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Survey Shows Leon Co. Residents Oppose Planned Property Tax Increase

The Leon County Commission will hold a public hearing Tuesday at 6 pm on a plan to raise property taxes, but according to a new survey, more than 60 percent of the county’s homeowners are against the proposal.

"People feel as if their property taxes have not come down commensurate with the decrease in their property values," says Phillip Downs with the Kerr-Downs Research group. 

Downs conducted the poll along with WCTV as part of the latest TallahasseeVoices survey.  

According to Downs, Leon County citizens oppose the increase by a 2-to-1 margin.

Property values fell during the recession and housing market bust. In July, the Leon County Commission proposed increasing the property tax rate from $7.85 to $8.31 per $1,000 in taxable property value. That's an almost 6 percent rate hike.  

The county says the increase is necessary to offset some of the decline in county revenue. 

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Lynn Hatter is a Florida A&M University and Florida State University graduate with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master's in Professional Communication. Lynn has been with WFSU since 2007 with education and health care issues as her key coverage areas.  She has worked with several organizations, including Kaiser Health News.  Lynn has also partnered with USC-Annenberg's Center for Child Wellbeing on the nationally acclaimed series "Committed," which explored the prevalence of involuntary commitment use on children.
She serves on the board of RTDNA and the United Way of the Big Bend, with previous service on the board of the First Amendment Foundation of Florida.

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