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Century Approves 151% Property Tax Increase At Rare Saturday Afternoon Meeting
October 9, 2022
The Century Town Council approved a 151% property tax increase during a rare Saturday afternoon meeting, but failed to approve a budget due to an advertising error.
No member of the general public attended a public hearing held at 4:30 Saturday afternoon as the council unanimously approved a property tax rate that is 151.68% increase over what’s known as the rolled back rate. The rolled back rate is a computed millage rate that would generate the same amount of ad valorem tax dollars as the prior fiscal year, based on the proposed year’s tax roll, excluding new construction. A millage rate higher than the rolled-back rate is defined by the State of Florida as a tax increase and was advertised as such.
The council approved a static millage rate of 0.9204 mills, which is a 151.68% increase over the rolled back rate of 0.3657.
The tax increase was so great that state law required a unanimous vote of the body for approval, or a special referendum at the ballot box.
The council was also set to give final approval to a $5.8 million budget for the fiscal year that started on October 1. Action on the budget was tabled after it was discovered that a balanced budget was not advertised due to an apparent typographical error made by the town. The typo in the budget summary public notice for the meeting showed $10,000 more in expenditures than revenue; state law requires that a budget balance.
Pictured top: No member of the general public attended a final budget public hearing held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Century. Pictured below: The Century Town Council discusses a 151.68% property tax increase at the hearing Saturday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
40 Responses to “Century Approves 151% Property Tax Increase At Rare Saturday Afternoon Meeting”
Meeting on Saturday Afternoon ??????? Sounds FISHY
The people Complaining about the public are Wrong. It is not Required to be at every meeting. ( Meaning not Law) Put it is Required by the Local officers to Make public about a Vote. I never heard a meeting on a Saturday……….much less a Unannounced meeting. What happened to the Sunshine Law or putting this to a Vote the Citizens of Century on the Pallet. Cause they knew it wouldn’t Pass. I thank Everyday I am a County Resident.
I live in Century, almost 3 years now. What a circus this has been. First of all, it is disheartening to see the comments of a lot of these posts, I am hoping that if you hate a town so much, you do not live in Century. I love this town and I choose to believe it can overcome past problems, but we need forward thinking people to step up. What I see, is the same people, same thinking, same mistakes. The board needs to start over, let new people, new ideas, and a new way of doing things come into play. Please people, instead of being so quick to criticize and downgrade the town, try to think of ways to make it a better town. We need change for sure! I may be somewhat naïve as I am fairly new here, but I want to see change here, I want to see positivity.
Advertising days and times seem to never be published correctly. Why does this keep happening.
@Lordy Lord I really don’t believe we have 360 million people in the county and Century. That certainly would explain so many idiot drivers. Check your numbers.
@ tg, or no meetings before Any alarm game.
Do any of you that are so upset about this approved 151% Property Tax Increase attend any of the town meeting. That’s the main problem if you don’t. I have seen pictures on here showing a town meeting and was just wondering where is all the people of Century at. You have got to show up and voice your opinion on town problems and if you have a better solution or just want to add suggestions you can speak up. After it is said and done it is to late. Go to meeting keep up with what’s going on in your town so you can have the right to fuss about it when the town does things like this.Don’t come up with all kind of excuses for reasons you can’t go to the meetings because you get what you weren’t at town meeting to stop from happening or to help push through.
There has to be a cap on the rates they can increase. People need to complain. This isn’t going to affect many generations to come. This is why Century hasn’t changed in Centuries, generations have suffered from the planning or lack of and squandering of finances since I was a child and that’s been almost 50 years!
I just want them to remember who they work for. My father did not work the coal mines for me to not enjoy my life in my 90’s and still ticking and kicking. I married up so they say. We have had a good life, but how is my grandchildren going to get any inheritence ?? I should run for your job, I would show you whippersnappers a thing or to.
How does the local officials in Century keep getting away with this stuff? Why has Escambia County not stepped in and say enough is enough and take over.
Now they will have some extra money for personal loans for their employees.Lol.
@ Lordy Lord
About as brain dead as the people who post on here that never go to any meetings..once in a decade dont count…happens to have the most idiotic / brain dead clowns in the city. The citizens here!
I gave up years ago when I saw one monkey dont stop no circus.
And complain on this forum.
Lets just say in this debacle…its called dumb and dumber. Including 100% of the clowns.
You dont even need a ticket to watch and the people here still dont care.
You cant embarrass by calling names..its business as usual..citizens promote this outhouse town by burying their head in the sand.
Ever sat in a town meeting and you were the only attending citizen there?
I thought…not me ever again.
Pathetic citizens…pathetic!
You can’t tax your way to prosperity.
Out of 360,000,000 people in this country & Century FL happens to have the most idiotic / brain dead clowns on their city council – absolutely staggering with these fools – have any of them have a 6th grade education at least ?
Century property owners pay property taxes to the following entities, plus a flat fee for Fire Protection, each of which have their own millage rate (in parenthesis for FY 2021):
Escambia County (6.6165)
Escambia County School System (5.657)
Water Management (0.0294)
City of Century (0.9204)
MSTU Library (0.3590)
Escambia Children’s Trust (0.50)
Total: 14.0823
The increase only applies to the City of Century’s portion of property taxes, which only represents about 6.5% of the total millage rate.
The Just Value of Homesteaded property cannot increase by more than 3% a year. Non-Homesteaded property values cannot exceed 10% a year.
So, the increase can only affect 6.5% of the total property tax bill. In addition, if you live on homesteaded property, the value of the property to which the millage rate is applied will be capped at 3%. If you rent, you probably live in non-homesteaded property and the owner will feel the blunt of whatever tax increase this actually works out to be and probably pass it along to you when your lease expires/renews.
In summary, the homestead people will probably not even notice the extra $20/year while the people renting will get a shock when their rent goes up
I still think the City should give up their charter and just be part of the county. There are not enough people living their to make it work.
To all the vote them out folks… you can’t vote someone out that has no opponent. You can’t vote someone in that won’t run and it should be interesting to see who will even raise their hand to be appointed to one of the seats where no one is running.
Show of hands do any of you complainers live in Century?
Good for them, well done. Still less than 1 mil and cheaper than ECUA. Go Blackcats!
Haters gonna hate. LOL.
No one is going to vote anyone out, they can’t be bothered to show up for the public hearing
So because we have illiterate people in office I gotta pay more. Makes no sense. This office is corrupt
“No member of the general public attended a final budget public hearing held at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Century”
I would say vote out the citizens who cry out “VOTE THEM OUT” because they are too lazy to attend for their own community and plenty enough time to whine,cry and complain.
The citizens need a 500% increase to wake them up and release those keyboard warrior keys.
NOTE: THE TOWN IS THE CITIZENS AS A WHOLE!
The council is a miniscule part of it.
Come on lazy whiners…give us your best wah-wah-wah.
YOU ARE THE PROBLEM
As a council member…I would be ashamed to represent your complacent, lazy selves.
GOOD GRIEF…..this Century City Council could NOT even get their act together enough to make a ham sandwich.
Other than sad comedy and entertainment at the Citizens expense why does this sideshow continue to exist?
What will they Really do with the newly imposed taxes?
Remember Century, this is what you want, this is what you voted for, and this is what you get. A useless, barely staffed, unaccountable, inept, somewhere between underhanded and criminal layer of government that does infinitely more harm than good. It needs to be dissolved, there are ways to make it happen, but y’all just keep voting for these clowns and getting what you ask for.
They need some more vacation money.
I don’t think this group of people has any business being in charge of anything. A clear case of ‘the blind leading the blind’.
“No member of the general public attended a PUBLIC hearing…”
that’s probably why. You people need to speak out!!! This is ridiculous!
Was the meeting properly advertised? Likely if NorthEscambia was there. As for the budget typo? It is past time to find someone new to hire who can cross the T’s and dot the I’s correctly because there are way too many mistakes lately by the current office folk.
Next week they will say this meeting was illegal. No Saturday meetings .
How could you expect the average Century resident to afford this kind of increase?
Good grief, this bunch has gone over the cliff.
Residents and business owners in Century should push back hard on this. It’s ridiculous.
Vote them out. Petition to revoke the charter.
I agree, VOTE THEM OUT!
RW……and who would be stupid enough to take their place? At least they had the courage to do something. No doubt that increase is needed and should have been done a long time ago. To everyone who is going to trash them on this forum I say why don’t YOU run for office next time? Talk is cheap…YOU run for office if YOU don’t like the way things are going. YOU!
WOW! Are these Council members exempt? You get what you vote for.
Public should have had a voice at the voting pole on this increase
. SATURDAY, 99% of century had no idea of the meeting. IMPEACH
Hopefully there’s enough money left for the council members to get a pay raise.
VOTE THEM OUT
So what does this mean for the average property owner? How much, on average, would most homeowners see their property taxes go up? And how does it compare to other municipalities around Century?
This does not sound like a way to attract new businesses or homebuyers…..a little place known as Camden, NJ tried something like this in the 70s with ruinous results, of course their city leaders tried to blame all their problems on a certain demographic but never mind the fact they taxed the business owners and property owners into oblivion yet their politicians tried to paint themselves as blameless.
This committee held a hearing on the weekend without notification to the public to attend. Century I sure hope y’all have your big boy pants on cause I’m in route.
Despite all the hoopla, the millage rate remains the same at 0.9204 – the same rate since 2017. The increase seems to be the result in higher property values.
Let’s see you have got to be kidding me !!! What is wrong with these idiots seriously!!!!!!