PUNTA GORDA — Charlotte County’s 2024-25 budget passed a second and final public hearing Tuesday, with even fewer attendees than the first hearing earlier this month.
One of those attendees, resident Jack Vanderheyden, said during public comment that many people were likely too busy preparing for Tropical Storm Helene, which became a hurricane Wednesday, to attend the hearing.
The budget approved after the hearing Tuesday set a total county property tax rate below the previous year, though Vanderheyden said costs were still rising too high for his neighbors.
“If it was up to me, it wouldn’t go up a nickel,” he said.
County Commissioners held the second public hearing for the upcoming year’s budget at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda, the same location as the first hearing.
This time, however, the room for the hearing was smaller with a deployable wall.
Several county staff and officials sat in the audience, including Sheriff Bill Prummell and Community Services Director Tommy Scott.
County Budget Director Gordon Burger gave a brief overview of the 2024-25 budget, estimated to come to roughly $2.27 billion.
Minus fund transfers and the use of reserves, the net budget is estimated at $1.38 billion.
The countywide millage rate, or property tax, set at 6.0519 mills — roughly $6.05 per $1,000 of assessed value, representing a noticeable drop from the previous year.
The total millage rate was set at 11.7759; the total rate includes money raised from location-specific taxing units such as the Greater Charlotte Street Lighting District, the Charlotte Law Enforcement Unit, and the Manasota Key Street and Drainage Unit.
Revenues are expected to increase despite the millage rate reduction, largely due to an increase in property values since Hurricane Ian.
Public comment was shorter than the previous hearing, where several Ranchettes residents formed a bloc of speakers to address what they saw as negligence in public services and overtaxation.
Vanderheyden, during the Tuesday public comment, said there were residents struggling to afford repairs after Ian.
“My neighbors still have tarps on their roofs from two years ago,” he said.
Another resident, James Fuccillo, asserted the county should do more to advertise the hearings to the public and encourage more attendance.
“Does anyone even ask: ‘Why doesn’t anyone come to these meetings?’” he said.
He advocated for general mail notices to announce the hearings in the future, rather than newspaper notices that he said may not reach a large part of the public, as well as more transparency in how the budget is presented online.
During commissioner comments, Vice Chair Christopher Constance said that “trim notices” are regularly sent out to homeowners to explain the changes in tax bills from year-to-year.
Commissioner Joe Tiseo also noted that the county budget is outlined on the county website each year, with direct links outlining spending by department through the budget department page.
“It’s all in one spot if you want to look,” he said.
Chairman Bill Truex also clarified that the county budget may appear larger than expected due to the presence of capital projects on multiple years.
Despite the fact that capital projects may take years to complete, he noted, the full cost of the project is presented on each year’s budget for accounting purposes. The money is not spent all at once each year, and non-critical projects may even be frozen to avoid spending money.
Local News
