Winter Springs narrowly backs Pride Month declaration, approves rate hike

Winter Springs split 3-2 over a Pride Month declaration, with Commissioner Sarah Baker asking for the statement as the packed commission meeting also moved ahead with a stormwater rate hike. The narrow vote turned a routine City Hall agenda into a sharp measure of where the Seminole County city stands on identity politics and public spending.

The declaration required the full Winter Springs City Commission to vote. That mattered in a charter city where the mayor and five commissioners, Mayor Kevin McCann, Paul Diaz, Victoria Bruce, Sarah Baker, Cade Resnick and Mark Caruso, are all elected at large and regular meetings are typically held on the second and fourth Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 1126 East State Road 434. The June 8 regular meeting fit that pattern, but the issue on the floor carried more emotional weight than a standard proclamation.

The timing added to the significance. Central Florida was moving toward the 10th anniversary of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, when 49 people were killed on June 12, 2016, and local remembrance events across the region were reflecting on that loss. In that setting, Winter Springs’ 3-2 vote signaled that even a short declaration could still divide the city over how openly local government should affirm Pride Month.

The same meeting also dealt with a more practical concern: stormwater fees. Residents already had seen their monthly bill rise from $5 to $10 after a 2025 increase, and commissioners were considering another increase from $10 to $15 beginning in Fiscal Year 2026-27. Under the longer plan, the fee would climb to about $20.50 by fiscal year 2029-30, with inflation-based increases after that.

That rate discussion has unfolded against the city’s broader stormwater needs. Winter Springs has 345 ponds, including 43 city-owned ponds that are fully maintained by the city and 224 ponds maintained by other governments or private entities. An April workshop also examined whether the city should take over some maintenance of 78 additional hybrid ponds. In those discussions, Mayor Kevin McCann described some current arrangements as informal “wink or handshake” deals, while Paul Diaz was the only commissioner quoted opposing the stormwater increase.

Together, the Pride vote and the rate hike showed a commission balancing culture-war symbolism and everyday costs in the same room. The close result on Baker’s declaration suggests Winter Springs is likely to face the issue again, especially as Pulse anniversary memories continue to shape public life across Orlando and Seminole County.