SEBASTIAN — Property owners in the City of Sebastian can expect to pay the same – or a little less – in taxes if the Sebastian City Council ultimately approves its proposed property tax rate.
The council unanimously voted to support the recommendation from its Budget Review Committee to keep the tax rate the same as last year.
“This is actually a tax reduction,” City Manager Al Minner told the council Wednesday night.
“We believe it will be enough revenue to cover” the city, Minner said of keeping the rate the same.
Minner estimates that the city would collect $15,646 more in property tax revenue over last year due to growth the city experienced.
He explained that property values slipped again this year, meaning property owners could expect to see their tax bill go down. However, with an increase of building and development, along with annexations, over the last year, the city stands to collect more in tax revenue overall.
Pre-existing property values are down $5 million in the city, Minner said. But there was $9.4 million worth of new growth, netting the city $4 million in new taxable property.
“It appears we’ve turned the corner on real estate,” said Budget Review Committee member Ed Herlihy.
He said the committee fully supports not changing the property tax rate of 3.7166 because it allows the city to continue operating as it has without dipping into the general fund reserve.
The reserve sits at $4.7 million.
“We need to keep that for a rainy day,” Herlihy said, “or worse, the ‘H’ word” – hurricane.
Councilman Jim Hill voiced support for keeping the tax rate the same as last year, saying that by maintaining the city’s quality of life despite the tax revenues speaks to the City Council’s and the city administration’s leadership.
“This is wonderful,” Hill said.
Though the City Council approved the maximum ad valorem rate at 3.7166, the council has the ability to set a different – lower – rate at future hearings. The maximum rate is sent to the Tax Collector’s Office, which uses it to calculate the initial estimate of property owners’ tax bills.
If the Sebastian City Council were to decide to increase the rate, the city would have to notify – at great expense – each property owner.
The council could have opted to propose a higher tax rate, which would have generated the same revenue as last year, plus the new growth. However, the Budget Review Committee said it felt the existing rate would suffice.
The Sebastian City Council voted 4-0 to approve the maximum rate. Mayor Bob McPartlan was absent from the meeting.
