Manatee County maintains millage rate

MANATEE COUNTY— Property owners within Manatee County will see no change in the county’s property tax rates for the new fiscal year.

Commissioners voted July 31 to maintain an overall millage rate of 6.4326, the same rate used since 2008.

The figure is what property owners will see in their Truth in Millage Notices. The board can decrease millage rates from this level, but it cannot increase them when it adopts millage rates and its final $527.8 million budget for the 2015 fiscal year Sept. 18.

A property owner with a homesteaded property valued at $150,000 in unincorporated Manatee County would pay $1,036.54 in property taxes. However, property owners may see an increase in their county tax bills because home values have increased an average of 7.48% countywide, including new construction.

Although the overall millage will remain the same, county staff is pursuing an option to lower the debt-service portion of the millage and increase the operating portion of the millage rate. The change will shift more money to the county’s operating fund.

“It allows more flexibility for new projects and unfunded mandates,” Deputy Director of Financial Management Jan Brewer said. “It allows you to meet those hurdles, but it won’t affect the taxpayer because the millage being levied is the same.”

Additionally, commissioners faced a funding gap of about $115,000 because of funding requests for items such as additional emergency medical services units, the hiring of eight sheriff’s office deputies and the hiring of two full-time employees for the Braden River branch library, among others.

Rather than determining which requests to fund, commissioners agreed to accept an offer from Sheriff Brad Steube, who said he would eliminate $115,000 from his request for salary increases if the board promised to return unused monies from his 2014 fiscal year budget to his department, rather than to the county’s general fund.

“They are all valid programs,” Commission Chairman Larry Bustle said.

County continues to use budget stabilization funds
Manatee County will continue to use budget stabilization funds to balance the budget as it waits for property values to increase to previous levels.

Revenue assumptions anticipate 5% growth in the property values in fiscal year 2016 and 4.5% in fiscal years 2017 and 2018.

In fiscal year 2015, County Administrator Ed Hunzeker proposes using $13.2 million in stabilization funds (reserves) to balance the budget, with less each year through 2018 — $10.2 million in 2016; $6 million in 2017; and $1.5 million in 2018.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].