The Walton County BCC has increased the milage rate to make up for a drop in assessed property values.

Walton increasing property taxes | taxes, beach, walton - News - Northwest Florida Daily News

In this morning's NWFDN:

Walton increasing property taxes | taxes, beach, walton - News - Northwest Florida Daily News

"Walton County commissioners agreed to bump up the property tax rate Tuesday to ensure a balanced budget for fiscal 2009-10. Walton County Finance Director Bill Imfeld told commissioners at their meeting that the tax rate needed to go up to 3.4076 mills, or slightly less than $3.41 for every $1,000 of taxable property value. That’s because the board’s approval Sept. 28 of a millage rate of 3.3563 and a nearly $101 million budget was based on a countywide taxable property value of almost $14 billion, he said."


It looks like the Taxpayer's Association is checking into the legality of this, increasing the millage after public hearings, but it probably is, there is a section of state law which allows for a small adjustment such as this when the tax rolls come up short.


It seems a LOT of people challenged their assessments - look for the tax assessment to be even lower next year.

[quote=Here4Good;618735]In this morning's NWFDN:

Walton increasing property taxes | taxes, beach, walton - News - Northwest Florida Daily News

This will be great news to the 10% of Walton County mortgage owner's who are more than 90 days past due on their payments. It shows them that their comissioner's understand just how bad things are for the underemployed. Heaven forbid they lower the budget to $90 million and learn to live with less.

and there are another 500+ contested values which will still come before the Value Adjustment Board, as I understand it.

Here is some really meaning -- For a $200,000 assessed home, the slight increase in millage will mean you pay $8 additional for the year.

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If you own a $200,000 home and you can't afford $8 a year to maintain a balanced budget...something we are railing at Congress about, then you probably shouldn't be living in a $200,000 home. Something a little more modest, perhaps.

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Ah, it's only death by 1000 cuts. Without the millage increase they would only have a $100,293,000 budget to work with. And that would just be to sad to think about.

Do you realize that they have already cut the budget by 8+ million, and the more they cut the fewer services we get, and then you will be complaining that the county doesn't do anything.

According to PA's from around the state they will need to cut at least another 8 million again next year. Walco levied almost $139 million in total property taxes alone in 2008. I'm pretty sure they can deliver servies with a take of a mere 130 million. Wasn't long ago they could deliver the same services for around $90 million.

If it's in the paper it has to be correct ?

Your County Commission did not vote to raise the millage rate at the last moment. State law allows for an administrative adjustment to be made when the final valuations from the Property Appraiser are lower than the estimates used during the public budget hearing process. Mr. Imfeld was simply notifying the Commissioners of what state statutes provide in the way of remedy.

Just to set the record straight the Walton County Commission has lowered its annual budget for three straight years. For the 2009-2010 budget year they cut $10,452,000 - the previous year they reduced their budget by $16,759,000 and in 2008 they cut $9,316,000.

The total amount sliced from the budget in 3 Years is $36,527,000 dollars.

Folks that is not chicken feed. Can more be done - YES but at what cost in the services we all enjoy.

The taxpayers association closely monitors the BCC budgets and expenditures. We were they only members of the public to attend and speak on the proposed budget.

The County has made substantial cuts in three years.

We will continue to look for different more cost effective ways to deliver the services we deem necessary and offer those suggestions to the Commission.

I am sure that our Commissioners will do the same.

PS - Walton County still has the 2nd lowest millage rate in Florida.

BH

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Thank You Walton County !
Our Hotline received 1168 calls during it's first month of operation.

OK- I just got a giggle. The reporter on Channel 13 just said "SoWal" instead of South Walton in her story about the millage rate increase.

tax and spend Republicans

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WCTA

Thanks for the numbers on the reduction of the BCC budget. With next budget year expected to produce even less revenue where do you beleive the BCC will cut to make up the budget shortfall. From your figures the BCC has cut over 35% of its budget in the past 3 years the basic operating budget must be getting very lean. Most of the BCC cost is in employees so where will the new layoffs happen? The WCTA had a seat at the budget scrubs where do you see the most likely places to save money?

While I certainly commend the BCC on pointing government in a better direction, keep in mind that what has been fueling a lot of those cuts has been the completion of capital projects (courthouse and jail). This year is the first time I can think of where employee costs have started to become a factor. I think the next year you are going to see some serious looks toward consolidation of services, but in what manner, who knows. I also doubt you have seen the last of the staff reductions.

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Given the continued decrease in prices of property sales, come Jan 1, 2010, we can expect assessed values to be lower than on Jan 1, 2009, thereby causing one of two things to happen to maintain present services-- increase in millage rates, or tightening the belt even more.

Personally, I think we should see many substantial decreases in assessed values because back in Jan 2009, we didn't have many sales for the Property Appraiser to use as comps, and almost no lot sales in many sub-divisions. This year, we should have ample to prove that prices have declined, as should assessed values.

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Wonderful post, BH. Maybe some of those continually crying about the lack of response by our BCC to our problems and finances will finally take heed and realize overall they do a pretty good job.

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Oh Andy A, you forget that the budget amount is BBBBBIIIIIIIIGGGGGG, more money than you or I will have in this lifetime so therefore it's BBBBBBAAAADDDDD.

/sarcasm off/

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And you, forgot how much it really costs to supply the services required to run the county or any government and obviously didn't take into consideration the fact that any effort at smaller government in any manner, shape or form, is a good thing, not a BBBBBBAAAADDDDD thing.

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The question is what do you want to cut out? It is not just the BCC budget but all the offices including Clerk, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections and Sheriff. Do you want less deputies? Less roads paved? Less parks and recreation? We always blame it on the BCC but it is all offices of the county government.

It is a good thing for smaller more efficient government. However, without actually reading a budget and simply making blanket statements that the budget is too big is a waste of time and energy. I probably shouldn't have quoted you as I was poking more fun at the people who simply post the total budget amount and say it's too big.

Here's some numbers for you.

Estimated 2008 population 53,837.

Assuming that tourists never used any type of county service while here that would equal $1,862.91 cost per person. Out of $100,293,000.

IMO that's not a bad cost for the services we receive. Ask anyone in Pt. Washington if they would have written a check for that amount after the fugitive was caught, I'm betting the answer would have been a scribble and ripping sound. Ask anyone who's been rescued by a Paramedic, EMT, or Firefighter that same question, I'm betting, same response.

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As the ultimate authority over those budgets I think the blame is being placed in the correct place.

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If you are going to include all the offices, please do not try to say that they are all supported strictly by ad valoreum taxes when that is not true. People are confused enough about the budget and how it works without misinformation being put into the mix.

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For those that are not current on revenue sources:

• Only 42% of the BCC budget is funded by property taxes. They also receive sales tax and gasoline sales taxes, fee for permits and from grants
• The Tax collectors office receives no revenues from property taxes - they are fee based and their budget is approved by the State Department of Revenue
• The Clerk of Courts Office is funded from fees and partially by property tax revenues.
• The Sheriff's office receives the bulk of its operating revenues from property taxes, but also receives revenue from grants and the sales of confiscated property, etc
• The Supervisor of Elections Office receives its revenues from Property taxes primarily, but also receives an occsional grant
• The Property Appraisers Office is funded from revenues from the BCC general fund.

This list is far from complete but should clear up some misunderstandings. The Walton County budget includes all of those Constitutional Offices budgets.

BH

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Thank You Walton County !
Our Hotline received 1168 calls during it's first month of operation.

Wasn't that the amount for low income housing?

I don't believe this has anything to do with low income housing. The example was merely used to indicate how much a person's property taxes would increase at the BCC meeting. $8 a year for a $200,000 place of residence.

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Low income housing is generally Federally funded and located on land owned by the Federal government. Federal lands are exempt from property tax.

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the cost per capita for Walco is closer to $4500, highest among panhandle counties. Average per capita income is about 2/3 rd of state averages.

For all Florida counties property taxes levied in 2002 were $17.77 Billion by 2006 they were $30.4 Billion a 71% increase. Walco's increase was more like 125%. The increase over the previous year (all counties) starting in 2002 over 2001 (6.2%), 03 over 02 (14.6%), 04 over 03 (10.4%), 05 over 04 (15.5%), 2006 over 2005 (18.4%)

This increase in levied taxes was due to over inflated property values in 2002 Real Property Value in Walton was 5.099 billion by 2007 16.955 billion. No wonder we have the lowest millage rates around.

Some estimates from the state for Real Property taxable values to return to 2003 levels which represents a loss of value of over a trillion $$$ statewide and for walco from a high in 2007 of 16.955 billion back to 2003 level of 6.076 billion.

Hold on to your overalls boys the milliage rate increases have just begun.