Ocoee leaders shed light on tax reform's effects on local services

Ocoee city commissioners expressed their continued concern Tuesday, June 2, with the tax reform in Tallahassee that would increase the state homestead exemption from $50,000 to $150,000 in 2027 and to $250,0000 in 2028. 

Florida residents will vote on the amendment in November. 

While the adjustment can lower tax bills for some homeowners, it will reduce funding upon which city services rely, including police, fire rescue, parks and local projects. 

“It’s something that’s really been weighing on me, and I’m sure it’s been weighing on a lot of us and other elected officials throughout this county,” District 4 Commissioner George Oliver III said. “This is a constitutional bill. That means that it cannot be rolled back easily. This is something that’s going to affect us in the present. This is going to affect our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren for years to come.” 

Oliver stressed the importance of educating neighbors, friends and all citizens of the “catastrophic sweeping implications” behind the bill. 

District 1 Commissioner Scott Kennedy said he has found it interesting how elected officials at all levels have been inconsistent with their opinions on home rule. Depending on the topic at hand, such as planning and zoning or tax reform, he’s seen lawmakers either act as “home-rule heroes,” while other times, they are for reform. He said citizens need to stay informed and hold their public officials accountable for being consistent. 

Mayor Rusty Johnson said when he entered the office in 1985, he always had heard an emphasis on home rule and Ocoee has followed it for the last 40 years, but now Florida is trying to make it state rule and take away from local city’s funding. 

“It’s going to be hard to look at that ballot and it says, ‘you’re going to save all this, it’s going to come back somewhere’ and I don’t know where they’re going to add it, where they’re going to add this stuff to get this money that we can have fire protection, police protection and activities for our citizens,” he said. 

Johnson said Ocoee has been collaborating with other local governments such as Winter Garden, Windermere and Oakland to push information out to residents and show them how it is directly going to impact the cities. 

“It’s going to be terrible, but I hate to see these cities that (have) done everything we can do for 10 years,” he said. “We have not raised the taxes, so think about that, but that’s going to have to change with this new system.” 

JUNE FAMILY BRANCH TO BENEFIT STUDENTS

Representatives of the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida provided an update on the impact its June Family Branch location will have on students at Ocoee Middle and Ocoee High School.

The new facility is located 3 miles from Ocoee Middle and will serve about 250 to 300 kids per day. It will open in August, and a grand opening for the branch is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 24. The 20,000-square-foot facility will have 10,000 feet dedicated to elementary age and 10,000 to the middle- and high-school members. By dedicating space for high-schoolers, participants of Ocoee Middle’s after-school program will have a place to call home after they complete eighth grade. 

“They get support for three consecutive years at our program and then when it’s time to jump to high school, we (don’t) have a place for them that’s compared to what (Ocoee Middle) has,” said Amber Shaw, site coordinator for Ocoee Middle. “We’re really excited for the opportunity that those Ocoee students and members who are consistently supported can then go a couple minutes up the road and have an opportunity to be in a safe place after school every day, cultivating those interests.”

The Boys and Girls Club has participated in the Orange County government-funded after-school zone since 1999, and it has a program that runs out of Ocoee Middle. Shaw has been in her role as the site coordinator for 15 years and has seen the struggle families have after their children complete middle school and no longer have access to the after-school program because the Winter Garden location is too far. She said there’s about 600 families registered for the program and an average daily attendance of 150 to 200 after school every day. 

The June Family Branch will provide a state-of-the-art facility for members with STEM, robotics, dance and music studios. Phase two of the branch will begin after the location opens in August and will build a full-service 10,000-square-foot gymnasium that will be part of the campus. 

“So many Ocoee families are going to benefit from this program, so we’re really, really excited about that,” Shaw said. “We can’t wait to see how that transfers over to our high school students, as well.”