NORTH PORT – The North Port City Commission made no appreciable change to the projected $331.3 million budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year at its first public hearing on the spending plan on Sept. 4.
The commission unanimously gave first approval to the tax rate of 3.776 mills, which would remain in place for the sixth consecutive year.
One mill is equal to $1 for every $1,000 of taxable property value.
That property tax rate will bring in $39.4 million of the city’s $97.5 million general fund budget.
That figure represents an increase of roughly $3 million based on an 8.9% increase of the city’s overall property value to about $10.8 billion.
That rate is also 0.47% higher than the rolled-back rate of 3.4971 mills, which is the tax rate that would raise the same amount of property tax revenue as last year despite the increase in property values.
The City Commission also approved new fee rates for three special districts: road and drainage, fire rescue and solid waste.
The second and final approval of all those ordinances will be at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 18, in commission chambers at North Port City Hall, 4970 City Hall Blvd., North Port.
North Port could still cut either the property tax rate or fees at that hearing.
So far, only the city of Venice – which has its first budget hearing at 5:01 p.m. Sept. 9, has indicated it may adopt its rolled-back rate. For Venice, that only means a reduction of $419,000 in property tax revenues.
What did the commissioners do at the first hearing?
The most significant discussion revolved around Commissioner Demetrius Petrow’s push to institute a hiring freeze in an effort to cut property taxes.
The city could add as many as 27 new positions in the upcoming year, though not all positions would be filled at the start of the fiscal year.
Petrow stressed residents tell him that North Port is becoming unaffordable and given that personnel costs are the largest part of the budget, he didn’t have another option to tackle the affordability issue.
Commissioner Barbara Langdon noted that the budget was built without increasing the property tax rate and feared that a hiring freeze would send the wrong message about the city’s economic stability.
Vice Mayor Pete Emrich added that the staff – which included seven new firefighter/EMT/paramedic positions – are needed, “and it is well worth it.”
Mayor Phil Stokes said that an across-the-board freeze does not consider strategic needs.
“It’s the wrong way to go about saving money,” he added.
Ordinances that would bump the city’s Communications and Information Technology divisions to departments were moved on to second reading on identical 3-2 votes, with Petrow and Commissioner David Duval in dissent.
Unless both men change their mind, neither new department will be created, since that requires a unanimous, 5-0 vote.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: North Port commission holds the line on property tax rate for sixth year in a row
Reporting by Earle Kimel, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
