Proposed maximum millage rate for next fiscal year
Published on July 20, 2023
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (July 20, 2023) – Following a series of budget workshops this spring and summer, the Gainesville City Commission today approved a proposed maximum millage rate of 6.4297 for fiscal year 2024 to fund general government operations.
The millage rate helps determine how much Gainesville property owners will owe in property taxes when bills are mailed by the Alachua County Tax Collector’s Office this fall.
The proposed maximum ad valorem rate for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 is an increase of 0.9297 mills above the current operating millage rate of 5.5000, a 16.9 percent increase.
The first public hearing for the FY24 budget is scheduled Sept. 7 when the city commission will set a tentative millage rate. The final millage rate will be approved at a second public hearing scheduled Sept. 21. (Meeting information is available online.) The proposed maximum rate sets the cap and would generate an additional $15 million in municipal revenue if approved as the final millage rate.
“Ours is a community that continues to grow and, in light of our budgetary needs for the upcoming year, a millage increase would help preserve the many necessary programs and services our neighbors expect,” said Gainesville City Manager Cynthia W. Curry.
One mill is equal to $1 in property tax levied per $1,000 of a property’s assessed taxable value. On a property within the city limits whose assessed taxable value is $100,000, a millage rate of 6.4297 would generate $642.97 in property tax, an increase of $92.97.
The proposed maximum millage increase will address a significant revenue shortfall due to the decrease in the Government Services Contribution (GSC). This spring, the city commission approved a new formula that reduced the amount to $15.3 million, a reduction of more than 55 percent from the current level of $34.3 million. The GSC is the annual transfer of funds from Gainesville Regional Utilities to support the delivery of municipal services and programs.
The city commission also established the rolled-back rate, the revenue-neutral millage rate that would generate the same total revenue for a taxing authority as the prior year. The proposed millage and rolled-back rates are sent to the Alachua County Property Appraiser’s Office for use in preparing the TRIM (Truth in Millage) Notice, also known as the Notice of Proposed Property Taxes, that is mailed to property owners before Aug. 25.
More information about the City of Gainesville budget process can be found through this link.
For more information, contact City of Gainesville Public Information Officer Rossana Passaniti at 352-318-9599 or PassanitiR1@GainesvilleFL.gov.
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