How Longwood is run
Who runs Longwood, 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 Longwood's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Longwood
A city manager hired by the commission runs the city day to day and appoints the executive staff. The five district commissioners pass ordinances, adopt the budget and hire the city manager, city attorney and city clerk. The commission picks one of its members as mayor, who presides at meetings.
What they are paid
- 15 vacation days a year
- Health and life insurance: $23,061 for the commission (FY2027)
- Retirement contributions: $6,000 for the commission (FY2027)
Longwood city staff
177 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 50, Fire 45, Water and sewer 20, Streets 13. FY2026-27. Full-time positions. The city runs its own police and fire departments. City of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
Florida has no statewide pay database. The budget publishes minimum and maximum pay for each job grade, but we found no list of pay by employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Longwood 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.
The city's own outlook
The city's five-year forecast shows general fund spending above revenue every year through FY2030-31, with fund balance falling to $2.31 million. The FY2027 budget uses $219,074 of savings and brings the reserve to about 16.4%, below the 17% policy target, while borrowing for major capital projects. The city manager warned that proposals before the Florida Legislature could cut city revenue by about $1.7 million in FY2027 and $2.7 million in FY2028. City of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $4M (2025-09-30). The city's own target: Unassigned general fund balance plus working cash must equal at least 17% of budgeted yearly spending (Resolution 21-1559, 2021). The budget projects about 16% at the end of FY2026-27, below the rule, and the city is reviewing the policy. City of Longwood · May 22, 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.
Comes from
- Property taxes$12.3M · 45%
- Utility taxes (electric, water, gas)$2.8M · 10%
- Franchise fees (electric, trash, gas)$2.4M · 9%
- Trash billing fees$1.9M · 7%
- Transfers in (mostly from the utility fund)$1.5M · 5%
- Ambulance fees$1.2M · 5%
- State half-cent sales tax$1.2M · 4%
- Other (state revenue sharing, communications tax, fees, fines, interest)$3.8M · 14%
- From savings (fund balance)$219,074 · 1%
Goes to (FY2026-27)
- Fire and rescue (incl. ambulance)$7.5M · 28%
- Police$7.4M · 27%
- Financial services (incl. trash disposal)$2.6M · 10%
- Parks and recreation$1.8M · 6%
- Facilities maintenance (incl. citywide utilities and mowing)$1.7M · 6%
- Streets$1.3M · 5%
- Human resources$1.1M · 4%
- Other (IT, commission, manager, clerk, attorney, planning, transfers)$3.8M · 14%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of each property-tax dollar a Longwood homeowner pays, about 34 cents goes to the city. Longwood runs its own fire department, so there is no county fire levy. The city kept 5.5000 mills for FY2026-27, 5.78% above the rolled-back rate of 5.1997.
34¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Longwood
- City of Longwood5.5 · 34%
- Seminole County5.3751 · 33%
- Seminole County Public SchoolsState-required 3.0010 plus local 2.24805.249 · 32%
- St. Johns River Water Management District0.1793 · 1%
- Total (mills)16.3034
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the city of Longwood (Seminole County). Seminole County Property Appraiser
See what a Longwood home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Longwood is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityLongwood Police DepartmentCity of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
- FireThe cityLongwood Fire DepartmentCity of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
- Ambulance (EMS)The cityLongwood Fire DepartmentAdvanced emergency medical care, with transport to area hospitalsCity of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
- WaterThe cityCity of Longwood Public UtilitiesServes more than 6,700 customersCity of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
- SewerThe cityCity of Longwood Public Utilities (treatment by Seminole County and Altamonte Springs)No treatment plant in the city; flow goes to Seminole County and Altamonte SpringsCity of Longwood · May 22, 2026
- StormwaterThe cityCity of Longwood Public WorksCity of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
- Parks and recreationThe cityCity of Longwood Leisure ServicesCity of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
- City streetsThe cityCity of Longwood Public WorksCity of Longwood · Sep 21, 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 | Marco IslandFL | Opa LockaFL | LongwoodFL | PinecrestFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 16,194 | 16,559 | 16,641 | 18,206 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $228,744 | $190,000 | $185,543 | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $6,000 | $6,600 | Not confirmed | No salary |
| General fund per resident | $2,120 | $2,108 | $1,641 | $2,460 |
| Debt per resident | $7,547 | $191 | $991 | $2,750 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $31 | $745 | $-11 | $472 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 16.5 | 11.4 | 10.6 | 11.7 |
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).
What Longwood publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Longwood
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Longwood
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Longwood · Sep 21, 2026
Questions to ask your council
- The five-year forecast shows general fund spending above revenue every year, with fund balance falling to $2.31 million by FY2030-31. Which revenue or spending changes would close the gap?
- The FY2027 budget projects the general fund reserve at about 16.4%, below the 17% policy target, and the city is reviewing that policy. Will the commission lower the target or plan to rebuild the reserve?
- The tax rate has stayed at 5.5000 mills since FY2013, 5.78% above the rolled-back rate this year. If state proposals cut about $1.7 million in FY2027 revenue, which services would change?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The budget process runs from February to September, with commission workshops; the city manager presented the proposed FY2027 budget on July 15, 2026. The commission holds two public hearings in September: on Sept. 10, 2026 it gave first approval to the tax rate and budget, and on Sept. 21, 2026 it adopted the FY2027 budget and a 5.5000 mill tax rate. See who is running for council
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