The City Commission is moving forward with the possibility of raising the property tax
rate for the 2017-2018 budget cycle.
Commissioners discussed the raise Monday at a special commission meeting. During the last regular meeting on July 24, commissioners, led by Mayor Rick Lott, voted to increase the property tax rate, also known as millage, from $4.7157 per $1,000 in taxable property value to $5.7157 per $1,000 in taxable property value.
The average assessed value of homes in Plant City is close to $100,000, according to the city’s finance department. With that home value, residents would pay an additional $100 per year or $8 per month. With the $50,000 homestead exemption, the homeowner would pay an increase of $50 per year or $4 per month.
The July 24 vote was not a final decision. The city’s budget will not be finalized until the end of September, before which, the commission will hold public hearings where Plant City residents will be able to give on-the-record comments about the potential increase.
The Commission voted for the increase at the time in order to be able to open discussion about the potential to increase, stating it could be anything from the current rate to the 1 mill increase. The final property tax rate wouldn’t be decided until after the public hearings.
Commissioners are eyeing the increase to fund ongoing efforts to improve and maintain Plant City’s roads.
“As commissioners, that’s probably the question we get asked most,” Commissioner Mary Mathis said. “When will my street be paved?”
Plant City maintains about 160 miles of road, including four miles of brick roads. Currently, road projects are funded with $1 million per year. The city’s engineering department estimates that it would cost about $61 million to repair every city-owned road. That means, at the current rate of funding, Plant City’s roads would be resurfaced every 61 years.
The increase in property tax would add about $1.9 million to the city’s overall budget, according to the city’s chief financial officer Diane Reichard.
“We will take that money and we will show it in the general fund,” Reichard said. “We will then show it as a transfer over to a special project called ‘street resurfacing’ using the additional 1 mill, so that we can demonstrate to our citizens, with the money that came in, what exact projects that one mill was used for.”
Commissioners indicated the goal would be maintaining streets in a 15-year cycle, which would require $4 million a year in funding. During the current budget cycle, Hillsborough County entered into an agreement to give Plant City an additional $2 million if Plant City can raise $2 million of its own. The city was able to free up the additional $1 million in the current budget but will likely not have that ability in the coming years.
Hillsborough County has indicated those same matching funds might be available for the next budget year as well.
Commissioners said they have received positive feedback from the community, including in Walden Lake, which accounts for 20% of residential properties in the city.
“There were some positive indications that the community spirit was not what you might assume when talking about raising millage rate,” Vice-Mayor William Dodson said. “We have a community that is openminded enough to realize there hasn’t been an increase in more than 20 years and as a result we have gotten behind.”
Commissioners also said it is important to hear from every community in the city, particularly during the to-be-announced public hearings.
“It’s very important that anyone in our city, no matter what community they are from, that they are invited to come give their opinion about that,” Mathis said. “Because we’re here to work for them. We want to make sure any citizen in our community has that chance. Please come.”