City Commissioners Monday voted unanimously to propose the first increase to the property tax rate in 26 years.
The proposal would increase the property tax rate, also known as millage, from $4.7157 per $1,000 in property value to $5.7157 per $1,000 in property value.
“The only reason I am making this motion tonight is to have the opportunity to further this discussion,” Mayor Rick Lott said.
Lott had to temporarily recuse himself from the role of mayor, passing the gavel to Vice-Mayor Bill Dodson, in order to make the motion. Commissioner Nate Kilton seconded the vote, stating he was not necessarily supporting an increase in the rate, but favoring the continued discussion of a possible increase.
The vote followed budget discussions during a special meeting directly preceding the commission’s regular meeting. Had the commission voted to adopt the long-standing millage rate, it would not have been able to propose an increase moving forward. The city has until Sept. 25 to approve the final budget, but residents must be notified of any proposed change with enough time for the city to hold hearings and receive public input on the proposed increase. The commission will then decide what, if any, increase there would be to the millage rate when putting together the final budget in September.
As budget talks move forward, commissioners agreed that community feedback would be vital to the process.
“For me, the whole notion has a lot to do with how I understand the community’s commitment to the fundamental core services we are charged with supplying and what they wish it to be,” Dodson said.
The proposed increase comes as Plant City continues to take on major infrastructure projects to improve the 160 miles of city-operated streets. Plant City has been saving for the project for years, banking money to enact a multiphase project to fix city streets and the utility systems beneath them. In 2017, Plant City has invested more than $6 million in road improvements. Lott said if the millage was raised, he would like any revenue coming from the raised rates to go exclusively to infrastructure spending.
Generally, Plant City sets aside $1 million per year to put toward road improvements, however, a recent agreement with Hillsborough County would give Plant City an additional $2 million if it can raise $2 million of its own. Meaning, not being able to set aside an additional $1 million for roads could cost the city $3 million in funding for repairs.
In previous years, the city has been able to free up funds from other areas in the budget for road repairs, but, with the current millage, the city is running leaner each year.
“We squeeze a nickel so hard we get a dime out of it," Kilton said. “That’s just who we are in Plant City.”
However, he added, there is “no more fat to cut.”
Kilton said he would prefer to look to the enterprise fund or solid waste revenues before raising the millage rate, but the discussion is one the city needs to have before making final decisions.
Commissioner Mary Mathis likened the nearly three-decade-old millage rate to working without a raise since 1991.
“We’re living on a 1991 salary in 2017,” Mathis said. “If we were living on our 1991 salaries in 2017, we would probably be short. If we were looking at our salary or business and money you made 27 years ago. We all might be a little short.”