Either the failed Orange County transportation sales tax, which voters rejected in 2022, or an infrastructure tax might make its way onto the ballot in November 2026, Mayor Bryan Nelson said during his report at the Nov. 19 City Council meeting.  

In a meeting between Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings and municipal mayors including Nelson, Demings said he was considering putting either tax proposal up for voters’ approval, according to Nelson. No action was taken at the meeting.  

Demings was out of town this week for the Thanksgiving holiday, so he was unavailable for an interview, according to Amanda Dukes, Orange County spokesperson. However, she confirmed the mayors did have a meeting in which Demings gave an informational overview of potential paths forward to fund needed transportation improvements.   

“The options discussed included a Charter County Transportation Tax, a Charter County Infrastructure Tax, or not pursuing either option,” the spokesperson said via email on Monday. “This discussion was purely informational in nature. No decisions were made, and no votes were taken. The intent of the conversation was simply to ensure that municipal leaders were aware of the potential options under consideration.” 

To make either tax proposal more appealing, Orange County should “treat the cities like we’re equal partners,” Nelson said in a Monday interview with The Apopka Chief. “Right now, we’re not.”  

“We weren’t in favor of the last [transportation] sales tax because it wasn’t fair to cities,” Nelson said. “We’re one of the few cities that didn’t agree or didn’t send a letter of recommendation on the sales tax. So, I would have to see a lot more detail before I would be comfortable supporting it.” 

In November 2022, county voters rejected the transportation sales tax, a 1% sales tax increase for 20 years that would have generated about $600 million per year. This money would have gone toward funding transportation projects to accommodate the county’s fast-growing population, which currently stands at over 1.5 million and is projected to reach more than 2 million by 2050.  

In June 2023, county staff and LYNX presented the Accelerated Transportation Safety Program to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. Created to take on mandatory transportation projects using existing revenue sources, this program has dedicated $100 million to improving pedestrian safety, including transit, sidewalk, safety and lighting projects.  

Since 1991, the Seminole County Infrastructure Sales Tax has yielded $1.8 billion countywide. County voters approved the fourth generation of this tax in November 2024.  

In 2024, the Seminole County Infrastructure Sales Tax yielded over $102 million. Of that, $59 million went toward county projects, while the rest of it was put aside for Seminole County municipalities and public schools, according to the Seminole County website.