Osceola commissioners unanimously approved a $3 billion budget, its largest ever, while also maintaining a millage rate of $6.70 — a figure unchanged for 15 consecutive years.
Osceola also set aside $1 billion for ongoing road improvement projects and accepted more than $1 million in state funds to remove the aquatic vegetation from North Lake Toho.
“I want to thank the county manager and everybody that has allowed us to be able to maintain the same millage rate for 15 years in a row,” Commission Chair Woman Viviana Janer said at the meeting Monday evening. “So incredibly proud.”
The rate of $6.70 per $1,000 of a property’s taxable value means the owner of a home with a taxable value of $300,000 would pay $2,010 in taxes. Higher property values across the region has led to higher tax bills even as rates remain the same, however.
Osceola’s rapid growth over the past five years has left many residents stuck in traffic on roads that worked before the boom. Since 2020 the population has doubled to it’s current estimate of over 460,000, according to the latest Census data.
The road projects funded by the 2026 fiscal year budget aim to ease congestion and include some of the most congested thoroughfares. Improvements to Boggy Creek Road, Cyrils Drive, Fortune and Simpson Roads will bring much needed relief.
Another priority for the county is the removal of invasive hydrilla in Lake Toho which has been at the center of fishermen’s complaints for decades. The county accepted $1.3 million in state funds for the project.
“Representative Stark got about half that last year, so this is a continuation of that,” State Rep. Kristin Arrington said. “If you drive on Lakefront now you can see some great results coming in, so I know our residents, our visitors, are all looking forward to that.”
Hydrilla, a plant believed to have been imported to Florida from Sri Lanka, is plaguing many of the state’s lakes. But Osceola County’s lakes may have some of the worst infestations.
The aquatic plant management department at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission estimates that roughly 80% of West Lake Toho is inundated with invasive plant species.
Boats often get stuck with hydrilla entangled in the engines, and it also kills fish and other wildlife. County officials also blamed hydrilla for clogging drainage efforts on West Lake Toho and led to widespread flooding during Hurricane Ian.