Jacksonville City Councilman Danny Becton has filed a resolution that he says will help taxpayers save money.
Resolution 2022-276, filed last week, requests that Mayor Lenny Curry submit a budget for Fiscal Year 2022/2023 with a rolled-back millage rate for ad valorem taxes, which generally means property taxes.
Simply put, Becton says it would help homeowners deal with rising home values that equate to higher property taxes by rolling back the tax rate.
“This doesn’t mean we’re receiving no property taxes, Actually, to the contrary," Becton told WJCT News. "This doesn’t mean our budget will be revenue neutral. There will be increases in ad valorem taxes received [by] the city from new construction, home sales, [and] non-homestead properties,”
“Last year, just that value in and of itself was $20 million,” he said.
The mayor’s office will work with various departments over the next couple of months to finalize the city’s budget before it’s submitted to the City Council.
“The legislative branch is supposed to be the fiscal arm of the city. It’s supposed to communicate policy in terms of how we approve the budget. And the mayor will hopefully get some direction from the City Council as we start looking ahead,” Becton said.
On average, Jacksonville property owners would see a property value increase of 3%, which is capped. For businesses, there is no cap, and Becton believes the rollback would benefit them as well.
“You know, when concerns are expressed about increasing rents, increasing the cost of commodities, every increase in expenses causes prices to go up. So for businesses–payroll cost of goods, energy and, yes, taxes. So it's a domino effect. That has to be addressed somewhere. And as taxes go up, these costs are only going to get passed on to the consumer,” Becton said.
Becton has not yet spoken to the mayor about the resolution but expects to get the opportunity as the resolution is discussed and debated.
