Property tax increase off the table in Manatee

A possible tax-rate increase for the school district won’t be on the ballot in Manatee County anytime soon.

Although the idea of putting a one-mill tax increase on a ballot in a special or general election had been picking up steam the past couple months, the idea stalled at Tuesday night’s School Board of Manatee County meeting. Only board chairman Charlie Kennedy and Dave Miner remained in favor after extended – and at times heated – debate among the board.

Gina Messenger was the tiebreaker between Kennedy and Miner versus vice chairman John Colon and new board member Scott Hopes. She said she did not have faith that voters would approve the increase.

“I’m not a betting woman, I guess,” said Messenger, who added that she wants the additional revenue but does not want to pursue a doomed goal. “I do not believe it would be successful.”

A mill equates to one dollar per every $1,000 of property value. The first $25,000 is exempt. The average cost per homeowner in Manatee would be roughly $200 per year, and a one mill increase would give the district roughly $30 million, said district chief financial officer Rebecca Roberts.

Miner and Kennedy argued for a special election in March 2018 that Kennedy said would cost roughly $270,000. But their colleagues said the board needed a specific plan for how the money would be used if the public approved the tax increase.

“If it failed, it would infuriate voters and be less likely to be passed in the future,” Messenger said.

“I see going to the taxpayer as a last resort, after we have demonstrated that we have gone through the process of doing a deep dive into the way we spend our money and being able to attest that we have exhausted all available options to achieve our goal of elevating teacher salaries,” Hopes said.

Hopes, who was sworn to the board earlier in the day, angered Miner, who said superintendent Diana Greene had made significant progress in stabilizing the district’s finances and was popular enough to pass a millage increase.

“To suggest in any way that we have not made progress is an outright lie,” Miner said.

Kennedy suggested asking administrators to develop a plan for how the money would be spent and then revisiting the issue in November. At that point, if the board wanted to put the question of a tax increase to the voters, the board could schedule a March vote. A March vote would be necessary for the revenue to be collected in time for the 2018-19 school year.

This story was originally published July 25, 2017 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Property tax increase off the table in Manatee."