To keep from increasing the county’s tax rate in the coming year, St. Lucie County commissioners left about 162 positions unfilled, gave no raises to county employees and asked for the same or decreased budgets from all departments and constitutional officers.

The budget of about $587.7 million is about 14.3 percent less than the current budget, the result of a drop in property taxes, sales taxes and other revenue.

The budget year starts Oct. 1.

To achieve a $97.9 million cut, reductions were made in nearly all departments.

For residents, cuts will be evident in the libraries, parks and community centers, which will have fewer employees and programs and less maintenance.

The campground at the Savannas, a popular recreational spot, will be open only from Oct. 1 to May 1.

With fewer code enforcement officers on the streets, residents also may see the effect of cuts in the upkeep of houses.

Commissioners held budget hearings all week and agreed they didn’t want to raise taxes.

They left the property tax rate at this year’s rate of $6.46 for every $1,000 of assessed value.

A decline in property values countywide may mean lower taxes for many residents in St. Lucie.

For some with a homestead exemption, though, taxes could actually go up slightly because the Save Our Homes amendment requires an increase of 0.1 percent in assessed property value this year, unless the home’s market value has dipped below the assessed value.

For example, the owner of a home assessed at $250,000 with a $50,000 homestead exemption paid about $1,292 in taxes in 2008-2009.

In 2009-2010, a 0.1-percent property value increase would boost the homeowner’s tax bill to about $1,294.

The county tax bill doesn’t include school district or municipal taxes, or levies from special taxing districts.

The final public hearing on the budget is Sept. 17.

Budget at a glance

Proposed budget: $587.7 million, down 14.3 percent

Proposed tax rate: $6.46 per $1,000 taxable property value, same as this year

Proposed property tax income: $126.6 million, down about 20 percent

This entry was posted on Friday, July 17th, 2009 at 11:58 pm and is filed under Economy, St. Lucie County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.