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Escambia County To Hold Public Hearing On Property Tax Rate, $702 Million Budget
September 10, 2023
The Escambia County Commission will hold its first public meeting on their budget and property tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year that begins October 1.
The meeting is set for 5:01 p.m. Monday on the first floor of 221 Palafox Place.
The millage rates tentatively approved by the board are 6.6165 for the countywide millage rate, .359 for the Library Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) and .685 for the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU).
The aggregate of these millage rates is 11.50% above the “rolled back rate” of 6.7023 and is defined by the state as a tax increase.
The county’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year is $701,963,319.
Comments
21 Responses to “Escambia County To Hold Public Hearing On Property Tax Rate, $702 Million Budget”
They want $4000 a year for my 1315 sq ft house. I live in the city, but it’s not in the fancy shmacy part, and I am not waterfront or view. Jeez!
I don’t mind paying taxes when the money is well spent. In addition to what we pay for property and sales tax, have you looked at the taxes on your utility bills? Franchise fees (another name for tax), surcharges? Etc. We were mislead on the Children’s Trust tax. The group can’t properly manage the current rate of 3% and now they want the max rate of 5%? Why? To buy real estate? No! Stop this madness elected officials!!! Your neighbors are struggling to pay bills and have resorted to credit cards for groceries and school supplies. YOU, As an Elected Govt official have the Responsibility to use Our (the tax payers) money wisely. I am begging you to please review each departments budgets carefully and force them to save money! The old days of use it or lose it with govt spending has to stop!
Lou, right on
if you have children that attend public schools then you should pay the school tax period from the time your child attends to the day it ends the public educational system .your body your choice right ..not everyone’s else’s. Subtract children home schooled , attending private schools the # of drop outs or what fancy word the school board uses now that are no longer attending or in secondary educational systems set up for the at risk children ,Don’t spew that same old song and dance about an educated populace and how hard teachers work. Let’s look at Escambia counties BOE employees salaries you’ll see where the priorities are not with the children more like the teachers , superintendent and assistants the BOE accountants ,new schools when not needed ,a lot more financial responsibility by the BOE and the taxes wouldn’t have to go up. Teaches union one of the biggest wealthiest unions in America off your tax dollar remember you get federally tax for that too. IMO
100% disabled absolutely deserve the tax break W/O all the military bases and local contracts active personel, their families and civilian employees and NFCU , Escambia County would be Financially in dire straits the military more than make up the difference . Inflation is here housing prices up so your tax will be determined by the market until you sell it of course then it’s not worth half ..
For those of you complaining about having to pay school tax when you don’t have kids in school:
All of society benefits from an educated populace. In order to live in the functioning society we live in today, with the roads you drive on, the buildings you do business in, the electricity you use, the hospitals with staff, equipment and medications, the bridges you cross, the water you drink, the electronics you use and the programs that run them, the banking system in place, the television you watch etc etc etc require all kinds of engineers, architects, scientists, nurses, doctors, accountants, repairmen, lawyers, teachers, computer programmers, and the like to develop and maintain these things and the great majority were educated in a public education system. I’d say you are getting a great benefit for the small amount of education tax you pay. Those taxes benefit everyone, those with kids and those without them.
No Higher Taxes
We could start with voting out the Children’s Trust! It’s a waste of our tax dollars and duplication of services. Our county needs to spend wiser. As far as our Commissioner….Robert Bender and his Assistant, Angela….they are fantastic, great resources and good to have on our side. Everything is more expensive today…..prices are crazy!
They will raise raise raise your taxes .the commissioners in office now are the greedy I have ever seen in escambia county. People set term limits for them.
@ inconsistent
I’ll never use the Library(waste), never needed the Fire or Sheriffs department.
But spreading the bill around sort of makes it possible.
I personally think the sales tax route could work, any and everyone pays. Including tourist and visitors.
Your taxes are higher because of people like me I am a 100% permanent and total disabled military veteran therefore I pay $000.00 property tax. what do you think about that.? Also I only pay $5.00 per year to renew the license on my car. Escambia County is loaded with people like me and it causes your taxes to skyrocket. Is that fair????????
every one should pay sales tax penny+ this county not only on property buyers /owners !!
No matter how much we complain, the city of Pensacola and the county commissioners will raise taxes. Why? They are incompetent on spending and don’t care that taxes are already high. Vote them all out. They don’t have our interests in mind. If you hear the term progress, just think “kick backs and bribes”.
When will Escambia Co. start charging impact fees for new construction like most Florida counties instead of putting the burden on existing property owners?
Impact fees pre-pay for expanding transportation, water, fire, law, sewers, parks, schools, plus other things as needed for the increased population and usage.
With just a quick check for detached, single family residential structures of 2,500 sq.ft. the prices in FL counties run from $0.00 for Escambia to a high of $29,482.65 – $11.79 per sq.ft.
Comercial buildings are charged at a much higher rate.
This development is just a beginning. We all are aware of how desirable FL is to live in, and how people from the northeast are flocking here even with the downturn the economy is experancing. The southern part of FL up through Ocala, and the Jacksonville area are about filled up.
Land owners have every right to sell their property for a proffit.
Growth is coming weather current residents like it or not.
Twenty years ago the larger land owners said that the north end would stay farms, etc.
Then the county changed the requirements for development.
Infastructur without impact fees is paid for by existing land owners.
Land of the Free? Unless you can’t pay your property taxes then we will take your land and make you homeless. Do not worry though you can always squat in someone else’s home, and no one can do anything about it.
I have a genuine question that I simply don’t know the answer too. How are these property taxes calculated and what are the factors in coming up with those numbers? Example: City of pensacola resident where one home owner is paying over $3000 a year in property taxes, yet a home owner on the SAME street, 2 houses away pays: $800 a year in a slightly larger home and significantly larger lot. I realize there are deductions like Homestead exemption, Widow(er), senior citizen and probably a few others, but those deductions don’t make up a difference of over $2000 for properties within 100 yards of each other. Sorry, I just don’t understand how they arrive at these numbers that are so vastly different from property to property.
@beachboy, I agree with you. I don’t have any children at all and certainly none in school so its an additional expense on my property that I don’t see any of the benefit from paying. Whether you are married, single or divorced, if you have no children, then you shouldn’t be obligated to pay that portion of the property tax.
I agree seniors or disabled people should be property tax exempt. We have paid our property tax for 40 years. Now on social security have to think between taxes and Florida high home owner insurance should I sell and move to Alabama. From what I have read property tax is exempt for disabled and seniors In Alabama. Why can’t Florida do that. Even with my home paid for I still have to pay over $5k a year in taxes and insurance and draw less than$20 k a year in retirement income. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
Why should the sheriff get a MSTU and a large part of the budget??????????
SOUNDS LIKE DOUBLE DIPPING
Seems we have tax and spend democrats at all the local levels. First ECUA now the county. People need to remember this and vote them all out.
FY 23 Millage Rate
6.6165 County
1.9620 Schools (local school board)
3.3120 Schools (State Law)
0.0261 Water Management
0.6850 Sheriff
0.3590 Library
0.4365 Children’s Trust
13.3971 or 1.33971% Tax Rate (+Fire Protection)
Of course, exemptions for homesteads and age apply.
Why they don’t show this as a percentage on tax collector’s bills I don’t understand.
Perhaps they are hoping people don’t understand it and are less likely to complain.
LOWER TAXES
Vote NO on increased property taxes!!!! Senior adults have a difficult time to survive as it is without everyone wanting an increase. We don’t get pay raises and bonuses like those who work. We worked hard to get what we get and it’s NOT FAIR to take it away from us. We shouldn’t have to pay school taxes if we don’t have children in school. Senior adults have EARNED that exemption.