From Staff Reports
In Summary:
The proposed annexation would bring approximately 4,063 residents and 1,235.7 acres of South Apopka into the city. The study estimates $6.87 million in annual service costs against $1.31 million in municipal property tax revenue, leaving a preliminary $5.56 million gap before other potential revenues are considered. Commissioners will review the findings October 7 and decide whether to forward the study to Orange County and begin preparing an annexation ordinance.
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Annexing South Apopka into Apopka is legally and physically feasible, according to a new city-commissioned study, but extending municipal services would require substantial investments in public safety, infrastructure and staffing.
Related: South Apopka deserves facts, clarity, and leadership.
The report, prepared by The Corradino Group and revised September 25, estimates approximately $30.5 million in capital needs for police, fire and public services, along with approximately $6.87 million in annual service costs. Against an estimated $1.31 million in annual city property tax revenue from the annexation area, that leaves a preliminary funding gap of approximately $5.56 million.
However, the study cautions that the gap is not a complete accounting of annexation’s financial impact. The study did not calculate other potential revenues, and several services would transition over multiple years.
The findings are scheduled for discussion as Business Action Item 4 at the Apopka City Commission’s October 7 meeting. Commissioners will receive a presentation from the consultant and consider whether to forward the study to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners to begin the next stage of the annexation process.
According to the accompanying staff report, commissioners would effectively need to provide that direction October 7 for annexation to be considered at a March 2027 election. Forwarding the study would not commit the city to completing annexation.
A community of approximately 4,063 residents
The proposed annexation area encompasses approximately 1,235.7 acres across 2,450 parcels in unincorporated Orange County. Annexation would expand Apopka’s land area by approximately 5.3% and add an estimated 4,063 residents.
The study area generally extends between State Road 451 to the west, U.S. Highway 441 to the northeast, Sheeler Avenue to the east, and Keene Road and State Road 414 to the south. Its northern boundary follows an irregular line near 10th Street.
The report finds that the area is contiguous with Apopka, reasonably compact, and sufficiently developed to satisfy the annexation criteria it evaluates under Florida law. Existing land uses, zoning, and future land-use patterns are generally compatible with neighboring city properties.
Annexation, the consultants conclude, would reduce enclaves and irregular boundaries while allowing more coordinated planning.
The demographic analysis also underscores the importance of understanding household costs. The area’s estimated median household income is $61,322, approximately 23% below the Orange County median, and roughly one-quarter of households earn less than $35,000 annually.
Police and fire protection drive major costs
Public safety accounts for the largest share of the proposed investments.
The report estimates that Apopka would need 18 additional sworn police officers to meet its staffing standard across the expanded city. That figure also reflects an existing staffing shortfall: the study says the department needs additional officers to meet its standard even without annexation.
The proposed annexation area generated an annual average of approximately 8,000 law enforcement calls in 2024 and 2025, according to the study. Taking responsibility for those calls would increase Apopka’s calls for service by approximately 10%.
Estimated police capital costs total approximately $18.73 million, including $17 million for a potential police substation, $1.26 million for vehicles, and approximately $470,000 for outfitting. Land acquisition costs remain undetermined.
Fire protection would require another significant expansion. The study identifies a need for 25 additional personnel: 15 firefighters, six engineers, three lieutenants, and a fire inspector.
The area averages more than 1,800 fire-rescue calls annually. To maintain service levels, the report calls for an additional fire station, fire truck, ambulance, and water tanker.
Those capital needs total approximately $9.3 million, excluding an undetermined land acquisition cost. The fire staffing and outfitting estimate is approximately $3.02 million.
The transition would take time. The report estimates that acquiring equipment and personnel and constructing a station could require 48 to 60 months or longer. Police service would also transfer through a phased arrangement with Orange County.
Sewer expansion could take a decade or longer
Apopka already provides water and sewer service within the area, but access to those systems varies considerably. Potable-water coverage is extensive, while much of the community remains dependent on septic systems.
The infrastructure analysis estimates that closing service gaps would require approximately 6,100 feet of water main, 65,000 feet of gravity sewer, and 8,500 feet of sewer force main.
The proposed extensions would generally follow public rights-of-way, reducing the need to cross private property. However, completing the work would require a sustained capital program.
The study outlines 18 construction phases. Completing them sequentially could take approximately 29 to 44 years. Advancing three phases concurrently could shorten that timetable to approximately 10 to 15 years.
For residents, the report does not establish a definitive connection-cost policy. It suggests that most property owners would be responsible for connections between the public main and their structures, but says that responsibility should be expressly established in an annexation plan or subsequent city program.
The report therefore does not settle the concerns raised in earlier discussions about mandatory sewer connections or what individual households would pay. Its $30.5 million capital estimate covers police, fire, and public services; it should not be read as a comprehensive annexation price that includes the proposed utility extensions.
Other services would add responsibilities
Apopka would also assume responsibility for approximately 21.9 miles of county-maintained roads. Routine maintenance is estimated at $262,800 annually, excluding major reconstruction and periodic resurfacing.
Public services would require additional employees, four garbage trucks, five staff vehicles, and equipment. The report estimates approximately $2.48 million in capital costs and $1.55 million in annual personnel costs for that department.
Additional code compliance and inspection staffing is estimated at approximately $296,590 annually. Staffing, operations and maintenance associated with the John H. Bridges Community Center and Wheatley Park are estimated at $510,000 annually.
The precise transfer of facilities and services would still need to be worked out. The report’s service timetable leaves open whether the city would take over Wheatley Park maintenance and calls for negotiated transitions for garbage collection and public safety.
A preliminary funding gap, not a final balance sheet
The study identifies finances as the principal constraint, but emphasizes that its property-tax comparison is incomplete.
Potential revenues from utility fees, communications services taxes, gas tax distributions, state revenue sharing, permits and development-related fees were not quantified. Some public services would also be supported through dedicated sanitation, stormwater, and other revenue sources.
The report suggests that existing General Fund revenues or eligible transfers could help close the gap. It notes approximately $6.46 million remaining in the General Fund after expenditures and before transfers in fiscal 2025, while acknowledging those dollars were subsequently transferred to other purposes.
That example identifies a possible funding mechanism, rather than an adopted commitment to pay for annexation. The report calls for reconciled cost estimates and a funded staffing and capital-improvement strategy before proceeding.
Its property-tax estimate also uses a millage assumption of 4.6876. It does not provide a household-by-household comparison showing how residents’ total taxes and assessments would change.
The next decision comes October 7
The commission approved the feasibility study June 17 amid competing arguments about service delivery, taxes, displacement and South Apopka’s relationship with the city.
The new report places those questions within a more detailed financial and operational framework. It also acknowledges the historical division, tracing South Apopka’s exclusion from the city’s boundaries to a 1937 ordinance.
But the consultants’ conclusion is conditional: annexation is achievable and should proceed only with clarified costs, a funded service plan, a defined utility-connection program, and voter approval through the required referendum process.
If commissioners choose to advance the proposal on October 7, staff’s recommended motion would direct the city clerk to file the study with Orange County on October 8 and instruct staff and the city attorney to prepare an annexation ordinance.
That would keep a possible March vote within reach. It would also move the discussion toward the questions the study leaves for city leaders and residents: how services would be funded, what households would pay, and whether the proposed terms justify bringing South Apopka into the city.
Key Points:
- The study finds annexation legally and physically feasible, encompassing approximately 2,450 parcels and 4,063 residents.
- Estimated capital needs for police, fire, and public services total $30.5 million, excluding proposed utility extensions and undetermined land acquisition costs.
- The preliminary annual funding gap is approximately $5.56 million, but the analysis does not quantify other potential municipal revenues.
- ater and sewer extensions could take 10 to 15 years with concurrent construction phases; household connection costs remain unresolved.
- The October 7 discussion could advance the proposal toward a possible March 2027 referendum without committing the city to completing annexation.
