COMMISSIONERS DISCUSS FISCAL YEAR 2024 AT BUDGET WORKSHOP; APPROVE FY24 PROPOSED MILLAGE RATE

MONROE COUNTY, FL – The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners met today to discuss the proposed $667 million Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) budget. The budget includes the Board of County Commissioners, the constitutional officers, like the Sheriff's Office, Tax Collector, Property Appraiser, Supervisor of Elections, and Clerk of Court, and other appropriations for the Tourist Development Council, capital projects, and reserves.
 
Monroe County Administrator Roman Gastesi and Budget and Finance Director Tina Boan presented the tentative budget with FY24 estimates of residential real estate trends, taxable property values, sales taxes, and state shared revenues, along with fund balance, reserves, and general fund.
 
“We are a little county with big county problems plus 5 million visitors a year,” said Gastesi. “This budget continues to meet our increased service demands for our residents, sustainability for our future, public safety, and more.”
 
With the proposed budget and countywide average property values, a homesteaded residential property owner with an average appraised taxable value of $484,735 will see an $11.24 monthly increase in their property tax for the FY24 year with the tentative budget. The taxable value is different from the market value.
 
FY24 budget key points:

• Countywide millage rate: 2.7191 or $271.91 per $100,000 of value, most likely the lowest in Florida again.
• Reflects a property value increase with a total taxable value of $41.2 billion, another historical high. Property values have doubled in the past 10 years.
• Reflects continued investment in roads and bridges, resilience adaptation, facilities, and public safety infrastructure. A number of notable capital projects are funded in whole or in large part with non-local funding and grants. 12 notable projects with $106 million in total costs have $83 million in grant funding (78.5 percent of costs).
• Funds for expanded programs and public services, like the transit program, community and senior centers, affordable housing projects, library improvements, recreation programs, and playground renovations.
• Funds higher operational costs like CPI-based increases for vendor contracts, higher cost of fuel, supplies, and materials, higher utility and property insurance costs, and higher personnel costs. (South Florida regional inflation rate has stayed around 9 percent CPI, while the rest of the nation is trending down. Over the past two years, it has been around 19 percent.)
• Provides more than $2.2 million in funding for 30 community-based nonprofit organizations.

                      
FY24 Budget Timeline:

• The First Public Hearing of the adoption of the tentative budget and millage rate will be Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 5:05 p.m. at the Harvey Government Center in Key West.
• The Final Public Hearing will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 5:05 p.m. at the Murray Nelson Government Center in Key Largo. The BOCC adopts the final millage rate and budget at this meeting. Both meetings are hybrid and can be attended in person or via Zoom.

 
The Monroe County Office of Budget and Finance provides coordination and development of the budget. The award-winning office continues to work with inflation issues and Hurricane Irma and Ian impacts while providing for the department's daily operations, program enhancements, capital projects, and infrastructure improvements.
 
For more information about the budgeting process, visit www.monroecounty-fl.gov/budget.

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