The typical St. Lucie County homeowner would pay $36.30 more in county government property taxes next year under the $580 million budget proposed by St. Lucie County Administrator Howard Tipton.
Tipton proposed keeping the countywide property tax rate at $7.56 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for the third straight year.
The median taxable value of a single-family home in 2018 was $160,000, county records show. Taking into account the 3 percent cap on increases in taxable value, the home’s value would rise to $164,800 for 2019.
That means the typical homeowner’s county government property tax bill would increase to $1,246.14 in 2019-2020 from $1,209.84 in the current year.
County commissioners held budget workshops this week and were to vote on July 16 on the property tax rates for the annual tax bill notices. Public hearings on the budget and tax rate are set for Sept. 5 and Sept. 19.
The county School Board, the South Florida Water Management District, Port St. Lucie and Fort Pierce are among the other major taxing agencies in St. Lucie County.
St. Lucie County had the highest aggregate property tax rate in the state at $22.84, state Department of Revenue records show. That figure was calculated by dividing total taxes levied by the countywide taxable value.
But St. Lucie County’s taxable values per person are lower than the statewide average, so the county’s taxes per person wind up being near the statewide average, state records show.
Tipton proposed giving the county’s 800 employees a 3 percent raise as of Oct. 1, the start of the new budget year.
The average annual pay of the commission’s employees is $43,472, not including benefits, county records show.
Tipton also called for the county to spend $50,000 on a compensation study to identify salary ranges for each position in the government.
A 2016 study of certain jobs found the county’s pay was 25 percent below the market rate, Tipton said.
“We remain 18 percent behind the market today,” Tipton said. The strong economy and low unemployment have made it hard for the county to hire qualified workers, particularly at the entry level, Tipton said. The county has about 80 job openings, or about a 10 percent vacancy rate.
“We work hard to bring in the best possible candidates, but oftentimes we are making job offers to our second, third, or fourth choices,” Tipton said.
“We’re even having to start the hiring process all over again.”
