Council to meet Sept. 20 to vote on property tax hike
Due to an oversight in documenting taxes paid on the town’s Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) since 2018, the residents in the town of Century will likely see a 151.68 percent increase in their property tax when the millage rate goes from the current .3657 to a possible .9204. The council was not able to approve the proposed millage increase or tentative budget because there was not a quorum at last Thursday’s meeting when Councilman Leonard White was not present.
The town’s millage rate is under 1 percent, and has been .3657 for the past six years, according to Mayor Ben Boutwell.
“Our millage rate has been the same, under 1 percent,” said Boutwell. “Find that in the state of Florida. How many towns can say that?”
Town Clerk Leslie Howington verified that the town of St. Leo in Florida has a millage rate of .70.
“When the DR420 (tax document the town uses) was completed, and the CRA was added and subtracted the value of the CRA from the taxable value, that’s what skewed the rolled-back rate,” said Howington.
The process is the property appraiser submits his appraisal of the town’s total taxable value to the town. Within 35 days, the town must submit the official document which tells the property appraiser the tentative millage rate. This period is the TRIM or ‘Truth in millage’ period. This is the official advertising of the tentative millage rate in the newspaper, which is required.
Within 15 days of the tentative budget hearing, there would be a second meeting with a notice of the proposed millage rate (rolled-back or unchanged).
Howington realized that although the county had been depositing the TIF taxes into the CRA since 2018 the first taxing year after it was established with Debbie Nickles in 2017, the tax documents had not been properly filled out to reflect the CRA taxes, but instead included in as ad valorem taxes.
Howington discovered the mistake and immediately called the Department of Revenue..
“The only thing that has gone up is the value of the property, as it does every year, which is out of our control,” said Boutwell. “That’s the county.”
The CRA got its money, but the tax form the town uses to report its taxes was not filled out to reflect that money, according to Howington. The information was not saved in the documentation when she went to submit it.
“The CRA was funded, it got its money,” said Howington. “It was that form. Whoever did it in this office, I’m sure, entered the information and submitted. The computer didn’t save the data that was entered.”
Howington said there was never any money missing from the account, but the taxes were withheld from general revenue and put into the CRA appropriately every year, the issue comes from the documentation not being filled out to reflect that.
“When the system was told there was a CRA, it took those several years out of our total taxable value, that’s what made it 151 percent higher,” said Howington.
The millage rate applies to homes that are homesteaded and are appraised for more than $50,000. The first $50,000 is exempt as long as the home has a homestead exemption.
For example, someone who owns a house worth $75,000 will pay .9204 percent tax on $25,000, the amount over $50,000. That tax bill would be $230.10.
At the time of press, the town was awaiting instructions from the state on how to proceed, according to Howington.
The next meeting will be at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 20 at Century town hall.
