At last week’s Kissimmee Commission budget workshop, city staff outlined their proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which begins in October 2024, as well as a five-year capital budget.
One of the budget highlights included a proposed fire station and a collocated community center for the Lakeside neighborhood. A new roundabout configuration for the intersection of Emmett Street, Ruby Avenue and Stewart Street, near the Kissimmee Police Department, is also included in the budget.
The City is anticipating increased revenue from property value appreciation during 2023. This will enable the commission to keep the property tax rate, or mileage, at 4.6253, or $4.6253 in tax collected for each $1000 in property value. Kissimmee has kept the same millage rate for the last 15 years.
The proposed budget includes 14 new police officers and six firefighters/paramedics. In addition to the new Lakeside fire station, two additional fire stations are planned for the next five years. New station locations are dictated by increases in population and additional areas annexed into the city.
The new Lakeside station, when completed, will be designated Station 12. The existing Station 12 facility will be reused for a new Parks and Recreation maintenance facility, replacing an aging facility on the lakefront. As other stations are built, city staff are planning to renovate and repurpose the older facilities for other city or community uses.
City Manager Mike Steigerwald also briefed the commissioners on some of the accomplishments of the city staff over the current budget year. These included implementing a new high-water rescue capability within the Fire Department and adding a new fire engine and crew. A full-time Emergency Manager was also added to the city management staff within the past year.
Steigerwald also commented on the “arms race” competition among cities and counties in central Florida to attract and maintain qualified first responders, and people with critical skills in engineering and information technology.
As each city department head briefed their portion of the proposed budget to the commissioners, Commissioner Janette Martinez asked if they had adequate staff, resources, and vehicles to provide service to the community. All replied that they were in good shape and continuously seeking to perform more efficiently within the budget they had. Mayor Olga Gonzalez and the three other commissioners in attendance were universal in their praise for the job the city staff and employees were doing for the community.
Two formal budget hearings will take place, on Sept. 3 and 17, to finalize the budget. The city’s proposed budget is available online at https://bit. ly/3LFQuzc.
