As the city of Tallahassee talks over a budget that would increase millage rates, city officials have launched a calculator to help citizens figure out just what that could mean for them.
A millage rate increase means a higher property tax. The city is looking at a one mill increase from 3.7 to 4.7. That’s comes out to a 27 percent hike. City officials say for the average Tallahassee household that equates to an extra $8 per month. But not everybody is average. Property taxes are heavily based on your home’s taxable value, which is almost always less than the your home’s market value, but can vary greatly depending on what exemptions you might have and how long you’ve lived there. The city’s calculator lets citizens search for their address, then calculate the change. It calculates only the city’s portion of the tax bill, the part that would be impacted by the city’s change. Officials say it's one-fifth. The main reason for the proposed property tax increase is to help the city pay for an additional 18 police officers.
