Commissioners Discuss FY23 at Budget Workshop; Approve FY23 Proposed Decreased Millage Rate

MONROE COUNTY, FL – The Monroe County Board of County Commissioners met today to discuss the proposed $512 million Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) 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 FY23 estimates of residential real estate trends, taxable property values, sales taxes, and state shared revenues, along with fund balance, reserves, and general fund.

With the proposed budget and countywide average property values, a homesteaded residential property owner with an average appraised assessed taxable value of $469,161 in 2022 will see a $0.66 monthly decrease in their property tax for the FY23 year with the tentative budget. The taxable value is different from the market value.

Some of the FY23 budget highlights:

• A decrease in the proposed FY23 aggregate millage rate by 4.1 percent from 3.3748 to 3.2366. Typically, Monroe County has the lowest millage rate in the state.
• Reflects a property value increase with a total value of $36.8 billion, another historic 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.
• Funds expanded recreational facilities, including new parks, upgrades and amenities to existing parks, and expanded library services.
• 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.
• Provides more than $2.1 million in funding for 26 community-based nonprofit organizations.

FY23 Budget Timeline:

• The First Public Hearing of the adoption of the tentative budget and millage rate will be Monday, Sept. 12 at 5:05 p.m. at the Harvey Government Center in Key West.
• The Final Public Hearing will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 21 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, Hurricane Irma, and COVID-19 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/budgetandfinance.