ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County Sheriff John Mina is asking for a big increase in his budget for next year at a time when cities and counties across Florida are preparing for big budget cuts if voters approve a property tax relief proposal this November.

Mina’s original proposal in May called for a $508 million budget for fiscal 2026-27, a proposed 20% increase over this year.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said that the initial request was a no-go.

“There is no way that we could afford an $80 million increase in the sheriff’s budget alone,” Demings said.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office currently consists of more than 1,900 sworn deputies who serve and protect 1.6 million Orange County residents and 76 million tourists each year.

“It’s not that I want it — we need it,” Mina said. “As Orange County continues to grow. As our tourist population continues to grow, we will continue to add more deputies.”

Mina presented a lower budget request to commissioners on Wednesday, asking for $470 million for the upcoming year. That’s an 11% proposed increase.

Mina’s request includes $364 million to pay for personnel, $63.5 million to pay for operations, $12.4 million for capital outlay and $30 million for court security.

Mina originally requested 140 new positions. His updated request asks for 27 new deputies, but only two of them are paid for in the current budget proposal.

“I would say call your county commissioner and talk to them about it,” Mina said. “You know, unfortunately there’s only so much money to go around.”

Demings explains that if voters approve property tax cuts this November, the county could lose $160 million in tax revenue for fiscal 2027-28 and an additional $250 million the following year.

Orange County Fire Rescue is proposing an almost one-half percent decrease to its overall budget for next year, and Orange County Corrections is requesting about five percent more money than this year.

“If the commissioners say they want to give somebody else more money within this budget cycle, then we have to reduce somebody’s budget somewhere else,” Demings said.

Demings says the county cannot and will not run a deficit. Orange County residents can weigh in on how the county spends their tax money next year at public hearings on Sept. 10 and 24.