What Can the CRA Do That the Town Can't?
The Florida Redevelopment Association names two things a CRA can do that a town cannot. State law gives one of them to towns too. The other runs on tax money, and under Eatonville's current agreement with Orange County, the CRA's budget keeps $350,500 a year, most of it from the Town, while its staff and operating budget is $463,228.25.
A side-by-side of the powers a Florida CRA has that its town does not, as the statewide redevelopment association describes them, set against state law and Eatonville's own adopted numbers.
Not a legal conclusion about whether the CRA will or should end, and not a finding about what would have happened in Eatonville without it. The Orange County Commission decides the extension; this brief lays out what is at stake either way.
The Short Version
Eatonville's Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) is scheduled to end on January 1, 2027, unless the Orange County Commission votes to keep it going. The Town has asked for an extension to 2045. As of August 11, County staff said the County had not committed to it. 7 8
So what would the Town lose if the CRA ends? The Florida Redevelopment Association (FRA), the statewide association for Florida's CRAs, names two powers a CRA has that a town does not. 1
- Selling land it bought for redevelopment. State law gives the Town this same power, under the same rules. 2
- Using tax money to draw in private investment. This one is real, and it runs on money. Under the current agreement with Orange County, the CRA's adopted budget keeps $350,500 a year in tax money. $224,592.89 of that comes from the Town. $125,907.11 comes from the County. The CRA's adopted budget for staff and operations is $463,228.25. 4
The case for keeping the CRA is about the future, not the present. The CRA's plan projects far more County money after 2027, but only under a new agreement with Orange County that has not been negotiated. 6
What a CRA Is
A CRA is a special district a town or county creates to fix "slum and blight" in a defined area. In Eatonville, that area is the whole town. The 1997 plan says "the CRA Boundary and the Town's limits are one and the same." 9
Its money comes from tax increment financing, or TIF. The FRA explains it this way: property values in the district are frozen at a starting "base value." Each taxing government keeps the taxes on that base. Taxes on any growth above it, the "increment," go into the CRA's trust fund and are restricted to redevelopment projects inside the district. 1
In Eatonville, two governments pay in: the Town and Orange County. The CRA Board is made up of the Town Council plus two additional members from the taxing authorities. 5
The FRA's Answer
The FRA's own guidance ends with a summary of what makes a CRA different. It says a CRA "has certain powers that the County or Municipality by itself may not," and names two: 1
- "leveraging public funds to prompt or otherwise attract private investment activity" into the district, and
- "disposition of property acquired in the Community Redevelopment Area at its fair value."
Those are the two tests. Here is how each holds up.
Power 2: Selling Land — the Town Has It Too
The CRA's main work right now is buying lots, building single-family homes, and selling them. The state law on selling redevelopment land is §163.380. Its first subsection grants the power to three kinds of government, not one: 2
"Any county, municipality, or community redevelopment agency may sell, lease, dispose of, or otherwise transfer real property or any interest therein acquired by it for community redevelopment in a community redevelopment area to any private person, or may retain such property for public use…"
A "municipality" is a town like Eatonville. The same rules apply to all three: land must be used as the redevelopment plan says, a sale below fair value needs a public hearing, and 30 days' published notice inviting proposals comes before any contract. 2
Power 1: Drawing in Investment — What the Money Shows
The first power is really about money: a CRA can collect tax increment from other governments, and it can borrow against future increment. Here is what Eatonville's CRA actually has.
What the CRA keeps
The CRA's agreement with Orange County caps how much increment it keeps each year. The adopted budget for the year starting October 1, 2026 shows much more coming in, with everything above the cap going back as a "TIF Rebate." 4
| Paid in | Rebated back | CRA keeps | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Town of Eatonville | $1,842,932.02 | $1,618,339.13 | $224,592.89 |
| Orange County | $1,119,432.84 | $993,525.73 | $125,907.11 |
| Total | $2,962,364.86 | $2,611,864.86 | $350,500.00 |
About two-thirds of what the CRA keeps comes from the Town's own property taxes. If the CRA ends, the Town would no longer owe that payment, and the money would remain the Town's to budget.
The Town's own budget does not yet match these figures. It sets aside $232,136 for its CRA payment and shows no rebate coming back, a gap this site has flagged and no packet has explained. Either way, the Town's share is Town money.
The part the Town cannot replace on its own is the County's share, $125,907.11 in this budget.
A note on the cap. The plan's text describes the cap as $350,000 a year; its own appendix table and the adopted budget both use $350,500. This brief uses $350,500, the figure the budget actually applies. 6
What the CRA spends to run itself
The same adopted budget sets staff at $200,728.25 and operating costs at $262,500.00, a total of $463,228.25. That is more than all the tax increment the CRA keeps. 4
Staff covers an Executive Director at $82,500, a part-time administrative assistant at $20,800, and an Economic Impact Manager at $70,000, plus taxes and benefits. Operating costs include $100,000 in professional services, $60,000 in contractual services, and $45,000 in insurance. 4
How the CRA borrows
The FRA notes that increment "can be bonded," meaning a CRA can borrow now against tax growth it expects later. That is the tool a town does not have in the same form. 1
Eatonville's CRA is borrowing, but not that way. Its Seacoast Bank "Builder Line of Credit" of up to $1.7 million, approved in December 2025 for six single-family homes, authorizes the Executive Director to complete it "using properties as collateral." 5
The Case for Continuing
The strongest argument for keeping the CRA is what it could collect under a new deal.
The current cap runs through 2027. The CRA's 2025 plan update projects the tax increment jumping to $1,553,821 in 2028 and reaching $3,920,242 by 2045. Those figures assume property values rise 5% a year, and they are the Town's and County's shares combined; the plan does not split them. It is clear that they depend on terms not yet in place: 6
"The extension of the plan for an additional time period will require the establishment of a new formula (currently around 65% of total TIF). The extension and new formula will require an amendment to the existing interlocal agreement with Orange County."
If Orange County agreed to extend the CRA and raise the cap, the County's share could grow well beyond $125,907 a year, though part of any projected total would still be the Town's own money. If the County extends the CRA on the current terms, or not at all, it would not.
What Happens If It Ends
The County's 1997 resolution delegating redevelopment power to Eatonville sets the end date: 7
"Unless the Board expressly approves otherwise, this resolution and any amendments or supplements hereto, as well as the Plan and the existence of a separate Community Redevelopment Agency, if any, shall expire and terminate on January 1, 2027."
At an August 11 task force meeting, County staff said the County "hasn't committed" to the extension and that the January 1 date still stands. 8
State law on ending a CRA, §163.3755, says when a CRA terminates and keeps one alive until its bonds are paid off. The CRA's adopted budget shows no bond payments. The section does not say what happens to a CRA's land, loans, or programs when it ends. 3
The CRA's General Counsel told the County's task force on August 5 that CRA-initiated projects would revert to the Town if the CRA sunsets. No document reviewed for this brief spells out how the CRA's land, its Seacoast line of credit, or its housing project would pass to the Town. 8
Side by Side
| What a CRA can do | Can the Town do it without a CRA? | What Eatonville's record shows |
|---|---|---|
| Sell or lease redevelopment land to private buyers | Yes. §163.380 grants it to "any county, municipality, or community redevelopment agency." | The CRA's main current program is building and selling homes. |
| Collect the Town's share of increment | Not needed. It is the Town's own tax money to budget. | $224,592.89 this year. |
| Collect Orange County's share of increment | No. This is the one thing only the CRA brings in. | $125,907.11 in this budget, under a cap that runs through 2027. |
| Borrow against future increment | Not in the same form. | No bond payments in the adopted budget. The line of credit is secured by property. |
| Run a staff and office | Yes, through Town departments. | $463,228.25 this year, more than the $350,500 in increment kept. |
Questions Residents Can Ask
- If the CRA is extended, has Orange County agreed to raise the cap? If not, what does the CRA do with $125,907 a year from the County that the Town could not do itself?
- If the CRA ends, who takes over the six-home project, the land, and the Seacoast line of credit?
- The CRA's staff and operating budget is larger than all the increment it keeps. Its other income this year is $58,000 in bank balances and interest, plus borrowing. Over time, what is meant to pay for running the agency?
You don't have to take anyone's word for it — including ours. The budget schedule is two pages of the September 17 packet, the statutes are on the Legislature's site, and the plans and resolutions are reproduced in the Cheatonville Library. Check them.