Winter Springs holds millage at 2.62 mills in proposed FY27 budget, cites $39.9M SRF loan for east water plant

City Manager Kevin Sweet presented the City of Winter Springs’ proposed fiscal year 2027 budget at a July 13 workshop, saying staff built a plan to “maintain Winter Springs’ financial strength” while holding the operating millage at 2.62 mills.

Sweet told the commission the proposal is shaped by a mix of revenue sources — property taxes, user charges, intergovernmental revenues and one‑time financing — and that much of year‑over‑year growth is capital spending rather than ongoing operating expansion. He said the budget assumes about $39,900,000 in State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan proceeds to finance the East Water Reclamation Facility and stressed that the city expects to rely on utility rates to cover enterprise debt and operations.

The budget tests passed three internal fiscal policies, Sweet said: recurring revenues cover recurring costs; sufficient revenue is available for nonrecurring costs; and the city maintains a 25% fund balance policy. Staff reported a general fund reserve of roughly 29% at present, which the city described as consistent with its fiscal discipline.

Key drivers and departmental highlights

- Water and sewer: The FY27 operating budget for water and sewer is about 4.45% higher than FY26, with inflation accounting for roughly 3.1% of that change. The Woodard & Curran operating contract was cited at about $3,700,000. Sweet emphasized that enterprise projects and associated loan proceeds drive a large portion of the budget increase.

- Stormwater: The proposed stormwater enterprise budget adds four full‑time positions and increases by about $1,200,000, consistent with the previously adopted stormwater master plan and an operational build‑out the commission has already reviewed.

- Public works and capital: The general fund shows a roughly $400,000 (about 25%) increase in maintenance and repair line items to address deferred maintenance across the city’s rights of way. Parks and recreation capital projects include $260,000 from impact fees for field lighting and $140,000 in the capital plan for replacement of the therapy‑pool dehumidification system.

- Personnel and insurance: The budget includes an 8% increase in health insurance premiums and limited staffing increases tied to operational needs; directors performed a 0‑based review of line items, staff said.

Consultants, software and procurement

Staff told commissioners some services were brought in‑house in FY26 — notably aspects of utility oversight — reducing reliance on consultants for recurring operations, while larger technical projects (e.g., land development code updates and wastewater plant design) will still require outside expertise. Finance staff said the city plans to acquire new reporting software to meet recent statutory reporting requirements (referenced in the workshop as HB 1329) and to reduce manual reconciliation effort.

Timeline and next steps

Sweet said the commission will set a millage cap on the regular meeting agenda that follows the workshop and that formal budget hearings are scheduled for Sept. 14 and Sept. 28; those hearings are the public opportunities for final budget adoption. He also described a planned town‑hall meeting with the county property appraiser to walk residents through how the proposed state property‑tax amendment might affect Winter Springs’ ad valorem revenues.

What commissioners asked

Commissioners pressed staff for more detailed line‑item and CIP visuals (staff pointed to pages 135–143 and the budget appendices), asked for clearer breakdowns of tree‑maintenance accounts and consulting expenses, and sought timelines for equipment replacements such as police radios and IT workstations. A police representative explained about 30 radios are no longer serviceable and the FY27 budget funds an initial replacement of five units; typical radio life was described as five to eight years depending on assignment.

The workshop concluded with staff agreeing to provide more detailed account‑level information on request, to post the budget book online (it has been available since July 1), and to proceed to the scheduled hearings this fall.