Monroe County has the lowest
During budget workshops in recent years, County Commission Chair Alan Maio has made a point of noting that the board members have kept the county millage rate one of the lowest in the state.
On Jan. 25, County Administrator Jonathan Lewis had an update on that very topic.
Lewis prefaced his remarks by telling the commissioners that he wanted to take “a moment to brag on Sarasota County.”
Then, with laminated copies to hand out to the board members, Lewis presented a map with the millage rates for the 2022 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, 2021. Of Florida’s 67 counties, Lewis said, only Duval does not impose a countywide millage rate on an annual basis.
Sarasota County once again has the second-lowest rate in Florida, he added.
Monroe County, which includes the Florida Keys, has the lowest rate, the map says.
The millage rate for Sarasota County this fiscal year is 3.4561. The map showed seven counties with millage rates ranging from 2.6149 to 3.9999.
One mill represents $1 for every $1,000 of property value.
The highest millage rates, the map noted, were in a range from 8 mills to 10.3624. Twenty-four counties were in that group, the map indicated. Among them is DeSoto County.
Manatee County falls in the group with rates from 6 to 7.9999 mills.
As the Sarasota County commissioners work on their budget for the upcoming fiscal year, Maio often points to a slide that the staff of the Office of Financial Management provides them. It shows how much extra property tax revenue the county would have received if the board had not kept the millage at a steady rate over the past years.
