00, which is up from just under 1,000,000,000 last year,” Gray said. He later summarized the choice facing the board: “That disconnect forces difficult choices. We must either reduce our services or identify new revenues that allow us to keep up with demand.”

Why it matters: county staff said the general fund faces a multi‑million dollar structural imbalance. Finance presentations and supplemental slides shown at the meeting projected general fund revenues for FY26 at about $345,600,000 and a FY26 structural deficit of roughly $34,000,000. Staff identified $154,000,000 in state and federal unfunded mandates that the county must fund, and estimated multi‑year pressures from rising transit, insurance and public…