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Record of Proceedings

Casselberry City Commission Meeting - June 22, 2026

City Commission — Monday, June 22, 2026
BodyCasselberry, Florida
SessionCity Commission
DateMonday, June 22, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:14:09

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording. Names come from transcript evidence. “Possibly” marks uncertain attribution.

Speaker 1

0:06

I call the Monday, June 22nd meeting of the city commission to order, and we'll start out with a moment of silence, please.

0:26

Please join me for the pledge.

Unassigned speaker

0:34

See the flag of the United States of America and see that we have like legal which is one nation under

Speaker 2

0:42

God, indivisible with liberty and justice or

Unassigned speaker

0:45

all the time.

Speaker 1

0:52

Okay.

0:55

Donald, would you please call the roll?

Speaker 3

0:58

Commissioner Kirk.

1:00

Commissioner Bush.

1:02

Commissioner DeVita.

1:04

Vice Mayor Aramendia.

1:06

Mayor Hansen.

1:08

Thank

Unassigned speaker

1:08

you.

Speaker 1

1:08

Okay.

1:09

Next item on the agenda is minutes.

1:12

Are there any changes, corrections, additions?

1:16

If not, the chair will undertain a motion.

1:18

Motion to approve the minutes of June 8th regular meeting as the Senate.

1:22

Second.

1:23

Motion is second.

1:24

All those in favor?

1:27

That motion passes.

1:29

Next thing on the agenda.

1:31

The presentation by David Johnson.

1:38

Welcome, David.

Speaker 4

1:39

Well, thank you very much.

1:40

It's been a while since I've been here.

1:42

Seems like the last time I was here was probably in 2008, and we were talking about property tax reform

Speaker 5

1:47

again.

Speaker 4

1:48

So here we are, 20 years later, almost 20 years later.

1:51

And what my goal tonight is to give you an update about what the proposal is that will be on the November ballot and potentially how that would affect your city if it does pass.

2:02

So we'll quickly go through what the proposal does at first year.

Speaker 5

2:19

Okay.

Unassigned speaker

2:40

Okay.

Speaker 4

2:41

It's down.

2:42

Okay.

2:42

Very good.

2:43

Okay.

2:51

Okay.

2:52

So here's what the proposal does that will show up on the November ballot.

2:56

Um it's only affecting homesteaded properties, as we all know.

3:01

Uh it also reduces the cap that is presently on what we call non-homesteaded properties.

3:07

People ask all the time what's a non-homestead of property.

3:10

That's everything that doesn't have a homestead exemption.

3:13

So that's commercial properties, primarily second homes, etc.

3:16

Uh currently the cap on how much the assessment could go up from year to year is 10%.

3:22

This proposal takes it down to 5%.

3:24

So that's the second thing that it does.

3:26

Um there is a requirement to get this benefit, which has a lot of challenges, we think moving forward from a legal perspective that you have to be a resident of Florida for five years in order to get this additional homestead benefit.

3:42

Um there's already a court case out there that's potentially challenging the residency issue.

3:48

Uh in the 1980s, there was also a proposal out there that was going to take the homestead exemption from 5,000 to 25,000.

3:57

That was many years ago.

3:59

Um, and you only got 5,000 if you were less than five years, 25,000 if you're more than five years.

4:05

That was summarily thrown out by the courts and declared unconstitutional from an equal protection perspective.

4:11

So there's some thought process of that will also happen with this residency requirement.

4:17

Also, here's the big breaking news.

4:20

The the bumper sticker that you see that you're not going to pay property taxes if you have a homestead, and you you know get a $250,000 exemption if this were to pass is is just not true because you're going to continue to pay school taxes.

Unassigned speaker

4:34

So the tax collector is going to continue to send a tax bill if this does pass, and on that tax bill will be non-advalorum assessments and a school tax and any value over $250,000.

Speaker 4

4:47

In Seminole County, about 40% of the tax bill is made up of school taxes, so that's just something to keep in mind, and that is not affected at all by this proposal.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Animal Welfare█████████████████████████████████████37%
Fiscal Sustainability███████████████████████23%
Procedural████████████████16%
Parks and Recreation████████8%
Transportation Safety████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure███3%
Public Engagement███3%
Water And Wastewater Management███3%
Environmental Protection██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Casselberry City Commission Meeting - June 22, 2026

The City of Casselberry City Commission met on Monday, June 22, 2026, at 5:30 PM in the City Commission Chambers. The meeting included a presentation on a proposed property tax amendment, the approval of proclamations, the passage of a consent agenda, an award of a consulting contract, a discussion on a backyard chicken pilot program, and public comments.

Consent Calendar

  • The Commission approved the consent agenda as a block, which included: Acceptance of a $4,843.59 Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant, Resolution 26-3576 for an FY 2026-2027 Dispatching Services Addendum with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office ($493,700), Budget Amendment #26-032, Resolution 26-3577 for the Amended Agreement with the Seminole County Property Appraiser, Budget Amendment #26-036 for a Water Reclamation Vehicle (Commissioner Bush expressed concerns about the necessity of the purchase but did not request the item be pulled), Resolution 26-3578 for the Street Lighting Assessment Preliminary Rate, Change Order No. 1 with Schenkel & Shultz ($8,022), and Amendment No. 2 with GAI Consultants.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • John Killian, a resident and industry professional, expressed concerns about the growing cost of water, sewer, and stormwater services. He argued the current rate structure is unfair, noting that sewer charges are based on total water use, pricing tiers are higher than Seminole County's, and that utility tax revenue made up 33.29% of the city's unrestricted revenue in FY 2023. He requested the commission direct staff to prepare a public analysis of residential utility rates.

Discussion Items

  • Presentation on Property Tax Amendment: Seminole County Property Appraiser David Johnson presented the proposed property tax amendment for the November 2026 ballot. The amendment would increase the homestead exemption from ~$51,411 to $250,000 and lower the non-homestead assessment cap. Johnson estimated Casselberry could face a $1.7 million reduction in ad valorem revenue in the first year and up to a $4.3 million reduction over two years. He noted the amendment does not affect school taxes or non-ad valorem assessments.
  • Award of Bid for SS4A Grant: The Commission approved awarding a consulting bid to Kimley-Horn and Associates for a $1.5 million Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) grant. The project will implement quick-build safety strategies from the Vision Zero Action Plan and update the Mobility and ADA transition plans over a 44-month period.
  • Backyard Chickens in SF Residential Zoning: Community Development Director Christopher Schmidt presented a comparison of local chicken ordinances. Lindsay Feist (516 Bridal Path) spoke in support of the program. The Commission directed staff to draft a resolution for a one-year pilot program. Key parameters include: 4 hens maximum, no roosters, owner-occupied lots, no neighbor notification requirement, no permit fee, and a mandatory UF/IFAS certification requirement.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes of June 8, 2026: Approved.
  • Consent Agenda: Approved.
  • SS4A Grant Agreement: Approved and execution authorized.
  • Backyard Chicken Pilot Program: Staff directed to draft a resolution for a vote, with consensus to include no fee and no neighbor notification.
  • Acting City Manager: The City Manager designated the Assistant City Manager to serve as Acting City Manager from June 29th to July 2nd.

Commissioner Reports & Other Business

  • Commissioner Bush announced a $700,000 federal appropriation for the English Estates Phase II water main replacement project.
  • The City Clerk announced the July 8th regular meeting is replaced by a budget workshop on July 13th; the next regular meeting is July 27th, 2026.
  • Mayor Henson reported attending a Hispanic community hurricane awareness event and a Rotary Club meeting.

Meeting Transcript

I call the Monday, June 22nd meeting of the city commission to order, and we'll start out with a moment of silence, please. Please join me for the pledge. See the flag of the United States of America and see that we have like legal which is one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice or all the time. Okay. Donald, would you please call the roll? Commissioner Kirk. Commissioner Bush. Commissioner DeVita. Vice Mayor Aramendia. Mayor Hansen. Thank you. Okay. Next item on the agenda is minutes. Are there any changes, corrections, additions? If not, the chair will undertain a motion. Motion to approve the minutes of June 8th regular meeting as the Senate. Second. Motion is second. All those in favor? That motion passes. Next thing on the agenda. The presentation by David Johnson. Welcome, David. Well, thank you very much. It's been a while since I've been here. Seems like the last time I was here was probably in 2008, and we were talking about property tax reform again. So here we are, 20 years later, almost 20 years later. And what my goal tonight is to give you an update about what the proposal is that will be on the November ballot and potentially how that would affect your city if it does pass. So we'll quickly go through what the proposal does at first year. Okay. Okay. It's down. Okay. Very good. Okay. Okay. So here's what the proposal does that will show up on the November ballot. Um it's only affecting homesteaded properties, as we all know. Uh it also reduces the cap that is presently on what we call non-homesteaded properties. People ask all the time what's a non-homestead of property. That's everything that doesn't have a homestead exemption. So that's commercial properties, primarily second homes, etc. Uh currently the cap on how much the assessment could go up from year to year is 10%. This proposal takes it down to 5%. So that's the second thing that it does. Um there is a requirement to get this benefit, which has a lot of challenges, we think moving forward from a legal perspective that you have to be a resident of Florida for five years in order to get this additional homestead benefit.

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