CLERMONT, Fla. — While several municipalities in Central Florida have proposed to increase or retain their millage rates for property owners, the city of Clermont proposed to decrease its rates during its council meeting Tuesday.
But the decision didn’t come without some debate.
What You Need To Know
When it comes to the budget, the city of Clermont seems to be in a good place with a surplus of funds put away, but that has led to an interesting problem.
“In this case, we are over fund balance requirement by $16 million. We have to come up with a plan for that,” shared District 1 Clermont Council Member Alison Strange.
That surplus comes from a millage rate increase in 2022. The rate jumped from $4.20 per $1,000 of taxable value to $5.06.
Now, three years later, the question is, what comes next?
“I feel a great responsibility to figure out how we are going to spend dollars, which includes possibly giving it back to the taxpayers,” Strange explained. “So a reduction of the millage, even if it’s for three, four, five years, is still a way to give it back to the taxpayers.”
The city’s current rate is $4.88 per $1,000 of taxable value, with a proposed plan to decrease it to $4.70, but some people on the council felt it could be even lower.
“I want to make a motion right now to have our advertisement rate at $4.59,” said Seat 5 Clermont City Council Member William Petersen.
That motion passed 4-1. Mayor Tim Murry believes they can afford a short-term decrease now but says it might not be sustainable beyond that.
“If you look at the figures and everything right now, by year two or three, with the rates there are right now, we’re going to be in financial trouble,” explained Murry. “So, then you’re going to have to try to increase millage again, and it’s going to be a lot harder to increase at that point.”
The proposal to decrease rates is a move that one other Lake County city, Tavares, is also doing.
Clermont council members are still trying to decide whether it will be beneficial or not.
“If all of the other municipalities and counties are looking to do increases, then evidently, they see something that I see, which is hey, the cost of things isn’t going down,” Murry said.
“I just want to show them that we’re investing back by rolling up our sleeves, sharpening our pencils and making sure that we’re increasing the quality of life while reducing the cost of living,” Strange said.
The public hearing to adopt the tentative millage rate will be held on Sept. 4 at 5:30 p.m. and it will be finalized on Sept. 18.