Orange County proposed budget nears $3.6 Billion

Budget Revenue Sources for Upcoming Fiscal Year

The Orange County budget is prepared by the County Mayor and then approved by the Board of County Commissioners (BCC). The budget is comprised of several sections including a section on revenues and expenditures. The revenue section is an integral part as it the foundation for the rest of the budget.

County CommissionerBryan Nelson

Orange County’s revenue is made up of several major revenue sources. The number one revenue source is the ad valorem taxes which are derived from tangible personal property and real property taxes. The countywide ad valorem revenue for the 2016-17 fiscal years is expected to increase 9.19% or $37 million over fiscal year (FY) 2015-2016, largely due to new construction and property value appreciation. Revenue generated by this tax will be appropriated to a variety of government services including, public safety, health and social programs, public transportation, parks and recreation, and infrastructure projects.

The next source of revenue is the Half-Cent Local Government Sales Tax. For the FY 2016-2017 this revenue is budgeted at $167,107,200.

Another major revenue source is the Public Service Tax. The tax is levied on purchases of electricity, fuel oil, metered or bottled gas, water service and telecommunication services. For the FY 2016-2017 this tax is budgeted at $235,300,000.

Meanwhile, another major source of revenue is the tourist development tax (TDT), which is levied at 6% on short-term rentals. The TDT is budgeted at $235 million for the upcoming year. Short term rentals are classified as “rents, leases or lets and living accommodations in hotels, motels, apartments, houses and mobile home parks which have been contracted for periods of six months or less."

Next there is the Constitutional Gas Tax. This is a tax equaling to two cents per gallon of gasoline. This is budgeted at $11,000,000 for FY 2016-2017.

The County Gas Tax is also a major source of revenue and is budgeted for $4,800,000 for FY 2016-2017. This tax is once cent per gallon on gasoline.

Also, there is the Local Option Gas Tax which is, “a six cent per gallon gas tax." For FY 2016-2017 this tax will be budgeted for $25,000,000.

Moreover, there is the Communications Services Tax which holds steady from last fiscal year at $23,000,000.

There are also Capital Impact Fees. The Orange County Growth Management Department defines impact fees as charges assessed on new development to help pay for public infrastructure required to accommodate developments in an area. These impact fees benefit the community by going towards costs on roads, schools, law enforcement, fire, parks and recreation, and transportation.

The Board of County Commissioners instituted six Impact fees on new developments within Orange County as follows;

Water and Sewer Connection Impact Fee, FY 2016-2017 $20.8 million

Fire Impact Fee, FY 2016-2017 $1.4 million.

Law Enforcement Impact Fee, FY 2016-2017 $2.0 million.

Transportation Impact Fee, FY 2016-2017 $6.0 million

Parks and Recreation Impact Fee, FY 2016-2017 $3.7 million

School Impact Fee, FY 2016-2018 $90 million

Overall, for the year 2016-2017 the Proposed Budget is $3.6 billion for Orange County.

Use this link to read the Highlights of the Proposed FY 2017 Orange County Budget.

Use this link to download all 400 pages of the Proposed FY 2017 Orange County Budget.

For an in-depth explanation of any of Orange County’s Government Financial Policies contact the Office of Management and Budget at (407) 836-7390 or see Orange County’s Administrative Regulations.