Manatee lowers property taxes for first time since 2008, reducing average bill by $50
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly calculated the rise in property taxes. While property taxes in Manatee County have risen by 7%, increases in the value of homesteaded properties in Florida are capped at 1.4% this year.
For the first time since 2008, the Manatee County Commission voted to lower the tax rate, reducing the amount of money the county will collect from property owners.
Due to the lower tax rate, the average homeowner will pay about $50 less than they would have on their property taxes. The bill will also be about $23 less than it was last year.
Even though the tax rate is being lowered, an increase in property values means that property tax bills are still going up next year. But the bill will be about $50 lower for the average homeowner than it would have been without the tax rate decrease.
Commissioners previously signaled an interest in reducing the tax rate during a public meeting on July 29. At the time, it was unclear how any sort of reduction would affect the proposed $854 million budget that staff prepared earlier this summer.
During a special budget meeting Tuesday, board members voted unanimously to reduce the tax rate by 20 cents per $1,000 of a property’s value, bringing the millage rate to 6.3826. According to Deputy County Administrator Jan Brewer, the county will still collect about $8 million more in property tax revenue than it did last year.
Commissioner George Kruse, who first pushed for the tax rate reduction last month, applauded the county’s effort to save taxpayer money and reduce the overall budget.
“I think this is an excellent solution to get money back in the pockets of the taxpayers of Manatee County without cutting a single service anywhere in this entire county,” Kruse said. “That, to me, is just astounding that we have so much cash that we can actually do that.”
By reducing the tax rate, the county offsets the implementation of a higher tax rate that Manatee County voters approved with 71% of the vote. The environmental lands referendum instructed the board to increase the tax rate in order to create a dedicated fund for purchasing conservation lands within the county.
In 2022, the county will still set aside $5.7 million for that purpose, but they will come from other parts of the budget, not property taxes, Brewer explained.
“That is something this board is definitely going to follow through on. The voters spoke, so we’re going to do it,” said Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, who spoke in favor of putting together a land conservation plan for spending that money before collecting the money from taxpayers.
With the board’s approval, the county’s 2022 budget will be reduced by about $8.3 million. Brewer worked with County Administrator Scott Hopes to come up with a plan that uses the budget stabilization funds, money that the county saves in addition to reserve accounts, to make that difference.
Hopes explained that the adjusted budget takes risks by diving into those funds, but commissioners said they were comfortable tapping into those accounts in order to reduce the tax rate.
“I think this is looking like a good plan. Commissioner Kruse makes a good point that these are the reserves on the reserves,” said Commissioner James Satcher. “In a pinch, we would be OK.”
“This does feel like a business model to me that you might see in the private sector. There’s a lot more risk, but a lot more benefit at the same time,” added Commissioner Misty Servia, who urged her fellow board members to consider that the lower tax rate may mean that the county will need to cut back on certain services when the budget comes back around next year.
“I like the proposal. I’m willing to be brave and take the risk,” she added. “It’s really easy to cut taxes, but it’s hard to cut services if there’s something that’s unforeseen.”
The county’s 2022 budget still puts an emphasis on transportation and infrastructure projects that officials say are long overdue. The board’s newly elected commissioners all campaigned on a platform targeting lower taxes.
A separate proposal to give taxpayers an additional financial break in the form of a $100 credit toward their utility bill will likely be put off until next year due to legal concerns that still need to be ironed out.
The county’s budget has not yet been finalized. There will still be a series of budget hearings later this month before the board officially votes to approve the budget. The next budget hearing will take place at the Manatee County Administration Building 1112 Manatee Ave. W., Bradenton, at 6 p.m.
This story was originally published August 18, 2021 at 12:13 PM.
