Winter Park Voice

06/11/2026

A lawsuit filed this morning is seeking to challenge the state property tax amendment.

June 11, 2026: Winter Park commissioners did not indicate on Wednesday whether or not they would join the legal challenge against the measure that would cut in to both the revenue and autonomy of local governments in Florida

06/06/2026

Future is looking bleak for Merrywood. Story in comments.

06/06/2026

What does Winter Park stand to lose if voters approve the plan by Gov. Ron DeSantis and the Legislature to dramatically reduce property taxes?
A picture of the potential fallout is becoming more clear just days after the Florida House and Senate voted to send the measure to the November ballot. Here’s what we know so far:
How much money will Winter Park lose?
Let’s break down the numbers.
In 2025, Winter Park collected about $48.5 million in taxes, according to Orange County Tax Collector Scott Randolph. The bulk of that, or about $41.1 million, is what is targeted by the state ballot amendment. Those are the dollars collected on real property — houses and businesses — based on that property’s assessed value.
Tax money that comes in from real property is divided into two categories: Homestead (the houses people live in and claim as their primary residence) and non-homestead (commercial properties, businesses, second homes or rental properties or other land).
The change ordered by the Legislature garnering the most attention is a reduction in what cities and counties will collect on homesteaded property. (Note: The Legislature revised DeSantis’ proposal, which would have also reduced taxes that support schools. So the new rules would not apply to school taxes.) Full story in the comments.

05/30/2026

https://winterparkvoice.com/historic-preservation-disagreements-pile-up-spend-money-on-a-consultant-offer-tax-incentives/

So far, no buyer for Merrywood, meaning it will likely face the bulldozer whether or not the Planning & Zoning Board approves the lot split request on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Also so far, the city commission is unwilling to devote any new money toward creating a strategy that would attempt to save historic properties in the future. Story in comments.

05/30/2026

So far, no buyer for Merrywood, meaning it will likely face the bulldozer whether or not the Planning & Zoning Board approves the lot split request on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Also so far, the city commission is unwilling to devote any new money toward creating a strategy that would attempt to save historic properties in the future. Story in comments.

05/30/2026

The city of Winter Park is slated to get state money to help clean up Central Florida’s waterways and beef up security for public outdoor events as the Legislature approved the 2026-27 budget Friday.

State lawmakers passed a $114.5 billion spending plan that provides $500,000 for a Mead Gardens water project and $62,500 for Winter Park Police road barriers to keep vehicles from driving into crowds at festivals and other events.

Lawmakers inserted the pair of Winter Park projects into the state budget after they met behind closed doors this month to negotiate spending on everything from school funding, law enforcement and members’ pet projects during a special session this month.

The Legislature had failed to approve a budget — their only constitutional required job — during the 60-day regular session that ended in March.
Even though the Legislature approved the budget Friday, the money is not official for Winter Park until it survives Gov. Ron DeSantis’ veto pen.
DeSantis has been clear he wants to trim spending.

“It’s probably a safe assumption that when I’m done with my veto pen that it’ll be less than the current year budget,” DeSantis said this week about the next fiscal year starting July 1.
DeSantis also is open about how he weaponizes his veto power to punish lawmakers who don’t support his agenda.

“If the members are supporting good policy, then, you know, I see their budget items, that’s just something you take into account,” DeSantis said earlier this month at The Federalist Society.

Winter Park officials declined to comment for this story as they await DeSantis’ spending decisions, but the state lawmakers who advocated for the Winter Park project spoke to The Voice about why they feel the money is important.

Mead Gardens Pond Flows to Chain of Lakes

State lawmakers want to tackle cleaning up waterways by lowering nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that cause algae booms and destroy biodiversity.

In the state budget, Winter Park would receive $500,000 to filter the excessive nutrients from Alice’s Pond in Mead Gardens as the Loch Haven Chain of Lakes flows into the Winter Park Chain of Lakes.
FULL STORY IN COMMENTS

05/27/2026

05/17/2026

Winter Park is headed for a reckoning when it comes to historic preservation. Will it keep one of the weakest ordinances in the state? Or will the City Commission add some incentives or teeth to protect a dwindling number of historic assets? First public discussion is slated for later this month. Story link in comments.

05/14/2026

https://winterparkvoice.com/8538-2/

05/14/2026

Has anyone else ever seen a white peacock before? Beautiful! Also, link in the comments to the latest on the fate of the Blue Bamboo as well as the details we know so far about a potential parking garage behind City Hall.