This is the time of year when local governments and taxing authorities make their wish lists and set forth how they plan to spend the money they take from taxpayers.
July is when the leaders of the cities, counties, school districts and other special agencies set their proposed tax rates — expressed as millage — for the next fiscal year. As the Deltona City Commission was poised to set its property-tax levy at 7 mills, there was a last-minute surprise. Although the agenda for the July 15 meeting and the conversation following a series of budget workshops had centered on that figure, City Manager Dale “Doc” Dougherty called for a tentative tax rate of 7.2 mills. Deltona’s current ad valorem rate is 7.35 mills.
“Deltona is a big city. We’re the largest city in Volusia County and the 29th in the state,” Dougherty said at the outset of the debate on matters fiscal. “We’re bigger than most people think.”
“Deltona does not have the necessary commercial and industrial areas,” he added, echoing the oft-heard observations about the city’s heavily residential character.
OUTLINING THE FUTURE — As City Attorney Marsha Segal-George listens, City Manager Dale “Doc” Dougherty discusses his proposed 2024-25 budget for Deltona. Citing a lower estimate in the city’s tax roll, as calculated by the Volusia County Property Appraiser’s Office, Dougherty said it was necessary to change his recommendation on the proposed property-tax rate from 7.0 mills to 7.2 mills. The working budget totals approximately $134 million. Of that sum, the general fund, which is the part of the budget that receives the ad valorem revenues, amounts to about $71 million.
Dougherty said he had revised his recommendation on the millage because of an underestimated overall taxable value from the Volusia County Property Appraiser’s Office. That agency, in its preliminary tax roll, put Deltona’s taxable value at $5.15 billion. That 2024 number is up 12.11 percent over last year’s value of nearly $4.6 billion.
The 7.2-mill figure, if it does win final approval from the mayor and commission in September, amounts to a 6.3-percent increase in taxes. Under state law, any proposed tax rate that is higher than the rollback rate must be advertised as a tax increase.
The rollback rate is the figure, which, if adopted, would generate revenues equal to those of the prior fiscal year, without including new construction or annexations. The rollback generally declines from year to year, as the values and prices of land, labor and building materials increase, thus boosting the values subject to taxation.
Thus, the abrupt recommendation to add two-tenths of a mill to the proposed ad valorem tax rate was vital, Dougherty said, to ensure that Deltona would have adequate income to meet the public-safety and service needs of those who live and work there. The extra fraction of a mill, he noted, would yield an additional $1 million for the city’s coffers.
Dougherty’s recommendation to set a tax rate higher than what had been proposed took Vice Mayor Jody Lee Storozuk aback.
“Last year when we did this, we discussed a full rollback,” he said. “There’s still money coming in. … We promised everybody last year when we did a partial rollback. … Ask anybody if their taxes went down.”
Some “no’s” came from the audience.
Storozuk urged Dougherty to search out “all the waste across the city.”
“Right now, we’re bringing the millage rate down,” Dougherty said.
Deltona’s new city manager told the commission more money is needed for pay raises for municipal workers. Several employees have left Deltona to go to work in neighboring cities and counties that offer higher wages, Dougherty said.
“No city wants to say it has the lowest-paid employees,” he added. “We need to keep and hire the best employees in the region.”
Commissioner Davison Heriot voiced support for the city manager’s proposal.
“This is a very conservative plan to reduce our tax rate, … not unduly, unfairly burdening residents.”
“We’re talking about making sure the Fire Department is there when you call,” Heriot later added.
Mayor Santiago Avila Jr. did not support a tax increase. He said Deltonans are telling him they are “hurting” now because of economic and financial pressures, and he understands.
“I struggle with my family to buy my daughter’s milk. I don’t feel comfortable with that,” Avila said.
During the public hearing on setting the proposed millage, Robin French recalled that some 250 homes in Deltona had been flooded because of the rains from hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022.
“Amazon gets a tax break,” she told the City Commission, referring to the city’s decision to waive the city-levied property taxes for the Amazon fulfillment center on North Normandy Boulevard for five years. “I’ve been here 40 years — I don’t. … We have nothing but Social Security. … We have to do better.”
The commission voted 4-2 to set the city’s tentative rate at 7.2 mills. Avila and Storozuk dissented, while Heriot and Commissioners Dana McCool, Maritza Avila-Vazquez and Stephen Colwell formed the majority. Commissioner Troy Shimkus was absent.
On a related note, the commission voted 6-0 to raise Deltona’s stormwater assessment from $128 to $170 per year per standard home or equivalent unit. The increase goes into effect Oct. 1.
The ad valorem taxes levied by the City Commission go into the general fund of Deltona’s budget. The general fund, which is approximately $71 million, includes the Fire Department and the city’s contractual arrangement with the Volusia Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement. The general fund also pays for parks and recreation, code enforcement and animal control, as well as the maintenance of city facilities and the salaries of many of the city’s administrative personnel.
Deltona’s total proposed 2024-25 budget amounts to about $134.4 million. That overall sum includes funding for the water and sewer systems, stormwater control, capital funding, road construction and maintenance, and special funds such as federal grants. Property-tax dollars are not used to fund these programs and activities.
