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Oldsmar tax rate to remain flat

 
Published July 31, 2015

OLDSMAR — The city expects to hold the line on its property tax rate, according to City Manager Bruce Haddock.

The proposed budget calls for a rate of $4.05 per $1,000 of assessed, taxable property. At that rate, the owner of a $150,000 home with a $50,000 homestead exemption would pay $405 in city property taxes. Although the rate cannot be raised, it could be lowered before the final budget is approved.

The proposed budget for next year, which begins Oct. 1, is approximately $28 million, about $6 million less than this year. That's due to the completion of several large capital projects, Haddock said. It calls for the hiring of several new employees including an assistant city manager whose salary would be between $85,000 and $114,000, Haddock said.

Since property values have increased about 5 percent in the last year, many property owners will see a higher property tax bill while at the same time, the city will see an increase in revenue.

Haddock said officials chose not to lower the rate because the city is still recovering from the recession.

"We are not back to what it was in 2007, at the peak,'' he said. "If you factor in inflation, you could say that we're not collecting any more money than we did eight or nine years ago.''

When it comes to adding an assistant city manager, Haddock said the person would be responsible for internal operations.

"It would give me an opportunity to focus more on the City Council priorities and spend time with outside agencies and developers,'' said Haddock, who has been the city manager since 1986. "We're at that point in the city's growth and development that an assistant city manager would be very beneficial.''

Even with the additional spending on personnel, the proposed budget will still be a decrease of about $6 million, or 17 percent over the 2014-15 budget because of the completion of several capital projects.

Contact Piper Castillo at pcastillo@tampabay.com. Follow @Florida_PBJC.