OVIEDO, Fla. — The City of Oviedo’s mayor says she wants to save residents from future tax increases and believes it’s time to start a conversation about merging fire and police services with the county.
Oviedo Mayor Megan Sladek thinks consolidation could be solution for what she sees as a complex accounting problem.
The city is spending more on fire and police services than it brings in from property taxes, its number one revenue source.
According to the city’s annual financial report for 2024, Oviedo collected about $20 million in ad valorem taxes in 2024, but it cost about $22 million to run the city’s independent fire and police departments: about $9.6 million for the fire and about $12.3 million for law enforcement services.
Sladek told Channel 9 that other fees help make up that difference now, but she says rising personnel costs and the need for a new fire station mean the city will need to make some tough decisions in the future.
“We could do it, but we’d have to raise our taxes. And I think we would have to raise our tax more to stay independent than if we allow the county to step in and assist with some of these costs,” said Sladek.
Sladek wants the council to consider a potential merger with the Seminole County Fire Department and the Sheriff’s Office.
She started a conversation on Facebook about the city’s math problem.
So far, three cities in Seminole County have consolidated their fire departments: Winter Springs, Casselberry, and Altamonte Springs.
Oviedo’s Professional Firefighters Union, Local 3476, is firmly against consolidation.
Former President Dave Barsky told Channel 9 there are other solutions to the problem.
The union said in a facebook post, “Every firefighter that we have loves coming to work every single day and serving the citizens of Oviedo, and we hope that it stays that way for a long, long time. According to the last budget meeting we were also $969,273 cheaper to run than Seminole County Fire Department.”
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