City Council retained the current year property tax rate for fiscal 2012-13 Tuesday despite a push by several members to adhere the “rolled-back” rate that would have netted around $23 million in revenue.
The Council voted 15-3 to approve Mayor Alvin Brown’s proposed millage rate of 10.0353 mills in the general services district, its current rate.
Council members Bill Gulliford, Ray Holt and Warren Jones opposed it. Denise Lee did not vote.
Florida statutes would have allowed the rate to be adjusted to 10.5709 mills, which would have brought in the same amount of revenue as this year.
That rate would have meant property owners would pay more in their property taxes to make up the difference, even though property values have dropped.
A mill is equal to $1 in tax revenue for every $1,000 in assessed value.
The item was voted on as an emergency measure because of an Aug. 4 deadline for a resolution to be approved and sent to the Property Appraiser’s Office for rate notice to property owners.
Council Vice President Bill Gulliford asked his colleagues not to vote on the measure as an emergency, which — if a special Council meeting was not called for the subject — would have meant the rolled-back rate would have automatically been used.
Council Auditor Kirk Sherman said he had around $38 million of concerns with revenues and expenditures in Brown’s budget.
Gulliford and others said that meant Brown had not submitted Council a balanced budget and that setting a higher rate would allow the Finance Committee flexibility.
“It’s not our job to balance his budget and that’s what we’re being asked to do,” Gulliford said.
Council Matt Schellenberg referred to Brown’s budget proposal as “hogwash.”
Once set, Council cannot raise the rate without the Property Appraiser sending new notices to property owners, which Sherman said takes weeks and can cost around $250,000. Lowering the rate does not require re-noticing.
Council member Richard Clark, John Crescimbeni and others said not voting the item as an emergency would be a “back door” way to raise taxes.
The emergency passed and discussion shifted to whether the rolled-back rate was an increase and, if passed, Council would lower the rate later.
Clark said “every penny” of the additional revenue would be spent and cited past budget years when it had and “guaranteed” the rate would not be lowered if raised for the notices.
Gulliford again said his argument was predicated on Brown’s unbalanced submitted budget and that past millage rate decreases resulted in more borrowing from the banking fund and an increase of $2.4 billion in debt over the last 10 years.
The Finance Committee will begin its budget hearings Aug. 9, using the current rate as its own, and continue to vet the budget until the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
Other news from Tuesday’s Council meeting:
• Council approved an emergency resolution that allows General Counsel Cindy Laquidara to pursue litigation that challenges Jim Fuller’s ability to again run for Duval County Clerks of Courts. Laquidara has issued an opinion based on a Florida Supreme Court ruling that Fuller cannot run again due to term limits, but needed a department head or Council approval before being able to take action. Attorney Richard Rumrell, on behalf of the Clerk of Court, said the action had no merit and was unconstitutional, which Laquidara disagreed with. “Let the courts decide. Whoever wins, wins,” said Crescimbeni, one of the bills introducers.
• Sheriff John Rutherford advocated for the higher millage rate to offset budget cuts, but spoke to Council after the vote. With its defeat, he asked Council to approve a new piece of legislation introduced that would allow his office to keep $6.1 million in salary and salary-related savings his office has accumulated in this year’s budget. The money would mean no police layoffs, he said.
Rutherford added to his request that all savings within the department be kept in his department. He said an additional $2.7 million can be saved that would be applied toward funding Matrix House, a drug rehabilitation facility that brought many public speakers in support.
“Just give me my savings back, let me utilize that,” he said after the meeting.
The next full Council meeting will be Wednesday, Aug. 15, instead of Tuesday, Aug. 14, which is the primary voting day.
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