PORT CHARLOTTE — Some Charlotte County residents may see a reduction on their tax bill next year as county commissioners lean toward a reduced total property tax rate.
Those reductions are expected to come from decreases in the county’s Public Safety Unit and the Greater Charlotte Street Lighting District.
Gordon Burger, the county’s budget and administrative services director, presented an update on the county’s budget for the upcoming 2024/25 fiscal year to the Board of County Commissioners on Monday.
That update included four options for reducing the total millage rate, based on changes to district millage rates. The total property tax includes the countywide millage rate, plus various area-specific taxing districts.
The total millage rate was previously set by county commissioners at 11.9309, which was a reduction from the 12.2092 the previous year. Of that, the county-wide millage rate is projected to remain at 6.1687, or roughly $6.17 per $1,000 of assessed value.
That value includes a reduced millage rate for the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office and an increased millage for the general fund.
However, county commissioners indicated that they wanted to explore options for further reductions and scheduled a budget meeting in August to review those options.
Though no formal vote was taken Monday, all five commissioners told Burger they would be comfortable with a total millage rate of 11.7759 — representing a 15-cent per $1,000 assess value ad valorem tax reduction from the previous figure.
Burger projected that the new figures would result in an average tax bill of $458.51 for a $100,000 assessed value home, representing a $4 increase from the previous year — assuming that the home qualifies for the Homestead Exemption under state law.
At higher assessments, however, the trend began to show a reduction in tax bills; for instance, a home assessed for $200,000 would see a tax bill go from $1,362.66 to 1,349.57.
Under the new figure, Charlotte County would be projected to raise an additional $32 million in property taxes over last year’s collections. An increase in funds despite the decreased total millage is credited to additional properties brought onto the tax rolls after Hurricane Ian repairs.
“We have a lot of variables and unknowns. We’re still putting the county back together,” Burger said during his presentation.
Burger said his staff would incorporate that figure into new budget projections and have it ready for the first public budget hearing scheduled for Sept. 5.
The new total millage rate also includes a decision to not implement a raised millage rate for the county’s capital projects fund, as well as reducing the county’s ad valorem reserves.
Those reserves would be reduced from roughly $74 million to $63.5 million under the tentative budget, which could be less with the reduced total millage indicated by commissioners.
Commissioner Ken Doherty noted that the county’s total reserves amount to roughly $580 million, meaning the county’s financial position would still have some cushioning.
Vice Chair Christopher Constance emphasized that the county needed to be prepared for future storm events, while hoping that the region would not see another Hurricane Ian-level event for a long, long time.
“I want to make sure we have solid reserves,” he said, though he also said that he supported the millage reduction.
Commissioner Joe Tiseo took time to note that the county had managed to lower the millage rate in 2022 and kept it stable in 2023, indicating a downward trend.
“I think we can do Option 4 (the lowest option) and see a real reduction for a lot of people,” he said.
County staff are aiming to have the numbers finalized for the Board of County Commissioners to accept at the first public budget hearing at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 5.
The hearing will be held at Charlotte Harbor Event Center at 75 Taylor St. in Punta Gorda.
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