Walton County Raises Milage Rate

[wrobert]

The question is what do you want to cut out? It is not just the BCC budget but all the offices including Clerk, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections and Sheriff. Do you want less deputies? Less roads paved? Less parks and recreation? We always blame it on the BCC but it is all offices of the county government.

If you are going to include all the offices, please do not try to say that they are all supported strictly by ad valoreum taxes when that is not true. People are confused enough about the budget and how it works without misinformation being put into the mix.

 

[WCTA]

For those that are not current on revenue sources:

• Only 42% of the BCC budget is funded by property taxes. They also receive sales tax and gasoline sales taxes, fee for permits and from grants
• The Tax collectors office receives no revenues from property taxes - they are fee based and their budget is approved by the State Department of Revenue
• The Clerk of Courts Office is funded from fees and partially by property tax revenues.
• The Sheriff's office receives the bulk of its operating revenues from property taxes, but also receives revenue from grants and the sales of confiscated property, etc
• The Supervisor of Elections Office receives its revenues from Property taxes primarily, but also receives an occsional grant
• The Property Appraisers Office is funded from revenues from the BCC general fund.

This list is far from complete but should clear up some misunderstandings. The Walton County budget includes all of those Constitutional Offices budgets.

BH

 

[florida girl]

If you own a $200,000 home and you can't afford $8 a year to maintain a balanced budget...something we are railing at Congress about, then you probably shouldn't be living in a $200,000 home. Something a little more modest, perhaps.

Wasn't that the amount for low income housing?

 

[Andy A]

Wasn't that the amount for low income housing?

I don't believe this has anything to do with low income housing. The example was merely used to indicate how much a person's property taxes would increase at the BCC meeting. $8 a year for a $200,000 place of residence.

 

[Matt J]

Wasn't that the amount for low income housing?

Low income housing is generally Federally funded and located on land owned by the Federal government. Federal lands are exempt from property tax.

 

[Busta Hustle]

the cost per capita for Walco is closer to $4500, highest among panhandle counties. Average per capita income is about 2/3 rd of state averages.

For all Florida counties property taxes levied in 2002 were $17.77 Billion by 2006 they were $30.4 Billion a 71% increase. Walco's increase was more like 125%. The increase over the previous year (all counties) starting in 2002 over 2001 (6.2%), 03 over 02 (14.6%), 04 over 03 (10.4%), 05 over 04 (15.5%), 2006 over 2005 (18.4%)

This increase in levied taxes was due to over inflated property values in 2002 Real Property Value in Walton was 5.099 billion by 2007 16.955 billion. No wonder we have the lowest millage rates around.

Some estimates from the state for Real Property taxable values to return to 2003 levels which represents a loss of value of over a trillion $$$ statewide and for walco from a high in 2007 of 16.955 billion back to 2003 level of 6.076 billion.

Hold on to your overalls boys the milliage rate increases have just begun.