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Orange City releases preliminary FY2026–27 budget and proposes lower millage rate
Summary
Finance Director Dev Lamore presented a preliminary FY2026–27 budget showing a proposed millage of 7.0387 (a slight reduction), a balanced general fund with no use of fund balance, $37.5 million in capital outlay and several deferred requests totaling roughly $880,000; council will set the proposed maximum millage on July 28.
Dev Lamore, the city’s finance director, presented the Orange City preliminary fiscal year 2026–27 budget at the July 14 council meeting and recommended setting a proposed maximum millage rate of 7.0387 at the July 28 meeting.
Lamore said the proposed budget is balanced without using fund balance and that staff reduced or deferred approximately $880,000 in operating and capital requests to preserve current service levels. The presentation showed $37,500,000 in capital outlay, including road projects (Rhode Island and Levitt traffic circle, Industrial Drive improvements), City Hall parking improvements, septic-to-sewer work, water/wastewater projects and final design work for a new police station and Fire Station 68.
Lamore highlighted fund balance projections: a projected general fund balance of about $6.4 million, a $4.0 million facility construction fund (after a proposed $1,000,000 transfer), and total unrestricted fund balances across funds of about $23.2 million. The proposed general fund operating picture shows personnel costs at roughly 78% of the budget.
On revenues, Lamore said the proposed lower millage would generate approximately $162,000 in additional revenue from new construction while other revenues decline by roughly $2.9 million because several one-time grants and carryforwards in the current year do not recur. She noted specific one-time revenue reductions: $1.5 million tied to the LAP roundabout, $840,000 from the Department of Transportation for the Westfront shared-use path, $420,000 from FEMA for flood mitigation and about $293,000 in CDBG funds earmarked for the 220 East Graves parking-lot improvement.
Council members pressed for more detail on carryforward estimates and the compensation study. Lamore said staff will provide an estimate of how much will carry forward to the workshop and that the $1,000,000 in the personnel line includes funds for union negotiations and implementation of a compensation study scheduled for council review on July 28.
The presentation also showed the proposed millage is slightly below the rollback (revenue-neutral) rate of 7.0523; Lamore noted that votes required to adopt a higher millage vary under recent state law: up to the rollback rate requires four votes, rates between rollback and 7.7575 require five votes, and any rate above 7.7575 would need a unanimous vote.
Lamore concluded by noting that a supplemental packet will include details on deferred items, position changes and capital-project descriptions, and reminded council the budget workshop is scheduled for Aug. 17 with two public hearings set for Sept. 9 and Sept. 23.
The council did not take action on the millage at the July 14 meeting; formally setting the proposed maximum rate is scheduled for the July 28 meeting.
