East County on fast track for growth

Growth in the East County area is beefing up the coffers of Manatee County government, accounting for about half of the entire county’s new construction that was added to the tax roll in 2016.

The Manatee County Property Appraisers’s Office on July 1 released new tax roll data that show the East Manatee Fire Rescue District, comprised of the greater Lakewood Ranch area, grew by about $396.9 million in new taxable values compared with the prior year, a  12.56% increase from 2015.

The data reflect property values as of Jan. 1 for the 2016 calendar year.

“The rate of growth (in East County) is far outpacing growth in other areas of the county,” said Mark Johns, chief deputy of Manatee County Property Appraiser’s Office, adding there were about 3,000 homes added to the tax roll this year. “Over half of our new value added was in our East County taxing districts.”

Countywide, taxable values are up an average of 8.63% with East Manatee seeing the most growth (12.56%), followed by Anna Maria Island (11.79%) and Bradenton Beach (10.66%). The total $820.3 million, combined with property value increases, translates into $24 million in additional property tax revenue.

Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker has proposed using  that money to add personnel and give raises to county employees along with handling a backlog of county needs. The money also will give the board the ability to set spending priorities.