Cents & Sensibility: Alachua County’s Budget in Eight Chapters – Chapter 3
Press release from Alachua County
ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – With all the discussion happening across Florida about local government budgets, Alachua County is joining the conversation through this series: Cents & Sensibility: Alachua County’s Budget in Eight Chapters.
Chapter 3: Understanding Property Taxes
Recently, there has been considerable discussion statewide regarding property taxes. There is some confusion about the role property taxes play in determining County budgets. Some have likened property taxes to charging rent to people who have paid off their homes. A more logical way to think of property taxes is to consider your utility bills — you own your home, but you still pay for water, electricity, and the internet because you use these services.
Property taxes are how we all pay for our shared “utilities”: the roads we drive on, the parks we enjoy, the deputies and firefighters who protect us, and the services that keep our county running.
Read Chapter 3: Understanding Property Taxes in full.
Read Chapter 2: What is the General Fund
Read Chapter 1: How You Shape the County Budget.
Property tax reform is coming.
Instead of having a property tax, why not raise sales tax so that all our snowbirds and visitors help pay for roads, parks we enjoy, the deputies, and the firefighters?
Some pretty good evidence that sales taxes end up being regressive in that local folks who are struggling bear a disproportionate share of burden. Taxing necessities generally a really bad idea it turns out; a principle even Republican governors seem to understand.
A homestead is a necessity. You cannot find a home for $50k (the current exemption amount). You accidentally rebutted your own argument.
Renting is an option that many take because they can’t afford the homestead while some who can prefer it.
How about upping the Homestead Exemption up to $250,000 for people over 65? If you’re home is worth more than that, you’re property tax would be greatly reduced but rich people would still have to pay something.
How about upping the exemption amount for everyone? Younger, healthier people already subsidize health insurance costs for the elderly.
The over 65 crowd spent us into insane debt over the last 40 years, yet never seem to want to pay for things. I am so tired of hearing the phrase “Fixed income” We are all on a fixed income, I get paid the same amount every 2 weeks.
OK Fred, but young people are especially struggling with affording homes.
I’ll even simplify it into one sentence for you. They steal our $$$ and spend it on BS nonsense.
I hope one of the chapters discusses the difference between mandated and non-mandated services the County Board feels is necessary to capture our property taxes to provide. Oh things like hotels for the homeless, funding affordable housing, optional criminal justice services like pretrial release, re-entry services, and millions of dollars in grants to non-profit organizations some of which do not even have a presence in our county. It’s not that we shouldn’t pay property taxes for services rendered, it’s that we pay far more than we should for things County government really has no business providing. Same for some of our City governments. No one will complain about paying for roads and other essential services like police and fire protections, it’s the frivolous stuff we shouldn’t need to pay for. A sports and athletics center, a camp for young children, are these really essential functions of County government? What else is on the list? A little more transparency would be welcome.
They have overspent on all the frills so much that they had to create the “Fire Assessment fee”. It is way more of a need for an environmental protection department even thought the State and federal government already provide those services, lets not forget the DEI dept that pays more than most of the associate professors make at UF. How about the great decision to spend $17,000 each on garbage cans! … As the Joker once said, “This town needs an enama!”