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Tax Reform Means Tough Budget Decisions

By Commissioner Jeff Koons

We all watched anxiously as state lawmakers debated a series of complicated plans aimed at providing property tax relief. The package they finally agreed upon didn’t address many of the problems it was supposed to fix, such as relief for business owners and snowbirds, or portability of the Save Our Homes cap.

Nonetheless, some homeowners will benefit under a proposed constitutional amendment to change the homestead exemption. If approved by voters in January -- 60 percent of voters must say yes – it will create a new so-called super exemption and do away with the Save Our Homes assessment cap. If the measure fails, property taxes will continue to be calculated the way they are now.

The new exemption formula works like this: 75 percent of the first $200,000 and 15 percent of the next $300,000 of a homesteaded home’s market value are exempt. The remaining amount is your taxable value. Multiply this by the millage rate. The County’s millage rate will be around 3.80 next year ($3.80 per $1,000 of taxable value). You must also factor in rates levied by other taxing authorities, such as municipalities, the School District and drainage districts.

Now, compare this amount with how much you are paying under the current assessment method: a $25,000 homestead exemption plus the three-percent Save Our Homes assessment cap. If you need help, go to the Property Appraiser’s Web site, pbcgov.com/papa and use the online tax calculator.

An important consideration: If you opt for the new super exemption, you forfeit the Save Our Homes cap, which limits increases in your assessed value to no more than three percent in a given year. This amendment has resulted in tremendous tax savings for Florida homeowners since it was approved by voters in 1992. The cap goes away forever if you switch to the super exemption.

As for the budget, my fellow commissioners and I have some very difficult decisions to make. County government will have to operate with about $100 million less in property tax revenue than we would have collected without the state restrictions. Further significant reductions are likely for the 2008/09 fiscal year.

As we prepare to finalize the 2007/08 budget, take a look at some of the cutbacks our County Administrator is proposing in order to meet the state-mandated revenue reductions. If any of these programs and services are important you, I urge you to attend one or both of the public hearings we have scheduled in September and make your feelings known.

• $15 million reduction in the Sheriff’s requested budget increase of $55 million
• $800,000 in cultural grants
• Reduced services for homeless outreach, Head Start service hours, supplements for medical care, and emergency assistance grants
• New Pahokee animal care facility
• Hurricane-hardening building improvements
• BCC discretionary gas tax and recreation assistance program (RAP) funds
• Cooperative Extension Service/Mounts Botanical Gardens maintenance
• New job growth funds
• Several road resurfacing projects
• MSTU neighborhood street improvement assessment program
• Environmental enforcement/maintenance programs, including PBSO patrols
• Computer equipment and software upgrades
• Increased Palm Tran fares and reduced service hours on some routes
• Reduced operating hours of certain parks facilities
• Channel 20 equipment upgrades and programming enhancements
• Reductions in Small Business Assistance
• Fewer PZB planning consultants
• Five percent of Code Enforcement staff
• Continue limited hiring freeze - many positions will not be filled as they become vacant to mitigate for FY2009 cuts. This will reduce service capabilities.