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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Florida residents will vote on the amendment in November.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s really been weighing on me, and I\u2019m sure it\u2019s been weighing on a lot of us and other elected officials throughout this county,\u201d District 4 Commissioner George Oliver III said. \u201cThis is a constitutional bill. That means that it cannot be rolled back easily. This is something that\u2019s going to affect us in the present. This is going to affect our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren for years to come.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Oliver stressed the importance of educating neighbors, friends and all citizens of the \u201ccatastrophic sweeping implications\u201d behind the bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019s seen lawmakers either act as \u201chome-rule heroes,\u201d while other times, they are for reform. He said citizens need to stay informed and hold their public officials accountable for being consistent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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\u2019s funding.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be hard to look at that ballot and it says, \u2018you\u2019re going to save all this, it\u2019s going to come back somewhere\u2019 and I don\u2019t know where they\u2019re going to add it, where they\u2019re going to add this stuff to get this money that we can have fire protection, police protection and activities for our citizens,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be terrible, but I hate to see these cities that (have) done everything we can do for 10 years,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have not raised the taxes, so think about that, but that\u2019s going to have to change with this new system.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
JUNE FAMILY BRANCH TO BENEFIT STUDENTS <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s after-school program will have a place to call home after they complete eighth grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey get support for three consecutive years at our program and then when it\u2019s time to jump to high school, we (don\u2019t) have a place for them that\u2019s compared to what (Ocoee Middle) has,\u201d said Amber Shaw, site coordinator for Ocoee Middle. \u201cWe\u2019re 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s about 600 families registered for the program and an average daily attendance of 150 to 200 after school every day.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many Ocoee families are going to benefit from this program, so we\u2019re really, really excited about that,\u201d Shaw said. \u201cWe can\u2019t wait to see how that transfers over to our high school students, as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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