- April 18, 2024
-
-
Loading
Loading
From a millage rate of 5.5337 last year, County Administrator Craig Coffey said, in an interview Friday morning, July 22, that the county is proposing an increase of about 70 cents per every $1,000 of taxable property value, to a new rate of 6.2232.
The proposed rate is about .25 mills less than the rollback rate. The rollback rate, or the rate the county would have to charge in order to keep the tax revenue equal to last year's total, is 6.5726.
Big picture, he said — that’s good news.
In about five years, Flagler County taxable property value has dropped from about $13 billion to about $6 billion, he said. General fund revenues have plummeted, as well, dropping from roughly $48 million to $38 million in the same span.
“We’re hurting all around, revenuewise,” he said.
However, in that timeframe, taxes have been reduced by $9.5 million.
“We’ve been dealing with less and less money, but we’ve been operating more efficiently,” he said. “It’s easy to close a service. It’s tough to figure out a different solution.”
Some of staff’s past “different solutions” have been to privatize services, Coffey said, apply for more grant funding, readjust employee benefits and reduce payroll.
The key, he said, said is to keep services strong, despite lower sales tax rates, smaller gas taxes, no more library funding aid and less landfill aid.
“Our jails are still full … 911 still operates … We don’t have the luxury of cutting a lot of services … You have to think smart about everything you do.”
Last year, Coffey said Flagler’s millage rate was the 16th or 17th lowest in all of Florida’s 67 counties.
He suggested that sometimes residents don’t realize how much the county does for them.
“We touch their lives in every way,” he said. “It’s just a quiet touch.”
A final millage rate will be set before Aug. 4, for a public hearing scheduled in September.
