How Deltona is run
Who runs Deltona, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Deltona's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Deltona
A city manager hired by the commission runs the city day to day. The seven-member commission, a mayor elected citywide and six district commissioners, sets policy, adopts the budget and appoints the city manager and city attorney.
What they are paid
- $650 a month car allowance after his first year
- $125 a month phone allowance
- City pays 100% of his health, dental and vision premiums, plus $400,000 of life insurance
- City pays the employer and employee shares of his Florida Retirement System contributions
- 45 paid executive leave days a year
- 20 weeks' pay and benefits as severance if the commission fires him
- Commission travel budget: $38,000 (FY2027 proposed)
Deltona city staff
417 full-time-equivalent positions. FY2026-27 proposed. City of Deltona · Aug 14, 2026
The budget lists positions by department and salary totals, not pay by position. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Deltona in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $35.5M (2025-09-30). City of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026-27 (proposed).
Comes from
- Property taxes$36.8M · 47%
- Electric utility tax$7.1M · 9%
- Half-cent sales tax$6.2M · 8%
- State revenue sharing$5.7M · 7%
- Electric franchise fee$5.5M · 7%
- From reserves (fund balance)$3.8M · 5%
- Communications services tax$2.6M · 3%
- Fire rescue transport fees$2.5M · 3%
- Other (internal service charges, gas tax, grants, permits, fines, interest, fees)$8.4M · 11%
Goes to (FY2026-27 (proposed))
- Fire and rescue, including ambulance transport$17.5M · 22%
- Law enforcement (Volusia Sheriff's Office contract)$16.7M · 21%
- Non-departmental general government (includes contingency)$7.6M · 10%
- Capital outlay (mostly fire trucks and ambulances)$6.8M · 9%
- Parks, recreation and The Center$5.7M · 7%
- Transfers to other funds (parks projects, stormwater, capital)$5.4M · 7%
- Public works and streets$4.7M · 6%
- Other (commission, manager, clerk, finance, legal, planning, HR, code compliance, events, debt payments)$14M · 18%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Deltona homeowner pays, about 35 cents goes to the city. The commission adopted 6.4948 mills as its final rate on Sept. 21, 2026. Other rates shown are the proposed rates on the August notices.
35¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Deltona
- City of Deltona6.4948 · 35%
- Volusia County Schools5.243 · 28%
- Volusia County general fund3.2007 · 17%
- Volusia County law enforcement fund1.5994 · 9%
- Hospital authority0.9575 · 5%
- Volusia County voter-approved debt0.4 · 2%
- Volusia County library0.3697 · 2%
- St. Johns River Water Management District0.1793 · <1%
- Florida Inland Navigation District0.027 · <1%
- Total (mills)18.4714
2026 tax year (FY2026-27) proposed rates for a home in Deltona (Volusia County). Volusia County Property Appraiser · Aug 1, 2026
See what a Deltona house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Deltona is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceContractorVolusia Sheriff's Office (city contract)City of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
- Fire and rescueThe cityCity of DeltonaCity of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
- Water and sewerThe cityCity of DeltonaCity of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
- Trash and yard wasteContractorPrivate hauler under city contractThe city charges each home $235.42 a year for weekly pickup.City of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of DeltonaCity of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of DeltonaCity of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of DeltonaCity of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
- Planning and developmentThe cityCity of DeltonaCity of Deltona · Apr 30, 2026
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | North PortFL | SunriseFL | PlantationFL | DeltonaFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 96,301 | 98,310 | 98,437 | 98,792 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $260,168 | Not confirmed | Not current (2019) | $225,000 |
| Council member pay | $66,648 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,037 | $1,901 | $1,615 | $796 |
| Debt per resident | $992 | $2,131 | $502 | $1,454 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $777 | $2,259 | $845 | $75 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 9.8 | 12.4 | 9.4 | 4.2 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Deltona pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Deltona publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: City manager's contract findable online City of Deltona · May 3, 2024
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineMinutes list each member's vote by name, for and against. City of Deltona · Sep 21, 2026
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Deltona
Questions to ask your council
- Fire and rescue ($17.5 million) and the Sheriff's Office contract ($16.7 million) are the two largest parts of the FY2026-27 general fund. How are the yearly increases in the sheriff contract set?
- The firefighters' pension plan was 88.27% funded on Sept. 30, 2025, with $7.4 million unfunded. What is the schedule to close that gap?
- The final FY2026-27 budget passed 4-3 on Sept. 21, 2026, after a motion to shift parks and recreation money to road resurfacing died. How will the commission weigh events and parks against street repairs?
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