WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – Residents didn’t hold back their feelings.
“Don’t do that again,” one attendee told the council after the vote to cancel the controversial assessment.
“I certainly want the police to come when I call for police. I want the firefighters to come, but the rates didn’t seem to be transparent and they didn’t seem to be reasonable,” said Winter Garden resident Martin Jacoby, who estimated the fee would have cost him around $518.
The proposed rates would have started at $330 for homes under 1,000 square feet and exceeded $500 for those over 3,500 square feet.
Jacoby also questioned the city’s planning process.
“If the city manager knew this and he knew this was coming and he wasn’t sure what his budget was going to be, then why did you do that and make everybody upset?”
In a letter to News 6, Williams said staff reviewed next year’s budget and found about $4 million in potential cuts.
“At the initial assessment resolution, there were a lot of unknowns at that time. We hadn’t received the certification of taxable value. We hadn’t seen revenue values coming from the state,” Williams explained.
He noted the city still faces a $6–8 million shortage, driven in part by rising costs for staff and equipment.
In his letter, Williams wrote, “City staff will continue to evaluate the budget to ensure operational efficiency and fiscal responsibility. Any additional funding needs will be considered when determining the final tax millage rate.”
When one resident heard that, they responded, “It makes me think they are going to come back and do this.”
Williams said funding public safety remains a top priority and emphasized that the budget is not yet finalized, adding that the city will continue to search for ways to close the funding gap.
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