Orlando police union seeks more money for special teams as property tax reform looms

ORLANDO, Fla — As Florida cities like Orlando brace for potential changes in property tax laws, the Orlando police union is heading back to the negotiating table, this time with a scaled-down pay proposal in hand.

After initially pushing for a larger increase, the union is now settling for a 4% raise each year for the next three years.

However, uncertainty looms as cities wait to see how state-level property tax reform efforts might impact local budgets. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis emphasized that tax relief must now come from the local level.

“Nobody is being pinched by higher taxes at the state level. We’ve cut taxes dramatically, but we’re running out of taxes to cut in Florida at the state level. That’s why I really want to get these property taxes and deal with those at the local level because I think that is the best way that we can provide relief for people throughout the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.

But property tax reform isn’t the only challenge on the table. A significant sticking point remains in that union leaders say they are separated by $82,000. That money would go for proposed special team pay, or extra compensation for officers who serve on specialized units like crisis negotiation teams or those who respond to large-scale protests.

The union argues these officers should receive similar pay to SWAT members during callouts.

Yet city negotiators remained firm. A representative from the Fraternal Order of Police Orlando Lodge #25 said, “I don’t have the authority to approve the type of money that is involved with all of that put together.”

At the last meeting, the city made it clear that if the union wants special team pay included, they’ll have to take a smaller base raise in year one saving $1 million.

The union, however, wasn’t willing to shave off an entire percentage point from the base pay raise, resulting in no final agreement, at least not yet. Both sides will be back at the table Thursday.

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