JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Homeowners in Jacksonville could get a tax break in the coming year.
Mayor Lenny Curry will present his budget to the City Council on Thursday morning, and he sounds prepared to lower property taxes.
“For right now, it probably couldn’t come at a better time,” said Duval County Property Appraiser Jerry Holland.
Holland spoke about a lower property tax millage in the coming year’s budget. He said he has more than 40 years of experience in real estate.
Exploding property values have created an opportunity for the city to ease the tax rate. Holland said in some ways, it’s a win-win.
“Now, the city’s gonna still have an increase in the budget, probably 91%, you know, more than what they had the year before. So it’s really a savings to the taxpayer, but the city’s still going to come out of this with a lot more revenue,” Holland said.
Curry posted part of his budget plan on Twitter, saying:
“In addition to investments in public safety, infrastructure and economic development, the budget I will release this Thursday will include debt reduction & reserves against future challenges. At the same time, it also includes a reduction in our city’s property tax rate.”
Holland told us the taxable values for Jacksonville projects to be about $81 billion. It’s the largest increase he’s seen as property appraiser, year to year.
I asked him if a tax decrease presents a risk for the future since the rates of increasing value seem unsustainable.
“It will cost the city probably somewhere around $10 million, but mind you, the city is still probably going to have an increase of $85 to $90 million in their budget,” Holland said. “So from that standpoint, it’s a little bit of a savings. It’s definitely the right way to go. It’s not going to be too risky for the years coming in the future.”
Holland told me, Jacksonville residents are still going to pay more in taxes this year with property values going up. If the millage rate goes down a little, your taxes won’t go up as much.