Orlando City Budget 2026-27: $1.88 Billion Adopted, Property Tax Rate Held at 6.65 Mills
Orlando adopted a $1,881,607,697 budget for fiscal 2026-27 on September 28, holding its property tax rate at 6.65 mills for a 13th straight year. The adopted resolution's own schedules, line by line.
3 minute read
LOCAL GOVERNMENT · CITY OF ORLANDO
Orlando’s fiscal year 2026-27 budget is adopted and in force: $1,881,607,697 across all funds, approved by the City Council in its adopted budget resolution of September 28, 2026, and effective October 1. The property tax rate behind it did not rise. The city’s own property tax presentation for the budget hearings works its examples at a city millage rate of 0.00665 — 6.65 mills — and the city’s budget announcement states the new budget maintains the current millage rate for the 13th consecutive fiscal year.
Where the $1.88 billion sits
The adopted resolution’s Schedule A puts the General Fund at $779,944,015, of which ad valorem — property — taxes supply $381,273,086. The two public safety departments take the largest departmental shares of that fund: Police at $269,784,401 and Fire at $168,816,679. Families, Parks and Recreation is appropriated $60,918,228 and Transportation $40,802,808. Across all funds, the adopted budget carries 4,204 positions, and Schedule B sets a 4% structure adjustment for represented and non-bargaining employees alike, effective October 1, 2026.
The city’s budget announcement, published September 11, 2026 ahead of the hearings, listed what the money is for: 44 additional police and fire first responders, equipment, technology and training, and upkeep of a city responsible for approximately 900 miles of streets, 1,200 miles of sidewalks and more than 500 traffic signals, alongside 123 parks, 61 sports fields, 56 playgrounds and 19 neighborhood centers.
The rate, and what it costs
A mill is $1 of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, so the city’s 6.65 mills come to $665 a year on $100,000 of taxable value — the city line only, before county, school and district levies are added. The city’s first-hearing presentation works the same arithmetic on its own examples, including $1,044 a year in city property tax on a taxable value of $157,000. The presentation’s other point is the streak: “For 12 years, the city has not increased its millage rate” going into this budget, and the announcement confirms the adopted year makes thirteen.
Two downtown levies ride inside the adopted schedules. The Downtown Development Board’s fund totals $4,360,558, with $4,160,558 of it from ad valorem taxes, and the Downtown South Neighborhood Improvement District’s budget is $1,032,223, with $880,556 from ad valorem taxes. Schedule B also allocates $150,000 to each City Commission district for public-purpose expenses.
How the adoption worked — and one honest caveat
Florida law (Section 200.065) required the council to adopt the final millage rate and the final budget by separate motions and votes at the September 28 hearing, and the agenda item for that night lists the steps in that order. The budget resolution the city has published — signed by the Mayor/Pro Tem and attested by the City Clerk — adopts the budget; it does not itself print the millage rate, which was set by the companion millage resolution. The 6.65-mill figure in this article is therefore traced to the city’s own hearing presentation and its statement that the rate is maintained, not to the budget resolution’s text. If the city posts the millage resolution showing a different final figure, this desk will correct the article and say so.
City Hall sits in downtown Orlando; the county line on the same tax bill is covered in this desk’s Orange County millage report, and the visitor-paid side of local taxes in our tourist tax vote coverage. All of this desk’s work is in the Local Government archive.
Sources & notes
Every figure in this article was checked today against:
- City of Orlando — Adopted FY2027 Budget Resolution with Schedules A and B (adopted September 28, 2026; effective October 1, 2026; via the city’s Budget Documents page) — the $1,881,607,697 all-funds total, the $779,944,015 General Fund and its $381,273,086 in ad valorem taxes, the Police, Fire, Parks and Transportation appropriations, 4,204 positions, the Downtown Development Board and Downtown South NID fund totals, the $150,000 district allocations and the 4% structure adjustment; its agenda item records the separate millage and budget votes.
- City of Orlando — “City of Orlando’s 2026/2027 Budget Invests in Public Safety, Infrastructure and Quality of Life,” September 11, 2026 (orlando.gov) — the maintained millage rate for the 13th consecutive fiscal year, the 44 additional first responders, and the street, sidewalk, signal and parks counts.
- City of Orlando — Property Tax Reform presentation, first budget hearing (orlando.gov) — the city’s millage rate stated as 0.00665 in its worked examples, its $1,044 example on $157,000 of taxable value, and the 12-year no-increase record entering this budget.
Worked examples are arithmetic on the stated rate, illustrative only, and cover the city levy alone.
Orlando Citizen by email
The weekly edition, in your inbox
One email, every Saturday: the week’s edition of Orlando Citizen — the week’s stories, rankings and winners, gathered in one place. Free, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Related Stories
Editor’s Picks
Spotted an error? Tell us — corrections · How we rank
