Lee officials to set millage rates

LEESBURG — Lee County homeowners will find out Thursday if there will be a change in their property taxes.

Both the Lee County School Board and Board of Commissioners will hold special meetings on Thursday to set new millage rates for Fiscal Year 2018.

The Lee Commission will set the county’s millage rate at a special called meeting to be held at the T. Page Tharp Governmental Building starting at 6 p.m.

The millage rate is the amount per $1,000 used to calculate taxes on property. Millage rates are most often found in personal property taxes, where the expressed millage rate is multiplied by the total taxable value of the property to arrive at total property taxes due.

Millage rates are also used by school boards to calculate local school taxes to be collected based on the total property value within school district boundaries.

Lee Commissioner Bill Williams said recently he does not expect to see any changes in the millage rates this year.

“I doubt we are going to raise any taxes,” said Williams. “The last time we raised taxes was back in 2014, and I doubt we want to do that again anytime soon.”

County records show the millage rate jumped from 12.766 mils in 2013 to 14.206 mils in 2014, resulting in a net tax increase of $1,179,498, or 10.19 percent.

The current millage rate for the county is 14.121 mils, with the total amount of taxes levied right at $12,702. In 2016, the millage rate was the same (14.121 mils) with the total amount of taxes levied at $12,642.531. The millage rate did not change, but the increase in taxes paid was $59,470, representing a .o47 percent overall increase.

“Calculating all of this can be difficult,” Williams said.

Countywide taxes include real and personal property, motor vehicles, mobile homes, timber and heavy duty equipment.

In Lee County, understanding who pays what and where, and to which entity, can be confusing.

Williams offered an explanation: The county has its own rate. Leesburg and Smithville also have their millage rate. And then, there is a rate for the school district. Adding to the confusion, the county collects taxes on mobile homes and motor vehicles, but the taxes collected on personal and real property stay with each municipality.

Williams said the millage rate that will be set by the county on Thursday is for the unincorporated areas of Lee County.

“Leesburg and Smithville issue their own tax bills,” Williams said. “All of these taxes must be added to the millage rate set by the school district, regardless of where a person lives within the county.”

Leesburg City Manager Bob Alexander said the city will discuss setting its millage rate at its September City Council meeting. The rate currently is set at 5.989 mils, which represents a 0 percent increase from 2016. In Smithville, the millage rate is 6.5 mils. No date has been scheduled for Smithville to set its new millage rate.

Meanwhile, Lee County Schools Superintendent Jason Miller said he anticipates no change in the school district’s millage rate, which currently is 17.775 mils. The county school system also is expected to set its new millage rate on Thursday. That meeting will take place at 5 p.m. at the School Board building in Leesburg.