Leesburg commissioners voted Monday night to tentatively hold the line on the city’s millage rate.
The vote was 4-1, with Commissioner Dan Robuck voting no.
Commissioners agreed to set the tentative rate at 4.2678 per $1,000 of taxable property value – the same as the past two years. That number will result in ad valorem proceeds of a little more than $5.8 million, of which 95 percent – about $5.16 million – will go into the general fund and five percent – $644,961 – will be go the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
That represents an increase of $369,336, or 6.8 percent from last year’s proceeds of just over $5.43 million. Of that amount, about $5.15 million went into the general fund.
The commission is required to establish a tentative millage rate each July for Notices of Proposed Property Taxes (TRIM notices) that will be mailed to property owners in the near future. The tentative rate of 4.2678 represents the maximum amount that may be adopted when the overall budget is approved in September, though commissioners still have the ability to lower the rate if they choose to do so.
TRIM notices are sent out by Lake County.
Commissioners could have adopted a tentative rate up to 8.6171 mills by simple majority vote. And they could have approved a rate between 8.6171 and 9.4788 (the maximum) by a two-thirds vote – four out of five commissioners.
