Council Highlights – July 18, 2022

Last updated on July 18, 2022

FY 22/23 Budget and Community Building Investments Workshop  

The last few years, the COVID-19 pandemic created challenges that we had never experienced as a community.  

Despite that, we are proud that we continued to be there for residents and businesses by providing them with the critical services, programs and amenities they rely on from their municipal government. We adapted, made changes and remained flexible, but we never stopped serving. 

That’s a tribute to our committed and compassionate City of Orlando employees. Because of their hard work and our strong financial management, we’ve continued – even during the pandemic – to maintain a balanced budget.  

Today we’ll again outline a proposed budget that will allow us to deliver core city services while also continuing our work to support our at-risk youths, enhance our Community Response Teams within OPD and further our investments in affordable housing efforts. And we are able to do all this without raising the millage rate for the ninth year in a row. 

We’ve seen cities across the nation struggle financially from the pandemic’s impacts. Many have been forced to slash budgets and cut vital services. That’s why the federal government prioritized the American Rescue Plan Act to spur recovery for communities. 

Because of our strong financial footing that existed long before the pandemic, we do not have to use the federal funding that we received to plug holes in our budget. Instead, our use of ARPA dollars will enable us to make a significant investment in addressing two of the most daunting challenges our city and region face: homelessness and affordable housing. 

So as part of our budget workshop today, staff will also present on recommendations for how we can invest this money to create the greatest impact and spur positive, lasting change. We’re calling this approach the “Accelerate Orlando” initiative, because our focus on affordable housing and homelessness isn’t new.  

Right now, we’re housing close to 400 previously homeless residents in permanent, supportive housing. And over the past few years, we’ve invested more than 43 million dollars to create or preserve housing options for residents at all income levels. That investment has helped more than 2,000 families have a safe place that they can afford to call home. 

This federal funding we have received gives us the opportunity to “accelerate” these efforts. 

It allows us to make the most significant investment in our region’s history to care for those experiencing homelessness and expand affordable housing opportunities... accelerating our efforts to eliminate barriers to prosperity. 

Today’s workshop will include our annual budget presentation and an outline of Accelerate Orlando – our proposal to leverage ARPA dollars. There will be multiple speakers today, but to start us off is Deputy Chief Financial Officer Michelle McCrimmon.  

Commissioners, thank you for your hard work, passion and unique perspectives that help us not only continue to deliver key services and amenities to our community, but also respond to the challenges that we collectively face. 

And to our City of Orlando employees, we cannot thank you enough for your service and commitment. 

We especially want to thank our budget staff led by Chris McCullion, Michelle McCrimmon and Martin Carmody. We would like to ask all the budget staff to please stand so we can recognize you.  

City Council  

Awards/Presentations/Recognitions 

Florida League of Cities Environmental Stewardship Award  

We’re grateful for our partnership with the Florida League of Cities, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary. We’re also excited to receive one of its 2022 Florida Municipal Achievement Awards in environmental stewardship.   

MAYOR’S UPDATE 

General Items 

Commissioner Sheehan Birthday  

Since we last met, Commissioner Sheehan celebrated a birthday. Commissioner, we all wish you a happy birthday!  

Father Nelson Pinder Passing 

As part of my update, we'd also like to send condolences, on behalf of our entire community, to the family and friends of Reverend Canon Nelson Pinder, who recently passed away. Father Pinder was a legend in our community, as a leader of Orlando’s civil rights movement and with Episcopal churches throughout the region. Over the years he never stopped his advocacy and remained active in our community. 

He was a friend and mentor to me and so many others. Father Pinder will absolutely be missed, but we believe that his legacy continues through our collective work to create a more equitable city for all. 

Robert Bowden's Retirement from Leu Gardens  

And lastly as part of our general update, we'd also like to take a brief moment to recognize Robert Bowden before he retires from his longstanding Executive Director role at Leu Gardens next week. Though Robert would prefer to ease into retirement without any fanfare, we're not going to let him off that easily. We would be remiss if we didn't share our sincere gratitude for a job well done. For close to 29 years, Robert has lovingly nurtured the growth of Leu Gardens which has resulted in numerous new garden collections, multiple must-see events and exhibits, a rise in memberships and annual attendance that continues to blossom. 

His passion for horticulture is undeniable, only equaled by his love of teaching and sharing it with others. 

We wish him nothing but happy, leafy-green trails as he embarks on this new journey. 

Agenda Items of Note 

Mayor #1 - 3 – Appointments  

Moving onto items of note, on today’s agenda are items approving the appointments of Charlie Salazar as Chief of the Orlando Fire Department and Eric Smith as Chief of the Orlando Police Department. Both are well equipped to lead our public safety efforts. We’ll host Change of Command ceremonies for both departments later this summer, starting with OFD on July 26 and OPD on August 24. 

Also on today’s agenda is the appointment of Corey Knight as Director of our Public Works department. With nearly two decades of experience in public works, including serving as our Capital Improvements Division Manager, Corey is well qualified to lead the department, 

OBFS #5 and #15 – Lake Nona and Horizon West Library Leases 

Also on today’s agenda is a lease agreement with the Orange County Library System at our future Southeast Government Center that will facilitate a new library branch in Lake Nona. Item B-5 is a companion item where we are amending our lease with Orange County at the future Sportsplex Park to allow the Library to open a branch to serve Horizon West. 

We’re thrilled to partner with the library system and our partners at Orange County Government to help us all together meet the needs of our residents. We want to thank our Real Estate team for their efforts, as well as our partners at OCLS who are here today, including  

Commissioner Gray, thank you for your advocacy and leadership in helping to make this happen as well.

OBFS #17 – OPD I-Drive Substation Lease  

Lastly, we want to highlight an item that will allow for a new OPD substation on International Drive. This substation will help OPD continue to ensure the safety of residents, businesses and visitors in this part of our city. 

We want to thank Orlando Crossings Mall owner Alejandro Pezzini, who is here today, for his partnership and support to provide this space for our officers to utilize, which we know Commissioner Burns and Chief Rolón are both excited about.