Montverde has held the lowest millage rate in Lake County for years and carries zero debt. That discipline is real, and it's worth protecting. But protecting it means understanding our budget at a level of detail most of us, myself included two years ago, never had reason to ask for. Here's what I found when I actually dug into the numbers, and what it means for the choices in front of us this November.
Five years, same rate, taxes up 138 percent
Over the last five years, home values in Montverde have climbed, and property tax bills have climbed right along with them, even though the Town Council kept the millage rate flat the entire time. That sounds conservative. It isn't neutral. When property values rise and the rate doesn't move, a flat rate simply collects more money automatically. The council could have lowered the rate to the rolled-back rate each year, the rate that raises the same dollar amount as the year before, and chose not to.
I'm not saying every dollar of that growth was wrong. Some of it reflects real needs: inflation, more residents, aging infrastructure. But growth that size deserves the same scrutiny voters are being asked to give a proposed tax cut. If elected, I'll call for a full line-by-line review of the town's budget going back seven years, to see where spending grew because it needed to, and where it grew simply because it could.
What Amendment 3 actually changes
If Florida voters approve Amendment 3 this November, the homestead exemption for non-school taxes jumps from about $50,000 today to $150,000 in 2027, then $250,000 in 2028. That's real relief for homeowners. It's also a real hit to town revenue, since roughly two-thirds of Montverde's homes are homesteaded.
A new supermajority standard: SB 4-F
In June, Governor DeSantis signed SB 4-F alongside the Amendment 3 ballot measure. It permanently ties a local government's maximum millage rate to the prior year's rolled-back rate. Here's what that actually means for Montverde: the council can still adopt a millage that raises the same total dollars as last year, the rolled-back rate itself, with a normal majority vote. But any rate above that, any real revenue growth to cover rising costs, new positions, or capital needs, now requires a two-thirds vote of the council up to 110 percent of rolled-back, and a unanimous vote beyond that. With a five-member council, that means real growth in spending needs buy-in from nearly everyone, not just a simple majority. I think that's a good thing. Future spending increases should have to be justified, not just assumed.
New growth: real versus not yet real
Some have pointed to new development as the answer to a shrinking revenue base. Here's where it matters to separate what's real from what's still just plans. Willow Ridge, the 234-home Pulte community off Blackstill Lake Road, is real. It's built, sold out, and finishing its last few homes now, and because of how Florida's assessment and homestead cycles work, this is the first year those homes are fully reflected on the tax roll. That's a genuine, near-term addition to the town's tax base, one I'll be asking the Property Appraiser's office to quantify precisely so residents have a real number, not a guess.
The other two approved developments, 239 homes between them (Osgood's 137 home sites and the Bella Collina extension's 102 home sites, approved at the end of 2025), are just breaking ground. Construction timelines aren't guaranteed and market conditions change. For 2027 and 2028 budget planning, the responsible assumption is that this second wave of development contributes little to nothing yet. We shouldn't build a budget that depends on homes that haven't broken ground, no matter how promising the plans look today.
The hidden tax bill: what's buried in your utility bill
Every year, property taxes get all the attention at budget time. There's a second bill hiding in plain sight, and almost nobody talks about it. One clarification before the numbers: the property tax figures below are only the Town of Montverde's portion of your bill, the part the Town Council actually controls. Your full property tax bill is much higher, since most of it goes to Lake County, the School Board, the water management district, and any fire assessment, none of which the town has any say over. What follows is just our town government's slice.
Buried in your electric bill, your gas bill, and your phone or internet bill are franchise fees and utility taxes the town collects from every household. This year, Montverde is set to collect about $394,600 from these fees alone. The proposed budget for next year pushes that number to roughly $463,700. Here's what that looks like per household, using the town's roughly 950 homes today and roughly 775 homes five years ago.
Here's the part that matters most: unlike garbage collection or water service, where the town actually pays for trucks, staff, and infrastructure, these utility fees cost the town nothing to collect. Montverde doesn't own or maintain the electric lines, gas lines, or phone and internet infrastructure. That belongs to the utility companies. The franchise fees are simply payment for using town rights-of-way, and the utility taxes are a percentage the companies collect and hand over. There's no expense on the other side of this ledger. It's about as close to pure profit as anything in the town's budget gets.
None of this means the fees themselves are improper. Utility taxes and franchise fees are standard practice in almost every Florida town, and this money still flows into the general fund to help pay for real town services. But because it costs nothing to collect, it deserves the same scrutiny we give the millage rate every September, maybe more, since it's real money leaving every household's budget every month, whether you own your home or rent it, with no delivery cost behind it.
If elected, I'll push for a full, honest accounting of every fee the town collects, not just what shows up on the tax bill, so residents can see the complete picture of what living in Montverde actually costs each year.
My commitments
Montverde's fiscal discipline (the lowest millage rate in Lake County, held for years, and zero town debt) is worth protecting. Here's how I intend to protect it.
- A full, line-by-line review of the town's budget going back seven years, to separate spending that grew because it had to from spending that grew because it could, and to find and cut waste that isn't bringing real value to residents
- Budget planning for 2027 and 2028 that assumes the two newest approved developments contribute nothing yet, while accounting honestly for Willow Ridge's real, near-term impact once we have exact figures from the Property Appraiser's office
- Real justification, not just habit, for any future millage increase above the rolled-back rate, now required by law under SB 4-F and, in my view, the right standard regardless
- A full, honest public accounting of every fee the town collects, franchise fees and utility taxes included, not just what shows up on the property tax bill
- Continued zero-debt discipline as a core town value, and clear public explanation of any short-term financing tools, like the line of credit needed to bridge contractor payments against the town's roughly $40 million in awarded water and stormwater grants, so residents understand the difference between smart bridge financing and taking on real debt
