Collier’s property tax forecast for fiscal year ‘09 not all doom and gloom

Despite concerns about, and frequent reference to, state-mandated tax rollbacks and decreases in Collier County property values, county officials believe next year’s property tax revenue will be about the same as the current fiscal year.
County Manager Jim Mudd anticipates $338,953,100 in property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year, which is $1,072,800 less than the current $340,025,900 budget. The 2009 fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Collier leaders will gather for their first budget workshops on Thursday and Friday to begin trading and negotiating over what each department head or commissioner considers a vital need.
Total county gross revenue — which includes transfers between county funds, loan proceeds, Collier’s cut of intergovernmental money, and dollars carried forward from the current year — should be $1,459,123,100, compared with the current $1,848,877,500.
Commissioners will contemplate a general fund tax rate of $3.29 per $1,000 of appraised property value, some 14 cents more than the current tax rate of $3.146 per $1,000 worth of property.
However, the county maintains several general funds.
Property taxes for a secondary general fund — called the unincorporated area general fund — will increase about two cents from the current 69 cents per $1,000 worth of property to about 71 cents per $1,000 of appraised property value.
Though the primary general fund tax rate will be increasing, Collier Budget Director John Yonkosky was not immediately able to provide the rollback rate. A rollback rate is the tax rate that will raise the same amount of money as the previous year’s tax rate.
Late Tuesday, Yonkosky said he was not initially planning to present that figure to commissioners until Tax Appraiser Abe Skinner sent out official tax roll notices on July 1. However, since the 555-page county budget package is based — in part — on a tentative 4.38 percent decrease in taxable county property value, Yonkosky said he would calculate the tentative rollback for the Daily News and have it ready late Wednesday morning.
Earlier this year, Mudd implemented a hiring freeze, anticipating belt-tightening come October.
According to county officials, every department scrutinized its budget and vital needs for the upcoming year, but some managed to make off with budget increases. That includes the community redevelopment district in Immokalee, which could see an increase from its current $2.06 million to $2.85 million for the new year.
At the other end of the spectrum is the 5.52 percent decrease that County Attorney Jeff Klatkow’s office will experience, an approximate $200,000 cut from the current $3.7 million to next year’s $3.5 million.
A fast perusal of the budget shows that the county’s 1,949.55 employee workforce slated for the past year will be increased to 1,952.15 employees by Oct. 1.
Percentages in employee counts means one job is shared by more than one person.
Source:Naplesnews.com
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