Many of the City Beautiful’s decisions are made here. | Photo via @citybeautiful
$1.8 billion. That’s the approved Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget that was adopted by Orlando City Council. This funding is applied to the departments, services, and efforts put forth by the City of Orlando starting today, Oct. 1, 2025 through Sept. 30, 2026.
Budget increases
Compared to last fiscal year, the City Beautiful is putting a greater investment into certain initiatives. Notably, the city is focusing on these areas:
Public safety will receive an additional $25 million. This will allow for the addition of 16 new police officers + advanced life support services.
Mobility efforts will receive nearly $12 million more. This includes $7.5 million to repair + rehabilitate roads and $4.3 million for sidewalks, bridges, and trails.
Neighborhood enhancements will be funded with an extra $6.4 million. The money will be put toward parks, playgrounds, and other recreational facilities that will benefit communities.
The minimum wage is going up. As of yesterday, Sept. 30, Florida employers must pay non-tip employees at least $14 per hour, a $1 boost. The increase is part of an amendment approved by voters in 2020; the minimum wage will further increase to $15 next September.
Closed
It’s a wrap-uccino for two local Starbucks stores. Locations on North Semoran Boulevard + North Alafaya Trail have closed as part of the company’s restructuring plans. While this might complicate your next coffee run, Orlando has many other shops to explore. (The Daytona Beach News-Journal)
Coming Soon
Icon Park sees something new in its future. The entertainment complex is working to add Arte Museum, an immersive, technology-based art experience that uses projection imaging. Crews are working to build the new 30,000-sqft museum space, which is expected to open in 2027. (Orlando Business Journal)
Concert
Get ready to “Paint the Town Red.” Singer + rapper Doja Cat is bringing her “Tour Ma Vie World Tour” to the Kia Center on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026. General public tickets go on sale Next Friday, Oct. 10 starting at 10 a.m.
Ranked
People are packing up and moving to Clermont. The local city ranked as the No. 12 most popular US suburb based on a study by moveBuddah. Clermont has a 2.0 in-to-out ratio, meaning two people moved into the city for every one person who left.
Festival
The first annual Central Florida Food Fest is coming to Bonnet Springs Park on Saturday, Oct. 18. Grab tickets (must be 21+) to indulge your culinary senses with exclusive dishes from regional restaurants, sip curated drink pairings, dance to live music, and shop the marketplace.* Edu
Calling all nurses: want to advance your career, without interrupting it? Southeastern University’s RN to BSN program allows you to earn your degree online, at your own pace. Apply now to see what doors a BSN could open for you.*
Finance
Tackling debt is crucial for many Americans in 2025. This trending card — “worth its weight in gold,” according to experts — offers 0% intro APR on balance transfers into 2027. (Read: Nearly two years of interest-free payments.)Learn more + apply.*
NFT Boom Box beat the competition. | Gif via Red Bull
Cue the celebratory music — local team NFT Boom Box won the Red Bull Tandem Rollercoaster race that was held in Altamonte Springs this past weekend.
The event challenged teams to create a custom, creative cart on a tandem bike and then ride it through a wild course suspended over water. Many teams fell off the track, but not NFT Boom Box; they were able to ring the bell at the finish line.
The team completed the course in 29.67 seconds, which was fast, but not the fastest time. That didn’t stop the duo from being named the overall winners, because their final score also included creativity and performance points.
The fun doesn’t have to end here. After reading the newsletter, head over to our games page. Games refresh with new challenges every day at 6 a.m. from crossword puzzle to Sudoku to themed word search.
Today’s newsletter was made possible by Michael Beausoleil and the ORLtoday team.
Beep, beep, beep. That’s the sound of our digital forklift delivering some changes for ORLtoday. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be putting on a fresh coat of paint — and as with all projects, we anticipate a few bumps along the way. In the meantime, we appreciate your patience.
