Deltona City Commission Regular Meeting – September 8, 2025

The Deltona City Commission met at 5:30 p.m. on September 8, 2025, continuing the September 3, 2025 regular commission meeting and tentative budget hearing. Six commissioners were present; the District 6 seat was vacant following Commissioner Lulli's resignation. The commission adopted a tentative millage rate of 6.7000 mills, adopted a tentative all-funds FY 2025-26 budget of $245,407,034, set the District 6 appointment process, approved most consent items, deferred the Waste Pro contract, moved a PUD ordinance forward, and amended CDBG public-service funding.

Consent Calendar

• Motion to approve consent items A–C and E–S passed 5–1, with Commissioner Howington opposed; items D (UPS) and R (Waste Pro) were pulled.
• Approved by consent included: Aug. 18, 2025 minutes; Trane HVAC purchase order increase of $20,000 (total $40,000); Triangle Lightning Protection contract for Saxon Water Plant ($59,708); Station 65 roof replacement ($112,455); PFAS-free firefighter gear ($372,440.93); replacement fire hose ($51,172); Rhode Island Avenue Feasibility Study amendment ($29,950); Atlantic Pipe Services stormwater pipelining ($150,000); DDS Enterprises concrete piggyback agreement (up to $250,000); FDEM generator subaward and grant agreement; Pegasus Engineering grant-management task authorization ($50,000); Pegasus stormwater and engineering services ($300,000); Vanguard AMR meter installation ($161,926.90); Brydson Services elevation of 2560 Tulsa Drive West; Fleet Maintenance purchase order increases; adoption of the January 2025 Volusia County Multi-Jurisdictional Local Mitigation Strategy; and scheduling of three presentations for Sept. 15.
• Item 8-D (City Hall UPS replacement) was approved separately 6–0, with the amount not to exceed $29,972.33 and staff authorized to seek a better price through Seminole County RFP-603794-20 or a similar solicitation.

Public Comments & Testimony

• During the combined millage/budget hearing, many residents opposed the proposed rates and urged a full rollback. David Sosa said the increase was closer to 7% over the prior year's levy rather than 3%; Albert Bryan said he had not seen a full rollback in 10 years and described the budget as padded; Catherine Gallagher, Tim Bladit, and Pat Bladit cited excessive line-item increases and the impact on fixed-income seniors; Brandy White asked for zero-based budgeting, project-level transparency, and less spending; Matthew Burgens said the mayor had told him rollback would be possible next year and asked why not this year.
• Waste Pro speakers: Alison Root asked whether residential roll-off dumpster rates are fixed by the contract and said she could obtain dumpsters for $250–$400 elsewhere; Brandy White opposed the contract, citing the 13.23% first-year increase and Waste Pro campaign donations; Bill Redman of Redman Consulting said his initial estimate was $1,650 versus the negotiated $1,594 and said enforcement provisions had been removed; Tim Dolan of Waste Pro said the CPI cap is 5%, service levels were unchanged, and the removed provisions were largely 'gotcha' fines.
• District 6 process: Kathy Bryan and Lori Warnicky urged a fair process and a strong representative for District 6; David Sosa supported the existing ranking matrix; Brandy White criticized the matrix as gameable and commissioners who had benefited from it.

Discussion Items

• Tentative millage and budget: Finance Director McKinney presented the FY 2025-26 overview. The gross taxable value certified by Volusia County was $5,671,597,678; the rolled-back rate was $6.5494. A motion to set the tentative millage at 6.75 mills failed 3–3, and a motion for full rollback at 6.5494 failed 2–4. The commission then adopted 6.7000 mills on a 4–2 vote. The reduction from 6.75 to 6.70 removed $269,401 for the stormwater lake remediation seed item. The Finance Director said the final public hearing would be rescheduled to a special meeting on Sept. 22, with the budget year beginning Oct. 1. Commissioner Howington argued spending had grown sharply and residents could not afford higher taxes; Vice Mayor Heriot said the Deltona portion of most TRIM notices would decline. The tentative budget resolution was adopted 4–2 in the amount of $245,407,034.
• District 6 vacancy: The City Attorney read Charter Section 5(7)(b)2 requiring appointment within 30 days of vacancy. Commissioner Avila-Vazquez moved to keep the existing ranking-matrix process; Vice Mayor Heriot and Commissioner Santiago opposed it as flawed. Motion passed 4–2. Applications were to be posted in the next day or two, with the Sept. 22 special meeting noted as a possible date to consider applications; 30 days from Aug. 27 falls on Sept. 26, a Saturday.
• Waste Pro contract: Commissioner Colwell pulled item 8-R and sought to table it to Sept. 15 and add back administrative enforcement fees; that tabling motion failed 3–3. A motion to approve Resolution 2025-123 then failed 3–3. A subsequent motion to table the Waste Pro contract to the Sept. 15 meeting passed 4–2. The City Attorney noted that solid waste assessments must be set by Sept. 15 or the cost would go onto utility bills instead of the tax bill.
• PUD ordinance: Ordinance 34-2025, amending Section 110-319 to reduce the minimum PUD parcel size to one acre and update the permitted use table, passed first reading 4–2. The Planning and Zoning Board had recommended approval 7–0.
• CDBG awards: Resolution 2025-92 was amended and approved 6–0. New Hope-Hands of Hope Housing Assistance was increased to $25,000, with the increase funded equally from The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia and The Early Learning Coalition of Flagler & Volusia Counties.

Key Outcomes

• Item 9-A, Ordinance 32-2025 (rezoning ±7.93 acres at 930 Howland Boulevard for Blackfin Self Storage), was deferred to Oct. 20, 2025 at the applicant's request.
• Tentative millage: 6.7000 mills per $1,000 of taxable value, adopted 4–2. Full rollback failed 2–4.
• Tentative FY 2025-26 budget: $245,407,034, adopted 4–2.
• District 6 appointment: existing ranking-matrix process retained 4–2; vacancy timeline set.
• Waste Pro solid waste contract: tabled to Sept. 15, 2025 by 4–2; approval motion had failed 3–3.
• Ordinance 34-2025 PUD amendment: passed first reading 4–2.
• CDBG Public Services Resolution 2025-92: approved 6–0 with amended allocations.
• Final budget public hearing: scheduled for a special meeting on Sept. 22, 2025.