DELTONA, Fla. – Deltona residents will see an increase in their tax bill to help the city pay for rising costs and overdue improvement projects.
During a Monday meeting, commissioners voted 6-0 to approve a 30% increase in stormwater fees and a 16% increase in trash fees.
“It is significant, but at the same time, it hasn’t been raised since 2018,” Deltona Vice Mayor JodyLee Storozuk said prior to the vote. “Our city has a history of kicking the can down the road instead of fixing problems. We’re at the point where we can’t do it any longer.”
[EXCLUSIVE: Become a News 6 Insider (it’s FREE) | PINIT! Share your photos]
According to the city, the increase in stormwater fees will be used to pay for infrastructure projects identified during hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022.
“The last hurricanes devastated a lot of people’s lives in the city. All the projects we want to do, all the costs have gone up,” Storozuk said. “The costs are going up across the country on everything.”
In total, the city said $50 million is needed for stormwater capital projects and upgrades.
The current annual stormwater rate is $128 and will be raised to $170.
Storozuk said the city is also planning to roll back the city’s property tax rate to help offset the increase in stormwater and trash fees.
“You’re still technically raising the stormwater rates, but if you roll back the taxes rate and the millage rate on people’s houses, they’ll probably pay a little bit less,” Storozuk said.
Get today’s headlines in minutes with Your Florida Daily: