The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors has approved the proposed property tax cuts for the district’s stakeholders, which includes Walt Disney World.

During the Wednesday morning meeting, Board Chair Martin Garcia referenced the ongoing lawsuits with Disney, saying it would cause an increase in District costs and taxes.

District Administrator Glen Gilzean, Jr. officially presented the FY2024 budget before the vote. The new millage rate (tax rate) is 12.95 mills, a drop from this year’s rate of 13.9 mills.

The press release from before the tax rate was approved is below.

Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Proposes Cutting Property Tax Rate For Constituents in FY2024 Budget

Today, District Administrator Glenton Gilzean presented the FY2024 budget to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board, which proposes significant cuts to the property tax rate. Specifically, the cut would reduce the current millage rate by nearly 7 percent without impacting core programs that serve the community. The rate cut is possible because of the elimination of government waste and abuse.

“We heard from constituents loud and clear at public meetings and while out and about in the community,” said Gilzean. “They do not want their tax rates to go up. We took their concerns to heart.” He added, “The district staff has worked diligently the past few months to find ways to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars while ensuring a world-class experience for the millions of people who travel to our district from around the world. We’re proud of the result.”

The millage rate is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the taxable assessed value of a property. One mill is equivalent to $1 in taxes due per $1,000 of taxable assessed property value. In FY2023, the millage rate was 13.9000. The district’s proposed millage rate for FY2024 is 12.9500, a 6.8% rate decrease. The district arrived at this rate with consideration to budget requirements and property assessments from the publicly elected tax appraisers of Orange and Osceola Counties.

Gilzean’s proposed budget also outlines priorities for the district: enhancing public safety, implementing governing best practices, and prioritizing spending. In addition, the budget would increase the district’s reserve fund to include line items such as dedicated emergency response.

Further, taxpayer dollars would no longer be used to fund the private use of the public police force for commercial benefit. Over the past several years, instead of using private security or hiring additional police officers, private entities have placed the financial burden on citizens by billing the district to police their property.

The board will vote today on the proposed millage rate. This will kick off the budget approval process, which requires two public hearings and a vote in September on a final budget that contains detailed line items.

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