Seminole County proposes $1.3 billion budget, holds tax rate steady

Seminole County is trying to hold the line on taxes while protecting the biggest parts of its budget, with public safety again taking the largest share and future state tax changes hanging over the plan. County leaders rolled out a proposed Fiscal Year 2026/27 budget of about $1.3 billion on June 9, presenting it as a restrained spending plan even as they warned that a statewide property-tax fight could reshape local revenue in 2028.

The county’s capital and operating budget, excluding interfund transfers and reserves, comes to $836.2 million, up 4.9% from the prior fiscal year. Officials said they are not planning another property tax rate increase in FY27 after raising the millage rate by 0.5 mills to 15.3177 in FY25-26. That earlier budget also included a bigger Local Option Gas Tax, from 6 cents to 11 cents per gallon, and higher utility services taxes in unincorporated areas on electricity, natural gas and water.

Public safety remains the center of the county’s spending picture. The category accounts for about 46% of Seminole County’s operating and capital budget, and the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office has a certified FY27 budget of $202,607,000, up 3.8%. Personnel services make up about 85% of that budget, underscoring how heavily the agency’s costs are tied to staffing.

The distribution of property-tax dollars shows the same priorities. For every dollar collected, 41 cents goes to the Sheriff’s Office, 31 cents goes to fire rescue, emergency medical services and dispatch, 11 cents goes to transportation infrastructure, 5 cents goes to parks and libraries, and the remaining 12 cents supports other county operations, including courts and constitutional officers.

Chairman Andria Herr and County Manager Darren Gray both cast the proposal as a disciplined budget that tries to preserve core services without overcommitting the county to spending that may be harder to sustain later. That caution is driven in part by tax proposals advancing in Tallahassee. A Florida Senate analysis of CS/SJR 2-F says it would cut the assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5%, while HJR 1-F, passed June 2, would raise the homestead exemption to $250,000 on non-school levies over two years.

Those proposals help explain why county leaders are already looking past this budget cycle. In June 2025, Sheriff Dennis Lemma said Seminole deputies had the county’s lowest starting salary, $58,024, and pointed to a $15,000 incentive bonus for some experienced hires as he argued the agency was falling behind competitors. Seminole County’s Office of Management and Budget says it is charged with fiscal stewardship and transparency, but the harder test may come if state tax changes squeeze the county’s revenue base before the next budget cycle.